On a Friday the 13th, one of the greatest songwriters of all time, John Prine, took the stage at Radio City Music Hall to launch his first album of new material in thirteen years. With some help of a great band, opener Sturgill Simpson, and special guest Brandi Carlile, the 71-year-old showed that he remains a great entertainer too.
The April 13, 2018 show began with Sturgill Simpson opening for Prine, taking the stage alone with a guitar for about an hour. Few performers can command such a large audience alone, but Simpson is one of them, even as he admitted being nervous before coming out.
Simpson’s set included many of his best songs, with a highlight being his performance of “Turtles All the Way Down” back-to-back with “Just Let Go.” Both of those songs appeared on Metamodern Sounds in Country Music
Simpson also played some traditional songs and covers, including When in Rome’s “The Promise,” which he had included in Metamodern Sounds, and the Bee Gees’ “Come on Over.” And he began “Long White Line” with a riff that took a detour into Bruce Springsteen’s “I’m On Fire.”
One has to admire Simpson, who could fill the seats just on his own, having the respect for Prine to be his opener. Simpson is one of the best music artists today, in or outside the country genre, so it was great to see him in this context.
Simpson also announced that while he will be playing a number of festivals until September, after those shows he plans to take a year off from touring. His wife is having another son and he wishes to spend time watching his children grow.
John Prine Takes the Stage
John Prine took the Radio City Music Hall stage for the first time in his career with a sharp band, including new members Ken Blevins on drums and and Fats Kaplan playing fiddle, mandolin, and lap steel guitar. At one point Prine explained how much it meant to be on this stage when he recounted seeing Bette Midler at the venue performing his song “Hello in There.” At the time, he dreamed of one day playing here.
Because the show was the album-release show for The Tree of Forgiveness (2018), many of those new songs made it into the set. But there was plenty of room for old gems.
Early on, Prine played a wonderful rendition of his classic “Bruised Orange (Chain of Sorrow).” And there was a fun performance of “Grandpa Was a Carpenter.” But the audience was just as welcoming of the new songs from The Tree of Forgiveness
While there was not much politics in the show, there was a nod to the political climate with “Caravan of Fools.” And Prine introduced his old gem “Your Flag Decal Won’t Get You Into Heaven Anymore” by saying that he normally dusts off the song only for election years. But he said that after the last election, he is keeping it in his set.
While some may have wondered how Prine’s voice would hold up at his age and after two bouts of cancer, he eliminated any doubts by generally being in great shape. His voice got a little hoarser as the show went on and he missed a few of the high notes on “Hello in There.” Yet, any voice cracks gave more emotion to the song, and guest and backup singers helped out in the last part of the show. And with all that, Prine was still going strong at the end.
In the middle of Prine’s show, all of the band members left to take a break. And the 71-year-old entertained us with just his voice and guitar for several songs, including the best version of “Sam Stone” I have ever heard.
Special guest Brandi Carlile helped out with Prine’s new song “Summer’s End,” which she also sings with him on the new album. She also did a great job trading verses with Prine on what may be his most recognized song, “Angel From Montgomery.”
And one of the highlights of the entire show was when Prine and Carlile came to the front of the stage for “In Spite of Ourselves,” a song from Prine’s 1999 duets album of the same name that had featured Iris Dement on the tune. Prine introduced the song by saying that his wife said he could do another song with Carlile if he did not talk too much during the show.
Sturgill Simpson returned to join Prine too. The two men sang “Please Don’t Bury Me” and a touching “Speed of the Sound of Loneliness.” With the band, the whole group gave a rousing performance of “Pretty Good.”
The latter song transcends well in a live setting with multiple electric guitars and the power of Simpson’s voice, while “Speed of the Sound of Loneliness” was a quieter moment befitting the lyrics.
Finally, it was time to say goodbye. Prine closed with with his wonderful epic “Lake Marie,” backed up by the band along with a few guests that included Carlile, Prine’s son, and Prine’s wife Fiona. Then, they finished with another song of spoken words and choruses with “When I Get to Heaven” from Tree of Forgiveness. The final song, referencing lost loved ones and looking with joy toward death, was a touching and humorous finale.
It was my first time seeing Prine perform live, and as in the case anytime I have seen a long-term favorite artist perform, I could count a number of songs I wish he would have played. But with such an amazing catalog, there is no way he can play even a significant portion of his great songs. Yet, during the show, I never spent any time wishing for anything else besides what was going on at the stage. It was a fantastic celebration by one of America’s gems.
Photos by Chimesfreedom. Leave your two cents in the comments.
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