CHICAGO -- Forget the Afro. That was so last week.
Prince had a new look -- and a new band -- Monday night as he began his three-day Welcome 2 Chicago residency at the United Center.
First, the new look -- think Glenn Close as Cruella de Vil, a tuxedo suit that is half black (with tails) and half white (no tails). One black shoe, one white one. And his hair was thick and wavy, with a wide headband, suggesting the iconic look of Minneapolis visual artist Scott Seekins.
Some 33 years after he introduced his first band, Prince unveiled his largest band ever -- 20 pieces, including 11 horn players, three backup singers and two guitarists. The horns had some intricate, jazzy arrangements as they took off on a few instrumental excursions early in the two-hour set. That lent a classy sophistication to a program that mixed funk, pop and rock. But Prince undermined this impressively expansive musicality by getting all A-D-D, whipping off snippets of tune after tune into an evening that too often felt like a long medley orchestrated by a demanding conductor trying to test his musicians rather than treat his fans.
The star turns were few and far between -- and the Prince guitar solos even rarer. During a 12-minute encore rendition of "Purple Rain," Prince played only a 12-bar guitar solo, allowing a saxophonist to take the long, featured solo on which Prince usually soars on guitar. Throughout the night, he seldom even had a guitar in his hands.
In short, a concert that could have been a triumphant return to Chicago (he hadn't played here since 2004) turned into a great big tease -- both the arena show in front of nearly 20,000 and the 3 a.m. after-show for 1,000 at the House of Blues club.
The Welcome 2 Chicago engagement -- which Prince chose instead of an outdoor show in St. Paul -- is part of his sporadic Welcome 2 Tour, which has included extended residencies in New York/New Jersey, Los Angeles, the Carolinas, the Netherlands and Australia since 2010. The Chicago shows are a benefit for Rebuild the Dream, a nonprofit organization addressing economic issues.
Highlights on Monday were "Cream," which rose to the top with a nasty groove, and "Cool," the Time classic on which Prince's band found a 1980s funkiness. The set included Prince-penned hits by the Time (three numbers), Sheila E (two) and Sinead O'Connor ("Nothing Compares 2 U," turned a duet with powerhouse backup vocalist Shelby J).
