New York City Part 2
Prince's POV
Standing in the darkness at the back of the stage, Prince could feel his performance energy building. In a few moments the music would start and he would come out to entertain and uplift his audience. There was only one thing that could compare to the feeling that he got when he was performing and that was how he felt when he was with Bella. Although the feelings were very different they were similar in intensity and in the desire to be there. He lived to perform, and he lived to love Bella. These were the most important things in his life and both made him really happy to be alive.
The opening lines of Strollin' began, the hot white spot light shown down on him and he began to stroll to the front of the stage to the applause and shouting of the New York crowd. He sang as he walked and the audience began to clap. Bella and Elaine were in their places and were rocking in time to the music. As Strollin' ended to the loud and appreciative applause Royal said..."Hello New York! We are so happy to be here with you tonight". The audience roared! So, are you ready to party"? "Yes" the audience yelled back...he gave the signal for If I Love You and the show began in earnest. As he began to sing the girls began to dance. They rocked the Opera House like crazy on the first song. The audience was on its feet and dancing in the aisles while others were clapping their hands to the riveting beat of the music. As the song came to an end he gave the signal for the band to move right into I Love You Still. The girls moved into that dance number with great passion. Royal sang the song like he had never sung it before with great feeling and the the audience felt his angst and desperation to get the one he loved to understand how deeply felt his feelings were. The audience loved it and when Prince moved to the front of the stage and danced the chorus in unison with Bella and Elaine they went crazy with admiration and excitement. "Bring it down" Royal said. Standing at the edge of the stage he said, "everybody get on your feet and wave your hand in the air like this". As the audience responded, he brought the music back up and repeated a verse. The audience loved it and then he said," are ya'll having a good time"? The audience shouted "yeah". " I can't hear you he said...are ya'll having a good time"? "Yeah" they responded again but this time so loudly that the sound could be heard throughout the Lincoln Center. "On the one" Royal said and the music stopped. When 2 Are In Love began with the girls doing their syncopated movements and the shouts of pleasure from the audience pushed the energy of the band. The audience still on their feet, swayed to the music and when the chorus began, many of them sang along.
Come bathe with me, let's drown each other in each other's emotions
Come bathe with me let's cover each other with perfume and lotion
Bathe with me, let me touch your body until your river's in motion
Bathe with me, let's kiss with one synonymous motion...
Nothin's forbidden nothin's taboo, when two are in love
Shouts of sing that, and you better sing could be heard coming from the audience. As the song came to a close Royal said, "Ladies and Gentlemen, show your love for Bella Borden and Elaine Grady". Then he said and my name is Royal also known as the Royal Prince and the audience clapped and shouted and stomped and began to chant Royal, Royal, Royal...and Royal said" on the one" and the lights went out as the band played a reprise of When 2 Are In Love. Bella and Royal left the stage and quickly changed into their Purple costumes and returned to their places and Royal said "on the one" and the music stopped. The lights came up and Royal said, and a one and a two and Bella's Eyes began. Bella danced her heart out. She danced as though she and Prince were alone and she was dancing once again only for him. His voice caressed every inch of her beautiful body with the subtle changes in volume following every curve of his woman as she moved. The audience, as one like it had on the previous night, noted the loving, borderline sexual interchange between the two of them and became quiet and watched in awe of the emotion they were conveying. As the song ended, wild applause erupted and they began to shout Bel la, Bel la, Bel la. " Ladies and Gentlemen", Royal said, "this is my lady, Miss Bella Borden. Show your love for Bella Borden New York". And the crowd did for an entire minute and a half, loud appreciative applause was heard for Bella. As the opening chords were played for The Ladder, Royal returned to the front of the stage and once again got everyone on their feet with swaying arms. He sang the song with awe of the Creator showing in his voice. He then moved directly into Holy River and not only did the audience remain on its feet and continue to sway, but also, many of them sang along. It appeared that once again this group had been playing the music from his new album and really were into it. As the song ended, Royal asked as he had done the night before..."so are you ready for some new music"? "Yeah" the audience replied. He turned around dramatically and walked toward the back of the stage saying"Naw...ya'll not ready. (He loved doing that)! "Yeah...you better play that music Royal", someone yelled. "Play it" the audience continued. He gave the signal for Living for