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Ontario
Ottawa Folk Festival, Ottawa Civic Centre, Ottawa, Canada
Aug 25, 2001
Prine headlines first ever sold-out show 5,000 pack Britannia Park to hear veteran's string of hits
By: Jean Levac, The Ottawa Citizen
John Prine's customary between-song banter was kept to a minimum -- he was too busy playing a fanfare of hits from his 30-year career.
At eight o'clock last night, Ottawa Folk Festival executive director Gene Swimmer was looking at a beautiful sight. From his vantage point at the front of the main stage, he watched the setting sun cast its orange fire across the horizon.
Between Swimmer and the horizon was another sight, equally kind to his eyes. A crowd, some 5,000-strong, packed the Britannia Park grounds, ensuring that, no matter what today's weather brings, this year's festival will be the most successful yet.
The crowd had come to see John Prine, far and away the festival's largest draw ever. And Prine, backed by double-bassist David Jacques (pronounced Jakes) and guitarist-mandolinist Jason Wilber, didn't leave a soul disappointed.
Mind you, let's face it, Prine could trip over a guitar, play an open G-chord, and his fans would love the show.
What Prine offered last night, however, was a seemingly endless string of his hits, from a career that has stretched back close to 30 years.
He opened his two-hour show with Spanish Pipedream, to the hoots and calls of appreciation from the adoring audience, and drifted on to such tunes as Spend The Night With Me, Fish And Whistle, Grandpa Was A Carpenter and Storm Windows.
The band's sound was as full as you're likely to find from a trio, with Jacques' bass deep and rich and Wilber's guitar often augmented by a sweet slide.
Prine's customary between-song chat was kept to a minimum for the most of the night, save for on a few songs, leaving Prine to cram about two dozen songs into the show. Before Souvenirs, though, he mentioned his early visits to Ottawa ("about 150 years ago," he said), when he played Le Hibou with Steve Goodman.
And as Prine worked through All The Best and Angel From Montgomery (that's three syllables in Montgomery, by the way), the audience carried a reverential hush throughout much of the show, some quietly singing along and most saving their hollers for between songs and during opening chords.
Perhaps that wasn't too surprising, though, as most of Prine's audience had made their connection to the 54-year old musician years ago, and were, for the most part, content just to sit back and listen.
Husky-voiced and dressed all in black, and with a head of hair that looked like something electrified, Prine's bandmates left after nine songs, leaving Prine with an eight-song solo set -- including You Got Gold, That's The Way That The World Goes 'Round, Dear Abby, Sam Stone, Donald and Lydia and In Spite Of Myself, before returning to finish the show.
Earlier in the evening, Stephen Fearing delighted the growing crowd with a six-song set that did nothing to alter his reputation as one of Canada's finest guitarists.
The Toronto native, tall, gaunt and wearing a black suit over top of a bright, red shirt led off his 35-minute show with I Hear Riding Now, and later showed a lighter side, playing a two-song medley consisting of The Lark and Robert's Waterloo. He ended the former, better known as the theme to The Friendly Giant children's TV show, playing the melody solely on harmonics. His set finished with the beautiful lullaby, When My Baby Calls My Name, and The Finest Kind.
But the crowd didn't let Prine off that easy -- they demanded an encore and he didn't disappoint, treating them to four more songs, including Paradise, which he performed as a duet with Jessi Winchester.
While last night's show was completely sold out, there are still day passes available today.
By: Jon
John's performance at the Ottawa Folk festival was incredible, as we all expected.
Highlights for me were Spanish Pipe Dream, Illegal Smile, and Christmas is Prison, and 6 O'clock News.
The band did a great job as always, and I loved the standup bass (though the technology didn't do it justice in Spanish Pipedream).
Only complaint was somewhat unimportant but I guess I'll mention it since it's sort of funny in a way. During six o'clock news some people liked to hoot and holler after the line "Come on baby, spend the night with me". Please, next time don't do that. I can't think of anything worse to do after "The whole town saw Jimmy on the six o'clock news, his brains were on the sidewalk and blood was on his shoes". That's not important at all, just a little funny.
Seriously though, John's ability to intrigue and engage the audience was again eminent Saturday night, and I think everyone went away happy. Thanks for a great show John, it was worth waiting in the blistering heat for 12 hours in a Lo-Chair.
