Went
to see Prince on Friday 3.4.16 in Oakland. My friend Will Nichols had an extra
ticket, but I went because I knew Prince wanted to be there. He had just played
in Australia, and could have landed anywhere in the States when he returned,
but he came to Oak Town. He booked his "Piano and a Microphone" show
at the Paramount Theater in downtown Oakland, which sold out within seconds.
Shortly after those shows, a third date was announced, for five days later at
the Oracle Arena, formerly known as the Oakland Coliseum Arena. This meant that
Prince was going to be in town for a good part of that week. It came as no
surprise that he showed up at the Golden State Warriors game on Thursday, the
night before his concert at the same arena.
He came to the Warriors game,
famously sauntering onto courtside with a cane and a pimp limp Oakland style -
to a standing ovation of Warriors fans. Steph Curry even commented after the
game: "I was digging the outfit, and the cane." Maybe Prince has a
thing for the undersized, light skinned kid that is changing the game forever.
He told the rapt Paramount audience "what can you truly count on besides
Steph Curry?"
Like
the greatest of the greats, Prince never takes a moment off. Every public
gesture, smirk, spin, scream is done with purpose and effect. Steph Curry is
one of those players that never takes a play off, no mater what the score is,
every play is played to the max.. That is what separates the very good from the
legendary.
Game recognize Game.
Last month, Beyonce was also at the Oracle
Arena to see the Warriors play the night before her Black Panther Party
inspired performance of "Formation" at the Super Bowl. Oakland is not
only the center of the basketball world, it is the epicenter of Black Life - a life
that has universal appeal and everyone in The Town knows it.
I
had been to many of Prince's shows, and some cozy after parties where he
played, but nothing like this. By choosing to play only grand piano versions of
his popular tunes, Prince took us into the core of his songwriting , so we
could see and hear the heart of the music like never before.
Maybe he would
not have played "Starfish and Coffee" with an 8 piece band, and maybe
not worked out as long to "How Come You Don't Call Me Anymore." But
in this format he could dig deep into the catalog, and then emerge with
renditions of the hits that were so sweetly rendered, you learned to love them
all over again. The sentimental charm of "Raspberry Beret" and
"Cream" were hypnotizing. And every track from Purple Rain, within a
couple of notes, brought the house down. "I Would Die For You,"
"Purple Rain," "The Beautiful Ones" raised the roof, and
even "When Doves Cry," the only song Prince added a beat machine to,
drew a thunderous response.
But
in truth, no machines were needed. A few notes, and Prince would take us in, to
the innerworld of his creative being. It's as if the band was always there to
keep the nasty groove, and the piano rendition was where the love was hidden
all along in the songs. I'm of the belief that all of the great funk bands are
really playing love music - with some monster grooves employed to deliver their
message. Prince is letting us know that the hard shell is unnecessary. The pure
love of a funkmaster is indeed the most satisfying kind!
Old songs felt new
again, and the source of the memories (Prince himself) that we all had was in
front of us, fully baring himself. It was a swirl of memory and memorable
moments that were tossed like a Chef and made into a new and organic dish!
He
managed to make that cavernous arena feel intimate, as if he was only playing
his favorite songs for you. For years he had called himself "The
Artist" but for the first time, without all the bells & whistles, you
could truly see that he was one of the great artists of our day.
He didn't
have to troll through memories of past moments of music history. He didn't have
to play a few riffs of Ray Charles standard, because lets face it, he is our
Ray Charles of today. No one can scream or get low down any lower than Prince
today, with his voice in top flight form. He didn't have to swing and step to
any Brown moves, because he is the James Brown of our times. Someone that can
be relied upon to bring it new, when everyone else is wondering what to do, he
comes through.
When
the event announcers claimed "no cell phones" most Prince fans knew
the deal. He is the most guarded about is image than anyone in the business.
