darklotus69 said:

what a show last night and what a fun run its been.i just want to send a shout out to all the org members i met over the last few weeks either in the aftershow room or walking around the arena you guys have given me nothing but love so thanks !!!!

It was great to finally meet you last night. I've seen you getting mobbed by people on a few different occasions, so never had the chance to just say "hello."

I have been openly critical of Prince performing covers and probably will always be, because I think his greatest strength as a musical artist is that of a writer . . . and the world, in my opinion, should get as many opportunities to be exposed to that skill when he performs live. With that said, I was yearning for "Play That Funky Music" on Friday night, partly because my brother loves the song (he went Friday, not Saturday), partly because I just felt the show was lacking, but mostly because I've been enjoying the way you sing it and how Prince and the band stick to delivering the instrumental funk to it. The combination of you, Prince and his band makes for an incredible sound and I hope as long as his chooses to perform the song, you are around to sing it.

I loved last night's show.

Mary J. Blige worked and worked until she could get the crowd on her side. I've spoken about vulnerability pretty often, and how that can impact musical artists. Most, clam up or have meltdowns. But with Mary J, it's like igniting a fire. She gets stronger, deeper, and more aggressive. As she performed on the huge stage, in front of 17,000 fans waiting to see Prince, she was, in fact, vulnerable . . . and she openly admitted it. Instead of going in another direction or retreating altogether, she paid her sincere homage (to him), and an incredible thing began to happen. She started capturing and even captivating the audience. I enjoyed her immensely.

After her, the opening act appeared. It was a gentleman who has shown me he enjoys playing with a sampler. While doing this demonstration, he has been known to make questionable remarks. So, when he said "So many hits, so little time," I looked at my watch, which read 9:53pm. I thought to myself "hmmm, if this guy came out maybe closer to the time printed on the tickets, he would have more time, no?" As I scanned the audience, all of whom seemed to be on their feet, I sunk into my chair wondering "Why do I have such dumb thoughts?" Then yet another one popped into my head: I realized so THIS is how Dr. Funkenberry has time to tweet. Since I'm not a tweeter, I could only resort to text messaging, which I did during this still-confusing-4-me-nobody-wanting-2-explain-relation2-realmusic-realmusician phenomenon. But before you knew it, it was over, and out appears Prince saying "Dearly Beloved." When I heard that phrase, I instantaneously jumped to my feet and the show began...

And what a show it was. Throw the setlist in the trash; it would only confuse you. Prince played and sang masterfully. The songs he performed, for the record, were 20, 30 years-old (as usual), but as only a TRULY GREAT musical artist can do with quarter of a century and older material, he played the current versions of them . . . and made the current versions sound better than the originals. I've read some naive, yet talented writers suggest or insinuate that they have a problem with Prince changing words to his songs, but at the same time, they want him to perform modern material. This just in guys: When you change your own material, whether it's with lyrics, arrangements, or instruments, you are making the material new again. His renditions last night were beautiful, creative, imaginative, and illustrative. The concert offered high point after high point, so if I have to nitpick, I would say that a funky replacement for Musicology would have served the show well. My favorite moments were just about everything else, including the better than flawless performance of "Nothing Compares 2 U."

I fully appreciate the chances he takes with "Little Red Corvette," especially while he knows the crowd will roar even more if he doesn't.

I'm happy for everyone that could make it and I'm happy for everyone looking forward to seeing him tonight and/or some time in the future. Last night was why all of us go to see Prince. Whether we like him more in small venues/big venues, fully clothed/partially naked, singing old songs/new songs, band accompaniment/alone on stage, guitar/piano, deep voice/falsetto, he gave us 100% effort and in the end, can we really ask for more than that? If and when I formally rank and chronicle my 21 Night Stand experience, May 28, 2011 will be securely entrenched near the top of my list.

darklotus69 said:

what a show last night and what a fun run its been.i just want to send a shout out to all the org members i met over the last few weeks either in the aftershow room or walking around the arena you guys have given me nothing but love so thanks !!!!

