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UPDATED 06/25/02

ENGLAND SHOWS

CAMBRIDGE CORN EXCHANGE - MANCHESTER 10/28/00

• FROM: John Burke, Leicester, UK
  A CLASS ACT
  I have been a major JP fan for the past 12 years. My wife (a minor JP fan) and I went to see John’s show in Cambridge. We got to Cambridge early in the afternoon and after spending ages finding a parking spot, we retired to the nearest pub for refreshments. Just as we were finishing our drinks, I spotted a familiar figure perusing the food menu on the pavement outside. A few moments later, John himself arrived in, on his own, and proceeded to occupy the table right next to us, ready to order his food . You can imagine my delight and surprise. After checking that I wasn’t dreaming, we went over and introduced ourselves and had a short but pleasant chat. As expected he received our intrusion in a warm and welcoming manner. I was able to point out that we have something important in common as my wife also comes from Co. Donegal like Fiona (John’s wife).
     I had the privilege of meeting John one time previously in 1994. A friend of mine, who lived in Galway, repeatedly told me of seeing John regularly playing impromptu gigs around some of the pubs in Galway. I insisted that he get in touch with me immediately the next time he saw John in such circumstances. Some time later I happened to be temporarily domiciled in Galway and late one Monday afternoon I (encore) received a phone call from my friend telling me that John was down in “Rabbitte’s Bar” and if I wanted to meet him I had better hurry on down. Not knowing if this was a massive ‘wind up’ I decided not to drop everything and run, but to play it cool. Anyway after a reasonable interval I casually strolled into the bar, not knowing what to expect, only to see my friend, John and a friend of his, together up at the bar. My friend immediately rushed over to me frantically saying ‘What kept you, he has been ready to leave for ages, and I have been trying everything to keep him here until you arrived’. Despite this John remained on for about half an hour talking happily about his recent involvement with Nanci Griffith’s album and other current projects.
  On to the gig.
     Part of the occasion for me is arriving early and checking out the audience. Such a varied mix of people cannot be imagined. All ages and all walks of life are equally represented. Invariably they are all true-blue fans and the level of audience support and appreciation is formidable. An unexpected bonus was the performance of Todd Snider who won over the audience with his easy manner and punchy delivery of his songs. I had never heard of him before but he proved himself a natural performer who seems destined to make a big name for himself in due course.
  Then on to the main business.
     Well supported by the tastefully restrained playing (apart from when they really cut loose on the rockier numbers such as Bear Creek Blues and Lake Marie) of his two regular sidemen Jason Wilber and David Jacques. It was great to hear a set comprising almost exclusively the older classic songs, featuring hitherto neglected gems like ‘Far from Me’, and almost the entirety of his truly incredible debut album.
     His voice was a bit croaky at times and let him down once or twice, but being the professional that he is, he quickly redeemed the situation and quipped during the instrumental break ‘ that bit there wasn't on the record’. His voice improved as the evening wore on. About a third of the way through he played solo for several songs including doing both parts of the duet on “In Spite of Ourselves”. The band returned during Sam Stone.
     As usual he introduced many of the songs with his trademark anecdotes many of which we had heard before but still got a great response. He gave a particularly witty put down of the American presidential candidates while introducing “Grandpa was a Carpenter”. The audience soon got into the mood and regularly shouted for requests. The most popular was for Illegal Smile which got a lot of audience participation.
  He called out Todd Snider (who sung a verse) and Andreas (CD and t-shirt salesman) to help out on “Paradise”.
    He played altogether about 2 hours 15 minutes (20-35 hrs. to 22-50 hrs.).

  Set List 1. Spanish Pipedream 2. 6 o’clock news 3. Souvenirs 4. Fish & Whistle 5. Storm Windows 6. Grandpa was a Carpenter 7. Far from me 8. All the best 9. Angel from Montgomery 10. Gold 11. That’s the way the World Goes Round 12. Donald & Lydia 13. Let’s talk dirty in Hawaiian

  14. Jesus the missing years 15. In Spite of Ourselves 16. One Red Rose 17. Sam Stone (band returns) 18. Bear Creek Blues 19. Ain’t Hurting Nobody 20. Sins of Memphisto 21. The late John Garfield Blues 22. Blue Umbrella 23. Hello in There 24. Lake Marie 25. Illegal Smile (encore) 26. Speed of the sound of Loneliness 27. Paradise (including Todd Snider & Andreas)

• FROM: Dave and Frances Owen (Sheffield, England)
  Thanks John for a superb evening - two hours of magic entertainment. Note: For those who have not yet heard him, Todd Snider is well worth a listen.

• FROM: Jim and Pauline Moran, Liverpool England
  John Prine was fantastic and so were the band and support act. We've seen John Cash Waylon and Willie, Chris Buck Owens and a host of others but this was the best ever! 

