The Fat Angel Sings

No one imagined that it would be the last time Prince would perform, when they saw him during his stop in Atlanta last week, April 14th, 2016, after a 12 year hiatus. Prince’s “Piano and a Microphone” tour was a flawless display of his artistry. Like the show’s title suggests, it was just him, his piano and a purple strobe light beaming down as he played. The backdrop was a screen with illustrations of various images of the artist that dissolved into a collage of his various looks and album covers through the decades.

Prince was a vibrant example of genius who negotiated both God and sex into his music as never seen before. His songs were a blend of prayer and foreplay. He made spirituality and sex coexist – as they should.

Prince was magical.

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Fans witnessed this display of freedom when he played his last two shows at 7pm and 10pm at The Fox Theatre, downtown Atlanta. Both were sold out. He poured his heart out in an intimate setting with no band and no backup singers – only his free Black-self donning a natural Afro.

“The setting was intimate and it was an amazing event,” commented Marla Pruitt, a motivational speaker and accountability coach.

“The opportunity to see him live and performing alone was life changing. The image of him sitting at the piano will be forever embedded in my brain,” she said.

That evening, as he played a 90 minute medley of songs from his iconic catalog, he discussed, love, relationships and social issues. He also reminded the crowd that #BlackLivesMatter. Throughout the show he made several references to his pending memoir about his life. Upon hearing the news of his passing, fans expressed disbelief.

“It is with profound sadness that I am confirming that the legendary, iconic performer, Prince Rogers Nelson, has died at his Paisley Park residence this morning at the age of 57,” said his publicist Yvette Noel-Schure.

On social media the sentiments poured out across the virtual world.

While fans were told not to snap photos or record videos some were able to capture a few images and shared them online during the show and then again one week later with their expressions of grief.

One of Prince’s final tweets immediately after his Atlanta performance reads: I am #transformed

We too are transformed “your Royal Highness.” So are we!

The FINAL SET-LIST

• When Will B Paid
• The Max
• Black Sweat
• Girl
• I Would Die 4 U
• Baby, I’m a Star
• Ballad of Dorothy Parker
• Dark
• B-side Song (Indifference)
• I Love U But I Don’t Trust U
• Little Red Corvette
• It was a non-stop onslaught of songs;
• Dirty Mind
• Linus and Lucy (The Peanuts theme)
• back to Little Red Corvette
• Nothing Compares 2 U

Encore 1

• Cream
• Black Muse
• How Come U Don’t Call Me Anymore

Encore 2

• Waiting In Vain (Bob Marley)
• If I Was Ur Girlfriend
• back to Waiting In Vain
• back to If I Was Ur Girlfriend

Encore 3

• Sometimes It Snows In April
• Purple Rain (the crowd goes nuts)
• The Beautiful Ones
• back to Purple Rain
• Diamonds & Pearls
• back to Purple Rain

When Prince’s Atlanta date on his Piano & A Microphone Tour—which, just like it sounds, features the singer playing solo at a purple baby grand, the first such tour of his lengthy career—was postponed last week due to a bout with the flu, the rescheduled shows were announced surprisingly quickly. The Purple One hit the stage at the Fox Theatre just a week after he was initially supposed to, and from the look of it, he’d made a full recovery.

Would we really expect any less, though? We all know Prince isn’t fully human—the man hasn’t visibly aged in 30 years, so why should we be surprised that seven days after being ill, he’s reaching mind-blowing high notes on “A Case of U” that artists half his age would struggle to hit? His 7 p.m. set was a short one—just 80 minutes—but that seemed to have more to do with the fact that the venue needed to turn over in time for his 10 p.m. set later that evening than with any sort of lingering flu symptoms. Prince made every second count, and perhaps most importantly, the crowd was grateful for any time at all. He still managed to cram two encores into those 80 minutes, and every time he reappeared onstage, the noise was deafening.

The encores weren’t the only times the singer left the stage—he got up periodically throughout the set, at one point leaving briefly to regroup before returning and explaining that “Sometimes I forget how emotional these songs are.” But every time those fingers hit the keys, there’d be a rapturous moment of recognition from the crowd. The opportunity to hear these songs stripped down on the piano is a rare one, and that wasn’t lost on the fans, some of whom shelled out as much as $1000 a seat to be there.

Prince fed off that energy, too, encouraging hand-claps and sing-alongs on Controversy and bringing the house lights up for “Kiss” to witness the entire theater attempting their best falsettos. His cover of David Bowie’s “Heroes” was moving, resulting in a hushed awe—one of the few quiet moments of the set. Purple Rain fans didn’t get to hear the famous title track—a fact some reminded him when he finished his last encore by joking “I don’t have any more hits left!”—but they were treated to stellar versions of favorites from that record like “I Would Die 4 U,” “Baby I’m a Star” and “The Beautiful Ones.”

And, ultimately, Prince can do and play whatever he wants. He’s Prince, and he’s here blessing us with his presence. Especially for a show that almost wasn’t, every song feels like a gift.

Setlist:
1. Little Red Corvette / Dirty Mind
2. Linus & Lucy (Vince Guaraldi cover)
3. The Beautiful Ones
4. Nothing Compares 2 U
5. Joy in Repetition
6. Muse 2 the Pharaoh
7. U Got the Look
8. Pop Life
9. Elephants & Flowers
10. I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man
11. A Case of You (Joni Mitchell cover)

Encore 1:
12. I Feel For You
13. Controversy
14. The Most Beautiful Girl in the World
15. I Would Die 4 U
16. Baby I’m a Star