A Low-Key John Prine Sticks With Authenticity

If he had more of a penchant for dramatics, for the grand emotive gesture, John Prine might command a bigger following. Instead, he sticks to being authentic.

Opening a three-night stand of solo concerts Friday at the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano, Prine used his rough, gravelly voice and simple, serviceable folk-guitar style to fashion poignant, detailed stories about heartbreak and loss and humorous songs in which most of the laugh lines landed as unobtrusively as a fly fisher’s casting. It wasn’t the sort of performance that grabs and shakes a listener, but for those willing to engage their attention and imagination, it carried plenty of rewards.

In two hours, Prine played a career-spanning 33 songs, and the strain of low-keyed uniformity that set in toward the end might have been relieved if he had been working with a second guitarist, as he often does. But the solo setting focused complete attention on Prine’s greatest strength: his song craft. It was a reminder that exceptional songs don’t need to reach for grand heights. They can be just as effective down-to-earth, written and sung in a way that gets uncommonly close to the life they’re attempting to portray.