Prince & 3rd Eye Girl soundboard download (Fox Theater, Detroit)

Prince & 3rd Eye Girl
Hit n Run tour
Fox Theater, Detroit
04.09.15

Soundcloud  04.05.15 (stream)

Hitfile download

Mirror download

FLAC download

(* It is quite possible- given Prince's extreme litigiousness regarding unauthorized use of his music or copyright- that this is an 'official' unofficial soundboard release.)

CD1:

01 – Intro
02 – Let’s Go Crazy
03 – Take Me With U
04 – Raspberry Beret
05 – U Got the Look
06 – Musicology – Mama Feelgood
07 – When Doves Cry
08 – Sign O’ the Times
09 – Hot Thing
10 – Nasty Girl
11 – Housequake
12 – I Would Die 4 U
13 – Cool – Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough
14 – Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)
15 – Play That Funky Music
16 – Controversy
17 – 1999
18 – How Come U Don’t Call Me Anymore
19 – Little Red Corvette
20 – Nothing Compares 2 U
21 – Kiss

CD2:

01 – Clouds
02 – Yes We Can Can – Thankful N’ Thoughtful – You’re The One – Green Garden
03 – She’s Always in My Hair
04 – Purple Rain
05 – Act of God
06 – What Have You Done for Me Lately – Northside – Theme Song From Which Way Is Up – Partyman – Dancing Machine
07 – Diamonds and Pearls
08 – The Beautiful Ones
09 – Darling Nikki
10 – If I Was Your Girlfriend
11 – Forever in My Life
12 – Alphabet St.
13 – The Most Beautiful Girl in the World
14 – A Love Bizarre
15 – The X’s Face
16 – U Know
17 – Pop Life
18 – 777-9311
19 – The Love We Make

Prince & 3rd Eye Girl setlist (Sony Performing Arts Centre, Toronto, ON) 05.19.15 8:00 pm

Prince & 3rd Eye Girl
Sony Performing Arts Centre
Toronto, Ontario
8:00 pm show


Wow
FunknRoll
Rock and Roll Love Affair
Pretzelbodylogic > Hannah Welton drum solo
Dreamer >  psych blues guitar passage
> Whole Lotta Love @
Let's Go Crazy (Reloaded) > Frankenstein !

Enc. 1.

Love Me Tender +  (Prince solo piano)
The Beautiful Ones
Something In The Water (Does Not Compute)


Enc. 2.

Take Me With U / Raspberry Beret / Cream
U Got The Look
When Doves Cry
Sign O' The Times (full live rendition) *
Pop Life> Darling Nikki> Forever In My Life >
Most Beautiful Girl In The World >
Alphabet St.
(sampled partially)

Enc. 3

I Would Die 4 U
Purple Rain *#
Kiss *


Enc. 4.

The Love We Make
Nothing Compares 2 U ^


@ Led Zeppelin cover
! Edgar Winter Group cover
+ Elvis Presley cover (written by Ken Darby as 'Vera Watson' and Presley)
* w. Shelby J. and two back up singers
# w. Donna Grantis guitar solo, Prince on keys
^ sung in is entirety solo (w/o Shelby J.)


Read why Prince really cancelled his last two Hit n Run shows in Toronto at Massey Hall and why the media covered it up.

Compare to recent Hit n Run setlists (04.09.15 Fox Theater, Detroit) or other recent Prince Toronto setlists (11.25.11 Welcome 2 Canada, Air Canada Centre);
(11.26.11 Welcome 2 Canada, Air Canada Centre)

Prince

Prince & 3rd Eye Girl Detroit setlist (Fox Theater, 04.09.15)

 



Prince & 3rd Eye Girl
w. Judith Hill opener
Fox Theater
Detroit, MI
04.09.15

Let's Go Crazy
Take Me With You
Raspberry Beret
U Got The Look
Musicology>Mama Feelgood
When Doves Cry
Sign O' The Times
Hot Thing

Sampler Set:
Pop Life>
Housequake>
Nasty Girl>
I Would Die 4 U

Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough >Cool
Thank You (Falletin' Me Be Mice Elf Again)
Play That Funky Music 
Controversy
1999
How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore
Little Red Corvette
Nothing Compares 2 U
Kiss

First Encore:

Clouds*
Thankful and Thoughtful
Green Garden
She's Always In My Hair
Purple Rain

Second Encore:

Act Of God
What Have You Done For Me Lately
Northside
(Theme song) Which Way Is Up?
Dancing Machine
Party Man
It's Alright

Third Encore (Sampler Set 2):

Sign O' The Times>
Pop Life>
The Beautiful Ones>
The Most Beautiful Girl In The World>
Diamonds and Pearls>
Alphabet Street>
Darling Nikki tease
Forever In My Life
X's Face snippit
Love Bizarre
777-9311#
The Love We Make

(Shut It Down played over PA for audience exit)

*Clouds was the only song performed from either Age Of Electric or Plectrum Electrum (the album he recorded exclusively with 3rd Eye Girl).
#Prince bass solo

Soundboard download (high quality) of this show

Northern Heads celebrates 60,000 visitors

Northern Heads began as northernheads.com (a very lo-fi website, essentially a proto-blog covering largely Canadian improvisational 'jam' based music) from 2001-2005.   The website was founded by Canadian Luke Bowden and American Abe Robins and might best be described as jambands.com meets The Onion on ketamine.  

