Manchester 22 February 2014

 “Guitar groups are on their way out, Mr. Epstein.” 

-Dick Rowe of Decca rejecting the Beatles in 1962 

Dick Rowe was wrong. He was wrong in 1962 when he turned down the Beatles, and he was still wrong in 2013 when Prince put together his own guitar group, the all-women 3rdEyeGirl. 2013 saw Prince put his years of ever-increasing bands behind him as he stripped back to just a gritty guitar sound, the sound that many fans had longed for. After electrifying US audience’s through 2013, 3rdEyeGirl took their rock’n’roll circus to the UK and Europe for the first couple of months of 2014. With the guitar to the fore, Prince and his guitar group were far from the way out. If 1964 was firmly stamped by the guitar group sound of the Beatles, then 2014 is just as firmly stamped with the guitar group sound of Prince and 3rdEyeGirl. 

22nd February 2014, Manchester Academy. 

“The Unexpected” is indeed unexpected as it gets played through the P.A. It is somewhat of a disservice to the song, as Prince’s version plays strongly one gets the impression that a live performance of it would have gone down well with the audience. However, we are rewarded for our patience with a forceful rendition of “Let’s Go Crazy.” Time has been kind to this slow downed version, while I wasn’t totally won over by it in the past now I find I am far more patient with it and I have a new appreciation for its steady and surefooted sound. What it lacks in flair it makes up for with its purposeful and studious guitar sound. It may not be as carefree and dashing as in the past, but now it takes the sound of the guitar, slows it down, turns it up, and drives that sound right through your heart. It is a dagger I would gladly die on, and I am immediately pleased with the drive and intent of this ‘guitar group’ 

 

“Guitar” by name and guitar by nature, the following song seems perfectly built for this band. The band hones in on what is important and all else is dispensed with as Prince and his guitar blow the song to a series of blazing fragments. Each burns brightly, before quickly fading from memory, but the overall impression is one of never-ending starbursts emanating from the band onstage. 

The concert takes a gear change as Prince and the band turn their attention to “Plectrum Electrum” It’s a change down as the wild gusts of guitar from “Guitar” becomes a sea breeze of fretwork from Prince and Donna for “Plectrum Electrum.” Prince’s query of “what is Plectrum Electrum” remains unanswered, but I know I like it for its sense of cool after the flash of “Guitar”. 

From the same album comes “Fixurlifeup,” another song that has aged well. It remains an unchallenging moment, but it doesn’t dwell on its lack of intellectualism, instead aiming for the gut in a couple of minutes that are about feel as much as the song itself. 

 

The undisputed highlight of this first part of the show is undoubtedly “Something In The Water (Does Not Compute)”, a song that carries its emotional baggage well in the decades since it was first written. In this context, Prince lifts it from the cold electronic page upon which it was originally written and casts it in a new light with an organic sound built upon a spidery guitar line and an impassioned vocal. Each vocal line comes as a punch from the emotionally hurt character Prince inhibits throughout the song, the audience responding with their own plea before Prince scoops up all the hurt and pain with an all-encompassing guitar solo that compresses the emotion into a hard diamond sound the resonates through the recording before crushing my heart with it’s enveloping steel. 

To have another song in a similar vein would be all too much, and Prince pulls back the intensity with a delicate “When We’re Dancing Close And Slow.” It gives the concert space, and while it’s quickly forgotten, I do appreciate the sense of clarity it brings to the show. 

While not every song is a perfect fit for this guitar group, “She’s Always In My Hair” fits the bill and gives the entire band a chance to shine. Donna is first to impress with her guitar bravado before the song collapses around Prince’s own chain-driven guitar sound. At moments the song resembles a war zone as Prince’s guitar stands proud amidst the rubble, all other instruments cast into the shadows by the blinding light of his performance. As he continues to blaze, the other sounds seek shelter, the bass taking refuge under the drumbeat while the guitar continues its blind rage. It is a different intensity from “Something In The Water (Does Not Compute)”, far rawer as Prince turns his guitar into a weapon rather than an expression of pain. There is a relief at the breakdown, and a chance for the rest of the band to rebuild the sound. While Prince sings back and forth, Josh emerges with a soothing keyboard line. It is a line that offers a platform for the audience to be heard again and their vocals lift us from the war zone and into the cool meadows of the following song. 

