Prince at First Avenue - 7/8/07
Source: morecowbell.net
I wish I could put the date at 7/7/07 to make the great Purple One happy, but unfortunately the venue didn’t even open until after midnight. Prince’s sold out show at First Avenue was his first show at the venue in about 20 years and there was no way in hell I was going to miss it. If you’ve been reading this blog you’ve already read about the trials and tribulations Solace, Dave and I went through to get our tickets to this event. Now here’s the rest of the story.
My Timeline:
8:30am - 4:30pm: Wait in the heat for tickets outside First Ave.
4:30pm - 9:00pm: Go home, shower, eat, veg
9:00pm - 1:00am: Wait in line at Coldstone Creamery for ice cream for 40 minutes, go wait in line at First Ave for the rest
1:00am - 2:35am: Wait inside First Ave for Prince. Eat nachos, entertain myself by crowd watching and cursing line cutters. Especially that insanely irritating couple from Jersey. Oh MY god.
2:35am - 3:45am: Get face rocked off by Prince
3:45am - 4:45am: Deal with crowds, cranky drivers, stupid people who park in a ramp and have no money and argue with the booth guy for over 5 minutes when there’s a line behind him of cars, etc
5:00am: crash into bed and sleep until noon.
So how was Prince? Two words, utterly fabulous.
Regardless of whether you liked his song choices, regardless of the fact that the crowd was tired and somewhat listless, it was Prince. At First Avenue. First-fucking-Avenue! He swiveled his hips, he shimmied his chest, he took off his glasses to see his home crowd, he wailed, he screamed, he schooled his guitar, he danced better than Elvis. It was everything you want Prince to be. No, he didn’t play the Purple Rain soundtrack front to back like many people would’ve liked. He mixed it up, allowing a talented woman named Shelby to kick some tail on a few numbers. He sang Chaka Khan. He had Shelia E on stage! He had a ridiculous brass section that played an awesome New Orleans-y “Down By the Riverside,” and he played some Sly and the Family Stone with none other than Larry Graham on bass.
Prince seemed relaxed and happy to be playing. He mentioned Minneapolis, home, and how happy he was to be there more than once. “Is this my hometown?! Is THIS my hometown!?” he asked the screaming crowd. “YES!” we all replied. After waiting in ridiculous heat, after some were on round three of their Day of Prince, there was some lackluster responses from the crowd, but whenever Minneapolis, First Avenue, or home were mentioned, the crowd perked up their ears.
You could tell the other musicians were frustrated with the crowd and maybe expected more from us. Shelia E tried to get the crowd to clap and bounce and one point while making some noise for the man, but waved us off after a somewhat poor response. She had to realize it was Minneapolis’s hottest day of the year so far, and after sitting outside a venue for over 15 hours, we were a bit drained. Prince tried his damndest though to make us right. He strutted around the stage like he owned it, singing to the crowd, always looking around, sometimes even removing his glasses to get a better look. The house lights were brought up numerous times and you could see people bounding around, or just standing there, mouthing lyrics, or just staring with awe. It was a varied crowd, with businessy people in their late 40s directly in front of me, a younger, early 20s crowd just to my right, and rabid all-ages Prince fans with tambourines and sequins to my left.
Overall it was a blur, but all I kept thinking about was that Prince (PRINCE!) was about 30 feet in front of me, on stage, at First Avenue. He could’ve played all Dolly Parton songs or Metallica and I’d have been happy. To see the man, the legend, on the stage where he made a name for himself was enough. Prince has withstood the test of time. He’s been a man of conviction (although sometimes just his own), a man of musical ability like no other, and a man we are proud to say is part of Minneapolis’s history.
Set List stolen from the Star Trib:
1. 3121
2. Girls & Boys
3. Feel 4 U
4. Controversy
5. Three-Handed Woman
6. Satisfied
7. Down by the Riverside (instrumental featuring horn section)
8. Broken Heart Again
9. Love Is a Losing Game (Amy Winehouse tune sung by Shelby J)
10. Love Changes (Mother’s Finest tune, by Shelby again)
11. Thank You (the Sly Stone classic w/ Larry Graham on bass)
12. Hair (a Chaka Khan/Larry Graham oldie)
13. Sing a Simple Song (more Sly)
14. Everyday People (you know it’s Sly)
15. Alphabet Street