After some dark and hairy times Northern Heads was revived by Luke Bowden as a blog at first primarily focused on Detroit Hip Hop.  The notion behind this limited focus at the outset was that there are countless general interest blogs and music blogs out there and the world of music is so vast that once one starts down a path (say Blues from the 1920's) you could literally spend a lifetime trying to understand that little niche.  From an initial focus on the preternatural J Dilla, his protege Black Milk and many in his camp including Elzhi, Guilty Simpson, Sean Price and (Hybrid-era) Danny Brown the scope of coverage has grown.

Gradually the focus of the blog dilated to include its namesake the Grateful Dead, Phish and the immortal Prince - but more importantly progressive improvisational groups such as The Slip (now The Barr Brothers) as well as a variety of Electronic musicians influenced by a deep musicality (The Gaslamp Killer, Flying Lotus etc.).   Swinging to the other end of the spectrum my other area of specialization is Roots and Americana music with a fervent interest in Canadian groups with spine and spirit such as The Golden Dogs and their kin Zeus. 

As a freelance music writer I have always operated on the margins of Canada's nepotistic and clingy world of music journalism.  As a rule I do not feature any music which I am not deeply passionate about- setting a standard of requisite craftsmanship rarely present in the glut of releases pumped out on a daily basis.  Put plainly I listen to all the shit so that you don't have to.

As the New Year approaches we'll be highlighting the best of 2014's releases as well as highlighting long form interviews from the past year originally published on No Depression (the Roots music authority since 1995).  Thanks for reading and coming back - if you don't currently follow the blog please consider following it in the future.  I promise to bring you more music, more diverse music and insights, and more frequent updates over the coming year.

sincerely,

Luke C. Bowden

Prince shuts down 3rd Eye Girl (Twitter acount, deletes all Youtube videos)

 

Prince is the greatest live act in the world today.  Like Nusrat Ali Khan and Jeff Buckley he has always struggled to find the union between the sacred and the profane.  He strikes a worse balance between the provocative and profoundly flaky.   3 weeks ago Prince cancelled a surprise show - one of his famous 'hit and run' concerts- at Massey Hall at last minute because he was 'not feeling it'. Virtually every TV, print and radio outlet in Toronto and the nation covered the melee in front of Massey Hall.   Most notably CP24's Kevin Frankish was reporting from in front of the venue right up until the sudden cancellation confirming details such as when wristbands would be handed out to the lucky few at the front of the line.  102.1's Josie Dye announced over the air that the entire station had only been allocated 4 tickets, later tweeted the same and of course deleted the tweets afterwards.  No media outlet has done any reporting on what in god's name happened and simply re-tweeted mea culpa's from his recent crop of female protege's 3rd Eye Girl's cell phone.  This is what passes for entertainment let alone journalism these days.  Now today the CBC is reporting that:

"Twitter accounts for the artist's band 3rd Eye Girl (@3rdEyeGirl) and the New Power Generation account (@NPGOffical) have been deleted.  Prince’s official Facebook page and Instagram (Princestagram) accounts have also been shut down. And, as of Wednesday morning, all the videos on the 3rd Eye Girl YouTube account have either been pulled or been made private."

Anyone who follows Prince closely knows intuitively what happened.  Prince who favours total control in all endeavours, and for whom band mates are little more than muppets giving image and flash to his catalogue and new albums, flaked out and left everyone from the concert promoter, sound and lighting company to his band to dig them self out of the hole they dug together.   It's not particularly surprising that there has been no reporting after the fact.  Canada's journalistic world, as with all print legacy media, is shrinking by the day.  This shrinking job market, which keeps journalists fretting about their next paycheque and unlikely to call out a potential future employer, has been well defined by Jesse Brown who created the independent outlet Canadaland to allay this woeful situation. Only as an 'outside' journalist could he have broke the international story that CBC radio personality Jian Ghomeshi serially abused countless women over a period of years.  Just as comedian Hannibal Burress got the world to take rape allegations against Bill Cosby seriously by simply saying out loud as a man: "Bill Cosby Is A Rapist".  This is not to compare cancelling a concert to severe and life altering rape and sexual assault allegations.  It is a comparison of how Men in Power shield other men in Power from the repercussions of their actions.  It is an argument, by pointing to this colourful nonsense surprise rehearsal/concert, that consolidation of media ownership limits rather than multiplies the diversity of voices in the media landscape.  That and smartphones are making people, dumb, dumb, dumb.

So what did happen?  You won't find it in any 'news' article.  Maybe you'll find it on this blog. Sadly the best account comes from an anonymous poster 'Holly' in the comments of a miserably feeble 'article' on BlogTO:

"What kind of bullshit reporting was this!

