(Ed. note: when Martinez Patch found out Brian Walker of the Hopeful Romantics was going to see Prince, we asked him to review the show for us. This is the dispatch he filed).
On Monday night, with a chill in the air reminding us that winter has not moved on, the Oracle Arena was warmed by the soulful sounds of Prince and his New Power Generation. The musicians came to town determined to cement their place in soul history, making many a nod to old school of funk and soul. I apologize in advance for not being enough of a devotee to know the names of all the songs that were performed.
The show opened with The Purple One making a brief appearance on stage to introduce his opening act, Larry Graham and his band, Graham Central Station. Prince described Graham as a founding father of funk. A favorite in the Bay Area for decades, Graham was the original bass player in Sly and the Family Stone. His work after the Stone included several soul ballads, including One in a Million.
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Graham launched into a thundering set, punctuated by his (maybe a little too loud) iconic slap bass stylings. That’s straight from the source, y’all.
The group finished its set with a couple of Sly classics, including Dance to the Music, with the original sista Cynthia blowing her horn. As the musicians marched off stage singing like a second-line chorus, Prince and company stepped up and started with the Sly classic Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin). Graham and company returned to the stage to add to the fun.
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The stage emptied and went dark as we waited for Prince and crew’s return. The set started strong, as they rambled through some of their more funky numbers. As they veered off into a Latin theme featuring Sheila E. on percussion, performing her hit Glamorous Life, there was a rumble through the crowd as Carlos Santana took the stage to trade riffs with Prince. That didn’t last long – Prince just handed Carlos his Telecaster, and was content to dance and groove while Santana rocked out like he still had something to prove. Wow. They finished off the set soon after.
The encore started after a short interlude in the dark. Prince did a stirring version of Purple Rain without a hint of irony … just sweetness and light. He rambled through a super-funky Kiss before giving up the spotlight to his backup singers. The second encore brought him back dressed all in gold, with an all gold (I mean everything) Stratocaster and a loud and heartfelt Hendrix-inspired piece. On top of all his other talents, Prince proves over and over again that he is a guitar slinger with whom to be reckoned. He then settled into a few of his sexiest soul ballads. There was not a dry eye in the house.
The recurring theme throughout the night was giving the love back to Oakland. Dozens of times, Prince had us all giving shout outs to Oaktown. He seems genuinely moved and motivated to pay respects to the soul pioneers who paved the way for him and performs at the same level as the best of them. This is a great opportunity to see a true genius, not just of modern pop music, but of some old-school funk and soul as well.
Catch Prince and his Welcome 2 America tour on Wednesday and the just-added date Thursday at the Oracle Arena in Oakland.
Take BART if you can. Parking is a whopping $35 and getting out of the lot is a free-for-all!
