Concert Review: John Prine & Tyler Childers – Bruce Mason Centre February 27, 2019

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Singer/songwriter extraordinaire John Prine made Auckland’s Bruce Mason Centre the single best place to be if you are a music lover on this February evening.

Prine’s legacy as a songwriter is indeed legendary, but seeing and hearing him in person only magnified what a tremendous talent this man is.

From the opening notes of Picture Show to the final chorus of Paradise, the 24-song set was one of the most satisfying concert experiences I have attended.

Everything about the show was perfect…the songs, the performance, the band, the venue, the opening act, even the audience.

The 72-year-old Prine has been through a lot over the past 20 years, fighting cancer twice and having to go through extensive rehabilitation to be able to continue to play and sing, yet there he was, proudly presenting songs from his latest album, The Tree Of Forgiveness.

Make no mistake; the new tunes have no problem standing next to Prine classics such as Angel From Montgomery, Speed Of The Sound Of Loneliness or If You Don’t Want My Love…a tune he said he hadn’t sung “since I had hair”.

Speaking of classics, Prine’s version of Hello In There was simply stunning. I firmly believe that a majority of the audience had tears streaming down their faces at the end of the song.

Mr Prine brought along a killer band featuring guitarist Jason Wilber, multi-instrumentalist Fats Kaplin, long-time bass player Dave Jacques and drummer Brian Owenings.

Kaplin’s pedal steel playing brought out even more pathos to songs like Six O’Clock News and Wilber’s fancy pickin’ added extra sauce to Spanish Pipedream. His blistering slide playing really took Ain’t Hurtin’ Nobody to the next level.

Prine also played a solo section, where he highlighted older favourites such as Donald And Lydia and Fish And Whistle, which had been requested by an exuberant fan earlier in the show.

Opening act Tyler Childers, who impressed the audience with his Kentucky whisky-soaked songs, returned to sing Please Don’t Bury Me and then again for the grand finale, Paradise, which also saw Prine’s wife, Fiona join in for what felt like a good old fashioned folk jamboree.

I can’t say enough to get across how special this show was and I’d like to thank the promoters, Frontier Touring for bringing him to New Zealand. Despite Prine’s status as a songwriter, I know it was still a financial risk having him play three New Zealand shows. I can only urge you to go see him in Christchurch or Wellington if you have the opportunity.  This is a once in a lifetime show.

Marty Duda

Click on any image to view a photo gallery by Veronica McLaughlin:

 

John Prine set list:

  1. Picture Show
  2. Six O’Clock News
  3. Knockin’ On Your Screen Door
  4. Bruised Orange (Chain Of Sorrow)
  5. Spanish Pipedream
  6. Caravan Of Fools
  7. Egg and Daughter Nite, Lincoln Nebraska 1967 (Crazy Bone)
  8. Grandpa Was A Carpenter
  9. Hello In There
  10. Boundless Love
  11. Summer’s End
  12. I Have Met My Love Today
  13. Ain’t Hurtin’ Nobody
  14. Angel From Montgomery
  15. Donald And Lydia
  16. Speed Of The Sound Of Loneliness
  17. Fish And Whistle
  18. Please Don’t Bury Me
  19. If You Don’t Want My Love
  20. Sam Stone
  21. God Only Knows
  22. Lake Marie
  23. When I Get To Heaven
  24. Paradise

 

Marty Duda
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