Here's the details from someone with multiple inside sources: there were 2 shows scheduled (both Tuesday and Wednesday as confirmed by band members), Massey Hall had booked the show and planned for staff (all the ushers were emailed or called the day before to confirm schedules with 2 call times; one was for the Tuesday, the second was for Wednesday with most staff being under the impression it was a double show on the Wednesday since there was a 7 & 9 o'clock call time - they were then emailed around 3pm to be told both shifts had been cancelled), Prince was staying at the 4 Seasons in Toronto (staff were informed he was there but were told to keep it hush hush), the security detail got the call the night/day before and were told it was Prince (though they were given limited details and were told not to say anything), Prince was supposed to be staying in town for up to 4 days (2 performances at Massey - 1 secret, 1 known by the next day after it leaked, 2 shows at another undisclosed venue, both secret), the stage was set up 2 days before (sound check happened on Monday), and according to 2 of his crew members Prince just ditched at the last minute leaving everyone in the lurch to pick up the pieces.

Was also told one of his security guards mother passed away which may be why he cancelled (though that hasn't been confirmed).

You want leads for some real reporting... there you go, now follow up and offer something legit."

 

Prince Funk

Prince cancels 'secret show' at Toronto's Massey Hall because he wasn't 'feeling it'.

(l to r) Donna Grantis, Ida Nielsen and Hannah Ford Welton

Clearly Prince thinks the bulk of his fans are stupid.  Or variously a good chunk of the Canadian music industry is worried about their comped tickets to the next surprise or announced show that they won't tell you the truth.

The fact is undoubtedly there was supposed to be not one but two 'hit and run' secret shows with Prince and 3rd Eye Girl at Massey Hall Nov. 4th and 5th.  Staff from the security company were told to arrive at 8:00 am and were informed it was for a Prince 'secret show'.  At the end of the day the common courtesy extended to people who'd waited over 17 hours in line was as simple as a crew member acknowledging to local cable outlet CP24 that two concerts originally planned for Tuesday and Wednesday nights had been "cancelled."

Likewise Josie Dye, a radio personality for Edge 102.1 said on air they'd spoken to a Prince crew member and confirmed that the entire station was only being comped 4 tickets to the clearly happening show.  The Purple Yoda is trying to pull a Jedi mind trick on his fans. While this sort of faux-mysterious behaviour is standard operating procedure for Prince the BS explanation he's had his band, promoter and ticket'master' trot out is offensive to basic intelligence.   The short and curlies of it are that he cancelled the show because, as Dye later tweeted: "Yes there was going to be a show! Prince decided moments ago he just 'wasn't feeling it' Sad." The tweet as with almost every tweet associated with this hype frenzy has been deleted.

The following morning in response to undoubtedly a huge volume of inquiries from news organizations and fans alike 3rd Eye Girl drummer Hannah Ford Welton has taken to Twitter with a post to the #PrinceArmy.  In it she states:

"2 The #PrinceArmy: Thank you so much for your love, support & concern!  We are safe & ok.  What happened today was a total mixup and there was never a show confirmed. We apologize for the inconvenience & look forward to the day we rock Toronto. We love and appreciate you."

Her husband and Prince's co-producer of Art Official Age Chris James, who DJ's under the cringe-worthy name Joshua A.M.,  followed suit with a story that seemed to line up:

 "We <3 you and apologize for the rumors.  No show was confirmed on our end but we look forward to playing in Toronto soon.  Thank you for your patience and understanding - when we arrive in Toronto we'll make sure it's worth the wait - Joshua"

Were you concerned about the safety and welfare of the members of 3rd Eye Girl?  I know I wasn't.  Similarly Live Nation Ontario (who were involved why?) is actually blaming the whole confusion on Ticketmaster:

"Live Nation wants to apologize for any inconvenience experienced by Prince and his fans in Toronto when Ticketmaster posted incorrect concert information on their website earlier today. The only reservation was for a production rehearsal. There was no concert scheduled for today."

So stop right there.  Live Nation overcame regulatory hurdles on January 25, 2010 that allowed them to merge with Ticketmaster forming Live Nation Entertainment.  The merger was described by The Economist as a 'union of pariahs'.  The monolithic entity which owns the majority of venues in North America and the unavoidable Ticketmaster operates on a scale that is hard to fathom- literally fixing and moving the price of their own entertainment commodities.  "The leadership consists of John C. Malone, chairman of Liberty Media as chairman and Michael Rapino (previously chief executive officer of Live Nation) as president and CEO of the company."

Now consider also the fact that Prince and Michael Rapino are friends despite the rocky relationship Prince has had with Live Nation as an entity.  They are such good friends that Prince added Rapino's hometown (population 120,000) of Thunder Bay, Ontario to his Welcome 2 Canada tour - a feat of logistics and routing that is hard also to fathom.  In short for Live Nation to blame Ticketmaster for this whole 'secret show' confusion is baldly false.  They are one in the same.  To imagine also that Canuck Rapino would not move mountains (or clouds) for Prince one of the few artists in the world capable of doing what he does, is woefully naive.

