...by the same guy who wrote the 'how prince can save us from our lack of sex appeal' article

http://www.eastbayexpress...index.html

Let's Go Crazy ... Pleeease!
Prince at the Fillmore: Braggin' rights and not much more.
BY ROB HARVILLA
rob.harvilla@eastbayexpress.com

What does Prince's Bat-Signal look like? Does it slice a royal-purple beam of light through the Gotham City clouds? Is it shaped like a phallus? Does it shout Waaaaah!!! like Prince himself during "Gett Off"?

Perhaps it does, because he heard and heeded it. As noted in this space two weeks ago, the Great Super Bowl Rogue Breast Disaster of 2004 ignited firestorms of pointless bickering about obscenity and decency and American Moral Values. Ignore this tripe and focus on the real issue: It was the least sexy stunt to ever occur on television (narrowly beating out the Tet Offensive), a hugely public symptom of our country's complete lack of sensuality.

"We don't know how to be sexy anymore," this column childishly whined in paraphrase. "Only Prince, the perfect marriage of poppy artistic genius and pure undistilled lust, can save us now."

And thus did the Prince Bat-Signal whoosh across the sky, and thus did Prince, as he sat hand-milking a field of goats on a mountainside in Vienna, heed its siren call and schedule a midnight show at the Fillmore on Valentine's Day.

Sweet Jesus, it's time to Gett Off.

It's also time to pay up. A mere $99 a ticket, with unavoidable Ticketmaster service charges to boot, a more robust and thorough pounding than anything Darling Nikki ever enjoyed. But no matter: Besides providing manna from heaven for procrastinating V-Day planners, this was an Event, a front-row seat at Prince's glorious comeback. First the Grammys, then the Fillmore, then the world, again.

The music itself? Ehhhh. Five out of ten. Would've made a fabulous Wednesday night bargain showcase at Yoshi's.

The show itself? We were there, dude.

Advertised start time: midnight. Actual start time: 12:40, right on schedule. The stage: tastefully decorated in some sorta Japanese koi garden style. Horn section: badass (Maceo Parker on sax, yo!), all busting out extended solos right from the get-go, followed by a guitar solo by His Purpleness himself.

Prince plays guitar with the ease and studied nonchalance with which you put on your pants. Picture that final flourish of "Let's Go Crazy" -- Steve Vai-caliber shredding shit -- rendered live by America's preeminent rockstar sex symbol: a short, scrawny dude from Minneapolis who wears outfits exclusively from the Deion Sanders Executive Collection.

But ah, evoking "Let's Go Crazy" is not nearly the same as playing "Let's Go Crazy." Prince is on a different tip now, masterminding an admittedly world-destroyingly great jazz-funk big band as if he's trying to outdo Brian Wilson himself -- Heavy Pet Sounds. His favorite onstage phrase is "On the one!" and the band dutifully whacks to a full stop on the one-beat, leaving Prince in silence to pose or toss out one-liners like "Somebody look at these shoes!"

Let's just say it: It's a jam band. Extended grooves, multiple ego-stroking solos, merry medleys -- "Love Rollercoaster," "Brick House," "No Diggity," etc. And nary a sidelong glance at "When Doves Cry" or "1999." C'mon, dude, we'll settle for "Batdance."

Prince diehards have sneered at this complaint for years -- he's miles beyond all those cheesy pop tunes, he's an artist, let the man evolve. "Just play the hits!" is indeed an incredibly uncool thing to yell at a rock show, but all this self-indulgent jazzy noodling, however graceful and technically flawless, gets awfully frustrating at two in the morning when you know this dude could unload a two-hour Vegas-style nostalgic pop radio spectacle so unspeakably brilliant it could stop time.

So we take what Prince condescends to throw at us: a long, slow drag off the blunt that is "Controversy," with its joyous breakdown chant of "People call me rude/I wish we all were nude/I wish there was no black or white/I wish there were no rules. " The pimp-slapping horn bursts of "I Feel For You" -- dat-dat-dat-dat, dat-dat, dat, dat-dat-dat-dat -- brought us right to the doorstep of that very utopia. And eccentric egotist though he might be, Prince still makes a fabulous circus ringleader, dropping goofy one-liners ("I am here") and hauling random backup dancers onstage, including a hilariously stuffy bank manager type who danced like the token dumbass honky in a Dr. Dre video.

