bwdinhb said:

NewFunk said:

Awesome shot - I think you were right behind me!

Thanks! I was the guy with the goatee and black rimmed glasses leaning on the post behind you. The man right in front of me was the one Shelby J (!) sang to. I took two pics early on, and didn't look at them until this morning and found this surprise. The other was a complete blur.

I think I like this shot the best - very cool! Thanks for sharing

Realtor said:

theAudience said:

My sequence of events is off in that paragraph due to stream of consciousness writing.

Music for adventurous listeners


tA

I had a great time, so if I had any effect on making yours less enjoyable, please let me know. You can already see I'm very hard on some people, so definitely don't want to be a hypocrite. The girl to my right was making me laugh the whole time; she was being a standup comedian to the fullest extent. I don't know if you witnessed the bar episodes, between the guy that they kept saying was in a Bud Light commercial and everyone else, pretty funny stuff. But quarters were tight, it got pretty hot, until they got a professional to operate the air conditioning. See you Friday.

Not at all. I included your incursion (well welcomed) as an inside joke.

It was all fun. And yes I remember the Bud Light references.

Friday it is.

Sidebar: I'm avoiding the Hendrix thread here (although there's a lot I could say) as it's a glaring example of why I never post in the P:M&More area of this board.

Fans are one thing, sychophants are another. No time for the latter.

He's got a right to his opinion but the thread title is, as you said, at the very least disrespectful.

I'm willing to bet he's never even actually seen Jimi live.

Have you ever been experienced?, well I HAVE!

Music for adventurous listeners


tA

Realtor said:

scratchy said:

yes, more times than i can count. never saw anyone perform at the restaurant but plenty of times on the main stage. i've stood all over for other shows. on the floor up front, on the sides, in the back, up in the balcony. never had a problem before.

Ok, that makes sense. I think there's only ONE consensus when it comes to going to see Prince. Tell me if you agree. The more intimate the experience, the better the experience is. With all the disagreements, name calling, arguing, foolishness, incompetence, and misinformation that sometimes appears in prince.org, I would have to say that NO ONE has ever had less than a great time when they've seen a small (below 1,000) venue Prince show and have been upclose and personal. So, my take is, Prince wants to be intimate with his music and he's constantly trying to figure out how to create an intimate experience for his audience. If I ever had a gripe with how Prince handles these type of affairs, it would be more per the tardiness, but not the venues, themselves, or even where he plays in the venues.

Before the 2nd show started, as I stood in front of the pillar, I was thinking to myself how are all these people going to see and what was Prince thinking when he stood by the window and said : 'I want to play right here.' I can understand some frustration, but I think people have to approach shows with open minds when it comes to Prince. I was fortunate, because I entered the restaurant before going into the main hall, so I saw the setup. I'm going to assume that you didn't see the setup in advance. Right when the 1st show ended, I knew I had to move quickly. At the end of the night, I much preferred the 2nd show; I'm interested in getting more peoples' feedback that attended both.

he was brilliant at both shows. i never said he wasn't. i liked the 2nd show as well. he sounded great. i just wish that he had an elevated stage so people could at least see him. troubadour was awesome in such a small space. even if you were in the back you could see him. i'm glad i went to both since i had a good view of him at the first show. my friends who were up at the front had to leave since it was getting vicious up front with people shoving. my problem isn't with him or the performance, just the set up. i don't mind the tardiness so much since we go in expecting he won't be on stage on time. the venue gave out confusing info. said we needed to exit after the 1st then enter again. when we did that, the guys outside said we could have stayed in. anyways, i was just saying how crappy it is for people who just went to the 10pm. didn't hurt as bad for me since i saw him at the 7pm.

theAudience said:

Realtor said:

I had a great time, so if I had any effect on making yours less enjoyable, please let me know. You can already see I'm very hard on some people, so definitely don't want to be a hypocrite. The girl to my right was making me laugh the whole time; she was being a standup comedian to the fullest extent. I don't know if you witnessed the bar episodes, between the guy that they kept saying was in a Bud Light commercial and everyone else, pretty funny stuff. But quarters were tight, it got pretty hot, until they got a professional to operate the air conditioning. See you Friday.

Not at all. I included your incursion (well welcomed) as an inside joke.

It was all fun. And yes I remember the Bud Light references.

Friday it is.

Sidebar: I'm avoiding the Hendrix thread here (although there's a lot I could say) as it's a glaring example of why I never post in the P:M&More area of this board.

Fans are one thing, sychophants are another. No time for the latter.

He's got a right to his opinion but the thread title is, as you said, at the very least disrespectful.

I'm willing to bet he's never even actually seen Jimi live.

Have you ever been experienced?, well I HAVE!

Music for adventurous listeners


tA

I'm glad to hear that. I'm telling you, the girl was hilarious. She was coming with Seinfeld-type one liners for 30 minutes straight.

You KNOW you were the first person I thought of when I saw the thread, because of what you said earlier in the day via the net. I was like...uh oh.....wait til theAudience sees this.

