AND NOW HERE’S THE NEWS: No one’s...

AND NOW HERE’S THE NEWS: No one’s made an official announcement yet, but it looks like Prince’s brief retirement from the concert stage is over. It’s expected that he’ll tour this summer, and Prince fans in Minneapolis got a sneak preview of His Royal Purpleness’ new stage show Monday night at a 2 1/2-hour impromptu rehearsal at the fabled First Avenue club. (L.A. fans shouldn’t be too jealous--rumor has it that Prince could be making a couple of brief surprise appearances here very shortly.) The concert featured a new, expanded version of the Revolution (which now includes three male dancers, two horn players and an extra guitarist), which performed two dozen songs, including nearly all of the tunes from his upcoming “Parade” album. Other selections included oldies like “Soft ‘N Wet,” a Prince-written Family song, “Mutiny,” a version of “America” that features a brief snatch of lyrics from James Brown’s “Living in America” and a rare cover version of Jerry Lee Lewis’ “Whole Lotta Shaking Going On.” Wearing a silk pajama-style outfit topped with a padded-shoulder trench coat, Prince was described as being very relaxed and upbeat, even walking out into the crowd with a tambourine during a rendition of “Paisley Park.” When the band flubbed the beginning of one song, Prince offered a jovial apology, noting that the group had only been rehearsing for a week “so we’re a little rusty.”