Chuck Prophet at Jammin’ Java, 11/7/21

 I’ve been a fan of Chuck Prophet ever since I heard his song “A Bad Year For Rock & Roll” while searching my Sirius XM channels about 5 years ago. He had a sound that was rootsy, not too country-ish, and at times, really rockin’. Soon thereafter, I purchased 4 of his (at the time) most recent digital albums, which were on constant play during my work commute for most of the next year.

But I was not fortunate enough to get to see his live show, then Covid hit.

Fast forward to 2021, and live music is coming back! Chuck and his band, The Mission Express, were coming to Jammin’ Java, a small club about 15 minutes away. Another regret of mine was not ever getting to Jammin’ Java in the previous 20 years of its existence as a live music venue, so this was a double treat!

Upon entry that Sunday night, I encountered a very intimate joint, with seating for about 200, at dinging tables and general admission seating. I took as seat at the back of the GA area, and waited.


Opening the show that night was young San Francisco-based singer-songwriter Matt Jaffe, who set high expectations by coming out to the Theme From 2001: A Space Odyssey. That’s ballsy! But Matt provided a decent set, mixing a nice acoustic guitar sound with catchy pop music vocals, and sprinkling in some engaging stories in between his songs.

At 8 PM, Chuck and his band took the stage, and asked us to open our hymnals and join him in song, as they played the title track of his album “Bobby Fuller Died For Your Sins”. He then proceeded to rip through a 19-song set, with highlights like leading into “Wish Me Luck” with a cover of CCR’s “Lodi”, and mesmerizing the crowd with a 9-minute call-and-response version of “You Did (Who Put The Bomp)”. The set ended with a two-song encore, “In The Mausoleum” and “Willie Mays Is Up At Bat”, where the crowd was invited to come up to the front of the stage.



The Mission Express was led by Chuck’s wife, Stephanie Finch on keyboard and accordion, and was joined by James DePrato on lead guitar, and a tight rhythm section of Kevin White on bass and Vicente Rodriguez on drums.

I went into the show expecting a great show, and was not disappointed. Chuck Prophet and The Mission Express deliver a fun two hours of music.

Rating: 5 stars (out of 5). 


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