GREAT job on stage last night--you killed it

1ststatestereo said:

In regards to complaints about LA crowds:

You're right. We suck. I'm not talking about myself or ANYONE on this forum, but it's amazing how many people act like they don't want to be at a show. There were SEVERAL people at HOB whom I overheard say they just received tickets a few hours ago and decided to show up. Like it was that or going out to dinner, not the concert of a lifetime. I'm not even mentioning the people at the 10:00 show who were drunk and paying no attention to the music.

Think about it, two weekends ago I sat on the floor for $25. Now I can't get in the building. What's the difference? It's the last weekend and therefore the "place to be."

A previous post said how much better the Oakland crowds are. I believe it.

Anyways, some thoughts on concert:

MJB fucking tore it up. She attacks the stage and gets shit started. There's nothing smooth about her. She beat that shit up. I loved it.

The sampler set wasn't as good as the previous night. LRC was drawn out and perfect. I'm so sick Musicology/Prince and the Band.

There weren't any new songs, but LRC and Nothing Compares 2 U might have well been new. That was the highlight.

[Edited 5/29/11 12:27pm]

So thrilled I got to see Mary J. Her performance of No More Drama... holy lord.

My favorite performance of LRC, hands down.

And as resident of the Bay Area, I must say I'm feeling a twinge of pride for our Oakland crowd The people in my section last night were total downers. I was the only one standing during quite a few songs.

[Edited 5/29/11 16:43pm]

Realtor said:

I loved last night's show.

Mary J. Blige worked and worked until she could get the crowd on her side. I've spoken about vulnerability pretty often, and how that can impact musical artists. Most, clam up or have meltdowns. But with Mary J, it's like igniting a fire. She gets stronger, deeper, and more aggressive. As she performed on the huge stage, in front of 17,000 fans waiting to see Prince, she was, in fact, vulnerable . . . and she openly admitted it. Instead of going in another direction or retreating altogether, she paid her sincere homage (to him), and an incredible thing began to happen. She started capturing and even captivating the audience. I enjoyed her immensely.

After her, the opening act appeared. It was a gentleman who has shown me he enjoys playing with a sampler. While doing this demonstration, he has been known to make questionable remarks. So, when he said "So many hits, so little time," I looked at my watch, which read 9:53pm. I thought to myself "hmmm, if this guy came out maybe closer to the time printed on the tickets, he would have more time, no?" As I scanned the audience, all of whom seemed to be on their feet, I sunk into my chair wondering "Why do I have such dumb thoughts?" Then yet another one popped into my head: I realized so THIS is how Dr. Funkenberry has time to tweet. Since I'm not a tweeter, I could only resort to text messaging, which I did during this still-confusing-4-me-nobody-wanting-2-explain-relation2-realmusic-realmusician phenomenon. But before you knew it, it was over, and out appears Prince saying "Dearly Beloved." When I heard that phrase, I instantaneously jumped to my feet and the show began...

And what a show it was. Throw the setlist in the trash; it would only confuse you. Prince played and sang masterfully. The songs he performed, for the record, were 20, 30 years-old (as usual), but as only a TRULY GREAT musical artist can do with quarter of a century and older material, he played the current versions of them . . . and made the current versions sound better than the originals. I've read some naive, yet talented writers suggest or insinuate that they have a problem with Prince changing words to his songs, but at the same time, they want him to perform modern material. This just in guys: When you change your own material, whether it's with lyrics, arrangements, or instruments, you are making the material new again. His renditions last night were beautiful, creative, imaginative, and illustrative. The concert offered high point after high point, so if I have to nitpick, I would say that a funky replacement for Musicology would have served the show well. My favorite moments were just about everything else, including the better than flawless performance of "Nothing Compares 2 U."

I fully appreciate the chances he takes with "Little Red Corvette," especially while he knows the crowd will roar even more if he doesn't.

