The Last "Purple" Jam of 2009

What was advertised as the “Last Jam of 2009”, turned in2 the funkiest jam of 2009 4 me! As U all know we heard wind of this happening from r beloved Dr. Funkenberry on Twitter, this past Thursday nite. As soon as I saw the post, I went in2 panic mode! I waited and then the second message from the Doc, “Prince to throw down in MPLS this weekend at Paisley Park! “, it was on! Calling my posses, doing the three/four/five-way “call we really pull this off on such short notice?” Car rental, check, hotel reservation, check, tickets..hmm, money, doh!! Thank U again, Doc 4 the heads-up on the pre-sale 4 us LotusFlow3r,com folks!!! It wasn’t we saw “Congratulation” from the LoTosFlow3r.com site did I finally exhale! We were going..oh yeah, it’s defiantly on!!!

Started out on our pilgrimage, around noon on Saturday morning and after an what seems like forever, we rolled into downtown MPLS. Zipped through downtown and found r way 2 Chanhassen 2 checked in2 r fav hotel, Chanhassen Inn (Txs again J!) with just enough time 2 freshen up, change clothes and “fly” to Paisley Park! Now, this was the first time ever, that there was shuttle bus service to and from Paisley Park. Everyone I spoke with was pleased with the “plush” buses, I had to take advantage of handicap parking (among other issues, I recently had a total knee replacement) and I want to thank all that was involved for such royal treatment!

R “pre-sale tickets” (we were on the list!!) were in place, so we secured r armbands and walked in2 the Park. We were quick to noticed that the area where we normally enter was remolded. Lilac painted walls, plush, purple loveseats seem 2 be everywhere…even the restrooms had been upgraded, LOL!

We moved through the atrium 2 the soundstage and again, more purple, plush loveseats (in the V.I.P, sections) and U could miss seeing Ms. Bria and Larry Grahman amongst the “V.I.P’s seated there. Scurried in and found a good spot and nervously waited 4 this place 2 ignite!

Prince and the band hit the stage around 11:10 p.m. (which must b a record, somewhere) and the crowd went wild! Some of highlight the from the performance Prince doing tributes 2 some of the best, including “Sly and The Family Stone and The Jackson Five! Extended versions of “Forever In My Life” and “Kiss” (contrary 2 what has been said, they ain’t nothing wrong with Prince’s hips..he threw down with the dance moves on “Kiss!!!). Prince also took the time 2 dispel the rumor of he leaving MPLS 4 good…”I’m not going anywhere, this is my home”! During the traditional, “letting folks jam on stage with Prince”, moment two of my girls (Keke and Terrie, U should them how it’s done!) got on stage 2 dance with Prince. My girl, Keke even had the opportunity 2 give Prince a “high-five” at the end…U go Keke!!!

Prince slow things down a bit during his “Time” set and performed the most beautiful rendition of “Sometimes It Snows In April”, literally bring tears 2 my eyes. I was completely mesmerized, felt like I was the only one in the room witnessing the spectacular event. I had a similar experience, that evening during “Purple Rain” and again was swept up in the aura of the performance…there r no word to describe this moment!


Before his “Sly”, tribute Prince invited Mr Larry Grahman on-stage and told us the story of how sat at Larry’s feet 2 watch the man at work! Prince said that he and Larry were long-time friends and “If you have a problem with that, then we have a problem with you”…I hear ya Prince! Prince also went into another story about growing up in MPLS, only 2 end with “you know I’m lying”

Prince tried to get Bria 2 come on stage and sing with him, “Bria, come on and body-surf on over here”. She declined…but it’s clear that these two have a great thing going on! He happy…we all r happy!!!


Prince, dress in all black…black silk shirt, black leggings and black boots (with lights in high…U go Prince!) seemed in a joyous mood this evening. He seems just so happy! Back home, with good friends, his lady Bria and 1000 close friends! I want to thank U Prince 4 having us and showing us what “Love-4-1-Another is really all about! Yes, the world is really changing but sometime change is good, just believe!

Set-List (thanks 2 the folks over at the Org and Jon Beam (correct me if I wrong):

No Candy 4 U
Purple Rain Intro
Old Skool Company
Stand! (Sly and The Family Stone)
Turn Me Loose
I Want You Back (Jackson 5)
Dance 4 Me
1999
I Feel 4 U
Controversy
All Day, All Night chant
Sexy Dancer-Le Freak (Chic)
Northside (!)
Dancing Machine (snippet)
Housequake (snippet)
Why U Wanna Treat Me So Bad?
Take Me With U
Anotherlover-Rock Lobster
Guitar
Raspberry Beret
Arms of the Angel (Sarah McLaughlin cover sung by Shelby J)
Forever In My Life
Everyday People
I Want To Take You Higher
Thank You (Falentinmebemiceelfagin)
Dancin Machine (The Jacksons)
Sing A Simple Song
If You Let Me Stay
Play That Funky Music
Mountains
Shake Your Body (The Jacksons)
Long Train Running (Doobie Brothers)

Encore #1

Uptown
Let's Work
Cool
Kiss
Sometimes It Snows In April
The Bird (Playfully introduce, by Prince, as another ballad 4 the ladies)
Jungle Love
The Glamorous Life

Encore #2
Purple Rain

thanx 4 sharing nice setlist

thx 4 shar ing

sounds like a great set

Love your report Chi-town. You mentioned things no one else seemed to state in their report of that night. Good to know you had fun even with the knee replacement and all. I like the part where Prince let the fans know that he and Larry are long-time friends, and that if they have a problem with that, then they (P and Larry) have a problem with whomever doesn't like it. I'm glad Prince spoke directly to fans about that, it's about time, and that should put an end to some of the rude and disrespectful things some fans here have said in the past about Prince and Larry's friendship.

