Prince Struts for Hometown

Prince wowed the hometown crowd with a rendition of “The Question of U” from his upcoming film and soundtrack album, “Graffiti Bridge.”

Sunday night’s performance was announced only on Thursday night, but all 17,000 tickets were sold at the St. Paul Civic Center. The concert was billed as Prince’s only large U.S. concert before beginning his Nude Tour of Europe on June 2 in Rotterdam, Netherlands.

Most of the numbers Prince played Sunday were stripped-down rock versions of a cross-section of his older material with his band.

“I’ve been to a lot of concerts in this place, but they ain’t quite like this one,” said Prince, who lives in suburban Chanhassen. “Yeah, yeah, yeah, you all belong to me. And you know what? I belong to you.”

The singer concluded the erotic ballad “Scandalous” by lying in a crucifixion pose on a stainless steel heart that was hydraulically raised and lowered.