Did anyone here go to a show on the Jam of the Year tour?

I'm really annoyed that I didn't see Prince when he played the Target Center back in 97 on this tour (although I did see him there in 2007). I think I was around 16 then and I remember asking my parents if I could go and they were like "Uh ...hell NO!" I think they thought Prince had live sex shows on stage or something ()....but I was way too young to go to PP shows in the 90s and totally thought I was "old" enough for the JOTY tour....

....I'm just so annoyed because I really like Emancipation CD now and it would have been cool seeing him preform some of those songs live. Even though I got to see Prince in concert more than a few times later on...this really annoys me that I didn't take advantage of 90s Prince when I could have...shortly after this era I went on a Prince fan hiatus and got back into him again around Musicology after I read the book Possessed...

...uhhh, sorry feeling regretful today that I took my Prince a little for granted.... ...anyway, share your stories please....

disliked it

I went to the Brixton Academy gig. Small venue. That made it for me. It wasn't the best show i've seen from him. Got in early enough to see P stroll out on stage during Chaka's set, so that was pretty cool. I got my black and gold NPG hockey top which is still mint.

This was the first time I saw him live in Birmingham. I enjouyed the show, laid back. I was surprised at the bass, each time it hit, my shirt would vibrate. The sound was incredible.

the only Prince concert I went to. He came to Lafayette, Louisiana, which is 45 minutes from me. I loved it. he was amazing!

[Edited 8/24/16 13:00pm]

Krystalkisses said:

Did anyone here go to a show on the Jam of the Year tour?

I'm really annoyed that I didn't see Prince when he played the Target Center back in 97 on this tour (although I did see him there in 2007). I think I was around 16 then and I remember asking my parents if I could go and they were like "Uh ...hell NO!" I think they thought Prince had live sex shows on stage or something ()....but I was way too young to go to PP shows in the 90s and totally thought I was "old" enough for the JOTY tour....

....I'm just so annoyed because I really like Emancipation CD now and it would have been cool seeing him preform some of those songs live. Even though I got to see Prince in concert more than a few times later on...this really annoys me that I didn't take advantage of 90s Prince when I could have...shortly after this era I went on a Prince fan hiatus and got back into him again around Musicology after I read the book Possessed...

...uhhh, sorry feeling regretful today that I took my Prince a little for granted.... ...anyway, share your stories please....

I actually went to the Halloween Night Show in Mobile, Alabama for this tour.. at age 17 this was my very Prince first show (2nd concert ever) thanks to my older brother and sister taking me, and it was definitely a magical night. My Brother actually was lucky enough to see the 1999 Tour back in the early 80's in the same city.. so it was Prince's second time in Mobile.

He actually played a few songs that night that he never played in concert before and never again like an Impromptu song about the city of Mobile, Alabama and a cover of Kirk Franklin's "Stomp". Before Prince arriving in Mobile, there were critics in the local newspaper claiming he had ties ties with satan hence date of the concert and during the show Prince addressed the critics by saying "every night is God Night" and proceded to play the song "Theres no Secret What God Can Do" which is the only time ive heard him playing this song ever to my knowledge.

His guitar wasn't sounding to his liking during some songs so it was funny seeing him yell at his staff from the stage.. and to make up for the guitar troubles he did a version of "When U were Mine" with just him on guitar..

a personal highlight for me was during "One Of Us" he saw me throw up the wild sign and he pointed at me and did it back..

not to promote bootlegs but this show can be heard on The cd set "Millenium Grooves".. it was personally my first and favorite concert experience that I wil never forget..

Another tidbit about Prince's time in Mobile, AL .. after the show he went to a local club across from the local Mall at the time to play pool and Later at his hotel.. Prince and Mayte went down to his hotel's kitchen to cook eggs according to the news the next day LOL

With Prince passing away.. it meant the end to one of the ways that my whole family bonded.. from my Grandmother, Mother and siblings were all Prince fans before me.. It was like losing a member of our family and a part of our youth.

