JOHN PRINE TENNESSEE 2005 CONCERT REVIEWS

Sat Oct 1, 2005 - Nashville, tn - The ryman auditorium
With guests pat Mclaughlin and support by mindy smith

By: Reeda Buresh - webmistress of the Prine Shrine

(I think I may have missed a song... I think he sang The Other Side of Town at this show too - it would be number 7 - but can't remember - would appreciate a little memory refresher here if anyone else took down the set list - :~) thanks)

By: Greg Blanchard........a fan
As usual John Prine gave a sensational concert for all his fans new and old. Mr Prine played for 2.5 hours to a foot tapping and hand clapping crowd who many times joined him in the words of his songs. It was a sellout crowd and by the way the people reacted during the concert it was plain to see he was a tremendous hit as usual. Many "thanks" to john Prine for a really great concert and I know all his fans were thrilled as he gave it his all Saturday night at Ryman auditorium.

By: Bruce
Outstanding! As high as my expectations were, this show exceeded them. Mindy Smith was a wonderful opening act, and her inclusion in Prine's performances of a number his songs from Fair & Square added a special touch to the evening. I also loved her duet with John on "Angel From Montgomery". The band was in first-class form, and it was a joy to see them "jam" on the fast pace tunes like "Bear Creek Blues" and "She Is My Everything". And, of course, John Prine is a national treasure. It is obvious how much fun he is having on that stage, and that feeling spreads throughout the venue. He hasn't lost a step over the years. His delivery of the songs is perfection, and the banter between gives the audience a peek into what a clever, funny, and kind man that John Prine truly is. I just can't wait to see him again!

By: sharon
Once again John was AMAZING! and MINDY was unbelievable also. WE LOVE YOU JOHN! and thanks for singing GOLD!

By: RK
It was excellent. I have been a Prine fan for more years than I care to remember, and I have seen him live many times, but this was one of his best. The Ryman is such a great place for a show too. There isn't a bad seat in the house. Oh yea, Mindy Smith is hot. She live in Nashville? She married? Come on John, help a fan out!

By: CTM
Awesome

The Orpheum - Memphis, TN - Sept 30, 2005
With guests pat Mclaughlin and support by mindy smith

By: Andrew Pierce

By: Chris Davis
  "I'm a songwriter" 
  John Prine brings Muhlenberg County to The Orpheum. 
  "The dressing rooms are bigger and cleaner, and the money gets better," says John Prine, comparing his life today playing swanky venues like The Orpheum to the never-ending barroom tour of yesteryear. 
  For three decades and change, Prine has explored the dark roots and comic branches of traditional American song craft, producing a masterful body of work that has earned him comparisons to artists such as Bob Dylan and Merle Haggard. His already scratchy voice has gotten huskier with age and rougher since winning a scary fight with a carcinoma located in his neck. The man who put Muhlenberg County on the map coughs occasionally, and it sounds ragged and raw. But when he talks about singing at his family reunion or his latest CD, Fair & Square -- a satisfying lesson in Americana done absolutely right -- he sounds as giddy as a schoolboy, like a man who still has an adolescent crush on his music, his fans, and his life on the open road. 
  "Sometimes a steering wheel is better than a guitar," Prine says wistfully. "Driving is one of the best places to mess around with ideas for songs." The author of such honky-tonk anthems as "Paradise" and "In Spite of Ourselves," Prine has always counted on sudden bursts of inspiration in unlikely places. But these days he has been taking a more businesslike approach to touring and songwriting. The cancer scare brought him closer to his family, especially to his 9- and 10-year-old boys. He wants to be home so he can drive them to school even if it means keeping normal hours and going to bed at 10 o'clock at night. But Prine's efforts to keep bankers' hours are often thwarted by a muse that never learned how to punch a time clock. 
  "When I say I'm going to write a song, I can come up with any excuse in the world to do anything other than write a song," he says, describing his approach as equal parts laziness and patience bound so tightly it's impossible to know where one quality ends and the other begins. 
  "It's a different thing when I sit down with [Memphis songwriter and longtime collaborator] Keith Sykes or some of my buddies in Nashville," Prine says. "It's more likely that I'll actually make the appointment and I'll have some fun and maybe at the end of the day we'll get a song out of it. But I've never had any discipline whatsoever. I just wait on a song like I was waiting for lightning to strike. And eventually -- usually sometime around 3 in the morning -- I'll have a good idea. By the time the sun comes up, hopefully, I'll have a decent song." 
  Now that Prine's a homebody who tours on the weekends and tries to turn in early, 3 a.m. lightning strikes don't mean as much as they used to, and once in a while, though never for very long, he wonders how much water is left in the creative well. 
  "Sometimes, I feel like I've run the sucker dry," he says with a belly laugh. "But then something will come along and prove me wrong. When you go for a while without writing you start to forget how simple and how basic it is. It's easy to dress a simple thing up and make it a tough thing to do." 
  To define simplicity Prine recounts a recent visit to the Country Music Hall of Fame to watch another legendary songwriter and performer, Tom T. Hall, play his farewell concert. Country music's fabled "storyteller" invited Prine on stage to sing "Paradise," a song that Hall recorded in 1976. Prine's reverence for Hall reminded him of the song's humble origins. 
  "I wrote it just to get my father's attention," he says. "Whenever I took out my guitar, Daddy would ask for Hank Williams or Roy Acuff, and I wrote that song just to say, 'Hey, look at me, I'm a songwriter too.'" When the intent is clear and simple, Prine says, people take notice. 
  Prine cut his teeth in Chicago's folk scene before getting soulful with Stax guitarist Steve Cropper and cutting rockabilly tracks under the knowing eyes of Sam and Knox Phillips, and he swears he knew more about writing songs 25 years ago than he does today. At this point in time, he seems surprisingly thankful for the good fortune of never charting a national hit. 
  "When you have a hit, people use that as a watermark," he says. "I think that bogs you down. Everything after that's just not up to par." On the other hand, the expectations of rabid fans can put as much pressure on a touring artist as a recording label. ///// "I've had periods when I felt I'd been carrying some of the older songs for a long time, and I was tired of them," he says. "But after I went through my cancer scare, my voice dropped a little and I couldn't sing my old songs in the place I was so comfortable with. I had to tune the guitar way down and take almost a conversational tone. Some of the old songs became totally brand-new to me. All of a sudden I was saying, 'Wow, that's really good.' Imagine how good it would have been if I used different chords." 
  See entire article here - http://www.memphisflyer.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A10222

