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JOHN PRINE ADDS ANOTHER NOTCH
ON HIS SUCCESSFUL 1997 CONCERT TOUR
Kansas City, Missouri, March 25, 1997
copyright 1996,1997 Jerry Briggs (WOG)
The
lights at the Folly Theater in Kansas City, Missouri were dimming Tuesday night as I took
to the chilly streets of the downtown area. The crowd of about 800 that had met in the
grand old theater for the most part had already left.
The crowd was quite settled, yet appreciative of the show they had just
seen. John informed them right up front that, "we're glad to finally be back here in
Kansas City so we're going to be out here longer than usual!"
John's a man of his words. Asked later how many songs he performed, he said he didn't
know. I had kept a listing of them, and counting his five encore songs, he and the boys
performed a total of 30! His previous evenings normally will get a maximum of three
encores, and totally about 25 or 26 songs.: KC got a real deal.
John's affinity to the fans of this city extended to all aspects of his
performance. John "talked" more between songs: he ventured away from the safety
of his black floor boxes, out to almost the edge of the stage on several occasions. He
seemed truly at ease right from the start, more so than I have seen in the previous two
concerts.
A subdued crowd did not mean an unappreciative one. Indeed, they
listened in what can only be described as rapt attention to each word John sang. His
lyrics have that effect on crowds. The phrases he turns and the images he paints take more
concentration than the more commercial
"he-done-her-wrong-but-now-he's-back-and-things'll-get-better" songs. We all
like those and we buy them, but when it comes to real stuff that hits your heart and
strikes you right on top of the head, it's Prine.
The biggest crowd pleaser continues to be "Lake Marie,"
and John plays it for all it's worth, with his guitar player Jason Wilbur pulling out all
stops as they jam for ten full minutes on this number. John follows this mover up with
"Hello In There" and moves on into the encore.
An unexpected pleasure happened tonight, also. Iris Dement, a KC
resident, turned up and came on stage to once again help John with "Unwed
Fathers." Her plaintive voice on this soul-wrenching number was superb. She reported
later that she suffered from immense stage fright! This was not noted in this moving
performance, as her delivery was both polished and professional. Of course, she was
invited to help finish out the evening with John, the band, and newcomer/up-and-comer RB
Morris. Joined by Maple Burns, they finished out the evening in their typical fashion,
with the crowd on it's feet. Strangely, after the standing ovation on "Illegal
Smile," where John had the house lights brought up so he could see the crowd
performing his song, that crowd never sat again. They stood through the entire performance
of "Paradise."
The concert tour now shifts into high gear, with three more performances this
week in Texas, on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. The training camp has proven its merit;
these guys are not getting tired; they grow stronger with each performance. Perhaps John's
lyrics on "Hello in There" could be adapted to something along the lines of....
"You know that Old Bands don't get older, Their voices just grow stronger every
day!"... When the tour finally ends, they make need a week to "come down."
SET LIST, KANSAS CITY, JOHN PRINE MARCH 25, 1997
1. BLOW UP YOUR TV (SPANISH PIPEDREAM)-after recognizing, audience breaks
out in cheers
2. SIX O' CLOCK NEWS--preamble not recognized by many, big applause after "Wanda had
a baby, 1951..."
3. FISH AND WHISTLE- (John eased out closer to the audience to begin...crowd liked it!)
4. PICTURE SHOW-all electric guitars on this...John, David, and Jason...strong, strong
version
5. YOU'VE GOT GOLD-audience always claps at line, "well I've got some gold....in me,
too..."
6. ALL THE BEST - his usual anecdote about it being a divorce song, and now just a song
7. NEW TRAIN - said he wrote it and didn't know what it meant until he got his two little
boys....
8. AIN'T HURTIN' NOBODY - laughs when he hits the line 'got my hand in my pocket just
thinkin' 'bout you!'
9. ANGEL FROM MONTGOMERY - (this is a real crowd pleaser...everyone seems to know it)
(band departs stage)
John solo on these:
10. DEAR ABBY - audience love, especially 'with her hair up in curlers and
her pants to her knees!'
11. JESUS: THE MISSING YEARS (his storytelling abilities at top form in this; good
reaction from the crowd)
12. GRANDPA WAS A CARPENTER - fans knew this one, liked it
13. DONALD AND LYDIA - very thoughtful rendition tonight...no humor...just sadness at
their loneliness
14. SOUVENIRS - (anecdote preceding, then dedication "to my old buddy Steve
Goodman!")
15. UNWED FATHER - (with surprise appearance by Iris Dement) "one of the finest
songwriters around!"-John
16. BOTTOMLESS LAKE - (had anecdote preceding this!)
17. BIG OLD GOOFY WORLD (- lots of laughter from the crowd on this one)
18. SPACE MONKEY - has a good anecdote with this one, crowd then loves the song; this one
works as well for John as any I've seen, in terms of
commercial potential...)
19. SAM STONE - (band makes dramatic return, first David on the "porno-phone"
and then Jason returning to play electric guitar on the
final stanza)
20. BRUISED ORANGE (CHAIN OF SORROW) - (they really jam on this, and Jason takes off on
the bridge in a most effective manner)
21. PRETTY GOOD - lots of fun with the guitars on this one
22. QUIT HOLLERIN' AT ME - (finally the fans quit hollerin' for this one...a favorite,
always)
23. SINS OF MEMPHISTO - (John introduces the band before this. Finally tells us, "And
I'm Mrs. prine's boy Johnny.")
24. LAKE MARIE - what can I say? This is the piece de resistance for this tour, the number
that ALWAYS elicits standing O's...and it's John's
band that elicit this kind of appreciation. They pull out the musical stops on this one.
