Peoria, IL

JOHN PRINE IN PEORIA, ILLINOIS, MARCH 22
Jerry Briggs-- (WOG)

    "IT PLAYED IN PEORIA! YEAH!!"
was the scream from a delighted PMS*red at the Peoria, IL John Prine Concert Saturday night.

The final strains of "Paradise" floated out on a cheering crowd, enthralled with John, his band, RB Morris, and stage manager Maple Byrne. Byrne likes to finish up the show with an over-the-head-back-of-the-neck mandolin picking on this song.
    The song ended a night that seemed fun for both John and his sidemen, David Jacques, and Jason Wilbur. They showed energy, humor, and talent that suited even the most demanding attendee.
    The Madison Theater in Peoria was host to these musicians. Kicking off the evening with what turned out to be John's choice of "Blow Up Your TV" (could have been, but wasn't, 'Lulu Walls'). This song seems to set the stage for what proves to be a rockin' show.
    John demonstrates, in person, why his CD's are located in music stores across America not in "Country" or "Folk", but in "Rock and Roll."
    Fortunately, he is talented enough to deserve a fitting slot in any category you cared to place him. Saturday night at Peoria will be remembered by all who were there...and...they had a chance that evening of attending, not a block away, the Illinois Boys' State Basketball Finals. Those at the Madison made a good choice.
    Lighting on John in this venue was so much better than that I complained about a week ago at Charlotte. The angles and tones of the lights in this ancient theater were trained on him to full advantage. Prinesters, relax...John is no longer "cadaverous" looking...in fact, he looked great, and his hair even settled down under the stage lights of his home state.
    How was the music? It was, in a word, fantastic! There is something to be said for a smaller auditorium. There were no bad seats. Beer and smoking was allowed in the area, and believe me, it was consumed in mass quantities. But the spirit of the crowd was catching, and I think everyone there enjoyed the show.
    I was glad to see "Illegal Smile" included in the encore. The crowd sang along. The crowd laughed. The crowd left wanting more. John could have kept the people all there for another two hours, had he wished. John's style on his songs makes them "his" more than any entertainer I know. Both serious songs ("Hello In There") and novelty songs ("Dear Abby") drew rapt attention to him.
    I believe that if John had stopped in the middle of his solo segment (nearly 40 minutes by himself), and sung his only acapella song, "Diamonds in the Rough," that it would probably have brought the house down. It was that kind of mood. "Jesus" was not done, but everyone enjoyed "Space Monkey."
    My complaint tonight was not with the music, nor the performers, and not the lighting. I am sorry that John doesn't take the opportunity to mention his new CD...he is in a group of people that have just shelled out close to thirty bucks, and another $14 would probably not kill them...and get this...that CD was already pressed, just sitting on the shelves waiting for the official break date of April 9...get 'em out there and peddle a few, John!
    If a suggestion is apropos' I would suggest John give the following a bit of thought...John has demonstrated on his "Live" albums that he is at his absolute best when telling the story about a particular song, how it was written, or why, or when. He sees the funny side of human situations, and his audience loves this approach...so...John..why do you just play song-after-song? The performances are impeccable...but a little more talking between numbers will really draw the audience even closer...trust me!
    RB Morris is an interesting sort of guy. He's young, and is very high on the possibilities after his record hits the streets. RB did a memorable poem--that's right, a poem...about "Ridin' (and drinking!) with O'Hanlon and he exhibited an unusual singing style that I can best describe as "New Age Billy Joe Shaver." I liked his styling on two of this type. RB also did a nice take on an old Marty Robbins, "Devil Woman." This was very effective, as was a later version of "Thunder Road." RB exhibited a good sense of humor, an appreciation for the musical history of his part of Tennessee, and an excellent manner with the audience.
    All told, this RB Morris/John Prine combo made for one fine evening of song.

JOHN PRINE PLAY LISTING
1. SPANISH PIPEDREAM
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. AIN'T HURTIN' NOBODY
9. ANGEL FROM MONTGOMERY
--alone on stage--
10. DEAR ABBY
11. THAT'S THE WAY THE WORLD GOES 'ROUND
12. GRANDPA WAS A CARPENTER
13. DONALD AND LYDIA
14. SOUVENIRS
15. BOTTOMLESS LAKE
16. LET'S TALK DIRTY IN HAWAIIAN
17. SPACE MONKEY
18. SAM STONE (band returns toward last stanzas)
19. BRUISED ORANGE (CHAIN OF SORROW)
20. PRETTY GOOD
21. QUIT HOLLERIN' AT ME
22. SINS OF MEMPHISTO
23. LAKE MARIE
24. HELLO IN THERE
---encore--
25. PLEASE DON'T BURY ME
26. ILLEGAL SMILE
27. PARADISE (joined by Maple and RB)
 

THE PEOPLE I MEET . . .
                 

Of substance and pleasure to me this day was the great fun in meeting people. Many people. Interesting people. Regular people.
1. Starting the evening off about 5:00PM was an occurrence as I was leaving my car in downtown Peoria, IL. A dazzling redhead 100' away on the other side of the street yelled at me! She was with a slender gray-haired fellow. I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick! Make that PMS*red!
"Jerry???"
I had to play dumb. "Are you talking to me?" I yelled. By now she was standing with one foot on the curb and the other down in the street.
"What name do you go by on the computer?" she yelled so loud I thought she'd get hoarse.
"Computer? I don't even have a computer, " I yelled back at her, grinning and crossing the street.
"I'm sorry, I have the wrong person," she was mumbling. She was obviously hoping I'd go back to whatever rock I may have crawled out from. She was retreating fast, so I thought I'd better come clean.
"WOG!" I said, and reached my hand out to her husband. "You must be Terry!"
He admitted it, we got our greeting out of the way, and I proceeded to have, with these two, one fine evening.

2. After the show, while waiting on the line to see John, I spotted the band and RB Morris over at the stage.  They were talking among themselves, and the fans were oblivious of them, seeking only to better their place in line. I walked over to them and said, "You guys don't even rate a card table, I guess?!" I took their pictures and spent several minutes talking to them. All three ..were nice, amiable, and enthusiastic about their business. There was a lot of talent in one spot, and I enjoyed speaking to each of them.
3. 'Course, the final meeting of the day was with John, and can't really be counted, because I had met him before...not that he'd ever know it...so...it was the day he met me...fair enough?! I'm not into getting stuff signed, and he refused to sign my underwear after I refused to get out of them. I just wished to talk with him a little and get a bit of his soul on 35mm. Did both. Following Reeda's earlier lead, I decided to give him something, instead of taking autographs. I gave him, sealed in an envelope, my review of Charlotte (yeah, the one where I said his hair was bad and the lighting made him look dead...and some other stuff) We talked about the Muhlenburg Everly Brothers Labor Day Concerts, including the one this year (not set that he'll be there) and others, including the first, where I met him the second time, and spent an hour talking with him....he didn't remember...and he smoked my cigarettes, the ingrate! We discussed Drakesboro, KY...that's where I got what I thought was a rare picture..."PARADISE 5" road sign that I thought had inspired the line in his song. Nope. He didn't recall such a sign! Frankie's...an old high-tenor man ran an ice cream shop in the town at the intersection to get to Paradise...and it took John a while to remember old Frankie, who's now dead. Got more things to discuss so I guess I'll meet him again...