Review: The Time and Sheila E. deliver a ‘Princely’ dance party at Pala

Sheila E at Pala Photo by Donovan Roache Times of San Diego What s up San Diego Are y all ready to get this party started Well let me hear ya make a few noise That s how Morris Day teed up The Time s funkified set at Pala Casino Spa Resort last week Well following a lengthy hyped-up intro that included a sizzle reel of his iconic Purple Rain scenes pimped-up strut to both sides of the stage and requisite mirror check courtesy of his valet Sylvester Donald Jr who gamely carries on the tradition originated by the inimitable Jerome Benton Aside from Day the only other original band member was drummer Jellybean Johnson But that didn t stop the current lineup from digging into early- s faves like Get It Up from The Time s eponymously titled debut Wild Loose - and the C-O-O-L singalong Cool From the moment Day pranced on stage the charismatic frontman proved he hadn t lost any of his signature swagger and his voice was in commendable condition though he doesn t sing so much as smooth talk Dapper as ever in his silky suit with trademark pocket square Day would dance and spin coax the crowd to sing move or otherwise make themselves known they were oddly subdued or consult the mirror yet again to dab his forehead and confirm his perfection The Time at Pala Photo by Donovan Roche Times of San Diego In a welcome surprise the group also performed two fan favorites from Day s solo catalog the bouncy Fishnet and Color of Success Oak Tree which like The Bird incites everyone to do its arm-swinging dance But they kept to the classics and didn t play any tracks from Day s latest release s Last Call Like Sheila E did during her earlier set The Time paid homage to Prince the Minneapolis maestro who helped launch both acts into the spotlight With Purple Rain playing and photos of Day and Prince in their early days together flashing across Starlight Theater s big screen a message read Thank U Prince We Luv U As anticipated The Time closed their too short hourlong set with the Purple Rain bangers The Bird and Jungle Love Familiar as they were with Day s Baawk and o-o-o-ah-ah-ah-ah the songs sounded as fresh and vibrant in contemporary times as their debut both a testament to Prince s songwriting and Morris Day The Time s performance magic While Sheila E s set on May was similar in brevity lasting only minutes it differed on a multitude of levels To start it was a family affair as in nearly all band members were related to Sheila from her niece on drums to her godson guitarist The only notable exceptions were her outstanding background singers best friend Lynn Mabry who began as a vocalist with Sly The Family Stone and later toured with Talking Heads and San Diego s own Rebecca Jade Unlike The Time s originals-only performance Sheila s set was packed with covers While specific made a lot of sense yes there was plenty of Prince others were unexpected like her show-starting rendition of The Beatles Come Together and later on the Nawlins romp When the Saints Go Marching In The legendary percussionist also frequently handed Mabry lead vocal duties as on Prince s jazzy deep cut Get on the Boat from Mabry more than rose to the occasion and had several opportunities throughout the night to showcase her stunning range Early on Sheila disclosed that she was celebrating her birthday and it turned into a touching moment I just turned years young she declared and the crowd erupted into applause On December th like last year Then she clarified The reason I m saying this is because wherever I go every single day is my birthday Every single day is your birthday You celebrate your life EVERY SINGLE DAY You live your life to the fullest because the upcoming day s not promised Sheila also revealed that Bailar Deluxe the expanded edition of her album featuring four new songs was distributed in the current era Unfortunately she only treated us to one salsa number tonight Still she thrilled the Pala crowd with her iconic Prince duets Kicking off Love Bizarre she playfully urged Come on all my sexy dancers as she shimmied across the stage The sultry Erotic City came a bit later as a snippet in a Prince medley that also included fragments of Let s Work U Got the Look America Free and Baby I m A Star It was a fun and fitting tribute to her close friend and musical collaborator Unfortunately Sheila never slipped behind the drumkit for a song or two Instead she kept to her front-and center set-up of timbales cowbells and crash cymbal as on the closing The Glamorous Life when she lost a stick and kicked over her cymbal in a fiery flourish echoing her Fire Aide performance with Anderson Paak Together Prince s proteges turned this special night under the stars into a pulsating dance party From swagger to salsa seduction to celebration the night was a masterclass in how funk royalty can still throw down Donovan Roche is a longtime music writer and frequent contributor to Times of San Diego