James Perovich
Last updated on July 29th, 2024 at 08:55 pm
In marking 40 years of the album Purple Rain and coinciding with Paisley Park’s Celebration 2024, The Revolution honored Prince in a practically flawless performance at First Avenue in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Fans lined up early, many with early-admission VIP tickets, and sold out the venue made famous by Prince and the movie Purple Rain. Most fans wore an array of Prince shirts spanning his career. Others dressed in his spirit, wearing any shade of purple in everyday clothing and flashy attire.
Guitarist Wendy Melvoin opened the evening by speaking Prince’s famous prologue to “Let’s Go Crazy”. It served as a fitting welcome to their first performance in over four years. And from the opening percussion, fans whipped into a purple singalong frenzy, most obvious during the verse closing chants of “oh no, let’s go!”
Melvion shared vocal duties with bassist BrownMark, who commented how he needed help since he lost his voice after the previous night’s show. But at no point did he or Melvoin seem strained or less energetic. And at times, the crowd filled in on lyrics like “take me with you”.
The combination worked tremendously, with the two sharing vocals and filling in Prince’s parts on songs like “1999” and “Erotic City”. They never missed a beat.
Judith Hill joined the band for songs involving Prince’s signature falsettos. Hill collaborated with Prince in the years just before his death. Her smooth, soulful entrance was felt at start of “The Beautiful Ones” before fervently escalating in the dramatic pleas at the song’s closing.
Hill’s range was especially impressive, if not needed, during “Kiss”. The band played songs from other albums besides Purple Rain while still handling every track on it except for “Darling Nikki”. With appearances from band members featured on other albums throughout Prince’s career, the setlist also included chart toppers like “Raspberry Beret” and “Mountains”.
And every song flawlessly displayed the iconic Prince sound that defined his style and cemented him as a pop superstar in the 80s. Along with Lisa Coleman and Doctor Fink’s keyboards and Bobby Z’s thumping drum beats, the music was every bit as nostalgic as it was celebratory.
Much like the movie Purple Rain, the crescendo for the evening was the seamless back-to-back performances of “I Would Die For U” and “Baby, I’m a Star”. With Hill joining for the latter, First Avenue went from concert venue to Danceteria. For a moment, it felt reminiscent of the dance scenes in finale of the movie.
“Purple Rain” of course closed the show as the encore. Melvoin explained how Prince brought the song to the band and wanted to close the movie with a song she described as “lullaby country”.
He had asked them what they could “bring to it”. Describing the final product as “mind melding” and something they were proud of, she hit the song’s opening guitar notes. Phone screens lit up, and the crowd sang along to the very end.
What The Revolution missed with Prince was made up by superbly carrying his legacy and the music they helped create.
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