After days of pathetic begging and pleading, I was finally able to shake the show's promoters down for some free tickets to the John Prine show. Don't feel bad for Mr. Prine though, I've got most of his albums (on CD, not download) and I've seen him, this makes 4-times now. He's gotten his share of my future kids' college money. Now, on to the show...

The opening act, Kate Campbell, was short, but sweet. Her songbird-like voice was only rivaled by her impeccably crafted compositions about both the sad and the funny. Her tune about Henry Ford's failed rubber tree town in the jungles of South America was of particular note, and her final song about the book To Kill a Mockingbird was a beautiful tune...too bad I can't remember the name of the damned song. Maybe I was too busy being distracted by the exceptionally RUDE people who not only couldn't reach their seats before the music started, but insisted on saying "SORRY" at the volume of an idling jet engine to every person they shuffled past, or the self-centered cretins who found it necessary to hang out in the aisle and chat away like they were haggling for a better deal on their car insurance right in the middle of a quiet song. I've witnessed better behavior at Metallica concerts, frankly, and some adults seriously need to go back to kindergarten, if only to re-learn the use of "inside voice."

Another observation I couldn't help but make about the crowd is that there seemed to be a quite varied cross section of society there. "Practically everyone was there," as John might say. Young, old, rich, poor, quiet, LOUD... those who could keep a decent beat while clapping, and those who couldn't find the beat if the Go-Gos gave up their monopoly and sold it to them at a bargain basement price. It was also funny to see the elderly folks sitting in front of me trying to figure out where that marijuana smoke was coming from. (I swear it wasn't me, although I think I got a contact high.)

When John came out, it was almost the opposite...the crowd didn't know how to react for the first 3 or 4 songs - like they didn't know if they were at a rock and roll show or a symphony. The mood was nearly subdued. But the ice eventually chipped off as people lightened up...some a little too much, and some with a pretty terrible sense of intonation as they tried to keep up with John's cleverly fashioned lyrics by belting them out in their best drunken monotone. Two female culprits in the back row were of particular guilt in this - you know who you are!

Despite the bad seeds in the crowd, who, granted, were just having a good time, Prine made it a good show. His backup players, bassist Dave Jacques and multi-instrumentalist Jason Wilber were solid and even brilliant at times, while Prine was his predictably professional self. It seemed as if he may have had a slightly sore throat while speaking, but he didn't show it much in his singing voice. Fortunately for him, most of his songs are in such a range he could probably still play them at the age of 90 and make them sound good.

I know from personal experience that John Prine's performances seem to be enhanced in an outdoor festival setting with no formal seating. He is able to carry off his sensitive, lyrical fare in an intimate theatre setting, but the rousing numbers like "Bear Creek" seem to suffer from a bit of audience disconnect. No room to dance, mind you. Likewise, the electric section of the show, which was a new addition from the last time I saw him perform, didn't resonate as deeply as the acoustic numbers. The reason, I suspect, was the more sonarous timbre of the electric guitar that left the midrange feeling empty and the listener wanting a drummer to appear and lay down the back beat.

The songs that seemed to carry the most resonance this evening were "Angel From Montgomery," "Hello in There," and "Sam Stone," which not coincidentally, are the slow, sad songs. Of course "Dear Abby" and "Illegal Smile" will always get a Prine crowd going, but a good gauge of John's energy level, which feeds off the crowd in a demonstrable way, is how urgent he calls out the lines "You know what blood looks like in a black and white video...shadows...SHADOWS" in "Lake Marie." You can really tell when he's feelin' it because this section of that song will be very intense and soul-stirring, but when he's trying to conserve his energy, or the crowd doesn't seem to be feeding it back, he'll treat this part with a more subdued tone. That doesn't make it bad, it's still a great song either way...just different.

All in all, there is no such thing as a bad John Prine show, at least not in my experience. Any chance one gets to see this living legend in concert is going to be a memorable occasion. This evening was no different. Next time, just duct tape a few audience members' mouths shut and hands together, and give the rest of the audience a nice shot of espresso or speed at the outset and it'll be even more interesting to watch. Of course, that's probably true of just about any event, really.