Purple Reign
This strange little man is a fantastic musician
http://www.canada.com/sea...053272DDDA
Lynn Saxberg
The Ottawa Citizen

Saturday, June 15, 2002

"Surrender your expectations," declared the artist known again as Prince during his recent concerts in Alberta. "4 those of U expecting 2 get your Purple Rain on, U R in the wrong house 2-nite."

Translation: If you're a casual fan hoping for Prince hits at the National Arts Centre tomorrow night, save your money. Stay home and listen to the CD.

But if you're a fan of music, a musician or someone who simply enjoys concerts, make sure you're there. As the Purple 1 makes his way to Ottawa for his first performance here, he's leaving a trail of raving critics and awestruck fans in every city he's played between Ontario and British Columbia.

Except Saskatoon. They're disgusted with him in that Prairie town because he cancelled on them. The official reason was "technical difficulties," but speculation is that ticket sales were slower than expected. The steep ticket price ($100 plus surchages) may have been a deterrent.

In Ottawa, the prices are even higher -- $150 and $99, plus surcharges. At press time, tickets were still available at TicketMaster and the NAC box office.

It's a whack of money, but believe the hype. After witnessing the shows in Edmonton and Calgary, I can tell you he is a fantastic musician with an unbelievable band.

And I'm not even a fan. At least, I wasn't before I travelled to Alberta to get some inclination of what's up with the little guy. To me, his weirdness tended to overshadow his music.

But just wait until you hear the tight, horn-drenched funk of 1+1+1=3, a track from his latest disc, Rainbow Children, that makes you instinctively jump to your feet and dance.

Wait until you hear his sweet, soulful falsetto caress Joni Mitchell's A Case of You.

Wait until you hear him tease and moan: "I'm so funky I can't sleep with myself ... I ain't gonna make it."

And watch out for his blistering electric guitar and effortless piano work.

While you're at it, try to keep an eye on the flash and power of drummer John Blackwell, the fluid versatility of keyboardist Renato Neto, who can switch from cheesy Eighties-style synthesizer to classic swing in the blink of an eye, and the solid, jazz-inspired bass grooves of Rhonda Smith. If you're lucky, you may even get to hear her sing, as she did in Calgary.

Then there's the horn section: Don't let Maceo Parker, James Brown's favourite sax player, out of your sight. His fellow brass-man is trombone player Greg Boyer. (This is assuming Prince doesn't make any last-minute changes in his band. You never know.)

When it's over -- nearly three hours later -- you'll be itching to join the New Power Generation fan club. Become one with the Rainbow Children. Or crash the after-show party.

In Vancouver, the high-heeled artist arranged a party for fan-club members in the hotel bar.

In Edmonton, he rehearsed with his band for nine hours at a downtown music store the day before the show, and played Whole Lotta Love for fans at the sound check.

In Winnipeg, Prince celebrated his 44th birthday with fans at a club after the concert.

Yes, membership in the New Power Generation (cost: $100 U.S. a year) has its privileges. At concerts, the first few rows -- on this tour, it's the orchestra pit -- are reserved for fan-club members. They're also the ones who get the most access to the normally elusive Artist: they are often invited to sit in on soundchecks and question-and-answer periods, and get invited to after-hours parties. Through the Web site, npgmusicclub.com, fans get four unreleased Prince CDs a year, advance sales of concert tickets and other exclusive goodies.

Members of the media have no such opportunity. Prince hasn't done an interview in years. Newspapers must buy a ticket to send a reviewer, and cameras are barred.

So it's hard to figure out exactly why an artist of such superstar proportions has embarked on this intimate tour of soft-seat theatres in Canada. But Prince is known for these whirlwind "hit-and-run" tours, in which he announces a series of dates no more than a week or two in advance. The current Canadian tour, for example, began May 28 in Vancouver, less than a week after it was announced.

A similar tour took place in the United States earlier this year.

He's also got connections in Canada. Word has it that he married a woman from Toronto on New Year's Eve, and they are believed to be the buyers of a $5.5-million home in an exclusive part of Toronto.

But Prince still maintains his roots in hometown Minneapolis, where he was born Prince Rogers Nelson. That's where his Paisley Park studio is, and where he's planning a week-long celebration of himself, June 21-27, featuring an array of special guests, including Musiq, Sheila E., Parker, Victor Wooten, Norah Jones, Bernard Allison and others. Tickets to that event are sold out.

As for the weirdness, well, it's still there. The latest instalment surrounds his becoming a Jehovah's Witness, which has required some tinkering to his sexually-charged persona. No more songs like Cream or Sexy M.F. in the set, although you may notice Prince still has a hard time keeping his hands off himself.

At one point during the Calgary concert, he slipped his hand into his suit jacket, which was unbuttoned to the chest. He swivelled his hips, wiggled his butt and strutted like Tina Turner. He flirted with the women in the audience. But not once did he grab his crotch.

Eventually, inevitably, he preached. "The power of surrender is a wonderful thing," he said. "It's about faith."

"God is love, love is God," we chanted on cue.

Later, during a majestic, gospelized version of Purple Rain (yup, he played it after all): "It's time we all reached out for something new. This ain't 1984, people, it's 2002. Reach for a Bible. ... We in the fourth quarter, y'all. There are countries with nuclear missiles aimed at one another. Rainbow children, we must rise up to eliminate the xenophobia."

He also lamented the globalization of radio stations. "When was the last time you turned on the radio and heard real music?" he asked the audience. "I used to love my radio. Now the multinational corporations run radio ... we fantasize that we own our own radio station and we play what we want. We gonna bring the funk back to you."

The next few songs were a celebration of "the funk," with songs like Ohio Players' Love Rollercoaster, the Delfonics' La-La Means I Love You and Erykah Badu's Didn't Cha Know.

On-screen images of Civil War-era flyers advertising slaves for sale led into another supercharged funk jam on Family Name, complete with furious solos on Prince's purple electric guitar.

No doubt about it, Prince's best rants have always been musical.

While NPG members who have met their idol say he's warm and friendly, some of his past actions have made him seem like an arrogant eccentric.

Take the name change. In 1993, he went from Prince to an unprounouceable hieroglyphic -- and was dubbed The Artist Formerly Known As Prince -- then last year went back to Prince (does that make him The Artist Formerly Known As The Artist Formerly Known As Prince?).

Whatever you call him, he became a superstar with his 1984 album, Purple Rain, which sold some 10 million copies and generated the hits When Doves Cry, Let's Go Crazy and the title track.

Some observers now say the name change was a protest against his contract with his record company, Warner. In 1995, Prince declared himself a slave and went into a legal battle with Warner that took a couple of albums to resolve.

He was released from his contract the following year, and promptly put out the three-disc set, Emancipation. There have been several more albums since then, including the disappointing 1999 disc, Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic, and last year's Rainbow Children, a dense, challenging set, but still his best in years.

Musically, Rainbow Children is the best indication of what to expect tomorrow night. But it doesn't capture the Artist's sense of humour, the fun he has with his band members and his sheer joy at entertaining.

Whether it's a celebratory atmosphere like Edmonton's Friday-night party, or a breathtakingly intense free-for-all like Calgary's concert, it will be memorable.

Prepare to surrender to the power of Prince.

In Winnipeg, Prince celebrated his 44th birthday with fans at a club after the concert.

Celebrated his birthday ? Hmmm sure