“Funknroll” prepares the audience for what is next with its funk groove rolling through the concert. The guitar group concept is temporarily retired as the band becomes more groovecentric and the guitar sinks back into the general sound of the concert. 

From the darkness comes the “Sign O The Times” loop, and the concert changes its appearance again, shedding its guitar fury for a well-rounded sound, while not letting up on the intensity. The guitar hasn’t entirely vanished, and several times through the song it raises its head snake-like, hissing its venomous sound. It doesn’t quite make for a cohesive sound, and one wishes that Prince would jump one way or another rather than leaving it with this double-headed sound. 

The tease of “Nasty Girl” flares briefly, before burning into a smoldering “Hot Thing” It has a quiet intensity, but never flames into much more, the funk embers keeping the song true to its Sign O The Times roots. 

From the same album, “Forever In My Life” harks back to that bygone era as Prince indulges the nostalgia in the audience. The opening minutes are lifted from that time, but the joy arrives in the bass work of Prince that adorns the second half of the song. He had flirted with this several times in later years, and this version is true to form as Prince plucks and funks the song, weaving a new sound from something that is otherwise all too familiar. The final electric buzz is far from the acoustic roots of the song, and the crowd responds well to this new challenge. 

 

The icing on the cake of this trio of Sign O The Times songs is Prince’s barn-burning, bluesy version of “I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man” Stripped of all its flash, the song wallows in the true despair of the lyrics. With Prince’s guitar turning the air blue in its mournful cry the song becomes the story it is sketching out, no future to be heard in the music as Prince pulls the curtain down on any sort of hope. When he says “I could never take the place of your man” his guitar whirls into a gale that blows away any sense of celebration, the music pulling the song ever downwards with its hopeless sound and empty cry. 

A psychedelic dipped “Crimson And Clover” brings color and balance as it emerges from the shadow of the previous song. A loud audience response gives the song more credit than it deserves, for all its guitar finery it is still riding on the coattails of “I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man.” It continues to grow in stature on the back of Prince’s guitar sketchbook, and one can’t help but like it for the joy it brings to the audience. 

That joy bursts out of the speakers with the opening riff of “When Doves Cry,” the song sounding far more youthful than its thirty years at the time. That is in no small part to the energy that the crowd injects into it, their singing lifting away any familiarity and contempt that Prince might have towards it. The clouds part, a light emerging through the song as Prince takes to his work, pushing the crowd ever higher, before releasing them for a downhill run through “Alphabet St.” 

There isn’t much sizzle to “Alphabet St” and it relies on the good nature of the audience to carry the moment. Prince referencing Manchester brings a wild cheer, and this is the most enjoyable part of a song that is otherwise strangely flat. 

 

“777-9311” brings the sizzle I had been craving. With its propulsive and hopping drum beat, Prince matches it with his snappy basswork. A heavenly concoction, it holds my ear for the all-too-short minutes it plays. 

From a similar cloth comes “Housequake,” although it can’t better what we have just heard. It has a shallow sound that is made all the starker by the intensity of the first half of the concert, and overall it lacks depth. On the plus side, it does have some notable stick work from Hannah later in the song, and a lightning bolt solo from Donna that briefly brings the guitar back into the show with murderous intent. 

My heart sings upon hearing “I Would Die 4 U.” I am temporarily fifteen years old again as I hear it – such is the power of music, especially Prince’s music. As a musical time machine it can’t be matched, but in the context of the concert, it is a lighter moment. It can’t be compared to some of the other epic songs in the setlist and as such is soon forgotten, especially as “If I Was Your Girlfriend” comes quickly nipping at its heels. 

Buttressing these two songs is the monumental “Purple Rain,” a song that has always taken on an epic mantel since it was first heard in 1983. Prince drizzles the lyrics and surprisingly, given the guitar nature of the band, there is no downpour of guitar, the audience instead providing their own climax on the back of their soulful singing under the direction of Prince. 

The guitar is back at full force for “Screwdriver,” a song that I liked at the time and has only gone up in my estimation since that time. With furious intent the band tears through the song, the wistful ending of “Purple Rain” blown away by this onstage storm of electrified guitar wash and crashing cymbals. There’s not much to cling onto, the wild performance tearing up all that came before, leaving it tattered and torn in the face of this guitar frenzy. 

