http://www.newcitychicago.../4631.html


Purple Reign

Berlin's Prince Night marks a decade

Melissa Lane

Ten years ago, Sam Jennings started a monthly Prince Night at Berlin Nightclub. The Prince fans, who sometimes travel from as far as Japan, gather on the dancefloor to get down to their favorite artist and meet other people just as crazy for his Royal Highness. Jennings says that while there is now ten years worth of additional music to play, and software that empowers him to mix it himself, the 300-person community this event formed at its inception has remained consistent, and as such is a hallmark of the monthly night.

"We have a core group of regulars who have made Prince Night at Berlin a part of their monthly routine. They are like family who look forward to seeing old and new friends each month. Several have been coming the entire ten years," explains Jennings.

Ten years in club world is a virtual lifetime. It is remarkable to see any night survive that long, even more so one exclusively devoted to a single artist. That it has engendered a community of sorts is an inspiring testament--and important reminder--to the humanistic power of music to tear down walls.

"A person from the South Side wearing hip-hop gear can come to Prince Night and know that he has something in common with the person from Wicker Park with pink hair and a black leather jacket. They may dress or speak or date differently from you, but we are all moving to the same beat and singing the same lyrics to "Raspberry Beret" and having a good time together. The music makes it easy to see our commonalities as opposed to our differences."

The near religious tones he employs to speak of the power of Prince's music echo the sentiment that once moved Franzo King to create San Francisco's legendary Church of Saint John Coltrane. During an interview with the SF Weekly, King identifies the reasons that moved him to proselytize on the jazz musician's behalf: "I realized that the music of John Coltrane was representative beyond culture. And it wasn't just a cultural or ethnic thing. It was something that was higher," adding that Coltrane himself had stated, "the whole of the globe is community for us." Before the high rents of the tech boom drove it out, King's endeavor had grown into a storefront church that drew people from all over the world.

In parallel fashion, Jennings extols the power of Prince's music to bring people together in a way that is authentic and too rarely seen in our everyday world.

"If you look out into the audience at a Prince concert, you are going to see a very even mix of race, gender, class and age. He attracts people from all walks of life because his music defies categories. When people feel a strong connection to an artistic expression like music, it creates a powerful bond among them. His audience reflects that and the same can be said for the people who attend Prince Night."

Whereas the Church of Saint John Coltrane encouraged people to shake their tambourines or any other instrument that moved them--Prince Night culls music from more than thirty albums worth of material released by Prince to get their flock shaking on the dancefloor.

Typically, a movie like "Purple Rain" or "Graffiti Bridge" kicks the night off around 8:30pm. Then, Jennings and his DJ-partner, Chad, blend music from every phase of Prince's career--from his first album in 1978, "For You," to last year's "Musicology"--into original mixes they create specially for the night. They also include Sheila E, The Time, Appolonia/Vanity 6, The Family, and any other work written by Prince.

Four years after he started the night, Jennings started working for Prince's website, then named Love4OneAnother.com. It has since been renamed npgmusicclub.com and reformatted into a place where fans can directly purchase music, videos and concert-tickets. Jennings decided to make the night an extension of the online music club, but free to the public. He officially named the night the NPG Music Club (although he says it's still informally known as Prince Night) and now supplies the monthly event with music and videos that are exclusive to where he works and thus can't be heard anywhere else.

With nothing else like it in the world, the night has become a destination point for fans from as far as Europe, Australia, and Asia as well as for loyalists who regularly make the pilgrimage from Detroit, Milwaukee, Indianapolis, New York City and yes, even Minneapolis.

One night, and one encounter, stands out in particular for Jennings. A woman named Kris, having just moved here from Detroit, came to Prince Night by herself in hopes of making friends. Not only did she easily engage in the event's open camaraderie, but regular attendance led to an introduction to Jennings. As he tells it, love immediately ensued and the two have now been blissfully married for five years and are the proud parents of a three-year-old daughter.


The NPG Music Club takes place 8pm-4am every last Sunday of the month at Berlin Nightclub, 954 West Belmont, (773)348-4975.

As someone that went back int he beginning..I can attest that this is one of the best Prince related things to enjoy outside of a concert or a new album.

I miss Prince night! It is one of the things I miss most about Chicago. I credit Prince night for getting me hooked on the Man. Instead of hearing one album or song that hooked me, it was like osmosis...all the songs/eras sunk in simultaneously.

