Prince Headlines Coachella, Covers Radiohead

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INDIO, Calif. (AP) _ "Coachella, I am here." Prince hit the stage at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival with that announcement, heralding his arrival as the much-anticipated headliner of the summer festival.

Shortly after 11 p.m. Saturday, Prince strutted onto the stage wearing white pants and a white shirt with glittery fringe. His performance, the centerpiece of the three-day festival, was announced only two weeks ago, immediately making an already very hip festival of 125-plus bands significantly more in-demand.

And Prince knew it.

"You are the coolest place on earth right now!" Prince declared to a sea of tens of thousands.

Prince, who had been sought out to perform at Coachella since the festival was founded nine years ago, told the crowd that when he agreed to perform, he informed the organizers that he would not only play, but party too.

True to his word, Prince then launched his band _ complete with a horn section and background singers _ into "Jungle Love." Morris Day came out to sing his song, while Prince strolled around the stage with his guitar.

For the beginning of the show, Prince preferred to let his guitar do the talking. He also welcomed the singer and drummer Sheila E, who took the lead for a song and then joined Prince in an extended jam.

Finally, Prince satisfied the crowd with a celebratory performance of "1999." His classic "Little Red Corvette" soon followed.

One of the big surprises of Prince's concert was his cover of Radiohead's "Creep," which was sure to be one of Coachella's most talked-about performances. With some lyrics adjusted, a ripping guitar solo and extended falsetto crooning for a finale, Prince's "Creep" had the crowd slack-jawed.

To close the set, he gave another unique take on a song not his own: the Beatles' "Come Together." He urged the audience _ whom he called his "choir" _ to sing "Come together, yeah" over and over.

And just as trepidation was beginning to take hold in the crowd that Prince might actually leave without playing "Purple Rain," he returned to confirm that even in the desert, it could rain purple.

Even after the encore, though, he came back for more.

"They're telling me that we got to go, but I can't leave!" Prince shouted. He then flew through a torrid version of "Let's Go Crazy."

Prince had widely been considered the one act most all concertgoers _ a diverse 60,000 of indie rockers, electronica dancers and pop fans _ were certain to see. And by the end of "Let's Go Crazy," Prince had seemed to put his stamp on Coachella lore.

"From now on, this is Prince's house," he shouted before triumphantly strutting off stage and tossing his guitar 30 feet behind him.

___

On the Net:

Coachella music festival: http://www.coachella.com

Comments

[citizenofmars]

Coachella- How alternative! PRINCE???? WATERS???? hahahahahahaha How mainstream can u get??? Johnny Rotten first acheived notoriety by bopping about King's Road in London wearing a homemade "F*CK PINK FLOYD" T-shirt. hahahahaha! How quickly we forget. I dig Floyd, but they don't qualify as alternative any more than Sammy Hagar.

[Blueneck]

I am a professional musician and a recorded artist. In the words of Wayne and Garth, "We're not worthy! We're not worthy!". I am in awe of the man's writing and playing skill. He is genius -- no question about it. His eccentricity simply makes him a more interesting artist.

[DebofMD]

I have loved Prince since I981. He is beyond talented. And still hot.

[VivaZapata]

to all those critical of prince due to his seemingly egomaniacal persona, who would be left if you were to disqualify a commercial artist on that basis? would his art be better off without it? probably, but then how would he deal with the "star making machine" as joni mitchell called it? the whole celebrity industry is vulgar and stupid. the "stars" have little control over that.

[robbor]

here's radiohead's creep sung by prince http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6u1ekw3LB0I

[kardwell]

wow. thanks!!!!

[Owlygirl]

Hey thanks! :D

[puffhost]

Viva His Purple Badness

[rini]

Is it me or is there a little bit of Marcel Marceau in Prince??????

[negogato]

Its you

[rini]

Come on. He is a ham.... but then again, maybe I deserved it. I think it was the picture.

[ktano0]

I think that the more types of music you enjoy, the more you like Prince. Because, he plays everything....funk,rock,soul, jazz, and psychedelia....and plays the heck out of it. When he played the Super Bowl, it was amazing. It was nice to see someone just play guitar like that...most of it was just a amazing guitar work-out. Not a whiff of selling out.

[ShawnMichel]

Amen to that. I hated him in the 80s--now I have a much better understanding of the man.

And yeah, his Super Bowl appearance was great. When it riles the nipplephobes and the homophobes and the other slime of the Right, you know it was great.

[NoSillyName]

I burned out on large concert scenes decades ago, but I would love to see Prince.( And a few others....) Prince the multi-talented and can do whatever the hell he wants.

[folksonomy]

Dang, I wish he would've headlined when I was at Coachella in 2006. 'Tis okay: Daft Punk and Madonna performed that year and both sets were amazing. Sounds like Prince put on a fantastic set.

[situationcritical]

I missed Daft Punk? Sniff sniff...Cos' I was working in Texass for that entire year?

I didn't even hear about it (Texass is just not conducive to good communication)! I am sooooo bummed.

I am a total Daft Punk fan (I mean, I cry when I play "Something About Us"). I got upset when Kanye lifted "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" from them.

