Thank You, Prince!

What If time's only reason'
Was to give us all somethin' 2 fear'
And if so y'all, the end of the journey's so clear

It is time. Time? Interesting choice of words.  I'll explain later, but for now it is time for me to finally try to express this onslaught of emotions that have been constantly bombarding my brain since last Thursday.  You see, last Thursday was April 21st, 2016 and at 10:07 a.m., my world greatly changed.  Wait, that is a very selfish thing for me to say for it was not MY world that changed.  It was the ENTIRE world that changed for we lost one of the greatest musical icons of all time.  For it was at that time that Prince Rogers Nelson was pronounced dead at his Paisley Park Studio in Chanhassen, Minnesota.  The collective hearts of thousands of fans skipped beats when we heard the reports. We held our breaths hoping to hear it wasn't so, but eventually it was confirmed that Prince had left the building and was headed to the after-show.  While I have fought with how to put down the words to mourn his loss, I came to the realization that I was approaching this all wrong.  I don't want to mourn him.  I want to celebrate him.  I want to tell the world how he saved me! How much his music changed my life and how much it has affected my life over the years! I'm going to do my best to put this into words and into some kind of coherent form, so bear with me. 

It's not a thousand years away, it's not that far my brother
when men will fight injustice instead of one another
its not that far if we all say yes and only try
then Heaven on Earth we will find

I first remember seeing Prince on American Bandstand back in 1979 when he performed I Wanna Be Your Lover and remember thinking, "What a strange, little man!" But the music had me interested.  Then 1980 rolled around and Prince taught me that it was okay to have a Dirty Mind.  He had me wanting to go Uptown where we could Partyup and Do It All Night.  I was hooked after that.  Then when Controversy dropped, I went to my friends and was like, "You have to check this out!" But most of my friends weren't jumping on the purple-party bus yet. YET! That is until they heard those words, "Don't worry, I won't hurt U, I only want U 2 have some fun." Yeah, 1999 brought about a bunch of them to my way of thinking and the ones that didn't come around then sure as hell did when Prince dropped his next album.  But we will talk about that in a minute. 1999 was a revelation for a lot of people to the musical genius of Prince but that was because they hadn't been paying attention in class.  School had been in session for four years now and they were a little tardy.  My boy was bad! From the synthesizer -laden funk of 1999 and DMSR all the way to the rock-a-billy sound of Delirious, he could do it all.  Plus this was the first album cover to mention The Revolution.  Then when we wondered how Prince  could top these last three albums, he threw down the purple gauntlet to the musical world and announced, "I am here!!! Where are U?"

Dearly beloved
We are gathered here today
2 get through this thing called life

It was 1984 and Prince only wanted to see us in the Purple Rain and things would never be the same.  For him, for me, for the world.  He would become a musical icon like the world had never seen.  The world would forever know Prince because of this album and his music would resonate around the globe. As for me, it was a dark time for my soul.  I was in that rebellious teenage time of my life and much like the movie, didn't have the best home life.  My step-father was a drunk (I won't say alcoholic because they go to meetings) and would often fight with my mother.  To say things were bad at home would be an understatement.  Unlike the kid, I didn't have music to fall back on since I can't play an instrument or carry a tune to save my life.  But there is one thing I discovered I could do.  I could write.  I studied his lyrics and even the back of the Purple Rain album cover and thought, I can write just as well.  And I started putting pen to paper.  I grabbed a notebook and started writing.  Before I knew it, poem after poem flowed from my pen.  That was my escape from the world. When things got bad, I would drive outside of town to this abandoned road and sit near this condemned bridge and just write.  Imagine my surprise when I saw Graffiti Bridge. But if it wasn't for Prince's music back then, I don't know if I would have made it out of those teenage years in one piece. He taught me how to find my Paisley Park and made me want to find The Ladder.  The funny thing about my writings, I was very protective of them and let very few people read them.  They were too personal.  I did have some that were somewhat generic that I didn't mind letting people read and it was always funny to watch their reaction. It was always the same.  "It feels like you are talking about me." they would say.  I've been told it is a gift I should share but I can't.  I am too afraid.  Maybe one day, after I am gone, they will be shared with the world, but not now. 