[Edited 8/24/16 13:07pm]

Dolphinking23 said:

Krystalkisses said:

Did anyone here go to a show on the Jam of the Year tour?

I'm really annoyed that I didn't see Prince when he played the Target Center back in 97 on this tour (although I did see him there in 2007). I think I was around 16 then and I remember asking my parents if I could go and they were like "Uh ...hell NO!" I think they thought Prince had live sex shows on stage or something ()....but I was way too young to go to PP shows in the 90s and totally thought I was "old" enough for the JOTY tour....

....I'm just so annoyed because I really like Emancipation CD now and it would have been cool seeing him preform some of those songs live. Even though I got to see Prince in concert more than a few times later on...this really annoys me that I didn't take advantage of 90s Prince when I could have...shortly after this era I went on a Prince fan hiatus and got back into him again around Musicology after I read the book Possessed...

...uhhh, sorry feeling regretful today that I took my Prince a little for granted.... ...anyway, share your stories please....

I actually went to the Halloween Night Show in Mobile, Alabama for this tour.. at age 17 this was my very Prince first show (2nd concert ever) thanks to my older brother and sister taking me, and it was definitely a magical night. My Brother actually was lucky enough to see the 1999 Tour back in the early 80's in the same city.. so it was Prince's second time in Mobile.

He actually played a few songs that night that he never played in concert before and never again like an Impromptu song about the city of Mobile, Alabama and a cover of Kirk Franklin's "Stomp". Before Prince arriving in Mobile, there were critics in the local newspaper claiming he had ties ties with satan hence date of the concert and during the show Prince addressed the critics by saying "every night is God Night" and proceded to play the song "Theres no Secret What God Can Do" which is the only time ive heard him playing this song ever to my knowledge.

His guitar wasn't sounding to his liking during some songs so it was funny seeing him yell at his staff from the stage.. and to make up for the guitar troubles he did a version of "When U were Mine" with just him on guitar..

a personal highlight for me was during "One Of Us" he saw me throw up the wild sign and he pointed at me and did it back..

not to promote bootlegs but this show can be heard on The cd set "Millenium Grooves".. it was personally my first and favorite concert experience that I wil never forget..

Another tidbit about Prince's time in Mobile, AL .. after the show he went to a local club across from the local Mall at the time to play pool and Later at his hotel.. Prince and Mayte went down to his hotel's kitchen to cook eggs according to the news the next day LOL

With Prince passing away.. it meant the end to one of the ways that my whole family bonded.. from my Grandmother, Mother and siblings were all Prince fans before me.. It was like losing a member of our family and a part of our youth.

[Edited 8/24/16 13:07pm]

How crazy how similar our stories are.

I was in HS. First Prince show I went to... and although I tagged along for a ride with a couple I met through my Dad, I was alone. I was seated off the stage by the Beautiful Piano... and I still get goose bumps when I think of how the concert (despite not being anywhere near his strongest tour) made me FEEL.

There was a song early in the set, it may have been Purple Rain... and during the guitar solo, he came up to our section... I flashed the Wild Sign at him and he grinned while looking over his sunglasses and flashed one back mid-strum.. made my life. In this arena of thousands on a warm desert evening in Las Cruces, NM... for that brief exchange, we shared a moment in space and time.

My first Prince concert! Well, I guess he wasn't Prince at the time haha. I was blown away, I couldn't believe I was seeing him in person with my own two eyes. My brother went with me, our parents drove us there and waited in the parking lot, very sweet of them. Looking back, I don't really know why they didn't buy tickets themselves, as they were casual fans, but they weren't concert goers as a rule so I guess it just didn't cross any of our minds. But back to the show, as I recall I nearly fainted when he first took the stage, I just could not believe I was seeing PRINCE. I loved the setlist and I was so impressed with how much he put into it, and the multiple encores. Amazing. The energy, the music, his presence, it was all a lot to take in and I left certain that was the best concert I had ever seen in my life. Upon returning to the car, I must have told my mother about some of the things he did to the piano! Like, wow he is frisky! or something like that because after he passed and my mom and I were talking about Prince she reminded me of that

Great memories that tour of course holds a special place for me since it was my first.

