John Prine – Feb. 27, 2009 - The Blanche Touhill Performing Arts Center, St. Louis

John Prine at 62 is as vibrant as ever.  But it’s amazing to think that several of his greatest songs were written before he was 26, although seemingly through the long-life perspective of a man of 62.  When he walked out onto the stage, I had a feeling like, “I sure am glad this national treasure is still alive.”  He had had some health issues with cancer several years ago, so he might be living on borrowed time, so to speak.  It was a feel good show for me – not ground-breaking in any sense – but I was damn glad I was there anyway.  And the Touhill Performing Arts Center on the campus of the University of Missouri at St. Louis is a great place to see a show because of the excellent acoustics and comfortable seats.  They even sell snacks and adult beverages there.

On this night Prine just kept one great song after another coming out – even handling a request or two – instead of trying to put in an explicit plug for his latest album, which he did on last year’s tour.  However he did play some tunes from that album, Fair and Square (released in 2005).  And I was glad to see that he stayed away from politics.

But he did play some songs from that album.  After seven songs from his earlier career, he played three from Fair and Square, and then the bassist and other guitarist left the stage for John to do the next five songs on his own, starting with the ever popular “Angel From Montgomery” which has been covered very well by Bonnie Raitt and others.  The band rejoined John on stage for a rockin’ “Bear Creek Blues” and the rest of the show.  I always get all verklempt when he plays “Sam Stone” and “Hello in There.”  “Lake Marie” is pretty dang powerful too.  Heck, for a wordsmith like Prine, almost any song he writes has the potential for significantly making you think about life.

One thing I really liked is that John explained the stories behind several of the songs he wrote in the two-hour long concert.  Regarding "Souvenirs," he said, "I wrote this song while I was still delivering mail in Chicago.  People used to ask me what it was like, delivering mail.  I told 'em it drove me to songwriting," to which he got a good chuckle from the audience.  At one point people started yelling out various song requests, and John kind of shyly, but slyly said, “I know 'em all.”

Carrie Rodriguez, who was the opening act, came out for the encore and added vocals and violin, especially contributing a lot of impact in a duet John on “In Spite of Ourselves,” which is the title track of a great album of duets with females that John released in 1999.  One thing interesting to note is that Ms. Rodriguez is the daughter of singer/songwriter David Rodriguez from Austin, TX and she was discovered by Chip Taylor who wrote “Wild Thing.”   “Chip Taylor” is the stage name of American songwriter James Wesley Voight, brother of actor Jon Voight and uncle of actress Angelina Jolie, who for some reason doesn’t want to use her last name.

The set list:

1. Spanish Pipedream
2. The Torch Singer
3. Six O’clock News
4. Please Don’t Bury Me
5. Souvenirs
6. Storm Windows
7. Fish and Whistle
8. Glory of True Love
9. Long Monday
10. Crazy as a Loon
11. Angel From Montgomery
12. Dear Abby
13. One Red Rose
14. It’s a Big Old Goofy World
15. Sam Stone
16. Bear Creek Blues
17. That’s Alright by Me
18. Great Rain
19. Hello in There
20. Lake Marie

encore:
21. Unwed Fathers
22. In Spite of Ourselves
23. Paradise

Good tickets were $56.50 and the auditorium appeared to be sold out.

John Prine: Guitar, vocals.
Jason Wilber: Lead guitar, slide guitar, mandolin, harmonica and backing vocals.
Dave Jacques: Acoustic and electric basses.
Carrie Rodriguez: Violin and vocals.  Also, tenor guitar in her opening set.

Quote:

Well, he sure doesn't get much attention from the mainstream media now, whereas back in the early to mid '70s he got a good amount of airplay on FM radio.

But with very rare exceptions, I listen to non-commerrcial radio anyway.

There's plenty of Prine stuff on YouTube from all eras.

Quote:

I think 2005's Fair & Square, and the brilliant album of duets, In Spite of Ourselves, from 1999, are proof that he's still viable today and not just a relic of the aftermath of the folk revival.