Prince Hits Minneapolis To Plan For 2013 Tour

Prince is leaving the confines of Paisley Park to perform in Minneapolis at some shows at the Dakota Jazz Club.  We were informed by Dr. Funkenberry, that the pop band Fun. took over Paisley Park studios, so Prince is moving their tour rehearsals to the downtown Minneapolis jazz club to keep the ball rolling.

Prince will manhandle the club for 3 nights starting tonight (Wednesday 1/16) where they’ll audition a new drummer (por qua?), do some improvisational music (aka jam session) as well as have DJ Rashida spinning some “new and unreleased music” (by whom?). There were two shows scheduled tonight at 8pm and 11pm CST and both were $70 a piece. Sold out.

The jam continues on Thursday with 2 shows at 8pm and 11pm with tickets going for $100-$150 in what’s being referred to as an afterparty vibe. And then closing out the three day stint with 2 “surprise” shows on Friday at 8pm and 11pm with tickets ranging from $200-$250. You’re best bet to see Prince would probably be on this night, but we’re told he’ll be making appearances on all 3 nights but just with varying levels of involvement. And again, all shows are sold out anyway, so the best anyone can do is hope for bootleg leaks on these shows.

Dr. Funkenberry announced that they will do a “spreecast” on Wednesday night that people can take advantage of here where he’ll discuss some of the happenings along with a special guest called 3rdEyeGirl who is Prince’s new girl band. This isn’t a live feed, but Funkenberry notoriously has a lot of Prince info.

This also brings up two very important questions. The first is where will this next tour be performing at? Could it be Atlanta or disappointingly somewhere very far away? It’s hit or miss, but we’ll make sure that you know either way.

And the next question that may be even more interesting is whether or not Prince has any involvement in the next Fun. album? Are they simply using the studio or will Prince have his hands in the production or even better, a guest spot or two?

Well, you know where to tune in for the answers, right? Of course you do. Right here, baby.

 

Review: Andy Allo – Superconductor

Andy Allo is an amazing musician with a very distinct sounding voice who had already gained some traction with her album Unfresh released in 2009 which was slowly putting her in the same class as Jill Jones and the neo-soul community relatively quickly considering how long it normally takes to break through to that crowd. She had created a unique sound that she called “Alter.Hip.Soul“. She had also gained some notoriety as a face on G4’s Attack of the Show along with campaigns for Kohl’s and others. Then along came Prince.

Prince and Andy Allo connected almost immediately and thus began a relationship that put her onboard as singer and guitarist for NPG and shortly afterwards released the newest album Superconductor just launched late 2012. The album was executive produced by Prince and he co-wrote 3 songs on the album including the title track Superconductor, The Calm and Long Gone. All 3 of which have his very distinctive fingerprints with the poppy chord jumps ala Diamonds and Pearls. Essentially, they sound just like a Prince song would.  Even though he’s only noted on those three songs, there are many touches and chord progressions throughout the entire album that are very distinctively Prince sounding such as the album’s first single People Pleaser.

People Pleaser is an incredibly funky track that should have no problem finding some filler time on the dance floors complete with touches from masterful musicians. The album is loaded with amazing talent including saxophonist Maceo Parker, New Orleans superstar Trombone Shorty, drummer John Blackwell, Morris Hayes on keys, Hornheadz, Ida Neilsen on bass guitar and even background vocals by Shelby J, Elisa Fiorillo, and Liv Warfield.

Of the most shockingly beautiful tracks on the album would include the tracks Long Gone, Nothing More, and Story of You & I. All of them hearken to a Sheryl Crow level of songwriting prowess with seductive melodies and tasty grooves. While slower songs normally take the longest time to grow after a first listen, these immediately attach themselves to your psyche with sweet flows and subtle changes.

Andy Allo noted that “the compositions for Superconductor incorporates a variety of layers and a whole lot of Funk.”, but with exception to a few songs (People Pleaser, Yellow Gold and When Stars Collide), the funk is very subtle, but there nonetheless. All being said, we’ll grace this album with a 4 out 5 afros because this time Prince has produced another nice groovy flowing piece of artistry and at the helm is a beautiful and very talented young lady which I’m sure we won’t see the last of any time soon.

 

Audio: Prince Chicago Afterparty Captured

Prince‘s Welcome 2 Chicago appearances have been a bit messy due to sound glitches and what appears to be some disorganization. But that didn’t stop Prince from throwing down in his normal funky style all 3 nights. But things came to a head when they hit the House of Blues at what was dubbed the Official Purple After Jam.

The afterparty on Wednesday night at the Chicago House of Blues on 9/26/2012 that featured Prince and NPG (of course), Janelle Monae and Andy Allo in support of her new Superconductor album was definitely a highlight.  And if you weren’t there, fret not, because our good friends at FunkIt managed to capture the entire evening and have posted it for you to enjoy.

However, if history has ever proven anything, we’d be surprised if this stayed up for too long. So you better move. Here’s what you can expect to hear (along with some photos) and a big shout out to my good friend there who will remain nameless to protect his (or her) identity, because this was a great accomplishment. Enjoy and go there now.

