Minneapolis 16 January 2013 (show 2)

 Last week I wrote about the jazz show played at the Dakota Jazz Club. It was a nice little show, and this week I thought it only fair that I listen to the second show played that night at the same venue. I was apprehensive when I read the set list and saw it looked very similar, however upon giving it a preliminary listen I found that I prefer this second show and it wasn’t as similar as I had anticipated. This second show has a lot of great stuff going for it, and I can’t wait to give it another listen right now. 

16th January 2013 (show 2) Dakota Jazz Club, Minneapolis 

The first thing I hear is the DJ playing “Atomic Dog” which slowly fades down as the drums begin. As per the previous show the gig opens with the drums, and this time it’s a very cool-sounding rhythm right from the go, and we very quickly get the first appearance of the horns. I thought the horns were great in the previous show, here they are even better, immediately all playing and intertwining together fantastically. After that initial burst of enthusiasm (I never knew I could be so excited about horns) things settle into a groove with a rhythmic keyboard playing as the horns come and go. I am underselling it here, but trust me – it’s all excellent. Normally I take a while to warm up to shows like this, in this case, I am on board from the get-go. 

 

The opening few songs are the same as the earlier show, so next comes “Xpectation.” The horns get a chance to play alone and they all sound unique and interesting. After the open flourish of a few minutes things settle down and we are carried by an easy groove over which Prince plays some guitar. I like the sound and Prince keeps it brief as the band plays on and the drummer takes a solo. I am impressed so far by how close-knit the band sound, and how Prince can play close in the band rather than over it. He is very good at being part of the band and playing with no ego. The music comes to me easily, and I find I am flowing with it and just taking it all in. 

“Muse 2 The Pharaoh” sounds very good, I am very happy with the sound quality of this audience recording, it’s very good indeed. What I like most about “Muse 2 The Pharaoh” is the keyboards, it’s instrumental with some piano work happening that is very easy on the ear. After the previous horn-heavy tracks it’s an interesting change, and some interesting keyboard sounds are coming at me as it plays. It seems to stop suddenly, and even though it had been played for some time I am still hungry to hear more. 

I enjoyed “Stratus” despite myself last time, and here I am ready for it and I do like it a lot. Prince’s guitar is low in the mix at the beginning, but it gets louder in the second break. He draws the notes out of it for a while, before he plays more quickly, and I like that contrast in his sound. Prince isn’t the only one to solo, and the bass guitar gets a bit of shine next as the song continues. The whole band gets a chance to solo, starting with Prince on the keyboards followed by a sax solo, and another bass solo before we finish with a drum solo. This is a Prince blog so you would expect me to enjoy Prince's solo the most, but the solo I find I get the most out of is Marcus Anderson’s sax solo. It buzzes like a bee with a flurry of notes in the middle and runs up and down leaving me nodding in appreciation. In fact by the time the song winds down I am well and truly satisfied with everything I have heard and am very impressed with this band and this show. 

Things take an unexpected turn as Prince plays the opening notes from “When You Were Mine,” but it’s just a crowd-pleasing tease before the show returns to its jazz sound. 

The long instrumental jam that comes next is interesting with the shiny guitar sound playing over a keyboard groove. It’s not brash, instead sounding light and summery. The guitar then gives way to the keyboard that keeps this feeling going, and I am thinking to myself that I should be sitting in the sun drinking a glass of wine as I listen to this, it would be a perfect match. The guitar sounds stronger later in the song, not louder, but it is more prominent. 

 

“We’re A Winner” follows, with the horns again to the center. They do sound good and fresh, and the song sounds lively with their playing. They only play a minute or so before the segue into “I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Loved You).” The horns pull back as one takes the lead, but they all pull together tightly as the song again closes after a minute and moves on to the next selection, which is Prince’s “Satisfied.” Keeping in the tone of the evening Prince doesn’t sing, instead, a guitar plays the main melody, and I have to say it sounds fantastic. It’s a cool take on a song that I am not always so fond of. I could happily listen to this version over and over, and I like the lightness of the guitar and the sound of the horns as they come in on the chorus. It’s an excellent addition to the set list and I get a buzz hearing it in this form. 

I have heard Prince cover “I Don’t Want Nobody To Give Me Nothing (Open Up The Door, I’ll Get It Myself)” before, most notable at Bataclan 2002, and I think this performance pips that. The opening horn salvo nails it, and even though it's not a deep groove underneath it’s still tight. For the first and only time of the night, Prince sings, choosing to sing the chorus a couple of times in an attempt to encourage the audience to sing along. He steps back and instead opts for the guitar and we get an impressive guitar break which is the best of the evening. 

The show ends as it began, with the horns playing over the top of a simple repetitive rhythm. I find that although there is not much Prince in there that it is still immensely enjoyable, the horns have been outstanding all show and they are definitively finishing on a high with this one. There is also a funky little guitar in there too, and you all know how much I love that. The song ends rather suddenly and I find myself at the end of the show. 

As far as Prince goes, this show was low-key. He didn’t sing at all, and most of the work was done by the horns. Yet, I still found it to be the type of show that I will come back to and listen to repeatedly. I like that it has a different sound to a lot of his other shows, and it’s a showcase for this particular band. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I highly recommend this show.