Prince, The Musicology Tour, FleetCenter, Boston MA 8/19/04Aug 21 '04 Write an essay on this topic.The Bottom Line Prince put on one of the best, most energetic shows I've ever seen. Period. I have seen many popular and beloved artists take the stage. I saw The Who in front of 60,000 people, I've seen Pearl Jam in both Boston Garden and Madison Square Garden, I've seen U2 tell a Boston crowd that Ray Bourque was going to win the Stanley Cup in 30 seconds, and I've seen Aerosmith enthrall a hometown crowd more than once. And yet, none of these things can possibly match the ovation that greeted Prince on Thursday night at the FleetCenter for the third and final show of his run in Boston. When it comes to Prince, I am woefully ignorant. Sure, I know Purple Rain, Little Red Corvette, and When Doves Cry, and I liked his latest album, Musicology, but for the most part, I was going because Prince was supposed to be a captivating performer and thanks to a deal through the FleetCenter Insiders email club, I was able to get balcony seats for a mere $10 (that's right, I saw Prince for $10, how bad do some of you hate me right now?). And with it being a center stage show, there was no such thing really, as a bad seat. We missed the opening act, Maceo Parker and his band. Maceo is also one of two sax players for Prince, and I saw him open for Ani DiFranco 5 years ago. I was relieved that we didn't end up missing a surprise appearance by The Time, who seem to just be showing up randomly at select shows. At 8:55, the house lights went down and Prince's latest video, Call My Name, the second single from Musicology, came on the four suspended video screens hanging above the stage. It was kind of cool to see, since I know MTV won't play it. This was followed by Alicia Keys speech inducting Prince into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. And then it was time for the man to emerge. As the crowd went absolutely apesh*t, Prince came up on a riser in the middle of the stage, and the band immediately kicked into the hot funk jam of the title track of the tour and the album. Unfortunately, up in the balcony at least, the mix was messy for the first couple of songs. It seemed to last through the next song, Let's Go Crazy, before being somewhat fixed for I Would Die 4 U. Despite the early sound problems, Prince and his backing band kept up an intense pace; breaks weren't taken in between songs, and if they were, they lasted barely long enough to take a deep breath. While at times this made some of the songs (like When Doves Cry) rushed, it also made it easier for Prince to keep the momentum going. The funk was brought on D.M.S.R., where Prince picked a young lady to come up on stage. She danced for a bit, and Prince treated her great. He walked her over to the part of the stage that had some giant pillows, and she stayed up on stage for another two songs before Prince led her off the stage. This chick had one dance move (which is one more than me, mind you) but she made it work, and most important, she didn't get nervous and freeze when she got up on stage. Prince proved to be in a playful mood all night, be it when he got a "Freaks on this side" chant going on the opposite side of the arena from me, or when he took his shots at radio and MTV ("I'd like to give a shout out to MTV...NOT! I'd like to give a shout out to radio...NOT!"). After a solid Controversy, Prince disappeared below the stage, and it was time for pianist/keyboardist Renato Neto for shine. He played a gorgeous little piece and was then joined by Maceo Parker. I loved Maceo when I saw him open for Ani, and he played a bit of Wonderful World on his sax, with some bare bones accompaniement from Neto. Most of the crowd saw this as a chance to go to the bathroom or get a beer refill, but I found it to be pretty captivating. Renato then played a piano number, and then the man appeared again. But this time, Prince was alone in the center of the stage, sitting on a rotating stool with nothing more than an acoustic guitar in his hand. I was somewhat afraid that this acoustic set he does would be the momentum killer. This seems to be the case more often than not with a lot of performers. So imagine the surprise of myself (and many many other people) when the acoustic set ended up being the absolute highlight of the night! He started with Little Red Corvette, which got a huge sing-along going, and that theme would continue throughout the eight or nine song acoustic set. This set was also where Prince was his most playful, joking with the audience, poking fun at himself, stroking his own ego. At one point, the audience wasn't singing loud enough in his estimation, so he stopped mid song and told us "come on Boston, this ain't no lip synch show." He asked us to clap along to Alphabet St., and songs like Cream and Raspberry Beret were absolutely fantastic. In an ode to those that came before him, he also played a perfect solo acoustic rendition of the Stones' (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction, which got a rowdy and rambunctious singalong effort from the crowd. A couple members of the band joined Prince for 7, and this led into the home stretch of the show. He rocketed through a couple of other tunes, including Sign O the Times, before playing one of the most recognizable guitar riffs ever: yes, Prince played Whole Lotta Love. It wasn't the best version vocally (he seemed unsure exactly how to attack it, despite playing it at other shows this tour), but his guitar solo would've made Jimmy Page himself proud. But he also showed off his bass skills, jamming with his bass player, Rhonda Smith, on Let's Work. During U Got the Look and Life O the Party, a bunch of females were invited on stage, and at one point, Prince and the rest of them did yes, the electric slide. Only Prince could pull off doing the electric slide in 2004 and make it look cool. Actually, only Prince could do the dance moves he was pulling out and make them look cool. I saw John Mayer try some of these same dance moves and he just made himself look like a dancing chicken penis. But back to the show... Drummer John Blackwell was one of the stars of the night as well, and his drumming on Take Me With U especially was terrific, earning multiple ovations from the crowd and wowing me seemingly at every turn. He reminded me of a more flashy Carter Beauford (from Dave Matthews Band), and he seemed to be loving every minute of being up on stage. Saxophonist Candy Dulfer laid down some great blasts throughout the show, and the rest of the band helped keep up the intense pace and hot grooves throughout the night. The encore consisted of The Beautiful Ones leading right into Nothing Compares 2 U. And then, here was Purple Rain, in all it's over the top glory. Prince's guitar solo was amazing, and he didn't seem to want the night to end, asking the band to do one more chorus before he left multiple times. And then, at about 11:30, he disappeared below the stage again and as we filed out, we watched the black case that contained him being wheeled away from the stage into the backstage area. Had there not been early sound mix issues, this honestly may have been the single best show I have ever seen. Either way though, it is definitely one of the best shows I've ever witnessed, and I would gladly go see him again on this tour if I had the opportunity. If his tour (which has about 3 weeks to run) comes to your town, you'd be an idiot not to go. The setlist: Musicology Let's Go Crazy I Would Die 4 U When Doves Cry Baby I'm a Star Shhh D.M.S.R. Pass the Peas No Diggity I Feel 4 U Controversy Renato Neto piano piece Wonderful World (Maceo Parker and Renato Neto) Rentao Neto piano piece ACOUSTIC SET: Little Red Corvette Peach I Wanna Be Your Lover Cream Prince and the Band Alphabet St. (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction Raspberry Beret 7 (with partial band) FULL BAND AGAIN Pop Life Sign O The Times Whole Lotta Love Let's Work U Got the Look Life O the Party Knock on Wood Kiss Take Me With U ENCORE The Beautiful Ones Nothing Compares 2 U Purple Rain And a final note to the multiple gay men in front of me, and the heterosexual couple who made out all night next to me: PDAs are unnecessary. I don't care if you're gay, straight, whatever, I don't want to see you all over each other. Get a f*cking room if you're that horny. A hug, a quick kiss is one thing. Looking as if you're ready to just f*ck like animals in the balcony is another. Related Review: Prince-Musicology (CD)  |
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