Prince & The NPG:
01. Intro
02. [first minute missing] When Stars Collide (ft. Andy Allo) >
03. We’re A Winner [Curtis Mayfield cover] (ft. Shelby J) >
04. I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Love You) [Aretha Franklin cover] (ft. Shelby J) >
05. Satisfied >
06. I Don’t Want Nobody To Give Me Nothing (Open Up The Door, I’ll Get It Myself)
[James Brown cover] (ft. Maceo Parker) >
07. Housequake >
08. The Jam (ft. Maceo Parker)
09. People Pleaser intro
10. People Pleaser (ft. Andy Allo & Maceo Parker) (sans Prince)
11. Brown Skin [India Arie cover] (ft. Shelby J)
12. ?No Excuse? (instrumental) (ft. Maceo Parker)

Janelle Monae’s Arch Orchestra:
01. Intro
02. The Electric Lady (ft. Maceo Parker)
03. “Giving You What You Love” (?new song?)
04. Chameleon [Herbie Hancock & The Headhunters cover]
05. Tightrope
06. Outro

Prince & The NPG:
Prince (vox, guitar)
John Blackwell (drums)
Andrew Gouche (bass)
Morris Hayes (keyboards)
???Cassandra O’Neal (keyboards)
Mike Scott (guitar)
Shelby J. (vox)
Liv Warfield (vox)
???Elisa Dease (vox)
Damaris Lewis (dance)

Guests:
Andy Allo (guitar, vox)
Maceo Parker (saxophone)

Sylvester Onyejiaka (saxophone)
BK Jackson (saxophone)
Marcus Anderson (saxophone)
Adrian Crutchfield (saxophone)
Keith Anderson (saxophone)
Lynn Grissett (trumpet)
Steve Reid (trumpet)
Phil Lassiter (trumpet)
Nick Marchione (trumpet)
Roy Agee (trombone)
Joey Rayfield (trombone)

Janelle Monae’s Arch Orchestra:
Janelle Monáe (vox)
Kellindo Parker (guitar)
Calvin Parmer (bass)
Terrence Brown (keyboards)
Mike P. Phillips (drums)

Get the full download links at http://funkit.virose.net/?p=3022

 

Prince Expands Chicago Shows & Support

When Prince announced his Welcome 2 Chicago tour, everyone knew that it would only be a matter of time before they expanded into multiple events and it has. Prince increased the count from 1 to 3 shows that will take place at United Center in Chicago, IL from September 24th through September 26, 2012 with ticket prices ranging from $50 to $150 on Ticketmaster.

His promotional support has also increased starting with an appearance on The View along with the Build a Dream founder Van Jones and actress Rosario Dawson on September 17th to discuss the concerts and his charitable involvement with the Build A Dream Foundation which the 3 concerts are set to benefit. Local Chicago radio listeners may also be treated with appearances on some of the stations while he’s in town although nothing has been concretely nailed down yet. Set your DVR’s.

Also during his Chicago concerts, people will be able to enjoy his various afterparties that he has scheduled. One of which will be a jam session with up and coming act Andy Allo on September 24 at the Chicago House of Blues as she releases her new album SuperConductor set to drop strategically on September 20th and that was recorded on the NPG Records label and features performances by the man himself.

Prince served as executive producer and also penned three of the songs on the new Andy Allo album (the title track Superconductor, The Calm, and Gone) and additionally was busy performing on Larry Graham‘s new CD Raise Up which we reviewed here. According to various sources, Andy Allo will be Prince‘s opening act on the tour and will also serve as the guitarist for Prince‘s performance. A slot that she has enjoyed as a member of NPG since 2011. Funkatopia has reached out to Andy Allo‘s team to see if we can get a review for you folks to get excited about. Stay tuned on this as well.

So apparently, Prince has tons of new work for people to hear although most of it appears on other people’s albums. So while many would love to have a new Prince album, they’ll just have to settle for live shows, afterparties, and guest spots until he can find the time to churn one out for you. We’re sure there’s on in the hopper and we’ll be ready to review it when it lands.

 

Prince Finally Releases Extra Loveable

For years, Prince fans have gone nuts that the song Extra Loveable has never seen the light of day. Well, apparently that has changed as Prince has re-recorded the classic song and pushed it out on iTunes Canada which is the only pace people can purchase the new cleaner version.  The new version features Andy Allo.

For Prince purists, here is the classic original song from way back when followed by the new version clip. You can purchase the new version on iTunes Canada.

https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F3050760

And here’s the new version;

https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F28780226%3Fsecret_token%3Ds-91Ql2&secret_url=true

Prince purists are already going nuts online saying this is nowhere near the funkiness of the original. The song has been in circulation since the 80’s, so it’s no surprise that people are attached to the original. But the fact that he’s bringing out the unreleased funky tunes of the 80’s may be what Prince fans have been asking for for decades. meanwhile, some people who aren’t Prince fanatics are loving the funky direction. But we’re more interested in when we can buy it in the states.