But to give the whole thing a bit more of an air of reality some guy named Trevor Guy (from a sound and lighting company 3EG) also tweeted and was retweeted by Prince fan feed @PrinceMuseum as saying something similar:

"#Toronto - sorry for the confusion today surrounding the reported #Prince Massey Hall performance. 3EG’s sound and lighting crew is set-up for production rehearsals at the venue; contrary to reports, there was never a confirmed show. To all those who waited. in line, thank you for your time and patience. It is very appreciated and never taken for granted. #LOVE #PRINCEARMY

In hindsight to the passing eye this all sounds pretty plausible suggesting blame should lay on over-excited fans and the legitimate media outlets that jumped on the story.   Admittedly most outlets ran versions of  'Is Prince playing a surprise show?' articles until they had confirmation it wasn't happening at which point they jumped on the opposite story.  However this writer definitely saw the ticket listing on Ticketmaster sometime between 10:30 and 11:00.  So in order a mysterious tweet goes out around 4:30 AM and is immediately deleted, but catches the attention of a super fan woken to the alert he'd set.  A queue begins to form around Massey Hall.  A security company somehow arrives on site miraculously at 8:00 AM.  Metal barricades are also delivered to the site despite the concert that's not happening.  Ticketmaster lists then removes the listing of the show taking place.  So far this all sounds like a carefully planned publicity stunt.  Media outlets are alerted or become alerted to the mounting story and are buoyed on by details such as photos of the stage set up within the venue, the Ticketmaster listing, crowd, security, barricades etc.  Global Television went so far as to somehow get the impression that the show was not only going on but that wristbands would be handed out at 6:00 for an 8:00 show start.

And then in the end it's the international concert promoter Live Nation and Live Nation Ontario who are apologizing around the confusion of a rehearsal/ show.  These 'hit and run' shows Prince does are high risk and high reward for both the audience and as this instance shows artist alike.  Still the prevailing widom is (and this writer boldly concurs) that if you ever have an opportunity to hear Prince play live in your life you should take it.  Wherever you are.  This is only a hunch, but Prince who favours control in all situations, likely was not pleased with the amount or type of attention the show was getting, felt he couldn't quite pull it off or conversely he'd already accomplished his goal (admittedly pissing off thousands of diehard fans in the process) of promoting his new release with 3rd Eye Girl Plectrum Electrum.  Unfortunately in the process he's tried to play his entire fanbase and the media as the fools here. But since they're all owned by the same companies and worried about their own access you're not likely to hear quite this version of events.

Prince Massey Hall surprise show cancelled

Photo taken of Massey Hall stage set up by @stazie_15 at 10:41 AM Nov. 4, 2014

At 8:30 AM Prince's current backing band's Twitter account @3rd Eye Girl posted a cryptic tweet:

4th day of November, we need a purple high: OTNOROT CALLING…

Although the tweet was quickly deleted it was quickly retweeted and a cue formed around Massey Hall.  Further uncomfirmed details came out over the course of the day as a cue of acolytes, hard-core fans, scalpers and ticket brokers continued to surge.  Reports ranged from a rumoured ticket price ($10) to only the first 200 people being given wristbands.  But this wasn't just a loose rumour.  Metal barricades were delivered to Massey Hall and people in the line described a strong odour of 'incense and breakfast sandwiches' from the load in area.

By 10:41 every imaginable print and radio outlet in the city had picked up some version of the story with Global Television going so far as saying that wristbands would be handed out at 6:00 and the show would start at 8:00.  With Massey Hall being a union house known for its acoustics and a hard 11:00 close all of those facts lined up.  Further a Prince fan twitter feed @PrinceMuseum which was posting reliable updates and photos of the swelling line announced that this was the first of two shows (confirmed by a personality on Talk 1010 @MooreintheAM stating "Confirmed. Not one but two shows by Prince in TO.")  Then word began to get out that people were being turned away without either tickets or wristbands and Live Nation had to begin the mea culpa's first from their Live Nation Ontario account:

In response to inquiries, we can confirm that Prince will not be performing at @masseyhall tonight.

And then from the Live Nation account:

@karen_bliss Hey! Sorry, Prince will not be performing tonight or tomorrow night

Bliss, a quick internet search reveals, while she seems to be employed by Live Nation works as a journalist and has written for Rolling Stone and Billboard (reporting on Live Nation no less).  But most importantly she's way Christian which might give her some insight or more likely access into the mind of Prince.  Being Christian and having Christian values (particularly those aligned with Jehovah's Witness) is a pre-cursor for any professional involvement with Prince these days.

It's not as if his multitude of fan's went off half-cocked though.  Even Ticketmaster had the show listed as happening today and then the listing also disappeared.  Further, serious fans know that Prince is close with Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino and included a Thunder Bay date, Rapino's hometown, on his Welcome 2 Canada tour having "PROMISED 2 COME 2 HIS HOMETOWN 2 DO SOMETHING HISTORIC."  Given that Prince did play that town with a population of 120,000 it didn't seem like such a stretch that a few days after his whirlwind SNL appearance that he would play a surprise date in his former hometown after all.  As we know no concert can happen in North America without the explicit go ahead from Live Nation and/or Ticketmaster how did everyone have it wrong?

