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Prince reigns supreme in satellite broadcast

Tuesday, March 30, 2004


aowens@kalamazoogazette.com 388-8524



On Monday night, a United Artists Crossroads movie theater and 43 other cinemas across the country were transformed into a stage for Prince (nee the unpronounceable symbol, nee recording artist Prince Rogers Nelson), when Regal CineMedia broadcast via satellite a live Prince concert from Los Angeles' Staples Center.



A crowd of about 150 came for the 11 p.m. show (which began at 8 p.m. on the West Coast).

This type of event was not a first for the UA Crossroads. The theater has played host to concert shows for about one year, said a manager there. Other broadcasts have included Kiss, Sheryl Crow, Gloria Estefan and Christian rock band Third Day.

Mike Ransey, 34, of Battle Creek was one of those in attendance. A longtime fan of Prince, Ransey has seen Prince play live and hopes to catch his current "Musicology" tour, which was kicked off by the L.A. show. (The Purple One is coming to Michigan over the summer, with a June 20 show scheduled at The Palace of Auburn Hills.)

Prince is very in sync with his band, the New Power Generation, Ransey said. "When he drops his head, that means 'cut.' When he wants it silent, everyone stops playing.

"The band has over 1,000 songs in the trunk. He's an genuine artist as far as I'm concerned."

Another big draw for the event was that every ticket holder received a complimentary copy of Prince's "Musicology" CD, which is not yet available in stores. The distributed copies were in cardboard sleeves and were stamped "for promotional use only."

Thirteen-year-old Britney Hatten came to the show decked out in a black Prince concert T-shirt. Back in the '80s, Britney would have been barred from a Prince show due to her age. Prince shows were strictly for the "mature" crowd of 18 and over, due to the raunch factor.

But perhaps Prince, now 45, has mellowed over the years, although his wiry frame is still packed with the frenetic energy that electrifies a live show.

Britney said that in the summer of 2002 she and her mother went to a week-long "convention" at Prince's home sweet palace, Paisley Park, in Minnesota. There they watched him perform daily in his on-site recording studio.

"He's just, like, so inspirational," Britney said. "He's so deep with his music. ... Some of his songs are so deep they make you cry."

Later, inside the darkened theater, the audience watching a white rectangle that displayed a countdown to show time. Meanwhile, a camera panned the audience inside Staples Center. Gleaming faces were all around, including those of Eddie Murphy and Gwen Stefani of No Doubt. After all, it is L.A.

The clock stopped at 1:24, a chord was struck and people cheered and whistled in Dolby Digital all the way to Portage.

A collage of images of Prince filled the screen, interspersed with words of praise for Prince from the recent ceremony inducting him into the Rock 'N' Roll Hall of Fame.

Then, whomp, it was straight to the concert. Prince took the stage, which was a raised platform surrounded by hordes of fans. The star wore a white shirt and pants, an asymmetrical red jacket (it had just one tail) and white boots with tall rhinestone-studded heels.

Prince opened with the title track from his forthcoming CD. Then he took in the audience's adulation, slowly licked his finger and moved it down the left side of his face, then the right and finally gave his trademark smirk.

"Let's Go Crazy" was his next selection and could have been the anthem of the evening as well.

Prince went through a brisk repertoire of old favorites, such as "I Would Die 4 U" and "When Doves Cry," as well as mid-career hits, "D.M.S.R." and "Sign 'O' the Times."

The visuals were excellent in the theater -- no vying for space with thousands of other concertgoers, no impromptu moshing and, best of all, no becoming soaked with the sweat of random strangers.

An intermission came about an hour into the show.

The theater crowd was then greeted with the screen message: "DON'T GO ANYWHERE. PRINCE WILL BE RIGHT BACK."

Then came an intimate acoustic set, spiked with humor, suggestiveness and his own Princely 'tude.

He performed "Little Red Corvette" (his first Top 10 hit) and a few other numbers before sliding out of sight on a sleek silver pole that was set in the stage.

His encore was "Purple Rain," drawn out with his own rangy guitar solos and lots of audience participation. ("One more time," he kept saying, thrusting the microphone at the crowd.)

Then the credits rolled on screen.

"It was awesome," said Lisa Pressey, 35, of Grand Rapids. "I almost liked it better (than a live show) because you could see everything."

And then there was this exchange between two people walking out the door of the U.A. Crossroads:

"How did you like the show?"

"Didn't you hear me screaming?"

"I thought it was L.A."

And so it was.








© 2004 Kalamazoo. Used with permission

That was just so, so, Odd.

That's good review. But it still didn't do the concert justice! I would write a review, but I'm too lazy. There wold be soo many good things to write about, my fingers would go numb. That's the best show I ever seen and I mean it! He has to get more love than that, let's hear a real review.

Blue