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Five memorable moments from The Revolution’s Brooklyn Bowl show

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The Revolution, performing June 21 at Brooklyn Bowl.
Photo: Erik Kabik

Stokley goes “Uptown.” Everyone in the building was up to the task. The Revolution drew an impressive, excited, generation-spanning crowd to Brooklyn Bowl on a Wednesday night (June 21). All the players did their jobs perfectly: Wendy on guitar, BrownMark on bass, Dr. Fink and Lisa on keys and Bobby Z. on drums. But to say something was missing is the mother of all understatements, and that’s kind of the point. There’s no replacing Prince—there’s not even an attempt at replacement, which the members of The Revolution have been very clear about—but a band needs a frontman (or woman).

When Stokley Williams, lead singer for jazzy R&B group Mint Condition, took the stage throughout the set—first to lead the way on the punchy, funky 1980 gem “Uptown”—everything synced up, the vibe felt right and the energy was electric. His elastic vocals and party-spiking charisma added a terrific jolt to the show without overwhelming the music. The Revolution chose the ideal guest star.

Straight from the vault. After a fun romp through “D.M.S.R.,” the band played the unreleased, often-bootlegged pairing “Our Destiny"/"Roadhouse Garden,” tracks from Prince’s mysterious vault that get an official release this week on the Purple Rain reissue. Rolling Stone reported the original “bones” of the songs were recorded at Prince’s 26th birthday gig at First Avenue in Minneapolis in 1984, just weeks before the iconic album dropped. Lisa took vocal duties for “Our Destiny, and the whole band jumped in on the more upbeat “Roadhouse Garden.”

”1999.” Speaking of sharing the mic, it was very cool to hear The Revolution sing the tradeoffs on “1999.” Wendy, Mark and Prince famously took different parts on the verses of the track from the 1982 album of the same name. As the story goes, Prince wanted contrasting harmonies on those verses, but during the recording process he switched it up and isolated each singer, creating even more dramatic contrast in the song. Stokley took Prince’s parts Wednesday, and the crowd ate it up, certainly one of the strongest overall performances of the night.

”No one could cry the way my Tracy cried.” The Revolution’s tour has been a celebration, but one with some sad moments as well. When Wendy grabbed an acoustic guitar to play the heart-wrenching “Sometimes It Snows in April”—quietly backed by Lisa—people in the crowd hushed one another so we could all absorb the emotion. Wendy slowed down a few times, possibly stalling to hold off tears, but avoiding the tender breakdown we witnessed when D’Angelo played the song on The Tonight Show last year. As lovely and touching as it was, The Revolution didn’t allow things to get too sad, launching right into a rollicking “Let’s Go Crazy.”

Just like in the movies. Probably the loudest cheer of the night came after “Purple Rain,” when the band left the stage and the audience demanded more. The Revolution returned and gave us exactly what we wanted: “I Would Die 4 U” and “Baby, I’m a Star,” the two tracks performed at the end of the film Purple Rain. It was perfect.

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Brock Radke

Brock Radke is an award-winning writer and columnist who currently occupies the role of managing editor at Las Vegas Weekly ...

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