Marrk said:

I went to the Brixton Academy gig. Small venue. That made it for me. It wasn't the best show i've seen from him. Got in early enough to see P stroll out on stage during Chaka's set, so that was pretty cool. I got my black and gold NPG hockey top which is still mint.

That was the NPS tour.

I was in HS. First Prince show I went to... and although I tagged along for a ride with a couple I met through my Dad, I was alone. I was seated off the stage by the Beautiful Piano... and I still get goose bumps when I think of how the concert (despite not being anywhere near his strongest tour) made me FEEL.

There was a song early in the set, it may have been Purple Rain... and during the guitar solo, he came up to our section... I flashed the Wild Sign at him and he grinned while looking over his sunglasses and flashed one back mid-strum.. made my life. In this arena of thousands on a warm desert evening in Las Cruces, NM... for that brief exchange, we shared a moment in space and time.

nelcp777 said:

This was the first time I saw him live in Birmingham. I enjouyed the show, laid back. I was surprised at the bass, each time it hit, my shirt would vibrate. The sound was incredible.

Was this the show in Alabma at the Boutwell audiotrium in 97? If so I was there, great show!

Farfunknugin said:

nelcp777 said:

This was the first time I saw him live in Birmingham. I enjouyed the show, laid back. I was surprised at the bass, each time it hit, my shirt would vibrate. The sound was incredible.

Was this the show in Alabma at the Boutwell audiotrium in 97? If so I was there, great show!

Yes the was the show. If I remember correctly, now this is not verified, Prince was suppose to be at the mall in Bham getting Hagen Daas ice cream. I remember when I was walking to the entry, a limo passed by and I always wondered if it was Prince. I was a lot younger, it didn't take much to get excited. But the show was awesome.

I went to both Target Center shows and one in Moline, Illinois. I also went to the 2 aftershows at Paisley Park. I have to say it was the first Prince tour that I was disappointed in. He had a new 3 CD set and barely played anything off of it.

I saw the stop in San Diego. It was OK, if I remember. I thought it was pretty cool to have his symbol so prominent.

EvilAngel said:

Marrk said:

I went to the Brixton Academy gig. Small venue. That made it for me. It wasn't the best show i've seen from him. Got in early enough to see P stroll out on stage during Chaka's set, so that was pretty cool. I got my black and gold NPG hockey top which is still mint.

That was the NPS tour.

It's all a blur now!

Yes, this was the first tour I was able to see him. I can identify with you because my parents would not let me go see him because they thought I was too young at 10 when the LoveSexy tour came close to me. JOTY was the next opportunity I had and was 20 by then so I could do as I pleased.

JOTY was magical. I saw him in Charlotte, Greensboro and Raleigh. I regret not being able to go to the aftershow in Raleigh. I loved Emancipation when it came it too so seeing this tour was super exciting. I remember the energy at the shows - it felt electric. I was amazed at how there were so many different types of people at the show (black, white, gay, straight, young, old) I felt very comfortable being in such a diverse setting. It was a dream come true for me.

You should definately check out some videos from the tour...and the JOTY/Face Down official cassette...IS AMAZING!

Krystalkisses said:

Did anyone here go to a show on the Jam of the Year tour?

My first Prince concert experience. I was 22 and although I'd been a fan since 1984, I couldn't get anyone to take me to the Lovesexy show in '88 (and was too young to go by myself) - which was the last time prior to Jam of the Year tour that he played in my area (Pacific Northwest).

