Prince's Hit N Run show in San Diego was superb. Nearly a packed house at a 10,000-seat arena on a week's worth of notice. SD fans came out and turned it out for Prince. I had read other reports on shows where he played for about an hour. He played for about 2 hours -- did 2 encores. I have to think we showed him much love and he reciprocated. If you like the old hits -- they were all there. Opened the show with Dirty Mind and played his Fender strat with the leopard skin scratchguard. Is it 2001 or 1981? At that point, I knew it was on.



New stuff was fantastic, too. U Make My Sun Shine (??) was a simmering gospel-based, blues-tinged jam that boiled over with powerful vocals.



Vocal acrobatics all night. What a range. From the baritone of Diamonds and Pearls to the flawless falsetto of Kiss and enough classic Prince screams to leave the ladies weak-kneed. Killer axe solos on Cream, Never Take the Place of Your Man and Purple Rain. AND - he played that motherfucking bass -- on Kiss!! Forget the funk guitar. It was ear-drum popping bass that ruled my world on that jam.



Had also read that Maceo Parker was with him on sax. Not in SD. Najee (forgive my misspellings) was on sax and was terrific. He played the guitar solo from Computer Blue AND lyrical excerpts from the Love Theme from Purple Rain. In fact, everything from the Purple Rain album was showcased in one way or another. His mastery of the sax was amazing.



Kip Blackshire on keys was magnificent. Rhonda tore it up on bass guitar and stand-up bass. The drummer was slamming. This band is tight. The set, like the music, was lean and focused. Prince seemed in a great mood all night, running side to side on stage, inviting people up to dance two or three times, shaking hands chatting about the music industry and the need for more spirituality in our lives.



Killer show. If you have a chance to see this gig, be there. It's on. It's on. It's on.



Thank you to Prince and the NPG for stopping in SD and playing with sincerity and enthusiasm. Saw you at RIMAC, missed you when you canceled the Super Bowl jam, and was thrilled to be among the crowd to welcome you back last night.



Thanks, again.