http://www.canada.com/nat...f9d7180811


Prince schools Toronto crowd during electrifying, funk-filled Musicology show

Angela Pacienza
Canadian Press


Wednesday, July 28, 2004


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TORONTO (CP) - In an era of manufactured pop acts and gadgetry microphones that fix vocal pitch, Prince seems bent on schooling those who've forgotten about the craft of musicianship.

He taught his lesson of "musicology" Tuesday night to a sold-out audience at the Air Canada Centre. Filling the air with deep base lines, squealing saxophones and deft instrumental breaks, Prince took fans on a sweaty romp through funk, blues, rock, R&B and soul.

"Canada, are you ready for me?" shouted the petite singer, dressed in a resplendent red long jacket over stark white pants and heeled boots.

The show, the first of two nights in Toronto, was a homecoming for the Minnesota-born megastar. He's credited the city, where he became a part-time resident after marrying Toronto-born Manuela Testolini, for helping him craft the sound of his latest record Musicology.

The disc has refuelled fans' feverish admiration of the multi-faceted singer.

He showed off his funk dexterity to those too young to remember his records from the early 1980s, by ripping through a more than two-hour long set filled with some of his biggest hits.

After beginning the show with Musicology, the title track from his latest CD, Prince tore into Let's Go Crazy, from his 1984 record Purple Rain which cemented the singer's place in pop culture.

After the first few bars, white and purple confetti washed over the approximately 17,000 fans - who each received a free copy of Prince's current disc on their way inside - bumping and grinding in their seats.

The agile performer's passion was matched by the skilled New Power Generation band, all dressed in red and white to match their leader.

Playing songs from his more than 25-year-old eclectic catalogue, Prince and the band immaculately purged the sounds to give the concert a cohesive feel as they jumped from I Would Die For You, to When Doves Cry, to I Feel 4 U.

"This is not MTV," he told the crowd midway through Controversy.

"There will be no lip-synching on this stage tonight. This is real music by real musicians."

The 46-year-old craftsman showed off his guitar skills with several finessed solos. But he was especially mesmerizing during an acoustic set, where he was alone on the stage, perched on a stool strumming his shiny purple guitar. He reworked some of his biggest hits including Little Red Corvette, Cream and Alphabet Street as single-instrument tunes.

He frequently acknowledged his part-time home throughout the show. During a blues jam about trying to hide from telemarketers he gave the crowd his best impression of how Canadians speak.

"Who do you want to speak to, eh?" he said, pretending to be on the phone. "Prince?"

Prince's success has always hinged on the bountiful energy he's able to conjure through his stage performance and he didn't lack any Tuesday night. His lithe body continuously criss-crossed the stage - built in the centre of the stadium in the shape of a plus sign - to urge the audience to sing and clap along. Prince and the band even teased the crowd with some covers, including a few bars of Beyonce's booty-shaking anthem Crazy in Love. More....