I was not fortunate enough to ever see Jimi Hendrix live. I came into this earth just a tad too late, but I have watched tapes of his performances and listened to his music...not the kinda guitar player you wanna short change or even (after trying to clean up the bs) suggest that the press made him into something that he was not. From my vantage point, Jimi Hendrix has always been underrated and underappreciated.

scratchy said:

Realtor said:

Ok, that makes sense. I think there's only ONE consensus when it comes to going to see Prince. Tell me if you agree. The more intimate the experience, the better the experience is. With all the disagreements, name calling, arguing, foolishness, incompetence, and misinformation that sometimes appears in prince.org, I would have to say that NO ONE has ever had less than a great time when they've seen a small (below 1,000) venue Prince show and have been upclose and personal. So, my take is, Prince wants to be intimate with his music and he's constantly trying to figure out how to create an intimate experience for his audience. If I ever had a gripe with how Prince handles these type of affairs, it would be more per the tardiness, but not the venues, themselves, or even where he plays in the venues.

Before the 2nd show started, as I stood in front of the pillar, I was thinking to myself how are all these people going to see and what was Prince thinking when he stood by the window and said : 'I want to play right here.' I can understand some frustration, but I think people have to approach shows with open minds when it comes to Prince. I was fortunate, because I entered the restaurant before going into the main hall, so I saw the setup. I'm going to assume that you didn't see the setup in advance. Right when the 1st show ended, I knew I had to move quickly. At the end of the night, I much preferred the 2nd show; I'm interested in getting more peoples' feedback that attended both.

he was brilliant at both shows. i never said he wasn't. i liked the 2nd show as well. he sounded great. i just wish that he had an elevated stage so people could at least see him. troubadour was awesome in such a small space. even if you were in the back you could see him. i'm glad i went to both since i had a good view of him at the first show. my friends who were up at the front had to leave since it was getting vicious up front with people shoving. my problem isn't with him or the performance, just the set up. i don't mind the tardiness so much since we go in expecting he won't be on stage on time. the venue gave out confusing info. said we needed to exit after the 1st then enter again. when we did that, the guys outside said we could have stayed in. anyways, i was just saying how crappy it is for people who just went to the 10pm. didn't hurt as bad for me since i saw him at the 7pm.

And just on the comfort level alone, I have to say the Troubadour was better than the 2nd show last night, so I agree with you there. But even if we made all things equal, I would still say the Troubadour (2nd show) was better than his first two combined last night. The 2nd show last night, I feel, was for those that missed the 2nd Troubadour show, but it was definitely not as good, despite it actually being GREAT. For those that enjoyed the 1st show more last night than the 2nd, I respect their tastes, but for me, I much prefer the type of shows that resemble what he did in the restaurant.

I have a problem with the tardiness, because I think it's unnecessary and somewhat unprofessional and for those of us that I have seen him over 50 times we know that once in a while, he'll show up on time just to mix things up. I am not one that likes standing in a room...key word standing....waiting several minutes or hours for someone to come perform. Therefore, I look for alternate entertainment and as I've touched on with theAudience, I found it last night, so I was pleased.

GDB said:

A few people from the Org messaged me about connecting if I want to last night's HOB show and I eff'ed up and forgot to make a call list so to those whom I missed, my apologies.

Got to the HOB when there were less than twenty people in line; the line for the first show was still moving inside. Large mass of people, appeared to be an organized madhouse. HOB staff & security appeared to be well organized and respectful towards patrons. Waited along with a young couple & talked Prince, past concerts, the Forum engagement & NBA basketball. Nice people; they were at least familiar with the Org if not posters because I recognized one of the photos from the 21 night run on his phone.

Doors were scheduled to open at 10pm but they allowed us in early, maybe 9:35 or so. We could hear the early performance through the walls...I heard Musicology & Cool clearly. Entered a room and almost missed the stage because it had almost zero elevation and a large post right in the middle of it...on the stage was a drum kit, keyboards and a couple of Fender amps. Uh oh, I thought...if you aren't right up against the stage you aren't going to see SHIT. And from the other responses appears I was correct. Fortunately for me I was within one row of people from the stage...unfortunately the two guys in front of me were just as tall if not an inch taller than me...so I felt sorry for anyone behind us because they were going to be screwed. That show should have been sold as obstructed view with such a low platform for the artist to play upon and no disrespect, but considering his height...you just couldn't see him from the rear. Weird space for a performance to take place...low ceiling, poor sightlines. But it was small and intimate.

I almost didn't go to the show. The title "Jazz Cafe" threw me off. I didn't want to hear any languid, blase jazz noodling even if it was Prince doing the direction. I was in attendance at the first Troubadour show and while it rocked far harder than it did not, what I wanted was the second set's hard rock extravaganza. I feared that this Jazz Cafe set would not deliver that, so I vacillated on whether or not to go. Ultimately an infusion of cash made it easier for me to absorb the hundred dollar hit so I decided to chance it, hopeful of the best but fearful of the worst.

Boy, am I glad that I did NOT listen to my first mind.

When I heard the music from the first set I had a feeling...sounded very much, as reported, as the standard Forum setlist albeit much clearer, much closer, more intimate. But those are songs I've heard several times over. I was relieved that I didn't lose my mind and pay $200 for that show. I had a feeling, though, that the second set was not going to repeat the hits but instead MIGHT be that power trio trip I've wanted ever since Sonny T and Michael B joined Prince at the Club Nokia a few years back during LotusFlow3r Night. When Prince stepped onto the stage in his black Hendrixian regalia I knew it was going down. This brother was NOT dressed for a dreary jazz lounge act; he came to throw it down. And I was right.

