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Concert Review - John Prine
Concert Review
Convocation Hall, Toronto Ontario
The 90s have spawned a new breed of pre-fab pop superstars, and John Prine isn't one of them.
I wasn't surprised when a man walked up to me a half-block away from Toronto's Convocation Hall and asked me if I had a spare John Prine ticket. The show had obviously sold out, and this poor guy missed his chance to buy. A moment later, another person came up, then another, then a small collection, all looking for some kind soul with spare tickets. For John Prine? I guess he's not as obscure as I once thought. We may not see his face on supermarket tabloids, or catch him performing at every music awards show, but the fans who managed to snag tickets to his recent show were numerous and extremely lucky.
The headliner was even more fortunate.
His 4 year absence from Toronto was largely due to his taking some time off to battle cancer. He underwent surgery to remove a tumor in his neck in early 1998, and with the help of his family and friends, made a full recovery.
He took the stage to a noisy standing ovation, and blazed through his opening song, John Prine explained that he didn't get up to Toronto as often as he used to, but since he was here he'd be willing to stay a long time. And he did. The set that followed was a varied one, taking his band through a setlist that spanned his entire career. John left the drummer at home, giving his backing band, guitarist Jason Wilbur and bassist David Jacques a chance to put a new gloss on many of the songs. "You Got Gold" was renovated with broad washes of guitar, while "All The Best" got a less-is-more treatment that gave room for the song's heart to shine through.
The band took a break, and John ran through an 8 song set of solo acoustic performances of his old favourites, starting with "Dear Abby"and "Illegal Smile" and finishing with "Sam Stone".
After the band returned, he played some songs from his new album, In Spite of Ourselves. John described it as an album of "old hurtin' songs", recorded as duets with his favourite female country stars. Since none of them happened to be in Toronto, John got in touch with his feminine side and sang both parts. "When Two Worlds Collide" was a bittersweet ballad with lap-steel frosting, while the title cut continued his tradition of mixing poignancy with goofiness.
All told, a varied and lively evening, with a more intimate flavour than his 1995 Convocation Hall appearance. Hopefully, it won't be 4 years until he comes back. To tide you over, you can catch John at the movies later this year, when he appears with Billy Bob Thornton in "Daddy and Them".
The 90s have spawned a new breed of pre-fab pop superstars, and John Prine isn't one of them.
I wasn't surprised when a man walked up to me a half-block away from Toronto's Convocation Hall and asked me if I had a spare John Prine ticket. The show had obviously sold out, and this poor guy missed his chance to buy. A moment later, another person came up, then another, then a small collection, all looking for some kind soul with spare tickets. For John Prine? I guess he's not as obscure as I once thought. We may not see his face on supermarket tabloids, or catch him performing at every music awards show, but the fans who managed to snag tickets to his recent show were numerous and extremely lucky.
The headliner was even more fortunate.
His 4 year absence from Toronto was largely due to his taking some time off to battle cancer. He underwent surgery to remove a tumor in his neck in early 1998, and with the help of his family and friends, made a full recovery.
He took the stage to a noisy standing ovation, and blazed through his opening song, John Prine explained that he didn't get up to Toronto as often as he used to, but since he was here he'd be willing to stay a long time. And he did. The set that followed was a varied one, taking his band through a setlist that spanned his entire career. John left the drummer at home, giving his backing band, guitarist Jason Wilbur and bassist David Jacques a chance to put a new gloss on many of the songs. "You Got Gold" was renovated with broad washes of guitar, while "All The Best" got a less-is-more treatment that gave room for the song's heart to shine through.
The band took a break, and John ran through an 8 song set of solo acoustic performances of his old favourites, starting with "Dear Abby"and "Illegal Smile" and finishing with "Sam Stone".
After the band returned, he played some songs from his new album, In Spite of Ourselves. John described it as an album of "old hurtin' songs", recorded as duets with his favourite female country stars. Since none of them happened to be in Toronto, John got in touch with his feminine side and sang both parts. "When Two Worlds Collide" was a bittersweet ballad with lap-steel frosting, while the title cut continued his tradition of mixing poignancy with goofiness.
All told, a varied and lively evening, with a more intimate flavour than his 1995 Convocation Hall appearance. Hopefully, it won't be 4 years until he comes back. To tide you over, you can catch John at the movies later this year, when he appears with Billy Bob Thornton in "Daddy and Them".
