MILWAUKEE — Not to dissuade Garrison Keillor from taking that much-deserved retirement expected next year, but it’s hard to picture “A Prairie Home Companion” without the companion.
That was even clearer Saturday when the 73-year-old hosted his St. Paul, Minnesota-based, homespun NPR variety show live at a sold-out Milwaukee Theatre for what was billed as his last time from Milwaukee.
His successor, singer-songwriter and mandolinist Chris Thile from Nickel Creek and the Punch Brothers, has guest-hosted the 42-year-old show several times. But, clearly, there are many aspects of Keillor he cannot, and no doubt will not, replicate.
There’s Keillor’s deep, folksy voice of course, born for radio, filled with wisdom and wonder. And there are his words, swaying from the profound to the playful.
His “News from Lake Wobegon” monologue Saturday, largely concerning his ice fishing shack on the fictitious Minnesota lake, expressed the appeal of such a sanctuary, with Keillor beautifully describing “snow falling through the trees, the birch trees … and there’s a sense of grandeur and romance.”
But a few minutes later, he comically burst his own poetic bubble with the practical perspective of his wife, who told him all the money spent on propane and supplies could be used to fly in fresh tuna from the coast.
And there was a visit Saturday from “Guy Noir, Private Eye,” another recurring bit, like “Wobegon,” that couldn’t possibly continue beyond its creator.
For this episode, Keillor’s character was in Wisconsin, stumbling into various presidential candidates and also “Donald Trump’s possible running mate,” Gov. Scott Walker.
“People were expecting a happy warrior,” Keillor’s Noir said to Walker about his presidential campaign. But unfortunately, Walker was a “mouth breather.” Not good for pictures, he said, plus “it’s a fact, candidates’ ratings go up when their mouths are closed.” (And, yes, Keillor went for equal-opportunity ribbing, poking fun at Hillary Clinton for speaking in “flat, declarative sentences.”)
“Noir” may not work as well without Keillor, but it also wouldn’t have worked without the show’s animated radio actors Tim Russell and Sue Scott, and sound effects man Fred Newman. Which, for the tickled fans in the crowd, was an indication that “Companion” without Keillor was at least a better proposition than no “Companion” at all.
With “Companion,” Keillor created something larger than himself, and that spirit should live on, particularly in the show’s Americana music. In that regard, it’s in terrific hands with Thile and the house band, and so long as the guest musicians are thoughtfully booked.
On Saturday, they certainly were, with blues harmonica master Howard Levy showcasing a range of styles, from blues to Western to Bach on his harp.
And there were three uplifting songs from Milwaukee singer-songwriter team Willy Porter and Carmen Nickerson, plus they joined Keillor in a gospel medley after the show went off air that included a “chicken chorus.”
It was nice to have several Wisconsin touches like that on Saturday’s show. There was a radio jingle for a beer brand called “Wauwatosa” that won’t give you flatulence, and a bit about how even the oatmeal and the pancakes in Milwaukee are made with cheese.
Keillor sang a new version of Merle Haggard’s “Mama Tried” about a privileged Wisconsinite he could relate to, one who briefly taught ballet in Eau Claire and sold pot brownies in Door County.
And he affectionately spoke about how, when he’s in Wisconsin, he communes with the spirit of his late brother, who was a sailor in Milwaukee and happily raised his family here.
“You lose your older brother, it’s like losing your arm,” Keillor said. “You just have to get along without it, but you do remember what the arm felt like.”
Come next year, his listeners will be feeling something like that.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Keillor hosts last Milwaukee taping of ‘Prairie Home Companion’
