Sunday, July 05, 2009

A Review of the July 4th Broadcast of A Prairie Home Companion


Garrison Keillor on stage (in the white sport coat) during the July 4th broadcast of A Prairie Home Companion from Avon, MN


Garrison Keillor during rehearsal before the start of the special 4th of July broadcast of A Prairie Home Companion from Avon, MN, "as close to Lake Wobegon as we could get."

Here is my review of the July 4th, and 35th anniversary, broadcast of Garrison Keillor's A Prairie Home Companion from little Avon, MN.

I've seen APHC on several occasions, the first of which was also on July 4th. That show was broadcast from the football field of St. John's University in Collegeville, MN back in 1982.

It was a fantastic show, and afterward, my mother-in-law Marge took me up on stage to meet Keillor, who is a friend of her sister's family. I had always enjoyed listening to the Saturday evening broadcast of APHC before seeing him in 1982, but after that show I was hooked.

So I was especially looking forward to seeing him in tiny (pop. 1242) Avon, MN, which is on the Lake Wobegon Trail. Not only was the show yesterday a July 4th show, but it was also the 35th anniversary of A Prairie Home Companion which first broadcast on July 6, 1974. Unfortunately, the performance did not live up to my expectations.

First, a bit about the venue. It took place in Lake Wobegon Park, which is located in the center of town. Avon is a small town, and I'm sure its citizens and city employees did the best they could to accommodate the crowds of roughly 10,000 people, but it was painfully obvious they had no idea how to handle a large group of people.

There were not nearly enough portable bathrooms in place, so the lines to use them were always very long. There was limited access to food and water. And it was clear the police on traffic duty had never had to direct that many cars before in their lives because getting into and out of town was a horrendous mess.

Once situated in the park (on our own lawn chairs) we waited for more than 2 hours for the broadcast to begin. Usually at concerts and such outdoor events, the organizers will play recorded music or provide some other type of entertainment for the crowd. But yesterday, there was no pre-show entertainment.

Heck, they could have had the local high school band on stage playing patriotic songs for a couple of hours, it was the 4th of July afterall, but there was nothing. It was a missed opportunity for the city of Avon.

At last the show started. Keillor sang his usual opening tune "Hello Love," and then began to run through the cast of performers that would be joining him on stage throughout the evening. As a long-time listener, I realized that many of the regulars on APHC were absent from this evening's broadcast, which I found odd since it was his 35th anniversary special.

The guests included: The Guy's All-Star Shoe Band, Jerry Bierschbach, Father Steve Binsfeld, Senator Amy Klobuchar, World War II veterans Clarence Fischbach and Ralph Lauer, Pastor Steve Hilde, sound effects man Tom Keith, guitarist and St. John's alum John McCutcheon, Avon Mayor John Grutsch, Bud Heidgerken, Minnesota state senator Tarryl Clark, Leigh Lenzmeier, the St. John's Boys Choir, vocalist Andra Suchy, and Vern Sutton (a performer with Garrison on his very first show in 1974).

I won't review each and every segment of the show, but I will say that from 1 to 10, with 10 being the best show possible, I'd rate this show a 4.

The Guy Noir segment was average at best. The interviews with the WW II vets were a nice idea on July 4th, but it was nearly impossible to understand what one of the gentlemen was saying.

The musical guests were OK, but not nearly as good as the acts Keillor usually has on his show. There were no "surprise" special guests, such as Meryl Streep or Martin Sheen (both of whom have appeared as guests before for special occasions). And even the News from Lake Wobegon segment seemed uninspired.

I suppose that after 35 years it gets hard to get excited about doing the show week after week, but this was billed as a coming home party; the place where it all began 35 years earlier. Plus, it was the 4th of July show, usually a big deal for Keillor. But this show lacked anything special.

Still, it was nice to be outside on a bright sunny day, enjoying the company of family, eating good food (which we brought with us), and listening to an average A Prairie Home Companion broadcast.

On my drive north to Leech Lake today I tuned in to the rebroadcast of yesterday's show, and while it might have been a tad better than my initial impression (maybe a 5 out of 10), it still struck me as a flat performance.

I've seen the Grateful Dead on more occasions than I can count (or even remember) and while some of the shows were absolutely incredible -- with Jerry Garcia reaching levels of musicianship never seen anywhere before or since -- other shows were out and out clunkers.

So I guess if the Grateful Dead can have off days (and can be forgiven), I suppose Garrison Keillor can be excused if he can't hit it out of the park with every show either. Still, it would have been nice to see him rev it up like I know he still can.

"And that's the news from Lake Wobegon, where all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all of the children are above average."

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