SquirrelMeat said:

laurarichardson said:

mynameisnotsusan said:

MattyJam said: The 2nd Piano and Mic show in Melbourne went for 70mins and a lot of people were not happy - considering that the majority of the tix were $400. He played and sang beautifully though so I was ok with it

Is this around the time Vanity passes away. The promoter said he did not think any shows were going to happen because Prince was so upset.

Paul Dainty had been a tour promoter of Prince's Australian tours since his first visit back in 1992 with the Diamonds & Pearls concerts. It was Dainty who also clued us into the fact that the Sydney Opera House Piano & Mic shows were all green lit to be professionally filmed until the 11th hour when Prince had a change of mind.

[Edited 7/11/20 21:21pm]

[Edited 7/11/20 21:39pm]

MattyJam said:

SquirrelMeat said:

The only time I felt Prince did a bad performance was one of the middle nights at the 21 Nights in London. He came on late, looked dis-interested and barely made it to the 90 minute mark. Worst still, it was the night I took a bunch of casuals

I’m intrigued as to whether this is the same 21 Nights show I was referring to, as the first one I saw was in the middle of the residency and lasted just under the 90minute mark. Do you remember the date/setlist?

Maybe Saturday 18th August? (Mya was the support act, if that helps jog your memory).

I was at that gig too; enjoyable enough, though at the time I felt it was a tad disappointing compared to the Friday night gig preceding it. Perhaps he was saving himself a lil' for the aftershow later that night?

Princevault states the length of show as 85 mins and lists the set list as follows:

3121	incl. Alexander's Ragtime Band [H-int], Music! Music! Music! [H-int] & The Entertainer [H-int]
	Girls & Boys	incl. Cutie Pie [H-int]
	1999
	Peach / Rock Me, Baby
	Shhh
	Cream
	U Got The Look
	Musicology	incl. ( Like) Funky Music chant
	Sign O' The Times
	Partyman
	Alphabet St.
	D.M.S.R.
	Erotic City [S]
	Nasty Girl [S]
	When Doves Cry
	Head[S]
	Pop Life
	Raspberry Beret
	Sexy Dancer (instrumental) / Le Freak	incl. Movin' [H-int]	Marva King & Shelby J. co-lead vox
	I Feel For You
	Controversy	incl. unidentified [H-int] & Housequake [Int]
	What A Wonderful World (instrumental)		Renato Neto & Mike Phillips solo
	Purple Rain
	Kiss
	Let's Go Crazy

Good answers, I feel sorry for you guys - as I have only seen 3 shows and they were all the best, I knew of that terrible Melbourne Show 2 which was short and he broke down over Vanity. We were worried the Vanity hoo hah may affect the Kiwi performances, but it didn't, Prince appeared upbeat and played at least 2 hours solid in each set, with only minor interruptions, he appeared to be having a party on stage (My old reviews can be dug up in the archive, along with the Youtube videos now at the 4k mark).

.

Surprised to hear about Lovesexy in the round featuring as that tour was so well received in Europe and I know it flopped a bit in the states with hal sold venues and the death of a fan early in the Tour in Massachusetts or somewhere. I also know it wa snote asy for him as he was shadowing Michael Jackson's Bad Tour.

.

Thanks for the answers guys.

[Edited 2/13/18 1:12am]

SquirrelMeat said:

I have a bunch of least favourite shows for different reasons. The first was the secret 'Dawn' gig in London, the night he 'killed off' Prince. He was really late, totally oversold the aftershow and did an weak set. It was sooo hot and we waited till aobut 3.30am before he showed.

I've somewhat mixed feelings about the aftershow at Bagley's. I was very excited to be at the gig, but there seemed to me to be far too many fans crowded in the venue to be safe, which made for an uncomfortably hot, airless and claustrophobic experience.

By the time we got to the closing number Peach, we were really struggling with the conditions and had to move to the back, where, if I am remembering correctly, I think security had opened a fire exit door, in order presumably to let some cool, fresh air into the place.

