I  can not believe a controversy has erupted over the phallic symbolism of Rio headliner Prince's guitar solo during his Super Bowl Halfime show. There is an AP article outlining the controversy. Let me let you in on a more likely subtle message Prince put into his performance: an explicit nod to his reported Jehovah's Witness faith. Remember the Dylan cover I mentioned yesterday in writing about the halftime show. I neglected to mention the song Prince chose: "All Along the Watchtower." Dylan put that song on John Wesley Harding an acoustic disc thick in religious imagery(the song before it on the disc is "I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine"). Jimi Hendrix famously heard Dylan's song and decided to record it, and that is the version most people know.

The Hendrix version essentially rewrites the song as an electric explosion capitalizing on but not changing the apocalyptic religious lyrics.  I am not exactly an expert on the Jehovah's Witnesses faith, so forgive any error, but that group's official publication is a magazine called The Watchtower. The magazine's publishing statement reads in part "It (The Watchtower) keeps watch on world events as these fulfill bible prophecy." Prince, by the way, did not sing all of "All Along the Watchtower." Revealingly, in his performance at the Super Bowl, Prince ignored the first two verses of the song Dylan wrote (which don't mention the watchtower anyway) instead coming in with words near the very end of the song: "All along the watchtower, Princes kept the view." Okay, I capitalized "prince." Still, it seems as likely as creating a secret phallic image with his guitar, Prince was instead offering a sly plug acknowledging  his spiritual views in front of 90 million people.

Tonight Prince is set to play the halftime show at some football game. The replacement for Prince's gig at his club at the Rio last night was singer Lauryn Hill. Or, at least, it was supposed to be. Hill hasn't had the most active solo career in awhile and many fans were excited to see her perform in Vegas. According to one source Hill showed up late to the sound check but, apparently, was at the club. But, according to my source, come showtime her band was there ready to play only no Hill  According to people in the audience at 3121 at Rio they were forced to wait until 1:30 AM before an announcement was made that there would be no Lauryn Hill concert.  Today the only official comment from a 3121 spokesperson is: "The show was canceled."

UPDATE: 3121 has added this statement "We apologize that the show was canceled so late. Any charges processed via credit card were refunded by 8 this morning, any cash purchases can be refunded at the box office."

Can Prince play his own restaurant? It seems such a simple question.

Norm Clarke noted in his Review-Journal column that Prince dropped by his 3121 Jazz Cuisine restaurant at the Rio with Maceo Parker in tow and delighted diners with a two-hour jam.

This struck my eye, because of the use of the word "jam," that is, no vocals. Back in 2001, there was a complex series of laws enacted that put an entertainment tax on live music. The initial plan for the tax was so broad that it kicked in, for example, if piano players were tickling the ivories at a fine dining establishment. Fine dining restaurants liked having a piano player and all, but they could still have the music if it was, say, a Bill Evans compact disc and avoid the mess. This upset living piano players. The result was an exemption to allow instrumental music in restaurants, and so I figured as long as Prince avoided the temptation to yell, James Brown-style, "Maceo, blow your horn!" or sing at all, then all was cool with the taxman.

Still, this got me wondering about our bizarre tax code. So, I called Carole Vilardo, the president of the Nevada Taxpayers Assn. We spent about a half hour on the phone trying to read through the regulations to understand a simple question: Is Prince allowed to jam at his restaurant without the diners having to pay an entertainment tax? The good news is that he is allowed to sing every bit as much as he is allowed to play. But if he is allowed to play is a definite maybe. Perhaps, even probably, depending on how you interpret the meaning of the word "generally."

Here is the exemption clause that seems to apply:

"Instrumental or vocal music, which may or may not be supplemented with commentary by the musicians, in a restaurant, lounge or similar area if such music does not routinely rise to the volume that interferes with casual conversation and if such music would not generally cause patrons to watch as well as listen."

So, if Prince doesn't perform too often it is OK, though it would be extra helpful while performing if Prince tried not to make people want to watch or listen too much. How crazy is that? Anyway, I am going to transcribe the interview for tomorrow's Buffet, because Vilardo gives a history of the entertainment tax, Nevada Revised Statute 368A, that is entertaining — a story worthy of its own telling of government, bureaucratic and regulatory incompetence.

On Saturday night, I went to check out the second night of Prince's opening weekend in Vegas. One note if you are thinking of going: While doors opened at 10 p.m., Prince did not go on stage at 3121 until midnight. I am told this will likely be the case in the future. As with all things Prince, no one will talk on the record and everyone says that with Prince the facts on the ground are always subject to change.

So far, a night in Vegas at 3121 with Prince appears to offer a hits-heavy and focused set, not the meandering jamming that infuriates the less dedicated. One person connected to 3121 summarized the reaction to the project so far as falling into two schools: "Some people think Prince has classed up the Rio and others are shocked his career has sunk to this point."

While both these views have a grain of truth, after checking out the 3121 vibe, I don't think that either is really accurate. The Rio is a nice looking property, yet the competition has improved and Rio is certainly overdue for an upgrade. Despite its location between the Palms and the Strip, except for Penn & Teller and the once-popular Voodoo Lounge, there is no reason to recommend the Rio.

