L4OATheOriginal said:

dualboot said:

I think you are right but its fair to say that he did this quite a lot in the 1980's too

in the 80's the only songs that were constant are the same ones from purple rain with lgc only missing the parade tour ..

I know but it's a response to the 50% remark.

I understand that the basis was different (he got more songs now and the main focus is still the 80's).

The reply is based on : If you calculate the percentage then you hit the same mark when comparing to 1 or 2 years before.

UltraLash said:

Look, if I heard Raspberry Beret and Inglewood Swinging one more time, I was going to cut someone. BUT that's not Prince's fault. It was my fault for going to 6 damn concerts. When bands tour, they practice and choreograph only a certain set of songs... and Prince picks the songs.

He actually did a damn good job of throwing a few wild cards and fan favorites into the mix on most nights (17 Days, Strange Relationship, Beautiful Ones, Dreamer, Peach...) and scheduling intimate, guitar-driven club appearances for the hardcore fans. He brought in a slew of opening acts and guest artists (including Stevie Wonder, Janelle Monae, Mary J. Blige, Larry Graham, Gwen Stefani and Chaka Khan!). AND he did it for nearly two months.

The truth is, Prince can't play for a venue that holds 17,000 people and deliver a Troubadour set. The place is full of first-time concert-goers and people's grandmas. They want to hear "Raspberry Beret." And God help Prince if he doesn't play Purple Rain in an arena. People will hunt him down and kill him... even grandma.

Bottom line: Prince doesn't know which concerts you attended, how often you went and what you want to hear. Also, he doesn't care.

That said, I would kill to hear Eye Hate U, Morning Papers, and F.U.N.K performed live. But my name ain't Prince.

I like you! you read my mind and said exactly what I was thinking

They kind of did promote the 21 Nights as a different show every night, hoping people would go multiple nights.

Otherwise - most people are going to 1 night, and they want the complete experience.

Keep in mind these shows are bringing a lot of fans back that he turned off during the Gold Experience era.

We probably couldn't even guess what factors probably go into a set list, like pacing his voice, his endurance, bathroom breaks, bad sound, good sound, why the hotel didn't have any cartoons on demand, the raw diet soup the caterer made...

I though his Oakland set lists hit that perfect balance.

[Edited 6/7/11 2:14am]

treehouse said:

They kind of did promote the 21 Nights as a different show every night, hoping people would go multiple nights.

Otherwise - most people are going to 1 night, and they want the complete experience.

Keep in mind these shows are bringing a lot of fans back that he turned off during the Gold Experience era.

We probably couldn't even guess what factors probably go into a set list, like pacing his voice, his endurance, bathroom breaks, bad sound, good sound, why the hotel didn't have any cartoons on demand, the raw diet soup the caterer made...

I though his Oakland set lists hit that perfect balance.

[Edited 6/7/11 2:14am]

wasn't that the musicology tour 7 years ago? and the jam of the year tour was more prince songs than

L4OATheOriginal said:

treehouse said:

They kind of did promote the 21 Nights as a different show every night, hoping people would go multiple nights.

Otherwise - most people are going to 1 night, and they want the complete experience.

Keep in mind these shows are bringing a lot of fans back that he turned off during the Gold Experience era.

We probably couldn't even guess what factors probably go into a set list, like pacing his voice, his endurance, bathroom breaks, bad sound, good sound, why the hotel didn't have any cartoons on demand, the raw diet soup the caterer made...

I though his Oakland set lists hit that perfect balance.

[Edited 6/7/11 2:14am]

wasn't that the musicology tour 7 years ago? and the jam of the year tour was more prince songs than

Musicology was almost the same setlist every night, with the rare exception of busting out Bambi or Whole Lotta Love. But within that, the show grew, and got funkier with longer jams as the summer wore on. The shows I saw at MSG in July 04 were far superior to the kickoff in LA that I saw in a movie theatre. DMSR in particular got funky as Hell.

eugny1 said:

L4OATheOriginal said:

wasn't that the musicology tour 7 years ago? and the jam of the year tour was more prince songs than

Musicology was almost the same setlist every night, with the rare exception of busting out Bambi or Whole Lotta Love. But within that, the show grew, and got funkier with longer jams as the summer wore on. The shows I saw at MSG in July 04 were far superior to the kickoff in LA that I saw in a movie theatre. DMSR in particular got funky as Hell.

