John Prine pleases crowd at IU Auditorium

When the lights dimmed at the IU Auditorium, a near-packed crowd of mostly older audience members enjoyed the sounds of Grammy Award-winning folk rocker John Prine.

The Maywood, Ill., native released his debut album in 1971 after working as a postman for five years and serving in the Army. He won the Grammy Award for his 1991 album “The Missing Years,” and in 2006, he won another Grammy, this time for his album “Fair & Square,” which won the award for Best Contemporary Folk Album. He was also inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2003.

The opening act of the night was Tennessean Pat McLaughlin. His music was a blend of rock and soul with a touch of country, and he had no problem playing aggressive licks on his acoustic guitar.

A short time later, the legendary Prine took to the stage wearing all black. He was joined on stage by two other musicians, one of them Bloomington native Jason Wilber. He handled electric, mandolin, harmonica and backup vocal duties for the musician. Wilber is a touring musician who has been playing with Prine on his tour.

The 62-year-old Prine had a smoky voice, sounding somewhere between Steve Earle and Johnny Cash. Before playing the somber “Six o’clock news,” he told the audience, “I’ve got two kinds of songs: fast ones and sad ones.”

The singer spoke to the crowd after many songs, telling a funny story about “Fish and Whistle.”

“This song almost didn’t get written,” Prine said, explaining that a stubborn record producer wanted him to write one more song for a record, something Prine didn’t want to do. “I sat in the hotel room and thought, ‘I’ll show him, I’ll write the worst song ever written.’ But after playing it a couple of hundred times, I’ve come to like it.”

Prine was diagnosed with throat cancer in 1998 and had to undergo surgery to remove a tumor. This has caused his voice to sound more gravely, but at times Saturday night, he had a nuance of blues in his voice.

The rambunctious crowd shouted out requests for songs throughout the show. Parts of the show were just Prine on stage, while other parts of the show had two, and sometimes as many as four, other musicians on stage with him, including opening act McLaughlin.

John Johnson, 50, of Elmhurst, Ill, came 300 miles to hear Prine at the IU Auditorium. Johnson said he has been a fan of Prine’s for more than 30 years.

“This was great,” Johnson said. “You can’t ask for anything better than that.”

Johnson’s favorite song at the show was the somber ballad “Hello In There.” He said he had been playing harmonica since he was 13 years old, and Prine encouraged the younger Johnson to keep playing back when Prine was Johnson’s postman in Illinois.
Though he had seen Prine perform before, Johnson said it was the first time he’d heard Prine at a real venue.

“He’s there with his audience, he’s right there,” Johnson said. “He’s feeling his audience, and that’s part of performing.”

Bloomington native Jerry Boswell-Vipe, 41, didn’t have to travel as far as Johnson, but said he grew up with Prine’s music. Like Johnson, he likes Prine’s performing style.

“He’s always full of energy and seems like he’s having fun all the time,” Boswell-Vipe said. “It seems like he’s speaking to each and every individual at the show.”