in spite of prince, i did have fun with my friends at the aftershow.

i can't really speak of the aftershow without first mentioning how great the concert was at all state arena! once again, prince managed to put the entire 18,000 seat venue in his back pocket. so smooth...and that guitar...oh man, that guitar! what a shame he barely picked it up at the aftershow.

we cut out of the main concert a couple of songs early in order to get back to a friend's place. we wanted to freshen up a bit and have a nice little chill session with some maker's mark and nicotine. i also wanted to change into something a little less comfortable...and a lot more funkier, lol. we eventully got to the house of blues at 1:08, sure that we hadn't missed anything as prince loves to keep us waiting. cool for me since i wanted to grab a drink and share a smoke amongst friends.

once inside, i was a little worried because i heard some larry graham stuff over the loudspeakers and i hoped it wasn't a sign of what was to come. unfortunately, it was. although prince came on close to 3:30...almost 2 1/2 hours late...we had a lot of fun dancing and singing a long to the old school on the speakers! there was enough time to realize the folks in front of us had some serious issues with attitude...and sometimes you just have to help karma expidite her business...but that's another story for another drowsy day. all in all, we were having a blast. then the show started...

i'm not going to give blow by blow (or in this case, suck by suck) details about the show, surely someone else will handle that. and you would probably rather hear about it from someone who thought the performance was stellar. i'll say just say a little about the show. i have been to paisley shows, celebrations and record release party performances. all of which have been very "aftershow-ish". i like his jamming! i love it! in most cases i would rather see him jam than do any kind of hit songs or album cuts. as a matter of fact, i really loved the newpowersoul shows back with larry and chaka! i know many people bitched and moaned about them but i thought they were examples of a man who KNOWS he is a master of his craft...and he usually acts like he knows, lol!

i didn't pay to see chance howard sing 'no diggity'. i didn't pay to see larry graham and his towel playing wife. now, maybe if prince actually played with them...and not just hitting a few keys on the keyboard at the back and side of the stage...it would have been cool. i mean, when prince jams with george clinton or musiq or sheryl crow or tom petty or lenny kravtz or, well you get the point, when he jams with them its FUN and electrifying. last night at the HOB, he seemed very uninspired. it wasn't even until 4:45 when he finally threw us a bone...a reward, as a friend of mine put it...for sticking around. well, sorry but i paid to see prince jam. i shouldn't have to stick around for a 2 1/2 hour delayed showtime and sit through special guest performances (with very little interaction by prince) just to get my reward of a prince performance. now, listen, i love seeing prince as a bandleader calling the shots. its like a mad scientist in action. the problem is, he left the players to their own devices for far too long with little to no bandleading.

we left before the show was over. those of you who know me know that this is a big deal. i walked out of a prince concert. walked out. after reading that he only performed for another 25 minutes or so, i don't regret leaving. i've come to the realization that prince is not the performer he once was...for whatever reason; age, mentality, contentment. after the past few aftershows, my guess is we will never get the full flavor of an aftershow. we will probably continue to get bits and pieces of what once was. i think i'm gonna walk with my memories before these new ones take their place. don't get me wrong, i still love the little guy and of course i'll be supporting his new music and future tours, but i'm gonna leave the aftershows for the folks who either don't remember the potential they used to have or are cool with simply watching prince on stage while his side kicks actually do the performing.

Over at www.npgmc.com, a member said:



Since when is chanting "We want Prince" rude? Is that why he recorded that chant and looped it into "The Everlasting Now?"

If that kind of mentality is what it means to be a Prince fan these days, then count me out.

I'm a fan of Chicago, and Sassy, and LemonPie, and kicks in the cunt for all the Fucking Bitches of the world, and TheOrgerFormerlyKnownAs, and Anxiety, and the cool-ass chick who gave me her ticket when she left the main concert early so I got to get right up in the front for the last third of the show (girl I LOOOVE you for that, orgnote my ass and I'll send you your stub, please!!) - and I'm a fan of good times with good people.

Someone over at the club mentioned how "the few ruin it for everyone," which doesn't make sense for various reasons. First of all, if lots of people had a blast as they say, then how did a few boos ruin it? More significantly, there were FAR more than a "few" people who left the House of Blues Saturday night feeling like they got the old bait-and-switch. One of the bouncers said that "hundreds" of people had left early, asking the box office for a refund.

OH!!!! And I'm a HUUUUUGE fucking fan of the bubblegum bandit. Hot dick and bubblegum is ALL you get, grrl....

SassyBritches said:

Right On Sassy!!!! It's funny,My night followed the same timeline as yours exactly. I posted earlier on another thread about how disappointed I was with the emphasis on Larry Graham and his stuff. But as usual, I was promptly silenced by those who feel you can't say ANYTHING even remotely critical about P.

