A Prince of a Show

As a young man growing up in the 80s, I enjoyed Prince’s music, but never really had a desire to see him in concert. That hadn’t changed much over the years, particularly as I heard of some of his antics in live shows, such as keeping the lights down, espousing his political views, refusing to play his hits, leaving early, etc.

 

But Prince is Prince. He is one of our few remaining pop icons. So when tickets were sold for shows in Louisville, I decided to give it a shot.

 

Prince rewarded us Sunday night with his best behavior during the third of his four intimate “pop-up” events at the Louisville Palace over the weekend. The result was one of the finest nights of entertainment I’ve ever enjoyed. Decked all in purple, Prince sang and danced like the Prince of old. He played his hits, but with a little different flavor, making them familiar, yet fresh, starting with “Let’s Go Crazy.” And perhaps most surprising, at least to me, he genuinely seemed to enjoy himself and the audience.

 

Prince frequently invited the audience to sing along, even bringing one lucky member on stage. He weaved Kentucky references into his songs. He shouted with glee to the balcony. In short, he was the ultimate showman.

 

Prince was also playful. He updated the lyric in “Kiss” to “You don’t have to watch ‘Love and Hip Hop’ to Have an Attitude.” Midway through the set, he joked he’d like to continue, but “he’d run out of hits,” perhaps lampooning himself. Of course, he hadn’t … and the hits kept coming, well into the night, until the very last note of Purple Rain.

 

This show was a homecoming for Prince’s drummer, Louisville native Hannah Ford of 3RDEYEGIRL. She definitely put her stamp on it, flailing away at the drums like a pop version of Keith Moon. It all added up to one great night of power pop and funk without the moralizing or any other hint of Prince’s peccadillos.

Lang Lets Guitar Do His Talking

Johnny Lang -- so close we could see him sweat

When an amp briefly malfunctioned at his concert at Horseshoe Casino in Elizabeth, Ind., last weekend, bluesman Johnny Lang lamented the fact that he’d have to talk a bit, which he said isn’t his strong suit. True to his word, Lang doesn’t play to the audience like Buddy Guy does. He doesn’t scream out your hometown. Heck, he rarely even opens his eyes. But that’s OK because Lang lets his guitar do his talking for him.

Lang rollicked through some of his most well-known tunes, including “Rack’em Up” and “Red Light.” He also covered the great Muddy Waters. Even the lesser known tunes delighted with pure, unbridled energy, thanks to a talented band.

At times, the event seemed more like an old-fashioned revival than a concert. If that were the case, then the most spiritual moment occurred when Lang appeared on stage alone and played a heartfelt version of his biggest hit, “Lie to Me,” on acoustic guitar. Once Lang had seemingly finished, the band rejoined him and they romped through it once more. This time it was fully powered and plugged, providing a nice contrast.

I’ve now seen Lang twice. In that time, he has grown from the warm-up act to the featured performer. No one works harder. He seemingly agonizes through every guitar lick and high note, sweating through his t-shirt as he goes. (Trust me, we were close enough to see every bead, thanks to winning a Facebook contest).

And if a few words remained unspoken, no one seemed to mind.

Maybe He Amazed

I went to Cincinnati with one Paul McCartney manic and returned with three.

No, I didn’t pick anybody up along the way. Instead, Sir Paul won over a couple of new converts through the sheer force of his performance.

My 14-year-old son is a fledgling bassist who is a huge fan of The Beatles in general and McCartney specifically. Kim and I went to Cincinnati for his benefit, but ended up benefitting, too.

It was simply one of the best concerts we’ve ever seen. Despite being 69 years old, McCartney played joyfully for nearly three hours, ala Bruce Springsteen. He covered a lot of ground from The Beatles to Wings to his solo career. All the while, he interacted with the audience and displayed a keen sense of humor.

For instance, McCartney opened with “Hello, Goodbye” and said it was good to be back, even though he last played Cincinnati 18 years ago. The kindly and talkative older gentleman in front of me claimed to have seen McCartney even before that, in 1964, for a mere $5 when the The Beatles played at Cincinnati Gardens.

I enjoyed more Wings songs than I thought I would, including “Nineteen Hundred and Eighthy Five,” “Jet,” “Band on the Run,” and the pyrotechnic-filled “Live and Let Die.” Of McCartney’s solo stuff, “Maybe I’m Amazed” took the prize. Of the Beatles stuff, I loved “Day in the Life,” which transitioned into “Give Peace a Chance,” “Lady Madonna,” and “Golden Slumbers / Carry That Weight / The End,” which closed the show.

The set included tributes to John Lennon, George Harrison and Jimi Hendrix. (Sorry, Ringo, I guess you have to die first).

Somewhere between “Hello” and “The End,” McCartney signed a fan’s shoulder. She left immediately after the show to make it permanent with a tattoo. I wouldn’t go that far for Sir Paul, but at least I understand why she did.