Prince rocks with a rant but still throws a party
By David Lindquist
david.lindquist@indystar.com

March 12, 2002

{{{Prince manipulated momentum like a master Monday night at the Murat Theatre.

From funk workouts to tightrope ballads to political lectures, he held the cards and dealt them on his own terms.}}}

The sold-out crowd lost its collective self-control during signature hits When You Were Mine and Take Me With U.

Sandwiched between were the superstar's thoughts about race relations in America.

"If there's a just God, we're going to pay for this," said Prince, imagining an undocumented confession from a slave-holding forefather.

He also screened a large-type quote from Abraham Lincoln to collar the 16th president as a segregationist. In song, he called Lincoln a racist.

While there's no problem in revisiting and illuminating history, another voice might ask: Where would we be without Lincoln?

Family Name, a track from current album The Rainbow Children, reminds listeners that slaves were stripped of their identities. In a somewhat clumsy but ultimately effective gesture, Prince singled out audience members and retitled them "Rosenbloom," "Outlaw" and "Lynch."

There was no muddled message in the timely Xenophobia, an early-evening instrumental that Prince introduced in the jargon of airport security.

The fierce funk of saxophone player Najee and trombonist Greg Boyer expertly conveyed the fear and claustrophobia experienced by an "outsider."

Prince, who decries "whosepapers, hellavision and scagazines" on Rainbow Children, is barring all photography at his concert dates.

If taken, pictures would reflect a dynamic 43-year-old sporting a white sweater and a parted-bangs haircut.

When he accessorized with a Fender Telecaster guitar, it was time to party.

Prince kicked Rainbow track 1+1+1{equals}3 into another dimension when he segued to a version of the Ohio Players' Love Rollercoaster.

He employed the Telecaster during the solid-state jams of Take Me With U and When You Were Mine (a meat-and-potatoes rocker that hinted at Springsteen, the Romantics and even John Mellencamp).

But make no mistake, Prince saved his true tributes for Sly and the Family Stone (Sing a Simple Song) and comparative youngster Erykah Badu (Didn't Cha Know). The program's wealth of covers can be excused because the world-beating songwriter prefaced them with a rant against radio.

Of his new material, Mellow seems to be the overlooked hit -- springing from Rhonda Smith's heartbeat bass and lyrically portraying seduction as a state of mind.

The tour is called "One Nite Alone with Prince," a concept best represented by a solo keyboard session that yielded spine-tingling versions of Nothing Compares 2 U and Purple Rain.

In these moments, Prince shows himself as an elite entertainer who follows no agendas -- chronological or otherwise.

Call David Lindquist at 1-317-444-6404.
http://www.starnews.com/a...ertainment

Am i wrong, or did they say prince pointed out people from the audience again as he supposedly refrained from doing at shows that followed saginaw and chicago? no one here reported that in their review. alot of us i believe, were hoping he'd drop that part. why stir up more racial problems than we have? why is this bothering him so much at this point in his career? what does this have to do with his religious beliefs? God doesnt want us fighting. i think he should be trying to initiate PEACE AND LOVE 4 ONE ANOTHER, AND COMING TOGETHER AS ONE, ( in the exact phrases of prince himself ). maybe all this love talk has become stale for him, and as he does tend to get bored with things, maybe he wants to stir up a little trouble/controversy now? does prince really know wheres hes going with all this? people have said he talks in circles and is vague, and dodges certain questions at the soundchecks. i'm not against his preaching at all, but i feel he should make it all clear to us, what he's trying to say, so we arent confused and then we may not have posts like does prince need therapy? people tend to look up to you prince, and thats a big responsibility, being able to offer guidance. steering people to what GOD really wants for us, and i believe he wants peace between all the races. THATS THE TRUTH. and yes, theres alot of work to do. we need people who will do the work. what GOD wants for us all. lets START with u. the rest of us will do our part. we need good leaders for that. leaders we believe are right. we're not stupid people. we love your music, and THATS where you shine.

Did he take the name "Rosenbloom" from the "white" person he renamed "lynch"? I'm guessing that he did, and this is what I was worried about in an earlier post. Prince gets tangled up in his own theatrics and they start to backfire. Rosenbloom is predominantly a Jewish name, not a WASP one. I think there were some Jewish slave-owners, but the dominant element of Jewish-American/ African-American relations has been cooperation in the fight for civil rights.

Now, I can c the name-change routine as a way 2 point out the absurdity of taking away people's names purely based on outward appearance but, as the reviewer mentioned, if clumsily executed it can backfire. I mean, let's say I even accept the re-naming of the "White"-looking Jewish person (I'm making an assumption here) "lynch". But if Prince took his name "Rosenbloom" and applied it 2 the Black-looking person (another assumption), then he is implying a mirror of what happened to the slaves, and laying responsibility at the door of the wrong people.

I'm all for controversial, enigmatic performance theater which raises questions and not answers. But 4 it 2 work, it has 2 b very well thought out, and carefully executed with all possible outcomes taken into consideration in the planning.

Pce

IT'S JUST MUSIC GUYS HE IS NOT A POLITICIAN NOR A WORLD LEADER.let's not put the weight of the world on him.thou some of his statements may b offending take them with a grain of salt.its entertainment dont like it dont listen. i 2 believe positive remarks would b more useful in the world we live 2day than negative.but its his show. i tend 2 overlook him when he babbles on about certain things other than the state of the music and so should anyone who is offended. prince means well he sometimes get caught up in stirring controversy and entertaining.

During the show, he asked one black woman what her name was. Then he said let's make your name "Rosenbloom, as in rose in bloom." He asked a white man, and said let's make it lynch. And so on. I think Prince had good intentions with this. It does show you how haphazardly many black people in this country were stripped of their family names and then forced to take either a slaveowner's name or just some random word. You have to be willing to look at an issue in order to understand it, and Prince was trying to open our eyes to what that may have been like for people. It was clumsy because it didn't seem as theatrical and carefully planned as the rest of the show. But it worked for me

dawnfable said:

Thanx 4 clarifying. I take back my previous comments.

ONA? pass

XxAxX said:

man, get over it!

no, seriously. this is one show i won't be attending.
$100 for tix? to fund the purchase of another house for mani in toronto and its remodeling? and i get to be called 'lynch' at the concert too?
not this time. next time perhaps

XxAxX said:

Wow...I didn't know the tickets had "proceeds from this concert will be used for the building and remodelling of yet another house for Mani" printed on them...

All I gotta say is give me a slammin' new concert tour by Prince, where my seats are up close and he's playin' brand-spankin' new music along with some rarely-heard old gems, some blistering guitar, dazzling drums and sparkling vocals, toss on some eloquent piano, and I'm there...$100 for that is well worth it in my book, and I don't give a rat's flyin' patootie if he does spend it on another house for Mani...lol

your choice dear

XxAxX said:

She called me "dear"...lol... 8)

awww. of course i luv ya. you know that.
OKAY NOW BUY ME ANOTHER HOUSE IN TORONTO

ahahhahaha j/k

XxAxX said:

I'll have to go on tour first to raise the funds...

well, okay then. my love for you is strong enough to weather this slight delay, especially since i love you for you. but i WILL be needing that mansion eventually, so git on out there and tour already.

Now don't tell me you won't go to the concert because he buys a house for Mani with HIS money and tries to make a statement about slavery.
I think you should take some time off from Prince.

REALLY.

dude. read my post above. i AM taking time off from prince. and you my fine friend, should consider taking some time off from denying others the right to have and express their opinions. really. smooches

and truly, the reason for my disgust is the overpricing of tix. $100?? for one ticket? please.

XxAxX said:

Theys GOTS to be $100 so that I can build that 15th house for ya, tho....

XxAxX said:

i have be to 2 shows and am looking for a 3rd to get to, the show is that worth it. dayum i was even gonna try to get to vegas too. and my friend in Chicago has alreay hit 4 shows and i dont think she is done yet
but hey if you wanna miss one of his best tours that is your choice, but we did try to tell ya GO dont miss this one

oh sweetie i love you more and more for you each time you build me a house (also, for your personality, wit, good looks, etc.)

wellbeyond said:

XxAxX said:

1. I would consider taking time off from Prince also means taking some time off from this site.

2.Of course you can have your opinion, by no means I wanted to say that you are WRONG or that it is bullshit that you say. Just as you are entitled to your opnion, I am allowed to say that I don't understand it.

Hey, I really didn't want to offend you. I usually enjoy your posts and your always honest and funny, but I just think that you're taking Prince WAY TOO seriously [or is it "serious"? sorry ].
Sometimes I think that people want him to be perfect, and when he is not, he becomes the direct opposite.

i think i'll stay on this site and post whatever the freak i want to. my thoughts on prince are my own. yours are your own. for what it's worth, thanks for your free advice anyway

smooches

okay Callde, you've got a point. upon reflection i see i DO have a bad attitude and am in fact taking prince's contribution to my life too seriously. i don't have the right to judge him and i should probably be much less harsh about expressing my opinions.
it's just, this last year i've been sort of taking stock of my world. looking throughy the pockets of my life and finding a lot of lint. makin me feel cynical in a way. and, in the old days when i had deep questions without answers i'd look to prince's music for comfort. or at least for assurance that he had some of the same unanswereds too. but i don't get that from his music anymore. i'm disconnecting from the message of his words. but, i'm changing too so i guess the disconnect is probably every bit as much my fault as his
sorry prince (if you're out there). i still love ya. just, in a more distant way. wish you well

calldapplwondery83 said:

whats its strength? it has us fighting all the time. what does his religious comments have to do with past race issues? ppl, he should have a rant with the jws... blacks r not really accepted with open arms unless maybe your rich like prince & can do all the witnessing he does thru his parties & music like larry g did. theyre being used!!! jw is a white religion basically. does that mean p is atrader to his heritage????also how many blacks does p date or marry? whats up with that? p sounds hypocritical & he thinks hes above u guys. think he dont? he better start practicing what he preaces,no? these politcal statements dont jive with his lifestyle or religion & are unnecessary as who cares about this now? history ,we get in school... plus how many blacks have all he does? he came from a well off family too. how can HE be bitter? ist a bit late for him to want to blame our leaders NOW!!! plus isnt p really that minister he sings aout with the bmw & fancy suits??? only ministers dont live in mansions as p does. i dont like hypocrits... hes losing his charisma &style with lots of people. p dont have a clue what it means to be black nor is he truly wanting to be.his lifestyle is NOT ,never has, or will b... yes, politics rile me up.this must be his goal.

what actually means "feeling" and "living" black? Why can't he feel with blacks who are poor and treated poorly? Just because he is not?

I was the "white guy who he singled out as 'lynch'" in Indianapolis. I am a NPGMC member as well as a faithful, but quiet org'er. He asked me what my name was and I told him that it was 'baker'. He asked me if I baked and I said I couldn't even bake hot pockets. This kind of screwed him up because he almost busted out laughing before he even could get the whole "lynch" comment out. This definately sounds like strained and hateful race relations to me. LOL.

computerblue said:

ALtho' this is fairly clear, I think it wouyld b really helpful 2 these ongoing discussions if u could give more details about your reaction - what u thought, how u felt, what point u thought came across and, if u know, how other audience members u encountered reacted. Very curious.

ALtho' this is fairly clear, I think it wouyld b really helpful 2 these ongoing discussions if u could give more details about your reaction - what u thought, how u felt, what point u thought came across and, if u know, how other audience members u encountered reacted. Very curious.[/quote]


I felt like it was NO BIG DEAL. The idea of me paying for the sins of my ancestors is far from a new concept. It is just one of many trains of thought that leaves the station of life on an hourly basis. I really do think that it threw him for a loop that my last name was "Baker" though. What would he have done if I told him my last name was Lynch?

computerblue said:

I felt like it was NO BIG DEAL. The idea of me paying for the sins of my ancestors is far from a new concept. It is just one of many trains of thought that leaves the station of life on an hourly basis. I really do think that it threw him for a loop that my last name was "Baker" though. What would he have done if I told him my last name was Lynch?[/quote]

I don't understand. Why should "baker" pose a problem? Am I missing something? What did u mean by "hateful and strained race realtions"? I thought u were implying that it WAS a big deal 4 U.

Confused.