Is it me or did the room just get darker
Is it me or did I just lay down and die
Is this a dream or did the world just crumble at my very feet
How in heaven will I ever be alright

As I grew older, I still continued to listen to Prince and I still continued to write.  But it was different now.  I would close my eyes and I could see sounds in my head and hear colors.  Then I was able to translate that to the paper and sometimes even I was amazed at what I wrote. My senior year in high school, I took a dual credit English class where we had to not only do our normal high school work but also the work for our Freshman year of college.  We had do a lot of writing in this class and the teacher would often have us read other students papers.  It got to the point where people would argue over who got to read mine.  The teacher even wanted to so she pulled rank and started reading mine to the class after we turned in each assignment.  I was mortified.  I wanted to crawl under the desk and hide but I couldn't.  One day she asked me, "How do you do it?" What's your inspiration?" Staring down at my desk, I whispered back my answer, "Prince." Then the bell rang signaling the end of the class and I ran out of the room as fast as I could.  I don't think I mentioned this, but I hate public speaking and crowds and when she called on me, I freaked out.  I wasn't just writing poems anymore though.  I was writing short stories too and the notebooks were piling up.  So was my Prince musical collection. Then it was off to college and a whole new world.  After a while, I decided that this (college) is not what I wanted to do with my life and left.  This was another one of those dark trying times for my soul so who did I turn to? Yep, you guessed it, Prince.  And what was his answer?  "The feeling U get when U fall in love, not with a girl or a boy but the Heavens above! LOVESEXY!" It was 1988 and the Lovesexy album had just come out and I must have played Anna Stesia 100,000 times.  I found a lot of comfort in that album. I am not religious per se but I do believe in God.  I just have a hard time with the different churches that say that they are right and the others are wrong.  For a while there though, I had lost faith but that album got me believing again.  Then when I saw the Lovesexy concert in Cincinnati, it was like a pilgrimage.  Prince took us to church that night and I swore that it had surpassed even the Purple Rain concert. There was something in the air that night that I can't describe.  It was Lovesexy or maybe it was Love4OneAnother but there was definitely a connection amongst the entire crowd.  Once again, Prince and his music had "saved" me at a low point in my life.

And when my voice rose, so did the sun
When the trees sang the harmony as one
Every living soul sang the most beautiful
Melody ever sung

As the years went by, I continued my "obsession" with all things purple music related and my pen continued to put words on paper.  Then it happened.  I met her.  I met my Apollonia.  My Mary Sharon.  I met my wife. And how did I do it? By listening to Prince. That started us talking and then the rest was history.  She even helped me try to organize my writings which were just notebooks stuffed into boxes.  When we finally got things somewhat situated, I counted what I had.  Turns out I had written just over 1600 different pieces since I had started. That's a lot of writing but believe it or not, it wasn't a lot of time.  When I first started writing, it would take me a while to write something but there have been times where it takes me no time at all.  I once wrote a poem for a friend to give to their girlfriend. She told me how she felt.  In less than five minutes I had a 36 line poem for her and she loved every line.  So did her girlfriend who to this day has no idea I wrote it. Anyway, things were going great for a while. But after several years, I would be turning to Prince once again to get me through another dark time, the break-up of my marriage. It was 1995 and The Gold Experience was just coming out.  So I had the previous year's Come album, The Black Album (Even though I already had it. Shhhhh, don't tell anyone!) and The Gold Experience to get me through this.  So I funked out a lot with The Black Album and listened to a lot of Dark and I Hate U.  As for my writing, it stopped.  Not because of lack of inspiration because I was flooded with emotions right now and should be able to pen page after page but I couldn't.  My wife, in an attempt to hurt me, destroyed all my notebooks, while I was out of town on business (at the time I was doing executive protection).  The only thing I had left of my writing was the notebook I had with me that had around 20 pieces.  After that, I had no urge to write.  I don't know why.  I just didn't.  I retreated to my purple music world and let the music flow over me and through me and that's how I eventually got my stuff together.  I remembered how I felt after the Lovesexy concert and vowed that I would try to see Prince every chance I got to see if I could reach that purple high again.

