Minneapolis 17 January 2013 (show 1)

 The second of Prince's three nights at the Dakota Jazz Club was advertised as “Jam” and it is completely different from the previous “Jazz“. The set list is heavy on funk, and this is a larger band giving it a fuller sound. Prince was the guy who introduced me to funk, and I hope from this set list that he will give me plenty of it. 

17th January 2013 (show 1)  Dakota Jazz Club Minneapolis 

The show gets off to a great start, it has a fantastic deep sound to the recording, and Prince’s first words are “Dancing is allowed”. “Act Of God” is the first song, and it sounds very strong in this smaller setting.  Prince’s vocals are deep and full, and the recording captures them excellently. The solo by Marcus Anderson gets my attention, and it sounds especially good over the thick bass. This isn’t classic Prince, but the band put up a fine show, and they have their unique funky sound. I like that after the first verse it does indeed become just an up-tempo jam with lots of horns. The bass and groove sound good in my headphones, and the song continues to jam with Prince singing again and having the crowd clap along with him before settling on a long groove. There are a lot of little moments to enjoy and I listen carefully to hear all of them. 

The intro to the next song is equally cool, with Prince asking for the kick drum then commanding “a little quicker, a little quicker” until he has it right and can overlay some funky guitar. The girls start singing “What Have You Done For Me Lately.” It’s not as tight as I would like, and I don’t get into it. They sing well of course, but there isn’t any intensity in the performance, at least to my ears. It’s a let-down after the first song, although I regain some interest as the keyboard plays a solo that gets the crowd clapping along. It gets stronger, the next keyboard solo is even sharper and very much the type of thing I like to hear. I wasn’t too happy with it earlier on, but once the girls stop singing and the band takes over and jams it heats up. 

 

“Northside” gets thrown into the mix and the jam becomes a Prince-led medley. The music is great, although the singing doesn’t do anything for me. It’s the music that I am listening for most at this stage, and Northside only gets a minute or so before we quickly move on. 

The segue into “(The Theme from) Which Way Is Up” is nice, and I am beginning to warm to Shelby J again. As much as I like her, it always takes me a couple of minutes to adjust to her style. She is a dynamic performer and hearing only her does detract from the stage presence which I know she has. The song quietens as some nice bass work appears, much to the delight of the crowd who whoop in appreciation. I must say I am a very happy man listening to this, a nice recording of a fun solo. 

As is the way of Prince with this, “Dancing Machine” merges seamlessly in. It has a certain novelty value with Prince singing a Jackson 5 song, asides from that it isn’t long enough for me to have a strong feeling for it. 

“Partyman” has had a few different incarnations over the years and this one, although not true to the original, is pretty cool. The horn refrain sounds good with this band, and Prince plays on that, having them repeat the main riff several times as the song segues into the “It’s Alright.” There isn’t too much difference as the horns play something pretty close to “Partyman” throughout. The horns take a back seat as we get some more keyboards, before returning for the big finish. 

After a frenetic last few minutes, “We’re A Winner” is a nice comedown. It has a warm, round sound and is almost like comfort food. Shelby sounds good and is nicely retrained. It’s somewhat of a shame that it is short, it had a gentle feel to it that I could easily listen to for much longer. 

Shelby stays on lead vocals with a brief rendition of “I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Loved You)” It is again very short, only the verse and chorus, and I think that is to its favor. I enjoyed what I heard, but it’s always best to leave us wanting more. 

The horns lead us finally into something a little more substantial, and considerably more Prince-like when they begin to play “Satisfied.” After the initial sax, we get a piano break, and when Prince begins to sing it’s well worth the wait. His vocal performance is top shelf, and his inflections as he sings make me feel as if I am right there with him. He is nice and loud in my ears, and the whole show is recorded very well, I can hear everything clearly and loud, and there is a nice fat bass sound at the bottom. 

We get back to the upbeat sound with “I Don’t Want Nobody To Give Me Nothing (I’ll Get It Myself)” and this is a song that seems to have popped up a lot on bootlegs I have listened to recently. The band isn’t overly tight, and lacks the hard funky groove which I normally enjoy so much. Their playing is very good, just not as funky as I like. Prince’s vocal performance is again the highlight, as well as being the funkiest part of the song. 

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I like that “Housequake” has a nice long intro, with plenty of interaction between Prince and the audience. The beat isn’t as prominent, which is to the detriment of the song, I can hear the drum, but not the beat that intertwines with the bass. The song quickly becomes a jam, and at this stage, I am mostly digging the spacey-sounding keyboards. There is no singing, and that suits me just fine as the groove continues.  Prince calls for just the beat, and finally, I can hear that kicking beat that underpins it all. The horns dominate late in the song, and to be honest I am in love with this arrangement. It’s free sounding, and I forget that the beat isn’t what I am used to. 

Brownskin I haven’t listened to for a while, and I immediately have a warm feeling as it begins to play. Shelby sounds mellow and sings in a relaxed tone that is silky to listen to. The song builds well, and the release of the saxophone solo is a nice moment. The overall feel of the song is a hot sweaty day, and Shelby deserves credit for making the song sound as great as it is. 

With just Cassandra for accompaniment on the keys Prince next plays what I consider to be the highlight of the show, “Something In The Water (Does Not Compute).” The barren sound and Prince's vocals set the tone, and yet it swings a little as Prince sings the chorus. The piano plays a break, and it is a thing of beauty, to hear just the piano is wonderful. Prince plays the character in the song well, as his vocals come in and out full of emotion. The song ends on an absolute high with Prince singing the final note as the piano finishes. 

“Lost & Found” starts in a similar vein, with the piano playing softly as Shelby, Liv, and Elisa sing. It’s a diversion, but a very nice one. There’s not one thing that I could highlight in this song, the girls singing together was seamless and something I could listen to all night and all day. 

It’s time for another long jam, and this time it’s “Let’s Work” that gets the full treatment. The bass plays us in as there are some very groovy keyboards played over the top. I find this to be much more interesting, and my interest is piqued further as the horns begin to play. Still no vocals, just the groove, and funky horns. Prince finally sings after three minutes, but he isn’t needed as this song is already well and truly sounding funky. I think he knows it too, as from here on in it’s all about the horns, and they deliver right through until the end. 

“One more, one more?” gets a rousing cheer from the crowd as a beat begins and Prince gets the sound just right. “Cool” takes a couple of minutes to start properly, and this is mostly due to Prince getting the sound adjusted right. The keyboard hook still plays though, and the girls start singing “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough” which doesn’t always work for me, but does on this occasion. Immediately after their singing, the jam starts with some more quirky keyboard which I seem to enjoy far too much. The song “Cool” reappears suddenly as Prince begins to sing, and the last half of the song is “Cool” sung straight. All these years, it’s still a great party song and a fantastic way to round off the show. The crowd is well and truly involved with lots of clapping and cheers and the song comes to a crescendo with overlaying keyboards playing, before the “Las Vegas” is called and the recording ends. 

I was hoping for a funky gig, and although it wasn’t quite what I expected this one was good. It was well titled, and there were plenty of jams, but what surprised me most was how much fun it sounded. There were only 260 people and they partied more like 500. There was a prevailing sense of joy and the music was uplifting throughout the whole show. The Dakota shows give us plenty to listen to, this one is the current favorite with three more left to go.