Opened with an off-the-cuff 12 bar blues to "tune up" and get the levels right...then tore into I Like It There. My prayers were answered; looked like I was going to get that setlist from the second Troubadour show. From there:

Endorphinmachine (there were some issues with this; I think Ida's bass went out during the intro so JB played a solo while they worked out the audio issues, then Prince only played the first verse before ending it)

Villanova Junction (Hendrix)

America (Intro line only)

The ? of U/Gingerbread Man/The One

Dreamer

Welcome 2 America

Always In My Hair

Bambi

Colonized Mind

Brown Skin (w/Shelby J)

Little Red Corvette

Did I forget something? My list is out of order, I think...I couldn't keep my normal complete notes due to being boxed in like sardines and having too much humanity around me in a confined space. Despite Funkenberry's tweet however, there was no "Star Spangled Banner." I don't believe Prince will play that because of his spiritual beliefs. I am surprised, though, that he will play Bambi given it's salacious subject matter...but I am glad he does.

I saw Prince play Endorphinmachine and Bambi from less than ten feet away. I can now die happy.

My experience was different than some who were in the rear and couldn't see. I feel for you and that's real, no sarcasm. It wasn't fair to charge full price for what must have been a very frustrating experience...to only hear but not see the performance. Least they could have done was had some monitors around so you could see at least an in-house broadcast.

Speechless. Mindblowing. Emotionally stirring.

Had Shelby touched me instead of the guy next to me as she sang Brown Skin...I don't know if I could have handled that because the woman straight tore the roof off of the joint. But that would have just been heaven.

[Edited 5/26/11 7:45am]

LOL! That was me that Shelby J touched. Clearly, I am brown Skin!

bwdinhb said:

NewFunk said:

Awesome shot - I think you were right behind me!

Thanks! I was the guy with the goatee and black rimmed glasses leaning on the post behind you. The man right in front of me was the one Shelby J (!) sang to. I took two pics early on, and didn't look at them until this morning and found this surprise. The other was a complete blur.

Amazing how many of us from the Org were in the same space but didn't know each other. I was directly in front of you to your left whom chatted with you a few times...the "75 minute set over/under..." and held each other's places during pre-show bathroom runs.

theAudience said:

Overall, an enjoyable experience in a very odd performance space.

There were hints of technical problems during setup. First with Renato's rig, which appeared to get cleared up.
More severe was when I noticed one of the techs climb behind the rack housing the P.A. system's power amps.

Regarding the performance space, I did feel sorry for the vertically challenged people in attendance.
Even being 8-10 feet from the stage (i'm about 6'), there was a guy directly in my sight line which obscured Prince's face most of the time.

I can only imagine what shorter folks were seeing (if anything).

For folks that were looking for "The Kid" in Rock mode, this was it. No Show-Time, just jammin'.

Half way into the set, the crush of humanity became too much for me. I even had one "Realtor" squeeze in front of me...

I will however give him props on his motivation for doing so (see ya Friday bro.).

I retreated to the rear of the room to hang out with Morris Hayes (who didn't play the "Jazz Cafe" set).

Also, given the volume, it was much more comfortable sound wise back there.

Personally, the highlight of the set for me was Shelby doing Brown Skin.
Powerful vocalist and appears to be a very gracious person.
For those that feel it's their appointed duty to constantly rag on her, I don't get it.

Met some nice folks throughout the evening.


Music for adventurous listeners


tA

Missed you there man, didn't know you were going to be there. I was having "technical issues" getting out of the house for the gig and forgot to get in touch with people.

Brown Skin...wow. Wow. I don't know what is the connection between Prince and Shelby but whatever it is is special. They have a real, sincere thang going on between them and I, too, don't understand the negative sentiments directed towards her (I have some theories but would rather not get into that here)...they are groundless and unfair. That sistah brings a lot to Prince's current thing and I think he knows it. I don't like to engage in mind reading but I feel that he appreciates her more than just as a back up vocalist. She literally tore a hole in that ceiling...

Couldn't believe I finally got to see P do my song Bambi from what, five feet away unobstructed? SMH...I was like oh, so THAT'S how he does it...LOL Guitar lesson and performance all in one. He killed it. And he was going to do the same on Endorphinmachine before the dreaded technical issues eff'ed up the song but that opening riff...wow, that's powerful.

Realtor said:

I'm glad to hear that. I'm telling you, the girl was hilarious. She was coming with Seinfeld-type one liners for 30 minutes straight.

You KNOW you were the first person I thought of when I saw the thread, because of what you said earlier in the day via the net. I was like...uh oh.....wait til theAudience sees this.

I was not fortunate enough to ever see Jimi Hendrix live. I came into this earth just a tad too late, but I have watched tapes of his performances and listened to his music...not the kinda guitar player you wanna short change or even (after trying to clean up the bs) suggest that the press made him into something that he was not. From my vantage point, Jimi Hendrix has always been underrated and underappreciated.

Yes, she was quite quick.
I was talking with her earlier about her exasperation over the inability to improvise on flute despite years of classical training.

The description of her angst was priceless.

Well my temperature rose as soon as I saw the Hendrix thread title.
Since i've just started posting here again after a long absence, I almost took the bait and responded.
However, I quickly remembered past threads along these lines just in time to restrain myself.

