Prince – Musicology Tour, 4/12/2004, Indianapolis
Apr 17 '04 (Updated Nov 10 '04)
The Bottom Line musicology: myoo-zi-'kah-lih-jE (noun)
1a : the scholarly and scientific study of music b : the greatest display of funk ever performed in a concert venue
The long wait is over. Funk has returned in force to the nation’s concert venues. Prince and New Power Generation brought The Artist’s greatest hits to Indianapolis’ Conseco Fieldhouse on April 12, and for two hours and twenty minutes, twelve thousand adoring fans received the education of a lifetime in the art of The One.
Prince’s latest tour is named for his latest album, Musicology, and Prince’s scholarly devotion to The One is evident in many of the songs chosen for this tour. Prince handpicked the musicians that make up New Power Generation, and they are the tightest band I have ever heard live. (Sorry, Sting’s Soul Cages tour, you’ve been bumped to #2). Prince even went so far as to recruit James Brown’s legendary sax player Maceo Parker for this tour – if you’re going to bring the funk, having a direct connection to the Godfather of Soul is an excellent place to start.
Though the Musicology tour is basically a greatest hits package, at it’s heart, it is a loving tribute by The Artist to all of the “true funk soldiers” who have gone before him, to quote the title track and opening song of the concert. However, from the moment the lights go out until the final notes of the encore fade away, the stage belongs entirely to Prince, master of ceremonies, entertainer extraordinaire, Lord of the Funk.
NPG hit the plus shaped stage dressed to the nines - tailored suits and snazzy hats for the men, bustier, jacket and slacks for Candy Dulfer, lace leggings and a red floor length trench for Rhonda Smith. Prince, resplendent in a white double breasted suit with thin red pinstripes, heeled white dress boots, and an open collared red shirt, was met with a roar from the crowd. Smiling his best “you don’t know what’s about to hit you” smile, The Kid started the party in high gear with Musicology, and though it seemed that most of the crowd was unfamiliar with this new song, it’s high energy had the crowd dancing and screaming right away. The volume of the crowd for the first song was quickly eclipsed as Prince stepped up to the mike to proclaim Dearly beloved…
For the next HOUR, the energy never let up as Prince sang and danced his way through a mixmaster medley of songs from Purple Rain and other classic albums from his early career. Utilizing the two saxophones and trombone for all-new arrangements, Prince punctuated his best songs in true funk style, with horn hits and extreme precision between bass and percussion. Following a call and response section to close out Let’s Go Crazy, Prince continued with Purple Rain’s I Would Die 4 U, When Doves Cry and Baby I’m A Star, adding a red bowler hat to his ensemble for Doves, and featuring an extended piano solo in Star. As the piano solo came to a close, Prince launched into a blistering rendition of the final guitar solo from Let’s Go Crazy.
Prince seemed ready to party un2 the dawn, not pausing to let up for a moment as he glam-slammed his way through Shhh and DMSR, playing to the crowd from each side of the stage, placed in the center of the venue. Keyboardist Chance Howard jumped out from behind his keyboards to dance along the edges of the stage as Prince and NPG played a little bit of I Love The Way You Move, and Prince brought up a girl from the front rows to join him onstage to dance with him. The dance party finally wound down to a close with I Feel For You and a version of Controversy that featured a killer sax duet by Candy and Maceo. The lights went back down, and everyone but synth player Renato Neto left the stage, as he continued the mix by playing God, adding samples from Prince’s discography, and buying Prince some time to change into his next outfit and get ready for the middle section of the show.
Prince came up to the stage alone, having shed the suit jacket and red shirt, exchanging it for a white shirt with red polka dots, open to mid torso, revealing a glittery necklace complete with The Symbol. Carrying a purple acoustic guitar (it actually had electric settings too), he sat down in a rotating stool and began to play blues guitar, without NPG. A reflective blues riff turned into the opening phrase I guess I shoulda known by the way you parked your car sideways that it wouldn’t last… eliciting another huge roar from the crowd. The next forty minutes or so became a clinic in blues guitar and Prince showed that he is truly one of the most underrated guitarists of our time – who knew that he could wail with the best of them?
For the first time in the concert, Prince turned out his signature falsetto in an amusing blues number I’ll call the chips song, which contains this gem of a lyric
Something’s funky baby
Is that your breath or mine?
I had the regular chips
You had the other kind…
This hilarious song segued into another new blues song, On The Couch - a song that is quickly becoming one of my favorites on Musicology. Prince pleads with his lover to let him go down south but she’s having none of it, and kicks him to the couch for the night – the rest of the song takes the idea further and further, and it’s a trip to hear Prince in full falsetto squeal mode singing such a funny song. A rockin’ blues version of Delirious followed (including a quick hit of the Theme from Beverly Hillbillies), and Prince had everyone dancing in their seats, using just his voice and guitar. Sometimes It Snows In April was next, followed by a singalong version of I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man.
