Before I went to his concert last Friday, all I knew about Prince was the following: He’s short and wears a lot of purple. Also, I knew for sure he wrote Purple Rain and Raspberry Beret. Probably other songs too? That was the sum total of my Prince knowledge. So when the opportunity arose to go see the man live at Rogers Arena I took it because I’d also heard he throws down one hell of a show.
And oh. MY. GOD!! does he ever.
The first thing you see when you enter the arena is that huge, amazing stage. I’ve seen a LOT of big concerts and almost every stage configuration you can think of, but I’ve never seen anything as gnarly as Prince’s symbol setup with it’s long walkways and elaborate floor lighting. Even with the house lights on, it’s quite the sight. Above the stage were hung lengthwise screens that played out the history-of-black-dance-on-film while the people of Vancouver streamed in, completely unaware of the brain melting they were about to receive.
Suddenly all the lights in the place went out and the monitors lit up with a spinning Prince symbol with a whole bunch of lightning flashing around. The whole building came alive with the roaring of thunder. Awesome, yes, but even more awesome was the reaction from the crowd. It’s well documented that Vancouverites are a fickle audience. Not easily impressed by anything, frequently unwilling to clap or sing along, indifferent to the point where you wonder “Why did you even buy a ticket?” Heck, I’ve seen people read books at shows.
But not at Prince’s show.
From the point of that first lightning strike to the last chord was played, Vancouver lost it’s collective shit again and again for HOURS. I have never seen a crowd go that mental for anyone. Not for U2, not for Coldplay. Not for Oasis, Weezer or Bruce Springsteen. Rogers Arena was aroar for the entire evening the likes of which I’ve never heard. Even at the end of the night when the house lights and music came up (the universal indicator from the venue that it’s time to go home) nobody left. People stood, clapped, stomped, shouted and screamed (for a full 10-15 minutes!) for Prince and the band to come back until they came parading back through the crowd, bum-rushed their own stage and played more songs with the house lights on. AMAZING!
You know, I’ve never been to a show where the performer made his entrance by rising up through the stage. I always wanted to see that! Is it corny? Yes. Is it awesome anyway? YES! And what an entrance! In classic Prince fashion the man rose from the depths in head-to-toe glitter and gold. Orchestra conductor’s jacket (complete with tails), frilly purple shirt, flared pants and a necklace designed by an Egyptian pharaoh? Check, check, check, check. And holy cow, can that man rock a pair of heels. Hit with the light Prince was a living disco-ball.
And what a showman. From the time he rose out of that stage to the fourth or fifth encore (I actually lost count!) Prince danced and strutted and jogged around every inch of that huge stage. At no point was there even the slightest indication he was getting tired and his tremendous voice never waivered over the course of the extended setlist.
So what did he play? In a word, everything.
He played the songs I knew were Prince songs. He played a ton of songs I didn’t know were Prince songs. He played covers, he played instrumentals… THE SETLIST WAS OVER THIRTY SONGS LONG! What other group plays that many songs at a show? Maybe Pearl Jam. Highlights of the night were Gold (the opening song, where they flung out so much gold ticker-tape that it literally looked like it was raining gold in Rogers Arena), Purple Rain (because the sing-along was OUTRAGEOUS), Everyday People (because I love Sly and the Family Stone and Prince KILLED IT), Raspberry Beret (because it’s Raspberry Beret), a snippet of Darling Nikki (because it pissed Tipper Gore off to the point where Parental Advisory stickers became mandatory on music) and When Doves Cry (because that song is boss as hell). The entire setlist, though, was extraordinary and really showcased what an incredible singer, guitarist and performer Prince is.
All-in-all, the entire evening was perfect. Prince came out on a mission to blow people’s minds. “Are you ready for me Vancouver?!” he shouted to the crowd “You didn’t just come here to see me! I came here to see you too!” The answer to the question, of course, was a definitive and resounding “YES!” But nobody could have known what the man and his band were going to bring to the table. The greatest arena-rock show I’ve ever seen and a life-changing experience for the thousands of people in attendance.
A huge shout-out goes to the good folks at Live Nation for making the entire evening possible. Not only did they bring the man to town, but they were gracious in having us to the show as their guests. Thanks Live Nation! Fingers crossed that it won’t be another decade until Prince’s triumphant return to Van City!
– Ian
Prince photos courtesy of Live Nation, NPG Records & Afshin Shahidi.
As per request, no photos depicted in this article were taken at the Vancouver show.
