Portugal 2010 I grabbed this off YouTube and I have to say - it's one of my favorite Prince shows EVER. The man was ON FIRE. I can't say I've ever seen a show where it's so obvious that he's feeling total joy.
For instance, when he starts "1999" he laughs his head off and points out someone in the crowd (10:05 - 10:10 on the video). It's just so cool. How many times have you seen Prince crack up onstage?
And then the extended guitar solo in "Guitar" (26:18 - 28:00 or so). WOW. People, that's pure joy coming from our man. I'm pretty sure just about every move he made was spontaneous. I've played enough to know. The guy was in absolute HEAVEN. Watch him hop at 26:58 and tell me I'm wrong.
When he stepped up to the wah pedal right after that and found his friend in the crowd? And he smiled and nodded as if to say, "As a matter of fact, I AM killing it!"? Holy moley, I get goosebumps every time I watch that. Of course, Prince goes right into Certified Guitar God theatrics immediately after laughing with his friend. It is so cool. It makes me so happy.
"You know what? You better take my shoes off. You can't walk in them thangs!" I've not heard every performance of "Guitar" but if he ever sang that line some other time, please let me know. What a GREAT line!
Prince threw in some guitar riffs I hadn't ever heard, too. There's one in "Little Red Corvette", a few bars before the solo. BTW, that solo is phenomenal. It's almost-but-not-exactly like the album's, but it's changed just enough to sound incredibly fresh and.....perfect.
Same thing on "Take Me With U". There's a little riff Prince throws in right after he sings, "I don't care if we spend the night on the town" that I've never heard him play. It's not complicated or mind-bending, it's just.......again, perfect. It releases endorphins in my body every time I hear it.
"Oh, Portugal! Oh, Portigal!" Man, this is just a perfect show for me. I love it so much.
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