From out of the darkness, before there was time
There came a sound that enters the mind
Through a door that's deep in your soul
Through every pore of your body it goes
And in a light too bright to behold
Is a truth more shiny than gold
And as sure as this candle burns
Every soul must return

Into the light, into the light

Since then, I have seen Prince in concert several times.  I saw the Love4OneAnother Tour at the State Theater in Detroit and then the opening night of the Jam of the Year Tour in Pine Knob (outside Detroit), both in 1997. After the Jam of the Year show, I started writing again.  Not only that but I added painting to the mix.  I had always been an artist but never really pursued it.  Back in school, I had taken art because my family wanted me to and I wanted them to leave me alone but I didn't enjoy it.  How is it art if the teacher says you have to do it this way or that way? That's not art.  But now I was back to painting.  Mostly landscapes.  Earlier I talked about escaping to the middle of nowhere, well, now I painted the middle of nowhere and escaped into my painting.  Want to know a secret? When I was in school, I was so sad about my home life, I placed a teardrop into every art project I did and no one ever knew.  I still do that to this day even though I am not sad.  I guess it's my thing.  Or maybe I'm just weird.  Anyway, it's a secret so don't tell anyone.  Oh, wait, I went off on a tangent there. Sorry.  Back to the concerts. Let's see... oh yeah,  next up was the 2000 Hit N Run Tour when I saw him here in Nashville (where I moved to in 98).  It was my birthday present from my girlfriend.  Because of my childhood, I have a hard time from just before my birthday in November until after Christmas.  I don't have the best memories during that time of year and this year wasn't much different.  But Prince made it all better and partied like it was 1999 even though it was 2000.  Next was the Musicology Tour in 2004. My girlfriend and I had broken up and I had no one to go with so a friend of mine who is a nurse said she would go but warned me she didn't like Prince.  She basically went out of pity I think and couldn't stand to see me alone.  She was impressed with our seats.  Since I was a member of the NPGMC, I was on the front. Then the show started and I forgot about everything and partied the rest of the night.  Afterwards, I told my date thanks for coming and putting up with Prince, her response? "Oh my God! That was the best concert I have ever been to in my life! Are they all like this?" We spent the next several hours talking about his other shows I had seen and his music.  I think I converted her that night. It would be eight years before I would see Prince again.  This time I drove all the way to Chicago for opening night of the Welcome 2 Chicago shows in 2012.  This show seemed different. I don't know why but I didn't feel that same rush afterwards. I contributed it to having heard so many of the Welcome 2 shows that I knew the show by heart. But I was worried if Prince had lost his magic to rejuvenate me.  I still bought his music when it was released and still got a thrill from the new music but the live shows was where it was at.  Now it wasn't and that scared me. Then last year, I saw Prince & 3rdEyeGirl on their HitNRun Tour in Louisville, Kentucky.  Turns out Chicago was just a fluke for me.  Because that magic was back.  Before the show, Hannah made an announcement about recording saying that "your technology cannot capture what you are about to witness on this stage tonight" and she was right.  I walked out of the Louisville Palace, no, I floated out of the Palace on a purple high that lasted weeks.  Then a few weeks ago I see a tweet that Prince bringing his Piano & A Microphone Tour to Atlanta which is only 3 1/2 hours away.  I knew I was going to be there and I was.  This time I didn't need him to get me through any trying times.  I have a loving woman by my side that will be there the rest of my life that supports me through every trial and tribulation.  This time I was there for him.  I was there to witness Prince in this once in a lifetime opportunity.  Just him, his piano and a microphone.  Oh, and that voice.  Don't forget that voice.  That's why I was there and when it was over,  I knew I had witnessed something special.  What I didn't know was that I had experienced Prince live for the last time.  As I left The Fox Theatre that night, I was already game planning my next Prince concert and thinking what cities were close enough to me for me to attend.  Little did I know that one week later, I would be crying while staring at the TV in disbelief at the headline, "Prince Dead at 57!"

He taught an integrated world 2 sing
The color u are don't mean a thing
Everybody's a star all the everyday people sang

