Jimmy Jam enjoys some home cooking at Rudolph's

Rudolph's Bar-B-Que was calling, and Jimmy Jam was answering.

Returning to his hometown with The Time, which performed late Sunday night at Epic, Jam headed to his favorite BBQ joint with band mates Saturday. Dinner at "our old spot," as Jam can be heard saying at startribune.com/video, was "fabulous as always, just as we remembered it. Just had a great time hanging out."

There was a rumor that Prince would be in attendance to support his old pals, Jam, Terry Lewis et al. But I didn't see Symbolina.

A look-alike Marcus Scott, who has a 773 area code, was causing mild confusion. All of Scott's mingling and chatting, to say nothing of acknowledging the presence of others in the room, were simple clues that this was not Prince.

The other big rumor was that The Time would not take the stage until Game 5 of the Celtics-Lakers NBA Finals was decided ... and it didn't.

Jam's wife, Lisa Harris, and their kids, who left Minnesota for California a few years ago, were in Boston supporting Lisa's sister Brandi and her husband, Kevin Garnett.

Jam said his son Max -- twin of Bella, younger sib of Tyler -- is looking forward to visiting the new Twins ballpark. The family would have returned to the state where all three kids were born for this show had Boston not been in the finals.

Jam had a few minutes to talk during the sound check, which was a jamming good time in its own right.

Morris Day was very engaged, leaving the stage repeatedly to stand where the crowd would be as he was tweaking the sound.

At one point the music for "The Bird" was so loud it caused the portable stairs down to main floor to vibrate away from the stage, which Day thought was hysterically funny.

Day was mopping his forehead at the sound check. During the show, Day explained that drying his forehead was not an indication that he was no longer cool. Like a bottle of champagne taken from the fridge, Day explained, he was merely experiencing condensation, which should be ignored because "I'm still cool."

Around 11:35 p.m., Day donned his fur coat for part of his stage schtick. But he didn't wear it on top of his suit coat; he had removed his suit coat.

Day's suits are to gaudiness what Jerome Benton's attire is to sartorial splendor.

After the show, when Benton was telling me about a Vegas appearance where the kids of group members came on stage to perform with their dads, I got to see what he was wearing up close. And touch it. When told of the magnificent hand of this fabric, Benton, who does not age, responded with a couple of kisses and hugs.

We should be seeing members of The Time again because they'll probably tour to support their first new album in years, which Jam said is 90 percent done.

A loyal reader Jesse Johnson, whom Jam repeatedly called the greatest guitarist around, has a new album, "Verbal Penetration."

At the sound check, Johnson said he has been busier than I realized, because "I'm just quiet." He said Chaka Khan's Hendrix work also won him a Grammy.

"I enjoy your column," said Johnson, who stressed he's a regular reader.

Excuuuuse me! Steve Martin and his banjo must have had a room at Graves over the weekend, because somebody there was Twittering about him being seen in the lobby. Martin had a sold-out show Sunday at the State.

Pretty in Ebony "Well, you can wait on [writing about] me, but you have to explain why Prince is on the cover of Ebony magazine looking like Halle Berry," said MyTalk 107.1's Sheletta Brundidge.

She was updating me on being first in one of Oprah's lines at her Dallas casting call for new talk show host talent.

"I'm walking through the airport looking at Ebony and thinking, 'Oh, she's cute. I wonder who she is?' Baby, it was Prince! He looks like a chick."

Nothing new here. Prince is all boy, but he's very comfortable with his feminine side. "Well, baby, his perm is tighter than mine!" she said.

Not surprising. Former Prince stylist Patrick Wilson of VIP Hair & Nails once told me when he worked for Prince that Symbolina could do his own hair better than any hairdresser.

C.J. is at 612.332.TIPS or cj@startribune.com. Shede can be seen on Fox 9 Thursday mornings.