By: Greg Purdy
From the Sold Out signs driving into the Festival, to the field over half covered in blankets and lawn chairs (at 1:00 in the afternoon) you knew something special was to take place. I have never sensed such a buzz about an artist about to perform except maybe upon entering the Ottawa Civic Centre for Springsteen's River tour years ago. In the food lines, in the beer lines, it was all John talk. What will he play, how long, will people sing too loud along with him? Tons of interesting chatter all over the Park but it all boiled down to one thing, an incredible excitement over the headliner, Mr. Prine. I was sharing this anticipation and counted down the hours. I should mention that there was a lot of great music throughout the day which made the waiting easier and the weather was great especially since Brittania Park is such a beautiful setting on the Ottawa River. Finally the time came and we managed to get back to our seats, beers in hands, ready for the Show. And boy did he deliver. I was at the Landmine show which was just a teaser. But this time he played close to a couple of hours. The set list was very similar to the Montreal show I think which included something for everyone. Highlights were many but I really enjoyed In Spite of Ourselves and how he made it very clear to the audience when he was about to sing the female part. His voice did weaken a bit as time went on but that seemed to just add to the charm of this great guy. This being the last concert I'll probably see this summer, could there be a better way to move into the fall. Thanks to John and whoever helped make it possible for him to have been here.
By: Kevin
I had never seen John Prine before in concert but I've listened to and loved his music for years now. All I can say is that the man is an excellent songwriter and his stage presence takes you over. The ideas and word play and humour in his 2 and a half hour set left everyone wanting another 3 song encore. No one wanted him to leave. A friend of mine did the lighting for both his previous shows in Ottawa (1972 and 1981) and he commented that even though his voice creaks and cracks a little more with age he can still steal a festival and leave everyone talking about it. His band consisted of a bass player, guitarist and a drummer, all are excellent musicians. His electric rendition of "Lake Marie" had a smooth powerful punch on top of the melancholy. See this man live, you will not be disappointed! Let's all learn to talk dirty in Hawaiian.
By: Tom Sullivan
Saw John the night before in Montreal and it was quite simply awesome. Jakes bass solo in Hello In There was magic.
Ottawa was special though because I was able to hold my wife, under the stars on a beautiful evening and listen to (and sing quietly with) JOHN PRINE.
Thanks for that memory John,
By: Zita B
- Well its Tuesday morning and its my first day back to work after being in "Paradise" on Saturday night
 - I tell you I just don't know what to say about it all, I still can't wipe this stupid grin off my face!
- It was simply the best concert ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! all the newspaper reviews can go on and tell you the names of all the songs he sang, about the biggest crowd ever, the festival being sold out for the first time - but they can never truly describe the magic of it all!!
- John and the boys were in their Prime, and I don't know how it could have been better! - I thought maybe since he had just played his first two nights straight since his accident, his arm might bother him, but if it did we surely did not see any sign of it - Especially when he did "Sins of Memphisto" he was just rockin!
 - And when he sang his new song "The Other Side of Town" the crowd just went crazy, and I can personally say that if this is any indication of what the rest of the album will be like, all I can say is WOWWWW!!
- Even though I could not get backstage myself to give John his framed souvenir, I was in no way disappointed - Security gave it to him before he left the stage, so I am sorry Reeda but I don't have any pictures for you to put on the website, but if you want you can go ahead and use either a copy of what I gave John (file is 30yearsJP), or the poster I had at the concert( file is Thanks John)
- So I guess now all I have to do is start saving my pennies so that I can buy his new album as soon as it comes out
- Well I better get to work now, so take care Reeda and I will be watching for when John's next concert comes to my area
By: Steve R. in Ontario (Barishnikov)
I'm writing this review 6 days after the concert and I'm still coming down. I'm back at work but really I'm on 'The Other Side of Town'. What a delightful, magical event. Everything from the other entertainers, fellow Prinesters everywhere, perfect seat, great weather, sell-out crowd, but especially the performance by my favourite musician & his crackerjack band. Flawless, great set list, some humour (the delay of the Billy Bob Thornton movie), beers at your seat, etc. Absence of a drummer wasn't noticeable. After being a huge Prine fan for 24 years I was starting to wonder if I'd ever get to see him live. Now I have and my life is complete. Please come back, John.
