November 5, 2015 | 19

www.chanvillager.com | Chanhassen Villager

let'sgo!

Discover Minnesota music, art,

theater & family fun.

Left Headed for Paisley

Park? Heres some tips.

If you go

FILE PHOTO BY MARK W. OLSON

Princes Chanhassen recording

studio is located at 7823,
7847 Audubon Rd. Follow on
Facebookwww.facebook.
com/paisleyparkafterdark;
U never know what might
happen.
1. Sign up to Paisley Parks
Twitter feed at twitter.com/
Prince3EG for alerts.
2. Take a nap.
3. Wear comfy shoes. Youll be
standing and dancing a long
time.

Reporter Unsie Zuege waits for

doors to open at Paisley Park.
PHOTO BY UNSIE ZUEGE

Fans lined up outside Paisley

Park.

Lets Go Crazy
FILE PHOTO BY KARLA WENNERSTROM

BY UNSIE ZUEGE | uzuege@swpub.com

ttending one of
Princes Paisley Park
late night concerts/
dance parties has
been on my to-do list for a long
time.
For those of you not familiar
with Prince and his Paisley
Park recording studio in
Chanhassen, just know that he
helped put Minnesotas music
scene on the map in the 1980s
along with other homegrown
groups like the Replacements,
the Suburbs and Husker Du.
But his distinctive sound and
showmanship helped him rise
to superstardom along with his
contemporaries, Madonna and
Michael Jackson.
Although famously private,
over the years, hes opened
Paisley Park to fans for late
night concerts and dancing. In
the past, he might invite fans to
come out to Paisley Park after
a show at First Avenue. Those
were the days when people still
relied on word of mouth and
land line phonesremember
those?
Today, social media has
made his Paisley Park concerts/
dance parties more accessible.
Fans are updated almost
instantaneously with a Tweet or
a Facebook post.
Last Saturday night, after

(But take a nap first)

having taken a
nice long nap in
the late afternoon,
I finally
made it
to Paisley
Park, and
the stars
must have
been aligned
because I
actually saw
Prince in
person, not only
performing four
setsFOUR sets
but also got to
see him in his natural habitat
his own private recording
studioon my backstage tour.
He looked as startled as us when
our tour guide opened the studio
door. We filed into the small
space, past the soundboard and
chairs, speechless. My friend
Karla could barely breathe.
After saying hello, he quietly
exited, to make more room,
for us.
One of his most ardent fans
is the aforementioned Karla
Karla Wennerstrom, who
by day is a community news
editor, suburban wife and mom,
and school and community
volunteer. By night, she is a
Prince acolyte. Her family
knows that if she gets an alert

on her smartphone at
10 p.m., on a
Wednesday
night, a
Saturday
night, a
SUNDAY
night, theyre
on their own.
Shes headed
to Paisley
Park.
Another
is a woman I
will only refer
to as Ms. X. She has
been a Prince fan since sixth
grade when I heard him on the
radio, and Purple Rain was the
first album I ever bought. She
didnt realize that when she and
her family relocated to the Twin
Cities some years ago, shed be
living within miles of Paisley
Park.
It was one of the added perks
I discovered after moving here,
Ms. X explained. Remaining in
close proximity to Paisley Park
was a determining factor when
her family bought a new home in
the area.
Like Wennerstrom, shes
ready to jump into the car and
head to Paisley Park at moments
notice.
Ive probably been there
more than 40 times, Ms. X said.

Even if its late and Im ready

to go to bed, when I see the text
message, Prince is going to be
performing, you instantly wake
up.
Princes hours are those of a
night owl, and hes known for
shows that dont begin until past
midnight, which adds to the
mystique.
Once he performed at 4 a.m.,
Ms. X said. Nothing deters her,
not even winter storms. Ive
been to a lot of shows where its a
blizzard outside, but people come
from all over the place.
Part of the fun is knowing that
Prince may or may not even show
up. It might be a guest band, it
might be a DJ playing dance
music, or it could be Prince
and his band 3RDEYEGIRL, or
Prince putting on a concert for
Madonna. Yes. Madonna.
Madonna visited Paisley
Park after her recent concert
at the Xcel Energy Center. Ms.
X was one of the lucky few who
attendedI think there might
have been about 30 of us, she
recalled. Theres a reason why
the tagline is You never know
what is going to happen. At
about 1:45 a.m., Madonna came
in with all of her dancers, and
the DJ played Vogue and it was
like a dance-off. They were on
fire. And then Prince came on

4. Wear anything you feel good

in, from athleisure wear to
anything with Diamonds and
Pearls.
5. Bring cash. There is an ATM
on site but no guarantee it is
serviced on a regular basis.
Admission usually ranges from
$10 to $50; the studio tour is
$20 to $40; plenty of merch
to buy: T-shirts, CDs, DVDs,
posters, books. Pop and bottled
water for sale, and (on a recent
night) pumpkin bars $2.
6. Parking in Paisley Park lot is
first come, first served. Easiest
access, from Highway 5, take
Highway 41 south to Lyman
Boulevard. From Lyman, take a
left to Audubon, and then get
in line.
7. Leave cell phone in car.
No photos permitted inside
Paisley Park.
8. Dont leave until house
lights come up. You might miss
something otherwise.
9. You may or may not see
Prince (performing, riding
around in a golf cart, or on
a bicycle). Go for the fun of
saying you were at Paisley
Park.
stage and Madonna sat on the
edge of the stage. He played for
her about an hour, and she was
just mesmerized. It was one of
the best nights ever at Paisley
Park.
Being a newbie to the Paisley
Park concert night/dance party
thing, I felt like a fish out of
water. Thankfully, Wennerstrom
met me in the lobby that
night, and ushered me into the
soundstage where Prince was
seated at the electric keyboard,
playing his heart out. I just
followed Wennerstroms lead,
took the tour, wandered through
both sound stages, danced to the
DJ, and danced to all four sets
led by Prince. By the end of the
(long) night, I felt like a regular.
But, dont make the mistake
of leaving before the house lights
come up. Being unpredictable,
Prince may or may not have
more tricks up his sleeve. Ms.
X left after Princes concert for
Madonna,
I thought it was done, Ms.
X said. It was 3:15 a.m. I later
found out Prince came back and
pulled people on the stage to
dance with him.