// April 11th, 2004 // No Comments » // Uncategorized
1. the study of music as a branch of knowledge or field of research as distinct from composition or performance 2. how to get funky in Urbana on a Saturday night
Prince hit downstate Champaign/Urbana like a whirlwind last night and it was easily one of the best performances I’ve witnessed. As part of the NPG Music Club, I was able to pre-purchase seats to the show before they went on sale to the general public. I wasn’t disappointed.
The stage setup for the Musicology tour is a theatre-in-the-round, similar to the setup Prince used in the Lovesexy Tour in 1988, but not as extravagant. I was seated in the fourth row, right in front of where band entered the stage. This was the closest I’ve been to the man since visiting his studio in Chanhassen in ’96.
The show started off with a montage of video clips intermixed with Alicia Keys’ induction speech for Prince at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Since I had yet to see the speech in its entirety, I was amazed to see that a star as big as Keys was as awe-struck of Prince as I was.
Following the montage, the band appeared followed by the purple one himself, wearing a black suit with a red shirt and sequin-heeled boots. Compared to some of the earlier shows I’ve seen with their outrageous costumes, this one added a touch of class with all band members outfitted in their business-style suits.
Stating that this will be the last time he will bring out the old hits, Prince didn’t disappoint. His repertoire covered all aspects of his career, with a few new songs thrown in for variety. Speaking of songs, Prince also made good on his promise and giving each and everyone in attendance a free copy of the new Musicology CD.
Prince opened the set with the title track off of the new CD and then went right into medley of Purple Rain hits. During the 2 hour set, he covered tracks from all aspects of his career, including ‘Controversy’, ‘Let’s Work’, ‘I Feel For You’ and some instrumental homages to former protege Sheila E. Plus, he gave a few shout-outs to his peers by injecting his set with bit of ‘I Like the Way You Move’ from Outcast, ‘Fallin” from Alicia Keys (performed by Candy Dulfer) and an instrumental cover of the Godfather’s ‘Hot Pants’.
The band was one of the best he’s performed with and featured Candy Dulfer on sax and Ronado Netto on keyboards. The sound was tight and well polished, comparable to the quintessential funk band, the James Brown’s J.B.’s.
No Prince concert would be complete without the audience dance routine and this one was no exception. A number of gorgeous ladies danced their way on-stage, with a couple of them trading lyrics with Prince on ‘Take Me With U’. Another dancer, Chicago local Marus of the Chicago Prince Nation, popped up on stage briefly in his leather jacket, complete with an air-brushed Prince portrait. While on-stage, Marcus tried to upstage Prince by performing many of his dance moves, including a split. But Prince was having none of it, ignoring most of Marcus’ moves to focus on the ladies.
Prince was in a great mood throughout the show and played with the enthusiasm of his heyday. If there was one criticism, it would be that the show ended much too quickly, with Purple Rain being the only encore song. The concert lasted almost two hours, yet us die-hards we wanted it to go all night and, since Champaign/Urbana is a college town, there weren’t that many places where an aftershow could be held. Needless to say, there wasn’t one. I guess I’ll have to wait until June for that. 
The set list for the show was as follows (as well as I can interpret it off of my crib sheet):
Musicology
Let’s Go Crazy
I Would Die 4 U/When Doves Cry/1999(Instrumental)/Baby I’m a Star
Shhh!
D.M.S.R.
I Like the Way U Move
A Love bizarre/Glamorous Life (Instrumental)
I Feel For You
Controversy
God (Instrumental)
Little Red Corvette
Call My Name
On the Couch
Sometimes it Snows in April
I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man
7
Sign ‘o’ the Times
Question of U/The One/Fallin’
Let’s Work
U Got the Look
Hot Pants (Instrumental)
Life ‘o’ the Party
Soul Man
Kiss
Take Me With You
Purple Rain (Encore)
The Cubbies are coming tra la, tra la…