the Music and danced his way back to the front of the stage all the while playing his guitar. He was on it tonight and played like his life depended on it. He brought the music down and said "where da drums" and a spot light appeared over Carlos and he began his solo. Every time he did it, was better than the last. He played and stood as he played and sat back down and played some more. The driving rhythm brought the audience to the brink of emotion and they shouted for joy at his artistry as he played. When he was done, he dropped his drum sticks as if to say I am the baddest as Royal said, "Give it up for the drummer, Carlos Rodriguez, the baddest drummer man in the world, Carlos Rodriguez"! The New Yorkers began to shout. Car Los, Car Los, Car Los...and Royal brought the music back up and walked to the front of the stage and asked..."can I play my guitar"? "Play it" the audience shouted. Royal began his guitar solo and did what he had been created to do. He played, he danced while he played and then he played some more. He played and jumping in the air he beat his legs in the air in a balletic move that is known as Royale...how appropriate. As he performed the Royale...the audience went crazy! Tomorrow morning it would be reported in New York that one of the greatest guitarists ever known had graced the Metropolitan Opera House stage and blown the proverbial top off of it...but for now, the New Yorker's continued to have the time of their lives. "On the one" Royal said as the music stopped he said "thank you New York" walked off of the stage. The curtain dropped and the band also quietly and quickly left the blackened stage. The audience clapped and began to shout Royal's name. They continued shouting for 15 minutes while the band re-hydrated and some changed shirts while others used the facilities. They then returned to the stage and the curtain was brought up and the driving beat of Baby I'm A Star began. They played the song with the same level of abandon and magic that Prince Roger Nelson had over 200 years before. The audience rocked out and danced and sang and had a ball. As the song ended, Royal shouted into the mike..."are ya'll having a good time"? "Yeah...great time...super time"...he heard in response from the audience. "Lemme introduce you to my band", Royal said. On keyboards we have...and he went through the introductions. Each band member was acknowledged with shouts of pleasure by the audience. He then cued Cool Breeze. The audience remained on their feet rocking and swaying to the driving beat of the base. He then gave the cue to the band for Get Blue. He went to the front of the stage and said, who out there wants to dance with me? All kinds of hands went up, he chose his parents first and then Bella's then he chose two young women dressed in micro mini type skirts and tank tops that showed all of their assets. Then he chose Carlo's parents and Elaine's too. He went to the other end of the stage and chose two couples that were dancing in front of stage and soon he had a large number of New Yorkers on stage. On the two...he said and the song began with him singing it.
Get Blue,
Show me what I mean to you
Put your arms around me
Do everything your mama told you not to
Get Blue
Once again a large number of the audience were singing along as they got to the chorus...
Don't hesitate cuz if U love me, girl
We can't leave anything to fate
Don't make me wait cuz I am in the mood
I'm sure U are 2 so Get Blue
During the song one of the women who was scantily dressed began to dance in a very revealing way letting Royal know that she wanted to definitely Get Blue with him. In the process, she came too close to Royal and started to try to push up on him grabbing at his left arm. Within seconds, she was restrained by Ross and physically removed from the stage. The Royal Prince did not miss a beat of the song. Those that had been dancing were escorted off stage by the rest of Royal's security team. As the song finished, Royal said...I have a real treat for you. Walking to stage right he returned to the center of the stage holding Bella and Elaine's hands. He put one in front of the mike closest to stage right and the other closest to stage left. Going to the center mike, he cued Future Soul Song. As the beginning chords were played applause rang out from the audience. Royal began to sing. As he did and Bella and Elaine and Carlos from the drum mike joined him in the harmony, the audience was moved by the beauty of the song. When the band joined in on the next harmonic bar, the audience went nuts with pleasure. As the song ended, Royal said...show your love for The World Changers, followed by, Ladies and Gentlemen, once again, Bella Borden and Elaine Grady, show your love. Wild applause once again was heard for Bella and Elaine's performance. They left the stage and returned to the hidden mikes on stage right. Carlos brought the stool to center stage and exchanged Royal's electric guitar for the Acoustic one. Sitting there in silence for a moment, the audience became silent too. He began to play the chords to , 4 The Tears In Your Eyes. As the guitar sang out the beautiful notes, silence continued in the Audience. The white spotlight came up over him and there was not another light on the stage as he played the entire song through. Only Royal could be seen and then, he began to sing...
