Prince at the Rio

A funny thing happened on the way to Las Vegas; or, to be more precise, a funny thing seems to have happened to Las Vegas along the way to today. Back in the 50's and early 60's, when Frank Sinatra and the other members of the Rat Pack were in their prime, the town was the epitome of cool. Maybe not so much for the hipsters on the coasts, but certainly it was a mecca for middle Americans who wanted to taste a little bit of the good life for a few days. Yet following that little renaissance, the city--all the above players, really--went through a bit of a slump. Vegas seemed to become the last refuge for performers who were no longer relevant. It was literally a punchline, a way to put an artist down: "Oh, that guy? You watch, he'll probably end up doing Vegas in five years." You know--kind of like "The Mistake on the Lake." Fast-forward a few years, however, and Vegas is back on top again. Far from being a haven for washed up hacks, the production values of Vegas shows have never been higher. Still, I was a bit surprised when Prince became the latest big name artist to sign on for a regular engagement. You know, in as much as anything that the artist formerly know as The Artist Formerly Known as Prince and now known as Prince again surprises me anymore. Anyway, we were in Vegas shortly after his run began and we made sure to get tickets to see him while we were there.

Maybe the most surprising thing about Prince's extended stay in LV is the fact that he's playing at the Rio. It is owned by Harrah's, and so I'm sure there is some money there, but it isn't much of a hotel by Vegas standards. It's located just off the strip and is definitely rowdier and less classy than some of the more modern facilities like the Wynn and the Venetian. Prince claims to have picked The Rio because the building is purple, and after spending some time in the casino I'm inclined to believe him.

Though the Rio does not impress me as a casino, I did like Club 3121, the space that they designed with Prince for his shows (and those of his associates, such as Morris Day and the Time). The room was pretty austere, pretty much just a dance floor ringed by some tables and wraparound screens on the wall. But it worked. And, man, is it intimate. I don't know what the official capacity is, but the place compared nicely with a converted Art Deco movie theater in terms of intimacy; that was huge, because once I realized I was seeing Prince in a place that was around the size of the Newport Music Hall I felt much better about paying $125 a ticket. Heck, he played the Staples Center for about that same price last time.

But enough about all that. Prince came on about twenty minutes past midnight on what had started out as a Friday night, and played for more than two hours. I had a lot of conflicting things about what kind of show he would be playing. There is one story, apparently true, that he no longer plays songs with 'dirty' words in them. I heard he was doing a lot of new material. In fact, when I was buying a round of drinks before the show, I heard one bartender say to a patron that he was only doing 'a few hits.'

Well, I don't know. I like Prince a lot, but I don't consider myself a die hard or anything; I'm certainly not familiar with all of his albums. So, that said, I'd have to say he played more than 'a few' of his hits. I didn't know everything he did, but it was the kind of night where if you didn't recognize one song, you could be pretty sure you would know the next, or at least the one after that. Definitely a good mix--enough new stuff to keep you on your toes (good, too), enough classics to keep you on your feet. He has a formidable enough catalog that you can't expect to hear everything, but I was happy to hear songs like "Kiss"--with the Dynasty reference updated to Desperate Housewives;"If I Was Your Girlfriend"--the line about making pancakes causing me to laugh when it brought to mind the sketch on the Dave Chappelle show; and "Cream"--evidently it's OK to sign double entendres, just not single ones. Perhaps the evening's most sublime moment was a slow and stirring version of "Purple Rain" with a beautiful guitar solo from Prince that was worthy of Carlos Santana. Prince is an incredible guitarist. Presumably you already know that, but seeing him in person you can't help but appreciate him on a deeper level.

As good as all that was, some of the music I enjoyed the most were the covers. He did a great version of "Johnny B. Goode" and a really nifty, Hendrix-inspired solo on "Over the Rainbow" that I really liked. And did I mention his band? Well, they were great, of course, the rhythm section and the twin dancing girls that accompanied him, too.
But things got really heavy during the portions of the show when the regular group was augmented by a horn section that included the legendary Maceo Parker on alto saxophone. They vamped on "Pass the Peas," which Parker recorded as a member of the JBs, and did another great jam on the Archie Bell and the Drells' hit "Tighten Up" as the evening drew to a close. Maceo sounded as good and fiery as ever, what an added treat.

In Las Vegas, despite the efforts of hotels like New York, New York, and Paris Las Vegas, you can't really go around the world in a day. But, at least for the next few months or so, you can hear Prince sing "Around The World In A Day" in an unusually intimate setting. Hey, that's good enough for me.