By Tony Hicks

CONTRA COSTA TIMES


During one of the countless funk jams, Prince led his New Power Generation through early Sunday morning and started pulling people from the crowd up on stage to dance.

Then, all of a sudden there he was: A much thinner (and happier) version of Dick Cheney. Right up there on stage, throwing the worst white man moves in his dark blue suit, red tie and bald head.

He even took a turn behind the mic, which the Purple One mercifully ended by snatching the mic away. If it had gone on much longer, the guy would have taken out someone's eye or something.

Of course, it was a setup. But it was a prime snapshot of Prince's performance at the Fillmore on Saturday night (Sunday morning). For a guy who's supposed to be pretty uptight and controlling, Prince waded hip-deep and joyous in serious funk all night.

And when I say all night, it's barely an exaggeration.

Like a real monarch, Prince first appeared on a balcony near the stage around 12:30 a.m., waving to the masses and hugging his guests. This is what's known, in strict entertainment terms, as being a tease.

The midnight hour is usually about when a band wraps up its set and goes home, but to live the experience that is Prince in a smaller venue, one goes by Prince's rules. If he wants to play until the parking garages lock up the cars until morning, that's the way it goes. Suck it up and enjoy the funk, even if most of it was for the hard-core fans who gets lots of exclusive music from Prince on his fan site.

The last time Prince pulled through the Bay Area, he told his legions not to expect any of that "Purple Rain" stuff, as he was deep into jazz jams that night. Then, of course, he did some "Purple Rain" stuff anyway.

There were no such empty promises early Sunday morning. Maybe it was the soulful history of the Fillmore neighborhood that got to him. But Sunday was a display of precise and explosive funk that one rarely witnesses outside of a spontaneous, all-night studio session that grooves so hard, nobody notices when the sun comes up (and by the time he finished Sunday, the sun was just a few hours away). The hits weren't so obvious, and people were dancing way too hard to notice.

Prince's eight-piece band, including former James Brown sax great Maceo Parker and superb drummer John Blackwell, is one of the greatest soul machines ever constructed. As the show was only announced a few days earlier, it was mostly a fan club experience. The fan club members got to go in early, get the choice spots close to the stage, and soak up everything Prince did.

Prince came out in a white, black, red and purple outfit. His energy was limitless and his musicianship almost frighteningly precise. The set carried one jam into the next, with the floor rumbling from dancing feet during Parker's "House Party," and into "I Feel For You," a much more powerful, horn-driven version of the song Prince wrote for Chaka Kahn two decades ago. He seemed ageless during the hit "Controversy," and ending up going one-on-one with Parker at the end. Few guitarists know how to play off multiple instruments like Prince. As much of a great lead player as he is, his rhythm playing fills gaps and boosts what everyone else does. When he does take over, he can briefly go all shredding Jimi Hendrix, or mix a tasty lead with double time funk chunk, making the rhythm section even more powerful.

It's a strange surface comparison, but the only competition Prince has on a good night, as far as energy level and treating every song like an encore goes, is Bruce Springsteen. Both lead the action on stage, give their bands room to thrive, and leave a couple buckets of sweat on stage when it's done.

Which, however, may have been a flaw for some whose feet were getting numb approaching 3 a.m. It was a display of Prince's infamous trait of never letting sleep get in the way of a big groove. It's rare to see that sort of obsession in a big-name musician. But it's also something that can numb people after a while. Prince threw in a quick cover here and there, bringing back the vibe ("Knock and Wood" just pulsed). Unfortunately, he outlasted some of the folks who were really into him the first two hours.

That's hardly anything for which Prince (or anyone musician) can be criticized. Giving fans too much music (and that's a relative opinion to be sure) is a rare problem to have these days.

Very cool review.
One possible correction: I think Prince wrote "I Feel For You'' for his own album "Prince'' in 1979. Chaka Khan's great cover version came later.

Another little correction:

"Suck it up and enjoy the funk, even if most of it was for the hard-core fans who gets lots of exclusive music from Prince on his fan site. "

Lots of exclusive material from NPGMC? I think not!

Positivity Y'all
Wizong

sweetdude!!!

Great, great review!
(makes me terrible jealous)

Thanks,
@rt, Amsterdam, Holland.

Actually, I think the comparison to Bruce is a fairly accurate one as far as stage presence, charisma and band leadership are concerned. On my list of favorites, Bruce is second right behind Prince, and I've seen each of them live more than a couple of times. Truth be told, for sheer energy and performance skills, they're about equal in my estimation.

Hi Violett.

Another correction, "Houseparty" is very likely the song by Fred Wesley. I don't know of a version by Maceo ,but when he, Fred and Pee Wee toured in n '93, it was part of their set.