http://www.nolalive.com/m...nce20.html

Purple reign may be over, but Prince is still rocking
Revolution gives way to able funk band
04/20/02

By Keith Spera
Music writer/The Times-Picayune

{{{If you paid the princely sum of $100 to party like it was 1999 at the Saenger Theatre on Monday, you likely left disappointed.

Prince Rogers Nelson puts a premium on his God-given right to follow his own, sometimes inscrutable, muse. Exercising that right cost him his affiliation with Warner Bros. Records and a sizable chunk of his fan base. But he resolutely presses on with an eye to the future, not the past.

So instead of serving up the hits, Prince and a tight band that featured fabled funk saxophonist Maceo Parker rendered most of "The Rainbow Children," the spiritually inclined collection of contemporary jazz and urban funk released last year on the artist's own NPG label.

Prince and his band arrived onstage with ticket-holders still lined up outside the theater. He scolded latecomers -- "Excuse me, what time did your ticket say?" -- but was generally gregarious. During the opening romp through the title track of "The Rainbow Children," he even ventured up the Saenger's left-center aisle, guitar in hand.}}}

"This is real music played by real musicians," Prince declared. He left ample room for keyboardist Renato Neto, bassist Rhonda Smith and drummer John Blackwell to stretch out in jazzy excursions. Parker teamed with fellow alto saxophonist Candy Dulfer and trombonist Greg Boyer to pump up arrangements.

But the natty Prince was the evening's foremost musician. He was a reticent soloist during a January 1998 performance at the UNO Lakefront Arena. On Monday, he effortlessly fired off one staccato guitar burst after another. He sounded the chiming riff that opens the Ohio Players' "Love Rollercoaster" and later dug into Alicia Keys' "How Come You Don't Call Me" at the keyboard.

The "Rainbow Children" selections were a mixed bag. The aptly named "Mellow" segued from a still ballad to a funk throwdown. Momentum flagged during "Family Name," as images of slave invoices scrolled by on video screens and Prince postulated that "Abraham Lincoln was a racist." Heavy stuff to spring on a party.

But then he delivered "Take Me With U" and "Raspberry Beret." At the 1998 gig, he relegated his hits to medleys, paying lip service to material he no longer cared to play. This time out, he seemed to relish his trips down memory lane, however brief.

"Last time I checked, it wasn't 1984," he said in the first encore. "I'm trying to move on. But since you've been so sweet . . ." With that, he launched into "Purple Rain" at the piano. The band soon fell in behind him, with Parker's sax an able substitute for Prince's guitar.

Prince, like Little Richard, Al Green and R. Kelly, has felt the tug of both the sacred and the profane. The composer who conjured the risqué "Darling Nikki" has apparently come down squarely on the side of the sacred. He expounded on the strength he derives from his faith as a Jehovah's Witness and led a singalong of "God is love, girls and boys, love God above."

Not that he has completely abandoned earthly pursuits. At the piano he unspooled a hardcore soul medley. "Adore" and a funky piano/voice reading of "I Wanna Be Your Lover" were highlights. Women leapt from their seats and screamed as he peeled off a succession of falsetto yelps and coos, demonstrating that Maxwell and other contemporary ladies' men have nothing on him.

More than two-and-a-half hours onstage, Prince did not pander. Instead, he challenged his audience. Not everyone was up to the challenge. But Prince certainly was.

Keith Spera can be reached at
kspera@timespicayune.com or (504) 826-3470.
04/20/02

© The Times-Picayune.

He sounded the chiming riff that opens the Ohio Players' "Love Rollercoaster" and later dug into Alicia Keys' "How Come You Don't Call Me" at the keyboard.

someone needs to due their homework!!! price wrote that song muthafucka!!!!

oops im sorry Prince for spelling your name wrong.

Prince wrote that song around 1982. Alicia Keys was born on Jan. 25, 1981. Guess she really did learn the piano at an early age.

"later dug into Alicia Keys' "How Come You Don't Call Me" at the keyboard."

lol...why is it that everyone gets this so screwed up?

Why is it that NOBODY knows that Prince wrote HCUDCMA!?!?!

Oh, and if I hear one more comparison between Prince and R. Kelly, I'm going 2 scream. Kelly isn't anywhere near Prince's level, end of discussion. And I'm sure R. will make a lotta new friends in PRISON.

getwild007 said:

No shit huh? Shouldn't really piss me off but it does!

Thanks Bart.

Critics in New Orleans are stupid.

Their idea of a great band is one of those bull**** Neville Brother ripoff bands whose music wouldn't make in in the rest of the country. There is a show here called "Louisiana Jukebox"that showcases local talent and each week it's like WTF?

Wish he would have busted into Sinead O'Connor's "Nothing Compares 2 U" or Chaka's "I feel for You". Dammit! Not even Cyndi Lauper's "When You Were Mine"?!!!

idiots. do the research.

Keith Spera is a dick and should not pen what he doesn't know.

Fuck him, read the LA articles. especially OC Register. They were mighty pleased.