Best Halftime Show Ever

Is there any doubt that Mr. Prince Rogers Nelson is one of the greatest performers alive? In the rain, in high-heeled boots, with the Florida A&M marching band and the man didn't miss a beat. I was a little suspicious when I heard he would be doing the show and half-expected to hear some awful new material or maybe witness a stunt to one-up Janet, Ms. Jackson If You're Nasty's nip slip. But instead he followed the old adage and gave the people what they wanted. Here are my notes as I recall the performance:

"Let's Go Crazy" was an obvious but still excellent opener. It was a bit sloppy and rushed but given the environmental elements at play, I thought it was as good as it could be. Nice to see the Hohner model "Telecaster" with the leopard-print pick guard. I doubt that was the original from the Purple Rain era but visually, it took me back.

Three covers, "Proud Mary" -- which worked great with the FAMU band and who better than Prince to rival Tina Turner, "All Along the Watchtower" -- sort of by-the-numbers but I thought a fitting homage to half of his stylistic legacy, and the completely out of leftfield cover of the Foo Fighters' "Best of You" which was AWESOME. It sounded fantastic and I was digging the teal American Strat (unless it was a copycat model) with the floating tremolo bridge and the two-pickup scheme (Lace sensor single coil and humbucker). I would have to think Dave Grohl was feeling pretty excellent when he saw that.

And of course the majesty that is "Purple Rain" with that "symbol" guitar of his and the suggestive shadow puppet show. That song still holds up after over 20 (!) years with the big outro and falsetto wail. All in all I thought it was one of the best halftime shows ever (no doubt) and it was great to see Prince shred a little on his axe. Sometimes I wonder if most people know what an incredible guitar player the man is so it is always cool to see him showing off his chops. Well done.