Fish Creek, WI
On the Road with WOG and John Prine

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ANOTHER SELLOUT!
JOHN PRINE FILLS BARRYMORE IN FISH CREEK
HOGS/CHATTERS DRIVE IN TO RESORT AREA!  

copyright 1996,1997 Jerry Briggs (WOG)

I found the theater as I drove through town, and already there was the Ryder Truck with the rental equipment on it, as well as Mitchell and Eric's rental van carrying T-Shirts. Tired from the long ride from Madison, all were awaiting the band for sound check.

Wandering around in the backstage area with sun blindness and a black Wogstock shirt, I thought I was nearly invisible. Eric, however, awoke me to reality when he opened the back door and yelled, "Jerry? Three guys here say they're gonna whip your ass!"

Walking over, I saw it was my pals from the previous night in Madison, Q-Ball and our own Crusher, along with a new biker, Spike. They came in and we talked and kidded a bit. Finally Spike decided that he had to have a picture of the empty stage where John would stand for the evening show...and he took it!

Visible were the instruments, staged to be within reach of each of the band members. Set lists were already posted around the stage. The clock John uses was right in front of his microphone. We looked all around. Dressing room areas were also ready for the guys: had been expecting them at 5:00, according to the schedule posted on the backroom door.

John's dressing room was posted for him, and in front of the mirror were his needs: half a dozen packs of Marlboro, a Bic lighter, and a 12-pack of suds beside a large bag of Lay's chips.

A separate area with several cubicles was saved for the "Lost Dogs Dressing Room." An extra Ryder driver was snoring on the couch, awaiting the band's arrival. The second Ryder member remained semi-alert...he had driven all night, had checked into the motel at 5AM, and had already checked out by this time.

John and the band suddenly arrived, and Crusher met Jason, and shook his hand, having told the guitarist he'd see him here. John greeted Spike and the others, and we proceeded to file away so that they could get on with the sound check.

Reaching the lobby through corridors, we let ourselves back into the theater and sat at the back and settled into the heavily padded cloth seats.

Sound check for John usually means running clear through several of his songs, and he did "Blow Up Your TV," "Picture Show," 6 O'Clock News," and "You've Got Gold." The bikers sat dumbstruck and excited: this was more than they ever could have imagined. They had to restrain themselves each song to keep from applauding! The sound technician adjusted up and down, bass and trebles, levels, and other things that those tecchies do. It sounded perfect by the time John left the stage.

RB came out shortly, and did his sound check with at least four of his numbers, including two stunning new ones that I'd never heard. RB is apparently writing all the time. He should have enough material for another album by the time OH BOY decides it is time....
 
The resort town of Fish Creek, Wisconsin greeted John Prine and his band consisting of David Jacques on bass, and Jason Wilbur playing lead guitar.

They followed RB Morris, who made his debut before an appreciative crowd. Huge cheers greeted John as he made his way out on the stage, followed by his suited band members. Relaxed and smiling, they launched into their show, and the applause came strongly.

John appeared to enjoy the show. Jason and Dave went through their paces. The audience clapped. But....something was somehow missing.

The atmosphere from the crowd was almost too polite and reserved. Whereas the night before, in Madison, the crowd was well-lubricated with beer and was more apt to yell and cheer, this group sat in the beautiful surroundings and listened.

Listening is certainly a main key to understanding and enjoying John's work. Respect for a performer is earned, and John got full respect. After being shown to their seats by white-shirted ushers with quiet, almost church-like manners, perhaps there was an inhibiting mood placed upon the audience right from the start.

Fortunately, there were a couple in the crowd of 750 who felt enthusiastic enough to yell at the band on stage, and persistance paid off. "John! Please Don't Bury Me! Please....Puh...leeze...!" finally got the song played during encore.

The spontaneous applause given the band the night before just never happened at Door Community Auditorium. For one thing, the lighting consisted mostly of three inverted cones of colored lights highlighting each of the band. Frequently the lights were dimmed to John's right and left, and he was left in the spotlight, dim though it was, as though performing alone.

The lighting tech was apparently not aware of solos and when to switch the lights, and Jason's enthusiastic strokes were often missed, first by the spotlights, and ultimately by the audience. When the occasion was favorable to the technician, he would occasionally move, slowly, to correct the focus and show Jason's guitar....but it was almost always too little, too late.

Failing the feedback needed from their audience, the band just proceeded to perform the songs. The show was excellent. The numbers chosen added "Bottomless Lake," and "Donald and Lydia," to the show, unheard the previous evening. John's rapport with the audience was good.

Frankly, it looked from my side of the stage, gazing about the audience, that most were not too familiar with John or his music. Sing alongs were uncommon. "Lake Marie," played for almost ten minutes, drew appreciative applause from this audience, but less than thirty people, near the back, stood. This number is ordinarily a guaranteed-to-get-a-standing-"o" number. The crowd liked it: they just hadn't yet worked themself into a frenzy yet.

Five encore numbers were done this evening, and the show ran longer than any in recent memory, and as the concert closed down, the audience finally started getting into the spirit of things. "Daddy's Little Pumpkin," usually an excellent showcase for Phil, was done especially enthusiastically, and got the audience jumping. Again, poor lighting caused much of Jason's visible work to go unnoticed. "Illegal Smile" had perhaps a hundred people who knew the words, and when the lights in the theater were turned on for their "turn" at this staple, it was apparent that the song for the most part was just a catchy, humorous number for the bulk of the people.

