Brave New Prince: Last Vegas Show Electrified

This was my first trip to Las Vegas, and I greeted the city streets with eternal optimism. In short, I was a wide-eyed kid being pushed around by the crowed, my eyes turned skyward to take in all the sights and sounds and blinking fitfully in the afternoon sun. On Saturday afternoon we stopped in to explore the New York, New York Hotel & Casino and decided to check out the Manhattan Express, the roller coaster that sprawls the length of the casino. Not for the faint of heart, the hyper coaster (a coaster with a height of 200 feet) propels riders at breakneck speeds like a human pinball through twists and turns, loops and inversions across the makeshift skyline of New York. The ride is a menacing and daunting spectacle to behold. There is a feeling you get in the pit of your stomach as your car slowly climbs the first 200-ft hill. Your pulse quickens. Your skin grows clammy. Your belly feels all twisted and knotted, like someone is stirring your insides with invisible knives. I believe they call the feeling the “butterflies”. The reason I’m telling you this is because that’s exactly how I felt again merely hours later standing at the edge of the stage as the curtain began to rise at Club 3121. There were butterflies “dancing in my belly like a ballerina” and none of my efforts could calm them down. This night would be a roller coaster ride, for sure, but this one only climbed steadily up, up, and up.

Prince and his band ripped into the show opener “3121”like a hot knife through butter, the musical blast from the band knocking me from the front and the screams of the audience behind me hitting me in the back. This was touted to be the last of the 3121 shows in Vegas, and cameras on booms orbited above the room. Every so often, a cameraman plowed through the dense crowd around me to capture shots from the audience’s perspective. A girl, obviously drunk, dropped to her knees in front of him, clawing at his fly before her friends pulled her back up out of embarrassment. (Anything to be on TV, right?) The cameraman never wavered, but I’m pretty sure I saw a hint of a smile at the edge of his mouth. Perhaps the video footage will show some of the celebrities in the audience, like Greg Grunberg and Jack Coleman from the hit TV series “Heroes.”

Next, Larry Graham joined the band on stage for a tribute to Sly and the Family Stone. The romp through the musical library of this milestone band began with “Everyday People” and culminated with “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf) Again”. Prince joined Graham center stage, and the two began dueling on bass guitars. No more than 10 feet away from them, I was glued, spellbound. . Graham is the master of the pop-and-slap, but Prince is my hero; I admit my eyes were drawn to the center of Graham’s guitar, trying in vain to follow the action of those powerful and quick-moving hands. As they dueled, I saw Prince tease Graham through a gritted smile. “This time, I’m going to catch you,” he mouthed off, but I don’t know that he was ever able to. Watching the two of them playing like that in playful but determined competition and in perfect unison, I couldn’t help feel that I was watching something historic unfold in that room, something divine. Surely this was the stuff of legends.

With the tribute finished, it was time for Sheila E. to take center stage. Mrs. E. proved that she is still living the “Glamorous Life,” and looked every bit the part; her beauty is elegant and intoxicating. Flanked by the Twinz, E. worked the crowd with a salsa-tinged version of her popular 80’s hit, then followed it by a searing drum solo. E. worked the drums like a tribal goddess, laying a drumstick down and rapping against it with the other, then playing the bottom and sides of the drum, and at one point playing the drum set with her high heels. With her high heels! At the end of the set, the audience roaring approval, E. grabbed her drum set and brought it crashing down to the floor…. right on the foot of one of the Twinz? Ouch! That had to hurt.

Speaking of the Twinz, I earned a new respect for their dynamic and bold energy. The two kept perfect rhythm, in turns either complementing Prince’s movements or reaching out to work the crowd. He’s very lucky to have them.

These days, Prince never hesitates to show us his comic side, making us laugh several times throughout the show. More than once, Prince playfully brought the music to a halt, directing his band to stop playing until the audience literally begged for more. Later, keyboardist Morris Hayes donned a Sunday bonnet to perform the gospel-tinged overture of the steamy, uhm hymnal, “Satisfied.” Prince later comically threw a chair across the room out of mock frustration. And nothing was funnier than the expressions on his face during the bluesy medley of "Begging, Cock-Eyed, Three Handed Woman.” “She tells me to pass the pepper, but she’s looking at the salt/Every time we get into an argument, it’s always little Prince’s fault” he laments to the roars and howls of the crowd.

