The One
25th July 2009, 05:27 AM
Is Prince flip-flopping between here and L.A.?
By Ross Raihala
http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site569/2008/0530/20080530_092101_PRINCE_400.jpg (http://www.twincities.com/portlet/article/html/imageDisplay.jsp?contentItemRelationshipId=2546373 )
Prince performs during the second day of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on this photo of April 26, 2008. (Associated Press, file)
Prince has returned home.
At least, that's what numerous local fan and media reports suggest — that after spending several years based out of Los Angeles, the Purple One has packed his bags and moved back to the Twin Cities. And he has already made his renewed presence here well known.
He supposedly watched Esperanza Spalding's performance last month at the Twin Cities Jazz Festival from the safety of his limousine. He stopped by the Dakota to catch Roy Hargrove, and on the day of Michael Jackson's death, he apparently had plans to headline his own show at the club. It never happened, but Jakob Dylan (who was in town for a private show at the Fine Line) was among the folks waiting in the crowd. Other rumors say Prince has been discreetly visiting Minneapolis' Envy nightclub.
It makes perfect sense that Prince was itching to play the Dakota. Last weekend, he returned to the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland for a pair of performances that saw him jamming with a stripped-down band. (A New York Post gossip column reported a Prince sighting on an airplane, presumably en route to Switzerland. He was "reading Elle magazine, carrying a gold-and-diamond-encrusted walking stick and wearing flip-flops with sparkly silver socks.")
Flip-flops? Come on, Prince.
Anyway, as always, the big question is what happens next? Could this be the year Prince launches another full tour, his first since 2004? In March, he issued a new three-CD set exclusively through Target stores, and he launched his subscription-only Web site, LotusFlow3r.com (http://lotusflow3r.com/). Those are the types of moves musicians make when they're planning to hit the road.
That said, fans who paid the princely $77 fee have complained about the convoluted, difficult-to-navigate site. In addition to downloads of that three-CD collection, the site's other offerings have been pretty slim. So far, it includes some, but not all, of his music videos; previously released concert footage; and a handful of live television performances, like his 2006 appearance on "American Idol." Nearly all of the video was previously available, free of charge, on YouTube. Before, of course, Prince's lawyers had it yanked.
Updates to LotusFlow3r.com (http://lotusflow3r.com/). have been few, but Prince's most recent publicist said new content was added this week. In a typical Prince move, though, he gave a new recording of an unreleased Revolution-era track, "In a Large Room With No Light," exclusively to the Montreux Jazz Festival Web site, not LotusFlow3r.com (http://lotusflow3r.com/). Outraged fans have taken to the forums on fan site Prince.org (http://prince.org/). to complain, although history suggests that if Prince does, indeed, launch a tour, he will use his online presence to offer the best seats in the house to paying members.
Maybe Prince will choose to just chill out in his hometown for a while. Maybe grab a corndog or two at the State Fair. Whatever the case, it's a pleasure to have him back.
http://www.twincities.com/entertainment/ci_12898619?nclick_check=1
By Ross Raihala
http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site569/2008/0530/20080530_092101_PRINCE_400.jpg (http://www.twincities.com/portlet/article/html/imageDisplay.jsp?contentItemRelationshipId=2546373 )
Prince performs during the second day of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on this photo of April 26, 2008. (Associated Press, file)
Prince has returned home.
At least, that's what numerous local fan and media reports suggest — that after spending several years based out of Los Angeles, the Purple One has packed his bags and moved back to the Twin Cities. And he has already made his renewed presence here well known.
He supposedly watched Esperanza Spalding's performance last month at the Twin Cities Jazz Festival from the safety of his limousine. He stopped by the Dakota to catch Roy Hargrove, and on the day of Michael Jackson's death, he apparently had plans to headline his own show at the club. It never happened, but Jakob Dylan (who was in town for a private show at the Fine Line) was among the folks waiting in the crowd. Other rumors say Prince has been discreetly visiting Minneapolis' Envy nightclub.
It makes perfect sense that Prince was itching to play the Dakota. Last weekend, he returned to the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland for a pair of performances that saw him jamming with a stripped-down band. (A New York Post gossip column reported a Prince sighting on an airplane, presumably en route to Switzerland. He was "reading Elle magazine, carrying a gold-and-diamond-encrusted walking stick and wearing flip-flops with sparkly silver socks.")
Flip-flops? Come on, Prince.
Anyway, as always, the big question is what happens next? Could this be the year Prince launches another full tour, his first since 2004? In March, he issued a new three-CD set exclusively through Target stores, and he launched his subscription-only Web site, LotusFlow3r.com (http://lotusflow3r.com/). Those are the types of moves musicians make when they're planning to hit the road.
That said, fans who paid the princely $77 fee have complained about the convoluted, difficult-to-navigate site. In addition to downloads of that three-CD collection, the site's other offerings have been pretty slim. So far, it includes some, but not all, of his music videos; previously released concert footage; and a handful of live television performances, like his 2006 appearance on "American Idol." Nearly all of the video was previously available, free of charge, on YouTube. Before, of course, Prince's lawyers had it yanked.
Updates to LotusFlow3r.com (http://lotusflow3r.com/). have been few, but Prince's most recent publicist said new content was added this week. In a typical Prince move, though, he gave a new recording of an unreleased Revolution-era track, "In a Large Room With No Light," exclusively to the Montreux Jazz Festival Web site, not LotusFlow3r.com (http://lotusflow3r.com/). Outraged fans have taken to the forums on fan site Prince.org (http://prince.org/). to complain, although history suggests that if Prince does, indeed, launch a tour, he will use his online presence to offer the best seats in the house to paying members.
Maybe Prince will choose to just chill out in his hometown for a while. Maybe grab a corndog or two at the State Fair. Whatever the case, it's a pleasure to have him back.
http://www.twincities.com/entertainment/ci_12898619?nclick_check=1