I'm happy for everyone that could make it and I'm happy for everyone looking forward to seeing him tonight and/or some time in the future. Last night was why all of us go to see Prince. Whether we like him more in small venues/big venues, fully clothed/partially naked, singing old songs/new songs, band accompaniment/alone on stage, guitar/piano, deep voice/falsetto, he gave us 100% effort and in the end, can we really ask for more than that? If and when I formally rank and chronicle my 21 Night Stand experience, May 28, 2011 will be securely entrenched near the top of my list.

Preach, brother. Preach! Excellent review of the show! Sorry I missed this one. I'm not quite as old as Mr. Nelson, but I don't have the stamina he has.

darklotus69 said:

what a show last night and what a fun run its been.i just want to send a shout out to all the org members i met over the last few weeks either in the aftershow room or walking around the arena you guys have given me nothing but love so thanks !!!!

It was great seeing you rock the stage with Prince again, that may have been your best performance yet. I am always impressed when you get up there but to see you do it in front of a packed house at The Forum was awesome. I was like, I know that dude. It was nice seeing you again, hopefully I will be seeing you sooner than later.

Peace

rmartin70 said:

Just got back to Vegas from the show last night, PRINCE looked and sounded great, he was really havin a good time out there. I cant believe im saying this but i really ,really enjoyed PRINCE AND MARY singing NOTHING COMPARES TO U, that performance was really awesome, But all PRINCES performances are awesome, i can never get enough!!!!!!!!!! All this traveling from VEGAS to CALI and working is alot ,But sooooooo worth it. IT WAS SO MUCH EASIER WHEN HE WAS IN VEGAS FOR 6 MONTHS, maybe some day he will make his way back this way, But anywaysGREAT SHOW PRINCE AS USUAL!!!!!!!!

... was just watching the videos i shot from Saturday's show and at the end of Inglewood Swingin encore P spray painted on the drums set... anyone knows what it said? the angle of my footage is side-view..

facebook.com/trendski

alfbo said:

Realtor said:

I loved last night's show.

Mary J. Blige worked and worked until she could get the crowd on her side. I've spoken about vulnerability pretty often, and how that can impact musical artists. Most, clam up or have meltdowns. But with Mary J, it's like igniting a fire. She gets stronger, deeper, and more aggressive. As she performed on the huge stage, in front of 17,000 fans waiting to see Prince, she was, in fact, vulnerable . . . and she openly admitted it. Instead of going in another direction or retreating altogether, she paid her sincere homage (to him), and an incredible thing began to happen. She started capturing and even captivating the audience. I enjoyed her immensely.

After her, the opening act appeared. It was a gentleman who has shown me he enjoys playing with a sampler. While doing this demonstration, he has been known to make questionable remarks. So, when he said "So many hits, so little time," I looked at my watch, which read 9:53pm. I thought to myself "hmmm, if this guy came out maybe closer to the time printed on the tickets, he would have more time, no?" As I scanned the audience, all of whom seemed to be on their feet, I sunk into my chair wondering "Why do I have such dumb thoughts?" Then yet another one popped into my head: I realized so THIS is how Dr. Funkenberry has time to tweet. Since I'm not a tweeter, I could only resort to text messaging, which I did during this still-confusing-4-me-nobody-wanting-2-explain-relation2-realmusic-realmusician phenomenon. But before you knew it, it was over, and out appears Prince saying "Dearly Beloved." When I heard that phrase, I instantaneously jumped to my feet and the show began...

And what a show it was. Throw the setlist in the trash; it would only confuse you. Prince played and sang masterfully. The songs he performed, for the record, were 20, 30 years-old (as usual), but as only a TRULY GREAT musical artist can do with quarter of a century and older material, he played the current versions of them . . . and made the current versions sound better than the originals. I've read some naive, yet talented writers suggest or insinuate that they have a problem with Prince changing words to his songs, but at the same time, they want him to perform modern material. This just in guys: When you change your own material, whether it's with lyrics, arrangements, or instruments, you are making the material new again. His renditions last night were beautiful, creative, imaginative, and illustrative. The concert offered high point after high point, so if I have to nitpick, I would say that a funky replacement for Musicology would have served the show well. My favorite moments were just about everything else, including the better than flawless performance of "Nothing Compares 2 U."

