JOHN PRINE FLORIDA 2005 CONCERT REVIEWS

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SURPRISE PERFORMANCE:  Ka'Tiki Bar, Gulfport, FL
Thursday December 30, 2005

By: http://www.sptimes.com/2005/12/31/Artsandentertainment/A_surprise_performance.shtml
  Every Thursday, Ka'Tiki, a Sunset Beach bar, features its Florida Folk Open Mike Night, when musicians get up and play. But this week's show featured a big surprise when new Gulfport resident and Grammy winner John Prine performed for a standing-room-only audience of 300.
  Prine was there to see his longtime friend, Tom Gribben, play with his old band, the Saltwater Cowboys. About halfway through his set, Gribben invited Prine to the stage. Prine, who won a Grammy in 1991 for his album The Missing Years, is nominated for a Grammy this year for Fair and Square.
  Prine, who recently headlined at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater, played Paradise and Please Don't Bury Me with the Cowboys. Then he returned to his table, signed autographs and posed for pictures.

Pompano Beach Amphitheater, Pompano Beach, FL
17 DecEMBER 17. 2005

By: Bill Griffiths, Melbourne, FL
Although I am 54 years old, and have only known about John Prine for about 5 months, I found myself with several hundred new friends who got together to visit with a person who by now, felt like an old friend, John Prine. I have several of his CDs. The lead off artist, RB Morris, was excellent. I thought that his performance was too short. I am a new fan. John Prine is better in person!! The concert was awesome! The venue was beautiful, it did not matter where you sat you were sitting down with John. Of course, most of his material came from the "Fair & Square" CD. He also did some rock, blues, folk. My favorite part was when his band members left the stage. I thought the two very accomplished musicians with John were some of the best I have ever heard. But then it was just John and his fans. I new I was in the right place when I realized that I was not the only one singing along with John. Everyone was family for one night, united by one man, John Prine. My only regrets were that he did not do some of my favorite songs, but I got over that real quick. The other was that when John played his electric guitar, and his guitarist played, it went from music to just loud. I drove 3 hours for this possibly once in a life time meeting with John Prine. I was car sick coming and going. I would not do it all again for anyone but John Prine.

Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater, FL
Date: December 15, 2005

By: Brad Fitzgerald brad@andro-tech.net

By: Alan Boyd
This was our fourth John Prine concert and just like the others before it, this one was a first-class ride from start to finish. John opened with a great rendition of Spanish Pipedream. His voice was in fine form, and of course, Dave and Jason provided their usual flawless accompaniment. John performed without a break for 2 hours and 15 minutes and once again showed us all why we love seeing him perform - he obviously enjoys what he does so much that the audience can't help but fall in love with him, his words, his band. We have never been disappointed and this concert was no exception. He mixed lots of old favorites with many of the new songs from Fair and Square, and had the audience eating out of the palm of his hand. A wonderful show that we were sorry to see end. We could have sat there for another two hours.

By: LOUIS HAU, Times Staff Writer
  Prine offers humble packaging, great performance....Whatever the theme, Prine invests his compositions with a keen sense of humanity, always attuned to the little foibles that make us who we are
  Prine's gifts were on beautiful display Thursday night. ..... read the entire review here: http://www.sptimes.com/2005/12/16/Artsandentertainment/Prine_offers_humble_p.shtml

By: TOM ZUCCO, Times Staff Writer

PREVIEW: Prine is back, 'Fair & Square' He hasn't been gone, he has just been busy. And though the voice on his new album may sound different, the sentiments don't... He stashed the song away, like a pair of old jeans that no longer fit, and moved on to more important things... When John Prine wrote Your Flag Decal Won't Get You Into Heaven Anymore in the late 1960s, the Vietnam War was at its peak. Prine, who had served in the Army, was back home in Maywood, Ill., delivering mail to pay the bills, writing songs to ease his soul...... Full article here: http://www.sptimes.com/2005/12/15/Weekend/Prine_is_back___Fair_.shtml