It was our first aftershow and I was determined not to leave before the end, but I gotta admit that by the latter stages it had become as much an ordeal as a blessing.

Peach that morning was the only time I ever attended a Prince gig and literally prayed for him to leave the stage. Any other Prince gig we couldn't get enough and were always hoping against hope that he would return for another encore.

By the time we managed to get outta that place, it was so late that it was early morning and we were able to take the tube back to the hotel. Crazy times, but good memories and still very grateful we had the opportunity to go.

GrayDorian said:

SquirrelMeat said:

The third was Musicology show in LA, where I had great seats, but I had a drunk couple next to me that had been given tickets and refused to stop talking the entire show and kept saying it was boring because Prince as doing 'yet another cover version' to songs like I Feel 4 U, Nothing Compares 2 U and Kiss.

Was that the Staples Center show from the LA Big Screen unofficial (ahem) DVD? If so, that must have been hugely frustrating for you, as that looks to me to have been a great, fun show to attend!

Oddly enough, I suffered a similar fate at one of the Earls Court gigs in the summer of 1992. We were sitting up at the right hand side of the stage and a woman adjacent to me kept shouting and screaming in my ear.

Initially I found her irrepressible fervor for our hero amusing, but as the gig continued and her noisy enthusiasm ran wild and unabated, it became pretty annoying and tiresome. It was one of those situations, where you were dying to ask her to tone it down a lil' bit, but at the same time you were aware that you need to respect her right to enjoy the experience.

The nadir came when Prince started singing Damn U, which was my first time hearing the song. You may have thought that a gentle ballad and new, as yet unheard song may have encouraged my noisy neighbor to pipe down and listen intently, but instead she was screaming in my ear "I want your body' and 'give me your body', which was strange, as I usually don't have that effect on women.

[Edited 2/13/18 1:46am]

HatrinaHaterwitz said:

Well...technically...I have. It was one of his late 90's Hit and Run concerts at the DTE Music place (just north of Detroit) and it was the summertime. I know this because Prince got on stage at exactly 8:00pm and after killing it for about an hour, there was something that happened with a backdrop...either it came down to early or too late. I couldn't really tell, nor could anyone else other than Prince. Because suddenly he walked off the stage with his band still playing. I thought he was just gone to change his outfit or something but then suddenly the band started leaving the stage. People were saying it was over and I was like, "Nah! They'll be back!"

Then the audience started leaving, and I was still like "Nah! they'll be back!" Then the house lights came up and the roadies came out and started packing up the instruments. And when I finally, reluctantly got outside, the first thing I noticed was the sun hadn't finshed going down yet, so it wasn't even 9:30! Needless to say but I will...I WAS PISSED!!!!

But Prince being the Prince that we all know and love...made it up to us a couple of months later by coming back and going to The Palace of Auburn Hills (still just north of Detroit) and showing OUT ALL DAMN NIGHT! He got on stage at 8:00pm and STAYED!

By 1:30am, even I couldn't take anymore and had to go. But from all first hand reports I got, he did not leave the stage until well after 2 am! Good times! Good times!

I miss Prince so very much!

Which show is this on princevault?

ludwig said:

OperatingThetan said:

ludwig said:

There are two cities with jazz festivals where prince played. 1. Montreal, Canada. 2. Montreux, Switzerland, which you spelled wrong. And lynx is not talking about the swiss shows.

Not sure if my face is red, but I stand corrected I've long been geographically challenged, but saddened to see my grammatical skills departing me as well.

I thought the person who pointed Montreaux/Montreux out was being nitpicky. A lot of us do not speak French and should not be corrected for spelling a French (And I know it is in Switzerland but French speaking Switzerland) name on an ENGLISH speaking site.

.

Ludwig , sounds German - please show a bit more tolerance, we are not all spelling and geography whizzes.

OperatingThetan said:

lynx said:

I can't remember the year but I was at the show where Prince played Montreal jazz festival and played zero recognizable songs for over an hour. Man, were people upset. He played about 9 or 10 hits after an encore but that first hour was crazy awkward.

