21.7.04

But it was Monday night I guess that makes it alright...

Since all is quiet due to MOGtravel, let me throw in a quick note about the Prince show I attended on Monday, 7/12.

Two words: UN-real.  The man has been doing it for 25 years and he hasn't lost a nanogram of it.  Prince is a pure entertainer and a damn fine one at that.  He got the entire crowd into the show; so much so that even this writer caught himself clapping along once or twice (this as opposed to the standard folded arms with the "try to impress me" smugness on the face).

For a capacity crowd at the World's Most Famous Arena, Prince delivered hard.  He played the hits, he played the old school, he played the hits and the old school on a stool with an acoustic guitar.

You could he missed the big shows.  When he went into exile during the "slave" years due to fights with Warner Bros, he'd play epics sets in tiny European clubs - that's well and good but someone of his caliber belongs on the big stage - he feeds off of it.  The louder the crowd got, the more intense he got.  No one walked out of the show feeling in anyway disappointed (except for my sister who wanted to hear '1999' - I tried to explain to her that since we've passed the year 1999, that it was kind of a moot point) - and good thing too since the tickets weren't exactly price like an all ages Fugazi gig.

Prince, as expected, brought with him a stellar band.  No, Sheila E was not there, but the 'precussionist', to his credit was outstanding.  Prince also had one guitarist, bassist - both superb - two saxomaphonists - one of whom used to play with James Brown or something like that - a trumboner, and two keyboardists.  All geniuses at their trade.  And not to be out done, Prince can wail on the guitar.  All the virtuoso rumors I had heard are TOTALLY valid.  He started out with his traditional telecaster and eventually ended up with his signature swirly-glyph looking guitar.

I was truly happy I experienced this - and, to boot, everyone who walked in the building received a copy of his new album.  That's full-service stardom.

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