Rotterdam 9 July 2011

 I seem to be listening to a lot of shows from 2010 and 2011 recently, and that will continue for the next few posts as I listen to the North Sea Jazz Festival shows from 2011. I missed a lot of shows between 2010 and 2011, at that time I separated from my wife, and in the same month my city was flattened by an earthquake- both events still impact my life daily. In 2011 listening to Prince and following his tours was far from a priority as I dealt with things on a day-by-day basis. Calmness has returned to my hometown now, and I finally have some time to go back and catch up with what I missed at that time. I had the shows, I just never got around to listening to them, so now as I pull them out, I find I am listening with freshness and new enthusiasm for what I am hearing. 

When Prince was at the peak of his powers in the 1980’s it would have been difficult to imagine him ever playing at a festival. He was too singular in his vision, and to see him on a bill with other artists would have been jarring. Of course, his tours celebrated his creativity and songs, and with his league of protégés and other projects, his concerts were a mini-festival of sorts, a festival of Prince. In recent years he has embraced festivals, in particular, 2010 and 2011 in Europe. 

These three shows at the North Sea Jazz provide an interesting mix of songs and styles. I do like that each of them has a sizable portion of songs that I could see lifted straight from a mainstream show, with some more interesting songs and moments grafted onto it. Also, every night is different from the other, and there are a few rarities in the mix that always keep me interested. This first show is not my favorite of the three, but I do have to start somewhere, so why not the beginning. So let’s wind back to 2011 and take a listen to the first night of the North Sea Jazz Festival. 

9 July 2011, Ahoy, Rotterdam 

I find the first few minutes of the show slightly usual, and a little confusing. The show starts with a comfortable beat, and the band plays a tepid version of “Foxy Lady.” You would think this would be tailor-made for Prince and his guitar histrionics, but he elects not to play, instead only appearing later in the song. Andy Allo handles the vocal duties, she does a serviceable job for a song that doesn’t seem to play to her strengths. The music behind her is insipid, the Hendrix guitar groove is carried by the bass, and an acoustic guitar that doesn’t give it the intensity of the original. I thought Prince could have used this song to make an immediate impression, but it’s all quite low-key -that is until mid-song when he finally appears and does indeed lurch into his guitar god mode. The latter part of the song is a definite improvement, Andy dispenses with the singing and Prince plays a guitar solo that you would expect. 

 

“Controversy” is much more conventional, although in the first minute of the song the Prince calls instructions to the soundman as he gets his set up on stage just right. It’s played as a groove with Prince playing his scratch guitar while chanting “Oh North Sea”. I like that he sounds relaxed, as asides from chanting he takes time to tell the crowd that he has plenty of surprises for the next few nights. He is having trouble with his sound as he calls again and again that the sound is too bright and brittle. For a perfectionist like Prince, I am sure it must be incredibly frustrating, and he does sound a little agitated as he strives for the right sound. These issues are resolved and he does begin to sing the song. The song sounds good to me, but the sound problems persist for Prince as he asks for the lights to turn down as again he calls for the sound to be adjusted “more bottom” Under normal circumstances, I would just like to hear the song, but I do listen with interest as Prince strives to get the sound right. You can feel that he is working hard on the stage. 

The “Sexy Dancer/ Le Freak” arrangement follows quickly on the heels of “Controversy,” and this time I am not the least bit surprised to hear it. With Shelby and Liv on the vocals, Prince retreats into the band, but this time he steps in after the first verse to play a tidy-sounding solo. He is much more in control at this gig, and his guitar playing is focused without being scorching. 

“(Theme song from) Which Way Is Up” is next, and this is quickly becoming a favorite of mine. I can hear Maceo in the mix, and this is another song where the band is the real strength. Morris Hayes plays a solo, which I would like to heap praise upon if it was only more prominent in the mix. I am questioning Prince playing a song like this so early in the show, but to his credit, it is a jazz festival and I would assume the audience would be open to hearing much more than Prince playing the hits. 

 

I try very hard every week to enjoy “Play That Funky Music,” but I just can’t. The lyrics aren’t interesting, and the groove always sounds labored to me. This week’s arrangement is better, in that Prince plays a guitar break for most of the song, and listening to it I find my mind wanders from the main groove. The guitar break is as good as it gets, however, as they return to the chorus for a final refrain before the song ends. 

There is another odd twist as the band picks up the groove of “Controversy” again and Prince praises Maceo Parker in a speech to the crowd. This is a great moment, as Maceo lives up to all the hype and plays a scorching solo. The band is stomping and Maceo feeds off the energy and gets better and better as he goes. There is a good reason why Prince chooses to play with people like Maceo and Larry Graham. Not only does he learn from them, but he also introduces them to a new audience. But not only that, there is a reason why Maceo is a legend, his playing is fierce, and is a great addition to Prince’s band. 

 

Amazing how quickly my enthusiasm wanes, the next song is “Pass The Peas” with Maceo, and this time I am less enamored. Yes, I love Maceo and his playing, the problem for me here is that I have heard Prince and the band play “Pass The Peas” countless times, and I find very little in it that is new to my ears. Morris Hayes rescues the song somewhat, but not quite enough for me. However, there is a drum break and some more organ that sounds pretty cool, before the main groove resumes. 

The show loses its momentum next as Andy Allo sings “Let’s Get It On.” It’s nice enough, but nobody can touch the original. Her voice is beautiful and she is lovely to look at, it’s the choice of song I have trouble with. I can understand why Prince is giving her plenty of shine, and I wait patiently for the song to finish so we can get back to the Prince show proper. Prince does close out the song with some sweet-sounding guitar playing before the next song gets me up and out of my seat. 

