John Greenfield

Just 17 years ago we partied like it was 1999—because it was. When I got the sad news last month that Prince had left the planet, I was working at home and the first thing I did was reach for a maroon binder on my bookshelf. It was a scrapbook from a fun concert that a few dozen of my musician friends and I put on around the turn of the millennium called “1999: A Tribute to Prince.” It was part of a series of multi-band tribute shows I booked at the Empty Bottle, honoring ‘80s icons like Sade, Michael Jackson, David Bowie and Madonna, with the proceeds going to various charities. The Prince tribute show raised a couple thousand dollars for the Minneapolis to Chicago AIDS Ride, which several of the performers completed soon after the gig. Each of the 12 acts got up and did their renditions of two classic Prince tunes, sharing equipment to allow for quick band changes. The room was packed with party people, and non-stop dancing ensued. There were too many heartfelt, scandalous and hilarious performances to recount them all here. Soulful singer-songwriter Kelly Hogan (who has recently toured with the Decembrists and Neko Case) performed sultry versions of slow jams like “If I Was Your Girlfriend” and “Slow Love.” Funky hard-rock band Mr. Rudy Day got freaky with covers of “Erotic City” and “Alphabet Street.” The all-woman punk trio the Puta-Pons performed “When Doves Cry” and “U Got the Look” while wearing lingerie and negligees, inspired by Prince protégés like Apollonia and Va