On August 13th, 2004, Prince brought his Musicology Live 2004ever tour to Washington, D.C.’s MCI Center. The band lineup for the tour featured drummer John Blackwell, bassist/vocalist Rhonda Smith, guitarist Mike Scott, keyboardists Renato Neto and Chance Howard, a horn section comprised of Greg Boyer, Maceo Parker, and Candy Dulfer and, of course, Prince, who did a bit of everything–from vocals to guitar to bass to keys to drums.
Midway through the show, the Purple One passed off the frontman duties to the talented Mr. Howard, who handled lead vocals as the delivered a cover of 1996 Blackstreet classic “No Diggity.” After beckoning the crowd to join him in cutting a rug (“D.C, D.C., I need somebody, I need somebody to dance with me!”), he bounced excitedly around the stage, beat-boxing, boogying, jumping, engaging with the crowd, and generally enjoying the shit out of his funky-ass band. That all culminated in Prince and the crowd alike basking in the glow of a ripping Mike Scott guitar solo. Thankfully, pro-shot footage of the performance is pretty easy to find online, so you can enjoy this infectious performance whenever you’d like. After all, there’s never a bad time Prince get down, Good Lord…
Watch the band’s performance of “No Diggity” from 8/13/04 at MCI Centere below courtesy of YouTube user tonyringo7:
[Video: tonyringo7]
For fans of Prince, don’t miss the Purple Party: A Tribute To Prince featuring members of The Main Squeeze, Turkuaz, The Motet, Snarky Puppy, Thievery Corporation, Allen Stone & More at the Maison in New Orleans on Sunday, May 6th during Jazz Fest. For more info click here, and to purchase tickets click here. For our full guide to Jazz Fest late nights, click here.
