Quite a turnaround from last week. Most likely the best Friday night jam all year. Larry was back, and while many may write this off as a mistake, the usual downsides to Larry's presence in the band were not an issue. The difference here was in the tastefullness with which he participated. No The Jam. No Everyday. No Thank You. The only overplayed Larry song they did was an instrumental Free, and they somehow even managed to add vitality to that. There was no pseudo religious pretense either. He simply held down the backbone for most of the night, and when Rhonda showed up he politely deferred to the side of the stage for a bit. Anyway, it was quite long and my memory is failing, so here's a quick synopsis/setlist.



Approximately 3:30 am-The band takes the stage:



*Tell Me What It Is- An instrumental jam on a song from Graham Central Station's first album. Tied for second best moment of the night.

*Free- No vocals, just the man and Larry funkin sh*t up.

*Rock Me Baby-The highlight, hands down. Prince channeled Hendrix's performance of this very song from the Monterey Pop Festival, 1967. Originally written by B.B. King, the Jimi Hendrix Experience rearranged it into a fast paced rock/funk jam, and while Prince merely covered said arrangement, it was *airtight*. Perfect guitar, unquestionably the best I've seen him do live this year, and the band was right behind him.

*VaVoom-A far better performance of this one than last week, probably due in large part to Larry's presence. It almost certainly won't be a radio hit, but it sounds great live.

*Y Should Eye Do That...?-Ok, he did allow a bunch of women onstage to dance for this, but it didn't really matter, as the band stayed in the pocket and we didn't get lost on an experimental tangent

*American Woman-Though there were still people onstage for this, he brought the guitar back to the keys with him and tore it up. This is usually about where the Friday night jams have been falling apart, but they kept it together here. After the song, they kicked everyone offstage, and it was on.

*The One-Tied with Tell Me What It Is for second best part of the night. Bringing on Rhonda finally, they set up her standup/electric bass, and she rocked the house. At first it looked like it would be either One of Us/Love...Thy Will Be Done, but he seemed to tire of it just as she found what key they were in. As Kirky switched the loop to the One, she found the riff and everyone fell in. He sang sans falsetto and it was spot on. Rhonda then took a *vicious* solo, Prince sang the last verse, and they wrapped it up.

*Fight the Power/Sex Machine-Looong jam featuring solos by Rhonda and Larry. Observation: Larry's thumb popping slap schtick sort of pales when held against Rhonda's sophisticated chording and strumming/fingerpicking. She can slap it up too. Wicked.

*Good Life jam-Kind of boring after awhile, but pleasant enough. Fundamentally it consisted of Prince speaking about "affirming positivity" while the band charged along underneath him. A little long, but by no means a misstep.

*Freaks on this Side-Surprisingly lively. Not my favorite song, but he put a lot into it and it came off.

*Mad-Sung from behind the soundboard over a break provided by the DJ, bass by Mr. Graham, and keys by Morris,this was *quite good*. Impassioned vocal performance and a solid little groove. Everyone in the place was moving to this, and after a fairly grueling 2 hour set, that should say something.



He seemed in an unusually good mood and did quirky funny things all night. (Including one puzzling bit where he scolded the one eyed bass for being in his way, as it sat on its stand.) I sense a true return to form. Let's hope this trend continues.