The Florida Theater, Jacksonville. FL
December  14, 2005

By: Wesley Hesters
John's show at the Florida Theater in Jacksonville, FL, last night was performed before a packed house full of fans that obviously loved John & his music. RB Morris opened for John, and he was quite good. A memorable song that he did was Ridin' with O'Hanlon. The stage was decorated with poinsettias, and the show had a definite "Christmas" flair about it. John did Christmas in Prison, I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus, and at least one or two other songs, the titles of which I can't recall, that had a Christmas or "wintery" theme or content. We heard Speed of the Sound of Loneliness and moving renditions of Angel from Montgomery and Sam Stone, along with a great mix of other "classics" and tunes from Fair and Square. The event ended about 11:30 and made for a late night/early morning seemingly long 2.5 hour drive back home, but I couldn't and wouldn't have missed it for the world with "The Man" just 135 miles away. It was "paradise waiting".

By: Luke Baker, Mount Dora, FL
The December 14th concert in Jacksonville was as good a Prine show as I've ever seen. The arrangement was absolutely superb: the perfect blend of old classics/new songs, acoustical/electric, somber melodies/kick-ass rock n' roll. JP's ability to connect with his fans is unparalleled; no matter how many times you see him play "Sam Stone," he takes you to a new place every time. His band mates were phenomenal, too. I marveled at the precision with which Jason Wilber played his electric guitar. All and all, a killer show. You'll regret it if you miss this tour!

By: Nathan Smith
(Thanks to my lovely wife, Sharon, for one of the best Christmas presents ever!!!) Although I've been a JP fan for many years, this was the first time I was able to see him live, due mainly to the fact that I've been a working musician (I'm playing when he's playing), and south GA ain't exactly a mecca for concerts. My son, Josh, & I had balcony seats, but the sound was still crisp and punchy for R B Morris who opened (solo w/ acoustic guitar) and he had some pretty good material, but that's another review. I had hoped JP would have a full band, but it was Jason Wilber (electric guitar, mandolin, vocals) and Dave Jacques (upright and electric bass, vocals) who joined him. Turns out, that was not a disappointment. John and crew opened with "Spanish Pipedream" and "...Flag Decal...", but the upright bass was feeding back, so there was a lot of low end hum and booming. Johns vocal mic was muddy as well, but after that, the sound engineers got it straightened out. Throughout the evening, Jason Wilber wowed the crowd with his extremely tasteful guitar solos and rich, clean tone. In addition to playing "regular" guitar, his use of string bends to emulate a steel guitar and slide work had the crowd applauding after many of his solos. Although this tour is to support John's latest release, "Fair and Square" (which I sneaked downstairs to buy from the merchandise table), most of the show had JP pulling the cream from his past recordings. In the middle of the show, Jason and Dave took a break and JP did a whole slew of goodies solo. By then, his voice was good and warmed up and sounded as fresh as his first album. I leaned over to my son and said "this is what Kris Kristofferson heard in Old Town that night" (referring to the liner notes of John's first album). A highlight of that section of the show was a slowed down, introspective version of "Angel from Montgomery" that literally had me wiping tears from my face. We had a long ride back to Statesboro, GA from Jacksonville, FL, so we split after he'd been called back for an encore (last thing I heard him do was "Christmas in Prison"). Because of John Prine's "cult" following, the show seemed a bit like going to see a Rocky Horror "picture show" (pun intended). One couldn't help but laugh at the biting, ascerbic wit of his tunes even though everyone knew what was coming. Even though he was previously familiar with JP to a degree, my son, a writer and huge Bob Dylan fan, walked away with an increased respect for John Prine. I just loved it.

By: billythebum
Well, this was on the day before my 32nd anniversary, but we treated it like the day of. What could be more wonderful than a night of ribs and Prine. I have to say this was the best Prine concert I have been to. Well the best concert I have been to. He was amazing. John is just a few years older than me and it amazes me how he can stand out there, sing, and perform for over 2 hours. He did all the songs he usually does and added a few more. The encore started out with Christmas In Prison. He then started a long guitar intro that I could not quite figure out what it was and then hit a note on the guitar and started singing I saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus which was his first release on Oh Boy. He then did Sweet Revenge followed by Paradise.

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