London 2 August 2007 (am)

 2007 was quite a year for Prince. A variety of showcases around the world saw Prince concentrating his efforts and delivering memorable runs wherever he went. The year started with his Las Vegas residency, then his three Minneapolis shows in a day, a couple of nights at Montreux, and finally his 21 nights in London. I have previously cherry-picked concerts from throughout the year, but I feel that his after-shows during his London deserve a closer listen. The guest appearance of Amy Winehouse at one show grabs headlines, as does the power trio concert, but there is much more to indulge ourselves in over the weeks. With that in mind, this week I want to dive a little deeper into his first aftershow at the indigo, a show that ties back to his Las Vegas residency, yet sketches out the sonic territory he will cover in the following days and nights. 

2 August 2007 (a.m.) 3121 at The IndigO2 

Many of the songs of the night are already familiar to us from the shows earlier in the year, and the cover of “Can I Kick It” would be recognizable to most who have already heard the Las Vegas concerts. The rendition performed here is slinky and slippery, the rap secondary to the chant of the crowd and the rhythmic pulsation of the band. Greg Boyer adds a spray of color with his trombone, the music cracking and splintering in two beneath the weight of his purposeful playing. The rhythm remains, but now the horns flood the recording, my mind, and ears torn between the robust low end of the rhythm section and the vivid brightness of the horns. A sudden attack from the keyboards temporarily floors me in its ribboned cohesiveness before I am thrust into the future by the vocoder, an instrument that straddles the past from which it came and the future into which it stretches. It is an urgent opening number, a jam that plucks each instrument from the lineup with adventure while remaining faithful to the groove and its steadfast march forward. A scurrying horn and keyboard flurry finish the song in the only way possible, a breathless finish to a song that promised little but delivered beyond expectation. 

The band introductions are quickly dispensed with, Maceo Parker and Candy Dulfer pencil out their own version of “Addictive Love.” It remains a rough sketch, with both players coming in and out of the mix while the song remains elusive. It quickly runs out of steam, much to my disappointment, and the band picks up a new thread. 

The music soon pivots back to Maceo Parker, his own “Shake Everything You’ve Got” emerging from the light mists of drum and bass. The song spirals and delights, Maceo and Candy casually lifting the show ever higher on the backs of their talents. Prince has yet to make an appearance, yet the concert demands attention to the quality of musicians and music. Even without Prince on stage, this band generates a heat by which I warm my weary soul. 

 

In a similar vein “Footprints” covers the same sonic territory, and is another song we heard earlier in the year. It is faithful to the rendition heard at Las Vegas concerts, and gives us more time to marinate in the cool sound of Maceo and Candy. There is a gentle timelessness to the piece, and if I heard this in the wild I would be hard placed to pick what year it is from. It continues to flow with tranquil ease, enveloping the room in an all-consuming Jazz sound that harks back to the very best of the One Night Alone era. Prince introduces himself to the stage on the back of some incisive guitar work that cuts through the introspection of the earlier music, bringing the attention firmly to the stage as his instrument demands the limelight. 

“Stratus” brings the concert into focus after the fuzzy-edged jazz heard earlier, Prince’s guitar work bringing a sharp edge to the music, a grunt and sweat that eclipses the delicacy of the previous horn work. His guitar spins steel cobwebs across the song, fine yet sharp to the ear, and all ensnaring. I had previously grown tired of “Stratus” but I am reinvigorated by this version. Mike Phillips and his vocoder bring a lot of fun to the otherwise monumental sound, and as a package it works well, Prince’s heavy hand balanced by Mike and his instrument. 

 

The big guitar sheen remains and drives through the heart of “Anotherloverholenyohead” It is a muscular version, Prince ripping through the opening gear changes with authority before setting course for a powerful instrumental version. With the lyrics shed, Prince is free to let the guitar express the lyrical content, and although wordless it plays with an emotionally crushing ache that evaporates any need for lyrics. Its plaintive ache is there for all to hear, and right now this is one of the best versions I have heard. The funk is temporarily put to one side as Prince lets the guitar bare its teeth and savage the song before the audience in a brutal version of the twenty-year-old song. 

The carcass of “Anotherloverholenyohead” is left behind and the band easily slides into a gentle “Mind In 7.” It is light and skittery in the face of the previous rock assault, and the concert breathes anew with its appearance. Lead by the horns and keyboards, it plays over an undemanding beat that feels like a cool balm after the fire of Prince’s guitar in the previous song. It becomes an undemanding stroll, the horns all contributing, keeping the song moving while never requiring us to stop and dig deeper. It is all surface, not a slight in this case, but a song that shows us it’s all in one glance. 

 

“Pass The Peas” suffers from overexposure, although one cannot help but be drawn in by Maceo’s enthusiastic rendition. The song continues to tremble throughout, threatening to become something grand, but instead, it remains a loyal friend rather than a fiery lover. That is until Prince bestows upon it a tempestuous guitar solo that undoes its locks, the true nature of the song revealed as Prince’s guitar unshackles its inner petulance. 

There comes a seismic shift with an uptempo “3121” rattling into view. Like all great earthquakes it didn’t just happen, the increased pressure leading to this moment had been building ever since Prince appeared on stage. It remains coy in the first minutes, couched in a sheen of the horns before the vocoder draws the tectonic tensions to the surface. I am normally distracted by the mention of “chocolate handles,” but in this rendition, Prince’s vocal tones say more than his words, and I am enthralled by his performance. I’m not quite as enthralled by the “funky London” chants. It is unswerving in its heavy groove, and while not the best version I have heard it is always a live favorite. 

“Down By The Riverside” is a weak ending to what has been a splendid concert. Fittingly the horns have the last song, but this isn’t anywhere near as good as the songs they had in the first half of the concert, and while I admire their skill I just don’t feel it like I did earlier. “3121” might have been a better option to finish the concert, but one can’t complain after an hour and a half of top-notch musicianship and songcraft. As the swing of “Down By The Riverside” fades I am left to reflect on an electrifying opening to the 21 nights' after-shows. 

This concert leaves me with one overwhelming feeling. That feeling is anger – anger directed at me. I went to the opening concert of the O2 run but elected not to go to the aftershow (some feeble excuse about work in the morning). It was a mistake, a mistake I’ll have to live with. This show, while rooted in the earlier Las Vegas concerts, is a fine balance between the talents of the band, and the burning supernova that is Prince. Even when Prince isn’t present, this band is strong enough to hold my attention through unfamiliar material. With the appearance of Prince the concert changes and he draws all the light from the room with every note he plays. 2007 is a rich year for Prince fans and sometimes shows like this can be overlooked in the wealth of other material. However, even in brief appearances, Prince gives enough to feed the most hungry of fans, and this is certainly a tasty appetizer for the rest of his London concerts.