This was before everyone went online to by tix - I still remember showing up for the lottery drawing at a Warehouse Music store to get a place in line to buy tix. My girlfriend (now wife) drew the number two spot! I remember the guy who drew number one, he sold his spot in line for $500 cash. The guy who bough the number one spot in line got 2nd row tix. We ended up with 7th row, center section - awesome seats! That was for the George, WA show.

But actually it wound up being my 2nd Prince show, because we decided to go up to the Vancouver, BC the night before since tix were still available. So that was my first - and although the seats weren't nearly as good, it was still perfect as an "icebreaker." I remember being so blown away I was finally seeing him live, it made it hard to truly concentrate on the show. By the time we got into George the next night, I was ready to focus on the details and really create a mental picture to remember the whole experience. Our seats were almost directly in front of Prince's piano, just seven rows back - "How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore" was almost undoubtedly the highlight for me, seeing him do that so close up, being able to see facial expressions clearly, etc. "When You Were Mine" was also jaw-dropping. The canyon views at the venue in George are so stunning, Prince commented about it. He also said it was "colder than a witch's titty" - which it was, being VERY late September and after dark those breezes were chilly.

Deciding to maximize the occasion of seeing Prince live after years of being a fan, we decided to go to Portland the night after George. We got tix at below face value from someone outside the venue. The set lists didn't vary that much over the course of three nights, but they did a little. Plus, Larry Graham opened in Vancouver, Chaka Khan opened in both George and Portland. So it was a treat to see two legends as a bonus.

As for the 'Emancipation' tracks - "Sleep Around" was truly awesome at the Portland show. He played it in George too (not in BC though), but I think it was just longer and funkier and more danceable in Portland.

I knew even then that I wasn't seeing Prince on one of very best tours, but I wouldn't trade that whirlwind weekend of travelling around the Pacific Northwest for all the tea in China. Plus it was my gf's (now wife's) birthday on the Portland show, which made the whole conclusion that much more special. We talk a lot about those three shows - hard to believe it's been almost 20 years. Hard to believe it cannot ever happen again.

nelcp777 said:

Farfunknugin said:

Was this the show in Alabma at the Boutwell audiotrium in 97? If so I was there, great show!

Yes the was the show. If I remember correctly, now this is not verified, Prince was suppose to be at the mall in Bham getting Hagen Daas ice cream. I remember when I was walking to the entry, a limo passed by and I always wondered if it was Prince. I was a lot younger, it didn't take much to get excited. But the show was awesome.

I remember he showed up at a local bar afterward & apparently played the Ride then left. I missed him by mere minutes. Good times!

I saw him in Detroit that year. I was 25 and it was my first Prince concert. My mom would never let me go as a teenager in the 80s to any concert. She, ironically, took me to this one. Our seats weren't great at all.

Two things I remember: Crying when he came out and him playing a long time. Sections were leaving during the encore and he said something like, "you all can go on ahead and go home, I'm just going to keep playing." We stayed, of course!

I just came across a piece of paper earlier this year where I had written down every song he played and described all the outfits he wore and my emotions after the concert. I threw it away. Sure wish I hadn't.

I saw the L41A show April 28, 1997 in Phonix AZ

and the JotY October 29, 1997 in Las Cruces NM (and the after show)

all three front row

Musze said:

Dolphinking23 said:

I actually went to the Halloween Night Show in Mobile, Alabama for this tour.. at age 17 this was my very Prince first show (2nd concert ever) thanks to my older brother and sister taking me, and it was definitely a magical night. My Brother actually was lucky enough to see the 1999 Tour back in the early 80's in the same city.. so it was Prince's second time in Mobile.

He actually played a few songs that night that he never played in concert before and never again like an Impromptu song about the city of Mobile, Alabama and a cover of Kirk Franklin's "Stomp". Before Prince arriving in Mobile, there were critics in the local newspaper claiming he had ties ties with satan hence date of the concert and during the show Prince addressed the critics by saying "every night is God Night" and proceded to play the song "Theres no Secret What God Can Do" which is the only time ive heard him playing this song ever to my knowledge.