Madonna? Eh, worked with her a lot. She's no Daft Punk.

[Benthead]

Give him his props, people. Remember, he's not just a performer, he's also a terrifically talented writer--funk, R&B, rock. How many newer artists actually write their own songs? There are creative rap artists and rock groups out there, but they don't have his musical chops. You have to go back to people like Stevie Wonder.

[SmootyBooty]

Threw his guitar 30 feet? Must be nice to be rich and an ass...

[uheardme]

How old are you, 70?

[rudeboycyle]

To a stagehand that caught it. Ever hear of The Who or Hendrix?

[RedDogBear]

Prince sucks! He is the ultimate self absorbed rock star and a mediocre guitar player. He can play fast but when you listen to what he's playing its pretty much just scales, nothing remotely interesting. Go by a Zappa CD if you want to hear some interesting music and talented musicians.

[JamieStarr]

You're right.

What do musicians like Eric Clapton and Miles Davis know anyway? Sure they've publicly spoken about how brilliant Prince is, but they've never created anything "remotely interesting" either. Just run-of-the-mill musicians.

[boyblu95843]

Aren't all solo's scale variations. You don't know Jack.

[boyblu95843]

Aren't all solo's made up of scale variations. You don't know Jack.

[rektruax]

Funny you mention Zappa. While I consider him and his legacy god (esque) Prince in his own right holds a similar lofty level in my mind. Comparing the two is right up there with doorknobs and catfood. I know most people are put-off by his showman choices but he's Prince.

As Cuccurullo said in Baby Snakes in response to Zappa's antics... "there's notes involved". Hey, maybe they ain't so different after all.

[heretical_eggs]

Doorknobs and catfood. That is one helluva phrase. I am entertained by Prince. The cover of Creep which I just watched in bad video is great in that Prince makes a song which I would have never heard in my head outside the Radiohead version his own. I think the next time I am able to go to one of his concerts, I will.

[mojopo]

What you're forgetting is that Prince is one of the ultimate showmen. Say whatever you want, but he has a gift with crowds. It's magical, and I'm sorry you can't open your mind to it. I loved Frank Zappa, but the two are nothing alike and so your analogy is reduced to crap.

[caferide]

I agree. I've seen Prince -- twice in the '80's and once in the late-'90's -- and he puts on a show second to none. I really think that he's much like a modern-day Amadeus. He's very eccentric but brilliant. Rumor's say that he's such a prolific songwriter, that he could release an album every year for ten years and never have to write new material because of all the songs in his "vault". The real shows though are his "after-hours" sets. My sister saw him play a surprise after-hours show at 2 am with Macy Gray and Maceo Parker. Wow! That must have been fun!!

[rudeboycyle]

Prince is devoutly religious and extremely charitable, he's also considered very eccentric thanks to the press and people like Kevin Smith. If you think that's the behavior of "the ultimate self absorbed rock star " , so be it. But to say he is a mediocre guitar player just proves your ignorance on the subject. Perhaps you should listen to some Prince CDs and not rely on just the songs you know from the radio. By the way, I'm a Zappa fan also. Dweezil is currently touring with a band of talented musicians playing his fathers music, called Zappa Plays Zappa.

[SmootyBooty]

And is as dull as his dad was live...

[situationcritical]

If Zappa played a live show in his present state - it would equal the excitement of his previous live show.

[situationcritical]

Prince is brilliant in concert - no holes barred. There's pretty much nothing he won't do, and the best part is how spontaneous he can be. I remember being at an afterparty for the movie premiere of Purple Rain. I was with Whoopi Goldberg, who was not yet famous beyond her Broadway show. I was hoping that Prince would play a little known b-side called "Irresistible Bitch". He opened with it. We were floored. I have never seen him perform in a big venue - ever. I have been very lucky to have caught him live and impromptu in small venues like The Palace in Hollywood, the old Flippers roller disco (which is now a CVS Pharmacy in West Hollywood). I would have LOVED to hear him perform "Creep" - it's one of the most powerful, emotionally-charged songs to come out of the 90s. I love that song. I bet Coachella didn't boo him off the stage like the fans of the Rolling Stones did at Dodger Stadium back in the day.

[CammyV]

For future reference, it's 'no holds barred'.
I help where I can :P
BTW, even the crap quality of the YouTube vids can't dull the brilliance of the tiny purple one, but I sure wish I'd seen it live.

[situationcritical]

Thank you. No holds barred, indeed.

[SmootyBooty]

No "holes" barred? Yeah, that's the purple one...

[rudeboycyle]

Should someone called SmootyBooty really be making comments like this?

[WilliePilgrim]

Bravo! Encore!!!

[hardrain77]

What can you say? the man's a legend. He had me after he knocked it out during the Super Bowl halftime show last year.

[rektruax]

I can imagine his guitar tech about to shit his pants when Prince tossed his vintage Telecaster 30 feet.

Prince is brilliant and skilled. Two traits rarely seen from popular artists. One generally has to go outside the mainstream. His cross-genre musicality speaks volumes in a world of cookie-cutter-pigeon-holed posers.