Prince closes tour with all-nighter

Spencer Patterson

Monday, Dec. 16, 2002 | 8:20 a.m.

For those who lost track of Prince during his "Artist Formerly Known As" days in the mid-1990s, let's start with a quick refresher:

After using an unpronounceable symbol in place of a name for seven years, he officially reclaimed 'Prince" as his moniker in 2000 and has used it ever since.

Prince still releases albums, although these days he does so on his own label, making them available first online to members of his official "NPG Music Club," annual membership to which costs $100.

Recently, Prince became a Jehovah's Witness, quite a change for a musician famous for writing songs about such taboo topics as masturbation and incest during the 1980s.

And oh yeah, the man can still throw one hell of a party.

Sunday night the 44-year-old showman captivated a near-capacity crowd at the Aladdin Theatre for the Performing Arts for more than three hours.

The concert marked the completion of Prince's 2002 "One Nite Alone" world tour -- a journey that took him throughout North America, Europe and Japan -- and clearly he didn't want it to end.

After a feverish main set that lasted more than two hours, Prince returned to the stage for a series of encores that stretched for an additional 60 minutes, though many in the audience had long since abandoned their seats as the clock approached midnight.

Diehards who didn't get enough of their hero later headed over to Studio 54 at MGM Grand, where Prince continued the festivities with one of his famous aftershows. He came onstage at 1:45 this morning, and his departure time was said to be around 4:30.

For the almost 7,000 in attendance at the Aladdin, the succss of the show -- Prince's first in Las Vegas since December 2000 -- depended on expectations coming in.

Those who have kept tabs on the entertainer's recent activities knew what was in store: Prince, backed by a band of talented musicians, grooving through a material heavy on instrumentation, much of it built in with long periods of improvisation.

Fans of such music were not disappointed. The eight-piece combo -- supplemented by surprise guest percussionist Sheila E., a one-time Prince disciple, and R&B vocalist Nikki Costa -- tore up everything its leader tossed its way.

But those hoping to hear Prince's more familiar work, who repeatedly shouted for their favorite hits, likely left disgruntled, despite Prince's early warning that "One Nite Alone" would not feature a succession of Top-40 singles.

"I've not come to reminisce about the past. I've come to contemplate the future," he announced soon after arriving onstage in a double-breasted black pinstriped suit.

In other words, "1999," "Little Red Corvette," "Let's Go Crazy" and "Raspberry Beret" were not on the agenda. The closest thing we got to out-and-out hits were "Pop Life," "Diamonds and Pearls" and "Nothing Compares 2 U," the latter made famous by Sinead O'Connor.

"We're not interested in what you know, but what you're willing to learn," Prince explained.

Most of the crowd seemed quite eager for that education, coming as it did from a tight band with tremendous range. One minute, the group would lock into a funky groove, sounding like a cross between Parliament-Funkadelic and mid-1970s James Brown. The next, it would veer off into spacey territory, channeling the likes of such electric jazz-fusion outfits as Weather Report or Return to Forever.

Through all of it, Prince maintained an incredible level of intensity, dancing, singing and urging the crowd to get involved even as he rotated between guitar, keyboard and bass.

And every few songs, he'd drop a memorable line onto his adoring public.

"I'm so funky, I can't even sleep with myself," the diminutive maestro declared at one point.

Then, later on: "Pull your cell phones out and call your next of kin. We're about to get funky."

Prince even took a shot at reality TV's top draw, performing a new dance -- the "Nevada Shake" -- for Ozzy Osbourne, mimicking the Prince of Darkness slowly walking across the stage with arms shaking.

Though his charisma, vocal range and instrumental skills are vast, Prince's greatest attribute may be his ability to piece together a first-rate band. Former James Brown sidekick Maceo Parker sizzled on saxophone, spearheading a three-piece horn section, while drummer John Blackwell, bassist Rhonda Smith and keyboardist Renato Neto routinely turned tough corners with apparent ease.

Not everything Prince tried worked, however. Momentum sagged toward the end of the main set, and a surprise cover of Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love" went nowhere.

But there were plenty of standout stretches to make up for those shortcomings, most notably Prince's heartfelt rendition of "Purple Rain," during which he played a purple guitar -- one appropriately shaped like the symbol that was once his name.

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