When Chuck Prophet is on a mission, what you see is one of
the most enigmatic purveyors of alt-country rock ‘n’ roll music on the circuit
today. Of course Chuck has been producing the goods for over thirty years
through his Green on Red connection and solo work. On the evidence of these
latest set of UK dates, the Californian is still firing on all cylinders and an
enthralled Nottingham crowd soaked up a whole two hours of vintage Chuck
Prophet and the Mission Express.
Although vintage in style, the material leaned heavily upon the
absolute contemporary with the brand new album featuring prominently. BOBBY
FULLER DIED FOR YOUR SINS is barely a week old and yet its status as a cultural
high spot for poetic rock ‘n’ roll is securing tightly with each play. Chuck
and his band launched their set with the title track of this album just after
eight thirty and the marker was set for a riveting couple of hours of prime
sophisticated velocity. The Bobby Fuller connection didn’t just lie with the
opening track as the encore began with a cover of ‘Let Her Dance’, a popular hit for Bobby before his sad early demise
in the mid-sixties. By that time, the entrance fee had been repaid several
times over with Chuck in absorbing form and in total control of an engrossed
audience.
Each song, whether crowd pleasing old favourites like ‘Temple Beautiful’, ‘You Did’ and ‘Willie Mays Is
Up At Bat’ or new material such as ‘Bad
Year for Rock ‘n’ Roll’, was perfectly accompanied by the four band
members. It was the usual set up with the lead guitar of James DePrato and keyboard
of Stephanie Finch stepping more to the fore leaving Vincente Rodriguez (drums)
and Kevin White (bass) to shore up the backfield. The former pair also added
vital harmony contributions ensuring that there will always be a West Coast
feel to the music of Chuck Prophet.
Several spins of the new record reveal another song writing
lyrical masterclass from Chuck. Two particular stand-outs from this album were ‘Jesus Was a Social Drinker’ and ‘We Got Up and Played’. Both saw Chuck
switch into acoustic mode with the utilisation of his Martin D-38 prompting an
ironic cry of Judas from the audience much to his amusement.
It is 2017, so the inevitable and essential political comment from the progressive American artistic community ensued, with ‘Barely
Exist’ being dedicated to those seeking a better life. Also much of that community
is still coming to terms with the losses of 2016 and Chuck delivered a duet
version of ‘Iodine’ with Stephanie as
a tribute to Leonard Cohen. This was a gig awash with an abundance of seriously
good moments, so you could take your pick from the pin drop sublime to the
fully fledged onslaught of electric amplification. Even the latter contains
marvellous content as exemplified by ‘Alex
Nieto’ off the new record.
The Rescue Rooms proved the ideal hosting pad for Chuck. A
sizeable gathering was comfortably housed and the enjoyment of the music was
enhanced by finding the venue’s sound sweet spot. Likewise Chuck found his all
night. By the time the band signed off with the popular ‘You and Me Baby (Holding On)’, a perfect resting place in the
personal gig memory vault had been created making this one of the standard
markers for at least the rest of the year – probably longer.
The bill was enhanced through a short opening set from an
American folk singer by the name of Max Gomez who is travelling with Chuck. An
engaging song about an antiques store and insurance fraud proved the highlight
of his set and Max made a re-appearance for Chuck’s encore. The whole set up on
stage proved a resounding success for Nottingham based promoters Cosmic
American who have a long association with Chuck. Maybe their forays into
Birmingham for his gigs didn’t reach the same level but a short drive up the
M42 for West Midlands based folks was a small price to pay for a night like
this.
Long may Chuck Prophet’s lengthy association with touring
the UK remain and even if there is not a universal appreciation of America’s favourite past time, a few of us understand the psyche of ‘three on, two out and the
Giants greatest ever centre fielder'.