Oh yes indeed. This show was about music, not about Prince. He played rocky guitar, funky guitar, wailin' and latin guitar and luscious sparkly piano. His voice boomed and wooned, his body swerved deftly and stylistically. His whole attitude was just...old school cool.

I saw him first in Jam of the Year and left disappointed- wanting him to play the way he did tonight. He joked with the crowd like a coy friend, telling us he wanted to pour us all in to a cup and drink us all up, he gave high fives, he had us singing along and booty shankin' our thangs. But above all he stunned us with his brilliant musicianship and showmanship and that of his band which he loved to show off time and again.It was as if his whole message was : 'look guys, i rock, my band rocks and I want you to have fun'.
But there was a serious side to the show too what with the already mentioned racism/xenophobia dialogue. Yet he also came across confessional, telling us of the difficult days he went through (not one year as far as I could tell but recent years with his masters, his copyright angst against fans and his dissolving public presence) and it seemed no coincidence that he picked up Habibi whenever a song referred back to his record label or personal troubles.
It was here that religion played a highlighted role and Prince the entertainer turned to Prince the preacher,and it seemed, in between the protestations of God, actually speaking from the heart of hurt and the healing he has overcome and some that still remains....

And the fans? Well, Overall I think there was a mixture of transfixed wonder, all out partying and an odd group on the right in mid balcony that for the most part barely uttered a clap all night. Perhaps they were totally transfixed throughout. For a long stretch tonight I confess, i was too...

I have seen Prince several times...in both large and small settings....but what I saw last night in DC blew me away. Like wine...the purple one only gets better as he ages... and to have Maceo behind him my god...that was my easter service 2 days early...Prince sang the blues...brought tha funk...played some serious jazz...did a lounge singer bit on the piano...and ROCKED..HARD!!! all I can say is AMAZING...so glad I made it.felt like I finally got a chance to see Hendrix...Bitches Brew era Miles Davis...John Coletrane..Santana.and early 70's James Brown all in one show... ANYONE bitching and moaning about the ticket prices... SHUT YOUR MOUTH...that was worth every penny...hell I woulda paid 3 times that and felt I got a good deal. ANY DOUBTERS OR NON-BELIEVERS THAT PRINCE IS THE MOST VERSITILE AND AMAZING MUSCIAN TO WALK THE EARTH IN 2002 GO SEE THIS SHOW....MY ONLY COMPLAINT...I DON''T HAVE TICKETS FOR TONIGHT AND SUNDAY.
HE'S BACK AND STILL BLOWIN' MINDS AFTER 20 SOMETHING YEARS!!!

Thanks 4 the reviews. Wow.

peace!

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[This message was edited Fri Apr 19 6:22:19 PDT 2002 by luvy]