As We See It

In memoriam: Farewell Prince, one of Vegas’ greatest resident performers

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Purple reign: Downtown’s freshly painted Prince mural, by local artist Krie of JHF Crew.
Photo: Mikayla Whitmore

Four years ago, as the Weekly set about the daunting task of ranking the top headliners in Las Vegas history—Elvis, the Rat Pack, Liberace, Penn & Teller, Siegfried & Roy—I had the strange sensation we might be doing it all wrong. In terms of Vegasness, those acts and others like them deserved the prime spots, for their years of service on the Strip and their undeniable historical legacies. But one name kept tugging on my brain: Prince.

He only set up shop here for a few months, turning a venue inside the Rio into Club 3121 from late 2006 through early 2007, but he delivered something singular and strange: a peak-condition performer working without a net, not because he needed the money but simply because. He was Prince, after all, so whatever he felt, he did, and we were lucky to bear witness.

I caught him in concert eight times—in arenas, a nightclub, at Coachella, even twice in one night during his final Vegas run—and I’m heartbroken I didn’t double or triple that number. He was the most captivating performer of his time, and now we’re inexplicably left without him, which especially hurts since he was just 57, and seemed to have years and years of music yet to give.

For me, it’s another reminder to see musical heroes while I can. No matter how long it lasts, life’s too short—mine and theirs—for regrets over missed opportunities. That’s why I drive, and even fly, to see favorite performers when possible, and why I push myself to go to shows after long work days when the couch seems so inviting.

I could regale you with tales of Prince’s guitar badassery (at his peak he was like a funkier Hendrix), his sheer magnetism (when Prince was in the house, I didn’t even want to blink) and his skills at building bands (Sheila, Maceo, Morris and so many more), but if there’s any justice in the world you already know about all that. I could draft a countdown of my favorite Prince tunes—“Pop Life,” “Little Red Corvette,” “When You Were Mine”—but I’m sure you know them all by heart. So I’ll just say this: I’ve seen more than 1,000 headliners in my life, and no one has been more consistently entertaining than Prince Rogers Nelson. If that doesn’t rank No. 1 overall, I don’t what else could.

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