Thursday, June 03, 2004
acoustic set; now with nurse shoes
I got to see Prince last night in San Jose, and I am one lucky girl. Although I lived in Minneapolis, Prince's hometown, for 4 years, I never, ever got to see him peform until last night.
The closest I'd gotten to him in Mpls. was spotting him in the crowd at his club. Even in his ultra-tall Kiss boots, he stood about as high as my chin. He was sucking on a round lollipop and moving fast from one spot to the next, often in the same minute. Where is he? Oh, on the first floor. Where is he now? Oh, on the balcony. Being deliberately elusive made him even more mysterious.
So was my 20+ years of pent-up anticipation of a Prince show worth it? You bet ya! He usually plays for 3 hours and incorporates costume changes to freshen up between sets.
His 2nd outfit last night was a white shirt, open wide, with red polka dots, and white pants with fringe running up and down the seams. He rose from below the stage on a silver chair for his solo acoustic performance. Since the mic was installed to his chair, he could swivel 360 degrees, purple acoustic guitar and all. He also wore white custom nurse shoes with giant white wedge heels. He may be Prince, but comfort is king.
I joked earlier that because of the last train I had to catch back to San Francisco, that I would miss "Little Red Corvette" and "Raspberry Beret" naiively predicting the encores in advance. But he played both solo, in that nurse shoe outfit.
Then the full band returned to the stage to back up Prince chugging his guitar through a stellar, incredibly solid cover of Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love." Unreal, really.
Prince also pointed out that he refuses to use "bad language" which matches the rumors that he's now a Jehovah's Witness, but who cares? Anyone with eyes and ears would agree that his live shows are one sight to see.
The closest I'd gotten to him in Mpls. was spotting him in the crowd at his club. Even in his ultra-tall Kiss boots, he stood about as high as my chin. He was sucking on a round lollipop and moving fast from one spot to the next, often in the same minute. Where is he? Oh, on the first floor. Where is he now? Oh, on the balcony. Being deliberately elusive made him even more mysterious.
So was my 20+ years of pent-up anticipation of a Prince show worth it? You bet ya! He usually plays for 3 hours and incorporates costume changes to freshen up between sets.
His 2nd outfit last night was a white shirt, open wide, with red polka dots, and white pants with fringe running up and down the seams. He rose from below the stage on a silver chair for his solo acoustic performance. Since the mic was installed to his chair, he could swivel 360 degrees, purple acoustic guitar and all. He also wore white custom nurse shoes with giant white wedge heels. He may be Prince, but comfort is king.
I joked earlier that because of the last train I had to catch back to San Francisco, that I would miss "Little Red Corvette" and "Raspberry Beret" naiively predicting the encores in advance. But he played both solo, in that nurse shoe outfit.
Then the full band returned to the stage to back up Prince chugging his guitar through a stellar, incredibly solid cover of Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love." Unreal, really.
Prince also pointed out that he refuses to use "bad language" which matches the rumors that he's now a Jehovah's Witness, but who cares? Anyone with eyes and ears would agree that his live shows are one sight to see.
