John Prine Review, Todd Snider, and the Yellowstone River

The Yellowstone River runs through Billings, winding near the I-90 corridor that leads past the city’s southern edge.  Our afternoon was spent hiking through the public trail system that weaves in and around the river.  At the end of the trail system was a large open park that opened around a large pond.  Ducks were flocking to the pond and my cousins spent time feeding the ducks from a bag of breadcrumbs.  The ducks did get a little randy when the food ran out and it came time to get rolling again.

The evening’s entertainment was the John Prine concert at Billing’s Alberta Baird Theatre.  The Alberta Baird Theatre was recently renovated using funding by a woman named Alberta Baird, who provided the funding on the condition that the theatre be named after her.  The theatre sits off of what could be considered “downtown” Billings.  It’s a nice facility, not overly large, but a throwback to the classic old theatre of years past.

The opening act was a fellow named Todd Snider.  It would later become apparent that Mr. Snider was much a copy of John Prine.

Forty-five minutes into the show, John Prine took the stage.  I enjoyed his performance and would describe it as almost a sarcastic folk.  Mr. Prine was the consummate performer, commanding that stage.