I'll have this conversation with you but not the poster.
First, a comparison is being made between a live performance you've actually experienced and a DVD.
Next, a technical discussion of the two as guitarists is well beyond the scope of this particular message board.
It's just not that type of party.

What I will say is this.
There's a major difference between an emulator and an original innovator.
I'll leave it at that for now.



Music for adventurous listeners


tA

GDB said:

Missed you there man, didn't know you were going to be there. I was having "technical issues" getting out of the house for the gig and forgot to get in touch with people.

Brown Skin...wow. Wow. I don't know what is the connection between Prince and Shelby but whatever it is is special. They have a real, sincere thang going on between them and I, too, don't understand the negative sentiments directed towards her (I have some theories but would rather not get into that here)...they are groundless and unfair. That sistah brings a lot to Prince's current thing and I think he knows it. I don't like to engage in mind reading but I feel that he appreciates her more than just as a back up vocalist. She literally tore a hole in that ceiling...

Couldn't believe I finally got to see P do my song Bambi from what, five feet away unobstructed? SMH...I was like oh, so THAT'S how he does it...LOL Guitar lesson and performance all in one. He killed it. And he was going to do the same on Endorphinmachine before the dreaded technical issues eff'ed up the song but that opening riff...wow, that's powerful.

Pretty amazing. Sorry we didn't get to meet also.
If you saw Realtor there, for at least half the night, I was standing right behind him.
Based on the size of the room, everyone was not very far from each other even if they didn't know it.

Shelby was simply flat-out killer!
I'd love to hear your full assessment of why certain individuals have this level of ire against her at some later date.

Hopefully, we'll get to do a face-to-face some time in the future.




Music for adventurous listeners


tA

did we ever get a set list of the 3rd show?

funkylust said:

CallMeCarrie said:

I heard the 3rd set was all NGP funk and the girls singing.

I heard that Prince didn't sing at all!

They said Prince was at the back playing guitar and that's it.

They said that they almost wanted to leave halfway through it,

but stuck it out just in case something interesting happened - nothing did.

(one person's opinion of the 3rd show)

I was at all 3. The last show wasn't all girls. It was one massive jam session. Prince shredded the guitar.... Mike Phillips played Shelby did a bunch of tracks including Rude Boy from Rihanna and others. Prince did an extended version of Controversy and very strangely he did "More Than This" by Bryan Ferry/Roxy Music. I will have to get back to my friend 'mike' to go back tonight and check the tracks. After 3 shows and over 6 hours of Prince and 4 hours sleep, my brain is a purple haze right now but I am on a purple high

Yes, funkylust! I was waiting for your post. Hadn't noticed it earlier sorry. Rest Up. Can't wait to hear more when your head clears.

antoinet said:

Quick review - yes $200 for a Forum set list which I expected when the Late Nite Jam changed to "Prince" but Lord help me I LOVED it, was down with all of it, the bass playing, the hat, and being 5 feet away fron him at times was worth it to me. he would do something, I don't know, kick a guitar solo that would stop the grooving crowd in its tracks to watch in awe. THANK U BRONZEFUNK FOR HOOKING A PURPLE SISTER UP 2NITE, I can't WAIT tonhear about 10pm show. Heres the review I just texted to my husband: 9pm band out and jammin' DMSR for like 15 mins. Then Prince about 9:15 til 10:30-10:45. Was like a Forum show but up close and less pageantry more like in a down brother type of mood with a knitted white skull cap on the whole time. Played the hell out of "Let's Work" got DOWN on the bass said "I just wanted to see if it WORKED!" When he came to my side if the stage & shredded the guitar & glanced up I mouthed "thank u" I'm sure he didn't see but i was appreciative. Met some cool people 2nite & Security gave me a Prince guitar pick! Thanks Chris! Goodnight Org gotta drive home & go to work tomorrow in a dream state!

Ok, I've talked way too much on the Org today & I'm afraid orgers are wanting me to shut up already, damn, and I'm not trying to get attention, but I laugh at myself because after posting the last line in the post above "Goodnight Org gotta drive home & go to work tomorrow in a dream state!" I promptly got out of my car and went on the prowl and scored that 2nd show ticket. I mean I really just went on impulse last night. Was IN THE CAR posting ready to go home and thought, WTF I'm here, why not? Man that purple high is scareeeeee!

NewFunk said:

DoffieParker said:

did u travel from uk especially 4 these shows?

No. Am crazy but not that crazy. I was in town on work and everything just fell into place like it was supposed to happen. I didn't plan for ANY of this, which is what makes it so great and even more surreal!

gawd i really thought wow, he took a gamble & it paid off!!.. it's so cool u got to the show.

I was at the midnight show, and I have to say I loved it!!! I got in line around 10:30pm, and I was 4th behind 3 lovely ladies (including Jo - hi Jo!). They let us into the Foundation Room around 11:15 or 11:30pm, and all of us immediately bee-lined to the back of the room where the instruments were set up. There was no stage, no velvet rope - nothing was separating us and the place that Prince would stand a few feet away. It was a little surreal. I've seen some intimate Prince shows, but this, by far, was the best.

