August 18th aftershow

It started up at just about 1am and played through until almost 2:30. Prince was on stage for the whole show and was on vocals all night. Occasionally it would be just backing vocals but he was on the mic pretty much all the time.

He started out playing keyboard front and centre, then after a while the keyboard was removed and he had to resort to the guitar.

I can't list the whole set because I wasn't familiar with some of the tracks but it was a fantastic show, with a few that I know and remember being:

Superstition
Thankuforlettinmebicelfagain.
A Love Bizarre
The Ballad Of Dorothy Parker

There were others that I recognised but can't remember right now. The highlight of the show for me though was a new song which we shall call The Toilet Seat Blues!

The band started playing Satisfied and Prince stepped up to the mic. There I was expecting a bit of, 'Before we get started...' but no. It went something, although not exactly, like this:

London work the toilet seat , (I thought it was London, the missus thinks it was learn to and that does make sense).
London work the toilet seat
If it's up
Put it down

When we ask you if nothing's wrong
And you say nothing's wrong
We're gonna act like nothing's wrong

To all you overweight brothers
Round is still a shape
Baby dont' hassle me, I'm in shape.

Don't talk to me
Unless it's in the commercials
Or don't say anything at all.
Us fellas like sports
It's like shopping.

Then he said that he'd probably be sleeping on the couch after this but he didn't mind, he'd pretend he was camping. There was also a bit about Columbus not needing directions and something after that. It was a very funny little segment.'

Waited around a bit after they'd left in case they came back, then left Indigo about 2:45am. Was driving home and just got out the otherside of the Blackwall tunnel and the traffic ground to a halt. There had been a nasty accident and the road was closed. We were stuck for nearly an hour, so blasted out some tunes. In the car next to us were a couple of girls that had been at the aftershow and they were bopping along to The One U Wanna C and 3121

Eventually we got moving and made it home safely. I hope that nobody here was involved in the accident.

Time for sleep now.

He came on stage at about 1 am, dressed in a red suit, red hat with big red feathers on top. The keyboard was in the middle of the stage. Amazing solos by Maceo.

(In order, sorry can't remember after Dorothy)
Superstition
Higher Ground
A Love Bizarre
Sweet Thing (Marva King on main vocals)
The Ballad of Dorothy Parker

I think he played one or two more songs on the keyboard and then switched to guitar.
Ended at around 2:30.

he and the band were amazing..really amazing...it was so tight and neat,he had so much energy!!!
the hat was so cool,the aftershows getting better and better...danced the whole time....
after seeing 3 shows with two more left,the aftershows are now where i wanna spend my money...xxx

Phew! I had stuff to do last night but was tempted to roll over to the Dome at about 1.30 am in the expectation of being able to buy a ticket on the spot for a performance starting at maybe 2.30 am (as has been reported on previous occasions). In the end, the rain put me off the idea so I'm so glad I didn't go (in a 'Wish I'd been there' kind of way)



As for that sheeeit with the toilet seat, glad somebody's tellin' it like it is.

roman9311 said:

excessex said:

Phew! I had stuff to do last night but was tempted to roll over to the Dome at about 1.30 am in the expectation of being able to buy a ticket on the spot for a performance starting at maybe 2.30 am (as has been reported on previous occasions). In the end, the rain put me off the idea so I'm so glad I didn't go (in a 'Wish I'd been there' kind of way)



As for that sheeeit with the toilet seat, glad somebody's tellin' it like it is.

roman9311 said:

Ended at around 2:30.

[Edited 8/19/07 1:33am]

Wow! That sounds like an amazing aftershow! Was there Friday night, and we had a great time, but would have loved it if Prince had shown - but I had a strong feeling that he wouldnt, especially as he was playing again on Sat and as he had shown last week on the friday. Im delighted ye had a great night. Going on the 21st, so fingers crossed the main show and aftershow is a major party!!

Seen Prince everytime he has been here since 86 and this was the first aftershow that I have been to.Lucky I picked this night the man was kicking it last night.Little added bonus for me was a photo with Mr Hayes,who was mixing with the crowd.What a night!!!!!