Prince fans know he does and has done these sort of secret or surprise shows for years.  The immediate precedent is that he did two back to back shows at Camden (home of vocalist Lianne La Havas) at the Electric Ballroom for 300 fans on Feb. 5 and 6th of this year to promote the same albums (Art Official Age and Plectrum Electrum) he's actively promoting as recent as his jawdropping 8 minute SNL appearance this past Saturday (November 1).  La Havas who appeared in the SNL set though not a member of 3rd Eye Girl figures prominently on Art Official Age.  It's more than likely that the show had it proceeded it would have been a show of this nature- for a very small audience irrespective of the venue capacity and not a 3 hour sweat drenched run through of the catalogue.  Why you ask?  For one thing 3rd Eye Girl, with Toronto's Donna Grantis on lead guitar, does not seem like the kind of group that could hold down a three hour set with Prince (the Electric Ballroom setlists bear this out).  His collaboration and album with them - Plectrum Electrum - seems to be an extension of his Sly and the Family Stone inspired desire to have multi-racial gender diverse bands as well as a desire to record a certain 'dirty' if you like rock & roll sound live off the recording studio floor.  Basically the other side of the EDM coin that he flipped on Age.  With all due respect to the Girl's they are not the sort of touring band that Prince has used for ages - with stalwarts like Renato Neto (keys) or John Williams (drums) or Maceo Parker and Candy Dulfer (saxes).

What it seems happened, and uncomfirmed sources have conveyed similar versions, was that Prince clearly had some sort of performance and marketing stunt planned for Plectrum Electrum.  Art Official Age is a solo album Prince's first since 2010 (although sadly with help from a Deadmau5 affiliate Chris James or Joshua A.M. who is married to 3rd Eye drummer Hannah Ford Welton).  Prince also likes to keep it in the family.   Let's not forget either that Prince lived for a period in Toronto in the luxury neighborhood the Bridle Path while married to Toronto native and former Paisley Park employee Manuela Testolini.  The Bridle Path is also referenced lyrically on his last memorable release Musicology. So Prince's ties to Toronto run pretty deep.

Apparently what was supposed to take place was a soundcheck/ rehearsal.  Bands (like the Rolling Stones and comedians like Dave Chappelle recently) like to use Toronto as a staging ground for their extensive preparations for tours, either through a connection to a mega-promoter like Rapino or in the Stones case Michael Cohl or simply because it's a small market where they can make mistakes without too much notice.  When Chappelle played a similar, hotly anticipated and hype-swirled, set at the Winter Garden Theatre it was also a let down as he was clearly working up material (for a much cleaner airing at his Carnegie Hall shows).  Sadly all the people in line who were fans went through the ringer today, even those who weren't in line did.  On the upside a bunch of scalpers had their whole day wasted in the cold November rain no less.  Not purple, but maybe just a little bittersweet.


 

D'Angelo: R&B Jesus

 

This writer is happy to admit that there are blank spots in his musical education and filigree.  Happily, despite a particular enthusiasm for what is dubbed 'neo-soul', I purchased today for the first time D'Angelo's pivotal Voodoo album - a landmark of important albums of the 1990's, envisioned in hindsight as an artistic tour de force.

Recent reports of D'Angelo's live shows this summer, after a grim baker's decade that left him at very least a shadow of his former self, have devotees slowly whipped up to the stiff peaks of a funk merengue.   With a ?uestlove produced album apparently forthcoming (the wait for Voodoo was apparently just as lagging) that same producer is hesitant to decry D'Angelo as a modern-day genius of the ilk of Prince/Gaye/Wonder/ Clinton given his sheer lack of actual output. It's worthwhile to note that the Dean of American Rock Critics Robert Christgau (who mind you articles the Kinks Waterloo Sunset as something like the greatest song of all time) who was not a definitive fan of the Voodoo album became so enamoured with his live performances (modelled undoubtedly after Prince's setlist's which he knows encyclopediacly) that he's come to refer to him as R&B Jesus:

Jesus Saves

I was at Radio City for Q-Tip, who didn't show. R&B Jesus I was just checking out. D'Angelo isn't a songwriter, not really; the Marvin comparisons are the exaggerations of r&b faithful yearning to be led out of the wilderness, and the ridiculously long-aborning Voodoo is self-indulgent and riddled with blank spots. This boded poorly for his stage ethos. Well, I joshed, at least he'll take off his shirt.
D'Angelo did take off his shirt, but I doubt even the girls who went crazy truly needed it on top of two-and-a-half unfailingly generous hours. Blank spots were nonexistent--songs averaged well over 10 minutes, and when they ended the audience had a harder time catching its breath than a band that included superbassist Pino Palladino, Roots drummer ?uestlove, three backup singers with their own lives, and appropriately breathtaking brass: trumpet luminaries Roy Hargrove and Russell Gunn, widely traveled trombonist Frank Lacy, and a sax man from Martinique who spieled in French and looked like Chris of 'N Sync.

I name these sidepeople because the best funk band in the universe deserves some props. On Voodoo, "Devil's Pie" is a touch hokey; with Pallodino vibrating the chandeliers, it instantly established that this was going to be some night. Slow ones started warm and turned torrid; "Chicken Grease" and "Spanish Joint" and "Shit Damn Motherf*cker" were seismic from jump street. D'Angelo sang and danced and preached and flexed and crooned and humped the floor and covered Roberta Flack and snapped a mike stand in two and danced and sang and sang some more. Everything meshed; all stops were pulled out. It was already the greatest concert I'd seen in years when Redman and Method Man propelled the climactic "Left and Right" through the vaulted ceiling. I flashed on P-Funk's "Sadie," Apollo 1981. What a privilege to experience such a thing again.

