Prince pulled it off.
No, I am not parroting all the, "Prince was clean and gentle and massively appealing to the mainstream" crap I have been reading about Princes performance.
The AP wrote the assholey line, "The Artist Formerly Known as a Munchkin of Wardrobe Dysfunction began by singing ''Let's Go Crazy,'' but he didn't."
Really….
The New York Times headline? "A Noncontroversial Prince, Just the Way the N.F.L. Likes Him"
Wrong again. I couldn't even bear to read the article.
No Prince royally pulled off being Prince, and apparently neither the mainstream media nor the moral police caught it.
But then again, understanding subtlety isn't what lands you that job as a corporate media music critic now is it?
If you have ever seen prince perform, you know that at his worst, it is the best show you will ever see. His sexual over and undertones would make Mother Angelica question her vows.
Last night was no exception.
He rocked, seeming oblivious to the downpour. He did an amazing medley that included, "Lets Go Crazy", The Foo Fighters, "Best of You" and Dylan's "All Along The Watchtower".
I was particularly excited with his choice to do "Proud Mary" with the Florida A&M marching band.
Both Prince and I attended public high school in Minneapolis in the late 1970's and you could not escape a varsity football game without hearing the band crank out Proud Mary at halftime.
I have decided that is why he chose it.
But it was when he launched into Purple Rain things got gone.
He switched his guitar to use the one shaped like his symbol, He starts "Purple Rain" and the crowd goes nuts.
Not suprising because the fans were subjected to a downpour throughout the entire first half. It was a much needed catharsis.
Cute and befitting the crowd sings its heart out.

But then Prince turned on all of his Prince-iness.

The lights dimmed. A huge translucent screen came down and Prince was in shadow. He was in profile and his guitar, with its rounded bottom and long, ahem, shaft, became his, ahem, Purple Vein.
He hits a solo in profile, thrusting to the right, then to the left, then straight on.
Up and down, slow and precise. There was no mistaking to me what he had intended by this visual,
Brilliant.
I was screaming in my living room. I started scouring the internet to see if other Prince fans caught it or to see if the God Squad had instantly slapped up a petition to sue CBS.
Nothing.
Then I thought, "Maybe I was so hoping Prince would be Prince that my nasty little mind was making a, (Prince please don't take this the wrong way) mountain out of a mole hill.
I was desperate to find someone who saw what I saw. So desperate that I forced myself to actually read the Times review.
It wasn't until I read the last line that I felt vindicated, when the reporter asks his readers:
"Did you see his face during the first verse of "Purple Rain," when he tossed his bandana into the crowd? He looked as if he were getting away with something.
DUH YOU MORON! HIS GUITAR WAS A GIANT ERECT WEINER FOR MILLIONS TO SEE! HOW DID YOU MISS IT WERE YOU LISTENING TO A PODCAST OF THE SHOW????
Ok, deep breath.
Remember: Understanding subtlety isn't what lands you that job as a corporate media music critic now is it?