Larry Graham is a legend, and deserves to be respected as such, from his Sly Stone days, to his solo career or once he left the Family Stone, and I'm sure he has been and is a role model for many and future bass players.

Thanks for sharing your experience and glad you had a great time.
[Edited 10/29/09 10:51am]

Happy 2 hear that U enjoyed my report...I had an awesome time...j

12elijah said:

Love your report Chi-town. You mentioned things no one else seem to mention in their report that happened that night. Good to know you had fun even with the knee replacement and all. I like the part where Prince let the fans know that he and Larry are long-time friends, and that if they have a problem with that, then they (P and Larry) have a problem with whomever doesn't like it. I'm glad Prince spoke directly to fans about that, it's about time, and that should put an end to some of the rude and disrespectful things some fans here have said in the past about Prince and Larry's friendship.

Larry Graham is a legend, and deserves to be respected as such, from his Sly Stone days, to when he had his own solo career, once he left the Family Stone, and I'm sure he has been and is a role model to future bass players.

Thanks for sharing your experience and glad you had a great time.
[Edited 10/26/09 19:55pm]

Great report Jill! I was there as well, and just when you think Prince can't top himself, he always does. Hopefully he'll do shows there ever so often like he used to. We can only hope.

Thanks Phantasy!!!
Hopefully, this is only the begginning...Prince is definately back (in MPLS...sexy never left him !

Phantasy said:

Great report Jill! I was there as well, and just when you think Prince can't top himself, he always does. Hopefully he'll do shows there ever so often like he used to. We can only hope.

Hi All,

I am still recovering from my weekend in MPLS, but I wanted to write little something.

Going to see Prince at Paisley Park on Saturday was the last thing on my mind. As many of you know I lost my Father on the 12th and his service was on Tues, the 20th. I have been feeling down & sad for a couple weeks. So when my husband (PFL) got a tweet from Dr FB on Thursday afternoon about Prince playing at Paisley I thought now that would really cheer me up too bad I can't go. So when PFL got home we decided to run the $$ numbers and through God's will we were able to get the $$ together for everything. A big smile came across my face and I then realized my long time dream was going to come true. I was going to see the inside of Paisley Park.

PFL & I arrived in MPLS around midnight on Friday and our friend picked us up from the airport and drove us to the Chanhassen Inn. Oh, it was a tad chilly that night about 32 degrees. We were blessed to even have a room there for when we made the reservation they said we got their last room available. The room was very nice and the employees were very and polite, especially Ray at the front desk. He was a hoot.

Saturday came and we rested in the room until about 1pm and then went for a walk to get lunch and see the neighborhood. I was tripping when I woke up and looked out the window to see frost on all the cars. That was new for me as I'm a native Floridian. We left for Paisley Park around 9:30pm. We got a ride from Christine from Milwaukee and Tiffany from ATL. We got to the Park & Ride and boarded the bus for Paisley. We were there in a couple minutes. When we got of the bus it was raining and I was glad Tiffany brought an umbrella. We got our wristbands and went inside Paisley. It was beautiful. The Purple Rain motorcycle was in the front along with them selling the Lotusfow3r CD and 3121 tamborines. Once inside the main room, I saw the famous Symbol on the wall and the VIP area was all Purple with plush couches. We found a good spot for the show and right around 11:10 Prince took the stage with "No More Candy 4 U". He was dressed all in black and looked 3 fine. He was in a playful mood which was nice to see. He had some sound issues in the beginning but fixed it quick. By now, I am sure you've seen the setlist so I won't go into all that but some of my favorite moments were Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad, Forever In My Life, Montains, Sometimes It Snows In April, and Purple Rain. The show was about three hours of pure funk, rock, and lots of dancing. The show was unbelievable. Prince looked and sounded great. Shelby was great. The band was great. I didn't even mind Larry Graham.

My dream of over 20 years was to be able to see the inside of the magical place called Paisley Park. The place were so much beautiful music was made. I can now die a happy and content Prince fan! Thank you to Prince for making the night magical. Thank you to my friends who shared rides with us. And thank you to my husband, PFL, for sharing the ride/experience with me. I love you all. You made this Prince fan very happy!

Live4Love, Barbara

ChiTownNPG said:

wut

4bjb said:

Its a week later and I'm still on a purple high! 'cant stop smiling. I had a great time and met some really nice people. I even saw Bria and she is absolutely beautiful. Seeing Prince and being at Paisley Park was beyond my expectations.

And, I loved the fall colors and the cool breeze in Minneapolis.


Thanks Prince!

kristielove said:

4bjb said: