Wow.

That was one hell of a show. It's clear that the reviewer of tonight's show left part way through the second set, because he neglected any mention of the real highlights of the show. Prince --there is no other word for it-- schooled Led Zeppelin with his cover of "Whole Lotta Love." Just amazing. He also closed with an extended version of "Purple Rain," not one of my favorite songs, but seeing it live was really powerful.

There were also some other fun song choices, from "I Feel 4 U," popularized by Chaka Khan, to "Soul Man" sung by one of the keyboard players, to an acoustic rendition of "A Love Bizarre," and, suprisingly enough, "D.M.S.R." from 1999. He managed to perform most of Purple Rain while skimping on other albums like Parade, Around the World in a Day, and nothing at all from the Batman soundtrack.

As much fun as it was seeing him perform with his full band, it was really great to see him sit alone with his purple acoustic guitar and play simple versions of some of his most popular songs. Prince really seemed to enjoy himself, bantering with the crowd and cajoling them into clapping and singing along, while not being afraid to chastise the crowd for singing the wrong lyrics. "Go home and practice in the mirror," he said during one song, "That's where I wrote it, in the mirror." My favorite line of the night was during an acoustic blues progression that he played: "I used to use dirty words, now I use caller ID."

The tone of the evening really felt like a party and Prince was our host. He ran from end to end of his runways, giving face time to each quadrant of the crowd, getting them involved and making them all feel welcome. During the last couple numbers of the second set, he invited a bunch of women from the audience up on stage, and then it really felt like a party, with all these happy women dancing in and around the musicians.

The crowd was pretty diverse too; I saw everything from FUBU clothing to full arm sleeve tattoos to some guy in a pink Izod with the collar turned up and bermuda shorts. The crowd was interracial, intergenerational and intercultural, and everyone had a great time.

Susan and I agreed one one point most of all about tonight's concert: no one wears a guitar better than Prince. And, if you get a chance to see his show, GO! He's coming back in September, and I think I'm going to have to catch the show.