A long line greeted me at the Ohio Theatre. I was told by a theatre employee that everybody was to be searched for cameras and recording devices. Oh well, time to head back to the car and put back my mini-disc recorder!

The Ohio Theatre is a beautiful theatre. It was obvious that this was going to be a very different concert.

Note to concert-goers: The balcony is steep... when you hang out in the aisle, you're blocking the view for all of us who got to our seats on time. It wasn't until "The Ride" that I actually could see what was going on. Get to the show early, and try to be considerate of all of us who weren't late. It's amazing how inconsiderate people are getting... jumping the lines, standing in front of people who are seated in the very back of the balcony.... come on!

ANYWAY... I'll just say this. Prince has been searching for a number of years, both musically and spiritually. He's been through a divorce and the death of his child. Since then, he's been pretty lost (with some great moments along the way). The Rainbow Children is his first report from the search, and it's great that he's decided to take it on the road.

Prince is now in the realm of people like Bob Dylan... after peaking creatively and commercially (I suppose _when_ he peaked is debatable) , he's gone on a journey. Not everybody is going to go with him, and some will go and not like everything they see or hear. But what we witness is briliant, controversial, and thought-provoking.

I don't agree with most of what Prince says these days (except his comments on the music business and art). However, I found that the highlights of this show were the tracks from The Rainbow Children. Prince is dangerous again... in a twisted way. People were getting pissed over the Abe Lincoln quote, and some folks left during the tune (this was Avalance, right?). What's the point of reacting this way? He's an artist that you just paid a lot of money to see... artists will challenge you. Artists will say things you don't want to hear. All he's asking is that you listen and think for a change. You still may not agree with him, but that's cool. You realize that people have different points of view. This is one of the many purposes of art. Thank God you can go to a Prince show and do MORE than dance!

Other highpoints: "Strange Relationship" is a welcome addition to the set list. Very nicely done! It was nice to hear the entire "I Love U But I Don't Trust U Anymore" with the band backing him up. And damn, we got the bridges and third verses of "Take Me With U" and "Raspberry Beret!" True, I'm sick to death of those tunes, but thankfully they were not medleys.

Of course "Anna Stesia" was powerful, although it's not the usual "bring the house down" last number. But that wouldn't have been appropriate at this show. I then witnessed Prince like I've never really seen him. I understand that it was probably rehearsed, but it seemed so HONEST that I was shocked. He said that he was asked by a member of the NPGMC how he felt on September 11. He said that he was not worried, because he had been studying the Bible over the last three years. I'm totally paraphrasing here. He said more, but I surprised that he addressed the issue so candidly.

A great show, and I hope to hear it circulating... that is, if anyone managed to sneak in a deck!

ANYWAY... I'll just say this. Prince has been searching for a number of years, both musically and spiritually. He's been through a divorce and the death of his child. Since then, he's been pretty lost (with some great moments along the way). The Rainbow Children is his first report from the search, and it's great that he's decided to take it on the road.

Well said, alot has happened to him,one never knows what someone else is truly going thru.

Not everybody is going to go with him, and some will go and not like everything they see or hear. But what we witness is briliant, controversial, and thought-provoking.

Once again, well said, some will dig it, some will not.

I don't agree with most of what Prince says these days (except his comments on the music business and art). However, I found that the highlights of this show were the tracks from The Rainbow Children. Prince is dangerous again... in a twisted way. People were getting pissed over the Abe Lincoln quote, and some folks left during the tune (this was Avalance, right?). What's the point of reacting this way? He's an artist that you just paid a lot of money to see... artists will challenge you. Artists will say things you don't want to hear. All he's asking is that you listen and think for a change. You still may not agree with him, but that's cool. You realize that people have different points of view. This is one of the many purposes of art. Thank God you can go to a Prince show and do MORE than dance!

U were feelin whathe was trying to do, and could except where he was trying to go and could respect it, i hear u.

This is prob how I would feel if I saw the show too, cuz I could feel it a lil when he came to VA with Najee and John Blackwell and he went into his lil speech at the end. I was surprised he was that aware of current topics when he spoke about Tiger, Serena, Venis, BET, the election and more.


peace!

Man, I wish I could have been at the show. I'm from Columbus, now living in Southern IL.

People actually got up and left over the A. Lincoln thing? Did they come back after the song was over?

NikkiDarling said:

Honestly, I don't know. We heard some people overreacting, but not sure if they made it back. I was too busy watching the show to care!

well hey if you dont like it that much, dont go people. lol so silly.

Nice sig. Siouxsie rules.

I didn't know people left during that part of the show. Where were you sitting?

sexi said:

WAY up there in the balcony. Actually, very good seats!

zr, i was down on the floor and people seemed ok with that part. I did feel the energy level of the crowd go down when he was trying to get everyone chanting 'god is love...' at the end of Anna Stesia. Did you feel the change in the crowd vibe too? I think people unfamiliar with his non-hits music were surprised and did not what to think about it.

I don't know why he bothers with raspberry beret and take me with u? They're so overplayed and are so POP! As far as the crowd wanting the hits, screw em. I saw the Lovesexy tour and there was a lot of people expecting Purple Rain and 1999 songs all night. They knew nothing off Lovesexy or even the b-sides he played. That tour was amazing. Fair weather fans stay home!

DMSR said:

Well during the Lovesexy show he did play all those hits, granted most of them were played in the last half hour of the show, but they were played nonetheless and that would leave the hit-craving fan happy, they probably forgot all about the Lovesexy stuff immediately when they heard the organ intro to Let's go crazy...

dennisversteeg said:[quote]

DMSR said:

He did a lot of early hits in the first half of the Lovesexy show... Sister, Controversy, etc. And they were medleys too! Back then we didn't care so much... he only had to get through 8 years of material anyway.

I listened to "Columbus High" again the other day... you know, I had a lot of fun at that show, but I was in the sixth row. If I had been in the balcony, it would have been a snooze fest. Compared to the ONA tour, it's Vegas.

Thanks for an intelligent perspective, Mr. Zr.

It's nice to see someone who understands the role of art and artists. Provoking, prodding, challenging, angering, upsetting, sometimes even going too far and just plain screwing up; all in the name of jolting people into thought.