Nu Memphis’ Love Jones Presents Purple Rain Tribute

I love Prince.   This is not hyperbole.  My heartbeat quickens, my face gets warm, I smile at just the mere mention of his name.  Like Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson, Luther Vandross, Boys 2  Men, and Whitney Houston, most of my major memories and milestones have a Prince song attached.  So when I heard that there was a tribute to Purple Rain, happening in Memphis, that’s all I needed to know.  I was there.  

Apparently, Love Jones is a monthly event that happens on the third Sunday of every month.  Now typically, that’s reserved for my beloved, Artistik Lounge however this event kicked off a little later than advertised and I was able to attend both without missing a beat… though I would prefer to not have to do multiple events in one night.   (We really need to stop this double booking in Memphis. Similar events that cater to similar crowds are seemingly always booked on the same nights!). 

Anyway, so we get to the spot, it is at 300 Main, across from the Rumba Room.   I was warmly greeted by one of the band musicians; I was pumped and ready to sang loudly and off key!

We paid for entry, and entered the establishment, which was extremely crowded, almost to the point of being uncomfortable.  A nice lady whose friend had to leave, allowed us to sit at her table with her.  I got a drink from the bar and the show started.  

Now let me tell y’all about this show.

The show?  The SHOW was AMAZING. The band was incredible and the artists… They were exceptional.  It was my first time seeing several of them and I became an instant fan. Carlos Strong and that Purple Rain rendition almost had me stomping my feet and yelling “Sexual chocolate”!  I swear I sinned, was saved, died and re born all during the first two verses of the song.  By the time he got to the “oooh ooooh’s” at the end I was hoarse, sweaty and almost in tears. I needed someone to fan me and throw a silk cape over me ala James Brown, because I was done!    The girl trio that sang Sex Shooter featuring TA and Senoj was entertaining, sexy and those girls could “flat-foot” sang.  Devin Crutcher was amazing as always, and Hardface was hilariously poetic.  

The one thing I was unhappy about is the fact that while we were enjoying the show, one of the young women who worked the door approached us and let it us know that seating was an additional charge and that she had people at the door wanting to pay for seating. It wasn’t much, but as the woman who invited us to a seat stated, she had already paid for seating and she should be allowed to have whoever she wanted to, to sit in those chairs at no additional cost from the facility.  It was only an additional $5.00 and for the phenomenal show, it was well worth it.  I do think the process and implementation was a bit jarring and left a slightly negative impression.

I give the overall show a 5. The musicians and the lineup were outstanding.  The overcrowding and chair charging, did take away from my overall experience, so I give the event as a whole a very strong 3 (using a 5 point scale, where 5 is highest rating).

I do think that if the crowd continues to be as large as it was for the Purple Rain event, that they may need to start searching for larger space, or closing the door before it reaches an uncomfortable capacity.

Overall, I think the talent was worth the inconvenience and I do recommend checking it out but get there early!

The next Nu Memphis event will be a tribute to the 90's held April 18th.