People started trickling in behind us, and there we stood for almost 2 hours or so (sorry if my timing is wrong, but I wasn't writing any of this down). We chatted amongst outselves, and exchanged Prince stories. We were all very civil. But then the 2nd show must have let out, because then a slew of people came into the Foundation Room, and some proceeded to jostle and push their way through the crowd and even a few dared to push themselves in front of us - the ones who had been standing in the exact same spot for over 2 hours. Not cool.

I somehow still managed to hold my spot - even turning back a drunk guy named Mike, who was either from Iowa or Minnesota - depending on when the story suited him. But then Morris Hayes made his way through the crowd and deposited about 4 girls right in front of me (and others) and told them to stay put. And there went my prime view of the stage. But luckily, I'm 6' 4" so I could still see over the girls Morris brought up.

Soon after the second show ended, Renato Neto and John Blackwell came up and noodled around on their instruments, making sure everything was working right. A little after 2:00am, Renato, John and Ida came out and started on a mellow jazz tune. Then Mike (Philly) Phillips starting soloing on the sax, and by the time he finished, the song had morphed into an all out jam.

Prince came out, and the band continued to jam while he did some last minute tweaks with the soundboard operator. A little bit later, he took over Ida's bass and sent her away. Pretty funny. Anyway, the show itself kind of went like that - Prince would jump from guitar, back to bass, over to keys, back to guitar - just doing whatever moved him. And he treated the stage like his personal mixing board. A wave of his hand and a point of the his finger had Renato stop on the keys to give way to Philly on the sax. I looked around a few times and felt like I was watching some band jam in their mom's garage - it felt that small.

So small, in fact, that more than a few people wanted to kill Mike (the drunk guy from Iowa/Minnesota - not the saxophonist Mike Philly). Mike, if you're reading this, you're a good guy, but I came to hear Prince, not you. Let's just hope if a taper did make it to that show, he/she was standing far away from you. Telling Prince to play a song for "Cool Rapids, Minnesota!!!" was funny once. Twenty times not so much.

Here's what I can remember/discern from the setlist. Sorry it's not complete, but the songs did sort of run into each other. And my memory ain't what it used to be. There were definitely others...

Instrumental Jam (sound check)

I Wish

Outstanding

Which Way Is Up

Working Day & Night (at least I think it was that with Prince on bass)
Hollywood Swinging/Love Rollercoaster/Play That Funky Music (medley)

Waiting in Vain (sung by ? - she was gorgeous whoever she was)
More Than This

Controversy

It Takes Two

Rude Boy

Encore: Stratus

I'm not sure, but something might have pissed Prince off during "Stratus". He very abruptly signaled the band to stop - and they did on a dime cuz you know, they're tight like that - and then he ushered them each one-by-one off the stage like they were late for their next gig. As soon as he helped John get around his drum set, he followed him and waved his hands like "That's it." I don't know if someone took his picture again or he heard yet another futile request for "Purple Rain", but they disappeared real quick. It was a little strange.

As for the show itself, I can see how people in the back could be disappointed. If you couldn't see that Prince took over Ida's bass, then how could you react to it? But that is almost the inherent problem with seeing Prince. He sort of wants these small aftershows to be like a house party, that everyone ignore him and just dance. But the problem is you can't help but be drawn to him. Watching him work the guitar - and the BASS!!!! - was awe-inspiring. It all seemed so effortless, so fluid... so FUNKY! And watching Ida watching Prince was cool too - she was loving everything he was putting down. It was a great moment, but one that's lost for those in the back.

I think when you're that far back - like I was for the Conga Room show a few years back - you just have to treat it like a house party and dance your ass off. Because the Conga Room is still one of my favorite shows EVER, and I didn't see a damn thing.

But I'm glad I went. I felt the show was definitely worth the money. I've seen Prince around 40 times - 8 of those that this last Forum stand - so I really look forward to the jam sessions. It's nice to see him and the band try to relax, have fun and surprise themselves. And I think Renato and John are two of the best musicians he's ever played with. So it's always a treat to watch them interact with Prince.

Anyway, if anyone has corrections to my setlist, please help me out. And if anyone knows what charity that show was for, that would be cool to know as well. In true Prince fashion, he neglected to tell us that before he rushed off stage at 4:15am...

[Edited 5/26/11 18:48pm]

[Edited 5/26/11 18:55pm]

GDB¤

Amazing how many of us from the Org were in the same space but didn't know each other. I was directly in front of you to your left whom chatted with you a few times...the "75 minute set over/under..." and held each other's places during pre-show bathroom runs.

This is amazing - There was at least 10 of us right up the front

Urbanfunk LOL! That was me that Shelby J touched. Clearly, I am brown Skin!

What an incredible moment and incredible version of this song. Best I have seen her

JoeZeo¤

but something might have pissed Prince off during "Stratus". He very abruptly signaled the band to stop

Thanks for the awesome run down of that set. It's amazing to hear what went down. I gotta say when I saw him scream at someone during the 2nd set it was a buzz. I thought 'holy crap' he can seriously give someone a bollocking. It's this moments that I'm finding so fascinating

I wonder what pissed him off - Anyone else there that heard/saw anything

JoeZeo...couple of questions.

Did security check the wristbands (or whatever other entry pass/ticket there was) for people entering the Foundation Room, or was it lax enough for anyone to wander in?

You describe a rush of people yet the gig was advertised as a capacity of 100. Did it appear to be more than 100 people in there?

Did he sing vocals on "I Wish?"

