LAS VEGAS -- Will Prince transform Las Vegas, or will Las Vegas transform Prince? That was the question at last week's VIP preview of the funk-soul master's new 3121 nightclub and restaurant at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino. What became clear during this evening of fine dining, "purple carpet" posing, corporate ballyhoo and minimal if excellent music is that Prince and Las Vegas have already journeyed close enough in spirit to make this union logical, and possibly even inspired.
The latest pop headliner to claim a stake in the kingdom of Cirque du Soleil, Prince will appear every Friday and Saturday at the circular 900-seat nightclub just off the Rio's main gaming floor. The cover price is $125, with dinner packages available for $312.10 per person. Wednesdays, he'll present other performers, such as old cronies Sheila E. and Chaka Khan and new proteges Tamar Davis and The Twinz, and he may have some input into the casino's long-standing Latin night every Thursday. The cover price those nights is $31.21. He's also helped the casino reinvent the 11-year-old Fiore Steakhouse as 3121 Jazz Cuisine.
Prince delivered a small package at the preview, playing three songs on 3121's big, spare stage: the fierce rocker "Fury," from the recently released album that gives the club its name, and two chestnuts, "Purple Rain" and "Let's Go Crazy." Although frustratingly short, it was a proper preview of his weekend sets, which will change frequently but probably offer a similar mix of old and new.
