Prince Reviews

The BEST show I EVER saw in my 20+ years going to concerts!

Let me start off by saying that anyone who knows me, knows I have a life long love for music bordering on insane. I've seen many shows in the past 20+ years and enjoyed most of them thoroughly, but on 8/24/04, I witnessed what will certainly go down as THE best show I have ever seen and likely will ever see, Prince.

I have been a fan of the man since I bought Purple Rain in 1984 for a girl I knew who really wanted the cassette. The girl didn't make an impression on me beyond that month but the artist certainly did and anyone who knew me then knows that was a 180 degree turn from everything else I listened to at that time.

There was no opening act listed for the show, scheduled for a 7:30 start at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia. The buzz in the crowd was that there have been various acts opening the show each night, the previous night being someone I hadn't heard of. This night we were lucky enough to have had the only act (in my opinion) who could get the whole thing started in proper style, Morris Day & the Time. Morris and company looked sharp, sounded great and they had most of the crowd on their feet through their set which lasted just over a half hour.

Then, with a video clip of Prince's induction into the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame as his intro the man and his band, the New Power Generation took the stage and proceeded to blow our minds. I actually cried for about the first twenty minutes, like the girls you may have seen in the early black & white Beatles footage. That may be a slight exaggeration, but that's kind of what I felt like. The band played for nearly a half hour before there was a notable break in the action. In that time they strung together so many familiar songs that I couldn't possibly name them all and I sang every word through teary eyes and chills.

Enough about my state of mind, let's talk about the band. Three words come to mind to describe the band in no particular order, or should I say all at once: FUNKY, TIGHT and UNTOUCHABLE. James Brown would have been James Green (with envy) over this band. They were all so cool, down to the well dressed (designer suit) stage hand delivering and retrieving guitars, center stage for Prince.

"We believe in horns!" and "Nobody can touch my band!", Prince proudly proclaimed during the show. From what I heard, it's all true. He gave them all a chance to shine as individual artists throughout the night to prove it. They were also briefly joined by Philly legend, Patti LaBelle along with a number of female fans plucked from the crowd to dance on stage.

Then seated center stage, with his purple acoustic guitar and a microphone attached to a rotating stool, he got his chance to perform alone. Hearing some really hot songs, broken down into their simplest form by their funky creator was truly magical. It's hard to create an intimate atmosphere in a place the size of the Wachovia Center, but that's just what he did. Before he was done with the acoustic he covered the Rolling Stone's 'Satisfaction,' which if I had to choose, I'd prefer Prince's version.

After a half hour of the unplugged solo performance, he was rejoined by the band for a few high energy classics and then left the stage leaving us all wanting more. After five minutes or more of the crowd chanting for his return, they came back with a song from the new CD and then closed it with 'Purple Rain.' AWESOME.

I walked across the parking lot physically and emotionally exhausted and felt so good. On the ride home I got to get familiar with the new CD 'Musicology,' which everyone who attends the show receives upon entry to the venue, every night. That's class and respect for the fans who showed love for the man and his band all night long.

Source: http://www.epinions.com/content_4357791876

Prince Live In Sydney, Australia, 24/10/03 - A Beautiful Experience

Where 2 begin? I suppose it all started when a friend at school told me that he had heard on TV that Prince was coming to Australia. This was unbelievably exciting - eye had just been getting into the Purple One and buying up his catalogue. The man is a legend, funky personified. Eye ran immediately 2 my friend Kramer, a hardcore Prince fan, 2 tell him the news, 2 which he reacted by running up and down the playground three times, hooting and hollering. That eye'll never forget.

At the time eye thought that the concert would be all-instrumental, or non-hits anyways... but a few days later eye read in the paper that it was 2 b a greatest hits tour, the last time Prince plays his old ones before retiring them forever. Boy was I psyched.

Eye got up early and bought my tickets within 10 minutes of them going on sale. Eye could only afford the tickets at the back, but got a suprisingly good view from Seat 14, Row M, Section 34B of the Sydney Entertainment Centre. Kramer went on 2 win four-rows-from-the-front tickets from MTV the night before the concert (!), but his view was in some ways worse than mine.

Arrived at 7:00, had dinner in the nearby Chinatown district - might eye recommend this to all people visiting Sydney, eye've never had a bad meal there. Bought me a tour t-shirt and took my seat at 7:10, 20 minutes early. Prince's latest album, N.E.W.S, was playing over the intercom while we waited. Eye think we must've heard the whole album a good 3 times that night...

At 7:45, the opening act came on. It was DJ Groove Terminator, who did a nice, funky 30 minute set, which used Stevie Wonder, 10cc, and the Black Eyed Peas amongst others.

At 8:15 the joint really started 2 fill up, and I began noticing all the freaks who had come out of the woodwork. 1 guy had purple vinyl pants - the tightest pants I've ever seen - with PRINCE in big lettering on one leg and O(+> on the other. Another guy was wearing a cape, Superman-style, with the O( > on it. Eye could tell that the place had sold out - there was not an empty seat in the house.

Prince came on at 9:05. The crowd went wild. Let's Go Crazy was of course the opener, and it's an absolutely spine-tingling moment when u hear that organ chord and he says "Dearly beloved...". Eye was dancing like eye've never danced before. ("OH NO LET'S GO!")

He then sped through the hits from Purple Rain, with the crowd on their feet the whole time - I swear I was the first person to do the hand signs 2 I Would Die 4 U.

