Prince @ ACC, Nov 26th

Oh yes, this photo of Prince is as blurry as my nostalgia.


Made it out to the ACC on Saturday to partake of Prince's second night of a two-night stand. The hype from the first night, where Prince did seven encore, proved to be a bit of an overhang that set my expectations through the roof. That's the thing about a talent as mercurial as Prince - one is left hoping to witness something magical.

Got there early with a decent seat. Alot of purple clad fans, quite a cross-section of humanity. A few looked like hardcore fans - one lady up front was rocking a black leather coat with NPG and a huge portrait of 1970s era Prince on the back. A few raspberry berets in the audience. The ACC still had a few sections empty at the top but a decent sized crowd.

Arena concerts are a bit of a cheat. It's really two concerts in one as the perfomer either has their back to you half of the time. It works for bands better as the distribution can be evened out with half the band members facing your general direction.

Settled in with a beverage and tried to ignore the adverts for resort vacations streaming down on a captive but monied audience. The vibe was sort of half festive yet unfocussed. I started to evaluate couples (they're into each other, they're NOT into each other, that guy's whipped, etc.) and drifted further into my drink.

Fortunately the wait was not too bad. The ads mercifully stopped and we were off with a screechy but healthy female response to the man himself stepping out on stage.

Second song was Purple Rain . Purple confetti shot up into the air and sadly some of that confetti was still coming down after the show had finished. Clear signs it was going to be a quick night. Still a good feeling got hold of the people as this anthem worked its way to the rafters. Anthem is the right word here cause something in Prince's performance smacked of a religious tone. Something very gospel in the arrangements.

The NPG were tight. Alot of James Brown in the way that Prince marshalls the NPG. Must give Prince his credit that he never upstaged any of his people's performances during the night like James Brown was wont to do.

Another point to note is Prince's interaction with the audience. Tireless. Constantly working to get the crowd into it. A true performer. Somewhere in the earlies Prince asks the audience "When's the last time you went to see anyone with 145 hits?" A rhetorical question which he answered by playing five covers. Prince, we came to hear YOUR joints!

Well, that's not technically true. I was secretly hoping for something unusual and off the beaten track. A surprise. The man has a rep for memorable performances. A Prince cover is usually pretty good.

Anyways, the rest of the night was kind of blur as we ended up getting highlights rather than full songs. 145 hits yo - here's a medley. I was hoping for one slow song in the encore but alas it wasn't to be. If you went to the friday night show, congrats, you saw the real thing.

Trend: More fans invited on stage to dance. And one thing .... Toronto girls CANNOT DANCE. This one white guy outdanced all those chicks. Step it up ladies!

Highlights: Guitar work. Prince can flat out PLAY.

Magic: Prince's seamless transition from Love Rollercoaster to Alphabet St.

Setlist (from setlist.fm):

Gold
Purple Rain
Let's Go Crazy
Delirious / Let's Go Crazy (coda)
1999
Shhh (incl. U Will Be... With Me interpolation)
Mountains
Everyday People (Sly & The Family Stone cover)
Alphabet St. / Love Rollercoaster (The Ohio Players cover)
Play That Funky Music (Wild Cherry cover)
Angel (Sarah McLachlan cover) (Shelby J., Liv Warfield, Elisa Dease co-lead vocals)
Nothing Compares 2 U
Crimson and Clover (Tommy James and the Shondells)

Encore:
Controversy / Sexy Dancer (instrumental) / Get Down Tonight (KC and The Sunshine Band cover) (incl. Housequake & (Eye Like) Funky Music chants & Controversy (coda))

Encore 2:
Little Red Corvette (incl. Extraloveable lyrics interpolation)
Take me with U
Raspberry Beret
Cream
Cool (incl. Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough interpolation (Michael Jackson cover))

Encore 3:
When Doves Cry / Nasty Girl (instrumental) / Sign O' The Times / The Most Beautiful Girl In The World / I Would Die 4 U / Darling Nikki (instrumental)
("Prince at the Sampler")

Encore 4:
Kiss