I think that it was 'Learn to work the toilet seat' - that's what I was singing anyway!
I had the time of my life last night, both at the main & aftershows. Yes the main show was short, but I thought that it was a great set. As for the aftershow, WOW that man was smokin. And that hat?!!!!! I GOTTA GET ME ONE OF THOSE!!!!!
[Edited 8/19/07 3:12am]

slaphead said:

I think that it was 'Learn to work the toilet seat' - that's what I was singing anyway!
I had the time of my life last night, both at the main & aftershows. Yes the main show was short, but I thought that it was a great set. As for the aftershow, WOW that man was smokin. And that hat?!!!!! I GOTTA GET ME ONE OF THOSE!!!!!
[Edited 8/19/07 3:12am]

slaphead said:

I think that it was 'Learn to work the toilet seat' - that's what I was singing anyway!
I had the time of my life last night, both at the main & aftershows. Yes the main show was short, but I thought that it was a great set. As for the aftershow, WOW that man was smokin. And that hat?!!!!! I GOTTA GET ME ONE OF THOSE!!!!!
[Edited 8/19/07 3:12am]

that was just awesome...possibly the best prince show i've seen...certainly the best version of a love bizarre i've ever heard...i thought i'd been transported to 1986!

I didn't know all the tracks either (other than those listed here)...one of the tracks i'd imagine was called 'baby love'

someone has to know what the one with the guitar riff was!

bliss, sheer bliss!

slaphead said:

I also saw someone being ejected from the crowd for filming/photography. The security seemed extremely hot on it last night, I even got 'torch flashed' when I was checking the time on my phone!

Just remembered the audience participation in the last track!

people on the left singing
'Freaks on this side'

'go funky london' being chanted in the middle

and what was being sung on the right?
[Edited 8/19/07 11:34am]
[Edited 8/19/07 11:34am]

I'm still on such a high from last night, I'm flyin' Air Prince! & my voice is completely hoarse from singin' & a hollerin'!!

One of the best aftershows Ive ever seen!!

I took a couple of friends from work with me who had never seen Prince before and I was so dissapointed with the main show for them cos' I really wanted them to see why I dig him so much..

But as soon as he got on that stage at the indigo he blew them away, they fuckin loved it!

The combined experience of last nights main show & aftershow has now replaced lovesexy in Paris as my best concert EVER!

Gosh, where do I start?

This was my second aftershow this year (first one was on Aug 1st) and I feel so blessed that he turned up both times. I still can’t believe how good last night was though. To start with, I noticed that a lot of efforts were put into the stage deco: rose petals spread all over the floor, oriental touches here and there, cushions, couches, etc. As for the show itself, it was simply mind-blowing: the sound and the entertainment were coming from all directions! It was like watching never ending fireworks, there was so much to look at and listen to. To add to the perfection of the night, I had managed to find a little cozy space at the front with plenty of room to dance. And dancing I did! I was so close to the stage that Maceo‘s horn was nearly blowing in my face! And Prince was on such top form (btw we’ll never stress enough how good a choice that funky red feathery hat was). Those old blaxploitation songs he played at the beginning announced the funky tone of the night. That included instrumental 'Stratus' (Billy Cobham’s) one of my old times favorites' which he had also played on the 1st August aftershow.

I had never seen Prince that close before and whilst he was doing a bit of hand touching I grabbed the opportunity to give him a tiny silvery envelope (optimistically prepared in advance) containing a "thank u for coming tonight card". He looked very surprised and examining it closer said "What is this?" to my disappointment (but one can’t have everything), he then threw it back into the front of the audience and it landed on the table top next to me but I picked it up and threw back towards the mic area (I’m the persistent kind). Later on he noticed it again as he was playing guitar and pushed it gently out of his way with the tip of his boot. Aawwh... Still, I am so grateful to have been part such a privileged crowd. One final thing: the atmosphere in the audience was wonderful: lots of friendly people (big thank you to that nice chap from Clapham who gave away that nice space!).

As cloudguitar’s already put it: "Bliss Sheer Bliss".

JazzMeUp said:

whilst he was doing a bit of hand touching I grabbed the opportunity to give him a tiny silvery envelope (optimistically prepared in advance) containing a "thank u for coming tonight card". He looked very surprised and examining it closer said "What is this?" to my disappointment (but one can’t have everything), he then threw it back into the front of the audience and it landed on the table top next to me but I picked it up and threw back towards the mic area (I’m the persistent kind).

Love your reviews guys, especially about the red hat, I bet that was smoking, kind of like the style he wore in the Doves cry video, was it? Then the part about the toilet seat and no talkin' during commericials, hilarious -- 2 things that annoy women when they fuss with their men about it--looks like he definitely has been doing his homework..glad you guys had fun!
[Edited 8/19/07 7:15am]

TheEnglishGent said:[quote]
Us fellas like sports
It's like shopping.

/quote] He said "(Us) Brothers like sports" (whilst tapping his chest).

Plus the Musketeer style hat kicked ass!

