"We Gotta Do What the Authorities Say"
By Chris Riemenschneider, Star Tribune

Apparently, even Prince isn't enough of a king in Minneapolis to bend the laws. The rock legend's much-anticipated return to First Avenue nightclub was unplugged by police early this morning after it went almost an hour past the required 3 a.m. closing time.

"We gotta do what the authorities say," Prince told the sold-out crowd, which waited around until 2:45 a.m. for the singer to take the stage where he filmed his 1984 film "Purple Rain." It was his first performance there since 1987, and it was cut short at just over an hour.

Minneapolis Police Sgt. E.T. Nelson, who watched from across the street as fans filed out of the club, pointed to the many officers working overtime due to the event. More than 20 officers, including four on horseback, had worked to block off the streets surrounding the club and Target Center, the site of his sold-out concert a few hours earlier.

"I think it's very arrogant of him to think he can hold us here like this," said Nelson, who did not believe an exception should be made for the homegrown Rock and Roll Hall of Famer. "The law is the law for anybody."

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First Avenue has a late-night permit with the city, which is given to some clubs to stay open till 3 a.m. as long as they stop serving liquor at 2 a.m. There is a chance the venue will be fined for going overtime, Nelson said. However, that was the only incident from any of the three Prince events, he added.

"The crowd has not presented us with any problems," Nelson said, "and neither has First Avenue -- other than the fact that it should have closed at 3."