By: Brenda Wade, Lee County HR Mgr. Birth Place of "THE KING"
John just keeps getting better w/age.... his voice sounds great. Was glad to see that Pat McL. had been added to band this time around, adding his talent was a good choice. Guess John maded that call ???? Fair & Square is long over due, but well worth the waiting.... Glory of Love, something everyone knows a little about and the song says alot about it...Love that is. Taking a Walk, simple things in life are free...John turn a walk in millions. John, thanks for all time and talent.

Fri June 10 - Manchester, TN - Bonnaroo

Venue: Bonnaroo, Manchester, TN
Date: 6/10/2005

download

John Prine Live at Bonnaroo now available for download (and $$) at Bonnaroo's website here

By: BRET GLADSTONE
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050623/ap_en_mu/music_the_bonnaroo_experience_3 
  Bonnaroo Diary entry for 4:46 p.m. 
  Sidestage within "That Tent," My Morning Jacket frontman Jim James nods deeply along with the signature gravelly monotone of country legend John Prine, seeming to contain within it all the rustic wear, dark humor and heartbreak that courses through the body of his lyrical work. James, and the rest of the fixated tent, sing in unison along with a heartfelt rendition of the Prine classic "Angel from Montgomery" in celebration of the fact that the songsmith still possesses his verve, irreverence, and, thank God, venom. The set also finds Prine dusting off the classic "Your Flag Decal Won't get You into Heaven Anymore" for the first time in 25 years. He dedicates the occasion to Bush, quipping, "It wasn't a formal request, but believe me, he's asking for it." Moments later a crack of lightning splits the gray afternoon sky, ushering in a brief downpour. "Well," Prine says, "I guess we got our answer."

By: Tyler
John Prine is quite simply the best ever. I was 10 feet from Johnny during this performance and it was absolutely amazing. The best I have ever heard Johnny. It was so wonderful. It is right at the top of my best of Bonnaroo list tied for first with Dave Matthews Band. Paradise was so beautiful. I love John Prine.

By: jc 
John makes me cry everytime I listen to him. I really can't say that for any other artist. This is a great show, only sorry I wasn't there to see it in person. Its interesting that they mention Your Flag Decal Wont Get You Into Heaven Anymore, and the fact that its been in "retirement" (not really, as others have stated). But before the song, John says "We'll see what we can do to bring the storm on" at the end of the song you can hear thunder clap, and John says "I guess we got our answer..." pretty cool in my opinion! $12 doesn't buy you much these days...this is worth it!

By: vinceums 
What a treat it was to see John Prine at Bonnaroo this year. Best set of the festival, IMO.

By: Perkins 
After seeing many of the best acts at Bonnaroo, including The Allman Bros, Keller Williams, Saul Williams, and Yonder Mountain String Band, John Prine's performance has stuck out in our minds as the landmark performance. I was constantly questioning whether or not he was as old as he is, because he had the enthusiasm of a 20 year old musician, with the legendary atmospheric qualities of Bob Dylan or Johnny Cash. The crowd was the most interactive of any of the other crowds I was a part of, singing along and cheering so wildly that you would have thought every person attending Bonnaroo was at that very stage. I, being only 17, was standing next to a group of men in their 50s. We kept looking at each other and going "Can you believe this?". Neither of us could. He was electrifying, and in my opinion stole the festival.

By: Protondecay123
So hard to put into words my feelings for this incredible performance. Lake Marie put a lump in my throat and Paradise made my eyes well up with tears. Simply Outstanding!

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