Still, Harrah's, which owns the property, has been focused on marquee property Caesars, as well as expanding its chain of center Strip casinos (Flamingo, Harrah's, Imperial Palace, O'Sheas). Now, the company is facing a buyout offer and considering building a megaresort out of all that land it has acquired on the Strip. So, the Prince deal seems to have been more a target of opportunity than part of an elaborate plan by Harrah's to revamp the Rio.

Meanwhile, Prince could have done a lot better for himself if he was only interested in making money in Vegas. He still can. There is no such thing as a has-been in Vegas. He has a lot of hits that span a few generations of gamblers, um, tourists. Prince is a major star by all the ways Vegas measures these things. Yet, on the resort side, Prince seems to have chosen something like a rental arrangement (in partnership with a live events company) — at least, that's what I've heard. I've also been told rent is not the right word though no one has yet told me the right word. Prince apparently didn't shop himself around town at all. He also didn't want to work with Harrah's to build a major show that matched his brand name. There were not months and months of negotiations. It seems he just set up shop. Everything about this project screams casual: the small room, low-key production values, light promotion and the vague "months" length of his commitment.

I think, for lack of a better way to put it, Prince seems to be toying with the possibility of making Vegas a sort of home base. He has in essence moved his Glam Slam club of the '90s in Minneapolis to Vegas to see if it will fly in 2006. And this isn't a charity project. These shows are generating a huge amount of buzz and excitement while the stage production has had little invested in it and the band is small. These were all good choices. Watching the concert, it's clear that Prince is neither diminished by the venue or the lack of two dozen dancers onstage with him: Prince is all the excitement he needs.

The show comes off like a major star having a mellow test run to see if this sort of work interests him. Prince gives himself a job interview. As long as the word keeps coming out about how hot and hit-heavy these shows are, my guess is that 3121 will also result in a really good and steady revenue stream for Prince. Meanwhile Prince gets to hang in a city that keeps his hours, features corporate types who know how to suck up to demanding eccentrics, and has audiences that are already showing up at other casinos to see impersonators do him.

Prince is one of the most kinetic and exciting performers you will ever see on a stage. Obviously, besides the parade of hits there are the moves, the guitar genius and ridiculous charisma. He is also expert at getting musicians with looks as distinctive as their talent. All of these strengths were apparent at the media preview last night of 3121 Prince's new nightclub restaurant partnership with Harrah's property the Rio.

The restaurant was an Italian place before being taken over by Prince's personal chef. The food now has more of an international gourmet flavor and sits just around the corner from the nightclub allowing dinner & show packages to be put together. Except for a purple curtain and some new signage, 3121, the nightclub, still has a similar layout to the Club Rio, which preceded it in the space. There are three tiers of tables with a dance floor in the middle. The dance floor has no slope so that it is hard to get a good view of the stage. But the surrounding tables mostly allow for clear sight lines. Also, with the way Prince moves there is no spot on the stage he won't be standing at some point.

For the press preview he whipped through three songs including "Purple Rain" and "Let's Go Crazy." His modest, for Prince, backing included bass, keyboard, a drummer and two sisters dancing and wailing the backing vocals right alongside Prince. The setting was perfect for his stage gyrations and guitar heroics. Reports are that his show tomorrow and Saturday are already sold out. And, according to a poster I saw on the way out Chaka Khan is scheduled to perform on Nov. 15.

Yet, somehow, this ought to be more of a big deal. Everything seems very informal and low key about Prince and 3121 in Vegas. There is nothing like the campaigns of promotions and press that greeted the arrival in Vegas of Celine Dion, Barry Manilow or even Hairspray. What has happened this time?

There are also a lot of questions that still have not been answered. What sort of deal has been struck between Prince and Rio? Is it a place holder show or test for a larger Harrah's venue and deal in the future? What sort of set will Prince be playing for the full show? And, how long will this be going on? On this last question, a Harrah's executive said something vague like months. Usually, no end dates are even considered for headliners beyond when a contract expires. Success lasts for eternity and every new venture is believed to be a success by executives. So, in a deal like this, esp. the length of the initial contract ought to be clear. In that context, months is a strange answer. Making a headliner of Prince ought to be a no brainer. But this fumbling approach seems like it might be really wasting a chance to capitalize fully on the status of the Rio's new headliner.

(Photo: Ethan Miller / Getty Images)

It's official: At the end of next week, Prince will open 3121, a nightclub, and 3121 Jazz Cuisine, a resturant, inside the Rio. The headline is that Prince will be performing at 3121 every Friday and Saturday at 10 p.m. for $125 a ticket. But beyond that, boy this happened quickly, and it shows.

Various artists will perform Wednesday nights; no specifics are offered at this time except that ticket prices start at $31.21. Thursday nights at the new club will raise some eyebrows: right now Club Rio offers a "Latin Libido Night" on Thursdays for a $20 cover. When 3121 opens, the same "Latin Labido Night" will continue, but the cover will be raised to $31.21.

As for the 3121 Jazz Cafe, even fewer specifics are available beyond that Executive Chef Lena Morgan will offer "a brand new menu" which, since it is a new restaurant, you would think goes without saying.