His guitar wasn't sounding to his liking during some songs so it was funny seeing him yell at his staff from the stage.. and to make up for the guitar troubles he did a version of "When U were Mine" with just him on guitar..

a personal highlight for me was during "One Of Us" he saw me throw up the wild sign and he pointed at me and did it back..

not to promote bootlegs but this show can be heard on The cd set "Millenium Grooves".. it was personally my first and favorite concert experience that I wil never forget..

Another tidbit about Prince's time in Mobile, AL .. after the show he went to a local club across from the local Mall at the time to play pool and Later at his hotel.. Prince and Mayte went down to his hotel's kitchen to cook eggs according to the news the next day LOL

With Prince passing away.. it meant the end to one of the ways that my whole family bonded.. from my Grandmother, Mother and siblings were all Prince fans before me.. It was like losing a member of our family and a part of our youth.

[Edited 8/24/16 13:07pm]

How crazy how similar our stories are.

I was in HS. First Prince show I went to... and although I tagged along for a ride with a couple I met through my Dad, I was alone. I was seated off the stage by the Beautiful Piano... and I still get goose bumps when I think of how the concert (despite not being anywhere near his strongest tour) made me FEEL.

There was a song early in the set, it may have been Purple Rain... and during the guitar solo, he came up to our section... I flashed the Wild Sign at him and he grinned while looking over his sunglasses and flashed one back mid-strum.. made my life. In this arena of thousands on a warm desert evening in Las Cruces, NM... for that brief exchange, we shared a moment in space and time.

I was there! Front row! then we went to the After Show... good times!

saw it 5 times...cleveland, detroit, indy, pittsburgh and cincinnati. goddamn, that was so much fun...waiting to hear a show announced with a couple days' notice, getting tickets, driving all over tarnation...

i don't remember any of the shows being particularly spectacular, but they were a hell of a lot of fun.

p showed up at the after party at the pittsburgh show with a couple of body guards. he didn't play, but he watched the dj and the people dance for awhile from the balcony. i was on the upper level of the balcony behind him and reached down and tapped him on the shoulder. he turned around and i said 'thanks for the show'. he didn't seem too pleased that i touched him, but he flashed me a peace sign and turned back around. i'm real glad i got to do that.

I was there. I wore a black suede miniskirt with a black/gray/ivory harlequin pattern tunic sweater, black tights and booties.

Prince wore this:

[img:$uid]http://www.billboard.com/files/media/prince-evolution-21aug1998-500.jpg[/img:$uid]

OnlyNDaUsa said:

Musze said:

How crazy how similar our stories are.

I was in HS. First Prince show I went to... and although I tagged along for a ride with a couple I met through my Dad, I was alone. I was seated off the stage by the Beautiful Piano... and I still get goose bumps when I think of how the concert (despite not being anywhere near his strongest tour) made me FEEL.

There was a song early in the set, it may have been Purple Rain... and during the guitar solo, he came up to our section... I flashed the Wild Sign at him and he grinned while looking over his sunglasses and flashed one back mid-strum.. made my life. In this arena of thousands on a warm desert evening in Las Cruces, NM... for that brief exchange, we shared a moment in space and time.

I was there! Front row! then we went to the After Show... good times!

Wow. SMALL WORLD. I had school the next day... and had hitched a ride... so the aftershow that was announced over the PA was not an option, unfortunately... UGGGH.

Glad U got 2 experience that!

Genesia said:

I was there. I wore a black suede miniskirt with a black/gray/ivory harlequin pattern tunic sweater, black tights and booties.

Prince wore this:

[img:$uid]http://www.billboard.com/files/media/prince-evolution-21aug1998-500.jpg[/img:$uid]

Thanks for posting the pic! Did you go the night he fell?