Don't try to hold your peath during its playing. 10
Minutes will kill you!
25. HELLO IN THERE - this one will create a music video in your head; incredible!
ENCORE!!
26. EVERYTHING IS COOL -- John did this solo
27. DADDY'S LITTLE PUMPKIN - "she'll sell that pumpkin just to get her Daddy's
bail!" got a few laughs
28. PLEASE DON'T BURY ME - everyone loves John's novelty songs
29. ILLEGAL SMILE - everything that can be said about this song has already been spoken
30.PARADISE - with RB Morris, Iris DeMent, Maple Burns, and John and the boys....nice
finale.
After the Show..........
Tonight was another interesting night traveling about.
I attended a great show...great in quality and tops in quantity...30 songs by the
Prineman.
I had occasion tonight to meet again with RB Morris, and I presented him with a cassette
of Roy Orbison doing Don Gibson...and he was appreciative...said he thought maybe Orbison
had done some, but didn't know for sure. I had eight on the tape I made, and for some
reason didn't have "Oh, Lonesome Me."
Jason and David were in the dressing room with him (John had his own!).
These were deluxe digs compared to the facilities at Peoria. Fancy, clean, well lighted,
the mandatory tray of hors d oeuvres (sp?) and the time they all had to spend waiting,
waiting, waiting, for John.
I met Mitch tonight, and caught him smiling. Asked why he behaved as he did at Peoria, he
came up with expletives that don't belong here. It was a rathole, sure...but he explained
that sometimes you have to take what is available. He actually seemed human, so I mentally
decided to give Barney back his bullet (Means nothing if you weren't on the Monday chat
page....)
My mind then and at this point is probably less than full tilt. I left
the chat line and my house at 1:00AM today (25th) and made my way out here, about 500
miles, got a room, an oil change (getting a lot of those lately, it seems!) and some
Little Debbie Oatmeals.
I followed a contingent of groupies back the side corridor of the building, figuring we
were going to see John. We ended up backstage, with Maple...the guy I met last week in the
afternoon in Peoria. Turns out this group was all shirttail relatives of
friends-of-a-friend, so the introductions went around and nobody knew who I was to
introduce me to Maple, but they didn't know I wasn't a relative. We shook hands, and I
said, "We met in Peoria! Hi, Maple. Jerry." He remembered, so out of all the
relatives of his I was the only one that looked even remotely familiar.
I got out of there quick, and that's when I met Mitch again. He said, as I started to go
the wrong way, "John's up there!" He pointed up the steps.
I went upstairs and there was John, and the room was dimly lit. There were couches, nice
ones, here and there, and maybe 20 people, just sitting around. They were just talking
back and forth and having a nice conversation. One guy did come up and have John sign
about 20 posters for "people who couldn't make it tonight." What a nerve.
The people finally drifted out and John and I got a bit of time to
talk. I reminded him of Reeda's book....and...I will put on Chat Night, some night, for
all to see, exactly what he said! I told him it had to be 'quotable'....and it was!
John remembered me this time (3 days!). He liked the review, he said...even with...yeah,
he liked it! I gave him one for Peoria, one I have not yet sent to Reeda....will
do....short and sweeter. John took the review, and then we got to talking about Dallas. I
told him I had my ticket for there, but not for Helotes and Austin.
He said, "Meet me in Dallas and I'll see about getting you a
ticket!"
"I don't want a free ticket!" I was afraid this was something others use on him
all the time. I just wanted a ticket, and felt I could get one there, maybe at the gate;
same for Austin.
'No, meet me! I'll get it" he grinned.
"That's two nights from now...I'll see you after the show,
then?" I was sort of amazed.
"That's right," he yelled as he wandered off to the back,
"just have something nice to say in the review!"
Earlier, I met Iris DeMent in the dressing room, too. I met her husband and his son, and I
told her all about Bear. They're on the Internet, but "try to stay off," she
said. Apparently a bad experience a couple years ago. She was very sweet, and described to
me the stage fright she gets each time she performs. RB was there, and he, too, admitted
to extreme nervousness. Isn't is funny...we all have a natural fear of getting up in front
of others, and assume that those who do it all the time feel OK with it. Fortunately for
each of them, it does not show in their demeanor. I was able to give all concerned tonight
my sincere congratulations for their jobs done this evening. I look forward to the next
four shows!
I took two pictures, the second at John's insistence, of a lady
who is a died-in-the-wool Prinester. I told her the only way she could get the
picture is to come on the chat and give me her address! I think we'll be getting a new
visitor. She's confused how to use a browser, however, but subscribes to both AOL and
CompuServe...
I told Iris to come on in disguise, using a phony name...that Bear
would just flat out head for the woods, as would the rest of you....she may, but I
wouldn't bet on it. She is an articulate, bright, and attractive lady. I was impressed
with her. You are talking some honest class in her.
RB--I'll get into him another time. Impressive in person. Strong religious background.
Risk taker. Former carpenter...fell off a roof. Did a song about JESUS and a POEM! He told
me, that on the album (May 10!) he sings the poem...it's the one about "Ridin' with
O'Hanlon" a humorous look at a hard drinking Irish musician and the things they get
into before he heads back to Ireland with his wife Sally.
Anyway, it's time to end this tirade. I wish that all our friends in
the chat room could have the time to do what I'm currently doing. It's unbelievable. I had
often thought, before my wife died, that I could spend an entire summer season traveling
to various music festivals...because, you see, John Prine is not the only musician that I
really enjoy...and maybe I'll do it...next year! With the internet posting listings of
entertainers and their schedules, it could be done, with probably something every night!
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