Just a quick summation of last night's PP performance before I head to sleep:

Arrived just before 1:30 am to find the lot nearly full. No line at the door, however, and we were greeted by the guard who informed us that there would be no cover charge. I headed to the love4oneanother room and milled about for perhaps 10 minutes, watching the very bizarre National Geographic-esque documentary playing on the large screens.
At roughly 1:40 am, Renato and Rhonda slipped thru the crowd and assumed their positions on the bandstand, and I secured a spot near the front. Blackwell shortly appeared behind the kit and began putting together a beat. Our man took the stage from behind, dressed in Moss' Viking jersey, the white knit cap he's apparently favored for the past few weeks, and some hideous white boots stolen from the closet of Jimmy "Supafly" Snuka, with a metallic "NPG" glued to each. The setlist was as follows:

*Calhoun Square-No vocals, but it was obvious that the band has been made familiar with this song in rehearsal. P played a capable but unspectacular solo on Habibi, more concerned with the groove than any real pyrotechnics. Very nice surprise, and lasted for the better part of 10 minutes.
*The Work-P moved back to the Rhodes and triggered a loop of the main groove, replaced quickly by the band falling in behind it. After a verse and some minimal key accompaniment, P switched to the George Benson and took an extended solo. Maceo made his way to the stage and the band cooked along underneath he and Prince for close to 20 minutes. Very solid playing all around, with the occasional solo from Renato. The song, as it is on the album, has never done much for me, but here it came alive quite nicely. It's worth noting, however, that this reading would've never been possible with the previous incarnation of the NPG.
*Muse 2 the Pharaoh-P back at the Rhodes, a faithful and enjoyable rendition. Quite close to the album version on all counts, testament to the considerable rehearsal time that the new band has doubtless been putting in.
*1+1+1=3-Began very sparsely with P's bassline on the Rhodes, and built up gradually to the groove found on TRC. Prince sang at least one verse before the song gave way to an extended jam session featuring Maceo, Prince, and the surprise appearance of Mr. Mike Scott. It must be said that the Reverend's lead guitar work is many times over more accomplished than P's, who realized as much and stuck mostly to chordal figures and the occasional jazz run. Again, strong playing all around, particularly from Renato, Maceo, and Mike Scott.
*Rightfully very pleased with his band, Prince sat at the Rhodes, cradling the George Benson, and began providing verbal and musical commentary for the aforementioned National Geographic documentary. A clip of a man working on an assembly line was accompanied by P's quip "I guess he's willing to do the work", and time lapse photography of workers in a busy factory was quite humorously underscored by frantic "flight of the bumble bee" noodlings on Prince's guitar guitar. The Bevery Hillbillies theme followed, then a few notes of yankee doodle, and finally he fell headlong into an extremely tight country blues groove, featuring a side of his guitar playing that I had never heard, at Paisley or otherwise. What seemed to have began as a joke quickly turned into a remarkable showcase for his integrated rhythm/lead guitar playing, a la Chet Atkins/Alvin Lee etc.
*The Other Side of the Pillow-Winding down from the "country groove", Prince sat at the Rhodes, still with the Ibanez guitar, and began laying down some very effective but understated B.B. King blues licks. The band arrived with a groove fairly quickly and P sang an inspired and nearly complete version of this song from The Truth, natually extended by improvisations from all players (minus Rhonda, who seemed content to remain at the root of the groove for the entirety of the evening) Another welcome surprise.
*Renato began the next song on the piano, which ended up being a dark, blues instrumental jam, chord changes probably most similar to "There Is Lonely" in the Prince oeuvre. Wonderful solos from Renato, Maceo, and Prince, still on the George Benson.
*Family Name-Prince retreated to the Rhodes and began the basic riff, giving the band members time to get oriented. He shouted "Fender Jazz!" to Renato, who quickly dialed up the requested patch, and away they went.
As with the Work, the album version doesn't usually catch my interest, but the groove they achieved here was undeniable. All sections were reproduced tightly; again, they have clearly been working hard on this material. Very enjoyable.
*The Everlasting Now-To be honest, I didn't think this would gel in a live setting, but I ended up being quite wrong. The band works together incredibly well, and in all cases thus far matched or exceeded the quality of playing on the record. Again, a complete version with all verses, breaks, bridges, etc, highlighted by an extended solo on the Hohner Telecaster. Extremely impressive, and a brilliant demonstration both of the intricacies of the TRC material and the ability of the band to reproduce it in a live setting.

After Everlasting Now, P muttered "goodnight" into the microphone, saluted the crowd, and disappeared stage right with Mani, who had watched the entire performance from behind the risers. Approximate time of set: 90 minutes.

Overall, the best performance I've attended at the Park in at least a year. Considering the quality of the musicians he's surrounded himself with, this will hopefully be the new standard. He's certainly in good hands.