I saw Marvin Gaye at this venue shortly before he was murdered, and it was no contest. Gaye was fine, but self-indulgent and riddled with blank spots. Totally committed, D'Angelo betrayed neither weakness nor ego--and gave so much Thursday that Friday he canceled with a sore throat I absolutely believe was the truth. He was r&b Jesus, and I'm a believer. Travel to another city to see him now.

Village Voice, Mar. 28, 2000

Toronto guitarist Donna Grantis new guitarist for Prince

Prince is handily the most vociferous enforcer of his own copyright as well as a pioneer of developing new (and at times) excruciating techniques for exacting tithes from his loyal followers.  His recent release post-Grammys of a new video Screwdriver  drew buzz and matching snickers at the $1.77 price tag charged to view the new video.  Prince appeared with his new all-female ensemble, apparently called 3rd Eye Girl, on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon (3/1/13) performing Screwdriver and even let Grantis take the solo.

Toronto native Donna Grantis studied jazz at Montreal's McGill university before embarking on a formidable career as a session musician.  Her own personal aesthetic in her previous ensembles such as The Donna Grantis Electric Band (a psychedelic fusion trio with drummer Roger Travassos and bassist Steve Zsirai, the group’s debut album, titled Suites, is available worldwide through iTunes and donnagrantis.com) has leaned towards an open improvisational spirit:

“creating music in the moment, reacting to each other on stage, exploring musical themes for extended lengths of time, and utilizing effects pedals to broaden the tonal pallet of the music. The creative intention is to be free and continuously challenge each other on stage. Hopefully in doing so, we can create an experience for listeners and take the audience on a musically engaging journey.”

She lists her inspirations ranging from Bill Frisell to Billy Cobham, Jeff Beck to Jimi Hendrix.  Given her visual appeal and rock solid chops she's an obvious match to come on board the New New Power Generation.

Prince - The Glory Years (documentary)

If your interest in the musical heritage of Prince, or your interest in him extends beyond an unavoidable pop flirtation with his well over thirty hits (excluding those he wrote for others and tossed away only for them to find success with, the Bangles Manic Monday and of course Sinead O'Connor's Nothing Compares 2 U) into his much larger canon of music this documentary may appeal. 

(*note you may have to suffer through more than one painful lyrical and cultural analysis by the squinty faced dingbat above but if you do you'll find some other choice Prince intimates)

This documentary doesn't exactly blaze any new ground in terms of gaining an appreciation for Prince's galvanizing impact on popular music.  It's highly doubtful given the ultra-high level of control he's maintained over his own backstory that any truly salacious or bracing insights are likely to come out anywhere frankly.  It may be that he has some fairly iron clad confidentiality agreements in place, it may also be that in all likelihood very few people have been allowed past the purple mantle enough that they could have much insight of their own.  That said throughout this fairly functional and thankfully short documentary the listener is introduced to a handful of Prince acolytes who do have a handful of strong insights into Prince's artistry.  As with the bulk of material that makes up various other slapdash unauthorized bios the key contributors are characters such as Dez Dickerson (former Revolution guitarist) and Alan Leeds (former tour manager, Paisley Park Records President), as well as Rolling Stone's Anthony DeCurtis, who provide the bulk of inside material related to Prince's creative process.  Where this little doc shines a little bit over the countless articles, issues and books written is giving a voice to a handful of the recording engineers that worked closely with him at various points, as well as various session musicians brought in on one off basis'.  The doc deals particularly well with Prince's collaborative relationship with arranger Clare Fischer whom Prince has worked with extensively over the years but due to superstition has refused to ever meet the man.  There relationship is the classic 'exchanging tapes in the mail' collaboration and just one of the wonderful quirks that makes up His creative process.

If you're a real died in the wool member of the New Power Generation it's worth seeking out the above issue of Wax Poetics (10th Anniversary Edition, Winter 2012).  This issue with interviews with bassist Larry Graham (Graham Central Station, Sly and The Family Stone), Morris Day, Jesse Johnson and noted reeds player Eric Leeds (who collaborated frequently as a member of Prince's group and side project Madhouse).  The issue even contains a wonderful article by drummer and musical director Amir Questlove Thompson (The Roots) on 33 Reasons Why Prince Is Hip Hop.  The Questlove article, and the issue on the whole, are one of the few big steps forward in Prince scholarship in the last ten years.  The Artist himself seems to only now be slowly coming around to showing a bit more of what he has on under the purple frock.  Or as this issue attests it's more that the diverse voices that have contributed to his tapestry are finding an outlet beyond fan fodder.