Prince encouraged the New Breed to stand up and started a Revolution that led to the New Power Generation who taught us Love4OneAnother so we could stop The War.  That way U can Free Urself!  I didn't always understand, stand under, what Prince said but some of his quotes, lyrics and statements had very deep meaning.  He used to talk about not paying attention to birthdays and calendars and keeping track of time.  There's an interesting quote on the internet about time that makes me think of Prince.  "Time doesn't exist, clocks exist. Time is just an agreed upon construct. We have taken distance (one rotation of the earth, and one orbit of the sun), divided it into segments, then given those segments labels. While it has its uses, we have been programmed to live our lives by this construct as if it were real. We have confused our shared construct with something that is tangible and thus have become its slave. Because of this, man alone suffers a paralyzing fear that no other creature endures. A fear of time running out." I could just see him saying that to someone in an interview or on some talk show.  I don't know, maybe it's just me.  But when people say it wasn't his time or it was his time, I think to myself, what is time? All we have is now! And in the now, Prince is not here.  He has transcended. He has transformed.  He had punched a higher floor.  Say what you want to about the man, listen to the rumors, listen to the half-stories but remember the music. Remember the man on stage. Remember the humanitarian. Remember the performances.  Remember how he made you feel when you saw him live. Remember the thrill of the release of the new album.  Remember how he could make you party one minute, make you feel sexy the next and then bring you to tears the next with just his music.  These are the things you should remember. Thank you for listening to me ramble on but I needed to get this out.

 

Cuz in my dreams I roam
Just trying to find, trying to find
My way back, back home

Thank you, Prince, for gracing us with your gift and allowing us to be part of your journey.  It was a great ride but to paraphrase one of your songs, "isn't it a shame this ain't a movie, then I could rewrite Ur every line." Trust me, in the rewrite, there would be a much happier ending.  Rest in peace.  "Now cracks a noble heart. Good night, sweet Prince, and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest!"

Thank you to the Pythian Princess and to Barbara for giving me the strength to write this.  May U both live 2 see the dawn!

Comfortably Numb

My musical tastes run the gamut of the  musical spectrum and in this time of grieving over the unexpected death of my musical idol Prince, I have turned to many different artists seeking solace in their music. While this has worked for the most part, occasionally I run into a song or video that throws a curve ball my way that I wasn't expecting.  Like the one I posted below.  Now, I am a huge Pink Floyd fan and have been for years so when I saw a video for David Gilmour playing Comfortably Numb, I thought great.  I love the song and that is exactly how I feel right now.  Win - win for me! Yeah, well, not so fast there sport.  I should have actually read the damn article.  Gilmour was playing a show at Royal Albert Hall in London to benefit the Teenage Cancer Trust.  Just when he gets to the second guitar solo is when he decides to throw me for a loop, check it out.

Yes, he just played the Purple Rain solo and they even had the stage lights go purple to go along with it.  He just gave Prince a tribute and never uttered a single word. Now I really am numb!!! Amazing.  Thank you, David Gilmour, for honoring the musical icon the world lost!!!!

Are you ready for a Revolution?

Back in 2011, Kaos Studios brought a near-future, resistance movement, first-person shooter titled Homefront to the PS3 and PC (and that other platform).  It was the story of the GKR or Greater Korean Republic (a united North and South Korea) invading the United States and taking control of the a majority of the country in the year 2022.  You are Robert Jacobs, a former Marine pilot, who is being led to a "re-education" camp when you are "rescued" and recruited by the Resistance to fight the GKR. Overall, it was a decent game and the graphics were pushing the limits of the PS3. I thoroughly enjoyed it but finished it fairly quickly.  I waited to see if there was a sequel but never heard anything.  Just the GKR and their tyranny.  But as we all know, when you have tyrannical rule and a resistance movement, you are bound to have a revolution.  A revolution on the homefront.....

That's right, finally it's the sequel.  Homefront: The Revolution takes place  four years after the events of the original occupation, following protagonist Ethan Brady as he stages a resistance movement against the army of the GKR invasion in the city of Philadelphia.  This could be fun but we will have to wait to see. In the meantime, here's the trailer:

It drops on May 17th here in the US on PS4 and PC (plus that other platform, too) but the release date is just one week after the release of Uncharted 4 so that could hurt sells.  Anyway, I will check it out and be back with my thoughts and let you know.  

Words can't describe.......

I have tried and tried to find the words to express the feelings and thoughts that are swirling in my mind after the death of Prince but I still haven't been able to sort through the maelstrom of emotions yet.  Hopefully I will be able to write something meaningful soon to explain exactly what Prince and his music mean to me.  Until then, I leave you with this.

Remember, Love4OneAnother!!!! Love4EachOther!!!! Love4All!!!! Peace!!!!!

The folks over at SNL have introduced us to the new Mercedes AA class luxury sedan which is the newest entry in the electric car class.

Would you expect anything less from Saturday Night Live? I wouldn't!!

Prince Dead at 57

According to KARE 11 News:

Legendary Minnesota musician Prince is dead at the age of 57.