Vive le Prince night!

i miss my friend shrilanca ...but i know i can always find her at prince night

this party has been on the short list of things i've loved about living in chicago during the four years i've lived here. i have so many great memories from the past three years i've been going. more and more i find myself saying "i'm gonna skip next month's party" then going anyway, just as an excuse to get out of the house and be around other prince freaks for a while if nothing else. i've never had a bad time, i've never been bored to tears, i've never felt a bad vibe, not once.

whether you're old skool, new skool, a casual fan, an orger, an NPGMC stalwart, a housequake devotee, or whatEVER you are, you can count on having a good time here and meeting folks who are always happy to meet you. in years past, i've been to fan gatherings for other artists i like, and it's never been as welcoming or as fun as the prince parties at berlin.

Thanks for the info… I’ve never been 2 the windy city, but when I do, I will make sure I plan it during the end of the month so I can have the pleasure of experiencing a Berlin's Prince Night in Chicago!!

I can't believe these have been happening for ten years and I have yet to be in chicago on the right weekend so I can actually go... CRAZINESS

When I travel to America I'll be sure to visit Chicago so I can go to Berlin's Prince Night and dance the night away with other fans. It sounds fantastic!

endorphin74 said:

yeah, but you live in minneapolis, so it's not like you're really wanting for supreme purple realness.

I HAVE BEEN LIVING IN CHICAGO ALL OF MY LIFE and a hard core admirer of prince , who happens to be my favorite musician, but ironically i didnt find out about berlin's until june of 2004. I have been hooked every since, its the atmosphere of freedom i love, It doesnt matter what u look like, if u can or cannot dance, u meet so many diversified people who are generally really open minded and just wanna party with you all night, I now refer to it as my monthly stress reliever, i hope it goees 20 more years.

sexymella2002 said:

yes!

it's a hodgepodge every month, and there are always new faces and familiar faces, it's true. and nobody gets in the way of anyone else having fun. it's a lovefest!

Anxiety said:

hey Anx how far is Chicago from New York?

Natisse said:

about 12 hours by car, more or less.

Anxiety said:

mmmmkay... maybe a bit TOO far from NYC then

I enjoyed reading your article about Sam's group in Chicago.

"Purple Reign
Berlin's Prince Night marks a decade"

However, I wanted to correct your statement that: "With nothing else like it in the world, the night has become a destination point for fans from ..."

We, in Washington DC, have been partying monthly since March 1994 and celebrated our 11th anniversary this past March. In addition, a New York fan group has been active almost as long as we have -- though they do not have a regular meeting schedule.

We have over 650 members -- many visit from around the globe and we consider ourselves a big Prince family.

Congrats to Sam and the Chicago group on their 10 years and going strong!

Sincerely,
Kathy Jentz
http://www.lovesexydc.org/

KathyMJ said:

thanks for the clarification, but one thing to keep in mind is that the org didn't write the article that started this thread - the article was contributed to us from a local magazine called "new city chicago".

we appreciate you letting us know about your party, though - hopefully i can come out there some time and check it out...and hopefully you can come out here and check out a chicago prince party sometime as well!

...i first attend their in may 2005 and had a hell of a time...

i deffently will attend there again and i hope every body will too

good music and good videos and very good prince fans !!!!

I lived 30 minutes from downtown for many years and never attended. I realize now that I missed out on a lot of fun and potential friendships.

pennylover said:

That's what I usually do.

KathyMJ said:

You haven't been having parties at a nightclub every month for 10 years have you? I believe that is what they are talking about.

DonnieDarko said:

hey donnie - good to see ya.

Sounds like this party sizzles

I wish I was still in Chicago, those partys are slammin'

Kudos to you all for having something so organized and well-received for so long.



We have been trying, in vain, to get something going on in NYC. Any tips on how you guys pulled it together in terms of venue, $, promotion...?

It's a damn shame that we suffer in silence in a city like ours.

Its always good to get to Crawl to Chitown from Detroit. Been doing
for awhile and we all feel the Welcome and Love from our friends at
Berlin. Sam always plays Beautiful Nite when Detroit is in The House

Thanks Sam, Berlin and all of the Freaks of Chitown

altavista said:

I would love to have Prince Night in New York!

Actually, Prince Night was first held at a club called Aftermath when Samnation sported blue hair and wore stripped pants.

The best Prince Nights were held at Sam's loft. Those were the days of wild.

Anyone going to Berlin this Sunday, August 28?? I'll be there!!

rainbowchild said:

i won't be staying late, but i'll be there for the VIP thingum and then maybe an hour or two after that.