It couldn't have been a more rewarding and funky night than it was for this fam. Arriving at 7:00 at the Jazz Cuisine, we enjoyed a fantastic dinner coupled with great service. Kudos to Saundra, Michael and Lena (who I understand earned some of her stripes as a chef at Spago)... a great experience overall and a very enjoyable, low key but classy environment. While tempted to indulge in wine, we realized the endurance test we were in for once we secured our aftershow wristbands probably wouldn't allow for it, unfortunately.

After dinner, we proceeded to 3121 at approximately 9:30 and found the system in place to be flawless and efficient. We gained entrance and went directly to the left side (facing the stage) next to a podium, about 10 feet from the stage, where we sat on the floor awaiting the passage of time until P. performed. Time passed fairly quickly, the vibe was great and the environment was wonderful. The fact that Prince launched the evening with Purple Rain was a bit more than surprising, but he was "on" as soon as the curtains parted. This was anything but a lackluster performance (I've seen a few P. shows, somewhere around 20, to compare this one to so I think I can say this with confidence) as he reworked "Another Lover" to include harder guitar lines, kicked some major funk into "Lolita" as compared to even the recorded version, played a wonderful acoustic set (though it would always be too short) and showed a lot of appreciation for the audience. The ONLY odd things to me were his injection of "Long and Winding Road" which I felt was too much of a stretch for him (just no funk and too outside of his element) and the "metal-ish" guitar solo in the middle of "Another Lover" that kind of felt to me like I was watching Marty in Back to the Future do a solo at his high school auditorium when everyone just kind of looked on with a look of "what was that?" Just not as tastey as most P. solos that I've become accustomed to I guess, though still passionate.

I agree that the lower level VIP seats are too low to see from. I'm tall and I looked back and thought I'd be livid if I had to sit in those seats (or stand to see all night) after paying the $300+ cost, with or without dinner and bottle service. I waffled on buying them for quite a while and was glad I didn't after seeing them. The second level seats looked like they'd be good and anywhere in the venue offered good sight lines, for the most part. I'd recommend standing around the outside of the floor or behind one of the front two podiums where your space would be all yours and no one would be standing directly in front of you. Plus, you may have Prince playing directly in front of you or one of the Twins dancing in front of you, as happened that night... not a bad situation!

I can also say that there's no way this show was only an hour. He came on at 12:30 (several of us were betting on what time he'd come out so I know this is correct) and we had to be back at Jazz Cuisine by 3... we only took a bathroom break in between and arrived there at approximately 2:30. Of course, you can deduct 10 minutes (?) for the video shown prior to Prince taking the stage but I'd still say this show was 1.5 - 1.75 hours long.

Onto the aftershow. Way too many non-fams in there, which was unfortunate. P., however, was congenial all night as he joined the band on and off during a night that was made up of Satisfied (the only one to include vocals), a couple of New Orleans jazz tracks and some traditional jazz/funk jazz. The band was, of course, red hot. We had a seat at a table directly in front of Prince which made for a very enjoyable experience (it was cool to shake his hand too, which he did with several people in that area). He sat to the right of the room and grooved to the band all night, offering up kudos numerous times after solos. The aftershow HAD to have gone over an hour and fifteen minutes but at that point in the evening, anything's possible... we were lost in the moment. They were pulled back to do an encore after the crowd (of only about 50) were taunted by Mike Phillips (?) with "is it over?" numerous times. P. came out and played drums, which was great to listen to and watch. It was also great to hear him play bass during the 3121 show earlier. He was "on" all night, in my opinion, truely enjoying playing and listening (to his band at the aftershow)... as well as being around the people at the aftershow (at times, even conversing with one of the people sitting next to us briefly).

For anyone interested in John Blackwell's whereabouts, as I was, I had the chance to ask Renato what he knew prior to the aftershow (Renato is super nice and a fantastic keyboard player, as I'm sure you know!). He told me that John is on tour with Justin Timberlake and that he was doing wonderfully. Great to hear as John became a friend after meeting him at The Back Room in Chicago when he first started with P. several years ago (we emailed/talked by phone on and of for several years)... super, super guy and one that didn't deserve the hardships bestowed upon him. Glad to hear he's doing well... but I'm not motivated enough to go see Timberlake! UGH! Poor John... all that jazz funk at his fingertips and stuck playing with JT... oh well. Sometimes it's a living I suppose.

Anyway, it was a night of exceptional energy, entertainment and funk... no Prince fan could ask for more and if ya did, you'd just be greedy. Thanks P. for making it a once in a lifetime experience... one that I'd repeat any day!
[Edited 2/26/07 23:54pm]

great review !!

When I heard that the show was only an hour I was like no way. I'm glad you had a great time. I've seen Prince many times over the last few years and TRULY believe that 3121, with ALL its shortcomings and inconveniences, is STILL the best and most intimate experience I've ever had and I hope he extends his run there. Thanks for the review.

Thanks for the review, what an experience!!!!

thanks for the review!

great review!

sounds more like the prince experience u wanna c in such an intimate setting. glad u enjoyed it

Sweet!

Glad you had a good time. If John Blackwell is playing with Justin Timberlake, that is great, because, even though, I'm not a fan, Justin is one of the biggest celebrities at the moment.

lovebird said:

That explains why the band was hot at the Timberflake show the other night.