But Pince took it another step. He told the audience that they needed to unplug
the phones and deal with the real world, whimsically and perhaps literally
praising how much better life is "off the grid." We are living within
a generation that wants the big collective experience, but listens to music on
smaller and smaller headphones. Prince managed to be both inntimate &
personal and larger-than-life at the same time.
When
the lights came up from his many ovations I thought about the many soul
epiphanys that have taken place on that same hallowed ground. This is where
Marvin Gaye sang "Distant Lover" in 1974, a live recording recognized
as one of the greatest of all time. The shrieks and shouts of Oakland girls
that night are preserved and are embedded on a generation.
This is where
Earth Wind & Fire delivered spectacular concerts every year from 1975 to
1981. Shows that crafted the positive - universal - multi-racial spirit of love
and unity and collective possibility that set a standard for modern music
performance. The only available full concert video of Earth Wind & Fire in
their prime is from their Oakland shows, in Dec 1981. I was at every one of
those concerts.
This is where Parliament Funkadelic landed The Mothership in
January of 1977 - and recorded it for their Live:
P-Funk Earth Tour album. The live recording of "Mothership
Connection" is perhaps the most spiritual rendition of street-funk ever
put to tape.
This is where Stevie Wonder played on a Monday night in 1980,
and had to announce to his audience that John Lennon had just been shot, and
dedicated his show to Lennon's memory.
Prince
has played the Oakland Arena many times before, singing, strutting, shimmering,
shrieking, jamming and showcassing his genius. But for this show he was far
more visible. The personal touch of the piano and microphone is part of the evolution
of the perennially reclusive and once most mysterious of entertainers.
But
over the past decade or so, he has begun to change all of that. He opened up
much more on his appearances with George Lopez and Arsenio (the few men of
color to host talk shows). He walked onto
The View to give Whoopi Goldberg tickets to his upcoming show, and his bit
playing himself on The New Girl is
still hilarious. And he will still rock the award shows like no other. Unlike
many of his contemporaries, Prince is still an Icon of the times.
He
outlasted his hardcore funk competition: he used to feud with Rick James - or
at least Rick James feuded with him, and Zapp featuring Roger Troutman had the
hottest funk show early in the 80s. (some of us heads remember when Warner
Brothers promoted Prince and Zapp as 'the new black funk'). But Rick James and
Roger are gone now.
He outlasted the icons of 80's pop - Whitney Houston,
Madonna and Michael Jackson. Whitney set a standard of musical virtuosity and
of capturing the celebrity moment, and Michael Jackson was the King of Pop for
all the right reasons. For all the wrong reasons, Whitney and Michael are gone.
And Madonna is but a living fossil of her once inventive self.
Prince has
outlasted the greatest crooners of out time, Luther Vandross and Freddie
Jackson. Luther could deconstruct soul music into its most heartfelt constiuent
parts, and Freddie Jackson appeared to be his heir. But Luther is gone, and
Freddie is trying to find his way in an industry that has moved on.
While
Prince was once considered the freak of the industry, his love ballads and
bedroom musings are now outlasting the competition at a time when real love is
dead in R&B.
D'Angelo and Bilal and some others are trying to do the
loverman thing, but they must remember they must bring that Funk, or the sweet
stuff just wont be as sweet. Unlike the other black pop wannabees, Prince has
had no fear of The Funk. This is what made his personal guest walk through the
secret moments of his mind so thoroughly satisfying.
While he shouted out
the Bay Area, his love of Oakland was genuine. I was one of those tepid fans
back in the day when he took Oakland’s own Sheila Escovedo, darling child of
the East Bay Latin jazz scene, and returned her to us as Sheila E, standard
bearer of the "Minneapolis Sound." And Sly Stone's legendary bass
player & singer Larry Graham, now Prince's musical and spiritual mentor,
has long since moved to Minneapolis.
This show was the first time it felt like Prince wanted to return the
Love that Oakland has given him all these years. And 20,000 of us were happy to
receive it!