I fully appreciate the chances he takes with "Little Red Corvette," especially while he knows the crowd will roar even more if he doesn't.

I'm happy for everyone that could make it and I'm happy for everyone looking forward to seeing him tonight and/or some time in the future. Last night was why all of us go to see Prince. Whether we like him more in small venues/big venues, fully clothed/partially naked, singing old songs/new songs, band accompaniment/alone on stage, guitar/piano, deep voice/falsetto, he gave us 100% effort and in the end, can we really ask for more than that? If and when I formally rank and chronicle my 21 Night Stand experience, May 28, 2011 will be securely entrenched near the top of my list.

Preach, brother. Preach! Excellent review of the show! Sorry I missed this one. I'm not quite as old as Mr. Nelson, but I don't have the stamina he has.

Thank you, it was my favorite show of the weekend, but they all were good. I'm not sure many people have the stamina Prince has.

rmartin70 said:

klick2me said:

WTFreak? u are in there?

klick

No the back door is open, sounds very good. They just played about 15 seconds of Billie Jean. They also did Hollywood Swinging with Maceo. [Edited 5/29/11 18:25pm]

Ummmmm, its INGLEWOOD SWINGIN>>>>>>>>>>>>

bronzefunk said:

PurpleDiver said:

Had a great time at the show but was deathly afraid of the security guards' crackdown on cameras - actually worked out fine for just enjoying the ride. But if anyone was braver than I was, please put 'em up!

Saw a woman kicked out tonight for iPhone pix of the screen and multiple people having to delete pix off their devices. I looked around several times after halfway thru the show and almost no one had cameras out...

Sat wasnt an issue. I had my camera and got pics.... not as good as the ones i took on the 14th, but still some decent ones.. Prince is sucha private person, and yet so is out there with his fans... he doesnt want pictures of him all over the place. He is very aprticulair about who and where his pictures are.

Laloveer said:

bronzefunk said:

Saw a woman kicked out tonight for iPhone pix of the screen and multiple people having to delete pix off their devices. I looked around several times after halfway thru the show and almost no one had cameras out...

Sat wasnt an issue. I had my camera and got pics.... not as good as the ones i took on the 14th, but still some decent ones.. Prince is sucha private person, and yet so is out there with his fans... he doesnt want pictures of him all over the place. He is very aprticulair about who and where his pictures are.

Good on ya for getting pix but Sat, this was an issue where we were sitting - security warnings out front and guards coming into the rows after people taking pix. Weirdly, I didn't see anyone having any problem taking photos on Sunday.

I am a little curious about orgers attitudes towards this - if Prince's most devoted fans accept that he doesn't want pictures taken at shows, why so many pictures on this site? Is it a belief that picture-taking really isn't a problem in Prince's eyes, or is it just a desire that overcomes the interest in complying with his wishes? I have no idea what he does or doesn't want, so I'm absolutely not trying to imply I'm coming from some position of insider knowledge. I would love for someone to be able to tell me it's no problem at all and that next time I should snap away.

PurpleDiver said:

Laloveer said:

Sat wasnt an issue. I had my camera and got pics.... not as good as the ones i took on the 14th, but still some decent ones.. Prince is sucha private person, and yet so is out there with his fans... he doesnt want pictures of him all over the place. He is very aprticulair about who and where his pictures are.

Good on ya for getting pix but Sat, this was an issue where we were sitting - security warnings out front and guards coming into the rows after people taking pix. Weirdly, I didn't see anyone having any problem taking photos on Sunday.

I am a little curious about orgers attitudes towards this - if Prince's most devoted fans accept that he doesn't want pictures taken at shows, why so many pictures on this site? Is it a belief that picture-taking really isn't a problem in Prince's eyes, or is it just a desire that overcomes the interest in complying with his wishes? I have no idea what he does or doesn't want, so I'm absolutely not trying to imply I'm coming from some position of insider knowledge. I would love for someone to be able to tell me it's no problem at all and that next time I should snap away.

