John Hiatt's southern drive

"IT'S KIND of a body, these last two albums," John Hiatt says. He's explaining why his recent concerts include only material from Slow Turning and Bring the Family. "They kind of fit together." There is a clear theme to Hiatt's show: the search for maturity and stability as tested by the memory of wilder ventures. Both albums begin with a travel song — 'Memphis in the Meantime' and 'Drive South' — depicting the American South as a promised land. Which is just what Nashville has been for Hiatt, both musically and personally.