John Prine kept the oldies coming

"Memories, they can't be boughten/ They can't be won at carnivals for free."

John Prine seemed to sing those lyrics from "Souvenirs" with a little extra emphasis Saturday night at the State Theatre in Minneapolis, where a sold-out crowd paid a fair price to hear the singer delve headlong into his memory bank.

Prine's shows have largely been nostalgia trips for over the past decade, but Saturday's two-hour performance especially reeled in the years -- not just through many old songs, but songs that encapsulated moments in time or reflected his graying, thinning hair.

The Chicago postman turned Nashville songwriting legend came to town in 2006 behind his first all-original album in 10 years, "Fair & Square." He still sang a handful of tracks from that record, including the two world-wearied gems "Taking a Walk" and "Crazy as a Loon," but he wound up singing a lot more off his pivotal first album, 1971's "John Prine."

Specifically, he did eight of the 13 tracks from his debut album, even more than usual. They included the opener "Spanish Pipedream," the closers "Hello in There" and "Paradise," and the crowd favorites "Angel From Montgomery" and "Sam Stone."

At least one of those way-oldies, "Your Flag Decal Won't Get You Into Heaven Anymore" (a spoof of Vietnam-era über-patriotism) had been taken out of his setlists for years. However, he said he "dusted it off with some Pledge at the request of the president."

"It wasn't a formal request," Prine, 61, quipped, "but he was asking for it."

Backed by his usual adept bassist Dave Jacques and guitarist Jason Wilbur (and no drummer), Prine kept the personal-journey aspect of the show rolling through songs like "Dear Abby" -- telling us which of the verses was autobiographical -- and "Lake Marie," a gory recount of his (or anyone's?) failed marriage. And he did offer a little Minne-centric nostalgia before "Souvenirs," a song he always dedicates to his late songwriting cohort Steve Goodman. He recounted performing with Goodman at the original Guthrie Theater in 1972.

"It was our first concert hall show," he said. "My god, you would've thought we were at Madison Square Garden."

Memories like these are worth the price of admission every time.