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Prince (POSTMEDIA / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS ARCHIVES)

Oh Prince. You extravagant, spectacular devil, you.

No one — and I mean no one — throws a party quite like His Royal Badness. The iconic, prolific, eccentric Minneapolis musician hosted a two-and-a-half hour funk/pop/R&B/soul/disco throwdown at the MTS Centre last night — and while the evening was all about glittery, larger-than-life performances (his dramatic encore exits — via trap door and smoke, natch — were worth the price of admission alone), it was also about "real music played by real musicians."

That was perhaps the most striking thing about seeing Prince live; while it was a thrill to hear the hits — Raspberry Beret, Little Red Corvette, Kiss, 1999, Purple Rain and Nothing Compares 2 U all made appearances in the set — it was a real joy to see someone who very clearly takes a tremendous amount of joy in playing music for people. To see His Purple Majesty jam onstage with two other legends — former James Brown saxophonist Marceo Parker and Sly & The Family Stone bassist Larry Graham — was absolutely awe-inspiring. (The three Sly covers — Everyday People, Stand and Thank You — were runaway crowd pleasers.)

Indeed, our host with the most looked like he was having the time of his life — a smile never left that perfectly made-up face. There was no mistake about who’s party we were at — this was Prince’s show — but he went to lengths to make sure everyone in that room was having as much fun as he was. (Also, at 53, the guy’s got insatiable energy — not to mention an ass that won’t quit. He’s one Sexy MF, indeed.)

If you missed it, make sure you add seeing him to your concert bucket list. A Prince show is more than just a concert — it’s an experience. But perhaps this text I received mid-show from my pal Alicia sums it up best: "Amaze balls. Amaze. Balls."