So thanks to the oh-so-lovely SBJ, I went to see Prince at the Dome, or the O2 arena, or whatever nonsense it’s called.
And, of course, he was magic. The sound wasn’t great – typical big barn arena sound – but he still managed to be very funky, and far more ‘showbiz’ than I thought he’d be. i was expecting aloofness and lots of lights and dancers to make up for his diffidence, but nope, he was all ‘make some noise’ and ooh-ooh sing-alongs. A most enjoyable evening. Haven’t listened to the new album (which was given to everyone on entry) yet, but I’m not holding my breath for anything amazing – the new songs in the set sounded good, but it was all about the hits. They even opened with Purple Rain and did Kiss, Let’s Go Crazy, If I Was Your Girlfriend, Nothing Compares To You, Controversy, Cream, I Feel For You, and a whole pile of others, all laden with proper 80s rock-god squealing guitar solos which Prince does better than just about anybody.
As MD, he really held the band together, play some amazing guitar, sang his tiny purple heart out and entertained the 20,000 peoples very well indeed.