Much of this is off the top of my head and therefore is very subject
to error. Please also excuse grammatical errors as this was just
thrown together quickly without any sleep. It's not meant as a formal
review, just a passing along of information.



"So many songs, so little time." -- Prince, halfway through his
Northrop Performance.



Prince says he usually likes to prepare 3 or 4 months before doing a
major concert but tonight was different they were just going to jam
and be loose. In other words, excuse the mistakes we didn't have much
time to put this all together.



I'd say 50-60% of the concert was pretty much what he's been doing the
last 3 or 4 years, while the other 40-50% was fresh. A lot of very
special guitar playing by Prince tonight. At several points Prince
went above and beyond his normal playing and really went for something
special.



I'm sure those who only wish to see Prince will be somewhat
disappointed by this concert, as all the guest appearance obviously
afford less time for Prince. Prince ran much of the show from his
keyboard which was perched high above the stage floor, right in the
center of the stage. He looked like he was having a blast throwing
commands over to the Hornheads, Maceo, and Kirky J. on this left,
Najee, Larry Graham and Mr. Hayes on his right.



A new Video was played on a large screen above and behind the stage
for the opening of the concert. The video was a retrospective of
Prince's career, mixed with shots of the Celebration and interviews
with some of the attendees. The biggest crowd response came when the
video for "My Name Is Prince" was briefly shown.



The Concert:



Intro - Najee on the sax


Anastesia (Prince on keyboard and lead vocal. The crowd seemed
stunned by the inclusion of this song.)


"Love is God. God Is Love. Girls and Boys Love God Above" chant.



The Greatest Romance Ever Sold


Uptown


Let's Work


Delirious (Prince guitar solo)


Purple Rain (Prince emphasizes that it's "time for ME to change and
time for you to.")



Prince puts the spotlight on Dr. Fink in the audience and the crowd
goes wild. Prince cracks, "It looks like he's been around the world
in a day." He then says, "Dr. Fink, do you know what you tell people
who take shots at your looks?" Prince immediately gives the answer
away in song: "Don't hate me cause I'm beautiful!" This kicks right
into "Pretty Man" and the crowd roars its approval.



Pretty Man (Maceo Parker and Najee go head to head on the sax.)



Prince starts talking a lot but I can't make out half of it. He says
something about Larry Graham and Sly and the Family Stone having an
agreement back in the day whereby they would never play with another
band. Then he explains that Larry turned down the chance to play with
Jimi Hendrix because of this band rule. Prince then proceeded to get
all over Larry's case for blowing such an unbelievable opportunity.



Breathe and Stop / Vivrant Thing (Q-tip, Prince on drums.)
La Di Da Di (Doug E. Fresh)
Vivrant Thing (Prince on Purple Axxe)
Come On (People invited on stage to dance.)



Intermission - Najee plays



The Question of U (Instrumental) (Prince plays Purple symbol guitar
and Najee eventually joins him on sax.)



When You Were Mine (Played with very heavy guitar and a long guitar
solo at the end.)



Days of Wild (Prince on his One-Eyed Bass. Prince says this is the
theme song for the NPG. Crowd starts chanting "Play that muthafuckin'
bass". Prince offers an alternative to the chant by getting the crowd
to wave their wild sign in the air.)



No More Rain (In This Cloud) (Angie Stone on Lead vocals and Prince on
keyboard running the show.)



Dr. Feelgood (Angie Stone and Maceo Parker are featured. Turns into
another big jam session. Angie Stone lays out a vocal so powerful
some of the stonework in the auditorium cracks.)



Prince says "What do I do now? My dad always told me that when you
have to follow something really incredible you play a ballad."



Nothing Compares 2 U (Kip Blackshire and Prince trade off on lead
vocals and there's a Kathy Jensen sax solo.)



Take Me With You / Raspberry Beret medley



Larry Graham bass solo turns into "The Jam." The entire band is
introduced, including the Hornheads. After all introductions Prince
tells the audience if they are with him and have his back they'd
better also have Larry Graham and Kirk Johnson's back. He says
something about them being friends and that they look out for each
other.



Everyday People



Encore #1:



Man O' War (A shortened version)

Adore (Full version. Incredible falsetto by Prince. Song lasted a
good 8-10 minutes. Perhaps a candidate for one of the best
performances of this song ever?!?)



Encore #2:



Prince invites Brown Mark on stage to see if he still has his chops on
the bass. He then invites Dr. Fink up to do the same on the
keyboards. He continues to chide them about the extra pounds that
they've acquired. Then Prince says he does this every week, are you
going to be able to keep up no matter what song I call out? Then he
asks, "Where do you live?" several times before ripping into
"America."



America (Brown Mark on bass, Dr. Fink on Keyboards, Kirky J. initially
on drums, but part way through the song Prince challenges Bobby Z. to
get out there on the skins.) All three ex-Revolution members have
there moment in the solo spotlight. Dr. Fink in particular doesn't
seem to have lost anything and the crowd roars its approval. And yes,
Dr. Fink is in full surgical attire! Prince asked Bobby Z. for some
kick drum at one point and Bobby either didn't hear him or was having
problems getting familiar with the drum set-up, because no kick drum
was returned. Prince joked, "He must of gone deaf over the years."
He eventually replaces Bobby Z. with Kirk Johnson. Damn he runs a
tight ship.



Talkin' Loud and Saying Nothing (Lot's of jamming and improvising.
Angie Stone is called back out, and the NPG eventually returns and the
jam moves into a "Funky for No Reason," riff lead by Prince and Angie
Stone. Some more incredible singing by Angie Stone.



Kiss

Gett Off

Talkin' Loud and Sayin' Nothing




Prince visits "Push it Up," "Goldnigga" and possibly "Talkin' Loud and
Saying Nothing" (I think, I got lost???) to build a free-form jam
session to end the concert. All guests who have participated come out
one by one and do their thing until it's just one big nasty P-Funk
jam. Doug E. Fresh was beatboxing. Q-tip was leading the crowd in
chants and free styling. It was a sticky, sticky mess and it just
kept going for 15-20 minutes, at times leaving almost no trace of what
song they were using as a reference point.



"Love is God. God Is Love. Girls and Boys Love God Above" chant.


End of concert.



Band:



Prince: Vocals, Guitar, Bass, Keyboards, Drums, Bandleader

Mr. Hayes: Keyboards

Drums: Kirk Johnson

Bass: Larry Graham

Woodwinds: Najee

Hornheads: At least 4 of the 5 members. I was on the side of the
stage where I couldn't see the entire horn section so I'm not sure.

Brown Mark: Bass

Dr. Fink: Keyboards

Bobby Z: Drums

Q-Tip: Rap

Kip Blackshire: Lead and backup vocals, Keyboards

The Blackshire Brothers: background vocals, dance

Doug E. Fresh: Rap / Beatbox

Angie Stone: Vocals (She also had 2 backup singers.)

2 Dancers: Don't know there names.



No Mavis Staples or Rosie Gaines. Prince's new drummer was also not
there.



Concert Length:
Approximately 3 1/2 to 4 hours (8:45pm to 12:45am. This is an
estimate as I was not wearing a watch.)



A very good concert. Hopefully this will be the end of this type of
concert and in the future we'll see Prince move to challenging his
audience once again with mostly new material. Even if it means giving
up the 20,000 seat arenas in favor of the 3- to 5,000-seat theaters.



Brendan