It was early April when Prince called-in to George Lopez’s late night talk show and announced that he would be playing a 21-night run in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, and over the course of the next month and a half, the region would be under what you could only call a “Purple Reign.” Week after week, the legendary musician and his band captivated audiences with high-energy performances that usually went on past midnight as result of numerous encores, with some shows featuring as many as five or six returns to the stage. The setlist changed up with each show, making every night a unique experience and had many of those in attendance coming back for more over the course of the residency to see what Prince would do next. A surprise opening act and a special guest or two joined in on the festivities at each show, including Sheila E., Maceo Parker, Alicia Keys, Esperanza Spalding, Gwen Stefani, Whitney Houston, Mary J. Blige, Chaka Khan, Nikka Costa, Janelle Monae and the immortal Stevie Wonder, who showed up for the week of his 61st birthday to perform his own classic “Superstition” with Prince. Perhaps the most astounding factor to any of the shows was the cost of a ticket, in which most of them went for the inconceivable price of $25.
Aside from two extremely rare small-room shows in West Hollywood (one at the Troubadour, the other at the House of Blues on Sunset Strip), all of the concerts took place at the Forum in Inglewood. The following is an account of the May 6th show at the renowned arena. It was a night that found Prince finding perfect balance between the pop star and the musician. As a guitarist, the intensity and fluidity of his playing was on the verge of reaching places where Jimi Hendrix and Eddie Hazel have been. As the master of ceremonies, he had all the funky showmanship of James Brown and all of the over-the-top flamboyancy of Mick Jagger, as he restlessly paced the stage that was shaped into the unpronounceable glyph-symbol that he used as a name throughout most of the nineties. All of his trademark voices were in fine form, from his rock and roll soul to his playful falsetto to his sweet and smooth style. His band, the New Power Generation, was a tight-running machine that provided a glorious bed of sound that made every song an epic celebration.
But before Prince and his band took the stage for another grandiose spectacle, bassist/songwriter Esperanza Spalding opened the show. For many, this was their first time seeing the young talent perform, as she was virtually unknown before winning in the “Best New Artist” category at this year’s Grammies. When she took home that award in February, the media reported her victory as “shocking,” because she had defeated huge chart-toppers, but for those who caught her performance this evening, such a win didn’t seem surprising at all. One couldn’t overlook the expert musicianship of the band that took their quiet sound to a place that felt ambient and mysterious, hypnotic and beautiful. Esperanza’s soothing voice bloomed all kinds of colors, like a watered garden of flowers soaking up sunshine. In contrast to Prince’s energetic set to come, their time on stage was much more of a mellow trip, but they still made a big impact by easing in.
Her band looked like they came straight out of the 70’s and ‘80s in their flashy get-ups, and in many ways their music reflected the lava lamp-and-mirror ball sounds of those times, particularly jazz-fusion and R&B-pop. Those influences were most obvious in the covers of Wayne Shorter’s “Endangered Species” and Michael Jackson’s “I Can’t Help It,” the latter featuring Prince, who took to the stage before his set to contribute fluid guitar work. By the time Spalding wrapped up her performance, it was clear that this was a true student of the music’s history and will likely be sewing her own fabric to the music’s patchwork quilt for a long time to come.
After a short intermission, the lights dimmed, smoke arose, and the New Power Generation emerged from the shadows and blasted the audience with a sludgy metal-funk. Moments later, Prince emerged from the floor, guitar in hand right from the get-go, and started to lay it down on “Lay It Down.” His guitar licks were fiery and his rhymes had a slick flow, pouring every bit of his soul into each note played and lyric sung. An unforgettable night was under way and for the next two hours and forty-five minutes, it was on.
“She’s Always In My Hair,” a fairly obscure B-side, and the unreleased-in-the-States ballad “Future Soul Song” followed, making for the most surprising bust-outs. If these two songs were a treat for the die-hard fans that like a detour from the expected, then the next song, “Purple Rain,” was sure to appeal to the “we want the classics” crowd. Usually, Prince saves this seminal hit for the encore but on this night it would be an early treat that would serve as a coda to his first segment of songs, before turning the stage over to special guest Sheila E.
A long time collaborator and friend to Prince, Sheila E. has been an important figure in the Minnesota-born star’s career, and for this special occasion, she showed up to add some Latin-flavored percussion to the mix. She also would sing a couple her own songs and lend her voice to the choruses of some of Prince’s tunes. Her appearance opened with a take of her biggest hit, “The Glamorous Life,” with the support of the New Power Generation. Prince then resurfaced to join Sheila E. and the band for an up-tempo blast of euphoria that featured the kaleidoscopic pop of “Raspberry Beret” and the tight space-funk of “U Got the Look.” They also played a snippet of Michael Jackson’s “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough” and dusted off a rocking version of “Cool,” a song Prince had written for the band called The Time. Considering the song selection and Sheila E.’s presence, this portion of the show served up a heavy dose of Prince’s past that reminded many fans of his eighties’ glory.
For the home stretch of the main set, Prince segued many of hits into one long, flowing medley, starting with “When Doves Cry,” journeying through other classics like “Sign O’ the Times” and “I Would Die 4 U,” and then bringing things to a close with “Alphabet Street.” At one point during this sampler portion, Prince rhetorically asked the audience, “Do you know how many hits I got?!”, with a lighthearted confidence. Even a fair-weather fan would know he has more than one can probably count, but if there really was anyone in the dark on this or had forgotten, the man dropped one hit after another to remind him or her. Some of the songs were reduced to just a verse or two and the chorus, probably just so he could squeeze in as many hits as possible with the limited time he had.
The night wrapped up with three explosive encores. The first reintroduced Sheila E. to the fold for a duet with Prince on her hit “A Love Bizarre,” which transformed into a jam-out on get-down funk covers (“Love Rollercoaster” and “Play That Funky Music”) and wrapped up with the robotic groove of “Controversy.” Round two stayed on the dance-party vibe with “Kiss” and a take on Lakeside’s “Fantastic Voyage” before slowing it down with “If I Was Your Girlfriend” and “Nothing Compares 2 U.” At this point, the show had gone on past midnight and many fans had cleared out, but for those who stuck around, the night’s third encore capped things off with a cover of Kool and the Gang’s “Hollywood Swinging,” with the lyrics properly changed to “Inglewood Swinging.”
And so with a few dozen fans joining him on stage, under a shower of confetti, Prince brought another magical evening at the Forum to a close. Over the next few weeks he would continue to turn the famed arena into the musical church.
Prince will surely go down in history for making music he has made but the truth is, while you can always listen to his songs on the radio or pick up an album, you haven’t fully experienced Prince’s music until you hear him perform it live on stage.
Setlist: Lay It Down, She’s Always In My Hair, Future Soul Song, Purple Rain, The Glamorous Life, Raspberry Beret, Cream, Cool > Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough, Let’s Work, U Got the Look, Misty Blue, When Doves Cry > Nasty Girl > Single Ladies > Sign of the Times > The Most Beautiful Girl In The World > Darling Nikki > I Would Die 4 U > Hot Thing > Alphabet Street
Encore 1: A Love Bizarre, Love Rollercoaster, Play That Funky Music, Controversy
Encore 2: Kiss, Fantastic Voyage, If I was Your Girlfriend, Nothing Compares 2 U
Encore 3: Hollywood Swinging