LectricManx said:

GDB¤

Amazing how many of us from the Org were in the same space but didn't know each other. I was directly in front of you to your left whom chatted with you a few times...the "75 minute set over/under..." and held each other's places during pre-show bathroom runs.

This is amazing - There was at least 10 of us right up the front

Urbanfunk LOL! That was me that Shelby J touched. Clearly, I am brown Skin!

What an incredible moment and incredible version of this song. Best I have seen her

JoeZeo¤

but something might have pissed Prince off during "Stratus". He very abruptly signaled the band to stop

Thanks for the awesome run down of that set. It's amazing to hear what went down. I gotta say when I saw him scream at someone during the 2nd set it was a buzz. I thought 'holy crap' he can seriously give someone a bollocking. It's this moments that I'm finding so fascinating

I wonder what pissed him off - Anyone else there that heard/saw anything

No surprise that we are all on the org too. Look where we were standing and it all makes sense....While I don't spend a lot of time here in the "off season," whenever Prince is in town, this site is the PLACE 2 B!

GDB - Not everyone was given a wristband, myself included. However, people did check tickets to make sure it said $500 on there. But it was a little unorganized, so I'm sure a few people could have snuck in. But it definitely felt like 100 people in there - maybe even less. As for rush, I just meant that some from that last wave of people rudely pushed their way to the front.

1ststate - It wasn't a full version of "I Wish", but Shelby J sang lead on what was sung.

VIKING90230 said:

Well, what he said was (to paraphrase) "We got three more shows at the Forum, so come see us." Take that for what it's worth. I'm an optimist and I can't believe he meant these are the only three shows left that are coming up. I guess we'll see... but by all accounts there should be two weekends to go. RIGHT?

It was a fun time in the Restaurant tonight, but true is the fact that L.A. is a "scene" and people just talked through the entire set. It's like the end of Pink Floyd's Welcome To The Machine where all you hear is people chatter. Really sad, but part of the show. Plus the playing field was all level, so it was really hard to see anything unless a lot of heads moved and you got a quick peek! And I was about 20 feet away. Again, part of the fun - I guess. Annoying were the few people who had to plow their way ahead of you, like they're driving on the freeway. Where do you think you're going? Now you're in front of me instead of behind me. Good for you. Wow. You're really not going to get there any quicker you know.

It wasn't a "jazz" set by any means, there was a lot of awesome, hard rocking. I'm a jazz fan but I certainly wasn't disappointed. It really was a good experience. $100 good? No. But, yeah, I'd do it again. That was pretty cool.

Wow, seriously? That is sad. Prince, you know the ear love we give you in the intimate setting shows here in the Bay....bring it back...we'll take the jazz, rock, funk, anything you laydown...and respectfully listen to it...u know why? cuz we're cool.

Wow, great reviews. For all that were fortunate to attend

scratchy said:

wanted to make the folks who weren't fortunate to come out feel better about saving their money.

i went to the first 2 shows.

although it seemed like tix were avail for the 7pm up until showtime, it was completely packed in there. walked to the back towards the end and it was wall to wall people.

1st show was ruined by an extremely drunk lady who failed to follow the basic rules of a prince show at a club. keep it classy people!

a)don't come in shitfaced. he doesn't like booze so don't be totally shitfaced, especially when he can see you and you keep bumping into the people around you

b)don't be sporting a hat when we are all in the same level. this isn't stadium seating yo. you are blocking people behind you.

c)don't be mistaking this show as an audition to be a back up dancer. no need to be flailing your arms and blocking everyone behind you while you are jumping around all sloppy

d)dude also pushed his way to the front and blocked some girls. luckily he moved back so the lil ones could see

all in all was a good show with a setlist similar to the forum. i liked his lil white knit cap that looked homemade and his lil curls coming out. *sigh* he wore the cutest silver sparkly sneakers. he was very playful but i don't think it was worth the $220 for such a short setlist (even with a 17 min version of dmsr-my fave!) since he came out so stinking late. he had big bags under his eyes. looked way more tired than he did at the troub show. hoping his voice will hold out for this weekend's shows.

2nd show was basically a clusterfuck. unless you were handful of people who came super early, you couldn't see shit. i would have rather saved my $100 and bought tix to the remainder of the forum shows. if i knew he was playing at the restaurant, i would not have bought these tix. security was a hot mess. people kept sneaking in without the proper wristband so they ended up pulling people out. people who were filiming got escorted out. it was hot as hell in there. he played in the dark for half of the show so it was like you were listening to a live bootleg at your house party during a blackout. it looked WAY more than 250 people. people were climbing on top of the booths to try to see. alot of sloppy drunks up in the restaurant. i've never seen so many people doing crazy dances in the back. sound was great but definitely not worth the $100.

[Edited 5/26/11 9:57am]

Which Prince were U lookin @?

GDB said:

theAudience said:

Overall, an enjoyable experience in a very odd performance space.

There were hints of technical problems during setup. First with Renato's rig, which appeared to get cleared up.
More severe was when I noticed one of the techs climb behind the rack housing the P.A. system's power amps.

Regarding the performance space, I did feel sorry for the vertically challenged people in attendance.
Even being 8-10 feet from the stage (i'm about 6'), there was a guy directly in my sight line which obscured Prince's face most of the time.