Shortly after noon Yvette Noel-Schure, a publicist for the reclusive musician, confirmed Prince's death at his home studio in Chanhassen's Paisley Park.

"It is with profound sadness that I am confirming that the legendary, iconic performer, Prince Rogers Nelson, has died at his Paisley Park residence this morning at the age of 57," Noel-Schure said in a written statement. "There are no further details as to the cause of death at this time."

Carver County officials have not yet confirmed that the deceased is Prince, saying only that a death investigation is underway.

Sheriff's Office  reports authorities are currently at the scene and say they are working to notify next of kin before releasing any more information. 

Medical emergency personnel responded to the scene around 9:43 a.m., on a medical call where someone was reportedly not breathing. At 10:08 a.m., the medical examiner was called to the scene. No other information was released. 

Right now, I can't find the words to express what I am feeling so I will borrow Prince's.

Springtime was always my favorite time of year,
A time 4 lovers holding hands in the rain
Now springtime only reminds me of Tracy's tears
Always cry 4 love, never cry 4 pain
He used 2 say so strong unafraid to die
Unafraid of the death that left me hypnotized
No, staring at his picture I realized
No one could cry the way my Tracy cried

Sometimes it snows in April
Sometimes I feel so bad
Sometimes, sometimes I wish that life was never ending,
And all good things, they say, never last.

Goodbye, Prince! I Wish U Heaven!

Do you believe in magic?

Saw this and thought it was cool so I thought I would share it here.

What can I say? Patrick Kun is amazing.

New Game of Thrones Teaser Trailer

"Wherever you are, wherever you go... someone wants to murder you." - Tyrion Lannister

At least that's what the voice-over on the latest Game of Thrones teaser trailer tells us.  Just days before the premiere of Season 6 and HBO hits us with another 30 second video to whet our appetites and build up the excitement and anticipation for the upcoming season.

They managed to cram so much into 30 seconds.  Sansa, Tyrion, Jamie and Cersei, Arya, Khaleesi, Bran and the White Walkers, as well as Jon Snow all were in there. Wow! Well, are you as excited as I am for the new season?

Head East, Young Man!!!!

Back in 2010, I was totally hooked on Rockstar Games' Red Dead Redemption.  I couldn't get enough of it.  When I finally beat the game, it was a bittersweet moment.  I was happy to have beaten it but I didn't want the game to be over.  I wanted more.  I was addicted to this unique game set in the wild west, as were thousands of other people. It was such an outstanding game that it would go on to win several Game of the Year awards from various media and gaming outlets.  And like I said, all of this left us wanting more.

Now, six years later, comes news from Techradar that says we may get our wish.  According to an article on their website, the map for the next Red Dead game has leaked and has been posted online.  According to Techradar's source, the next installment will be a prequel that will occur east of the Great Plains where Redemption took place (hence the title of this post).  

If you look, you can see Blackwater and the Great Plains in the lower left of the map and you can even see New Bordeaux in the lower right.  The significance of New Bordeaux may or may not mean anything but it is going to be the setting for Rockstar's Mafia III which will be released later this year.  So there could possibly be some kind of tie in but who knows. The one thing I do know is I can't wait for this game. It has taken over the top spot on my most anticipated list with Uncharted 4 and Mafia III. So now the waiting game begins.

I'll try to keep you updated but for now, for more information, head on over to Techradar for the original article. 

Prince in Atlanta

What I wore to the Piano & A Microphone Tour show in Atlanta

In one of my previous posts, I mentioned that I was headed to Atlanta to see Prince's Piano & A Microphone Tour.  Well, needless to say, the show was a-mazing!!!! Over on my other blog, I posted a review of the show.  I thought I would share a little of it here.  

"Atlanta! Please forgive me for cancelling.  We're here now!" Those nine words were enough to drive the crowd at The Fox Theatre in Atlanta into a purple frenzy.  Then as Prince's delicate fingers glided across the keys of his piano and we were greeted with the familiar, "I guess I should've known by the way U parked U're car sideways.." the crowd absolutely lost their minds and would not find them anytime soon.  And that is how Prince took over Atlanta.  Exactly one week after having cancelled his shows due to the flu, here was Prince taking us to a place many had never been, to musical nirvana.  Seemingly fully recovered from the illness that caused him to cancel the previous week's shows (although we later found out different), the Kid was in rare form tonight if I may be so bold to borrow a line from a little known film called Purple Rain. As has been customary on the Piano & A Microphone Tour, Little Red Corvette was mashed up with Dirty Mind and I have really gotten used to both songs this way.  As he has done the last several performances, Prince added in the Linus and Lucy Theme during the instrumental break of the song and this really brought a reaction from the crowd.  At first many were like, "What is that song?" or "Where do I know that from?" Then when they realized what it was they were like "Oh my God, Prince is playing the Peanuts!!!" Plus the coy looks he was giving the crowd during this segment added to the whole appeal of the song.  The song ended as usual with the "can't nobody do it like I do" bit we have become accustomed to on this tour.

