Prince Dedicates Piano & A Microphone Tour Opener To Vanity

Last night Prince played his first Piano & A Microphone show away from his home base of Paisley Park at The Arts Center Playhouse in Melbourne, Australia. Prince took the stage for his intimate performance just hours after learning of the death of Denise “Vanity” Matthews-Smith, the vocalist whom was a muse for The Purple One and a long-time protege. As such, Prince dedicated the show to Vanity and filled the setlist with songs and stories about the Vanity 6 front woman.

According to reports Prince was very emotional throughout the show. “I am new to this playing alone. I thank you all for being so patient. I’m trying to stay focused, it’s a little heavy for me tonight. Just keep jamming … She knows about this one,” the singer said in introducing “The Beautiful Ones” and changed the name Electra to Vanity during “The Ladder.” Prince also worked a cover of Bob Marley’s “Waiting In Vain” into his first of two Melbourne performances last night.

Prince took a number of opportunities to talk about Vanity, “Can I tell you a story about Vanity? Or should I tell you a story about Denise? Her and I used to love each other deeply. She loved me for the artist I was, I loved her for the artist she was trying to be. She and I would fight. She was very headstrong cos she knew she was the finest woman in the world. She never missed an opportunity to tell you that.”

All told, Prince played 20 songs at the early show on Monday night in Melbourne. He mixed hits such as “Little Red Corvette,” “Raspberry Beret” and “If I Was Your Girlfriend” with deep cuts and the Marley cover. The Purple One has two more shows scheduled for Melbourne on Tuesday night.