Prince is still playing to the rafters, but on his terms, at his pace, which means long slogs through New Age smooth jazz balladry wherein he recites the 14th Amendment and insists, "You can still be cool and love God," a sly acknowledgment of those fantastic going-door-to-door-as-a-Jehovah's-Witness rumors. The band kills when it wants to, and that mixture of superior musicianship, still-unbridled sex appeal, star power and, yes, nostalgic longing ensured that most folks stumbled out of the Fillmore at 2:30 a.m. reasonably fulfilled, if somewhat bewildered and really tired.

But wait! A die-hard contingent near the front of the stage shrieks, stomps, and refuses to leave, and here comes Prince and the band again, the ultrarare triple encore, a special treat for the ultrafaithful. Is it too late to truly Go Crazy?

Evidently so: The horn section hurriedly blasts through the old New Orleans-y gospel standard "Down by the Riverside" as Prince thwacks random bandmates in the ass with a towel. Four minutes pass; they stumble back offstage. The show's over.

That's your encore, your gift for true believers?

"At least we saw him," some guy reasons as we exit. "We can say we saw Prince."

"Does it even matter we didn't recognize any of his songs?" his friend adds.

Maybe not. Saying you saw Prince at midnight on Valentine's Day delivers a righteous visceral thrill, even if between five and ten shows in the Bay Area alone -- Drive-By Truckers at Bottom of the Hill, Affro-Musika at Ashkenaz -- were most probably more satisfying musically. The bragging rights rung in our ears long after the smooth jazz effluvia had floated away. We got what we paid for: An Event and a celebrity-fueled thrill, waving at Puff Daddy in one of the Fillmore's balconies, looking severely pleased and awfully well-rounded for a recent marathon runner. Kinda like Prince himself: fat and happy, still the Man, but a little bored and a little more boring. He could easily save us from our own unsexiness if he truly wanted to. For now, reading from the Constitution will have to do. -- Rob Harvilla

eastbayexpress.com | originally published: February 25, 2004

the ironic thing is if he went to the second night (was there a second night for th efillmore there was wasn't there/?) then he would have heard the hits and truly sucked princes dick! ahah oh well! at least he'll be getting a chubby when he sees the tour!

Funny how most of the those critics want the exact opposite of a Prince show then we.
Good thing is, here we are the experts.

calldapplwondery83 said:

I disagree - I would love to have the hits. Man, I remember 86/87/88/89... the whole concert hall just on one long emotional high, singing ALL the songs cause ALL the songs were hits...

I do like the new stuff, but a 2 hour show of the hits played rather faithfully to the original would make this person one happy camper... Mind you, the songs were so great and with such energy - I can understand that it bores Prince to play them again in the old fashion, but hey, they were masterpieces before, and not all songs improve when played in a "retro funk big band" style...

calldapplwondery83 said:

I dont have to go back to the eighties for that...i witnessed the same happening on ONA....its not bout what music been played but how its played....

calldapplwondery83 said:

amen to that

Does this mean that this will be what the Musicology tour is like? I wanna hear at least some of the hits! But he has promised to play them . . .
[This message was edited Fri Feb 27 7:40:31 2004 by forestwizard]

Call me crazy but I never care what he's gonna play.

He's a force of nature, an artist, a man living his life. I enjoy his art and music and the way he expresses himself. Honestly if I went to the show and he read from the phone book because that's where his muse took him that night I would be OK with it!! I am a fan of Prince's art and process and his dedication to the same. Hits, new stuff, jams, whatever. I'm down.

A long time ago (around LOVESEXY) I gave up making demands of or putting expectations on Prince. Now I just follow him where ever he goes. Some of it I like (EMANICIPATION) some of it leaves me flat (RAVE). But the process, the journey, the discovery, the anticipation, the thrill of newness and discovery... that is always there. No one hits a home run every time at bat- but there is still an electricity in the air when Sammy Sosa steps up to the plate. Its the same with Prince.