 

“Chaos And Disorder” is a welcome addition to the setlist. Saturated in a buzzing and angry guitar it fits the bill for the evening and is a lively contribution to the concert. Prince and the band cast it all to the wind in the final minutes, the song set free from all constraints and lifted on the gusts of Prince’s guitar. 

The concert takes another sharp turn with the piano firmly anchoring the next section of the show. Under these circumstances “How Come U Don’t Call Me Anymore?” is entirely predictable. It is the most well-rounded of these piano songs, and although not the highlight of the piano set, sets the template for the following minutes. 

“Starfish And Coffee,” is light enough to be forgettable, as is “Diamonds And Pearls.” It is “The Beautiful Ones” that brings seriousness to the occasion, and its lingering sense of loss resonates just as much in 2014 as it did in 1984. There is a stillness to the performance that centers it and holds the music firmly to the front of your mind. Nothing else exists as Prince plays his much-loved ballad, in the end, this is what it is all about, a man and his music. 

“Under The Cherry Moon” conjures up images of the era from which it was conceived, but it is “Sometimes It Snows In April” that is more affecting. It draws not just from the era, but from the history and life story of Prince, and hearing it one can’t help but reflect on the passing of Prince. Hearing it pulls me out of the concert, but it is a beautiful rendition that stands alone from its own history. 

The final throwback comes with “Nothing Compares 2 U.” Building from a quiet piano, the guitar is reintroduced with a punchy solo that reminds us what this band is about, before retreating into the cover of the band. 

Cue chanting, and a shaking version of “The Max” that jumps and rattles the concert. With its keyboard riff as a foundation, Donna’s guitar slides back and forth across the top – before Prince takes all the headlines with a flurry of piano leaping from the mix mid-song. He continues to command the song from his piano, and as much as the audience chants and Donna’s guitar wails, it is his sound that remains at the center of all things. 

There is another flat spot at the concert as Prince plays some crowd-pleasers that don’t quite stand up to the surrounding material. “Play That Funky Music,” delights in its snarling guitar solo, but otherwise is toothless. “Take Me With U” and its soulmate “Raspberry Beret” bask in the warmth of their familiarity, the audience giving them more credit than perhaps they deserve. Their sunshine pop is overwhelmed by the dense surrounding material, leaving them in shadow for this concert. 

“Cool” will always be cool, no matter the band, no matter the place. It’s not as airy as the concerts in the years before 2014, but with Prince on the microphone the vibe is right and the song drips with coolness throughout. A surprising choice for this band, they pull it off well. 

There is a lot of hustle and bustle with “Endorphinmachine,” but in the end, it only rages against itself. It is not as incisive as early versions I have heard, and as much as I enjoy it I know it has been better. I take a big breath, and turn it up a couple of notches, it does blow out the cobwebs and gives another burst of energy to this concert. 

From “Endorphinmachine” onward the concert goes into guitar-driven overdrive. “Bambi” matches “Endorphinmachine” for ragged energy, and while it doesn’t quite have the same finesse it does come with a bucket load of more intensity. It comes as a short sharp punch to the face, a punch I’d gladly take backed with Prince’s guitar fury. 

The concert settles, but is no less guitar-focused with “Colonized Mind.” From its gentle roots, it branches out into guitar-fueled vines – the importance of the lyrics lost in the tangle of guitar that Prince unleashes. It’s built on thoughtful guitar, there is no frenzy to Prince’s playing, and although there are a lot of guitars to cut through, all of it feels essential. 

The last song of the night is “Cause And Effect” It doesn’t reach the highs of earlier in the show but is good enough to close out the concert with a feeling of elation and togetherness. The band is still tight, and Prince’s guitar as rock-solid as ever, but it isn’t anything we haven’t already heard at the concert and as such is redundant. 

Mr. Dick Rowe may have thought that guitar groups are on the way out, but this guitar group just played forty-two (count ’em, forty-two) songs in what can only be described as a guitar extravaganza. Prince is well known for his guitar mastery, but it was rare in his years to see it celebrated in such a way as it was during the 3rdEyeGirl era. Concerts like this are a glorious celebration of six-string excellence, and in a smaller group, Prince has never shined as bright, nor has his instrument sounded as loud. There are many Princes’; funky Prince, pop Prince, ballad Prince, but is pure rock Prince and the guitar has never sounded as good as it does in his hands and surrounded by this mere ‘guitar group.’ I’m sorry Dick Rowe, guitar groups are here to stay.