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UPDATED 06/25/02

ARIZONA SHOWS

• UNION HALL, PHOENIX, AZ 3/10/00

FROM:Randy
Wow!!!...what a show!!!...Iris opened for him and was very good although it was clear who the crowd came to see....she played about 8 songs or so and everyone applauded enthusiastically, knowing what was to come next...then John came out and the place erupted!!!

Whew!!!....I'm drained, happy, a little hung and hungry for more...in between songs everyone would yell out songs (Blue Umbrella, Mexican Home, etc.) as usual...the crowd was great and John never sounded better...I can't wait to see him again...great venue, by the way...an old high school auditorium about 2,000 capacity....that's it for now...take it easy and hopefully we'll meet up sometime soon...

• KIVA HALL, ALBUQUERQUE  3/11/00

FROM: Lisa
  Oh Boy! I can't even begin to tell y'all what a thrill it was for me to see John Prine perform live in Albuquerque this weekend. I've been listening to his music for only about five months now. So many times, when you listen to studio work and then go to a concert, the performance isn't always as well polished. I can't say this was the case here, as this was one of the best concerts I've been to. JP was in prime form, and his voice strong from the first song to the last. The instrumentation was very impressive, and this whole experience just blew me away. You could tell that he had the audience in his hands with his stories and songs. Iris Dement, such a little thang, is a lady with a big, big voice. Her dry witted comments between songs, kept the audience in stitches, and she, like Prine had the audience entranced. I was thrilled to see her open for Prine and join him in quite a few songs. It was a kick to see those two up there singing "In Spite of Ourselves" and yet manage to keep a straight face while singing those funny lyrics.
  And to complete my trip, I had the pleasure of meeting Ruth Ann...BabyRuth. what a nice and fun lady she is. She had some interesting stories to tell of her Prine gatherings...naming names, BTW. :o) While she shared photos of the Maywood gathering, I in turn, showed her photos of an Arlo gathering in the Berks. I wanted her to see some of the folks, particularly those living up in WI and IL, as I know some of y'all will have the chance to meet them at a Prine concert in time. They are about as pysched as I am about JP. Ruth Ann, also, saw to it, that we had the opportunity to meet the MAN in person, along with Iris and the others! I know that JP had to be tired, yet, he was very charming and took the time to visit a bit, allowed photos, and signed our CD's. How cool is that?
  Also my friend, that came along, is now hooked on Prine. I loaned her my anthology CD's so she would be familiar with his music before the concert. Believe me, she was impressed as well. When Prine closed with Paradise, she couldn't stop talking about his music, lyrics and humor.
  One thing that Ruth Ann noted was that in her part of the woods, when the first three chords of a song would begin, the audience would go wild. They were more sedate in NM, or maybe not as well versed in his songs, but....there were many folks singing right along with him, laughing at the lyrics that were humorous.

FROM: Pete M
 I just saw John and iris last Saturday night 3/11/00 at the Kiva Auditorium in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He definitely lived up to my expectations. I'm really glad to see that he has gotten over his round with cancer. 
  My comment involves the guitar that he was playing. I looked at your guitar references and sure enough he played a Gibson J-200 but only for a few songs. The rest of the time he played what appeared to be a Martin D-28 12-string.

"YEAH LITTLE BUDDY GONNA GET YOUR CHANCE -
MAKE THE PUBESCENTS ALL WET THEIR PANTS"