Small towns give birth to good things, two of them are old friends and great music. This is how I heard Dick Prall was playing in Boulder; thru an old friend with a great taste in music. Dick Prall is a singer/songwriter based in Chicago and born in Iowa that was making his way through Boulder Colorado while playing a series of shows all along the front range. Dick's set, at the Rock n' Soul Cafe, was shorter than he would have liked as he was struggling with some allergies caused by the recent fires and over all dryness this time of year brings to Boulder. You would never have known he was struggling at all as his voice came through as strong as a gale force wind. There is something sweet and kind about the way Dick Prall sings his songs. He combines the best of Paul Simon's writing ability with the fluid harmonies of another Chicago singer/songwriter Andrew Bird.
Dick played a variety of songs from two of his CD's 2004's 'fizzlebuzzie' and 2007's 'Weightless'. 'Grand Marquee' is a song that reminded me of being a kid listening to my parents stack of 45's with my head phones on and is a reminder of how the current state of the music industry is not what it was just a few years ago. 'Barely Moving' was inspired by a guy that did not feel he needed to let his girlfriend know he was breaking up with her; its a wonderful song with light melodic verses. As a solo act it can be hard to get a specific feeling across with out a band to back you up, this was not the issue with the song 'Copperhead Town'; there was general fear in his warning to 'stay away for Copperhead Town'. Two other songs I really enjoyed were 'Boulevard' and 'Devils', both sung with the same casual, matter of fact manner that gives Dick Prall his own unique style and sound. The final song of the evening was a 'joking ode to stalkers everywhere' called "The Cornflakes Song', the type of song that's so fun that at the end everyone was singing along 'ba ba bah babah baah'. It was a great first introduction to the music of Dick Prall, but I know it won't be the last.
Artist site: http://dickprall.blogspot.com
