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Prince Energizes Oakland

Prince
The Oracle Arena
Oakland, Calif.
February 21

Two nights just weren’t enough. After 30,000 tickets swiftly sold, Prince couldn’t disappoint his loyal fan base so a third show was added on the day of his first Oakland performance.

On Monday night, the Oracle Arena overflowed with both forty-somethings reliving their teenage years and youngsters eager to witness the showmanship of a lasting pop icon.

The evening kicked off with bassist Larry Graham—an original member of Sly and the Family Stone—laying down belly-rumbling funk in the form of “Family Affair,” “Everyday People” and “I Want to Take You Higher.”

At around 9:15pm, the man himself rose up from the middle of the symbol-shaped stage like some kind of a mythological demigod. For someone barely five feet tall, Prince stood as tall as a giant.

After tearing through “Uptown,” “Raspberry Beret” and “Cream,” the 52-year-old musician stopped to proclaim: “They said we couldn’t sell this place out.” The crowd roared even louder.

Prince’s nine-piece band featured one of his early collaborators, percussionist and daughter of Pete Escovedo, Sheila E. The Oakland native pounded the drums with James Brown moves and eventually set the perfect stage for an unexpected guest: Carlos Santana. The Latin guitar god appeared from thin air to jam with Prince on his Woodstock showstopper, “Soul Sacrifice.” The two traded off guitar solos before Prince did his thing on the piano. 15,000 people were entranced by the surprise spectacle.

The Santana appearance was followed by a cover of Rihanna’s “Rude Boy” and Sheila E.’s “A Love Bizarre.” Then came the highlight of the more than two-hour show: “Purple Rain.” Prince’s soulful croons intoxicated and his guitar shreds were masterful. It was hard to conceive that Prince was able to continue on after putting so much into the seven-minute opus. But he did, with favorites like “Kiss,” “Insatiable” and “If I Was Your Girlfriend.”

Some of the Prince purists in attendance seemed disappointed that they didn’t get to hear stuff like “1999” and “Little Red Corvette” but for a musician with so many hits in his repertoire, he couldn’t possibly play everyone’s favorite song.