Jesse Johnson feels "strange" — his word — about performing at First Avenue on Friday night. He's always felt that way about playing there — from his First Ave debut in 1981 with the Time to his latest gig there, in fall 2015, in D'Angelo's band.
"It's always felt strange. I always felt out of place there. Like I was in Prince's living room," Johnson said a few days ago. "I thought it would be different when I played there with D'Angelo, but it was the same feeling. I'm looking forward to it. It'll be exciting, scary, anxiety-laced."
It was one of Prince's former band members, drummer Michael Bland, who persuaded Johnson to become part of a power trio this weekend along with ex-Prince bassist Sonny Thompson, who had worked with Johnson years ago.
Said Bland, who'd never played with Johnson but admired his appearance on "Saturday Night Live" with D'Angelo in January 2015: "I thought to myself, 'They're hiding Jesse. He's a star player.' From that point, I think I was subconsciously waiting for the right reason for the three of us to work together."
The repertoire will include songs associated with Johnson, the Time and Jimi Hendrix — as well as maybe a Prince tune or two that Johnson was doing before the Purple One died.
Johnson, 56, was crushed by Prince's death. Friday's performance will be Johnson's first appearance since Prince's passing in April. He said he turned down invitations to play the BET Awards tribute this summer and other salutes.
The guitarist considered Prince a close friend even though they didn't talk much in recent years. Johnson, who is from Rock Island, Ill., always appreciates that Prince gave him his break by hiring him for the Time in 1981 shortly after he arrived in the Twin Cities.
Many observers of the Minnesota music scene thought Johnson, an accomplished guitarist, lived in Prince's shadow because the Purple One became the more famous guitarist. Johnson didn't feel that way about Prince.