It is a credit to the band that they performed so well, that they sold out the venue to a crowd unfamiliar with them, and that they truly seemed to enjoy themselves in this place. It was a quality auditorium to work, great facilities, sound almost perfect, and they gave the at-ease crowd a show that impressed them.

RB Morris, called back for "Paradise," was rewarded for his fine efforts the previous evening by being given a "solo" shot at one of the choruses, which he did well, and which the crowd applauded. For them, here were two performers they hadn't heard much about before. RB won a spot in their hearts, and John did, also. The T-Shirt salesman out in the lobby also reported very good sales through the evening on the various items. He, too, was dressed in sharply starched white shirt and dress pants. This was a very nice place to visit....and, I believe, despite the shortcomings I have pointed out, John and the gang enjoyed the show's acceptance.

--ŠJerry Briggs(WOG)-- Sunday, August 24, 1997
 

Concert: Fish Creek, Wisconsin
Date: Sunday, August 25, 1997
Length: 2:17
Crowd Estimate: 750
# Songs: 29

JOHN PRINE SET LIST, FISH CREEK, WISCONSIN, 8/25/97

1. BLOW UP YOUR TV
2. 6 O'CLOCK NEWS
3. FISH AND WHISTLE
4. PICTURE SHOW
5. YOU'VE GOT GOLD
6. ALL THE BEST
7. NEW TRAIN
8. LATE JOHN GARFIELD BLUES
9. AIN'T HURTIN' NOBODY
10. ANGEL FROM MONTGOMERY

--band leaves--

11. DEAR ABBY
12. JESUS: THE MISSING YEARS
13. GRANDPA WAS A CARPENTER
14. SOUVENIRS
15. BOTTOMLESS LAKE
16. DONALD AND LYDIA
17. LET'S TALK DIRTY IN HAWAIIAN
19. SPACE MONKEY
20. SAM STONE

--band returns--

21. PRETTY GOOD
22. QUIT HOLLERIN' AT ME
23. SINS OF MEMPHISTO
24. LAKE MARIE

--encore--

25. HELLO IN THERE
26. DADDY'S LITTLE PUMPKIN
27. PLEASE DON'T BURY ME
28. ILLEGAL SMILE
29. PARADISE

DOOR COUNTY, WISCONSIN: PARADISE FOR BOATERS
--Jerry Briggs(WOG)--8/24/97

You lay your left hand on a piece of paper, see. Let your thumb go out a little. Trace around that, like a first grader. Congratulations! Now you have Wisconsin. At the "crotch" between thumb and the rest of the hand is the city of Green Bay. Go out the thumb to the knuckle and you are now in Door County. That's about 65 miles, and this peninsula continues to get thinner and thinner as it stretches out between Lake Michigan on the right and the bay called Green Bay in between thumb and hand.

"America's Dairyland" showed me more corn than cows....but I like corn. The gently rolling hills, the green of the world about me, and the abundance of trees made it very similar to the area I call home, Indiana.

Reaching Thunder Bay, however, the water takes over as you go over a drawbridge featuring a bay full of anchored and active sailboats, motor boats, yachts, houseboats, and basically about anything that is capable of floating.

Fish Creek itself is a typically festive small resort town. Every house, it seems, has been converted either to a motel, a restaurant, a "tavern" or something equally appealing to the tourist wishing to leave their dollars as a memorial to the fine area they have visited.

Door County is rightfully proud of their status as a tourist destination. Boasting 250 miles of coast, a grand total of ten lighthouses, and five state parks, this ranks this place as number one in the whole country in those categories!

Moving aside my favorite riding companion, Ms. Little Debbie, I grabbed a bag of authentic "Kettle Cooked Door County Potato Chips." I found out later that they are imported. From Milwaukee. Another county. But good. Picked up 60 quick grams of fat from the bag....whatever that means!

Are people in America just nice to me, or are they maybe outright great, to start with? I have yet to find a distasteful or rude area of the country. Door County and Fish Creek was no exception. It is a pleasure to wander when people so pleasant are always ready to smile and be helpful

I ate a double cheeseburger at the "Not Licked Yet" Custard shop..."Location, Location, Location!" is the byword of businessmen in looking for retail locations. This little shop featured a packed space with poor parking, no inside dining, down in a hollow by Fish Creek itself. It required a steep descent down the asphalt drive to reach it, or descending 19 steps to reach it. Someone forgot to tell the owner about the rule of locating a business...(food was fine!). Food for the 150 identical ducks hanging around was 47cents and apparently sales are brisk enough to keep them around for the atmosphere.

 
  POSTSCRIPT TO THE EVENING

The wait for John after the show was especially brief, and there were relatively few people for him to see, just as the previous night in Madison.

I was able to get pictures of John with a local resident, Rolf, who may stick his head in our chat room some evening, and, using Crusher's camera, I got a couple poses of John and all three of them.

John seemed very relaxed after this show, and if he was tired it did not show as it sometimes does. He was in good humor, and had decided to forego the long drive to Minneapolis the next day, opting instead to fly from Green Bay while the rest of the gang drove. This is probably wise: he will be rested and in shape to give the visitors to the Guthrie his full attack. Let's see how it all turns out! Stay tuned....


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