The Grammy Award
winning Purple Rain singer recently revealed his plans to perform one-of-a-kind
concerts in iconic music venues around the capital. What better way to do that,
than in Lianne La Havas' flat, Croydon?
As unorthodox as he
is, Prince did not announce the venues in a press conference, but just started his tour
without any promotion, as guerrilla marketing makes a comeback a trend amongst
A list entertainers.
Leaving work at 6pm, not deterred by
the Tube strike, I snuck in behind the early birds at the doors of Electric
Ballroom, Camden at waited for a mere 40 mins amongst fans that had been there
since midday. Easy as pie and £10 later, I calmly walked through the door and
RAN to the stage. Front row, but eventually shoved slightly stage left, it sunk
in: I am actually going to see
Prince perform LIVE! *internal scream*
His group,
precision-built heavy rock band, 3RDEYEGIRL, introduced him with a funk melody
and Prince bounced on to the stage, grabbed the mic and addressed the audience:
"Let's get crazy London!"
With the venue holding
a capacity of only 100 people, each person could see the curl in his 'fro,
moisturised with unadulterated funk.
His first
performance of Let's Get Crazy set the tone of the intimate gig, not doing the well-known classics of
the 80's and 90's but what was a treat for die-hard Prince fans. All of
the new material is incredible and sounds as rich as any of the many
life-punctuating tracks that led us here. In saying this, this was the perfect exposure for 3RDEYEGIRL. Armed with electric guitars and a
three piece drum set, the ladies almost on their knees, they (almost!)
manage to play Prince off the stage with virtuosity. Rockin' and literally
rolling over the stage, this new creative relationship seems to be paying
dividends for everyone, as every second of tonight’s set erupts and implodes
perfectly. There were many moments when you could really hear the Hendrix
influence come to the front in both the tone of the guitar and the way lead
lines stretched into the ether.
Unfortunately, I was unable to take
pictures, as security made it their life's aim to confiscate all recording
devices and promptly remove anyone from the venue that dared breach.
There are many
reasons why Prince is a musical LEGEND, royal by name, he plays a surplus of
instruments, performs in octaves the greats could only admire and his
penmanship to craft timeless, life-changing music is second-to-none. To further
emphasise this, he threw carelessly handed his guitar to an unsuspecting audience member while he
went to rock the keys. Who does that?
In his two hour
sets my favourites were: Something in the
Water, Play That Funky Music, Housequake and I Would Die for You.
But, as I am fully
aware, you have NOT lived until you have heard the man himself sing Purple Rain
- and that he did!
My guess is that he'll play Ronnie Scott's, The 02 Brixton Academy, Roundhouse and maybe even Jazz Cafe?
Reign on!
