Charley Pride + Stephen Pride @ Symphony Hall, 4th May 2015.
A prestigious venue such as the Birmingham Symphony Hall is very particular as to whom it permits to grace its vast stage. Those brave enough to accept the challenge have an enviable reward in store if they are able to successfully achieve a union between the vastness of the venue, the weight of expectation, and the ever demanding audience – especially as tonight’s performance has set most of them back between forty and fifty pounds.
Thankfully though, tonight, the vastness of the venue is expertly bridged by the country music legend Charley Pride. As the backing band, more over known to the fans as The Pridesmen, take up there positions, we are informed that this evening will see not one, but two Prides grace the stage.
Support for the night will be provided by none other than Charley’s younger brother – the youngest of eleven siblings – Stephen Pride. The similarities between the two brothers are certainly obvious physically, but who would have thought that one family could produce two outstanding country voices. The starkest difference between the brothers is the content of their setlist. Charley’s will cherry pick from his vast self-penned back catalogue, whilst Stephen is reliant upon a bundle of country classics that are probably more familiar to many of the audience via some other vessel.
Nevertheless, you cannot criticise Stephen Pride in any way for not performing his own material. He manages to deliver a wonderful performance, further enhanced by his seemingly altruistic philosophy. It really does feel as if Stephen is fully immersed in the moment, appreciative and humble to be a part of proceedings. Pride junior addresses the crowd, as he will do several times during his performance, admonishing any sign of ego, and thanking the audience for taking the time to listen to what he has to offer.
Pride Junior, opens with ‘Mercury Blues’, ‘Statue Of A Fool’ and the Don Williams classic ‘Tulsa Time’. The audience great the opening bars of each number with a gleeful enthusiasm. In amongst all the famous songs that pepper the setlist, there is one less well known number that could easily have succumbed to the sheer weight of expectation given the company it finds itself in. The song ‘Perfect Picture’ has only been recorded by a small selection of singers, one of which, was Stephen Pride himself. It is great to witness that the culmination of this song is given the warmest round of applause, much to the surprise of Pride himself.
And so, after a small interval one Pride makes way for another. It just so happens that the elder sibling has written a canonical amount of country classics, as well as being able to lay claim to having had over thirty number one hits in the Billboard Country Chart, and an Oscar nomination for his vocal performance the soundtrack for the film ‘Sometimes A Great Notion’.
It is no surprise to find that Pride is guitar-less and just slightly strained in his movements about the stage. This is no surprise to the audience as they warmly greet the seventy-seven year old legend. Pride opens with ‘Six Days On the Road’, following up with ‘Louisiana Man’ and ‘I Don’t Know Why I Love You’; the latter sweeping the audience up in a rousing sing-a-long. What an opening! The atmosphere is transformed and certainly raises the venue another couple of echelons on from where Pride junior had guided them.
With regards to the audience, it would not be too inflammatory to surmise that that vast majority of those in attendance are certainly over fifty and beyond. It would appear that the regrettable desire to view the live concert via a smartphone has been embraced by this demographic. Throughout the night, the symphony hall stewards can be found fleeting from one row to the next in the thankless task of chastising those that dare to contravene the buildings policy of no photography. I must confess that this inversion of social stereotypes is very amusing, although, not for the poor symphony hall staff, i might add.
As previously mentioned, Pride is well into his seventh decade, and certainly not a mobile as his younger brother. For the duration, Pride moves tentatively from one side of the stage to the other. His laboured movements are accompanied by a number of comical gestures and facial expressions which quickly dissipate any notion of age, and peel away the years to reveal the very same troubadour that won the hearts of so many, so long ago.
Pride doesn’t relent for a moment as he reels off hit after hit, including ‘Is Anybody Goin To San Antone?’, ‘All I Have To Offer You Is Me’ and the epically titled ‘Does My Ring Hurt Your Finger’. Many of the songs are performed outright, or in a medley of five or six at a time. Indeed, this approach, although, frustrating if one of your favourites is cut short as the Pridesmen break into another hit, but it certainly ensures that Pride is able to attack of significant portion of the fans favourites, and no doubt satisfy almost everybody.
Review: Chris Curtis