Dallas TX

DALLAS MAJESTIC THEATER

--March 27, 1997

    The view from the front row, center, for this observer was nothing short of remarkable. John and his crew ran through their routines with precision
and skill. John's abilities to capture his audience fully in the first 15 seconds of his shows is in itself amazing. To continue to hold them through two and
a half dozen songs is incredible.
   "First time I've been to a concert by John Prine. Gary (pointing) has been a fan since the beginning."--Alex was in the line awaiting a moment
with the man in question, hoping to say hello and maybe snap a picture

    Major differences made the Dallas another in a series of shows that are similar but never the same. Perhaps now out of habit, John equaled the Kansas City record of thirty tunes in a venue that truly was Majestic. Joining John, Jason and David tonight was a new face. Phil Parpliano joined the group, and "Mr. Squeeze" was swift to add his deft abilities to this combination through his 2-octave "squeeze box", adding duties with the mandolin and keyboard as well. The group now features four of the original touring Lost Dogs. It was a memorable reunion.
   "One Red Rose" was added to the set tonight, and John's portrayal of this wistful song was effective and poignant. While this tour has been gaining momentum and each evening has been a collection of one-upmanship on the previous concert, this one will be hard to top.
    The group was cohesive and deferred to "solo" takeoffs instrumentally time after time, allowing various song bridges to be fully exploited for their rich musical values. The band had fun, there is no question. They just had such cohesion that it sounded like they had been spending the day practicing with the Lost Dog, Phil. Not so, they just are all able to take the moment and improvise appropriately. Fans of Dallas should feel flattered with the positive changes and additions to this show. The best just got better.

SET LIST

--annotated with comments--
1. SPANISH PIPEDREAM--John kicked this show off with an additional band member, Phil Parpliano

2. SIX O'CLOCK NEWS--John, loosening up early, stepped forward to stage's edge
3. FISH AND WHISTLE--applause broke out for Phil's work on this one
4. PICTURE SHOW--John again to edge of stage
5. YOU'VE GOT GOLD--good "duelling" guitars on this one
6. ALL THE BEST--intro'd-"love gone wrong ballad"-exc. bottleneck by Phil on this one; task usually handled by Jason
7. NEW TRAIN--Phil, his fedora, and Taz on his concertina a real hit
8. AIN'T HURTIN' NOBODY--John out front again, good effect; and at the end..crowd loved this
9. ANGEL FROM MONTGOMERY--8 string mandolin, Phil effective
 
 band takes a break: solos by John
10. DEAR ABBY--John to edge of stage again
11. JESUS: THE MISSING YEARS--"George Jones" line always gets a yell of appreciation
12. GRANDPA WAS A CARPENTER
13. DONALD AND LYDIA-After a great performance on this one, a voice from the back yelled, "John, you just keep getting better!" John heard it       and smiled, saying "I keep on tryin'!"
14. SOUVENIRS--intro with anecdote about writing it
15. BOTTOMLESS LAKE-another good, humorous anecdote
16. LET'S TALK DIRTY IN HAWAIIAN--crowd loves "put your coconut on my Tiki!"
17. ONE RED ROSE-terrific performance; may have been the first time done on this tour. No capo used on this one
18. SPACE MONKEY--good story to open it up; crowd loved it
19. SAM STONE (band returns at last stanzas)
20. BRUISED ORANGE (CHAIN OF SORROW)-great instrumentation on this version. Mandolin/guitar "duel" very effective. House was rocking,       heads all shaking. Phil also played keyboard on this one. Phil definitely has a flair for theatrics, and it adds immensely to the show.
21. PRETTY GOOD--no capo again--crowd singing along--band rocking--and I'm anticipating this fantastic group doing 'Lake Marie' before       long--anticipation!
22. QUIT HOLLERIN' AT ME--2nd fret capo-Jason's solo on this is a show-stopper. His guitar caused frequent bursts of applause through out the       night
23. SINS OF MEMPHISTO--3rd fret capo-
24. HELLO IN THERE-5th fret capo-John again ventures to edge of stage

encore
25. EVERYTHING IS COOL-John solos this, then calls guys back-no capo
26. DADDY'S LITTLE PUMPKIN--5th fret-Phil with great keyboard work... rest of the band deferred to him and he didn't let them down. Almost       developed an old-time gospel feel to it! Jason't bottleneck lead thumped and roared--he pumped the pumpkin--band was screaming at 90 miles an       hour...Phil playing piano with his feet, ala Jerry Lee! Crowd went crazy...what a performance this was!
27. PLEASE DON'T BURY ME--2nd fret capo-rocked...hard! This band was good in previous concerts, but Phil and his Snakeskin(?) boots made it       a perfect fit
28. ILLEGAL SMILE--Crowd wanted. Crowd got.
29. PARADISE--no capo, all the gang together in a most effective finale.
 

EACH SHOW I SEE GETS EVEN BETTER THAN THE PREVIOUS ONE. THIS WAS THE TOPPER SO FAR. I LOOK FORWARD TO HELOTES TOMORROW NIGHT, BUT SINCERELY DOUBT THAT THIS NIGHT'S SHOW CAN BE DISPLACED...IT WAS ONE TO SEE AND ONE THAT WILL NOT BE FORGOTTEN.