Honolulu 17 December 2003 (am)

 Today’s show is a rather random selection – I was thinking about what I was going to listen to next, and I chanced upon this recording from 2003. There doesn’t seem to be too much to it, but Stretchin’ Out (In A Rubber Band) seems to feature prominently, and that has me a little excited. I often play this song when I am driving, but I don’t recall ever hearing Prince’s take on it. So, it’s with anticipation that I take a listen to today’s show, I am sure I have listened to it in the past, but right now I have no recollection of it all. Right, it’s time to stretch out and get this thing started. 

17th December 2003 Volcanoes Night Club, Honolulu, Hawaii 

My excitement is tempered somewhat by the crowd noise, and sound of an audience recording. It’s not bad by such standards, it just takes my ears a minute or two to adjust to the sound of it. The first song in the set is “Mama Feelgood,” and it does indeed make me feel good, especially with the sounds of the horn section and a sharp-sounding keyboard. The horn section is particularly strong, and I impress myself when I recognize the sound of Maceo Parker in the mix – I must have listened to too many of these shows now. Rose Ann Dimalanta is singing, and it’s a shame that the recording doesn’t do her justice, she sounds secondary to the band, and her vocals aren’t picked up very well. As always, there is something positive to counterbalance this, and in this case, it is the horns, which increase in intensity as the song progresses. The keyboards too get plenty of time to play, and the song stretches out as it gives us a good idea of how the rest of the gig will play out. It’s topped off by some funky guitar licks that whet my appetite. 

 

The funk continues as the next song begins, and it grooves right from the start. The band locks in nice and tight and my head starts bobbing. They slide through “Yes We Can,” and then we hear Prince singing for the first time “Ain’t It Funky Now”. Rose Ann Dimalanta quickly pickups with singing “Yes We Can,” and the band stays in this groove for some time. I like how smooth and seamless it sounds and, if not for the quality of the recording, I could easily close my eyes and groove out to it. It feels light and summer-like and conjures up all sorts of imagines as I nod along to it. The song takes another up turn as Prince begins to sing “Yes We Can,” he sounds much stronger and louder on the microphone, and the show seems to pick up some momentum too. At the same time my ears prick up, and I listen for more of him. I am rewarded by a simmering guitar break that gains in intensity as it plays us through the last couple of minutes.  On a soundboard recording, this guitar break would be excellent, as it is, it’s just very good. 

Things don’t let up as next we get a great version of “1+1+1=3.” It’s got a great funky intro, with plenty of guitar and groove. The scene is set as Prince has the crowd chanting “we like to party” early on, and they are very enthusiastic about doing so. There aren’t any lyrics sung, but at an after-show like this, that is irrelevant, It’s all about the music and the groove. The energetic trombone solo from Greg Boyer sounds like a lot of fun. All the horn section is in on the party, and Maceo plays a brief solo too before there is a horn riff from all of them. It’s nicely counterbalanced by Prince and a laid-back guitar solo which I didn’t expect to hear at this point. It’s refined and only takes on a heavier tone when the band pause and we catch a breath. The band picks up right where they left off and now the party gets serious, I can hear it oozing out of my headphones. This song has a little bit of everything, there is “Life O The Party” in the mix, as well as “Stretching Out (In A Rubber Band)” as well as instrumental “Hot Pants.” Although he played parts of “Stretching Out” in the last two songs, it wasn’t quite the full-on version I had hoped for. Still, what I have heard so far from these first three songs has been very good, so I have no complaints at all. 

 

“No Diggity” is bass-heavy, with a fat squelching bass at the start. It’s not until a minute in does it become apparent what the song is, with the introduction of the keyboards and Chance Howard singing. It’s missing some of the sharpness that I like in the song, but I put this down to the recording rather than the performance. What I like about the song is the solo from Candy on sax. It’s bold when it needs to be, and adds a brighter sound to the recording. The song doesn’t do much else later, but that chorus is so catchy that I sing heartily along to the finish. 

I love the next moment as someone in the crowd yells “play some old school!” I can’t help but laugh as he calls it out. Prince then does the opposite and plays something current from the time. “Ooh!” is another chance for Rose Ann Dimalanta to sing, and this time she sounds better, especially in those moments when she is backed by Prince. I do like the song, but compared to everything else in the show it seems to fall through the cracks. There’s not much of a chance for the band to play, and Prince is minimal throughout. There is a guitar break late in the song, and this is about the only moment when I feel any interest in it. It’s not a scorching solo, instead, it’s a sweet little sharp sound that is very enjoyable. 

 

“All The Critics Love U” initially sounds shallow. It’s got a hollow electric sound to it, however, this improves immeasurable when the bass gets stronger. The beat is hypnotic rather than insistent, and it sounds soft to my ears. Maceo’s solo sharpens things up, there is no denying that he is a master at what he does. For all that though, it doesn’t reach the heights of some of the earlier songs, and it’s a disappointing ending to the show. The shallow sound of it reminds me of some of the Diamond and Pearls era mixes, and for a show in 2003, it has a definite 1990’s sound for this last song. There is some chanting with the crowd, which I guess is a fun way for them to finish, but I can’t get past that dated sound. Greg Boyer makes amends with a spirited trombone solo to finish, and the show closes on a high, I’m smiling here at home. 

This was an odd little show, I can see how I easily overlooked it. Although it didn’t feature “Stretched Out (In A Rubber Band)” as much as I had hoped, there was still plenty there to recommend it. I enjoyed hearing the horn section and Prince himself sounded very at ease. It may be some time before I play this one again, there are too many classics out there to listen to, but next time I won’t wait so long before I give it another spin.