Prince's Debut In Perth Proves He Is THE One-Man Band

It’s been almost twenty-five years since Prince Rogers Nelson first visited Australia, and now, he has finally visited the Western State to deliver one of the greatest performances the city has had grace its soil.

For ninety minutes, Perth Arena was basking in the glow of one man and a piano as he played a myriad of tracks from his vast catalogue in a brilliant and unique performance. Everybody knows that Prince with a full band is a show not to be missed, but it was initially baffling to some as to how that powerhouse would translate to a single instrument surrounded by 15,000 seats on all sides; what transpired on this night however was breathtaking.

From the absolutely deafening cheers when the curtain drops to reveal the purple one strutting cane in hand to the stage, to the gospel choir of an entire arena singing him away among his latest single FREE URSELF, Prince is THE one-man band.

Mixing together hits with party-prompting grooves and sharp precision, his stage energy is electrifying, creating the big band atmosphere by shifting through tempos and styles along southern jazz, rock’n’roll, soul, and rhythm and blues. Each song is perfectly crafted to exactly how he wants it to be, delivered how he says it will be delivered. That control gives him the audience on a silver platter in standing ovation after standing ovation as he fed them much loved tracks such as I Feel For You and Little Red Corvette or later cuts like Big City.

Hearing the line “I never meant to cause you any sorrow” cast into the air sent a spine-tingling impression among the seats, Purple Rain delicately flickering away slowly at the piano, pouring everything into his performance and leaving a few around without a dry eye. The brief moment played a stark contrast to the high tempo funk party delivered throughout the night, while highlighting the strength in Prince’s ability to subject emotion.

It took three encores and close to thirty captivating tracks to see the funky one finally say goodnight to the Perth crowd. The experience of Prince’s Piano and Microphone was the perfect showcase of a performer testing his artistic prowess, his stage presence, his charisma and his power to win a crowd. This tour shines an entirely new light on Prince, along with his music, and exposes a performance that may never be repeated.