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A certified popular music legend, backed by a dynamic band that knows how to Funk, playing to the audience and energetically tearing through his back catalog while seamlessly blending in new material - it all adds up to a great evening! Prince stopped in Champaign, Illinois on Saturday, April 10 to entertain a large crowd at the University of Illinois's Assembly Hall. Performed completely in the round, Prince's seamless set showed few signs, other than musical maturity, that he is now a man of 45. The most striking element of the concert was not the prevalence of purple, nimble showmanship of the star player, or a back catalog of hits that seemed endless. These we all expect of the man once again known by his given name Prince. The most striking element is the dedication to flawless musical skill demonstrated time and time again throughout the concert. Prior to Prince and company taking the stage, the mood was set by the playback of recordings of early 80's Funk classics including the Gap Band's Burn Rubber, George Clinton's Atomic Dog and Zapp's More Bounce To the Ounce. Decked out in red jacket and amazingly agile in stiletto heels, Prince opened with a spirited take on Musicology's title song that faded into a medley of I Would Die 4 U, Let's Go Crazy, and When Droves Cry from Purple Rain. It's difficult to imagine that this truly will be the last time these classics are performed in concert, as Prince claims. The evening spotlighted the many moods of Prince's music including an extended period of Prince seated alone crooning Little Red Corvette and the bluesy On the Couch from Musicology among others. Prince appeared to delight in encouraging the audience to participate by singing along. Late in the performance a number of audience members were invited to take the stage to dance along. Some were even given microphone time.including a young woman red-faced at not knowing the words to Take Me With U. While maintaining firm control over the musical proceedings, Prince still managed to engage with the audience and break down distance between the stage and those happily singing and dancing along. As the concert wound down with the obligatory Purple Rain encore, a great testament to Prince as an artist was the knowledge that he could perform at least another 2 hours and not exhaust his repertoire of classics. If he has yet to appear in your area, an evening with Prince is highly recommended |

