WHAT A ROYAL PARTY PRINCE AND FRIENDS OFFER ON NEW TOUR
By Aaron Beck - Dispatch Pop Music Critic

During his 25-year retrospective last night in Nationwide Arena, Prince did everything except pour the drinks and show 9,000 people to their seats.

The tiny dancer -- he must reach only chest level of the ordinary, average guy -- played guitar, keyboards and drums and, yes, sang.

He and a modern dancer (whose name will have to be reported once Prince informs his publicists of who's in his group, the New Power Generation) danced forbidden dances that would have landed them both in jail 50 years ago.

In control of the scene from beginning and, I assume, to the end of the show (deadline called), Prince even in mid-twirl and mid-James Brownian yelp, gestured with his thumb and forefinger to the side- stage sound men to crank the volume and tweak the sound.

He directed a dance party onstage.

"You. In the pimp suit. Yeah, you. You tight?'' said Prince as he pointed to a sharp-dressed man in the front row.

"Dance with this sister over here.''

And dance they -- and eight or nine others -- did.

Androgynous as he's been since the late '70s, the mole on his left makeup-coated cheek as prominent as ever, dressed in clothes he did not purchase off the rack, Prince, 43, looked and sounded like Prince when he went mainstream in '82, with the album 1999.

Prince led two keyboard players, a bassist, a guitarist, and the anchor -- former Cameo drummer John Blackwell -- through blocks of medleys of hits such as Little Red Corvette, Nothing Compares 2 U, Cream, Diamonds and Pearls and I Wanna be Your Lover.

He also played songs that he has released only through NPG Music Club, his Internet site, which broadcasts live jams from Paisley Park, his Minneapolis studio.

Ten minutes into his set, Prince was shilling for this, his main music outlet since the end of his terms with Warner Bros.

But if the question was, "Does Prince still have it?'' the answer would be yes, he does.

The players in the band have changed, but the sound remains Prince's sound: sensual R&B and tight funk mixed with rock guitar solos, all shot full of Prince's fey demeanor, pinched falsetto and not-so- subtle lyrics. "Do me, baby/kiss me all over'' comes to mind.

contact: abeck@dispatch.com


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