Prince - Purple Rain (12.03.11) Ottawa, Scotiabank Place- 11 minutes

Prince Toronto Setlist (11.26.11) Welcome 2 Canada

Prince and the NPG
Air Canada Centre
Toronto, Ontario
11.26.11

Gold
Purple Rain
Let's Go Crazy> Delirious> Let's Go Crazy
Shhh*
Mountains
Everyday People**
Alphabet St.> Love Rollercoaster***
Play That Funky Music****
Angel*****
Nothing Compares 2 U
Crimson and Clover******
______

Controversy
Sexy Dancer (instrumental)
Get Down Tonight*******#
______

Little Red Corvette##> Take Me With U
> Raspberry Beret> Cream>
Cool> Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough********
______

(grand piano sampler set)
When Dove's Cry> Nasty Girl (instrumental)>
Sign O' The Times>I Would Die 4 U> Darling Nikki (instrumental)

______

Kiss

* w. U Will Be... With Me interpolation
** Sly And The Family Stone cover
***The Ohio Players cover
****Wild Cherry cover
*****Sarah McLaughlin cover
******Tommy James and The Shondells
*******KC and The Sunshine Band cover
********Michael Jackson cover
# incl. Housequake and (Eye Like) Funky Music chants and Controversy coda
##incl. Extraloveable lyrics interpolation

11 minute clip of Purple Rain in it's entirety from the Dec. 3 Ottawa tour stop at Scotiabank Place

Prince Toronto Setlist (11.25.11) Welcome 2 Canada

Prince and the NPG
Air Canada Centre
Toronto, Ontario
11.25.11

Intro#
We Live (2 Get Funky)#
DMSR#>
Pop Life*#>
Musicology**#>
A Million Days
Let's Go
Take Me With U > Thunderstruck***>
Raspberry Beret>
Cream
Cool****> Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough
______
Yesterday
Nothing Compares 2 U
Let's Go Crazy>
Delirious> Controversy refrain> Let's Go Crazy>
1999
Little Red Corvette>
Slow Down
______
U Got The Look
______
Make You Feel My Love****
Purple Rain#
______
Kiss
______
When Dove's Cry
______
(grand piano sampler set)
Nasty Girl (instrumental)>
Sign O' The Times> Darling Nikki>
The Most Beautiful Girl In The World
Sign> Hot Thing>Sign
I Would Die 4 U> Housequake (horn riff)>
Darling Nikki (instrumental)>
Mr. Goodnight (instrumental)>
Shockadelica (instrumental)
If I Was Your Girlfriend#
_____
Sometimes It Snows In April
_____
The Bird****>
Jungle Love****
Play That Funky Music#
_____
Dance (Disco Heat)******>
Baby I'm A Star
_____
Adore
_____
Let's Work#

#w. Maceo Parker
*w. Scrapple In The Apple (Charlie Parker)
**w. Tighten Up (The Black Keys) and  Mama Feelgood (Lyn Collins) interpolations
***ACDC cover (instrumental)
****The Time cover
*****Bob Dylan cover
******Sylvester cover

Prince Montreal Metropolis Setlist

TMBPRN (The Man Born Prince Rogers Nelson) barnstormed the Montreal International Jazz Festival for two nights at Metropolis in front of beyond rapt audiences of 2000.  Having supposedly "hung up" the bulk of his populist repertoire on his last major stadium tour Prince and the New Power Generation, the Artist nonetheless unerred crowd pleasers ranging from Let's Go Crazy, 1999, Little Red Corvette, Raspberry Beret, Kiss and the eponymous Purple Rain.  For the more diehard fans in the mix (see all) Prince thankfully delivered (particularly during the second 4 hr. night) renditions of relative rarities like the singular Pop Life and D.M.S.R. (Dance Music Sex Romance), to say nothing of the covers ranging from Tommy James and the Shondells, James Brown, Sly and The Family Stone, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Marley, Michael Jackson and Motley Crue.


Prince and the NPG, Metropolis, Montreal - June 24

When I Lay My Hands On U
Crimson And Clover (Wild Thing and Foxy Lady teases)
Waiting In Vain (Andy Allo vocals)
Peach
Controversy
Pass The Peas (with Maceo Parker)
Everyday People
Let's Go Crazy/Delirious
1999
Little Red Corvette
Musicology (incl. Tighten Up interpolation)
Play That Funky Music
Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) (with Maceo Parker)
Purple Rain (Guitar and Piano only)
Raspberry Beret
Cream (incl. For Love interpolation)
Cool (incl. Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough interpolation)

Prince and the NPG, Metropolis, Montreal June 25

Love We Make

D.M.S.R.
Pop Life
NPG jazz interlude
Musicology (with Tighten Up, and bass solo finishing with America tease).
(Song from Olivia Warfield or Shelby Johnson)
Misty Blue (Shelby Johnson)
Controversy
Freak Out
Which Way Is Up Shelby
Play That Funky Music
-------
Take Me With You
Need Another Lover
Dr Feelgood (guitar solo)
Shhhhh
Nothing compares 2 U
Joy In Repetition
-------
Pass The Peas
What Have You Done For Me Lately
Partyman
It Ain't Over
-------
The Bird
Jungle Love
I Like Funky Music
Love Bizarre
Kiss
-------
Purple Rain


New Power Generation:

Maceo Parker - Saxophone
Andy Allo - Guitar/ Vocals
Ida Neilson - Bass
John Blackwell - Drums
Morris Hayes - Keyboards
Cassandra O'Neill - Keyboards
Olivia Warfield - Vocals
Shelby Johnson -  Vocals

Prince surprise set in Paris 'til break of dawn

Prince (born Prince Rogers Nelson) thrilled fans in France on Thursday night (July 22) when he took to the stage for a surprise show - and performed until daylight broke.

