#easiest to hardest hats to draw imo:

[benevolenterrancy]

your art of the boys at stalag 13 gives me so much serotonin, do you have a favorite/least favorite character to draw?

Yay!! I'm so glad!

My favourite to draw is definitely Lebeau! He's probably my favourite character anyway, which definitely adds to the bias, but I also find him the easiest to draw ^-^ His sweater, scarf, and beret combo are all pretty simple compared to everyone else's uniforms so drawing him just feels fun and relaxing! And the scarf just lends itself to a fun silhouette

Least favourite is probably Hogan :/c His hat is a pain in the ass to draw, and choosing The Appropriate Variation Of Assorted Browns is constant agony. How dark? How light? How far towards purple, how far towards orange? Do they contrast enough? Do they contrast too much and now look silly? *screaming* Also when he's with the other Heroes he generally plays the straight man, which means I don't have an excuse to draw his expressions and movements as big and over the top as the others, which is really the best part of drawing a cartoon :P

[stephaniejuhnay]

Prince On Every Tour: Sign O’ The Times

Good morning children.  Jk, it’s not morning. It is very much night, but I’m currently jamming to The Dance Electric as I type this and I love the way he says that. ANYWAY. It has been quite some time since the last POET post. We last visited Parade Prince which was a TIME. It was the culmination of what felt like at least 2 or 3 months of being very much swept up in that era. But now we’re here. To my favorite album. Favorite rehearsal show. Second or third favorite era because he and Parade Prince consistently fight. There is no circulating tour footage outside of clips which is A CRIME AGAINST PRINCE-MANITY, but I have hope that we will get at least one concert from this tour. Just like we’ll get Second Coming. We’re gonna get these things guise. We will. Anyway, while in Detroit, my mom and I watched SOTT so I may throw a bit of that in, but I just finished Valium, which will be the focus. So, without further ado... 

SIGN O’ THE TIMES. FIRST AVENUE.  MARCH 21, 1987. LET’S GET INTO IT.

Overview: Welp. It’s happened. That thing that we all knew was gonna happen. That thing that probably hurt a few folks hearts. I know it hurt mine. Prince gave up the signature Parade slickback. Just as we were getting used to it. The 1999 curls that I LIVE for were stolen, and he lulled me into a false sense of security when I finally accepted the short, suave ‘do. But in true Prince fashion, he swapped it out for something JUST as fabulous: another set of wonderful curls with just enough to put into the world’s most unnecessary ponytail and what @the-beautiful-1 refers to as the fishing tackle braid. It’s all very glorious. He’s ditched suits for the most part for crop tops with matching pants and jumpsuits with ridiculous cutouts that would get any normal man sideeyed to death, but gets Prince these draws praise and adoration for the slayage.  Valium starts with something everyone needs: Prince in a polka dot suit with a pair of glasses (which I would very much like to have for myself) looking like an entire Thanksgiving feast. He talks to the crowd, lets us know this show is basically a rehearsal we’ve been invited to. We don’t care. We know it’s going to be fantastic. Especially because of the getting got that will take place afterwards when you see him in the final number outfit. For my peace of mind, this person I’ve created in this series through which any of us can live gets got and lives the dream forever. Amen. Moving forward.  We are joked with a bit, introduced to his new friends, some old friends, and my favorite friend: the polka dot suit. He also reminds us that if we don’t know who he is we MUST be on some type of drug. Daddy.  Where the concert film opens up with a wonderful rendition of the titular song, Valium wastes no time in the edge-snatching and gets right into Housequake. How jarring it must have been for the still screaming crowd to hear “SHUT UP ALREADY, DAMN,” not knowing that it was the beginning of a song that would incite some of the hardest dancing of their life. He probably thought it was hilarious. Daddy.