I was really caught up with the acoustic/blues section, amazed at Prince’s guitar technique, and his ability to mesmerize the crowd with just his voice and a single instrument. At some point, NPG returned to join Prince for another crowd singalong of Seven - the song kicked into a very full, blues/rock sound to close out the middle section of the concert. It was somewhere near the end of this section that Prince provided the most inventive guitar work of the night – his nattily attired guitar handler came up to take the guitar from him, and in true James Brown style, Prince nearly gave it up, then waved him off to continue the solo. Another minute passed, and the handler returned – this time, Prince began to overdrive the guitar, turning up the volume knobs to maximum settings, building a monstrous amount of feedback. He handed the guitar to the handler and waited for a few moments before he began to play the sounds of the feedback with his guitar’s foot pedals in front of him – I could only stare in amazement at this creativity and skill.
Coming into the final stretch, Prince ratcheted up the rhythm and funk again with Sign O’ The Times before playing his first really slow song of the night with The Question Of You. Prince turned in another stellar guitar performance at the end of this song, a slow and very sexy solo that provided an early glimpse of what was yet to come in the encore… don’t rush me, we’re getting there, I promise! The One followed The Question and it included Candy singing the chorus of Alicia Keys Fallin’. Mixmaster Prince took command again, and the dance party started back up, this time all the way to the end of the show. For the last several songs, Prince allowed about twenty women from the first couple rows to come onstage and dance – dancing would not be difficult with these selections - U Got The Look, new song Life ‘O’ The Party (features Candy on the chorus), a funky cover of Soul Man which segued perfectly into the guitar hooks of Kiss, and finally, Take Me With U. The lights went back down, and the keyboards continued to play in the darkness for a few minutes…
Prince returned to the stage for the final time in an Oriental styled purple shirt and pants, and was handed his purple Symbol guitar. Sax and piano sounded the opening to Prince’s greatest achievement - Purple Rain. Have you seen the movie? Are you familiar with this scene near the end of the film? Forget it – nothing compares 2 this. The song was played in the same manner as the original, but all semblance to that song ceased as Prince fired up the guitar solo of the night. This one went beyond my abilities to describe, and again I found myself gazing in awe at the ferocious skills that Prince possesses – he is a consummate musician, a fiery dancer and entertainer with a sly wit and exacting attention to all details. His passion for music permeates everything that he does on stage, and he has the rare ability to send it all the way to the back of any auditorium – you cannot be in the same space as this man and not feel his utter devotion to The One, to the true funk soldiers who paved the way before him, and to the highly individual expression of his own soul in every song he crafts. The night was endlessly magical, transfixing the audience and compelling them to move, sing, clap and respond from the gut – the funk is infectious and there is no cure. If there ever was a cure for this disease, let me die happy, having witnessed a masterful performance of true soul, funk, rock, blues, and gospel, all orchestrated by a real professor of musicology…
Funk - thy name is Prince.
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April 12, 2004
Conseco Fieldhouse
Indianapolis, IN
Prince and New Power Generation is:
Prince – Lead vocals, guitars
John Blackwell – Drums
Greg Boyer – Trombone
Candy Dulfer – Saxophone, vocals
Chance Howard – Keyboard
Renato Neto – Synthesizers
Maceo Parker – Saxophone (yes, THAT Maceo Parker, longtime sax player for James Brown and many others)
RAD. – Keyboard, vocals
Rhonda Smith – Bass
The band also included a rhythm guitar player whose name I don’t remember, and can’t find listed anywhere, but in the interest of being thorough – props to the Unnamed Guitarist!
The Set List
Opening montage with video clips, and part of Alicia Key’s introduction for Prince at his induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Musicology
Let’s Go Crazy
I Would Die 4 U
When Doves Cry
Baby I’m A Star
Shhh
DMSR (snippet of I Love The Way You Move)
I Feel For You
Controversy
(end of section)
God (interlude)
Little Red Corvette
“the chips song”
On The Couch
Delirious (with Theme from Beverly Hillbillies)
Sometimes It Snows In April
I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man
Seven
Sign O The Times
The Question Of You
The One (snippet of Fallin’)
(I missed a song here)
U Got The Look
Life ‘O’ The Party
Soul Man
Kiss
Take Me With U
(keyboard interlude)
Purple Rain
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Here's plorentz' review of the same show
Yes, Paul and I met in Indianapolis to see the Prince concert (our first time meeting each other too) Alas, our hostess could not be with us - if you'd like to hear my side of the harrowing tale, check this out
Also read my review of the Musicology CD
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