Long ago there was a man, changed stone to bread with the touch of his hand
Made the blind see and the dumb understand, he died for the tears in your eyes...your eyes
Unseen, Bella and Elaine chimed in on the harmonic parts increasing the quiet intensity of the song as had been planned. As he continued the song, the audience stood and swayed to the music. Practically no one was sitting at this point. As he finished the song, Prince bowed his head and said "thank you" and left the stage. And then while the band played on one by one the musicians left the stage until only the keyboardist was left to finish out the last bar of the song. The curtain fell slowly as he did, and the lights went out as the houselights came up. As in every show of the tour, as the lights came up, tears were seen in every eye that was visible from the wings of the stage. Prince peeked out and seeing that he wiped the tears from his own eyes and then went down to the dressing rooms for some much needed liquid. The audience was applauding wildly and after a while began to chant his name. Royal, Royal, Royal...When he arrived downstairs he found himself among band mates who were embracing and crying their own tears. They embraced him also and they all said quietly..."Praise the Creator". In about ten minutes they returned to the stage. The audience was still chanting his name. They took their places and the curtain came up. The chords began to play for Purple Rain...and Royal sang the song with true virtuosity. As the song ended, Prince said" thank you New York" and the stage went black and the curtain dropped. The band remained in place as the chants for "one more song" began. When they had gone on for about 15 minutes, the curtain went back up and Royal was standing at the front of the stage. Applause rang through the auditorium. "Thank you" he said...thank you" he said again. As the audience began to wonder what they would play next he said, "New York City is one of the greatest cities in the world". Loud applause erupted. "It is one of the earliest cities that began the melting pot experiment". " It is a place where talented people from many different ethnic backgrounds have worked together to build their collective dream. Armed with a willingness to work hard, love of family and love of God and not much else in the beginning, the people here have built something to be proud of. They have followed their Dream and continue to do so today. Never stop dreaming New York and always Dream big. The bigger the Dream, the bigger the accomplishment". At that point he gave the signal to play Dreamer. The riveting beat began and the audience began to rock.
I was born and raised on the same plantation, United States of the red, white and blue.
I never knew I was different until Dr. King was on the balcony, Lying in a bloody pool.
Expected so much more from a loving, a loving, a loving society
A truthful explanation but you know what, I got another, another conspiracy.
If it was just a dream, listen call me, call me a dreamer too...
The audience was on its feet...rocking out. As the song ended, Prince said,
"Call me a Dreamer 2" and the stage went black.
40 seconds later the stage lights came back up and it was empty and the curtain dropped! The audience clapped and chanted Royal, Royal, Royal for another 30 minutes before they finally began to leave the venue. Elaine, Bella, Carlos and Prince were downstairs showering. As the audience started to clear the hall, the band, Carlos and Prince and two of the bodyguards went upstairs to help the local roadies break down the instruments, put them in their cases and get them on board the bus. When they were all on board, Bella and Elaine were escorted upstairs and along with all of their parents and Christian and his wife boarded the bus and traveled the short distance to the hotel. Christian had arranged for a variety of appetizers and an open bar in the first floor bar. As they piled into the bar and sat at the tables, Christian asked that they turned up the volume on Cloud Stream as several channels had sound trucks outside of the opera house catching and getting impressions from those that had attended the concert. A man and his girlfriend were leaving and were asked about the concert. "Royal is one of the most gifted guitarists in the world" he said. "His vocals are unparalleled and his music is simply amazing. He writes it all too... that is amazing", he repeated. Another couple said that the band was one of the best if not the best that they had ever heard and that Royal was a fantastic band leader. Two young men said that that Bella and Elaine were not only beautiful and great dancers, but also had wonderful voices and hoped that Royal would feature them more going forward. 3 woman who had come together wanted to know if that incredible drummer was married, cause if not one of them said "I am available". Christian smiled and said "well Royal it looks like you and the band are a hit in New York". "Royal laughed and said yes we are"! They continued to enjoy each others company and talk about the incredible show until the wee hours of the morning. They had a 1:00 PM flight and would sleep in a bit in the morning. At 2:30 AM, Royal took Bella's hand and wished everyone goodnight and headed to their room. Carlos said, "I am right behind you brother", and met them at the elevator, the parents had already gone upstairs so it was Christian, his wife and some of the band holding down the party in the bar. The body guards ushered them into the elevator and then stepping in themselves, they went to their rooms.
Once they were in their room, Bella hugged Prince and said, "you were absolutely perfect in performance tonight. Absolutely amazing" she said. He kissed her on her nose and said," why thank you baby". "You were wonderful yourself, Prince said. "I especially appreciated the harmony tonight. It was off the chain". He gathered her into his arms and kissed her and said, "let's go to bed Mama". They undressed and she reached for her gown..."no baby not tonight. I want you close to me in the buff tonight, Prince said. Bella smiled and climbed into bed totally nude and so did he. He pulled her close and kissed her deeply. He touched her soft breasts and sighed. " I love you Arabella Brianna Borden". "I love you more Royal Prince Anderson". They kissed again and went to sleep in each other's arms.