Chicago 26 September 2012 (am)

 The main show from 25th September 2012 in Chicago was entirely enjoyable, and the aftershow from the early morning of the 26th looks every bit its match. With an eclectic setlist and a band primed for the funk, this show rides easy on the back of the previous performance and offers the bootleg collector and unique companion piece to the main concert. I have listened to it several times over the previous few days, and it is a concert that offers plenty of surprises and rewards to the listener. 

26th (am) September 2012, House Of Blues, Chicago 

I was not familiar with “Shop Talk” by Cold Blood, and I can’t say if what Prince plays here is true to the original or not. What I do know is it twists and turns down several funky avenues as the horn section gets an early workout. It is a bright start to the concert, with a high energy level and a quality audience recording, that although it contains crowd noise still captures the music and the euphoric feeling of the event. 

The easy seventies funk continues to bubble and simmer with Shelby leading us through  a rendition of “It’s Ecstasy When You Lay Down Next To Me.”  Shelby’s vocals are a fine match for the music and the song works as a mash-up with “Be Happy” Again the horns remain prominent, giving the song an extra spark and providing a foil to the all-conquering vocals of Shelby J. I would be quite happy with the song as it is in this state, but Prince's muscular guitar appears later in the mix and claims the song back in his name, even if Shelby was the real star of the performance. 

 

The horns take a back seat as it is the synth that colors the following “Outstanding” They flow thickly across the song, allowing little room for the rest of the band to make an impression. This changes with a Shelby-led chant and a surprisingly nuanced vocal performance that culminates in a feel-good chorus and sing-along. I can help but feel uplifted by it, even with little Prince the song still shines from within with its sunny feel. This ends as the dark clouds of a John Blackwell drum solo gather, and he unleashes a thunderstorm of a drum break to round out a song that has touched me in unexpected ways. 

“Jam Of The Year” is unexpected, yet warped to fit easily with the sound of the setlist thus far. With its synth lead line bleeding into the creamy horn section, the song is updated and Princes rides it out as he takes his turn to whip the crowd up into a chant. It is lighter than expected, and carries a lot more soul than heard on record, making for a pleasant and surprising experience, 

The same spirit is present for the short medley of “$” “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy,” and “Song Of The Heart.” However, it doesn’t burn as brightly as the preceding number and despite its easy feel, it is an unchallenging and slightly boring listen. 

“Days Of Wild” comes from the complete opposite end of the spectrum and challengers from the first moments as Prince spits and growls the beat into the microphone. From here the song pummels the listener across thirteen intense minutes as Prince and the NPG capture the spirit and aggressive funk sound of Prince in the 1990s.  The song isn’t as thick as back then, but the intent is there, although balanced with a lighter touch that sees less doing more. It is all well presented on a recording that captures every level of the performance, the spiderweb of sound lay bare across the bootleg. 

 

“Mountains” starts with an unhurried climb to the top, it is a couple of minutes before the horns add any color to the ever-increasing rhythmic spirals. It is the women’s vocals that stay strong out front, Prince merely providing context during the chorus. The latter half of the song is an unfocused and easy jam, Prince's guitar the train tracks that the rest of the music skitters and slides across. 

There is an air of predictability about “Everyday People,” that prejudices my listening experience from the start. The phrase “familiarity breeds contempt” becomes a truism as I mentally play the song in my head absentmindedly as I listen. A song that I have heard often, hearing it at this time makes me crave the original as Prince and the band fail to give me anything I haven’t heard before. 

I embrace the recording once again for an electrifying “The Dance Electric.” It’s not as incendiary as I have heard elsewhere, but it still smolders and burns with its unique intensity that makes the previous songs sound flaccid and weak in comparison. Prince’s guitar emphasizes this intensity, with its smokey sound turning into a blaze in the hands of Prince, the song inflamed as Prince brings it to a climax. 

Prince slips into the background as Shelby once again tears up “Brown Skin” Ably assisted by the horn section, she showers the audience with her sound and sense of drama and intensity. It’s not Prince, but it is a classy performance that matches other renditions of the song I have heard on boots. 

Prince is again heard for “Stratus,” – an instrumental, his influence can be heard across the range of instruments. It is the bass where he makes the greatest impression, popping and thumping his way through the heart of the song with an innate sense of funk and drawing a melodramatic quality out of the music. It feels much shorter than the ten minutes it is, perhaps attributable to the evolving sound that keeps the listener discovering new musical territories. 

 

The last song of the concert is “Get On The Boat.” After some of the longer jams of the evening, it is a much punchier and more focused performance, but even at five minutes, there is still time for the band to push at the edges and draw something extra from the song. Although pitched at the dance floor, it doesn’t quite get us there, the band is caught up in their private adventures and leaving the song just short of the required funk. It is an uplifting end to the performance, however, and does end the concert with some pizzazz. 

This is an interesting bootleg presenting a more modern after-show from later in Prince’s career. It may not have the mystic and sense of wonder as his after-shows of the 1980s, but it does contain the key elements to a great after-show and presents some quality material matched with a confident band. The setlist is what attracts me, there are some unusual song choices there (along with a few familiar faces) and this keeps me listening from start to finish. There is little to fault here, any reservations about this bootleg come from my idiosyncrasies rather than the music itself. Check it out.