**********************************************************************************
This is my first piece for MusicScene-MPLS and also the first and only time I will make this particular confession: I got turned on to the performer I went to see last night from an in-flight magazine. Let’s just say my musical tastes and those you’d expect to read a fluff piece in one of those free rags, rarely cross. You flip through those things to find out what kind of scotch they have on board or if you’re looking for the airsickness bag. It’s once in a million flights that I’d come across a musician I’d be willing to cross the river for on a Sunday night, but the Turf Club was the place and Chuck Prophet and the Mission Express was worth the trek.
But before Prophet could lead his San Francisco-based band on stage, local luminary Dylan Hicks and the Toughies had it. I’m new to the Twin Cities so – sorry - but Hicks was unknown to me even though one of his bandmates happened to be the brother of a friend. Looking like he had come from a Royal Tenenbaums convention or playing the Ramada ballroom, Hicks was limited mostly to dancing beneath his keyboard as they worked through their dozen song set. They grew on me a little, but the Ramada Inn kept coming to mind and I was there to see Chuck.
Thinking I was plucking Prophet’s set-list off the stage at the end of the night, I actually wound up with Dylan’s instead. “Remember drums and guitar drop on turnaround of 2nd verse” was Hicks’ little crib note in reference to the song “What I Want.” Dylan Hicks’ first novel is coming out soon; see: I can play nice.
Chuck Prophet, looking like the lovechild of Weeds-era Kevin Nealon and John Doe (thankfully sounding much more like the latter), took the stage and gave immediate props and well wishes for recovery to Slim Dunlap, with whom he’d played his first ever time at the Turf Club. Prophet made damn sure to win over the local crowd (and it was a really good crowd for a Sunday night, but if this is any indication of who was there: the woman hitting on me was in her 50s) by also mentioning Bob Dylan and said that IF he still drank, the Turf Club would be the place.
Chuck Prophet had been the guitarist in the kickass, psychedelic garage band, Green on Red in the 80s who I had the great fortune to see. The Mission Express, named for the bus that goes by Prophet’s SFO home, did not disappoint either. This was a guitar-laden, rock ‘n roll set with Prophet’s playing and showmanship supplemented by his significant other (Stephanie Finch) on Vox organ, back-up vocals and lead on a song of her own.
Normally, this is where a decent, experienced reviewer (or at least one who did more homework) would tell you what songs were played, but I can’t help you much there: I know they played “Would You Love Me?” from 2007’s lp “Soap and Water.” CP and the Mission Express are touring their new, San Francisco-themed album, Temple Beautiful, which I haven’t picked up yet (or would have today had it not been $17 at so-called Cheapo Records/Uptown) so perhaps a bunch of the material comes from that just-released work. There was a Springsteen cover in the set, but Prophet made that his own.
In short: Chuck Prophet is going to remind you of the late, great Alex Chilton, Ray Davies and the aforementioneds; maybe you should have read that in-flight magazine, too. And yeah, you should have been there; you could have told me what songs they were playing. You can hear the new album here:
No comments:
Post a Comment