It’s been a few days since Prince’s Super Bowl performance, but so many questions remain: Why didn’t he rush-release his rendition of “All Along The Best Of You” to radio? Are the singer’s phallic-obsessed critics for real? And, most importantly, why didn’t he get zapped during his rain-soaked guitar-solo? Luckily, the St. Paul Pioneer Press has a few answers to that last one:
…as it turns out, Prince’s only serious concern was slipping on those monster heels of his. “Everything was wireless,” said [lighting expert] Paul Van Puffelen. “He had a wireless guitar transmitter and wireless microphones — there was no power running directly to him. All the real power appliances, the guitar amps and monitors, were all protected from the rain.”
But what about all those flashy, seemingly hazardous spotlights that illuminated the concert? They were low-voltage and waterproof LED devices, designed for outdoor use.
Lightning? He could have been struck by lightning at least, right? Nope. “You can debunk it all pretty fast,” Van Puffelen said. “He was in a big bowl. And lighting strikes the highest point, and there were plenty of high, high lights on the stadium, with their own lighting rods. When it’s an open-air venue with no roof, they have a lot to take into consideration.”
In fact, Van Puffelen said his biggest concern of the night had nothing to do with Prince. It was when Billy Joel sang the National Anthem in the rain: “I wouldn’t want to be the guy who owned that grand piano.”
Thankfully, we’re told that Joel’s piano was returned undamaged, save for a few Hot Pockets lodged between the tuning pins.
Why didn’t Prince get zapped purple in the rain? [Twincities.com]
Prince – Super Bowl Medley (Rip) [MP3, link removed]
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