So I missed the first show. And last night was the last I'll attend. No opening night, no closing show for me. Just the thick of it. I missed opening night because months earlier my friend and I had purchased tickets to see Janet at the Gibson, then His Holy Purpleness decides to announce his first date on the same exact night, April 14. Janet killed it for LA. Her two Santa Barbara shows I had seen felt subpar, but this night she was on fire and Jacksons were in the audience along with RuPaul, Babyface, Chris Tucker, a couple of actors from "Colored Girls..." and this felt star-studded. Surreal.

Then came Obama traffic on the first Forum show I was to attend to see P-man. Devastated, sitting in my office parking lot which was jammed for 45 minutes, I was sure I would miss the show. Somehow I made it and embarked upon what would be the most satisfying series of live music events in my 29 years.

The song selection, among the 7 shows, I attended was at once wildly schizophrenic and utterly grounded, in a core of the two cornerstone chunks of the setlist. One being the piano / synthesizer / mp3 player (?) 'sampler set' which always included 'Purple Rain' tracks (always "When Doves Cry," always the cock-teaser intro to "Darling Nikki" and almost always "I Would Die For U" plus ecstatic nuggets of "Forever in My Life" and especially the impeccable "Hot Thing," a bona fide morsel of candy-sweet funk. "Alphabet St." made the cut in this secition multiple times, as did the "no" "n-no" loop as a bassline of funk sampled into other snippets. That simple maneuver sums up the adventurousness, the naked genius of a Genius -- always an unpredictable yet simply a bump-and-humpin good time.

The 2nd cornerstone of the show's elastic setlist was the section which almost always inevitably began with 'Take Me With U' (which, since seeing P in concert for the first time in 2002, has taken an otherwise forgettable track - for this fan - to a top 20 fave), a song whose bridge becomes increasingly satisfying with every repeat listen (live). My personal favorite Prince album track, "Lets Work," often played in the dark, made it's way into EVERY set I saw, in this section. The bacon-greased bass line with 1,000s of fans in the dark in the Forum has to have its own small room in heaven. "Cool" interpolated with MJ's "Don't Stop Til You Get Enough" was always in this section; would have been fantastic to hear The Artist sing some of Mike's song, but alas he left it to his 3 faithful (and killer) backup singers. (That said, he did mention at almost every concert I saw that he had seen Michael Jackson at the venue). While this portion of the show sometimes ventured off into arena rock like "Peach" and "Rock Lobster," it more often went directly into "Raspberry Beret" (enough of that one already, though SOMETHING had to represent 'Around the World in A Day' besides the every-third-or-fourth-show-too-brief rendition of "Pop Life"). Most satisfying was always "U Got The Look," which usually closed this part of the set - though it took on a too-cluttered-heavy-rock arrangement for my taste. But then, "Cream" was almost always included in this string, and he reminded us each time it was played that he 'wrote it in the mirror,' a line which dates back for me to the 2004 mega tour.

A few thoughts on Prince's own opinion of his catalogue, as reflected by his shows:

1. The man clearly considers 'Sign O the Times,' 'Purple Rain' and '1999' his most important works. Considering that "U Got the Look," an incredibly heart-wrenching funk workout of "If I Was Your GirlFriend" plus "Hot Thing," "U Got the Look" and the prevalence of the title track in the sampler set (often sung as longer than a snippet), not to mention "Housequake" always referenced during "Controversy," and the fan-favorite "Forever in My Life," Prince, along with those of us fans who know best, agrees that this album was his creative zenith. The highlight of the entire experience for me was a Saturday show, I attended solo, with an unexpected full performance of "Strange Relationship." Words fail me on this one, as on "Something in the Water Doesn't Compute," performed the same evening. Meanwhile, "1999," "Delirious," and the party bomb block party anthem "DMSR" was so thickly George Clintoned out, it took the already perfect song into the next hemisphere of crunchy, nasty FONK. And while 'Purple Rain' became the requisite bathroom break for me, "I Would Die For U" brought this fan to the verge of tears in every instant. "Baby I'm a Star" popped up on my final show, and though I saw it listed on many other setlists - maddeningly - in other cities, at least - "The Beautiful Ones" eluded me.

2. There is little confidence in his new material, or at least his audience's desires to hear it, post 'The Gold Experience.' "Endorphinmachine" came out to play but aside from us hardcores went over cold; "Shhhh," however, was a staple that only got hotter, especially on the May 27 show, shirt torn open and telling his lover that 'u will be mine.' Had it killed him to perform "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" live, it sure made it's 15 second appearance in each of his sampler sets. '3121' was maddeningly ignored, minus an orgasmic appearance of "Black Sweat" at my favorite show and the track (no vocals) of "Love," an eternal and criminally underrated gem. And while '20Ten' was shown very little love on the whole, "Future Soul Song" was performed twice at the 7 shows I saw, a true highlight for myself but a convenient bar trip for most (what was up with getting wrapped in the white sheet by his twin dancers at the end?); "Beginning Endlessly" made its live debut at the second show I attended, but didn't seem to translate to many in the crowd. The real monster, live, it would seem, then, is "Laydown" not only performed on George Lopez to announce the run but given a Rhythm Nation dance routine (and costumes for the twins) along with the permeable boom-shake of the arena, this one is destined to be the "Musicology" of future years (the latter of which was given a fair amount of attention over the span - but nothing else from its parent album).

3. 'Controversy,' 'Around the World in the Day,' 'Diamonds and Pearls' are his clear next favorites after '1999,' 'Purple Rain' and 'Sign.' 'D&P' if only for the almost nightly inclusion of 'Cream' and the sometimes (though never witnessed by me) included 'Insatiable,' (though its title track seems to be strangely absent from the repertoire these days), while 'ATWIAD' gave us frequent renditions of "Pop Life" and almost nightly doses of "Beret," and "Controversy's" title song was almost always used as a pivotal part of the show, as was the already mentioned sonic dirty fuck of "Lets Work."

4. Where is 'Dirty Mind?' While there were some reports in New York and perhaps of some Forum shows I missed of "Uptown" being played, "When You Were Mine," "Dirty Mind," "Head" (for obvious reasons), and "Gotta Broken Heart Again" were all ignored, by my count. What gives? Thankfully, while his unforgivably maligned debut was totally untouched, his self titled sophomore yielded the rare treats of "I Feel For You" and "Bambi" (which i would have KILLED to see...alas, I had to make do with the pleasure of only the former being played at one of my shows.)

5. The man puts great emphasis on his early/mid 80s material for The Time and Sheila E. In fact, of all the guests I saw onstage (Gwen Stefani, Alicia Keys, Nikka Costa, Maceo Parker), Sheila was the baddest, realest and most satisfying. Hearing 'The Glamourous Life' and her thunderous drum solo take over the space and energy of the Forum (about 5 times) was almost as big of a highlight as "Lets Work." Her beauty, grace and talent is almost a direct match for The Man Himself. And hearing "Jungle Love," "The Bird," "A Love Bizarre" and the ubiquitous "Cool" -- all songs ignored on The Musicology Tour - or at least the 3 shows of that I saw - was beyond special, especially the feelings stirred up during "A Love Bizarre." We all want a love bizarre...

And a love bizarre is exactly what we will always feel for The Artist Formerly Known as the Artist formerly known as Prince. He may wish us heaven, but he gave it to us in spades, and the most musically satisfying collective experience of this fan's life has only begun to sink in.

Interesting and clarifying analysis. Thanks!