Life o' the party/ Soul Man by Chance Howard another fine example.

eelco said:

eugny1 said:

Musicology was almost the same setlist every night, with the rare exception of busting out Bambi or Whole Lotta Love. But within that, the show grew, and got funkier with longer jams as the summer wore on. The shows I saw at MSG in July 04 were far superior to the kickoff in LA that I saw in a movie theatre. DMSR in particular got funky as Hell.

Life o' the party/ Soul Man by Chance Howard another fine example.

life o the party was done over the arrangement of james browns hot pants

soul man is a cover version from sam and dave

the only songs from the musicology album that 2 this day have been done live: musicology, dear mr man, call my name and life o' the party..yet this album was handed out 2 everyone that went 2 a show and was out in stores as well. every other song done on this tour was either covers or old songs.

the formula remains the same as it did 7 years ago

On The Couch was done live as well.

dualboot said:

BartVanHemelen said:

I betcha the setlists will contain at least 50% the same things he played in 2010 or 2009.

I think you are right but its fair to say that he did this quite a lot in the 1980's too

Oh yeah? Well, let's take a random Purple Rain Tour gig:

http://www.princevault.co...arch,_1985

As you can see, Prince starts off with a B-Side. He's one fo the biggest pop stars in the land, on his first major tour, and he starts with a B-Side. As you can see, he plays another THREE B-Sides during the gig. He also plays TWO new, unreleased songs. He plays a mere five pre-Purple Rain songs. Oh, and let's not forget that several of the Purple Rain songs he played aren't singles, but mere album tracks. That wasn't some obscure club tour, FYI.

Maybe you wanna take a look at the live video from that tour, and notice how there's one UNRELEASED song in that gig. So back then Prince did a gig that was broadcast on TV and he played an unreleased song.

(And yes, he also played an unreleased song on his most recent TV appearance -- but note that "Laydown" was only played a handful of times during the "21 night stand" gigs. Prince couldn't even be arsed to regularly play a song that is used in a commercial! I bet there's a couple of covers that were played more frequently than "Laydown".)

BartVanHemelen said:

dualboot said:

I think you are right but its fair to say that he did this quite a lot in the 1980's too

Oh yeah? Well, let's take a random Purple Rain Tour gig:

http://www.princevault.co...arch,_1985

As you can see, Prince starts off with a B-Side. He's one fo the biggest pop stars in the land, on his first major tour, and he starts with a B-Side. As you can see, he plays another THREE B-Sides during the gig. He also plays TWO new, unreleased songs. He plays a mere five pre-Purple Rain songs. Oh, and let's not forget that several of the Purple Rain songs he played aren't singles, but mere album tracks. That wasn't some obscure club tour, FYI.

Maybe you wanna take a look at the live video from that tour, and notice how there's one UNRELEASED song in that gig. So back then Prince did a gig that was broadcast on TV and he played an unreleased song.

(And yes, he also played an unreleased song on his most recent TV appearance -- but note that "Laydown" was only played a handful of times during the "21 night stand" gigs. Prince couldn't even be arsed to regularly play a song that is used in a commercial! I bet there's a couple of covers that were played more frequently than "Laydown".)

*sigh*

We are not discussing that part of your argument. In essence I think you are right about Prince and his 'playing mainly same stuff in his sleep and hiding it by doing it random'
It's 'the 50% the same as last year/tour' part.
Compare Lovesexy to SOTT, SOTT to Parade, Parade to PR to 1999 to Controversy to DM etc.
In essence the same songtitles reappear (give or take 50%) and the other 50's were new songs (nowdays he tends to forget the new work a bit).
In the end I think 60 t0 70% is the same nowdays.

DaveG said:

These songs were all played at The Forum:

Extraordinary, Uptown, Make You Feel My Love, Insatiable, Scandalous, Adore, Peach, Stratus, Sometimes It Snows In April, Laydown, Endorphinmachine, She's Always in My Hair, Dreamer, Welcome 2 America, When Eye Lay My Hands On U, Guitar, Anotherloverholenyohead, Beginning Endlessly, Future Soul Song, Misty Blue, How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore, If I Was Your Girlfriend, When We're Dancing Close and Slow, Joy in Repetition, Brown Skin, 17 Days, Shhh/U Will Be With Me, More Than This, Partyman, Jungle Strut / Soul Sacri...L'Overture, The Question of U / The One / Gingerbread Man / Beggin' Woman Blues, So Far So Pleased, Something In The Water (Does Not Computer), Strange Relationship, Sexy Dancer, The Love We Make, Eye'll Never B Another Fool, & Pass The Peas.

