*The Prince cover band universe will have to make way for some irresistible new competition by way of southern California’s The Legacy of Prince. The sextet made its too sexy debut on a chilly Friday April 17 evening at Ivan’z House – the venue inside restaurant/lounge Mozambique on South Coast Highway 1 in Laguna Beach.
Locals – many decked out in Prince t-shirts, polka dots, lingerie, raspberry berets and other homemade manner of purple regalia – packed the second-floor venue to seating and standing room capacity. All were gathered here this night to marinate in a masterfully curated concert saluting the pen, performance and production canon of the late, lamented symbol man…a.k.a. “His Purple Badness.”
The evening simmered into swing at 8:30 as DJ Reeso began his wind down warmup, beginning with Prince’s “The Ballad of Dorothy Parker,” followed by “If I Was Your Girlfriend,” “Delirious,” “U Got The Look” and “Uptown,” then a trinity of The Time’s first album jams “Cool,” “The Stick” and “Get It Up,” back into Prince with the steamy threesome of “Head,” “Lady Cab Driver” and “Hot Thing,” topping thangs off with the more erudite glam slam jams “Alphabet St.” and “Pop Life.”
Then, from behind the back center stage door, emerged the band of the 9:30 hour which maneuvered into position, eliciting screams of anticipation just by the sight of their outfits. The players – all Hendrixian war heroes of L.A.’s local and traveling Funk N’ Roll scene were:
Honoré – lead vocals
Heidi Marie – lead and background vocals
Jara Harris – drums and background vocals
Sheldon Fisher – lead and rhythm guitar
Kevin Cooper – electric bass
Christopher Parker – keyboards and synthesizers
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With no delay, they launched straight off into a rousing, funk fortified 3-song medley of “I Wanna Be Your Lover,” “Sexy Dancer” and “Controversy.” There…were…no…weak…links. Everyone rocked hard in a funky place. Guitarist Sheldon was no nonsense holding down stage right. Yet, the true anchor of the affair was – and all night would be – drummer Jara, laying down lickity-slick hi hat and snare combinations, plus keeping his foot in everybody’s ass on that bass drum.
Making sure you knew their opening medley was no fluke, Legacy launched into another trilogy: “Erotic City,” “1999” and (with a cold-blooded ever-so-slight tempo deceleration), “D.M.S.R. (Dance, Music, Sex, Romance).” It was hard to believe the band only had two rehearsals. True pros, they locked in with plenty of eye contact, cues and paying close attention to one another – all while making everything look and feel cool-to-spare effortless and insatiable.
Next were two gems from Prince’s pop side: the infectious singalong “Raspberry Beret” followed by “Take Me With U” from the Purple Rain soundtrack.
By this midway point in Set 1, it was clear that Honoré was determined to deliver a rousing yet respectful offering in the unenviable task of being Prince for the night. Relieved to not have to play any instruments (Prince could play them ALL), Honoré focused on singing, bringing an inviting crowd-pleasing demeanor that insured everyone was having a good time. He sang his parts well, sticking closely to not only the verses and choruses but also many of the screams of passion and “OWW-WUH”’s fans have come to know and adore. Best of all, he did not try to ape Prince’s mannerisms or get too graphic with The Artist’s sexy side. Where choreography was required, he rocked the steps on cue. His one concession to flirtation was flashing his bare chest…without ever rubbing below the belt.
Legacy closed Set 1 with a fiercely faithful rendition of the extended ‘Dance Mix’ of “Little Red Corvette,” including the slammin’ “MAYDAY” coda. This left the audience totally tantalized with at least 75% staying to peep Set 2.
DJ Reeso returned to his station to spin “Let’s Work,” “Housequake,” “Irresistible Bitch,” “Soft and Wet,” The Time’s “777-9311,” “I Would Die 4 U,” “Sexy MF,” and Chaka Khan’s smash hit version of Prince’s “I Feel For You.” Reeso’s sole misstep was playing Tevin Campbell’s “Round and Round” from the ill-fated Graffiti Bridge soundtrack, effectively clearing the dancefloor (no exaggeration). The house remained lowkey through “7” and “Sign `O’ The Times,” before folks finally morphed back into partymen and partywomen by Reeso’s final spin, “Cream.”
Legacy returned for Set 2 – in fresh outfits – rockin’ the 12-inch version of “Kiss” followed by “Let’s Go Crazy.” Kudos to the band for NOT doing the obvious by starting the second set with the latter (with its churchy introduction), building a different level of tension and release by giving it the sophomore slot. Honoré held down an especially a shining moment with the first ballad of the night, “The Beautiful Ones” followed by “When Doves Cry” featuring another tasty solo by Sheldon.
Next came the star turn of the night by vivacious Heidi Marie. The “Healthy-Happy” fireballer had been stealing focus all night with mo’ bouncin’ and misbehavin’ than eyeballs could allow (“call the law”). She’d already duty-fully approximated Apollonia on “Take Me With U” (bringing much more soulful flavor to her duet vocal volleys), handled Jill Jones’ family stone femme fatalisms on “1999,” and threw down on the lowdown Sheila E kitten-isms of “Erotic City.” Now arrived the ultimate test: could she wrangle the sexxy-sexxy of Vanity on “Nasty Girl?” Well, what would U expect from a woman who was part of the cast singing Janet Jackson songs as part of The Time’s reunion shows at the Flamingo in Las Vegas circa 2008? Clearly under the influence of the late, lamented temptress’ magic spell of seduction, Heidi coyly asked, “Are there any nasty boys and girls in the house? Good. Let’s have some funn!” Heidi took over center stage with a pantheress prowl, breathing fresh life into Vanity 6’s female sexual liberation dancefloor anthem. The siren wielded crouching tigress bumping and grinding to her score of salacious soul and operatic ooos and ahhhs. This wasn’t about simply singing. It was about setting the house on fi-ya.
“Nasty Girl” was the purrfect set up for the one-two funk punches of The Time’s “Jungle Love” and Sheila E.’s “A Love Bizarre” – the latter punched up by a powerful drum solo by Jara.
The evening would not have been complete without some spirited reverence for The Artist, the 10th anniversary of his passing mere days away… (April 21). Thus followed a medley of the poignant “Sometimes It Snows in April” with the ultimate anthem: “Purple Rain.”
What to do for an encore? A rompin’ “Girls & Boys” from the art house film curio Under the Cherry Moon.
Thanks to Legacy and DJ Reeso, a full, FONKY 4 hours of All Things Prince was had by all.
Following this thunderously received maiden voyage, there will most definitely be more to come from the band currently known as The Legacy of Prince. Eye, 4 one, look forward to witnessing its further developments.
Concert Review and Photos by A. Scott Galloway
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