Why do I like Prince? It’s really simple. I get him. I get his music. Aww!
I love music of all genres. In my head, I have a list of artists whom I would pay a hundred bucks or more to see live. Prince is at the top of this list. It was unforgivable that I missed U2’s 360 degrees tour. I thought that Prince may never come this way again. His Welcome 2 Australia tour is my only chance.
You probably know Prince as some flamboyant short man with a penchant for flashy jewelry and high heeled boots. He sings in a high falsetto and loves to squeal.That’s all true. But what you don’t know is that Prince is a master musician. He plays several instruments, has 7 (seven!) Grammys, a Golden Globe, an Academy Award, and more than 30 albums to date. Prince has written songs for Sheena Easton (U Got the Look, Sugar Walls), Chaka Khan (I Feel For You), Sheila E (Glamourous Life), The Bangles (Manic Monday) and most notably Sinead O’Connor (Nothing Compares 2 U). There’s more of course, but you get the drift.
Since 2000, Prince has moved on to making mostly jazzy instrumental records.
On the 12th of May 2012, the hubby and I rocked up to Sydney’s Allphones Arena. I expected Prince to play his 80s hits. Instead, 60% of the songs he played were not his pop hits. I was unsure what concert I was watching. The sound was a mix of blues, jazz, funk, pop, rhythm and blues and rock. Did I like it? You bet I loved it.
I have not really seen Prince play his guitar. Tonight, his guitar playing took centre stage and soared.
He spoke to the audience a lot. He connected with us. “Did your parents warn you about me?” “I have too many hits, we could be here until tomorrow.”
Prince had to sing a mix of his top songs because there were too many. Happily, my favourite songs were sang in full – Kiss, When Doves Cry, Purple Rain, Let’s Go Crazy and Nothing Compares 2U. For his “medley”, he ditched his band and played on his keyboards, alone.
How was the concert crowd, you ask? All very ordinary people. Couples like us. Girlfriends on a night out. Mums and daughters. Families. Hip grandmothers came too. No one was rowdy. To be honest, I did not expect so many women up on their feet dancing all night. Everybody had a swell of a time. See for yourself…
Prince put on a terrific show. Prince did not just sing his songs, he performed them. Prince sashayed. He twirled in his high heels; he squealed in his high falsetto. He still got the moves at age 53!
Enough said. Listen to this instead!
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“I never wanted to be your weekend lover. I only wanted to be some kind of friend.
Baby, I could never steal you from another. It’s such a shame our friendship had to end.“