I loved all the Montreaux shows, particularly 2009. He didn't play anything I didn't know at those gigs, but they were lean on hits for more casual fans.

Co-sign.

Those 2009 Montreux shows are among my favorite shows of his more recent career, and in my opinion they are right up there with some of his best shows from his heyday, at least musically.

Sure, he didn´t dance much and played nothing but guitar for the most part (or the whole show?) but I absolutely LOVED what he did. The new arrangements, the tight renditions, no gimmicks, no dancers, no background singers, full songs, great look, great band, and a sublime version of In A Large Room With No Light.

The only time I ever saw Prince was the last night of a three night stand at Mohegan Sun in Connecticut in December 2013. I had heard it was going to be a house party format, similar to those at Paisley Park. I still thought, however, it would be a regular concert. I was wrong. He did sing, but there were so many other people on stage and it was - to me - just more of them than of him. I was thrilled to see him - I never thought I ever would since his shows sold out so quickly - but I even deleted the videos I took because they were nothing special. The reviewers said the second night was sensational, the first night really good, and that third night not his best.

sounds like the only "bad" shows r when the crowd wasnt into it ..or he played unknown sets

KoolEaze said:

udo said:

The second ever show at the Köln (Germany) AKA Cologne 28 july 2011 at the Lanxess Arena was BAD:

- long soundcheck (same as in 1998 when he was there the first time and this also took ages)

- still no good sound: After the first song. Prince and the band left the stage.

- The show wasn't started back up until 30 minutes later

- short setlist

- I was in the frontrow center and have the video to more or less prove it

That was the only bad Prince concert I´ve ever seen, and in hindsight it is still bad but it could have easily been a decent or good concert if he had just played a bit longer or added an acoustic guitar or piano set. But then again, it´s him that was calling the shots and who am I to know what should´ve been done?

The 1998 concert in Cologne wasn´t really that much better but for some reason the 2011 show is the one that seems to be the one that sticks out.

I wonder what had happened behind the scenes that he was in such a bad mood.

KoolEaze said:

I wonder what had happened behind the scenes that he was in such a bad mood.

My guess, any or all of the following

.

1. Shitty weather and rain or extreme wind on stage.

2. Band members absent or missing notes.

3. Prince under influence of some drug/painkiller.

4. Issues over payment by management or the venue.

5. Venue problems, fans too close, stage too small, set and scenes set up wrong.

6. Guitar and instrument techs fucking up.

7. Roadies, crew high or on drugs.

8. Prince not feeling the vibe or the muse.

9. Personal problems for Prince, lack of cash, painkillers, riders and back stage hoes.

udo said:

The second ever show at the Köln (Germany) AKA Cologne 28 july 2011 at the Lanxess Arena was BAD:

- long soundcheck (same as in 1998 when he was there the first time and this also took ages)

- still no good sound: After the first song. Prince and the band left the stage.

- The show wasn't started back up until 30 minutes later

- short setlist

- I was in the frontrow center and have the video to more or less prove it

That was by far the most ridiculous concert-experience I've ever had. It was basically a joke or rather mpertinent on Prince's side. We still don't know what really happened but I have since spoken to some concert promoters in the area and they hinted at Prince himself having caused that mess. Remember the first of the NSJF-shows in Rotterdam not too long before the Cologne-disaster? People claimed that it was a similarly unlistenable concert. With hindsight: How heavy was Prince on drugs at that time already? Wild mood swings often are results of drug use, aren't they?

pandemoniun6 said:

Yes:

Nude tour in Gentofte (Copenhagen, Denmark) was bad...

Pretty bad concert in bright sunlight - (summertime is very bright in Scandinavia)

NO atmosphere at all, not on stage not among the audience... P + band, did play little over 1 hour then left without a word


( at least this was how I experinced this "worst" concert from june 5, 1990 )

Ps) I have witnessed 19 concerts by Prince, - in total 1987-2010, this was the only true bad one, IIRC..

mrwiggles said:

Yes!!! It was one of there hit n run thangs about 20-oh-one or sumn. Atlanta's Tabernacle. Venue was over packed and a fire hazard. Muggs were dropping cigarette ashes all on folks heads. The gig came off as one long medley. He never would get into a good groove but instead kept giving us a snippet of this and a snap of that. And it all sounded just like the record. I finally said funk this, I can go home a put on the record and have a better time. Only time I ever walked out on him. Never saw him again after that.