Not sure how many casual fans know that setlist.... But I sure enjoyed the one's I got to hear live.

Interesting

LectricManx said:

bobzilla77 said:

As a Who fan who has more than once, attended three nights in a row and heard the same 15 songs at all three, I find this commentary laughable.

The song list for the entire residency has over 100 titles on it.

Can anyone name any artist/band that comes even remotely close to this? No, no chance.

I have worked for many large bands and seen their shows over and over...no one does this.

Dylan.

HonestMan13 said:

On The Couch was done live as well.

ur right i was thinking more full band arrangement but yes it was done during the acoustic set

Imaginative said:

LectricManx said:

Can anyone name any artist/band that comes even remotely close to this? No, no chance.

I have worked for many large bands and seen their shows over and over...no one does this.

Dylan.

Not a large band, though they have a couple of large vatos, and they normally play small venues, but they always mix it up

Los Lobos.... http://loslobos.setlist.com/

legna said:

Imaginative said:

Dylan.

Not a large band, though they have a couple of large vatos, and they normally play small venues, but they always mix it up

Los Lobos.... http://loslobos.setlist.com/

Prince's band at that Forum consisted of three keyboardists, drums, and bass. Everyone else was a special guest, but that was the core band; 6 people including Prince. Hardly large.

Imaginative said:

legna said:

Not a large band, though they have a couple of large vatos, and they normally play small venues, but they always mix it up

Los Lobos.... http://loslobos.setlist.com/

Prince's band at that Forum consisted of three keyboardists, drums, and bass. Everyone else was a special guest, but that was the core band; 6 people including Prince. Hardly large.

"large" meaning ... "importance"... "popularity" .... not an orchestra or symphony...

"large vatos" meaning about the size of JB

Imaginative said:

legna said:

Not a large band, though they have a couple of large vatos, and they normally play small venues, but they always mix it up

Los Lobos.... http://loslobos.setlist.com/

Prince's band at that Forum consisted of three keyboardists, drums, and bass. Everyone else was a special guest, but that was the core band; 6 people including Prince. Hardly large.

and 3 vocalists, 3 dancers making the total 12

[Edited 6/10/11 20:44pm]

BartVanHemelen said:

dualboot said:

I think you are right but its fair to say that he did this quite a lot in the 1980's too

Oh yeah? Well, let's take a random Purple Rain Tour gig:

http://www.princevault.co...arch,_1985

As you can see, Prince starts off with a B-Side. He's one fo the biggest pop stars in the land, on his first major tour, and he starts with a B-Side. As you can see, he plays another THREE B-Sides during the gig. He also plays TWO new, unreleased songs. He plays a mere five pre-Purple Rain songs. Oh, and let's not forget that several of the Purple Rain songs he played aren't singles, but mere album tracks. That wasn't some obscure club tour, FYI.

Maybe you wanna take a look at the live video from that tour, and notice how there's one UNRELEASED song in that gig. So back then Prince did a gig that was broadcast on TV and he played an unreleased song.

(And yes, he also played an unreleased song on his most recent TV appearance -- but note that "Laydown" was only played a handful of times during the "21 night stand" gigs. Prince couldn't even be arsed to regularly play a song that is used in a commercial! I bet there's a couple of covers that were played more frequently than "Laydown".)

O man, for someone who seems to hate almost every recent (ie. the last 10 years or so) move by P, you sure spent a LOT of time whining about him. Are you sure there are no unresolved issues you have to deal with somewhere else first? (BTW I take it you do something new every day, don't have a steady job providing you with income and are innovatove all the time. You definately must be Somewhere beacuse you sure aren't here!)

eelco said:

BartVanHemelen said:

Oh yeah? Well, let's take a random Purple Rain Tour gig:

http://www.princevault.co...arch,_1985

As you can see, Prince starts off with a B-Side. He's one fo the biggest pop stars in the land, on his first major tour, and he starts with a B-Side. As you can see, he plays another THREE B-Sides during the gig. He also plays TWO new, unreleased songs. He plays a mere five pre-Purple Rain songs. Oh, and let's not forget that several of the Purple Rain songs he played aren't singles, but mere album tracks. That wasn't some obscure club tour, FYI.