From there, Prince launched into a heartfelt Nothing Compares 2 U. After apologizing again for having to cancel the previous week, Prince goes on to tell us how his dad taught him how to play piano.  He then starts playing Chopsticks saying, "He didn't teach me that, I taught myself." He then tells how funk is space and how his father couldn't sing but shows how he would do this funky little scat with the music.  That leads us to Joy in Repetition which has long been a favorite of mine but has earned new found respect hearing it in this context. The way he uses the piano to accentuate the song is amazing.  Bringing to life the rain, the thunder and the emotions felt in the song with 88 black and white keys and that amazing voice of his.

After Prince whispered the words "Love me" to close Joy in Repetition, I was not at all prepared for what was about happen next.  I couldn't believe my ears.  I looked around at the crowd near me and all I saw was confusion as many of them had no idea what song he was playing. But yes, he was actually playing Muse 2 the Pharaoh from The Rainbow Children.  I hadn't heard this live since the ONA tour. After this, all I could do was wonder where we were headed next?

For more of the review, head on over to Spookie Electric's Playground. Until next time... 

My Review - Atlanta 7pm Piano & A Microphone

"Atlanta! Please forgive me for cancelling.  We're here now!" Those nine words were enough to drive the crowd at The Fox Theatre in Atlanta into a purple frenzy.  Then as Prince's delicate fingers glided across the keys of his piano and we were greeted with the familiar, "I guess I should've known by the way U parked U're car sideways.." the crowd absolutely lost their minds and would not find them anytime soon.  And that is how Prince took over Atlanta.  Exactly one week after having cancelled his shows due to the flu, here was Prince taking us to a place many had never been, to musical nirvana.  Seemingly fully recovered from the illness that caused him to cancel the previous week's shows (although we later found out different), the Kid was in rare form tonight if I may be so bold to borrow a line from a little known film called Purple Rain. As has been customary on the Piano & A Microphone Tour, Little Red Corvettewas mashed up with Dirty Mind and I have really gotten used to both songs this way.  As he has done the last several performances, Prince added in the Linus and Lucy Theme during the instrumental break of the song and this really brought a reaction from the crowd.  At first many were like, "What is that song?" or "Where do I know that from?" Then when they realized what it was they were like "Oh my God, Prince is playing the Peanuts!!!" Plus the coy looks he was giving the crowd during this segment added to the whole appeal of the song.  The song ended as usual with the "can't nobody do it like I do" bit we have become accustomed to on this tour.

From there, Prince launched into a heartfelt Nothing Compares 2 U. After apologizing again for having to cancel the previous week, Prince goes on to tell us how his dad taught him how to play piano.  He then starts playing Chopsticks saying, "He didn't teach me that, I taught myself." He then tells how funk is space and how his father couldn't sing but shows how he would do this funky little scat with the music.  That leads us to Joy in Repetition which has long been a favorite of mine but has earned new found respect hearing it in this context. The way he uses the piano to accentuate the song is amazing.  Bringing to life the rain, the thunder and the emotions felt in the song with 88 black and white keys and that amazing voice of his.

After Prince whispered the words "Love me" to close Joy in Repetition, I was not at all prepared for what was about happen next.  I couldn't believe my ears.  I looked around at the crowd near me and all I saw was confusion as many of them had no idea what song he was playing. But yes, he was actually playing Muse 2 the Pharaoh from The Rainbow Children.  I hadn't heard this live since the ONA tour. After this, all I could do was wonder where we were headed next?

"Here we are folks. The dream we all dreamed of." Yes, he was playing U Got the Look and even slowed down on the piano, Prince made it funky as hell.  After all, as he said, "funk is space." Next up was Pop Life which got the crowd singing along. Then came another unexpected song, at least for me.  Elephants & Flowers talks about being stripped down and it doesn't get more stripped down than this.  Listening to Prince sing this song, I feel that even he has found new meaning in some of his songs and it shows in his performances. 

