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NEWS : STORIES
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. -- Just when you thought he had pulled every stop, the Artist proves he's never out of creative ammunition. For the Artist Formerly Known As Prince, it had been another successful night of his patented stage
Dressed in a sweater and a scarf to protect himself from the chilly night air, the Artist opened up the closing portion of his show Friday at the Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, Calif. with this: "Y'all knew I wasn't gonna let Carlos leave without jammin' with me, right?" With that, pioneering psychedelic-rock guitarist Carlos Santana, a childhood hero of the Artist who had jammed earlier in the evening with openers Graham Central Station, entered stage right and joined the band in a stirring rendition of "Soul Sacrifice." While Santana's multi-colored sweater/sweatpants combo clashed with the Artist's designer duds, the music they made together mixed perfectly; the Artist inspiring Santana to play more rough-and-ready than usual and Santana inspiring the Artist to make the soul sing from his guitar. While the two have played together previously, their interchange pushed an already great show to another level. The Artist's "Jam Of The Year " tour has received much critical acclaim wherever it has traveled this year and this one exceeded the hype -- with the Santana appearance acting as the cherry on the sonic sundae. A near capacity crowd, most of whom paid $75 for entrance, danced for two hours in chilly weather and cheered wildly as the Artist rampaged through many of his greatest hits, a collection of obscurities and a few cover songs. The concert kicked off with a scorching set by funk band Graham Central Station, fronted by former Sly & The Family Stone bassist Larry Graham. The band, dressed all in white, moved around the stage freely, obviously energized by playing in front of such a large, appreciative crowd. Larry beat the bass like it was a lazy mule, covering most of Sly & The Family Stone's greatest hits. Playing in his own back yard couldn't have hurt either for the Oakland-based band, who received a hometown-style welcome. Carlos Santana made his first appearance of the evening at the end of the GCS set, joining the band for a guitar-heavy version of "I Want To Take You Higher." The Artist appeared on stage mid-song with guitar in hand, causing the crowd to loose control. In a move that would set the Artist's playful tone for the rest of the evening, he played the role of the world's best-dressed roadie and handed the new guitar to Santana before walking off stage. Between sets, the crowd speculated about what songs they would hear next while advertisements for The Artist's forthcoming Crystal Ball, which is pre-orderable through 1-800-NEW-FUNK or his web site, played on the sound system. "That's pretty cheesy," said David Page, 28, "but I suppose I gotta respect him for advertising it to this captive audience. I'll probably order it, but we'll see how the show goes." Judging by the crowd's reaction, it went quite well. The lights went out and the crowd screamed on cue, teased to further heights by samples of "Kiss," "Alphabet St.," "When Doves Cry," "7" and "Let's Go Crazy." The band finally kicked in with "Jam Of The Year" and the Artist descended the staircase center stage, arms spread as if feeling all the love the audience was sending his way. After warming the crowd up with a few tunes to get their booties movin', he knocked the ball out of the park with "Purple Rain" and "Little Red Corvette," doing more to entertain a crowd in a half hour than most performers manage over an entire tour. The Artist seemed free and loose with his songs, playing with arrangements as if to give them new meaning. Emancipation's "Get Yo Groove On" earned an extended synth-funk work out; "Diamonds And Pearls" was shortened to a minute of musical bliss. Instead of fading out on "Let's Work," the Artist built the song to a powerful crescendo, while a cover of Joni Mitchell's "A Case Of You" offered a characteristic jazzy arrangement to take the place of the folksy original sound. In a manner only a seasoned performer can, the Artist teased the crowd by playing a snippet of "Darling Nikki" on the piano, and then walking away from the instrument four times before running through the music for the opening verse and allowing the crowd to take over the vocals. While his piano solo, which also included versions of "The Beautiful Ones," "Condition Of The Heart" and "Girls And Boys," was a definite highlight, the show drew its primary energy from the Artist's characteristic spiritual/ erotic tension translated in songs such as "The Cross" and Joan Osborne's "One Of Us," followed by a medley of his bump-and-grind classics "Do Me Baby," "Adore," "Insatiable," "Scandalous" and "How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore." All this built to a satisfying ending jam between the Artist and his childhood guitar hero. And the Artist didn't end it there. After instructing the men in the audience to cherish their women, the Artist got the crowd moving once again with a version of Emancipation's "Sleep Around" which included a snippet of Duke Ellington's "Take The A Train" and segued into over the top versions of "Baby I'm A Star" and "1999." When the lights came up, people enthusiastically traded observations of the show as they shuffled into the parking lot. "I thought it was a good show, but a bit formulaic," Daisy Hannigan, 36, said. "I've seen him six times and this one seemed so much more planned out." "Well," interrupted Matt Freedman, "this was my first show and I am just... just... wow! Stunned, I suppose." "I wasn't saying it wasn't good," Hannigan continued. "It hit all the marks just like he wanted it to. The man is a great performer!" That's putting it lightly. [Wed., Oct. 15, 1997, 9 a.m. PDT]
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