2008 Woodie Awards
Funkier than thou
Elizabeth Sinclair-Smith
Date created: 9/29/04 Section: ENTERTAINMENT
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There are few celebrities in this world that can acceptably get by with one name, for example, Elvis, Beyoncé, Madonna, Sting and others. They are so undeniably hip that perhaps these artists feel as though a second name is too much baggage. While this may be the case, some artists are so cool that, had they a second name, the world would spin off its axis because there would be too much cool to go around. One such artist is Prince.
Prince is funkier than you, your aunty Guadalupe, your mom, and your break dancing cousin Jamaal. He was funky as a young man, is still funky as a middle-aged man and has enough funk for everyone in an entire stadium. He is the living embodiment of all that is Rhythm and Blues. He also knows that when he's playing San Jose to not refer to the audience as "Frisco."
"San Jose, this ain't no lip synch show," His Majesty said, encouraging the audience to sing along during his acoustic set at the HP Pavilion on Sept. 10. The nearly three-hour-long set boasted dozens of songs, a seven-piece band including famous sax man Maceo Parker, two full-on jam sessions, one acoustic set, and a grand total of three nights in the Bay Area, back-to-back. Not bad for a man who hasn't played a tour this big for many years.
This is also the second sweep of the region for the "Musicology" tour, as the first round in June sold out immediately. And can you have too much of a good thing, especially Prince? San Jose surely didn't think so. One reason for the tour's popularity can be accredited to the fact that it was billed as the last time Prince will do his biggest hits together.
Being the true showman he is, Prince saved his biggest hits (those from album/soundtrack "Purple Rain") for first, squishing them together in a medley, then moving on to meatier stuff like "I Wanna Be Your Lover," "U Got The Look," "Raspberry Beret." He even pulled out the stops and covered songs like "I Can't Get No (Satisfaction)," "No Diggity," and "Whole Lotta Love."
Prince is funkier than you, your aunty Guadalupe, your mom, and your break dancing cousin Jamaal. He was funky as a young man, is still funky as a middle-aged man and has enough funk for everyone in an entire stadium. He is the living embodiment of all that is Rhythm and Blues. He also knows that when he's playing San Jose to not refer to the audience as "Frisco."
"San Jose, this ain't no lip synch show," His Majesty said, encouraging the audience to sing along during his acoustic set at the HP Pavilion on Sept. 10. The nearly three-hour-long set boasted dozens of songs, a seven-piece band including famous sax man Maceo Parker, two full-on jam sessions, one acoustic set, and a grand total of three nights in the Bay Area, back-to-back. Not bad for a man who hasn't played a tour this big for many years.
This is also the second sweep of the region for the "Musicology" tour, as the first round in June sold out immediately. And can you have too much of a good thing, especially Prince? San Jose surely didn't think so. One reason for the tour's popularity can be accredited to the fact that it was billed as the last time Prince will do his biggest hits together.
Being the true showman he is, Prince saved his biggest hits (those from album/soundtrack "Purple Rain") for first, squishing them together in a medley, then moving on to meatier stuff like "I Wanna Be Your Lover," "U Got The Look," "Raspberry Beret." He even pulled out the stops and covered songs like "I Can't Get No (Satisfaction)," "No Diggity," and "Whole Lotta Love."
