CENTERSTAGE

CENTERSTAGE

I’LL BE WITH YOU SHORTLY

PRINCE & THE REVOLUTION Cobo Arena, Detroit June 7, 1986

by J. Kordosh

Prince’s 26th birthday—an auspicious occasion, I think we all can agree—found him in Detroit, where he’d kicked off the Purple Rain tour last year...and clearly in a more quixotic, experimental and flat-out happier mood this time around.

Where the Purple Rain show was stiff and formulaic, this—what appears to be the beginning of the Parade tour, if you can believe $15 T-shirts and $45 sweat shirts that say so—was freewheeling and a really cool idea, all told. Eschewing his hits—even the formidable Purple Rain, excepting the title song—Prince & The Revolution (which now numbers 11, including Jerome Benton on back-ups) banged out a fine, virtually non-stop 22-song set, grooving largely on Parade and Around The World In A Day, with Prince himself knocking off splits, spins and shuck ’n’ jive in a blatant, yet goodwilled, James Brown posture.

This being the birthday show and all, helium-filled balloons (white, black, purple and pink for you score-keepers out there) were attached to every seat in the arena, although many of them fled to the ceiling or, sadly, burst. Not as showy as dropping flowers on our heads—which is just what he did the opening night of Purple Rain—but fun, and odor-free. And an indication that the ostentatious trappings of the previous tour were gone. Thank you, Lord.

After a two-song (and, by exact measurement, 11-minute) set by Mazarati, the crowd was asked to “Please welcome Prince & The Revolution.” Which it did with unabashed enthusiasm. From behind a closed curtain, the band played an abbreviated version Of “Around The World In A Day”—a fine song and a fine rendition. Once the curtains opened—on “Christopher Tracy’s Parade”—the thing became an absolute Prince frolic. Short, paranoid sexist or not, he’s a helluva entertainer when so inclined, and a nifty dancer to boot. As the Revolution looked more and more like an honest-to-God soul revue, their dashing leader tossed off soulful asides: “Put your hands up in the air—unhh!”; “How y’all feel?”; and the never-failed yet “Good Godt” Say it loud, say it proud.

But Prince must be applauded for his didn’t play “1999.” He played “New Position,” he didn’t play “Little Red Corvette.” He played “Mountains,” he didn’t play “When Doves Cry.” During a rollicking, (nearly) two-hour show, he didn’t play “When Doves Cry.” During a rollicking, (nearly) two-hour show, he didn’t even hint at playing “Darling Nikki,” “When You Were Mine” or “Let’s Go Crazy.” What a dude\

Of course, the guests—besides myself—were there to make the birthday bash complete. Andre Cymone came out for a medley of “Controversy,” “Automatic” and “D.M.S.R.,” engaging the honoree in an extended riff battle, and reappeared for a slow, dreamy version of “Purple Rain” at set’s end which became a virtual showcase for Prince’s guitarwork, the song running at least twice as long as the recorded version. During the encore, Sheila E.—looking rather fetching in a clinging blue dress, hubba fans—did a duet with the Kid on “A Love Bizarre,” the two dancing very tete-a-tete across the entire stage. Wendy Melvoin led the crowd in singing “Happy Birthday” to our hero, Prince assuming the “aw, shucks” stance generally called for in these situations. And, although he couldn’t be there, Prince even managed to include Morris Day during the encores, when he openly mocked his former pal’s “Oak Tree” dance by promising to chop it down.

All in all, the show segued from event to virtuosity throughout the night: 12,000 people singing “Raspberry Beret”; Prince alone at the piano on a darkened stage for the nasal-yet-nifty “Under The Cherry Moon”; an unexplained (and riotous) snippet of “How Much Is That Doggie In The Window” as an intro to “Soft And Wet”; Bobby Z. whipping off a fine mini-solo during “Life Is So Nice” as’Prince did a few cossack steps— evidently in tribute to Detroit’s large Ukrainian population, or perhaps just myself—before lolling on his back, sniffing a flower.

If this is any indication of what the Parade tour will be, Prince-haters best beware. The guy’s in a great mood, he’s got a happening show, he’s a dancing machine and there ain’t no stopping him. If the ladder hasn’t yet been found, a few rungs are at least in sight.