Prince reigns at Staples Center
His Purpleness sets the stage for a mighty comeback with a dazzling performance.

By BEN WENER
The Orange County Register


Prince swears that his current Musicology Tour, which made its second stop Monday night before a positively ecstatic crowd at Staples Center, will be the last series of concerts in which he’ll perform some (perhaps all) of his best-loved hits. “Little Red Corvette,” “Sign o’ the Times,” “Kiss,” even his beloved “Purple Rain” – adios, adieu, buh-bye.

If you know anything about the diminutive music giant who once changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol and refused to change it back for nearly a decade, you know that when Prince makes such a portentous claim, he ain’t bluffing. Never say never, sure, but unlike Bowie or the Who – acts that have broken similar vows to put the past to bed not long after making them – Prince isn’t the sort to renege on a promise.

Call it a self-promotional ploy if you’re cynical, but the premise is paying off, as the recent Hall of Fame inductee’s first proper tour in six years has brought even fair-weather fans out of the woodwork. Staples Center, like most other venues across the country, sold out in a hurry, causing three more local shows to be added, including a May 24 stop at Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim and two more gigs (May 26 an 28) at Staples.

This, then, very easily could amount to nothing more than a nostalgic cash-in before he goes off chasing his muse, which appears to have chosen spirituality over sexuality once and for all (Prince becoming a Jehovah’s Witness seems to settle the long-standing tug-of-war between those forces).

But leave it to His Royal Purpleness to turn a kind of farewell into the mightiest comeback of his career.

Ever-savvy and more industry-friendly than he’s been in years, Prince knows he now has three generations of eyes focused on him – the adults and kids who loved him in the ’80s, plus a horde of younger admirers. And Monday night’s tremendous, virtually nonstop two-hour-plus revue, like his knockout turns at the Grammys and the Hall of Fame ceremony, proves that he’s out to dazzle new converts while again captivating original fans.

In short, this was awesome – indeed, it’s one of the few events I’ve seen recently worthy of that overused accolade. And it earns it not through spectacle but the things that matter: musical genius, relentless energy, commanding charisma and the crack chops of his eight-piece backing band, the New Power Generation.

All of that coalesced into one rousing, jammed-out medley after another, the entirety lighting the place up like a Disneyland fireworks finale. Even the stars on hand, including Gwen and Gavin and the rest of No Doubt, could be seen dancing at their seats.

You wanted obscurities, you got a hearty handful: a stomp through “Let’s Work”; his version of “Nothing Compares 2 U”; lovely renditions of “Forever in My Life” and “Sometimes It Snows in April”; an extended reading of “The Question of U,” stretched out by a wicked solo that reminded he’s at least among the Top 5 fiercest guitarists alive.

If you came for hits, well, you got more than enough: How ’bout an eruptive “Let’s Go Crazy” invocation into a spot-on “I Would Die 4 U” into a smoking “When Doves Cry” into an exuberant “Baby I’m a Star”? In fact, he played everything off “Purple Rain,” save for “Computer Blue” and the lascivious “Darling Nikki.”

But, then, you knew he wouldn’t play that, just as you might guess that outrageously randy bits like “Gett Off” and “Erotic City” have been permanently shelved.

“ Bring the family,” Prince said when he appeared on “The Tonight Show,” and he wasn’t kidding. Save for the occasional double entendre (“I plan to do you after school like some homework”), the one-night stand at the center of a poignant acoustic “Little Red Corvette” and a few choice words in “U Got the Look,” there was nothing about this show that would merit more than a PG-13 rating. Even his still-impressive dance moves were tamer; when he dropped to the floor during “The Beautiful Ones,” it was for dramatic effect, not to grind on stage.

If you listened closely, you might have noticed a few lyrics were altered to avoid dirty references and reflect Prince’s newly deepened faith. Some were obvious: “I’m your messiah” in “I Would Die 4 U” became “He’s your messiah,” while in “I Feel for You,” he’s now “spiritually attracted to you,” not “physically.”

Other changes were harder to spot. During “D.M.S.R.” (“dance, music, sex, romance”), the line “work your body like a whore” was eliminated altogether, while apparently it now is a sin “to strip right down to your underwear,” as that was cleaned up.

Yet these were such subtle revamps, they didn’t radically mess with Prince’s well-established persona. Besides, five minutes of torrid funk oozes more sex than any words. For me, the highlight by far was an utterly killer take on “Controversy” that expertly blended his desire to shake your body like a leaf on a tree with his mission to make you question your surroundings and contemplate a higher power. “Do I believe in God?” he asked. “Do I believe in me?”

Beyond that and an overt change in “Purple Rain” – telling indecisive types to “open up your Bibles” – there were no other religious references, and nothing came off lecturing. Instead, Prince used his set more as a platform for launching his strong new album “Musicology,” going so far as to have ushers hand out free copies of it as concert-goers entered the arena.

Like the tour itself, that’s not just a rare form of gratitude, it’s a smart attempt at career-rejuvenation. In concert, Prince lays down a few jams (like the party-up title track) from what surely is his most accessible album since “The Gold Experience” nearly a decade ago. Then fans can hop in their cars, pop the disc in and groove all the way home with that and more new gems.

With luck, word of mouth will have spread by the time Sony puts it out properly later this month – thus fulfilling the comeback potential held out by this grand tour.

Maybe it’ll even get him back on the charts. God knows if anyone deserves such a resurgence, it’s Prince.

That ought to get the geetar heads going...

If you listened closely, you might have noticed a few lyrics were altered to avoid dirty references and reflect Prince’s newly deepened faith. Some were obvious: “I’m your messiah” in “I Would Die 4 U” became “He’s your messiah,”

Actually, he started doing that 20 years ago on the PR tour. Has nothing to do with his new beliefs.

Thanks for the review, damn good.

But i have to say...:

"Prince swears that his current Musicology Tour...will be the last series of concerts in which he’ll perform some (perhaps all) of his best-loved hits. “Little Red Corvette,” “Sign o’ the Times,” “Kiss,” even his beloved “Purple Rain” – adios, adieu, buh-bye.

If you know anything about the diminutive music giant who once changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol and refused to change it back for nearly a decade, you know that when Prince makes such a portentous claim, he ain’t bluffing. Never say never, sure, but unlike Bowie or the Who – acts that have broken similar vows to put the past to bed not long after making them – Prince isn’t the sort to renege on a promise."



Ah well, if it keeps drawing the crowds then good for him.

Thnx Byron

That's the change that bugged me - what's wrong w/ being physically attracted to someone? We know that ain't ALL it's about, gimme a break. He said "worse" things in other songs that night (Let's Work, anyone?) so there would have been absolutely nothing wrong w/ saying that line. Oh Princey, I still love you...