Prince and the Revolution’s Dr. Fink Appearing at Nectar Lounge on Saturday 5/10
For you Prince fans out there, Matt “Dr.” Fink, Prince’s keyboard player from 1978 through 1991, will be performing this Saturday at the Nectar in Fremont. He’ll be backed up by local soul/funk band, Haiku-Chi, as he performs Prince classics like “1999,” “U Got The Look,” “Kiss” and “Controversy,” and, of course, songs from Purple Rain, in which Fink appeared as himself. He’ll also be joining the opening bands for a song or two during their sets.
It should be an interesting night. Prince is an extremely talented musician, so one has to assume Mr. Fink is as well. That’s how genius works. It won’t accept anything subpar. Mr. Fink wouldn’t have had that gig if he didn’t know a thing or two. It’ll be cool, thus, to see someone who played for Prince all those years performing in the relatively small space that is the Nectar. It reminds me of seeing Mike McCready perform at the Tractor and at Easy Street Records. Music is better in small clubs. It’s more intimate, more attainable, more transformative.
The show was arranged by the Staxx Brothers, a Seattle band that describes their music as “Hard Ass Soul.” They’ll be the second band on the bill, but after listening to a couple tracks on their website, I wouldn’t quite agree with their description. The music is a little too mellow to be described as “Hard Ass.” When I hear that term, I think upbeat and groovy, something with attitude and oomph, but who knows? Maybe I listened to the wrong songs. Like I’ve said a thousand times, though, live is the thing so I’ll give them a shot Saturday and see where the energy goes.
One of the best things about the show for me, and by extension the rest of the audience, will be that Furniture Girls will be opening the night. Have I ever said I like FG? As an added bonus, Dr. Fink will be accompanying them on “Lily,” a track from their upcoming Chaos EP. Have a listen below. The thing to note is the keyboard. It’s played by none other than Dr. Fink himself.
So how’d they get Dr. Fink to play on the track? Turns out they met him at Neumos in December 2010, and then they did the simple thing. They kept in touch. FG Drummer, Thane Mitchell, even went to visit Fink in Minneapolis when he launched The Purple Experience with the other former members of The Revolution. That solidified the connection, held it strong enough so that when FG had finished tracking their EPs last year, they asked Fink if he’d be interested in playing on “Lily.” He said yes, and that lead synth he added comes right out of the 80’s, and it’s pretty damn awesome, takes the track, the band, the song to a whole new level. And that’s just the recording. Can’t wait to hear it live.
The show is a 21+ event. Doors open at 8pm, with the music starting at 9pm. Advance tickets are available now through Ticketweb for $10. Day-of-show admission at the door will be $15.