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FLASHBACK BLUES
WINDOW SHOPPING THROUGH THE PAST
The Prine Shrine Archived pages
(you never know what you might find here)
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Oregon
The Britt Festival, Jacksonville, Oregon
September 9, 2001
By: Sylvie
John Prine has a magical charisma and he takes my breath away. Being a long-time fans from the very beginning, it never occurred to me that I would be able to see him in concert. When we saw him for the very first time at the Britt Festival in 1999, we thought we'd be the only people there. How naive! The place was absolutely packed with 50ish folks who knew every word to every song. This year we bought our tickets 4 months early ! The experience was identical--a hush falls over the entire audience as though in church. People can be seen in silhouette, slightly swaying side to side in time to the music, the full moon is rising behind the
amphitheater, and I think I've died and gone to heaven. Though he is hoarse (and that worries me very much), he did begin to smile about 30 minutes into the show. This was in contrast to the 1999 concert where he entered smiling and seemed a little less tired. I need for him to go on and on and on! Todd Snider was very impressive and I will check out his CDs. He has a great persona on stage and was a perfect compliment to John. The is time John sang "Illegal Smile" as an encore, as the entire audience stood and sang with him. Marvelous!
By: Another quiet man
It's the morning after John's show last night at the Britt. I'll be 51 in 3 days & I first heard John's music when I was 21.Last
night I was 21 again & feeling like a kid. John's voice was rough on the first song (he coughed a
bit) he remarked that they'd been at the Portland Zoo last and he'd gotten "a frog in his
throat". But with each song his voice just got better. He was in rare form last
night & having fun. I envy those yet to see him.
I first saw John in '72.He came out onstage where two bar stools sat, carrying his guitar & a
six-pack. He told some great stories, sung some even greater songs & drank some
beer. His music was rich & young. Jason & Dave added that quality to his music last
night. Together they made John's music soar & hold you completely. Todd
Snider is a great compliment to John's music, he seems cut from the same larger cloth, both with his stories & music.
And although I had gotten John's autograph before (others carried items to him to sign) I had never met him, had never thanked
him, until last night. He is a kind spirit, a man among men; a quiet man and we are all the better for both his music & his
humor. Thanks John
Oregon Zoo, Portland OR
August 31, 2001
By: cinnamonangell
hey !!! its true that he's getting better each time !!! I haven't missed a
Portland show since the mid 70s and I am amazed at his endurance and livelihood onstage---like this was his first performance of the same songs we've all loved for 30 years. This location was not at all
good, tho, as my family were all thinking we had PRIMO seats without knowing just in front of us was the "dance area", so we waited for 5 hours...literally, to THINK we were gonna be in the front row only to be flooded with a sea of BUTTS in front of our eyes. had to stand the entire time to see OUR BOY. sigh. BUT, I can only think of maybe 2 songs out of a set of SO MANY that he
didn't do...all the old favorites....very impressive considering he has GOT to be tired. his band guys are the best. cant wait for next time to
Portland. nobody loves Prine more than me !!!!!! SHIRLEY !!!!!
By: Catherine H.
I was in high school when I first heard John Prine (records, that is!) from some "older"--in their twenties-- cool folks who lived nearby. I learned to play the guitar by playing "Paradise" over and over. So, I thought it would be cool to take my 8 year old daughter to go see John in person after all these years.
The cool thing is that at the zoo you stand so close to the stage--people seemed generally well behaved and most knew all the words to every song. I got the feeling he liked the Portland crowd. (Especially the guy who yelled out "just play everything you've ever written!!!")
The songs really put you in a positive mind set--even inspired me to go visit some older folks who live nearby (you know which song did that!)
Folks yelled "please don't bury me!" as a request until John responded with, "we won't". He broke a guitar string but kept on during one song which eludes me now. Made everyone happy with an encore of Paradise and Please
Don't Bury Me.
The couple in the front who kept motioning incessantly in order to have the guitar picks tossed to them were a bit annoying! An inspiring concert with a group of very devoted and dedicated fans!By:
Kurt Lucas lifesgroovy
Rather than complain about the set-up of the zoo, let me just give a review of what I thought of the concert. I'll start off by letting you know that I have seen John perform at least 8 or more times. I started seeing him in Southern California and now that I live in Oregon, I've been to his last 3 concert's in the Portland area.
Last night, John's performance was great, as always. His band was stripped down to just John Prine, Jason
Wilber, and David Jacques. John's voice was a little rough, but he still sounded great. He went from one song to
another with ease, but he seemed a little tired or perhaps worn out. Jason and David really kept things together. Their music was wonderful, and blended with John perfectly! Something I've come to expect after seeing those two with John the last 3 times I've seen him now. Does anyone know what happened to Phil "Mr. Squeeze" Parlapiano? Is he vacationing, or did he leave the band?
It was 4 or 5 songs into the set that I finally saw John crack a smile. This was strange to me, as John is usually right there having as much fun with the show as his audience. John looked like he wasn't feeling good last night. I Sure hope he is doing ok. Towards the end, John seemed to have loosened up a bit and seemed to be having alot more fun. Todd Snider, who opened for John, joined him on the last song. John was kind to let him share the spotlight.
After the show, was also a real highlight for me. A friend of mine was playing banjo with a bluegrass band at a club in Portland, called, The Bitter End. We went to see him play. It turned out that his companion is friends with Jason and David and she brought them to the club to see him play. I was introduced to them, but decided to let them enjoy their time, so I didn't ask them any questions about John. I sure wish John would have come with them. I hope he stays well and gives us many more years of his wonderful music and songs!
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