DATE: Tuesday, March 11, 1997               TAG: 9703110043

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E4   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Music review

SOURCE: BY JEFF MAISEY 

                                            LENGTH:   35 lines

COLVIN CHARMS HER FANS

FROM THE GET-GO, Shawn Colvin came across like one of the family. With a witty sense of humor and a sincere gift for telling great stories, she charmed the mostly thirty-something audience without hesitation Sunday at Chrysler Hall.

Colvin's stop in Norfolk came six months after the release of her critically acclaimed ``A Few Small Repairs'' album, for which she received two Grammy nominations. She didn't win in either, but if there was a category for Most Down-to-Earth and Friendly Performance, Colvin would win hands down.

Strapped with an acoustic guitar, Shawn Colvin and her five-strong musicians opened the show with the fantastic ``Sunny Came Home.'' The guitar intro leading to the melodic voice was played to perfection. In fact, the band did a brilliant job recreating, live, the wonderful musical moods captured on the recording.

The enormously popular ``Get Out of This House'' was the second tune of the set, which had Colvin harnessed with a harmonica around her neck - one of Neil Young's favorite tricks.

The majority of material played was from the ``Repairs'' record. The group even included a song, ``The Fall of Rome,'' which did not make it on the album. ``Rome'' found singer/songwriter Colvin full of vigor, containing a nice vocal melody helped along with an old world-style accordion played by keyboardist Doug Petty.

Vocalist Kate Markowitz proved to be the perfect complement to Colvin's voice. The two harmonized wonderfully on the sweet ``Cry Like an Angel.''

For an encore, Colvin warmed her fans with the moving solo piano piece ``If I Were Brave.''

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