• FROM: Jamie Occomore, Sutton, Surrey, England.
  We have just returned to our house in Surrey after picking up the kids from my mum and dad's. They spent the night to allow my wife and I to see one of the best concerts it has been our privilege to witness. JP was in good humour and on top form, whether singing (and laughing), Lets talk dirty in Hawaiian, or breaking our hearts with Far from me. Todd Snider was a name I hadn't heard, but on the evidence of his set last night, he can look forward to a long career on the long road of talented singer songwriters. He seemed to enjoy himself when he was asked to join JP and the boys for the encore Paradise. One of the many highlights of the show was JP singing both his and Iris Dements parts of In spite of ourselves. To hear JP sing "I caught him once and he was sniffing my undies"was worth the cost of the tickets alone. As I write this I am listening to the new Souvenirs album. To those who have not bought it yet, I can heartily recommend it. To hear these classic songs re-recorded by JP at this stage of his life, is like seeing an old friend that you have not seen for twenty years, to find that they look exactly the same as when you first saw them. However, as you look closer you can see the evidence of a lifetime of experience and emotions etched on their face, mirroring the imprint of life on their soul. The songs are as relevant today as they were "wayback when", and sound fantastic. Thanks to JP and the boys for a wonderful evening, hope you'll be back soon. By the way, my wife saw Bill Wyman and friends on the balcony enjoying the show. When JP sang Jesus the Missing Years, he had a big grin on his face when he chuckled the line about Jesus recording with the Stones. 

JOHN PRINE IN SPITE OF OURSELVES
CONCERT TOUR 2000

ROYAL FESTIVAL HALL, LONDON - 1/15/2000

• FROM: Lawrence and Felicity
  We saw them for first time also last night and thought they were terrific. She's got a brilliant voice and he's a really funny guy with a great band. Shame about the sub-zero air conditioning top at the back. But anyway we're not hardcore country fans going mostly for Dwight and Nanci G but Prine rocked.
• FROM: Billy and Lorraine
  We went to see john and iris for the first time last night and we were very impressed with the show, iris's voice brought tears too our eyes. Are there any plans for any future shows in the U.K.? thanks for a terrific evening.
• From: Steve Perry, Chelmsford, Essex, UK
  For all of you over there in the States, this a complete set list from The Royal Festival Hall, London, last Saturday Night:

I haven't come down from the experience yet. This was only the fourth time I've seen John Prine live, the first being at London's Regents Park Open Air Theatre in summer 1976 with Steve Goodman. By sheer chance my wife Suzanne and I, walking from the car park found ourselves at the rear of The Royal Festival Hall at about 4.30pm Saturday Night.   There were six or seven people hanging around, who were obviously waiting for John to arrive. We were told that his driver had just gone off to collect him and they would be back about 5.00pm. So we stood there chatting and about half an hour later this People Carrier pulled up, (about 10 feet from where we were standing). John was on his own sitting in the passenger seat next to the driver. He jumped out, and stood there waiting for us, as we approached him for autographs, pictures etc. I couldn't believe what as happening, I've been listening to this man since 1971, and there he was right in front of me. He was incredibly polite, spoke to everybody in turn, posed for photographs and disappeared through the Stage Door.   After this the rest of the evening passed in some sort of haze, but it was a great concert and John's voice appeared to get stronger with every song. Iris was also absolutely stunning, especially during "Easy's gettin' harder", the Festival Hall was completely sold out and the audience appeared to be totally knocked out with every thing they heard. 
Apologies if I'm rambling a little, but it's not every day one gets to meet John Prine.

• FROM: Colin Thursby
  Last night's show was sold right out and, at first, Iris seemed a little   unnerved at finding herself in front of a packed house of some 2,500.  Having guessed that she was singing to many of them for the first time, she> did little to explain her material to those unfamiliar with it. She made  passing reference to her recent reliance on self-help books. For those interested in these things, I guess I should mention that Iris was wearing a very plain knee-length skirt with a sleeveless top. The colour looked like beige or powder blue - it was hard to tell in the stage lighting. Iris opened with: Sweet Is The Melody, These Hills and Let The Mystery Be.   Moving to the piano, she then sang Walking Home Tonight, Living On The   Inside and When My Morning Comes Around. Switching back to acoustic guitar, she continued with The Way I Should, Easy's Getting Harder Every Day and Mama's Opry. She then left the stage, but returned to sing Our Town. As she did so, she quipped "John's still working on his hair, anyway".
     For much of his set, John was accompanied by his regular sideman playing electric, slide and lap steel guitars, mandolin and harmonica, plus a pony-tailed Nashville sessioneer on upright and electric bass. After Sam Stone, John introduced his current duets album and called Iris back on  stage to a very enthusiastic reception. This section of the concert included We're Not The Jet Set, Let's Invite Them Over Again, When Two Worlds Collide and In Spite Of Ourselves which, according to John, is from the Billy Bob Thornton film "In Spite of Ourselves". John and his  musicians then did a further four numbers, closing with Lake Marie,  before leaving the stage to a standing ovation. John, Iris and the band returned to encore with Unwed Fathers and finally closed the show with Paradise.  The teaming of Iris and John in concert worked for me and, judging by the response they got, for the vast majority of the London audience. Those who have tickets for this week's concerts in Dublin, Belfast and Glasgow have a rare treat in store.

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