When Doves Cry was great 2 c because it's such a classic, but it's kinda a party pooper, the bizarro, psychological song that it is. He had some fun with the song - "Dig if u will the picture/Of u and eye engaged in a...*opening chord from "Kiss*". Prince got through it pretty quickly and moved on 2 Baby I'm A Star, 1 of the highlights of the night. "Hey! Look me ova! Tell me do u like what u c?"

As a chillout song after that marathon of upbeat classics, Prince did Sssh, a lesser known make-out song from the Gold Experience album of 1995. We were all back on our feet again for DMSR (DANCE! MUSIC! SEX! ROMANCE!).

Eye Feel 4 U was 1 of the older songs in the setlist, and twas a welcome addition. It was interesting 2 note the lyric changes The Artist has made since becoming a Jehovah's Witness. It's now: Eye wouldn't lie 2 u baby/I'm spiritually attracted 2 u....

The Beautiful Ones opened with a beautiful solo from the New Power Generation members - Maceo Parker walked out into the crowd playing his sax, while the keyboard guy (Hans Moleman meets Elton John) and the Alicia Keys lookalike jammed onstage. Then those familiar opening piano chords came in - this song was a priceless experience, complete with screaming session at the end.

Prince is really good at talking 2 the audience. A lot of times, he'd stop, walk off and say "That's it...."... then off camera "But surely y'all can't take no more!"...we all cheer..."Y'all makin' me go places eye don't wanna go!"...cheer..."Don't play with me, Sydney!"...and so on, really fun stuff. Eye also remember "Somebody told me Sydney likes funky music... is that right? *cheer* Everybody sing 'Eye Like Funky Music'!"

The singalongs were the best part of the night... Nothing Compares 2 U was a beautiful experience. After hearing Prince sing this, I got into the Sinead O'Connor version and it's now one of my favourite songs of all time. There's something magical about 13,000 people swaying and singing Noothing compares/Nooothin' compares/2 u....

4 Insatiable, Prince asked us all to "Sit down, y'all, chill out, Im'ma sing 4 u...". The pearls chandelier descended from the roof and surrounded Prince, and for a few seconds, it was just like the Diamonds and Pearls single cover, right in front of me. Again, a beautiful experience and a gorgeous song.

Sign 'O' The Times came next, and he quite skillfully turned the original song - an eery, minimalist, somewhat depressing number about the state of the world - in2 a funky jam that got the place on it's feet and singing along. It was also a showcase 4 the bass skills of Rhonda Smith, who turned the original 8-note bassline in2 a complex solo. Prince raised a smile with the final line: Sign 'o' the times, mess wit yo mind, hurry b4 it's 2 late/Let's fall in love, get married, have a baby... we'll call him Prince...

The Question of U is a favourite of mine from Graffiti Bridge, and an unexpected but welcome choice for this concert. The solo absolutely kicked a s s, and they seamlessly worked a verse from Alicia Keys' Fallin' in2 it.

Let's Work and U Got The Look were hella fun. 1 distinct image of the night is Prince standing on the side of the stage, clapping and chanting "LET'S WORK!". He of course played Kiss, which the whole crowd knew the words 2. The arrangement was changed hugely from the original, minimalist version, 2 a more rounded off funk sound. After, he did Take Me With U, and in total we heard every song from Purple Rain, except Darling Nikki and Computer Blue. The set finished with a rousing Everlasting Now, from the Rainbow Children album. The whole night was an absolute blast.

But of course, with Prince, the end is never the end. We had 2 work hard for the encores - took a good ten minutes of chanting and cheering 2 get the guy back on stage. I was screaming my lungs out when suddenly a spotlight hits Prince, sitting alone at a keyboard...

The piano medley played as the encore is a new concept 4 Prince, and it worked damn well. I don't think even he knew what songs he was going 2 play next - he had a big book of sheet music he was flipping thru and played whatever he wanted. Adore was another beautiful experience, followed by the classic 1979 hit Eye Wanna B Ur Lover , Diamonds and Pearls, Do Me, Baby, and then Alphabet St. with the whole band.

But the best song of the whole night was the grand finale, Purple Rain - the beautifulest experience of all. He said 2 us, "Despite what people say, I love this song. I will never get tired of playing this song." and set into the opening chords. He even used the legendary purple guitar in the shape of the O( >. Man, was this song great. I will never forget it. He had the whole joint swaying their arms, with the lighting bathing the entire venue in purple light, and footage of purple rain playing on the two giant screens. I turned on my mobile phone's blue screen, , called my parents, screamed "LISTEN TO THIS!" and swayed with it ala a candle at Woodstock. At the 5:17 mark of the song, there's some "Oooh-oooh-oooh-ooh/Oooh-ooh-oooh-oooh..." and the truly magical thing was that the crowd sung along without being told to - they came in at exactly the right time and knew what to sing. We were truly a part of the music. As he said at the very end - "You are the New Power Generation". With those words, the song came to it's thrilling conclusion and the lights went up. The time was 11:30 PM. What a night.

At the moment, Prince's curiously unnamed world tour has come to a hault, supposedly because he is ill. The next gigs scheduled are for Hawaii, so there's a good chance he'll be moving on up to the US mainland as soon as he's better again. If you get the opportunity to see him, do so without thinking twice. This was an experience I'll never forget.

Source: http://www.epinions.com/content_3595542660