http://www.detnews.com/20...189877.htm

Prince connects in Detroit with polished gig at Palace


By Mekeisha Madden / The Detroit News



In the modern-day film version of David and Goliath, the Pistons would play the role of David as they defeat the bloated giants called the Lakers. And just when the movie seems like it can’t get any better, Prince appears and performs the soundtrack.

OK, maybe not the soundtrack. But Sunday night at The Palace of Auburn Hills, when music legend Prince performed the first of his two-night concerts, he and his band chanted “We hate the Lakers.” Later in the show, the icon sported an all-white suit with a No. 22 Tayshaun Prince jersey underneath.

Watching Prince execute his two-hour show is like hearing “1999,” seeing “Purple Rain” and drinking a cold glass of ice water on a hot day simultaneously.

There’s a reason Prince is at the top of his game. That jersey should say Prince on the back, because this man performs like he’s playing in the NBA Finals.

Prince opened with “Musicology” fashionably late by an hour. Dressed in a red Nehru jacket with pants and platform velvet boots to match, Prince followed up with an energetic medley that included “Let’s Go Crazy,” “I Would Die 4 U” and “Baby I’m a Star.”

“I’ve been waiting on this,” said Prince to the sold-out crowd of 20,000-plus. “You know I get busy when I come to Detroit.”

Prince puts the “P” in polished. A row of fresh curls crowned his head and when he donned a red hat and later removed it, not a strand had moved. For “When Doves Cry,” he wore red with white polka dots.

He danced and pranced all over a cross-shaped stage. And everything connected. The tassels that dangled from his jacket sleeves and pant legs seemed to resemble the chandelier that hung high above the stage, dangling strands of translucent beads.

Meanwhile, Prince kept connecting to his audience and to Detroit. The artist made references to the Electrifying Mojo when he performed “Adore” on acoustic guitar.

The artist also performed songs he wrote for others, including Chaka Khan (“I feel for you”), and closed with “Purple Rain.”

Mekeisha Madden can be reached at (313) 222-2501 or mmadden@detnews.com.