Review: Lexington, KY - Cosmic Charlies

“I can’t think of a more absurd song to sing,” remarked Chuck Prophet, launching into a solo acoustic version of Summertime Thing last night at Cosmic Charlie’s as the temps outside dipped into the 20s.

Absurd? Not a bit. But it was atypical. Stripping the closest thing the veteran San Francisco rocker has had to a radio hit into a folk-pop sing-a-long was the only real breather offered in what was otherwise a galvanizing, two hour rock ‘n’ roll show.

The rest of the performance relied on a repertoire that ran from Prophet’s days with the punkish Green on Red (its 1989 cover of the Waylon Jennings hit We Had It All, sung as a duet with wife/keyboardist Stephanie Finch) to tunes from eight of his nine solo albums (the debut Brother Aldo was the only exclusion) to healthy pickings from the recent Let Freedom Ring (highlighted by a riotous reading of Hot Talk that ripped the lid off the studio version). A pair of choice cover tunes (a World Party-like rendition of Bruce Springsteen’s For You and a surf-savvy take on Alex Chilton’s Bangkok) were offered as encores.

But mostly, a natural mix of spontaneity, soul and humor drove this performance that is inherent in all great rock shows. Such a blend provided a sunny cast to heavier songs, like the contemporary hard times saga You and Me Baby (Holding On), and an even greater celebratory vibe to the vintage Prophet party piece Diamond Jim.

The point of reckoning in this loose, infectious rock ‘n’ roll circus turned out to be 2004’s You Did (Bomp Shooby Dooby Bomp).  Working off a flavorful pop bounce that couldn’t help but get lodged in one’s head, Prophet and co-guitarist James DePrato offered up lanky solos that began with Neil Young-like urgency before splintering beautifully into shards of bluesy psychedelic fun.

It was a fitting coda for a hard hitting performance packed with the kind of rock ‘n’ roll heart that only the best pop craftsman and stage performers can muster. Last night, Prophet possessed such heart in spades.

[ LINK ]

The Bob Edwards Show - Weekend

Chuck Prophet

by Chad Campbell, senior producer

Sadly, the only reason I learned of musician Chuck Prophet was because of this show’s music reviewer emeritus. Anthony DeCurtis featured the Prophet song “Would You Love Me?” on our year-end overlooked music segment of 2007. That’s when I became a fan. So when I saw that Prophet had a new CD - recorded in Mexico City at the height of the H1N1 flu hysteria, amid an earthquake, drug wars and electrical brownouts, in a studio that was state of the art during the Eisenhower administration - I was intrigued. Here’s a short video that goes behind-the-scenes of Prophet’s time south of the border.

We arranged for Chuck Prophet to drop by our performance studio, between tour stops in Raleigh and Philadelphia, to perform three songs from his latest CD titled “Let Freedom Ring!”.

[ LINK ]

Taking over the WXPN blog

Chuck here, so listen up girl scouts:  I’ll be taking full command, hijacking NPR’s World Café web site and blogging all week long starting today Monday, December 7 - naturally, Pearl Harbor Day. Kamikaze?  Could be.  You’re not interested? Well consider this: Green on Red’s Dan Stuart is breaking radio silence. Tune in while I interview Dan about toenail clippings, MILF midget porn, Stairmasters with missing steps and other burning issues - all from a swank hotel lobby in London. Of course I’ll share career advice and explain the many benefits of plagiarism - plus deep thoughts about the lifeboat Springsteen tossed us all. And how KEITH RICHARDS TOLD ME COFFEE IS THE ABSOLUTE WORST THING YOU CAN PUT IN YOUR BODY (told by the late great Nikki Sudden, written by yours truly). Not all this stuff is brand new but it’s never too late to share Winston’s discovery of the right and wrong way to pack the van (when in doubt, consult the bass player).  From Tupelo Mississippi, our team mascot John Murry will assist me in interviewing myself, which sounds like safe sex, right? Well it’s not, but it does involve Bluetooth.  Guy Neal Williams will bludgeon unruly words back into line.  Folks: it’ll get ugly. I promise.

http://xpn.org/allaboutthemusic/tag/chuck-prophet-blog-takeover

KEXP Seattle Picks “American Man” As Its Song of the Day

Chuck Prophet’s “American Man,” from his recently released album ¡Let Freedom Ring!, is the featured 90.3 KEXP Seattle “Song of the Day” download today, Nov. 18th .

http://blog.kexp.org/blog/2009/11/18/song-of-the-day-chuck-prophet-american-man/

Great American Music Hall w/Jason Isbell, 11/08/09

CP and The Mission Express at the Great American Music Hall w/Jason Isbell, THIS SUNDAY NIGHT 11/08/09!
Chuck Prophet and Mission Express: 8-9:15pm
Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit 9:45-11:15pm