 

I curse as “D.M.S.R” starts, the keyboards sound incredibly bold, and there is a great mix with plenty of bass and piano high in the mix. This is the Prince I signed up for back in the day, and I am overjoyed to hear “D.M.S.R” sound just as good as ever. Ida’s bass has great fatness to it, and I turn the stereo up to ‘neighbor annoying’ levels. The breakdown is my favorite part of the song, normally I’m not a fan of this part of the song -this time Ida has me completely revising my opinions. There is a further sound to listen to as Prince adds some percussion as the guitar and bass squelch along. This one I can feel deep inside of me.  Maceo gives the song some funk credentials as he adds his sound to the mix, and by now I am pretty close to heaven. What I wouldn’t give to be there. 

 

We go from funk with a capital F to some pure pop with “Pop Life.” Of his pop songs, this would have to be my favorite.  This arrangement is as we have heard previously from this period, after a poppy rendition of the first half of the song, the band then pulls back and plays a jazzy instrumental, with the piano featuring heavily. I love that Prince challenges the audience and widens their range. I know that he has introduced me to many new acts and genres that I would have never otherwise heard. The best thing is that as he changes he pulls us all along for the journey too. I have discovered so much music through him, and if I ever had a chance, this is what I would thank him for most. 

“Musicology” goes down a treat at this show. It’s tighter sounding than the Musicology tour, it’s still a jam, except without some of the excesses of those shows. Maceo is the star of the show, his horn is nice and loud and he gets plenty of time to play. There is another fun moment for me as Prince raps through “Prince And The Band.” I am never quite sure if I should take it seriously or not, but I always like to hear it. 

 

My recording is missing a couple of songs at this point, although I do have the full concert on other configurations, however, I am not too concerned as what comes next is fantastic. 

I was going to write off “A Love Bizarre” as Prince plays a long intro and asks Janelle Monae to join him. Boy, was I ever wrong, and this one is the highlight of the show for me. The sound is better than it has been at any other time in the show and after a lengthy guitar and drum intro, the song explodes. Everything brightens and at this point, the show sounds like it has finally turned into a party. Janelle sounds great with Prince and having Maceo in the mix is a real bonus. As Prince calls him, he steps out and shakes things up. This sounds great here at home, and the song becomes a loose jam. It rolls and rolls, and it holds my interest as it evolves. It does strip back to just guitar, drum, and audience singing and this is the great rock n roll moment that I look for in every show. There are the usual “Housequake” lines thrown in, followed by “jump up and down” but I completely forgive this as Prince plays a few seconds of funky guitar that jumps right out at me. 

 

I come back to earth as “Everyday People” begins and Larry Graham joins Prince on stage. I love Larry Graham, I love “Everyday People,” it’s just that I have heard it played in this way so many times that I am done with it, and I don’t feel the need to ever hear it at a Prince show again. That said, the song here is inoffensive and does keep the energy levels up at the gig. 

 

I get excited as Prince takes Ida’s bass and prepares for the next song. “Only Heaven Knows” isn’t familiar to me, but I hear a lot of the song “Johnny” in it. I am disappointed it’s not a bass-heavy song and Prince doesn’t work the bass as much as I was hoping. I do like the line “analog pimps and digital hoes”, asides from that it’s just a nice groove song. Some heavy keyboards keep me in the groove, and Morris and his organ are again well in the mix. Prince hits the effect pedal and plays a fuzzed-up sounding “America.” It is short, and the moment of the song that captures my attention the most. 

 

Every week I wonder how I am going to find something new to write about “Purple Rain,” and I know Prince must have the same problem finding a new way to make it interesting for himself too. This time we have Maceo playing over the introduction. I have heard Eric Leeds play a sax intro for Purple Rain, and I have to say I prefer Eric’s efforts to what we hear from Maceo here. I do applaud Prince and Maceo for making the effort to give us something different, but I don’t think Maceo adds anything interesting here. The verses are perfunctory, and I am waiting to see if Prince can find another level when he reaches the guitar break. The guitar break doesn’t reach the heights I’d hoped for and Prince compensates with his expressions as he plays. The sound is noticeable off through the song here, and it sums up how a lot of the evening has played out. 

 

“If I Was Your Girlfriend,” now this is more like it. Its sound is still off, but it does sound a lot bigger. Prince’s vocals do suffer, and I can understand why so many people complained about the sound through this gig. Ida’s bass should be the main component, and yet I can barely make it out, and that’s no fault of the recording, I’m sure.  Cassandra does sound nice on the piano, and this is one of the few positives I can find in what is normally my favorite song. 

Tonight’s arrangement of “Kiss” is keyboard driven, one plays sharp while the other provides a cool squelch.  The song still has its basic sound, but there is a tiredness to the sound of it, and I wonder if this has been a tough show and the band just want to finish. The one part of the song that does seem to work is the coda, as Prince dances in the spotlight. The drum sound is good, and with the instruments stripped back the sound is softened. The show ends with “Kiss,” and there is no big finale. 

 

This show was incredibly uneven. It’s obvious there were sound issues for Prince to contend with throughout, and although I ignored them early on, by the end they were too much for me to overlook. The high points of the show were “D.M.S.R” and “A Love Bizarre,” and both of these songs benefited from being party jams, and as they both played it was easy to lose myself in the groove rather than pick out various parts of the songs. 

Next week I will take a listen to the second show, which I believe is considerably better by all accounts. This one showed glimpses of brilliance, I am pinning my hopes on much more of those moments in the next two shows.