EVENT RECAP: Prince “21 Nights” at The LA Forum
I pulled into the Forum lot and paid $25 to park.
The ticket to the actual Prince show? $25.
You know you’re a legend when the parking to your show costs as much as the actual ticket to your show.
And with that in mind, I entered the historic Forum and into a purple wonderland.
That probably sounds cheesy to someone who wasn’t there to see Prince‘s huge, infamous purple symbol as the stage.
Or the purple piano he sat on as much as he played.
Or the free purple drank that everyone in the audience received.
Just playin’, that last part wasn’t true.
The first thing that I discovered upon arrival was that Prince is a funny dude.
After performing classics such as “Delirious,” “1999,” “Break It Down” and “Mountains” he proclaimed, “Do you know how many hits I have?”
He played the bass while performing “Don’t Stop ‘Till You Get Enough” with Sheila E, who held her own with “A Love Bizzare” and “The Glamorous Life.”
They played the congas together.
“So many hits, so little time,” continued Prince.
Most of the music consisted of high-energy, fast-paced classics, he even covered Teena Marie and Rick James, P-Funk, and did a rendition of “Play That Funky Music White Boy” which was confusing to me because he had so many of his own “hits” to get to.
Then suddenly, the band disappeared, the lights got low, his outfit changed and he went into a beautiful rendition of “The One.”
It was a slow, lonely version, sexy and smooth, transforming the huge amphitheater into a small blues lounge. Or purple lounge, to be more accurate.
And as he’s singing these profound lyrics, he starts to improv, “I’m looking for Ginger, tired, tired of Mary Ann…got a cock-eyed woman…cock-eyed!”
You want to laugh because the things he is saying are hilarious but they sound so good to the music.
There are a few performers on earth like Prince-we all know that-who can sing about cock-eyed women in a joking manner yet sound so sexy and serious.
In other words, we don’t care what he’s singing about, as long as he’s singing.
“If you’re standing over a puddle, you can jump on my hips…”
At one point, as he was waking across stage, he suddenly dropped to the floor and started slithering, his shiny pants sparkling all over the floor.
It’s that Prince shit, son!
“You don’t understand, I will tear this place down. Shut it down.”
He did three encores, the first of which was “Purple Rain” which came with purple confetti.
Watching Prince perform “Purple Rain” live is a great moment in life. It really is.
After the last encore, as he stood being lowered under the stage, he said “We love music and we love you.”
Then Prince did a diva twirl and disappeared underneath the stage.
words/photos: Ani Yapundzhyan
