As readers may know, I am a MAHOOSIVE Prince fan and have been for over 35 years.  I loved all of his music, films, concert footage and have some very rare CDS and vinyl in my collection.

My wildest dreams came true when I saw him perform in Birmingham in May 2015. It was simply the most amazing gig I have ever seen and he blew the audience away.

Finally…..

On April 21st 2016 I remember seeing the breaking news on the TV that someone had died in Paisley Park.  The reports were unsure as to who had died but believed it was Prince. I remember hoping and praying that the reports were wrong. There was no way that he could have died. He was only 57!

But it was true. His Purple Majesty had overdosed on painkilling medication.

I was devastated. My musical idol was gone.

My Idol

Since then his music has been kept alive with new releases, books and more. I have also been fortunate to see a couple of tribute acts that really have been the bees knees!

The most recent one was Mark Anthony who was performing at one of our local theatres.  I had seen a flyer for the performance whilst seeing another show last month and thought it could be a good night out.

Mark Anthony as Prince

The tickets were around £20 each and I thought this was pretty decent for a Saturday night out with live music. We were even more lucky when Baby Bear said she was able to give us a lift there and back meaning we could both enjoy a couple of drinks.

We went straight to the venue and sat down with a drink. Chatting away about what we hoped to see, it was only a short while before it was time to head into the theatre itself.  Sitting in the front row, we waited for Mark Anthony to arrive and boy we were not disappointed.

Strutting out onto the stage, it literally looked like Prince had been reborn. The facial similarities were unbelievable.

Fronting a live band of five (female singer, drummer, keyboards, guitar and bass) and two female dancers, Mark was an electric performer. Choosing songs that were instantly recognisable as well some that really were not that well known (unless you are a mega-fan).

Rocking the Place

The two dancers did a great job too; wearing some of the same costumes as what were originally worn in some of Princes videos, including the iconic black lace tablecloth outfit from the Kiss video.

Mark Anthony also had a perfect wardrobe; Outfits that mirrored exactly what Prince wore. Even his mannerisms were on point as was his voice.

So alike!

Of course it was impossible not to dance to the music; we got up and didn’t sit back down much at all!

Sadly the performance ended far too soon. By 2130 it was all over bar the encore which of course was outstanding.

All in all, it was a pretty great night (albeit a bit too short) and upon contacting Baby Bear for a lift, found out that she was literally waiting for her meal to arrive at a local restaurant; she literally didn’t think we would be done that early.

It could be him!!

As we had time to kill, we headed into town with the intention of having a couple of drinks. However as it was still quite early and neither of us had eaten we thought that it could be a good idea to find somewhere to go.

Having not visited for quite awhile, The Smoke-Pit was a perfect choice.

Thankfully they had a table for two available and we sat down and looked at what we could choose. Cocktails for a start!

We chose the Smoke-Pit Platter; Pulled Pork,  Pulled Brisket, Hot Link Sausage, Chicken Thighs, St Louis Ribs and Charred Bread. We added tobacco onions, and charred corn and sat to wait for the food to arrive.

Nom!

And oh boy did it arrive! A huge platter of smoked food for two; a veritable banquet.

A veritable feast

I have to admit there was so much food there that we didn’t really need the tobacco onions and corn. Every mouthful was fantastic. So tasty and moist, it literally ticked all the boxes.

We finally had to admit defeat leaving a small portion of chicken, some corn and half a bowl of onion.

Our lift was on its way so we ambled along to the pre-arranged meeting spot. To be honest, we should have probably walked further than we did to work off some of the food!

Ready for the Music

One thing I have to say though is all the food and the dancing had worn me out sufficiently that as soon as my head hit the pillow, I was out!

Need another adventure soon.

Till next time,

SPSG xxx