Weary but Admired DeMent Demonstrates Her Appeal

A road-weary Iris DeMent warned the audience, but she really needn’t have. After finishing her opening number at the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano on Tuesday, she confessed: “I’ve been in the doldrums and just haven’t been myself lately.”

Worry not, Iris. Perhaps inspired by a loyal, supportive crowd, the Missouri-based, Orange County-bred singer-songwriter spent the next two hours demonstrating why she’s earned the admiration of peers including Merle Haggard, John Prine, Emmylou Harris and Nanci Griffith.

Sure, DeMent’s gained some notoriety for her distinctive, quavering vocals and intimate tales of home and family life. Yet she’s a far-reaching songwriter who steps beyond that familiar territory to also vividly capture the many complexities of the human condition.

What brought a welcome balance to her program were several upbeat, lighter moments. Only a few songs fell flat. Particularly disappointing were a socially conscious pair drawn from DeMent’s last album, the Grammy-nominated “The Way I Should.” Both “Wasteland of the Free” and “Quality Time” are little more than scattered, preachy-sounding protest songs.

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* Iris DeMent appears Friday at Club Caprice, 1700 Pacific Coast Highway, Redondo Beach, 8 p.m. $15 (310) 316-1700.