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Prince Gives Fans A Royal Treat
By Dave Pehling

POSTED: 5:35 pm PST February 19, 2004
UPDATED: 5:48 pm PST February 19, 2004

SAN FRANCISCO -- In an era when most flavor-of-the-month pop stars struggle to remain relevant from single to single with little hope for longevity, it's amazing that an artist who hasn't charted a single in over ten years can still inspire fans to pay inflated ticket prices, stand in ridiculously long lines (in the rain, no less) and endure endless waiting for a chance to witness a live performance. Despite all the hassles involved in getting to see Prince at the second of his two late-night performances at the Fillmore over Valentine's weekend, it took only a few moments onstage for the Purple One to erase any thoughts of inconvenience or fatigue.


His high-profile appearance with Beyonce Knowles on the Grammy broadcast the week before spurred rampant speculation that Prince was preparing to retake the spotlight, possibly resigning to a major label or warming up for a "greatest hits" tour. Sunday night's two-hour-plus concert may not have introduced new material that could reposition the singer atop the pop world, but it definitely confirmed that the mercurial performer remains one of the most electrifying musical talents of his generation.

The antsy crowd practically exploded with joy when the appropriately purple-tinged house lights finally dimmed at around 12:45 a.m. Screams erupted when the first well-dressed figure came out, but quickly subsided when the man jumped down to the space in front of the stage. Apparently, even Prince's guitar tech wears tailored suits. The current members of the New Power Generation (including R&B alto sax legend and former James Brown/P-Funk sideman Maceo Parker) gradually emerged and took their places to stir up a smoky, slow-jam groove that transformed into "The Beautiful Ones" from the 'Purple Rain' soundtrack as Prince finally took the stage to a huge roar.

Decked out in a white suit and crooning in an immaculate falsetto, the singer looked and sounded as if perhaps three years had passed since he first recorded the song, not three decades. Working the audience like putty in his hands, Prince played up the song's lyrics ("Do you want him? Or do you want ME?") for maximum response and brought it home by unleashing that inimitable, soulful scream that somehow remains perfectly intact after all this time.

Starting a concert for an expectant crowd with a ballad was an odd move, but following one slow jam with two more soul-searching tunes should have been suicide. Instead, the audience put their dancing shoes aside for the moment, singing along enthusiastically during the chorus of "Nothing Compares 2 U" (the early Prince song that gave Sinead O'Conner her only major hit) and cozying up to their dates as the singer continued his seductive soul man clinic with a tender version of "Insatiable."

The funk finally kicked in with the familiar electronic percussion of "Sign O' the Times" as Prince disappeared before reemerging to sing the first verse from the upstairs balcony. After returning to the stage, he strapped on a guitar to add his signature riffs to the song's funky coda, but was thwarted by sound problems (or, in this case, "lack of sound" problems). Prince shook off the snafu with fairly good humor considering his notorious perfectionism; but given the show's late start and the ample time the sound crew had to triple check everything, he and the fans had every right to be upset. There should have been no technical issues.

The band got further room to stretch out as Parker led the ensemble into the irresistible J.B.'s instrumental "Pass the Peas" that thumped even more relentlessly once the techs got Prince's guitar working. Adding syncopated chicken-scratch riffs that would have done '70s-era James Brown guitarists like Jimmy Nolen and "Catfish" Collins proud, Prince thickened the tasty groove being laid down by the crack rhythm section of bassist Rhonda Smith and ferocious drummer John Blackwell.

"The Question of U," an unexpected ballad from the soundtrack to Prince's ill-fated directorial debut 'Graffiti Bridge,' gave the musician another chance to show off his considerable six-string talents. Easily the match of any post-Eddie Van Halen gunslingers to emerge from the rock world, Prince wailed with an emotional depth and an ear for melody rarely heard in the hyper-speed shredding of modern guitarists.

The band followed along easily as he detoured into an extended blues tangent and gave one of his keyboardists the spotlight for her quick interpolation of Alicia Keys' "Fallin'" before reprising "The Question of U" with a last dose of molten, Santana/Hendrix-style fretwork. Had the artist decided to go the guitar-god route early in his career, he left little doubt that he probably would have been worshipped with the same fervor accorded to those classic-rock icons.

Prince directed the band into some less familiar funk-fueled material while still touching on classic hits like "U Got the Look" and an absolutely ripping version of "Kiss." The late hour and hefty dance-floor exertion should have been wearing the audience out, but every new song -- even left-field surprises like a take on the Sam and Dave chestnut "Soul Man" -- infused the crowd with more energy.

Prince picked a handful of enthusiastic dancers out of the crowd to join him onstage and even take the microphone for a celebratory version of "Take Me With You." Though their vocals may have been off key (and in the case of one aging, leather-panted hipster, totally incoherent), the audience participation only added to the show's loose and festive atmosphere.

The band departed the stage to wild applause, taking a brief break before returning with another special guest in tow. Bay Area funk hero, bass pioneer and original Family Stone member Larry Graham hit the stage sporting a dapper tan suit and looking more like Prince's well-dressed older brother than a funk veteran closing in on his 60th birthday.

Armed with a white Fender bass, Graham wasted no time putting his talented thumb to his E string and anchoring Prince's dead-on reading of Sly's monster Woodstock hit "I Want To Take You Higher." By inviting such luminaries as Parker and Graham to guest at his shows and ably covering classic songs from the James Brown and Sly Stone catalogues, Prince doesn't just assert his place in funk history; on another level, it boldly proclaims him as an equal to those great innovators. No one in attendance at the Fillmore would question elevating Prince to that pantheon.

The artist strapped on a bass of his own to duel with Graham on "Day of Wild" before showing amazing trust in his fans by handing the instrument into the crowd, letting audience members pass it amongst themselves before finally returning the bass to the stage. Prince and company left the stage again, shouting "It ain't over!!" as they walked off.

Some less dedicated attendees started making for the exits, but the diehard fans who stayed got treated to another blistering encore featuring "America" (from the 'Around the World in a Day' album), the funk workout "House Party" drawn from Parker's fellow J.B. horn player Fred Wesley and a closing cover of Blackstreet's hit "No Diggity" that spotlighted keyboardist/singer Chance Howard. Fans might have preferred to finish the night with Prince at center stage, singing one of his own songs. Still, even the painfully slow line exiting the Fillmore into a downpour couldn't shake the smiles off the faces the lucky few who got to witness one of pop music's greatest talents in such an intimate venue.