John Prine

For the past two years, I’ve been listening to John Prine almost constantly. I first heard The Great Compromise on Pam Hill’s 3rd Annual Rejection Day Counter-Valentine’s show on KFAI. It’s just a great song with clever lyrics and a great political sub-text. The man is seeing a beautiful woman (The United States) who he takes to a drive-in movie. When he comes back with drinks, she’s “hopped into a foreign sports car.” Some people call him a coward for walking away, but he’d rather have names thrown at him than “fight for a thing that ain’t right.” Talk about a song that sticks in your head.

I haven’t bought many CDs in the last couple years, but I bought his Anthology and have been listening to it almost constantly ever since. Two years and I still keep picking new things out of those same old songs.

Whenever I read about organ donation, I get a chuckle thinking of his “Please Don’t Bury Me” which features clever hooks like “the deaf can take both of my ears if they don’t mind the sight” and “give my stomach to Milwaulkee if they run out of beer”.

Anyway, a couple months ago, I learned that he was playing the State Theater here in Minneapolis. Knowing that I would have a two-month old at that time, I balked at the timing and — with diapers putting a new strain on our budget — the cost. Then I remembered my regrets about never seeing Frank Sinatra or Johnny Cash, and I changed my mind. But by then, they had sold out. Nuts.

We just got a call today from Cities 97, our local Clear Channel affiliate that plays a decent, if predictable, acoustic song list on Sunday morning & evening. We won the tickets to the concert. It’s this Friday.

I am so excited. It’s a small-ish venue and, considering his clever lyrics, I’ll bet he’ll have some good stage patter. And I’m excited to hear more of his music since I only have two disks of his expansive catalog. Not sure where the seats are, but who cares?

Plus this is going to be a great date for me and my tater away from our lil’ tater tot. Two concerts in six months? I almost feel hip again!