PRINCE: A night to remember . . .

Wow, what a purple filled, funked out, heart thumping, guitar soaring, raise the roof night!  As I mentioned on my twitter feed, Prince delivered a Musical Masterpiece last night at the Welcome to America Concert at the Los Angeles Forum!

Everyone stands and the building begins to roar as we hear Prince announce his opening act. To our delight we see the great Chaka Kahn step up from beneath the stage and she treats us to two of her greatest hits, Tell Me Something Good and her signature song, I'm Every Woman.  She gets the crowd up off their feet and warmed up for the cool one.

A few minutes later, the lights dim . . . two girls with long trumphets march out, at center stage a figure emerges from beneath the stage . . . it's the Purple one himself and the house erupts in applause and screams and we are lifted off our seats where we remain for most of the night. 

Prince opens up with a tasty performance of D.M.S.R. and later Musicology and pop life.  Next, Prince invites long time friend and one of the best female percussionists of all time, Shiela E to sing Mountains.  The crowd goes nuts!    

 

And with Shiela E still on stage, Prince then introduces Sly and the Family Stone bassist Larry Graham for a performance of Everyday People.  The audience erupts into another Funk frenzy . . .

Larry Graham then leaves the stage and Prince invites Chaka Kahn back on stage for a sweet performance of Sweet Thing. 

Then, Shiela E takes center stage for her signature hit, Glamorous Life and does this amazing performance on the drums ending in her slamming part of her set down on the stage....the audience goes into a frenzy!  We love you Shiela! 

After energizing the crowd even more, Shiela E disappears below the stage and Prince emerges with a costume change...wearing gold and black and looking very cool, Prince goes into a melody of his greatest hits singing Raspberry Beret, Let’s Go Crazy, Delirious, 1999 and Little Red Corvette. 

 

He then ends this tantalizing greatest hits funk fest with my all time favorite Prince song of all time, Purple Rain.  The audience sings along as purple confetti rains down from the ceiling.  I am beside myself!

Prince returns for another greatest hits melody which includes When Doves Cry, Nasty Girl, Sign ‘O The Time, The Most Beautiful Girl In The World, Darling Nikki, Single Ladies, Hot Thing and I Would Die For You.  When his band return, they also bring the funk with If I Was Your Girlfriend and Scandalous.  Prince performs another fav of mine, Kiss!  And here he proves that he just gets better and better with age.  He stands center stage and does an amazing dance performance.  This was one of my favorite parts of his concert.  He was very Hot! And he was very Sexy!

 

As I said, Prince delivered a masterful show.  He is a genius and I feel so fortunate to have had the chance to witness his brilliance.  And it was truly brilliant!  I once wrote that watching Prince perform is like watching a great artist paint a great masterpiece.  It is pure perfection!  Thank you Prince . . .

I can say this for sure...with 17 more shows in LA promised, I am keeping my eyes and ears out for the announcement of his next series of shows.  And having had a chance to scope out the layout of the Forum, I have a better idea of which tickets to snag .... I think Loge 30, 31, 32, 8, 7, 6 and 32 through 5 are all excellent seat locations! (Row B, seats 1 & 2 would be prime) 


And that's my Prince Welcome to America Tour concert review!  Let the Purple Funk Fest continue . . .