By Courtney Devores
Special to the Observer

Prince opened the Carolinas run of his "Welcome 2 America" tour Monday at the Colonial Life Arena in Columbia. Ever the man-boy whom fans adored from "Purple Rain," he teased the crowd - turning the lights and video monitors off and on - before he finally hit the stage. Fans weren't bored, though, because videos from his various '80s associates from Sheena Easton to Tevin Campbell scrolled on overhead screens.

He didn't make the crowd wait long. He bounded on stage to "D.M.S.R." (from 1982's "1999"). His eight-piece New Power Generation (including Columbia native John Blackwell on drums and Greensboro-born vocalist Shelby Johnson) are pros who follow his Purple Highness' every musical whim (via subtle signals) as James Brown's crew once did.

"Pop Life" got the crowd going, although the more recent "Musicology" stalled its momentum. In a silver turtleneck and black flared pants, Prince seemed to float on stage as if he's been hiding the fountain of youth at his Paisley Park compound.

The famously reclusive star mashed together Sheila E.'s "Love Bizarre" (a recent set staple), Wild Cherry's cover band staple "Play That Funky Music," the Ohio Players' "Love Rollercoaster," and a blip of "Housequake" as members of the crowd danced on stage less than 5 feet from him. He singled out one fan dressed as "Purple Rain"-era Prince. The clone feigned shyness before bumping and grinding atop Prince's purple piano.

Prince left out most of his '90s catalog as well as some of his bigger hits, but he also performed as many chart-toppers as he omitted. The briskness with which he ran through some of the versions gave it the feel of a Vegas production.

No longer a futuristic apocalyptic party anthem, "1999" takes on new meaning in a war-torn decade after 9-11. One of the best "reimaginings" was "Little Red Corvette," which he transformed into a sultry, slow jam before leading the crowd in a full version of "Purple Rain."

Although he still moves like a man at least 20 years his junior, he peppered the set list with slow jams like "Adore."

His piano's keys remained untouched until the encore. Turned out it wasn't a traditional baby grand at all. Each key appeared to be programmed with one of his hits. While his band was off stage, he literally "keyed" up snippets of "When Doves Cry," "Sign O' the Times" and "Alphabet St."

"Turn that up. That's my jam," he joked before singing along with his ready-made remixes.

He teased the crowd with the cheesiness of "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" and the naughtiness of "Darling Nikki." Despite cheers for the latter, he coyly shook his head and refrained from the rest of his raciest track.

The first of his Carolinas shows wasn't as spectacular as his NYC run promised. The pizazz may have been toned down a notch, but the agile showman gave his audience at least a good portion of what they came for.

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