By: Carol
I have seen John in concert over many many years from the days of Mariposa to Ontario Place with the revolving stage and soft lights, magical evenings and John Prine to the present day concert in Ottawa. What a magical weekend. I was determined to be in the front row but never quite made it however I managed to get pretty close. I was spellbound by his wonderful performance, and I never wanted to leave. I have met him several times and always he has time to chat. I played his music all the way to the concert on my 5 1/2 hour drive and then home again. I know most of the words but when John sings them, the feelings he can incite are truly magic passion.
By: EJ
Before writing my review I read other reviews of the concert to see how a review should be written. I quickly found out that I saw the concert differently than most. When the concert started, for me at least, I was living a dream that I had for many years, seeing John Prine in concert. I have all his recordings, and many concerts on video. None of this prepared me for him in person. John hit the stage around nine twenty, just about sunset, and there was a hint of sun left in the sky, bright orange, but low in the west. The temperature had dropped to a comfortable level and the sky was full of stars. I was about seventy five feet away and had a great view of the stage. It was a dream crowd. John already owned them before he came out. The first lines out of his mouth were "She was a level headed dancer on the road to alcohol" and I was immediately impressed with the sound quality. It was as if he was sitting in your living room playing his guitar. It was obvious that one of John's favorite places to be is on stage. I think that is why he stands out as one of the most enjoyable people to see in concert. I know the set list but it is in other reviews. It is enough to know that he sang all his most popular songs, and many other songs to satisfy his hard core fans. I could use alot of adjectives like, magical, unforgettable, terrific, or amazing, to describe how I felt about my first John Prine concert, but I think this sums it up best. When I'm an old man sitting in my rocking chair staring aimlessly out the window and my wife of many years says "penny for your thoughts", I'll look her straight in the eye and say "I was just thinking about the first time I saw you". The truth will be that I was thinking of how John sang Six O'clock News, My personal favorite.
All smiles at folk fest John Prine played to a sold-out Ottawa crowd last night
Legendary songwriter draws cheers, laughs
By IAN NATHANSON -- Ottawa Sun
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 JOHN PRINE * Britannia Park, Ottawa * Saturday, August 25, 2001
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When John Prine let off his big ol' goofy smile at the Ottawa Folk Festival last night, festival organizers had reason to smile with him. In a first for the eight-year-old festival at Britannia Park, the the 54-year-old legendary American singer-songwriter attracted a sold-out crowd, more than 5,000 people who were more than ecstatic to witness prime Prine.
The hoots, hollers and cheers that greeted Prine in his last Ottawa appearance as part of December's Concert For a Landmine Free World were genuine enough that a return engagement wasn't just warranted. It was necessary.
Let's face it, Prine's cleverly-penned observations tied in with a knack for catchy singalongs does have its, dare I say, fanatics.
Hence, security precautions were beefed up in case said fanatics might lose all track of reality when the opening strains of Sam Stone, Grandpa Was A Carpenter or Souvenirs were heard as far back as the Ottawa Folklore Centre tent.
CATCHY CHORUS
Opening up with 1971's Spanish Pipedream (with its catchy chorus, "Blow up your TV/throw away your papers/go to the country/build yourself a home"), that gruff yet familiar midwestern twang rang loud and clear. Crisp country touches courtesy of accompanists Jason Wilber on guitar and mandolin and Dave Jacques (pronounced "Jakes") elevated to new heights the likes of Fish and Whistle and "Angel of Montgomery" (the latter he dedicated to Bonnie Raitt).
The flash of Prine's 30-year career came not with the suits the trio wore, nor necessarily the bluesier group workouts on In Spite of Ourselves and new number The Other Side of Town, but it was the campfire-singalong nature of Prine's wit-filled material -- really, who couldn't resist a little laugh in hearing Prine's idea of Dear Abby, Let's Talk Dirty In Hawaiian, Hello In There and Donald and Lydia?
HARMONIZE
Each delivered solo and, in the case of Illegal Smile, had a little audience participation to boot.
As if getting through close to two hours without this neck-cancer survivor's voice going awry, Prine had the honour to bring one of his idols, Jesse Winchester, to help him harmonizing on closing number Paradise.
A class act that gave everyone reason to smile, 'illegal' or otherwise. |
