http://www.canoe.ca/Toron...-0062.html

Monday, June 17, 2002
What a Prince
Funk pop star rewards T.O. fans with all his hits in 3-hour show

By JANE STEVENSON

Prince wore a Raspberry Beret all right. And even got caught in a Purple Rain.

At his three-hour performance at Massey Hall on Saturday night, he announced early that he wouldn't be playing hits: "We're not interested in what you know, but what you're willing to learn!" he yelled. But the funky pop star later reneged on that vow.

Seems he was overwhelmed by the enthusiastic reception from the sold-out crowd welcoming the dynamic Minneapolis native as one of their own. It's reported that the 44-year-old artist bought an estate in the exclusive Bridal Path neighbourhood earlier this year after marrying Torontonian Manuela Testolini.

Prince basically confirmed as much toward the end of his show, saying: "Y'all make me want to buy a house here!"

Billed as "One Nite Alone With Prince," the marathon concert -- the encore lasted an hour-and-15-minutes -- actually featured the multi-talented singer-guitarist-keyboardist backed by a tight-sounding group of five musicians including funk veteran Maceo Parker on sax.

The stage was decorated with velvet curtains, a large video screen, water sculptures, incense, and even floor pillows to set the tone for what would be an evening of spirited funky jams such as the new song 1+1+1 Is 3, interspersed with Ohio Players' Love Rollercoaster, and sexy soulful ballads including new tunes Muse 2 The Pharaoh and Mellow, and many surprises.

Making guest appearances were Sly And The Family Stone bassist Larry Graham Jr., during a run-through of Sly's Sing A Simple Song, and Toronto's own rising soul-R&B star Glenn Lewis. Also welcomed up on stage, at various times, were a female fan who got her own guitar solo, three male concert-goers encouraged to dance, and five ushers who happily grooved along to Prince's highly danceable tunes.

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It was a delightful night full of twists and turns, including Prince jumping into the crowd to sing and Parker playing up on the second floor balcony. }}}

Prince opened the show with a 10-minute version of the title track from his latest album, the jazz-infused The Rainbow Children. And just when you thought he was going to concentrate on long, improvisational jams from the album, he would change gears dramatically. He got the crowd up on their feet on more than one occasion shaking to his own new funked up tunes Family Name and The Everlasting Now.

Prince, who wouldn't allow photographers, even though he was meticulously groomed in a black pin-striped suit and white dress shirt with matching handkerchief, first took the stage in darkness, but even the lighting proved unpredictable. Harsh spotlights and strobe lights variously blasted the artist, who also often asked for the house lights to be brought up.

He was in a talkative mood as well, raging about controlling record labels, lame radio stations and slavery, but the only time he remotely sounded a false note was when he got preachy about religion toward the end of night.

However, that was a small price to pay for what had been, up to that point, an exhilarating and exciting evening of music.

PRINCE

MASSEY HALL

'Marathon Jam'

-- Jane Stevenson

Sun Rating: 4 1/2 out of 5

ooo boy friday is gonna rock.