Prince Concert

A picture from my seats last night!

Length of Shower:  When you've got the talent to shower like this, it's amazing to watch --I have not been much of a concert goer in my time.  That's not to say I haven't been to a number of concerts, but it's not a passion of mine.  I've seen U2 in concert, and Garth Brooks, and several smaller performers but last night took the cake.  Last night I attended the Prince Welcome 2 America concert at the Forum in Los Angeles.  It was amazing!

Prince, who has been performing for well over 25 years, simply knows what he is doing and he is a master at doing it.  It is so amazing to watch a performer like that.  It was clear he knew exactly what to do and when to do it, from the smallest of hand gestures to the largest of dance moves and jumps, he was spot on with every move!  And the crowd fed off of it and he fed off of us.  He also had the freedom to do what he wanted when he wanted to do it.  At moments he would throw his arms up in the air and hold the pose or he would play with the microphone and it's stand like it was an intimate dance partner.  He would jump and then fall to the floor and lay there for a while in a spread eagle pose in the middle of the stage while the crowd would go wild...they went wild for a man just laying on the stage!  Not anyone can pull that off.  That is an experienced performer who knows just what to do and how long to do it for.  He would then prop himself up on just his forearms before suddenly pulling himself across the stage with his arms and letting his legs drag splayed open behind him.  And the man is almost 53!!  Amazing!  The show was not a huge spectacle of special effects, but it didn't need it, because Prince himself combined with the great music was enough.  This is what a rock concert used to be and should be, but isn't anymore.

I found myself thinking of current performers and how they lack this kind of musicality and showmanship. You would never find Carrie Underwood or Justin Bieber do anything like this.  It's way too much work for the modern performer to do.  It's easier to cover it all up with a stage full of dancers or a ton of special effects like Britney Spears does, but not in the hay-day of rock!  Now some of the old rock-n-roll performers did use theatrics, but it was by choice and not to cover up for a lack of performance.  Performers like Madonna and Aerosmith and Def Leppard, and the Rolling Stones knew, and still know, how to get more from a crowd with one move of their arm or shift of their eyes than the modern "star" can get with all the fireworks and confetti a producer can buy.  But these performers are few and far between at this point and are a dying breed.

I encourage you to get out there and see a concert by one of these amazing performers that we will soon only be talking about.  Go to a Stones concert or Prince or Madonna if she is still performing.  See and experience them while you can, because in the age of technology that we live in this type of performer is a dying breed and when they are gone, we will miss them forever.

Thank you Prince for the greatest concert I've ever, and may ever in my life, attended!