The guys were all dressed in suits and ties, Dave wore a slightly shiny light grey number with even shinier black shoes, whilst both John and Jason doned black suits. They looked like three ordinary guys going to their work, which of course is exactly what they were doing!
John Prine, (66) looking like a well fed, benign grandad, took centre stage and then took control of the audience. His voice, now deep and gravelly, made it hard to make out the lyrics at first, however, as our ears grew accustomed to it's sound, the words became easier to decipher. And what words they are, just listen to She is my Everything as an example! His guitar playing was deft and controlled and he filled out the sound with some great playing whilst shuffling about the stage.
The 'fancy' guitar work was left to Jason Wilber who played some fabulous solos. In addition, he played harmonica and mandolin with equal aplomb. His guitar playing was a real feature tonight and it was great to see the older John Prine step aside to let the younger man loose on most of the guitar parts. Jason's playing on the quieter numbers was a lesson on how to accompany a song without taking it over.
The sound was rounded out by Dave Jacques, double bass & electric bass, who keep the beat moving along with real power. With the lack of any percussion, drummer etc, Dave did extremely well to fill out the bottom end of the songs and his thumping bass lines underpinned all of the 'rockier' numbers. He added a sublime gentle touch to the more melodic songs and often played the double bass with a bow to add interest to the over all sound.
As for the songs, naturally having written so many, we were not going to hear all our individual favourites. However, many were there including Hello in There, Grampa Was a Carpenter, Souvenirs, Angel from Montgomery, The Sins of Memphisto, Donald and Lydia, The Late John Garfield Blues, to name a few. For me, there were two stand out songs. Firstly, and this was a 'bucket list' item ticked off personally, Sam Stone, which began as a solo performance by John Prine and finished off with guitar and bass joining in to jack the sound up magnificently. Then there was the fabulous Lake Marie which was the concert closer. Often when performed live, this is a 8 to 9 minute offering and tonight was no exception with the three guys trading solos and vying to be heard over each other, this made for a great end to the night. Actually, the 'boys' came back for a single encore, but in comparison it felt flat and almost superfluous! We had already been treated to some superb music and the standing ovation said just how much the audience had enjoyed themselves. A great night was enjoyed by one and all during the pulsating 2 hour + show.
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