I was at that show and had floor tickets. Couldn't see shit. He did an aftershow that night though that made up for it. We were way up close and Chuck D. showed up. He played for a good while. Was it Thanksgiving Eve by chance?

JOTY was not good, supporting a mediocre album and playing way too many medleys. But yeah, still "bad" comparatively

the only time I can say that I didnt enjoy a Prince show was San Francisco at the Orpheum Theater.

I think it was 2007 b/c he even said Thank You, Las Vegas!

He just seems OUT of it.

The crowd was also really dull.

It was a show exclusively for CITI cardholders and I mean, these people were STIFF!

Maybe P sensed it and checked out..

Not sure..

But I remember my husband looking at me when it was done .... as if to say - you gotta admit that sucked!

aiden said:

Out of the 21 Prince concerts even my least favourite turned out to be one I think about a lot and the only time I saw Purple Rain in the rain. It was 10th july 2010 in Belgium the day 20ten was released, the weather was bad, the crowd were bad, Larry G overstayed his welcome and Prince seemed tired and something wasn’t quite right, it was the only time I thought he didn’t look well either.... And it still had great moments and amazing memories, it was the only concert I travelled out of the UK for and proudly have a poster of the concert framed..

Agree. Having had Mint Condition as the second opening act did nothing at all to get me in the mood. I also remember that day's heat. Around 6pm it became almost unbearable for me... Liked the first six or seven songs of Prince's performance which wasn't too inspired by his standards.

He did a concert when he played Avalanche and got super preachey— only did a few lame medleys and people were not feeling it. Fans were walking out in droves. Droves. The ailses never got empty until the stadium emptied. I stayed until about an hour after the Exodus began and wanted to vomit it hurt my heart so bad.

appleseed said:

OperatingThetan said:

appleseed said:

He did a concert when he played Avalanche and got super preachey— only did a few lame medleys and people were not feeling it. Fans were walking out in droves. Droves. The ailses never got empty until the stadium emptied. I stayed until about an hour after the Exodus began and wanted to vomit it hurt my heart so bad.

To my knowledge he only played 'Avalanche' on the ONA tour and that is generally a highly regarded tour by hardcore fans as Prince performed less hits and more rarities. No-one left early at the ONA gigs in London, but I can imagine it might not have strongly connected with more casual audiences.

Had not heard of any bad ONA shows, although it certainly was his preachy period.

However, medleys were not really a part of the ONA tour (and he only played Avalanche on this tour), so I'm struggling to place when this could have been.

Agree with whoever posted that the Purple Rain shows weren't all that.

I went with 2 friends and we all said the same thing: It was good but it was like going to see the fucking movie again. Heavily choreographed and very very packaged. Synthetic in a way. Lovesexy too for that matter. I know people live and die with Lovesexy. I saw it and liked it OK but got the sense that no matter where or when I saw it, I'd get the same show every night. The Revolution were not that good and the various incarnations of the NPG ran circles around them, especially live.

The aftershows were always where it was at because dude just jammed and the natural organic talent came out. Often, the theatricality and the "story" or whatever it was detracted from the music, almost ot a fault I think. Almost every time Prince tried to get "deep" or convey the message in his head, he'd meander a lot and the show suffered. There's like 20 minutes of Lovesexy that's just the band noodling around while he changes clothes or a half hour of Purple Rain with him conversing with "god" that'a just boring as hell.

I think that's why I loved the Musicology tour so much. He did everything (acoustic set!) but it never dawdled. He played complete songs, no medley BS, changed up the set list and had an absolutley stellar band. I'd take Prince Unplugged for 2 hours over the piano and Mic stuff.