paradise

last saturday night i went into manhattan to see the great john prine. wonderful show- he played for three hours! three hours! to put this is perspective it is john on vocals and guitar, ------guitar solos and harmony vocals, and --------bass. and on this night the country singer songwriter iris dement came out and sang 4 or 5 duets with john.

now prine is a wonderful singer but steve perry he ain't. he has a great conversational singing voice, at one point during the night he commented that he can sing in two keys and the song he had started wasn't in either of them. he also battled throat cancer a few years back which obviously affected his voice. to my mind though he's a much better singer today than he was when he started but, by the end of the night his voice was starting to show the strain.

I saw him in albany two summers ago and he had an opening act so his set was a mere two hours long and his voice was strong throughout.

saturdays show was at carnegie hall and it had been a few years (and more than a few pounds) since i had been there. i was in the balcony, which in fancy concert hall talk means five stories up. by stairs. which means that as you continue your climb, the stairways are strewn with the bodies of the old and out of shape. the only thing keeping you moving up is vanity"please don't let me be one of those guys"

then when i arrive at the balcony i essentially have to walk down an entire flight to reach my seat.at carnegie hall, like at the older broadway houses, leg room and seat room are non existent. thank god i had an aisle! i had to chase some old hippie out of my seat. he tried to persuade me that he should sit there because he got there first. i don't remember what i said but judging by his expression and the speed with which he moved i suspect i was a bit abrupt.

( a slight digression: i spent a few days in woodstock this past spring and decided that it is a thin line that separates an old hippie from a nasty street bum. I say this with no judgement or animosity-just a keen sense of observation)

i will continue this tomorrow perhaps- there are some celebrities that will make cameo appearances, both inside and outside the show!

let me finish by saying if you are not familiar with john prine you should give him a listen. I suggest you check out his first album ,john prine, although his voice is very different the songwriting is inspirational. listen and be amazed (and humbled) that sam stone, hello in there, paradise, and angel from montgomery are all on one record.