Ellie said:

JazzMeUp said:

whilst he was doing a bit of hand touching I grabbed the opportunity to give him a tiny silvery envelope (optimistically prepared in advance) containing a "thank u for coming tonight card". He looked very surprised and examining it closer said "What is this?" to my disappointment (but one can’t have everything), he then threw it back into the front of the audience and it landed on the table top next to me but I picked it up and threw back towards the mic area (I’m the persistent kind).

Haha, that makes more sense than my view from the back thinking someone had given him a biscuit

It was THE BEST gig I have ever seen! And I've seen thousands.... Could'nt ask for more, I was in a trance the whole way through! His guitar playing was OUT OF THIS WORLD. I pretty sure I will never see anything as good as that for the rest of my life.... One of the tracks he played that I don't think anyone has mentioned was: Stratus by Billy Cobham, go listen to it on I-tunes and it will take you back!!! The main show seemed really short tonight! The aftershow made up for it though, going to try and go again in September, got tickets for 28th and 21st of September but the aftershow kicked the main shows ass! The best gig up until last nights treat was One Night Alone at the apollo in Manchester but that might just have topped it!

Go get Stratus, he killed it!

JazzMeUp said:

Ellie said:

Haha, that makes more sense than my view from the back thinking someone had given him a biscuit

Yes, it was about the same size as a cheese cracker... I am fairly new to the Prince live scene though, and if I'd known he doesn't like people doing that, I wouldn't have bothered him with this... But obviously, I didn't know, everyday is a lesson learned. A great night though, how far back were you?

Brilliant aftershow last night... one of the best every in my opinion. My favourites were definitely "Love Bizarre", "Ballad of Dorothy Parker", and "Learn to work the toilet seat / Satisfied". That said, he did a great job on keys with those Stevie Wonder songs too.

Plus the orange suit / hat was a cool look

Sad to say that drunkenness is still a problem at these aftershows. Although I met some cool people in the queue and the show itself there were a handful of people who just had to try and ruin things. Falling around the place, spilling drinks everywhere, skipping the queue, starting fights etc. Really I've been a lot of Prince concerts and aftershows over the years and I've never seen anything like it.

Ellie said:

JazzMeUp said:

Yes, it was about the same size as a cheese cracker... I am fairly new to the Prince live scene though, and if I'd known he doesn't like people doing that, I wouldn't have bothered him with this... But obviously, I didn't know, everyday is a lesson learned. A great night though, how far back were you?

I was right behind the metal bar in the centre as the floor was raised up a bit from the main dancefloor, so the view was great.

ian said:

Man, glad to hear he's still on point! wish I was in London for the next couple of weeks!

I was at the front on the left of the stage and noticed that silver thing.. everyone wondered what it was.. when he flung it back down to the ground. Awwww, sorry mate. I thought he was just having fun though. He was in fine form... especially when he said to that girl 'someone get a bartender' class.

JazzMeUp said:

Gosh, where do I start?

This was my second aftershow this year (first one was on Aug 1st) and I feel so blessed that he turned up both times. I still can’t believe how good last night was though. To start with, I noticed that a lot of efforts were put into the stage deco: rose petals spread all over the floor, oriental touches here and there, cushions, couches, etc. As for the show itself, it was simply mind-blowing: the sound and the entertainment were coming from all directions! It was like watching never ending fireworks, there was so much to look at and listen to. To add to the perfection of the night, I had managed to find a little cozy space at the front with plenty of room to dance. And dancing I did! I was so close to the stage that Maceo‘s horn was nearly blowing in my face! And Prince was on such top form (btw we’ll never stress enough how good a choice that funky red feathery hat was). Those old blaxploitation songs he played at the beginning announced the funky tone of the night. That included instrumental 'Stratus' (Billy Cobham’s) one of my old times favorites' which he had also played on the 1st August aftershow.

I had never seen Prince that close before and whilst he was doing a bit of hand touching I grabbed the opportunity to give him a tiny silvery envelope (optimistically prepared in advance) containing a "thank u for coming tonight card". He looked very surprised and examining it closer said "What is this?" to my disappointment (but one can’t have everything), he then threw it back into the front of the audience and it landed on the table top next to me but I picked it up and threw back towards the mic area (I’m the persistent kind). Later on he noticed it again as he was playing guitar and pushed it gently out of his way with the tip of his boot. Aawwh... Still, I am so grateful to have been part such a privileged crowd. One final thing: the atmosphere in the audience was wonderful: lots of friendly people (big thank you to that nice chap from Clapham who gave away that nice space!).

As cloudguitar’s already put it: "Bliss Sheer Bliss".