I just got back from the show in DC. The afterparty was in fact being held
at 2K9. They had announced it twice during the show. The first time IN THE
MIDDLE of one of Prince's songs, the second time was right after the show.
It is 1:29AM right now and I am not at the afterparty... I probably should
be, but I didn't feel like dealing with the hassle this time. It actually
took me about 45 to get from the Patriot Center's parking lot to the beltway
because of traffic, followed by another 45 minutes back to Balti-manure.



Let me first start off by saying this show was NOT worth 65 dollars. Don't
get me wrong, all in all it was a GOOD show, but certainly mediocre by the
standards of what Prince COULD do. The entire show was basically all hits.
In fact, at one point after the new song WHEN WILL WE BE PAID..., Prince
said Glad to get that out of my system, now how about some more HITS... How
about no, please? I mean, I loved listening to Prince run through some of
the great selections, but I wanted to hear a little more inventiveness.
Purple Rain sounded uninspired and mostly all the songs were cut short.
Hearing Controversy was awesome, but I would have rather heard the WHOLE
song with all the verses instead of the one-verse-teaser.


Some highlights that made it very enjoyable... He did probably the coolest
version of Darling Nikki I've heard yet, albeit some verses cut out. It was
different than the way it's played on record, but not a different version in
the way other songs are made different by simply splicing lyrics and riffs
overtop of hip hop beats. The Beautiful ones was done very well, as was The
Ballad of Dorothy Parker which I was VERY happy to hear performed live.
Also, it was very cool to hear him open the show with Uptown, and have
himself and Geneva and Rhonda follow some choreographed dance steps a la The
Time.



The new drummer Blackwell was unremarkable. He really fills the shoes of
Michael B well, and those are some big shoes... I really did like Kirky J,
but I think Blackwell is more well-rounded... especially for the weirder
rhythms like Dorothy Parker. Najee is a good sax player. In my opinion, he's
right up there with Maceo and Eric Leeds. The problem was (and I suppose
it's kind of tricky to avoid when using a sax in RnB) that he added too much
of a Kenny G type feel to all the songs. This put me asleep a few times...
He performed GOD very well, but it just sounded elevatory... Know what I'm
saying? Good to see Mr. Hayes. I love his playing. Always have, ever since I first saw him on the Arsenio Hall Show.



Before Prince went into the new song When Will We Be Paid... he decided to
give a speech, with some background music accompanying. Well, I was thinking
Oh, Lawd here we go. But the truth (no pun intended) of the matter was, he
really impressed me and inspired me by his speech. In fact, it is probably
the most memorable and worthy part of the entire show to me. He began by
talking about Tiger Woods and BET-Viacom and the Truth and God and stuff.
And he kept it funny by occasionally switching to the Morris Day voice. But
I have to say that all his bitching really does make sense to me and his
speech hit a nerve with me. I'm not yet sure which nerve, but it almost
pieces together. In fact, he seemed quite intelligent and witty when he got
the chance to just do some free talking. And what's interesting is that he
seemed most comfortable when performing the new song. The irony of the
speech, the title of the new song and the fact that afterwards he asked the
crowd if they wanted to hear some more HITS kind of came into perspective to
me. He is still a slave to some system. Most musicians are. He didn't seem
as happy playing the HITS, but probably felt obligated since the majority of
the 65-dollar-paying fans wanted to hear HITS... In fact, the woman in front of me kept yelling PLAY 1999...



A couple of other quick notes... I think I was stuck in the BORING section.
Everybody in my section decided to remain seated the whole show. So, to
avoid feeling like an ass, I stayed seated too, although I had planned on
showing off some dancing skillz ... (Quick side note for the boring people
at MPLS shows... When my cousin and I went to see THE TIME in DC a while
back, we decided to show respect for Morris, and to simply have idiotic fun
for ourselves, by doing the Morris laugh occasionally. You know what I'm
talking about... the one he does at the beginning of THE LATEST FASHION.
Well, some boring 7-foot-tall DICK had to turn around and say MAN, STOP
DOING THAT SHIT IN MY EAR... What's wrong with people these days? This is
the MOFO Time. This is PRINCE... Lighten up...)



NPG hooded sweatshirts (that my Aunt Ethel could make) were going for a
measley 60bux, but since I spent my last 65 on the ticket, I had to pass....
and freeze on my way back to my car.



This is not to be a negative report in the least. It was in fact a good show. Great new band. And Prince tore it up on guitar, bass and keys. If
you're looking for shear musical talent in action, this show was for you.
But if you're looking for something new and inventive, check out Radiohead.