Maybe you wanna take a look at the live video from that tour, and notice how there's one UNRELEASED song in that gig. So back then Prince did a gig that was broadcast on TV and he played an unreleased song.

(And yes, he also played an unreleased song on his most recent TV appearance -- but note that "Laydown" was only played a handful of times during the "21 night stand" gigs. Prince couldn't even be arsed to regularly play a song that is used in a commercial! I bet there's a couple of covers that were played more frequently than "Laydown".)

O man, for someone who seems to hate almost every recent (ie. the last 10 years or so) move by P, you sure spent a LOT of time whining about him. Are you sure there are no unresolved issues you have to deal with somewhere else first? (BTW I take it you do something new every day, don't have a steady job providing you with income and are innovatove all the time. You definately must be Somewhere beacuse you sure aren't here!)

Didn't you know? He is the Mark David Chapman/Manson of the Prince online community.

u get the complainers who cannot dance, sing, play an instrument or write with a purpose (symbolised below)

Then you get Prince...saying "kiss my ass"

NelsonR said:

u get the complainers who cannot dance, sing, play an instrument or write with a purpose (symbolised below)

Then you get Prince...saying "kiss my ass"

Hi, I'm new here. I was intrigued by the title of this thread, because I think it sums up the 21 nights quite well. I went to the first show and it was great. I ended up making it to a total of 9 shows, but I noticed Prince getting progressively worse and worse. He never came close to matching the first night.

SilverJet said:

Hi, I'm new here. I was intrigued by the title of this thread, because I think it sums up the 21 nights quite well. I went to the first show and it was great. I ended up making it to a total of 9 shows, but I noticed Prince getting progressively worse and worse. He never came close to matching the first night.

I didn't go to the first show but I felt the shows got better and better as they went along

LiquidGold said:

SilverJet said:

Hi, I'm new here. I was intrigued by the title of this thread, because I think it sums up the 21 nights quite well. I went to the first show and it was great. I ended up making it to a total of 9 shows, but I noticed Prince getting progressively worse and worse. He never came close to matching the first night.

I didn't go to the first show but I felt the shows got better and better as they went along

I thought the first show was the only great one and as time went on he was doing more and more covers. After the month of April, I think the quality of the shows had declined, but we were all thrilled to see Prince for $25 and tell our friends about it. It became like more of a party and just a fun outing.

prince is always going to play the same songs because this band can not play the shit you like in a perfect fashion.

I know right....I worked all 15 shows at the Forum, and I was even there for rehearsals. I'm glad that it is over, but I do miss the shows. I was starting to count Purple sheep in my sleep.

UltraLash said:

Look, if I heard Raspberry Beret and Inglewood Swinging one more time, I was going to cut someone. BUT that's not Prince's fault. It was my fault for going to 6 damn concerts. When bands tour, they practice and choreograph only a certain set of songs... and Prince picks the songs.

He actually did a damn good job of throwing a few wild cards and fan favorites into the mix on most nights (17 Days, Strange Relationship, Beautiful Ones, Dreamer, Peach...) and scheduling intimate, guitar-driven club appearances for the hardcore fans. He brought in a slew of opening acts and guest artists (including Stevie Wonder, Janelle Monae, Mary J. Blige, Larry Graham, Gwen Stefani and Chaka Khan!). AND he did it for nearly two months.

The truth is, Prince can't play for a venue that holds 17,000 people and deliver a Troubadour set. The place is full of first-time concert-goers and people's grandmas. They want to hear "Raspberry Beret." And God help Prince if he doesn't play Purple Rain in an arena. People will hunt him down and kill him... even grandma.

Bottom line: Prince doesn't know which concerts you attended, how often you went and what you want to hear. Also, he doesn't care.

That said, I would kill to hear Eye Hate U, Morning Papers, and F.U.N.K performed live. But my name ain't Prince.

SilverJet said:

Hi, I'm new here. I was intrigued by the title of this thread, because I think it sums up the 21 nights quite well. I went to the first show and it was great. I ended up making it to a total of 9 shows, but I noticed Prince getting progressively worse and worse. He never came close to matching the first night.

well damn id feel the same way if i went to 9 shows....

i think its dissapointing to hear people bitch and complain they want prince to come tour the u.s, and then when he does, completely disown him. lemme give u a piece of advice, and i do get paid for couseling....

