Recap: Chuck Prophet and the Mission Express light up World Cafe Live
All photos by Chris Sikich | countfeed.tumblr.com
August began with an aural bang at World Café in Philadelphia last night as Chuck Prophet and The Mission Express powered through a nearly two-hour set of good old-fashioned rock and roll. Heavy on songs from the stellar 2012 release Temple Beautiful, Prophet and his crackerjack Mission Express players – including Prophet’s wife and fellow songstress Stephie Finch, guitarist James DePrato (who even utilized a double-necked guitar on some songs), bassist Kevin White, and drummer Vicente Rodriguez – engaged the audience in a rollicking musical affair. Prophet also regaled his fans with tales of meeting the late Jerry Garcia and shaking his “catcher’s mitt” sized hand and of WXPN’s Dan Reed comparing the Prophet tune “Summertime Thing” to Bob Seger’s “Night Moves” and the subsequent serendipity of hearing “Summertime Thing” in a Philly restaurant. Musical highlights included the main set closer “You Did (Bomp Shooby Dooby Bomp),” Prophet’s catchiest tune that had the crowd gleefully calling “you did” back at Prophet and Co., and the finale, Alejandro Escovedo’s “Always a Friend,” a song co-penned by Prophet that crystallized the atmosphere and the experience of the night – there is a love affair between Prophet, Mission Express, and the audience that is sure to never end.