Next was I Could Never Take The Place of Your Man.  He changed the Saturday night line to a Thursday night to fit the show and the crowd ate it up.  There was a slight run of Under the Cherry Moon at the end of the song but that led to Joni Mitchell's A Case of U which is one of my all time favorite covers.  Let me tell you, when Prince sang the line, "In my blood like holy wine," the notes he hit were not of this world.  He sang that same line three times.  Each time he sang it higher.  The last time, every dog in Atlanta sat up and took notice it was so high. When he finished the song, he got up and walked off stage.Was he done? Where did he go?

Returning he said, "Sometimes I forget how emotional these songs can be. Okay, stay with it, Prince!" He then took us a on a musical journey starting with I Feel For You which gets the crowd clapping along.  From there, Prince pounded out a funky Controversy complete with the Lord's Prayer.  I was amazed at the people around me (and commenting later) that were like "I can't believe he added the Lord's Prayer to the song?" Pardon me while I climb up on my purple soap box.  So, all you so called hardcore die-hard fans that were shocked about the Lord's Prayer being included need to check the original album version.  Because it's on the album.  It was there from the beginning so why shouldn't he include it. And if you were half the fan you thought you were, you would have known that.  Okay, rant over and I'll climb down off the soap box now. 

The Most Beautiful Girl In The World was next on the menu and it was exquisite.  At the end of it he has this little dialogue where he says, "You think you know my name. You don't know my name.  I don't think you know anything about me." He then starts singing, "I'm not a woman, I'm not a man.." and leads the crowd in I Would Die 4 U.  Surprisingly enough, he followed up with Baby, I'm a Star.  In the original version where Dr. Fink would have had his solo, Prince just kept jamming on the piano and chanting "I don't need no doctor!" In my personal opinion, this was one of the best versions of the song I've heard in a long time.  As he finished the song, he said, "Thank you, Atlanta" and he was gone but not for long.

Prince performing David Bowie's Heroes

Returning to the stage, he absolutely made my entire night.  He played a cover of David Bowie's Heroes.  I grew up listening to Bowie long before I ever knew who Prince was so this was one of those once-in-a-lifetime moments for me.  I was mesmerized by Prince's performance.  Although it was not completely true to Bowie's original, it was still an amazing performance.  "Heroes, like you and me.  Thank you so much, Atlanta.  We've got some new family that's gonna come in, in a little while.  Thank you, goodnight."

But we weren't through and neither was Prince.  He returned to the stage for yet another encore.  "Ya'll don't wanna let our family come back in outside?" Prince asked.  When the crowd screamed a resounding "NO!" he replied, "All right" and started playing Diamonds and Pearls before stopping to tell everyone, "All right, ya'll take it easy now.  Just breathe." After leading the crowd on the first chorus, Prince really drove everyone crazy when he started singing Adore. Of course Adore was mashed up with The Beautiful Ones which then led into an aborted How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore? Instead Prince decided to stir things up with Do Me, Baby which turned into a 4000 member sing-along. Continuing the sing-along, Prince led the crowd through I Wanna Be Lover which he intended as his final song.

As he went to walk off stage, the crowd's roar was deafening.  Prince turned and played to the crowd by pointing at his piano as if asking if we wanted more. He walked back over to the piano saying, "I ran out of hits!" before he launched into Kiss.  The song ended with one final scream of "Atlanta!" Prince snatched up his jacket and cane and with that pimp-like attitude of "I just kicked your ass" he walked around the stage triumphant and then he was gone, this time for good. 

It was 80 minutes of pure purple music unlike any I have ever witnessed.  I have seen many Prince concerts and enjoyed most of them (there was one that I would really like to forget) but there was something special about this one.Maybe it was the uniqueness of the concept with just the piano and a microphone.  Maybe it was the stripped down, new arrangements.  Maybe it was me just getting older and learning to savor each and every moment.  I don't know but this was special and if you get a chance to attend one of these shows, by all means, attend.  I know I will go again if I get the chance. 

My new symbol necklace I wore to the Piano & A Microphone show

Well, there you have it.  I promised my review of the concert and here it is.  Now, if I could just finish up my reviews of Phase One and Two.  Maybe soon.