Perhaps no moment was finer than the powerhouse one-two punch of “Lolita” and “Black Sweat” back to back. For “Lolita” the Twinz were at their sultry best, donning Hollywood glam sunglasses and dropping to the floor of the stage to begin the segment, chins resting on their palms and legs kicked back behind them as if they were teen jailbait at a slumber party. As the song gained momentum, they alternately performed their suggestive dances near Prince, teasing and tantalizing him (and us!) into a sweaty mess. But there was no time to catch a breath, because the follow up of “Black Sweat” would keep everyone dancing. Let me tell you a little secret: to hear the retro elecro-funk of a groove like Black Sweat live is to be a part of certain electricity. Something about it makes you feel like you’re at the coolest place on the planet…and yes, I’m pretty sure time stood still for a moment. Watching it, hearing it live makes the nightclub scenes in the movie “Purple Rain” seem tame in comparison, like reruns of “The Lawrence Welk Show”. It’s that good.

At one point during the 2-1/2 hour dance fest, Prince took center stage and beamed “My band is tight” while rubbing the palms of his hands together in demonstration. Then taking a step forward, he held one hand up for all to see, pressing his thumb to his index finger and repeated again, “Tight.” He said the word with much emphasis, as if to drive the point home, but it was a wasted move. No one in the room that night would ever be challenging him.

There were many other outstanding moments. Among them, the new up-tempo flashback to 1986 ‘s “Girls & Boys”; the shake-your -booty dance fest that became “Musicology”, complete with a dancer from the audience who threatened to run away with the whole show; and the arresting encore of “Get On the Boat” that threatened to bring the entire Rio Casino crashing down on our heads. Special nods to the rest of the band: Renato Neto, Mike Philips, Greg Boyer, Maceo Parker, Mr. Hayes, the drummer (was that Cora Dunham?), vocalist Shelby… forgive me if I’ve overlooked anyone (I also don’t know the name of the female vocalist that sang toward the beginning of the show, but she was dynamite.)

The only down side to the whole evening was being denied entrance to the after party. After waiting patiently in line for over an hour it was a disappointment to be denied entrance and told that the after party had reached capacity at 3:30 in the morning. The line stopped right before it reached us! We asked the disinterested doorman if we could wait a little longer, hoping we could gain entrance after a few people left. We were rudely told “No. Just face it; none of you past this point will be going inside this room tonight. Period. Go home.”

But all that aside, I’ve found that there is a spark between people who have seen Prince in concert before, an electricity that passes silently between them. Eyes light up-- voices rise--the excitement is obvious on their faces. I believe that this happens because they all share a common knowledge. They know how lucky you are to be locked in the same room with Prince for a few short hours; how electrifying and wonderful it feels to share in that particular type of magic. They know.

Outside the Rio Hotel




The line inside the Rio




A rare Prince sighting on the streets of Las Vegas



Twinz poster



Jim, Lisa, and me outside of the Jazz Lounge (Do we look heartbroken because we didn't get in to the after show? We are!)


[Edited 5/3/07 7:12am]

I never make it thru the long ones, but I completely enjoyed that. Too bad about the aftershow, though.
I vote Robertes for org correspondent.

anon said:

When it comes to Prince shows, they always turn out to be really long. I can't help it!

Yes, it IS too bad about the aftershow. I'm still groaning about it.

Oh, and I accept your nomination.

robertes71 said:

Very nice report!!

Excuse me, Robert! Who is that woman in the photos? You didn't mention a "Lisa" when we last we spoke.

I thought I was the woman in your life.

lizlampkin said:

You know you're still my girl!

Prince sang this song, and I am not sure of the name of it. It is killing me, can someone please help me. I only know parts of the song.

"My baby's a crossed eyed woman,she ask for the salt, but she is looking at the pepper"

My baby's a 3 armed woman...

He sang this song at the 4/28 show.
HELP

robertes71 said:

It's good to know you two worked it out!

masonmommy said:

I don't know the name of it...something about a begging, cross-eyed, 3-handed woman...that's all I know...

Rarely moved 2 respond 2 many of the posts 'round here, but just wanted 2 let U know I thoroughly Njoyed your review (and photos); very descriptive and objective. Especially liked this last paragraph:

robertes71 said:

[/quote]

Sharing this Purple High with friends and fams, old and new, is a beautiful derivative of the whole Xperience.
It's a respect thang.
R U Xperienced?

PS In total agreement with anon; U'd make a great correspondent!

robertes71 said:

Robertes71, a big thank you for this great report, you transported me back to the concert I attended in March, his music is so powerful that I believe in a way that it contains many messages for all of us...After the concert, many things have changed for me musically, I will always love his music but i will never underestimate the power of music.
You brought tears to my eyes.
Thanks again!

All the best, Suzie

great photos !!!