1) yes, we all love prince, but if ur gonna go to multiple nights, dont expect a completely different show every night! i went to the last 3 shows and was more than satisfied with what i heard. now, if i went to 6 shows, id start to get a stick up my ass to!!!

2) its an arena show. meaning, prince dont give a ratsass whether ur coming to everynight, or just one night, hes gonna play the hits. with a crowd of 17,000 u better bet on him prancin around the stage to Raspberry Beret! he did change up the setlist and included songs that hardcores would enjoy. I'm not saying prince is perfect and doesnt make any mistakes, we all know thats a lie but for jehovah sakes if you hated it so bad, next time he tours just lock ur self in your house and watch the lovesexy tour. but dont watch it too many times, it might get real old, REAL fast

I'm joining this discussion late in the game. I didn't go to any of the LA shows. However, I can tell you that I've never been to any Prince concert until earlier this year. We went to the first show of his tour when it was in Oakland and if the OP was complaining about how he played Little Red Corvette, 1999, and all the other songs that were popular on the radio then let me tell you this, YOU WERE LUCKY! I went to the concert thinking I was going to hear those songs and a LOT more. Instead we were treated with some of the most obscure songs that I barely or never even heard of them. I even remember telling the person I was with when the show was just about done after he played with the house lights on "he's not going to disappoint us" meaning I was hoping he'd play at least one more song that was played on the radio. He didn't.

People were literally leaving 3/4 of the way through the show because they figured he wasn't going to sing any of the songs like 1999, Take Me With You or Little Red Corvette. They were right. The next day the paper literally said that only Prince could get away with not playing his most popular songs. It was pretty incredible and disappointing.

The following Wednesday and Thursday, Prince must have heard the complaints and pulled out all stops and played every single popular song he had. Unfortunately I wasn't there. I didn't want to be burned again.

So, if you think that it was bad that he was playing all his popular radio songs, then you should have been to the show I was at. Not only was it a variety show with everyone other than Prince playing. There were songs played by Santana, there was a Jimi Hendrix type of song, a Rihana song sung by his backups, the song "Misty Blue" sung by his backups, and many, many more songs like that. I paid a lot of money to see Prince and I got a variety show.

I would have been happy to hear the shows you went to and would have left happy and dancing. Instead we left the concert disappointed and confused.

[Edited 6/20/11 14:50pm]

saywhatuwill said:

I'm joining this discussion late in the game. I didn't go to any of the LA shows. However, I can tell you that I've never been to any Prince concert until earlier this year. We went to the first show of his tour when it was in Oakland and if the OP was complaining about how he played Little Red Corvette, 1999, and all the other songs that were popular on the radio then let me tell you this, YOU WERE LUCKY! I went to the concert thinking I was going to hear those songs and a LOT more. Instead we were treated with some of the most obscure songs that I barely or never even heard of them. I even remember telling the person I was with when the show was just about done after he played with the house lights on "he's not going to disappoint us" meaning I was hoping he'd play at least one more song that was played on the radio. He didn't.

People were literally leaving 3/4 of the way through the show because they figured he wasn't going to sing any of the songs like 1999, Take Me With You or Little Red Corvette. They were right. The next day the paper literally said that only Prince could get away with not playing his most popular songs. It was pretty incredible and disappointing.

The following Wednesday and Thursday, Prince must have heard the complaints and pulled out all stops and played every single popular song he had. Unfortunately I wasn't there. I didn't want to be burned again.

So, if you think that it was bad that he was playing all his popular radio songs, then you should have been to the show I was at. Not only was it a variety show with everyone other than Prince playing. There were songs played by Santana, there was a Jimi Hendrix type of song, a Rihana song sung by his backups, the song "Misty Blue" sung by his backups, and many, many more songs like that. I paid a lot of money to see Prince and I got a variety show.

I would have been happy to hear the shows you went to and would have left happy and dancing. Instead we left the concert disappointed and confused.

[Edited 6/20/11 14:50pm]

u were confused cause prince actually made music past what u knew on the radio? wow ..he's only been in the game for 30 plus years making all types of music past 1984 ..sorry u didn't know that