Not many artists are like that. Prince is unique. He's always up to something, always in motion. That in and of itself it always interesting. Concerts are a way that I can peek into that up close and personal. I always cherish that opportunity.

So bring it on Prince!! Whatever you wanna do in Omaha, Ames and KC I will be there and loving every minute of it!! C'mon NPGMC ticket lottery put me in the front row for ONE of those nights!!

krebsne said:

Right on krebsne...you said it. Prince truly is a "force of nature" and every time I see him I feel lucky. Whenever I feel myself falling into that trap of expectations vs. reality, I think of something Prince said in '88. You can hear it on the "Small Club" aftershow recording:

"You mean you're actually going to HEAR what we play tonight?? You're not going to make up the notes in your mind??"

I didn't understand this comment for a long time...but over the years it stayed in my mind. Now I believe this comment is a key to enjoying Prince, and other artists as well. It says a lot about being in the moment vs. thinking of the CD version, or the "other tour" where you heard this or that song, played a certain way.

Sometimes I feel myself "making up the notes in my mind" and I realize I am imprisoning the performers when I do that. I am getting ahead of them, and when they vary from the notes in my mind, I feel disappointed. SO I remember Prince's comment and clear my mind of expectations. Suddenly my enjoyment increases as my expectations dissipate. I let the new sounds into my mind, and I enjoy the show so much more.

Put another way: Everyone brings baggage to the show. The performers bring the baggage of their past history. The audience brings the baggage of expectations. Leave the baggage at the door and everyone will enjoy the show to the fullest extent.

"You mean you're actually going to HEAR what we play tonight?? You're not going to make up the notes in your mind??"

I thought Prince was making fun of those in the audience that were drunk (or not drunk in this case)

sbacon1999 said:

Yes, he said something about drinking or being drunk...but the comment also makes me think about listening with expectations vs. just plain listening.

webgirl said:

I have to agree with this statement 100 percent.

lovemachine said:

-----
If you agree with this guy you are both using the same drugs.

laurarichardson said:

I would prefer drugs to being a blind fam any day of the week.

lovemachine said:

I find it absurd that someone who likes what he's doing now is called a fam and gets rolleyes...

I love what he's doing now both live and in the studio.
I did not like the nude tour and not much the hits tour either.
I do not like what he's recorded between Graffiti Bridge and The Gold Experience, those included.

Instead, I love what he's doing now. I like jazz better than funk and I always hoped for him to spotlight jazz more often in his work. How does that make me a blind fam?

littleman said:

I find it absurd that because I agree with a line from a critic I must be on drugs, but somehow you missed this as the reason I commented by calling her a fam.

Also, please read all of Laurarichardsons posts before making this comment. She is a FAM.

.
[This message was edited Sun Feb 29 11:26:31 2004 by lovemachine]

For me it doesn't have to be the "hits" (When Doves Cry, Purple Rain, etc.) but why does he have to do so many songs that are not his?

With Prince having such a huge catalog of great songs that are his own, if he wants to play "other" songs, why not his other songs? (Ballad of Dorthy Parker, Private Joy, Party Up, Just as long as we're together, Something in the water (does not compute), etc.....)?

You can feel the energy level in the whole place Jump up several levels when Prince plays his stuff, even his lesser known or played stuff.

No complaints here! I thought the show was tight. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I’m a musician, but as much as I love his hits, I'd rather hear Prince explore new areas of his music than keep “rewinding the tape.” The version of “Days Of Wild” with Prince & Larry Graham BOTH playing bass @ Sunday’s show made my night!

Peace,

Sowhat said:

I completely agree. The final encore Saturday night, "Down by the Riverside," was a major yawn. Talk about an anti-climax. For me, the heavy brass Sat night was a distraction. And how did I know Prince would once again feel the need to whack us over the head with endless reintroductions to Maceo Parker. Yes, I know, "Maceo blow your horn!" We got it, man. It even happened on the recent tonight show performance.

And please, this ain't a tirade in favor of "the hits." The casual fan has never even heard of "Shhh," but it was the essence of Prince, and I loved it. For me, it stole the show. Problem was, it was the second song played.

Agreed. That show was double boring.
What was he thinking?

Record sales have shown in the past decade that he really hasn't been thinking.