Prince at the Myth: Not e...or passion

Prince lost some cool points over the past few weeks after he booked a pair of Memorial Day weekend shows at the Myth in Maplewood and then watched the $259 tickets languish largely unsold. That's when the Purple One did something he rarely does. He panicked.

Late Thursday afternoon, barely 48 hours before he took the stage for the first show Saturday night, he offer fire-sale $149 and $99 tickets. He flooded local radio stations with giveaways. His old Revolution bandmate Bobby Z leaked the news he would be sitting in on drums to play "Purple Rain." Earlier in the month, Prince even granted interviews to his two hometown daily newspapers, something he hasn't done in ages.

All of which wouldn't have mattered had Prince and his new, all-female backing band 3rd Eye Girl blown the roof off the Myth, a former shoe store a half hour's drive from First Avenue, the downtown Minneapolis club that helped make him famous. Instead, during the first of two Saturday-night performances, the Purple Yoda took a far more low-key, leisurely approach that saw him air some stiff new material and turn some of his biggest hits into slow-moving jam sessions.

The shows capped off a flurry of activity from the 54-year-old Minneapolis native. He opened the year with six similarly high-priced gigs at the tiny Dakota Jazz Club that, in part, served to introduce 3rd Eye Girl, a power trio in the fashion of Jimi Hendrix's Band of Gypsys. He then took 3rd Eye Girl on the road for a

high-profile West Coast club tour.

The Dakota shows were advertised as open rehearsals, and the size of the place meant the crowd was close enough to see Prince (not) sweat. Any sense of intimacy disappeared at the Myth, which was crowded, but not sold out. And despite adding the perk of free drinks for the $259 ticketholders, those with cheaper tickets had nearly the same view. The folks who paid $99 might have even had the best vantage point in the building.

For just under 100 minutes, Prince led 3rd Eye Girl through pretty much the same set of tunes he's played at every stop on the tour. That meant a slowed-down "Let's Go Crazy" to kick things off, followed by lesser-known songs from his back catalog (like 1995's "Endorphinmachine") and brand-new material (like "Fixurlifeup"). Ever wonder what, say, 1987's "I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man" sounds like performed at a funereal pace? Well, it doesn't sound like a party, I'll tell you that much.

All of that said, 3rd Eye Girl does show tremendous promise, and they seem to be getting tighter with every performance. But Saturday night, Prince kept them on such a tight leash, the show often had the polite, professional feel of a Sunday afternoon jam session led by bored Guitar Center employees. Every song was begging for at least a little more grit, a little more sex and a little more passion.

Those who wanted to hear the old hits played the way they remember them got a bit of relief near the end of the concert, when Prince trotted out a handful of them medley-style, including "Sign o' the Times," "When Doves Cry" and "Housequake." (Although it's worth noting this section of the concert was typically longer, with more selections, at other tour stops.) It was also touching to see Bobby Z come out for "Purple Rain," and Prince had nothing but nice things to say about a guy who was with him for many of his earliest successes.

But then Prince returned for an encore that kicked off with -- of all things -- a jazz fusion-style instrumental version of Pearl Jam's grunge-era hit "Even Flow." It was a true head-scratching moment in an evening full of them. Where Prince will go next, and whether or not 3rd Eye Girl will be invited along for the ride, is anyone's guess.

Already posted in the sticky thread (Concert forum) for the Myth shows: