There's nothing like fresh material for a great American storyteller like John Prine.
When he returned to sold-out Northrop auditorium in Minneapolis on Friday night, the legendary songwriter not only was touring behind his first album of new material since 2005, but he talked about his former touring partner, singer-guitarist Leon Redbone, who died Thursday.
After one of their concerts, to see if he could catch the eccentric Redbone out of character, Prine knocked on the young vaudevillian's hotel door at 3 a.m. Redbone answered immediately, wearing his familiar sunglasses, Panama hat, white shirt and less familiar boxer shorts and socks with garters. Prine was instantly invited in and asked what he'd like to drink.
"Cognac," he recalled. Without missing a beat, Redbone pulled out a bottle of Christmas VSOP and two snifters.
At Northrop, as Prine was reliving that late night, you could sense that he was chuckling inside remembering his old pal, the kind of vivid character who could inhabit one of Prine's classic songs.
That sweet reminiscence combined with top-notch new tunes and essential oldies made for a very satisfying evening of storytelling, especially with the table set by Todd Snider's as-clever-as-Prine-and-just-as-funny opening segment, which earned a standing ovation.
A masterful wordsmith, Prine has always had an eye for poignant stories about the human condition, often with a touch of humor or sentimentality, always set to sparse music so the words and stories penetrate deeper.
After enduring two bouts of cancer and writer's block, Prine, 72, is enjoying a bit of a comeback thanks to last year's acclaimed "The Tree of Forgiveness" (his highest charting album ever) and this month's deserved induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in New York City.