The Purple Rain hitmaker played a set at the tiny, 500-capacity New Morning Club in Paris in the early hours of Friday (July 23), after news of the gig leaked on Twitter.com just hours earlier.

He kept the audience waiting until 2.30am before appearing onstage - but then sent them into a frenzy with a set of lesser-known tracks as well as classic hits including Kiss, Raspberry Beret, and Cream. The rocker was even joined by soul singer Erykah Badu, who sang with him on three tracks.

And after telling the crowd he would perform "til the sun comes up", Prince kept his word - he played six encores and closed the show at 6.15am.

> The actual setlist was:

Start: 2:30
Stop: 6:15

01.Stratus
02.Brown skin (?)
03.I've never loved a man
04.Baby love
05.Beautiful strange
06.Sometimes it snows in April
07.Hair
08. (?) w/Uptown interpolation

-----Encore 1------
09.When will we b paid?
10.Que sera sera
11.Controversy w/Housequake chants

-----Encore 2-----
12.I love u but i don't trust u anymore
13.Dreamer
14.The ride
15.Miss you
16.Kiss
17.Cream

-----Encore 3-----
18.How come u don't call me anymore? w/Please please please

-----Encore 4-----
19.Shake your body
20.Everyday people
21.I want to take you higher

-----Encore 5-----
22.Purple Music / All the critics love u in New Morning
23.Dance (disco heat)

------Encore 6------
Piano Set
24.Diamonds & pearls
25.Raspberry beret
26.Starfish & coffee
27.Venus de Milo
28.Still waiting
29.Future soul song
30. "Oh New Morning" - Purple Rain

Is Prince better than the sum of his parts?

Prince

Prince If I Was Your Gilfriend (live)

Prince - Sign 'O' The Times Tour 1987 ~ If I Was Your Girlfriend If your idea of Prince is Purple Rain, When Doves Cry, Little Red Corvette, Raspberry Beret then If I Was Your Girlfriend might not be known to you as at very least a deeply cherished part of his repertoire - perhaps erroneously in some reporting described as 'considered one of his most notable songs'. There's definitely much debate amongst Prince purists about the ultimate Prince song (personally I'd take Pop Life any day) live or on record. Most would agree that Sign 'O' The Times is extremely rare in his live performances and deeply cherished for that and many reasons. I want to say that he played it once in his 21 night run at London's O2. "If I Was Your Girlfriend" was the second single off Prince's 1987 double album Sign 'O' the Times. While it's attained the stature it has in his ouevre it didn't chart well in the U.S. originally likely because of it's androgyneous inversion of a love story by a man. The track arose from the "Camille" project of 1986, which was to be released under the guise of an alter ego named Camille (see Prince's poem in the Lovesexy tour program), rather than by Prince. Regardless, the song is actually sung from a male perspective to a woman, wherein Prince explores the possibilities of a more intimate relationship if he were his lover's (platonic) girlfriend. It is believed that "If I Was Your Girlfriend" deals with the jealousy Prince felt at the close bond shared between then (platonic) girlfriend Susannah Melvoin with Wendy Melvoin. The Sign 'O' the Times was a short European only tour that came at a pivotal juncture in Prince's career. It was the first tour after his split with The Revolution (in particular long-time band members Wendy Melvoin, Lisa Coleman, Brown Mark, and Bobby Z who had been with him from the start in 1978). His new band known colloquially amongst fans as the "Lovesexy Band" did however have a few holdovers from the "Counter-Revolution" line-up (Miko Weaver, Eric Leeds, Atlanta Bliss, and long-time keyboardist Doctor Fink). Sheila E took over on drums while Levi Seacer, Jr. (from Sheila E's band and often used in studio with Prince) moved to bass. Boni Boyer was brought on board to play keyboard and organs and the Cat Glover rounded out the group as choreographer, dancer, and backing vocals. The typical setlist of the Sign 'O' The Times included Sign “O” the Times, Play in the Sunshine, Little Red Corvette, Housequake, Girls & Boys, Slow Love, I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man, Hot Thing, Now's the Time, If I Was Your Girlfriend, Let's Go Crazy, When Doves Cry, Purple Rain, 1999, Forever in My Life, Kiss, The Cross and It's Gonna Be a Beautiful Night. On some nights Mutiny, Raspberry Beret, La La La He He Hee, Dead on It, Condition of the Heart, and The Sex of It, were worked into some setlists. The recorded version of If I Was Your Girlfriend arose from one of those 'happy accidents' in the studio when according to engineer Susan Rogers, a rare technical error on her part led to distortion—albeit only on certain words- Rogers thought Prince "was going to rip my head off" for the mistake. After hearing the playback, Prince loved the effect, which is featured on the released version. The opening seconds include a sound collage that includes an orchestra tuning up, a salesman and a sample of Felix Mendelssohn's Wedding March. (a rare and from the looks of Prince's actually shocked face unscripted picture of him and Susannah Melvoin)