Rocking and Acknowledging
Signs o’ the Times
Written by JON CARAMANICA as
published on NewYorkTimes.com
October 12, 2008
On Friday the stock market concluded
a brutal week, its worst in history,
with the Dow Jones Industrial Average
having lost almost 1,900 points,
just under a fifth of its value.
But were you still feeling flush,
or maybe a bit oblivious, a familiar
if rare indulgence was available
in the rooftop loft at the Hotel
Gansevoort in the meatpacking district:
a concert by Prince. A hundred or
so tickets for the almost claustrophobically
small concert were, depending on
how you looked at it, something
of a steal — just $1,000.
It was for charity of course:
Love 4 One Another Charities and
Urban Farming, both with roots in
Prince’s hometown, Minneapolis.
And it doubled as a release party
for “21 Nights” (Atria),
a collection of glamour shots and
photos of his 21-night stand at
the O2 Arena in London last year.
Depending on that state of your
401(k) there was also the option
of a late-night jam session —
a bargain, comparatively, at $300.
Not that Prince was deaf to the
times. Moments into the early set
he joked about the tough day, then
he tweaked the lyrics of “1999”
to reference the financial crisis:
once an apocalyptist, always an
apocalyptist. But he didn’t
dwell. Over four virtuosic hours
split between the two shows —
attended by a sprinkling of celebrities
(Dave Chappelle, Howard Stern, Spike
Lee), a few rabid Prince fans and
several dozen disposers of disposable
income — he was by turns sensual,
exuberant, raw and, in far rarer
moments, indulgent and cautious.
Prince may no longer surprise, but
he still has the capacity to astonish.
The shows’ impact was intensified
by its scale: Prince, three band
members (not counting the harmonica
player Frédéric Yonnet,
who popped in and out), and two
singers were crammed on a tiny elevated
stage, playing in a room the size
of a four-car garage. For the dour
Prince of the late ’90s this
might have been a suffocating setup,
but in recent years — from
2004’s flexible “Musicology”
to his sly performance at the 2007
Super Bowl — he has rediscovered
some electricity and vigor of his
early years.
In both sets he played “Purple
Rain” — early in the
night it was jagged and howling,
but a few hours later, in a far
looser rendition, it was languorous
and breathy. Other repeats —
“Cream” (better version:
first set; firm and funky) and “U
Got the Look” (better version:
second set; unexpectedly greasy,
with dashes of 1950s rock) —
highlighted his effortless facility
and that of his band. The drummer
Cora Coleman-Dunham in particular
was ferocious and had an easy rapport
with the bass player Joshua Dunham,
her husband. On keyboards Morris
Hayes did yeoman’s work, becoming
a virtual one-man horn section when
needed.
If the group faltered at all, it
was during the second show, which
was filled with covers tied together
by elongated jamming; the onstage
comfort at times felt too insular.
But overwhelmingly they were crisp,
especially on the Rolling Stones’
“Miss You” and on a
pair of extended-Prince-family Minneapolis
gems: Janet Jackson’s “What
Have You Done For Me Lately”
(produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry
Lewis) and a mayhem-inducing version
of the Time’s “Jungle
Love.” That Prince was confident
in his crew was evident by just
how much of the time he removed
himself from the spotlight —
feigning exhaustion as Mr. Yonnet
played any of several exemplary
solos; working a shaker while his
backup vocalists, Marva King and
Shelby Johnson, took over. Sometimes
he wasn’t doing anything but
watching, happy to be catching a
good show.
“I’m just moaning like
an old hound dog,” Prince
joked during “Satisfied”
early in the night. And blues do
seem to be heavier on his mind now
than at any time in his career.
He followed that song with the hilarious
“Beggin’ Woman Blues,”
which borrows from two decades-old
numbers, “Beggin Woman”
and “Three Handed Woman.”
(A zippier version of “Beggin’
Woman Blues” is included on
“Indigo Blues,” a CD
packaged with “21 Nights.”)
Humor has never been a strong suit
of Prince’s, so hearing him
sing “She begged my Aunt Gertrude/She
even begged my Uncle Jake/She even
tried to beg the sweetness out of
my grandma’s lemon cake”
was a pleasant shock.
Midway through the late show Mr.
Chappelle, the comedian, took over
the stage for an impromptu set.
And like everyone else he was giddy.
“I played tambourine tonight
at a Prince show — that’s
the good news,” he said before
settling down to reality: “The
bad news is, I flew coach.”
JON CARAMANICA
A version of this article appeared
in print on October 13, 2008
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