Prince's versatility on stage at concert (April 25, 2001)

By Greg Glasgow - Camera Popular Music Writer



DENVER - If Prince keeps on coming up with new things to call himself, it's possible he may eventually have a name for each of his musical personalities. There's the James Brown-style showman, the Hendrix-influenced guitar hero, the sensual crooner, the writer of impeccable pop hits.



All of those and more were on display Tuesday night, when the diminutive soul man brought his Hit and Run Tour to a sellout crowd of 6,500 at the University of Denver's Magness Arena. Granted, there may have been a little more of a James Brown feel to the proceedings than usual, but that was understandable - Brown's longtime sax player, Maceo Parker, sat in with Prince's New Power Generation band for nearly half the night.



That meant the first hour of the show was heavy on Brown-meets-George Clinton free-form funk jams, featuring lots of Maceo, lots of dancing - some from audience members Prince brought on stage, some from backup singer/exotic dancer Geneva - and plenty of instrumental solos from Prince (on guitar and electric piano) and the rest of his band. The nonstop music occasionally morphed into recognizable tunes - "Little Red Corvette," "Cream" - but the jams made the night feel immediate and improvised and special, less like a concert than a one-of-a-kind musical event the audience helped to form.



Things turned sultry from there, as Prince and the band switched to a slowed-down, soul flavor for tunes such as "I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man," "Do Me Baby," and a powerful cover of Donny Hathaway's "Someday We'll All Be Free," sung by keyboard player Kip Blackshire. The latter came after a brief speech about how Prince was no longer with a record company (he now sells music directly to fans via the Internet), which was met with resounding cheers from the crowd.



Fans impatient for the hits were rewarded in the more traditional second half, when the long jams gave way to individual tunes - "Diamonds and Pearls," "I Would Die 4U." Prince may battle with record companies, but he seems to genuinely love performing. He engaged the crowd the entire evening, chatting up the room and smiling with delight when fans knew the words to every one of his songs. His reputation for an energetic, entertaining live show is well-deserved - whether trading rapid-fire licks with a second guitarist, engaging in some erotic choreography with Geneva or conducting the crowd in a sing-along, Prince's energy never waned. It was hard not to think of Brown, who played the same venue back in January.



After 90 minutes Prince and the band left the stage, but diehard followers knew the show was far from over. Not only did he return for a 30-minute, '80s-heavy encore ("Let's Go Crazy," "Raspberry Beret," "Darling Nikki," "When Doves Cry"), but the word on the street was he was headed for downtown Denver nightclub the Church for a few more hours of partying.



No matter what he chooses to call himself (it's back to plain old Prince these days), it's clear that Prince's talent didn't disappear when his hitmaking days ended in the early '90s. Now that his personal and legal troubles have subsided for a while, he's back to doing what he does best - making music. This show's savvy pairing of old and new tunes hints at what Prince's future may hold.



The night opened with sets from Prince proteges Millenia and the Fonky Bald Heads.



http://www.thedailycamera...aprin.html