WINNIPEG -- In the end we all became rainbow children.

Prince's funked up groovy rainbow children bathing in his purple reign.

His royal purpleness made everyone who witnessed his show at the Walker Theatre last night a member of his tribe, ready to get up and dance to the music of one of history's most prolific artists.

While much of the setlist wasn't familiar to many of the 1,500 who paid the $150 admission, they didn't seem to care -- Prince could do no wrong with his musical stew of soul, jazz, R & B, rock, blues and funk.

Lots of funk.

"I'm so funky I can hardly sleep with myself," Prince said with a smile.

Early in his first ever Winnipeg show, the diminutive superstar made it known he wasn't going to play the hits, telling the good looking crowd they were in the wrong place if they wanted to get their Purple Rain on.

"We're not interested in what you know, but what you're willing to learn. I hope you brought your scuba gear with you because we're going to get deep," he said.

But he did pull out a few of his better known tunes near the end of his main two hour set and during his encore, including Take Me With U, Raspberry Berry, Nothing Compares 2 U and Purple Rain, a love-in which turned into a giant sing-a-long.

The stage setup wasn't overly flashy, but was impressive nonetheless. Prince -- wearing a purple suit with the top three buttons open -- and his five-piece New Power Generation band were backed by purple curtains and three video screens showing a variety of multi-coloured psychedelic images. Spotlights surrounded the stage, while the overhead lights bathed the band in hues of lavender and green.

And you can say what you want about Prince and his sometimes bizarre actions, but there is no denying the man is an amazing musician who feels his music and is a genius on whichever instrument he feels like picking up.

He is equally proficient on guitar and piano, switching from blistering guitar solos to freakouts on the keys with ease.

Prince has a reputation for being moody and private, but during last night's show he was always smiling and encouraging the crowd to get up, dance and clap.

They did and the Walker turned into a sweat shack.

He brought one excited hyperventilating fan on stage during a guitar solo and playfully teased a man in the front row who was sitting down and not clapping on the beat.

So was it worth $150? For casual fans who are only into Prince's hits and could care less about his newer experimental material, they were probably better off staying home.

For anyone who was at the Walker Theatre last night it was worth every penny. (More on Prince)

JAM! Rating: 5 out of 5