I can only imagine what shorter folks were seeing (if anything).

For folks that were looking for "The Kid" in Rock mode, this was it. No Show-Time, just jammin'.

Half way into the set, the crush of humanity became too much for me. I even had one "Realtor" squeeze in front of me...

I will however give him props on his motivation for doing so (see ya Friday bro.).

I retreated to the rear of the room to hang out with Morris Hayes (who didn't play the "Jazz Cafe" set).

Also, given the volume, it was much more comfortable sound wise back there.

Personally, the highlight of the set for me was Shelby doing Brown Skin.
Powerful vocalist and appears to be a very gracious person.
For those that feel it's their appointed duty to constantly rag on her, I don't get it.

Met some nice folks throughout the evening.


Music for adventurous listeners


tA

Missed you there man, didn't know you were going to be there. I was having "technical issues" getting out of the house for the gig and forgot to get in touch with people.

Brown Skin...wow. Wow. I don't know what is the connection between Prince and Shelby but whatever it is is special. They have a real, sincere thang going on between them and I, too, don't understand the negative sentiments directed towards her (I have some theories but would rather not get into that here)...they are groundless and unfair. That sistah brings a lot to Prince's current thing and I think he knows it. I don't like to engage in mind reading but I feel that he appreciates her more than just as a back up vocalist. She literally tore a hole in that ceiling...

Couldn't believe I finally got to see P do my song Bambi from what, five feet away unobstructed? SMH...I was like oh, so THAT'S how he does it...LOL Guitar lesson and performance all in one. He killed it. And he was going to do the same on Endorphinmachine before the dreaded technical issues eff'ed up the song but that opening riff...wow, that's powerful.

JoeZeo said:

I was at the midnight show, and I have to say I loved it!!! I got in line around 10:30pm, and I was 4th behind 3 lovely ladies (including Jo - hi Jo!). They let us into the Foundation Room around 11:15 or 11:30pm, and all of us immediately bee-lined to the back of the room where the instruments were set up. There was no stage, no velvet rope - nothing was separating us and the place that Prince would stand a few feet away. It was a little surreal. I've seen some intimate Prince shows, but this, by far, was the best.

People started trickling in behind us, and there we stood for almost 2 hours or so (sorry if my timing is wrong, but I wasn't writing any of this down). We chatted amongst outselves, and exchanged Prince stories. We were all very civil. But then the 2nd show must have let out, because then a slew of people came into the Foundation Room, and some proceeded to jostle and push their way through the crowd and even a few dared to push themselves in front of us - the ones who had been standing in the exact same spot for over 2 hours. Not cool.

I somehow still managed to hold my spot - even turning back a drunk guy named Mike, who was either from Iowa or Minnesota - depending on when the story suited him. But then Morris Hayes made his way through the crowd and deposited about 4 girls right in front of me (and others) and told them to stay put. And there went my prime view of the stage. But luckily, I'm 6' 4" so I could still see over the girls Morris brought up.

Soon after the second show ended, Renato Neto and John Blackwell came up and noodled around on their instruments, making sure everything was working right. A little after 2:00am, Renato, John and Ida came out and started on a mellow jazz tune. Then Mike (Philly) Phillips starting soloing on the sax, and by the time he finished, the song had morphed into an all out jam.

Prince came out, and the band continued to jam while he did some last minute tweaks with the soundboard operator. A little bit later, he took over Ida's bass and sent her away. Pretty funny. Anyway, the show itself kind of went like that - Prince would jump from guitar, back to bass, over to keys, back to guitar - just doing whatever moved him. And he treated the stage like his personal mixing board. A wave of his hand and a point of the his finger had Renato stop on the keys to give way to Philly on the sax. I looked around a few times and felt like I was watching some band jam in their mom's garage - it felt that small.

So small, in fact, that more than a few people wanted to kill Mike (the drunk guy from Iowa/Minnesota - not the saxophonist Mike Philly). Mike, if you're reading this, you're a good guy, but I came to hear Prince, not you. Let's just hope if a taper did make it to that show, he/she was standing far away from you. Telling Prince to play a song for "Cool Rapids, Minnesota!!!" was funny once. Twenty times not so much.

Here's what I can remember/discern from the setlist. Sorry it's not complete, but the songs did sort of run into each other. And my memory ain't what it used to be. There were definitely others...

Instrumental Jam (sound check)

I Wish

Outstanding

Which Way Is Up

Working Day & Night (at least I think it was that with Prince on bass)
Hollywood Swinging/Love Rollercoaster/Play That Funky Music (medley)

Waiting in Vain (sung by ? - she was gorgeous whoever she was)
More Than This

Controversy

It Takes Two

Rude Boy

Encore: Stratus

I'm not sure, but something might have pissed Prince off during "Stratus". He very abruptly signaled the band to stop - and they did on a dime cuz you know, they're tight like that - and then he ushered them each one-by-one off the stage like they were late for their next gig. As soon as he helped John get around his drum set, he followed him and waved his hands like "That's it." I don't know if someone took his picture again or he heard yet another futile request for "Purple Rain", but they disappeared real quick. It was a little strange.

