1-14-02 Paisley Jam Review

Initial reports here on the org indicated doors may open early (11p). I arrived around 11:45p and doors opened about 12a.

At first, there were very few people there (~16). I was fortunate to FINALLY have some friends come with me so I had someone to talk to…they were getting concerned that there were not enough people and maybe it wouldn’t go down. I told them to be patient.

Of course the DJ was doing his thing, and that same video loop was playing as has been the last handful of parties. I don’t think the DJ played a Prince tune the whole time before the performance. They were not selling any water/beverages at all.

Slowly the crowd grew. Prince’s guitar tech was spotted tuning guitars and such…so I knew then we were in good shape. Then I saw John Blackwell, and the crowd continued to grow.

Finally about 1:45a the band took the stage. “The band” consisted of the new keyboard player Renato, John Blackwell, Rhonda, Prince and Maceo! Prince was sporting a Randy Moss jersey, the white “stocking” hat, white gloves, and the white moonbootswiththeindianfringesonthem things.

Prince came on stage laughing…clearly in a good mood. The first song was Calhoun Square!!! The vocal line was played by Prince on guitar. That song was GREAT to hear live!

I don’t have the exact set list, and it’s not in order, but I will give a flavor for what went down. They basically played much of TRC. It seems that they are in fact getting ready to tour…Prince instructed them to turn up the mic and did a lot of singing, which he typically doesn’t do at the Friday night parties/jams. With each song, they did a wonderful job of keeping a jazzy feel and passing solos around from Prince to Maceo to MIKE SCOTT who joined the group after about 3-4 songs. Prince and Mike did a nice job of dueling solos for a while…great job!

The band was so clear and tight! At one point Prince starting playin a bit on the guitar while he was watching the video loop behind the stage. At the time, the video was showing people’s hands working…and as they worked faster, he would play faster…slower when slower…it was good humor. Keep in mind reports from Friday’s party that he was playing to the beat of the dancers in the video…and the reports weren’t sure if it was coincidence or not…after seeing this, I wouldn’t doubt that he was in fact doing that on purpose on Friday!

Songs from TRC performed included Muse 2 the Pharoah, 1+1+1 is 3, Family Name, The Work, Everlasting Now. Everlasting Now really got the crowd (which maxed around 80-100 people or so?) jumping. I really think that if he released this song, it would be a hit…but that’s just my opinion. For some added variety, he also played The Other Side of the Pillow! I NEVER thought I’d hear that live! Shortly after he played the guitar to the speed of the video, he broke into the Beverly Hillbillies theme! It was fun…he was just messin about.

Truly an incredible night…the sound was great, the band was great, the music and solos and jams were great. Larry Graham was there, but did not get up on stage…I really thought and hoped he would for a song or two. He spent most of the night dancing in the back. The only 2 things missing were a long blues solo with Habibi, and a long solo for John Blackwell.

The band stepped down after Everlasting Now at about 3:05a…Prince was giving “medium high fives” on his way back to the sound board…I left shortly after, so I’m not sure if anything else happened.

It appears to me that they are in fact getting ready to tour…and I would bet that the tour will be focused on TRC. For those of you who like TRC, all I can say is it’s even BETTER LIVE….they played 4 songs from it last night and played the title track on Friday…if they come to your town and it’s not the same old hits show, GO SEE IT!!!! I think if people were to hear this live stuff, they would run out and buy TRC. I hope we get a few more of these “warm-up” jams before they hit the streets. Because, between you and me, I really think the band needs MUCH more practice before they tour (wink).

Oh yea….all this for the low, low price of….$0. Thank you, Prince!

There…that’s that…sorry I may have rambled a bit…hope it’s ok.

Peace…b wild.