It depends on where you sit. In Loge 8 on Sunday Security wasn't having it and made people stop and/or delete pix/photos.

Excuse me but when Prince comes out in outfits like that, a stage like that, a light show like that, celebrities like that, mucisians like that, Twinz like that, attitude like that, hair like that, moves like that, and showmanship like THAT, how the f are we NOT gonna wanna capture that on film? Those shows were spectacularly amazingly outrageously gorgeous! As the pictures clearly show. I would like to comply with Prince's wishes. Really I would. All he has to do is sit me down and tell me what they are and his wish is my command. hahahahaha, just kidding.

No, I wouldn't do it in his face like that one chick did on stage, I know he would hate me 4ever but everything looked too dang good to pass up every opportunity. As I said b4, it's hard thang to be Prince fan! But so worth it.

antoinet said:

.

Excuse me but when Prince comes out in outfits like that, a stage like that, a light show like that, celebrities like that, mucisians like that, Twinz like that, attitude like that, hair like that, moves like that, and showmanship like THAT, how the f are we NOT gonna wanna capture that on film? Those shows were spectacularly amazingly outrageously gorgeous! As the pictures clearly show. I would like to comply with Prince's wishes. Really I would. All he has to do is sit me down and tell me what they are and his wish is my command. hahahahaha, just kidding.

No, I wouldn't do it in his face like that one chick did on stage, I know he would hate me 4ever but everything looked too dang good to pass up every opportunity. As I said b4, it's hard thang to be Prince fan! But so worth it.

Exactly - fairly KILLING me not to take pix of all that! Snapped plenty at my first 4 Forum shows before it was such a big deal with Security though.

Anyone have any pictures?

They were not playin that night with the picture takin, that was over with, it seemed to be people there just to look for cameras!

[Edited 5/31/11 11:07am]

GDB said:

Incredible show. Incredible night. I got into the hottest ticket in town at the last minute due to the thoughtfulness of a friend...

Mary J. Blige took the stage around 8:40 pm and played the best opening set of the 21 Night Stand for forty five minutes. I saw Chaka Khan. Mint Condition. Esperanza Spaulding. Cassandra Wilson. Janelle Monae. Mary J. Blige performed the best opening set of the LA engagement to date...Sunday's show may top this one but we'll see. Heartfelt, earnest, genuine, soulfully evocative...powerful. Prince came out onstage to play with her on "Sweet Thing." Great moment to see the two of them onstage and Prince's expression when she kissed his cheek was priceless.

Scratch that. That wasn't an opening set. That was a concert in and of itself. We were blessed by her presence.

Prince...yeah. Back to form. Tighter, better, stronger. No comparison between last night and tonight's show. Prince didn't just get silly with it, he got downright ignorant with it. Very happy to see Prince give Maceo all the love and respect due to him and they played very well off of one another all night. I love me some Shelby but Mary singing Nothing Compares 2 U with Prince was genius. Fantastic performance. 'Nuff said.

Karoake:

When Doves Cry

Nasty Girl

Sign O' The Times

Hot Thing

Party All The Time

Most Beautiful Girl In The World

Darling Nikki

I Would Die 4 U

Forever In My Life

Concert:

Let's Go Crazy

Delirious; back to Let's Go Crazy

1999

Little Red Corvette

Nothing Compares 2 U w/ MJB

DMSR

Pop Life

Musicology; Prince & The Band

Shhhh w/ U Will Be With Me

Misty Blue

Renato Interlude

Take Me With U

Raspberry Beret (shortened)

Play That Funky Music

Cream

Cool w/ Don't Stop...

Let's Work

U Got The Look

Encores:

Purple Rain

Kiss

Controversy

Which Way Is Up

Maceo Jam

I Know You Got Soul

Inglewood Swinging

[Edited 5/29/11 3:53am]

Nuff said!

I have posted some photos here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/13373907@N02/sets/72157626855506332/

Enjoy....

lancslass said:

I have posted some photos here:

http://www.flickr.com/pho...855506332/

Enjoy....

Thanks!