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Published: Saturday, June 16, 2001

Prince renews purple reign with "Minneapolis' concert in St. Paul
JOHN NEMO SPECIAL TO PIONEER PRESS

The scantily clad female dancer threw her arms high in the air, glancing seductively over her shoulder at Prince as he sat in an easy chair, watching her every move. As she danced in a circle around him, Prince left his seat, crawling after her on all fours, and then lay spread-eagled on the floor as she danced over him.

He may have given up swearing, but the — ahem — other stuff Prince's songs are well known for was on full display Friday at the Xcel Energy Center.

An adoring crowd of more than 14,000 shrugged off a long delay and greeted Prince with a collective roar as he took the stage at 9:15 p.m.

The concert was his first in a Twin Cities arena since 1997. A second performance at the Xcel Center is scheduled for tonight at 8.

While Friday's show started very late — Prince finished his sound check at 8:20 p.m., 20 minutes after the performance was supposed to start — the crowd didn't seem to mind not being allowed to take their seats while the artist finished checking out the stage and sound system.

Prince rewarded them with what amounted to one long jam session, with few actual breaks between the songs. The music flowed freely, many of the numbers stretching out with long instrumental solos and women dancing alongside Prince on the stage.

At one point, during "Little Red Corvette," the singer started calling random women up from the audience. Five eventually made their way on to the stage, and stayed there for several minutes as the band took turns soloing. Prince stepped in on a small drum kit and served as the ringleader.

As promised, the evening was filled with familiar favorites like "When Doves Cry," "Cream," "Diamonds and Pearls" and "Controversy."

Prince constantly referred to the crowd as "Minneapolis," ignoring geography (the Xcel Energy Center is in St. Paul) and going instead with his birthplace.

"Minneapolis, can you stay up tonight?" he asked as the crowd cheered loudly. "Me too, me too."

Prince, 43, has hosted a week's worth of performances and parties at his Paisley Park Studios in Chanhassen, topping things off with the pair of Xcel Center shows. His "Hit N' Run Tour" will next take him outside Minnesota, the place that made him — and First Avenue — famous with 1984's "Purple Rain."

Friday's crowd ranged from teen-agers to 40-somethings who could recall Prince back in his glory days of the mid-1980s.

Dressed first in a black suit and later in an all-red ensemble, Prince spent time on the piano, guitar and drums, demonstrating his considerable chops on each instrument.

Cavorting around a large stage bathed in colored lights, Prince played to the crowd all evening. For the most part, their noise was constant, peaking during the recognition of familiar songs and quieting during some of the longer instrumental solos.

Prince signed off with a "Goodnight, Minneapolis!'' at 10:25, then let the crowd whip itself into a frenzy before coming back wielding a purple guitar and kicking into "Let's Go Crazy."

The fans did just that, singing along and bouncing up and down, from the front row to the seats at the very top of the upper deck.

Things continued late into the night with more favorites like "Raspberry Beret" and "Purple Rain," more outfit changes for Prince and — of course — more dancing women.

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