As for the show itself, I can see how people in the back could be disappointed. If you couldn't see that Prince took over Ida's bass, then how could you react to it? But that is almost the inherent problem with seeing Prince. He sort of wants these small aftershows to be like a house party, that everyone ignore him and just dance. But the problem is you can't help but be drawn to him. Watching him work the guitar - and the BASS!!!! - was awe-inspiring. It all seemed so effortless, so fluid... so FUNKY! And watching Ida watching Prince was cool too - she was loving everything he was putting down. It was a great moment, but one that's lost for those in the back.

I think when you're that far back - like I was for the Conga Room show a few years back - you just have to treat it like a house party and dance your ass off. Because the Conga Room is still one of my favorite shows EVER, and I didn't see a damn thing.

But I'm glad I went. I felt the show was definitely worth the money. I've seen Prince around 40 times - 8 of those that this last Forum stand - so I really look forward to the jam sessions. It's nice to see him and the band try to relax, have fun and surprise themselves. And I think Renato and John are two of the best musicians he's ever played with. So it's always a treat to watch them interact with Prince.

Anyway, if anyone has corrections to my setlist, please help me out. And if anyone knows what charity that show was for, that would be cool to know as well. In true Prince fashion, he neglected to tell us that before he rushed off stage at 4:15am...

[Edited 5/26/11 18:48pm]

[Edited 5/26/11 18:55pm]

Hi Joe, Donna here - I was with Jo. Lovely to hang with you. What an epic experience. 2 feet from Prince, eye level watching him make music magic.

I am a Prince fan but more a huge,huge fan of great music. I came in a last second from Houston (thx to airline miles) to speed into town for these really unusual opportunities - i went to the 7pm and the 1 am shows.

I agree 100% with everything JoeZeo says above but because we were front row we saw it all. Prince did even more insane "on the fly" mixing, playing and swapping instruments, conducting his band members to change things on the fly etc than seems humanly possibly. It was crazy, one of a kind musical genius. I don't know the bald gal's name but she ripped it up on the vocals in a way that made Bono sway, sing along and keep turning around to watch her and Mike the sax player. She was great at Forum, but she was something to behold in that jamming world. Whew - James Brown meets Aretha meets Salt n Pepa and add in some crazy good current rapper. Her rap/singing blew me away.

Prince on keyboards, guitar, bass while orchestrating stuff on the fly and changing things up, jamming, adding, changing - was so incredible. All from 2 feet away - hard to even absorb.

Maybe you folks who are uber Prince fans forget how insanely talented musically Prince is relative to almost any other pop performer on the planet. His average day is like the one best day in 20 years of some other very good bands. Some of my music industry fans who see tons of great shows say "we would go every night if we could" about the Forum shows and some rockers who don't usually prefer Prince type music said "It really doesn't get any better than that"

I heard that the charity might be the twins mom hospital bills - not sure but that was word on the street.

As far as Prince being pissed off at end. Not sure. Right around 4 AM I kept seeing him raise his hand the band with 4 fingers and mouth FOUR. It seemed like he was signalling them like an alarm that they had to get off soon. He did it about 3 times. Once about 10 minutes before 4, once at about 4 and once again. Even when he was enjoying it, having fun at end he was sending the 4 finger signal. I think maybe because it was 4:15 he went longer than he wanted/or was supposed to and needed to get off fast (maybe fines incurred? that happens in some cities and venues if you make noise past the curfew)

Let me just say this will go down in history as one of the most memorable if not the #1 music event in my life. And I am old enough that Bad Company was my first concert in the 1970's.

Oh and by the way Prince joked a bit about the loud guy and looked at me and said "is that your son?" Ugh - made me feel old and also ick - that guy was obnoxious and unpleasant. But I think Prince was just razzing and interacting with audience.

Cheers all,

And thanks for the prince.org fabulousness. I may be at Forum tomorrow - cuz hell - I flew to LA = why not throw one more in?

JoeZeo said:

JoeZeo said:

I was at the midnight show, and I have to say I loved it!!! I got in line around 10:30pm, and I was 4th behind 3 lovely ladies (including Jo - hi Jo!). They let us into the Foundation Room around 11:15 or 11:30pm, and all of us immediately bee-lined to the back of the room where the instruments were set up. There was no stage, no velvet rope - nothing was separating us and the place that Prince would stand a few feet away. It was a little surreal. I've seen some intimate Prince shows, but this, by far, was the best.

People started trickling in behind us, and there we stood for almost 2 hours or so (sorry if my timing is wrong, but I wasn't writing any of this down). We chatted amongst outselves, and exchanged Prince stories. We were all very civil. But then the 2nd show must have let out, because then a slew of people came into the Foundation Room, and some proceeded to jostle and push their way through the crowd and even a few dared to push themselves in front of us - the ones who had been standing in the exact same spot for over 2 hours. Not cool.

I somehow still managed to hold my spot - even turning back a drunk guy named Mike, who was either from Iowa or Minnesota - depending on when the story suited him.

Nice writeup!

I was the tall guy standing behind you. You seemed very nice. Same with the woman to the left of you who was staying at the hotel across the street. I'm afraid the drunk guy really turned me off. I refuse to talk to people like that, once you talk with them they never shut up.

The crowd kinda got to me, I ended up leaving and moving to the back, and then the next room for awhile and eventually left before it was over. My right foot is sprained a little and it was killing me to stand in one place so long!!

Take care

Steve

funkylust said:

Okay here's my round up of my nite...

Thanks much for your recap of the vibe from each set.