This setlist is short, but sweet. We get some (then) upcoming SOTT album stuff, but a couple old gems with Girls & Boys and Kiss. The show is just over an hour and it does not let up at all, even when Prince disappears and let’s his band get some shine. Which brings me to my next point. This band. Now, I love The Revolution just as much as the next opera bloused, curly haired, fake moled 80′s enthusiast with lace gloves on, and am fully aware that much of SOTT was tracked with them. However, I cannot imagine this music being played by them. Not in it’s final form. The SOTT band is a band full of insanely talented musicians, and they executed a sound that was absolutely incredible and sounded a lot more....idk mature? Polished?  I can’t put my finger on it. Not to take anything at all away from The Revolution because they too were insanely talented. The SOTT band just offered an element that the previous band couldn’t. If they could, Prince would’ve kept them around. He was exploring new sounds, therefore needed new inspiration. It’s why we love him. During the band’s solo’s, there wasn’t a single person that I wasn’t completely in awe of. Levi and his crazy bass solo was funky and in the pocket, Fink sounds the best he’s ever sounded on the keys, Atlanta Bliss and his God-awful ponytail are still puttin’ it down on the horn, my man Sith Leeds (soon to be) is KILLIN’ that sax, and Sheila. Miss. Sheila. What a legend on the drums. Miko is a wonderful guitarist, which we learned on the last tour, and Boni has some PIPES you hear me? And of course, I cannot forget about Cat. Technically the first REAL dancer to join the band, Cat brought an energy to the gang that really rounded out these shows for me. She put her ALL into those dances, and she even forced boyfriend to step up his moves imo. I would argue that this tour is the most he’s danced so far, and it’s absolutely delightful. Honestly, what is better than any dance he does during Hot Thing on the concert film? Precisely. Nothing. Thanks for agreeing. We also get the fantastic dancing during Housequake in both shows, and Beautiful Night on the concert film that warrants mentioning. 

Favorite Number:  This is the easiest pick of all the tours, however, let’s start with some honorable mentions.

Housequake: It’s a funky groove that you cannot escape. Be prepared to dance to it for the rest of your life no matter how many times you’ve heard it within a 5 day span. You’ll be fine, trust me. This number was a fave of mine in both shows.

Slow Love: First, it’s Slow Love. Second, during both shows it’s one of my top vocal performances. I love it when he sangs ya’ll. Third, shirt rip on the “shut the door, baby” during Valium. He also ripped his shirt a bit after that same line in the concert film. Never change, boyfriend. 

Hot Thing: CUTOUTS. “COM’ERE BAAAAYBY, I WANNA TALK TO YA.” CUTOUTS. FACE DURING ORGAN PLAYING AT THE OPENING OF THE NUMBER. CUTOUTS.

Forever In My Life: The breakdown during both shows is funky as all get out. Another song on which he was SANGIN’, especially on the concert film. The “I gotta tell ya” screech? How do you not throw it back after that? Like....

Favorite of all though: Strange Relationship. Hands. Down. Disappointingly not in the concert film, this 12min funk marathon is rivaled by none, other than the very same song from the rehearsal boot. Maybe. I say maybe only because this version includes the simplest but greatest chord progression before he let’s Boni do her thing (Whatchya sayin’ Boni?!) for a little bit that I rewound a good 35 times when I first saw this show. Idk what it is, but it’s just right in the pocket and it gets me every single time. I love the little stuff like that. We also get the playful fake radio station with DJ Prince shoutout, and the always welcome Squirrel Meat groove. It’s the obvious winner. Even boyfriend knew it was too funky. 

Favorite Outfit: WELL. SOTT is ripe with wonderful outfits. I’m even okay with the egregiously large-shouldered leather jacket that opened the concert film. I hope he burned it though. Or at least de-shouldered it.  I’m a huge, HUGE fan of Prince in suits, especially polka dot suits as you will hear PLENTY of in the next POET post. And the Valium polka dot suit is a doozy. As is the crop top in that shade of blue that makes him look absolutely STUNNING in the final number during Valium. Hang it in a museum. Please. It wins as favorite outfit from Valium.

I also am a huge fan of the tasselled white number he’s in during Beautiful Night in the concert film. And the Orange cutouts he graced us with during I Could Never. And his adorably fine self in the black cutouts with the hat during Forever In My Life/It. However, Hot Thing cut out wins the concert film war. Because....I mean...like....

Still Would Rating: SOTT Prince fights for second place with Parade Prince constantly. It’s a fight I do not mind at all. Swoop me, the both of you. 

Overall Rating: Overall, both of these are absolutely amazing shows. Well, one is an amazing show, one is a concert film made UP of what I am sure are amazing shows (audio) strung together with one heck of a visual performance that sure did fool me for years and years. Could’ve been a tour filmed for all I knew. Valium is a rehearsal that might as well have been an official tour show if you ask me. Even without the full production of the official tour, that show for 1600 people at First Avenue holds up to any of the other previous shows. Whether in a small club or a stadium, boyfriend slayed regardless. Daddy.

PREVIOUSLY, PARADE                                          NEXT UP, LOVESEXY