I just happen to agree with your review of the concert and your feelings about the show. It is just our OPINION, but we have the right to it.

However, I hope that you don't give up on being a P fan Sassy. Keep the faith,baby!!

That's really a shame. For what you guys paid and for as long as you waited, what a waste to have to listen to anyone but who you paid for. I have only been to Paisley once for the Celebration event in 2001 and felt the same way even then. P hit a few chords and that was all he'd give up that week (ALL week at Paisley!). Then, of course, the next year (whenever Xenophobia was), he was all over the stage doing everything I'd have possibly wanted him to do but I wasn't there. I've ALWAYS wanted to witness one of the much heralded aftershows and never have (or at least a club show, sans ONA, as great as it was). Oh, there was the time I paid $25 in Cleveland at the Odeon when it was billed and charged as an aftershow and got shafted with no performance after waiting until 3 a.m. When I talked with his manager the next day by phone, (can't remember his name), I was told to send in the tickets and he'd send a refund. I sent the tickets in but no refund (surprise!). Seems like you sometimes have to go through a lot to get very little. Though I must say, I haven't been disappointed by any one of the three regular shows I've seen on this tour. Saw the one and only Chicago show a month (?) ago and it blew us away. So maybe the bottom line is not to bother with the aftershows unless you want aftershock....

i couldn't disagree with you more, sass - i had a great time and even though it started out a little wonky when they finally got on stage, they eventually pulled it into gear and kicked butt (in my modest opinion). sorry you had such a crappy experience with it.

I think people tend to confuse an opinion that the show itself was crud with someone having a crappy experience...I know for sure that Sassy had a great fuckin' time Saturday night. Just you know, for the record or something.

Anxiety, I'm really happy to hear your thoughts on the aftershow as well, and I'm thrilled that you enjoyed it so much. I was actually kinda worried about you and TOFKA being upset that you left the main concert early and then didn't feel that the aftershow was worth it...but clearly (and happily), that was not the case.

So we all had a blast, just in different ways.

jamiestarrsgirl said:

oh, no worries! i love prince's music and i don't see that changing over an aftershow scenario. i'm just a little wiser now and more realistic with my expectations. if ol' boy charged 25 bucks or something for an aftershow, i'd go just for the night out. i just won't be shelling out the high prices and hoping for a "small club" or "rotterdam" or "glam slam miami" type of thing. since 25-30 ducats is now my maximum for prince aftershows, however, i probably won't be going to anymore, lol!

Anxiety said:

i am SOOOO glad you and ivy had a blast! we were more than a little concerned about that.

one of the peeps in our crew did enjoy the show, so the opinions of bluey and myself were not unanimous feelings. this said, even this other person was a little dissatisfied with prince's choice of waiting so long to launch into something.

for me, it just goes back to the fact that i paid to see a prince aftershow and, while that is what i was privy too, i didn't enjoy the fact that it was a prince aftershow "as performed by other people." in other words, if i want to see larry g play for 30 minutes, i'll go to a larry g show (there IS a reason he doesn;t tour, ya know, lol). if i want to see chance howard sing (longer than he does at the main show, which is enjoyable) i'll look him up and check out a show. i just want to see prince jam. and i mean jam. you want to put larry on stage, prince, cool! just make sure you are actively involved as well. i'd enjoy that. just like i enjoyed the newpowersoul shows.

but i digress, lol! i am glad you enjoyed yourselves! as blue said, we did have a blast...just not because of prince.

theblueangel said:

That's true bluey, I had a great night out and a great experience at the concert and the aftershow, but just thought the HOB show could have gone better. But even while I was feeling a little disappointed while I was actually in the show, the experience was fun seeing P in such a venue.

theblueangel said:

honestly...hell, folks have been chanting that ever since the brotha got hot way back in the day. why's it taboo to chant now?

...and poor sassy-dahling...

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

nah...though thanks for the hugs ! sometimes things like this make you realize, in your words, "it ain't that crucial."

SassyBritches said:

I know exactly what you mean. The same thing happened in Mpls.

jamiestarrsgirl said:

I did have an absolute blast. Many things went through my mind as the show got off to a late start. First of all, there was another show that had played there on the same night so getting set up was going to take a while. Second, the show at Allstate didn't end til about midnight and P didn't arrive until around 1:45 and I am sure he needed to sound check and all that. Thirdly, when the guitar thing malfunctioned, maybe the set he put on was an alternate one, his back up plan. I didn't see much difference in this set than the one I saw at Paisley last month.

TheOrgerFormerlyKnownAs said:

and this was one of my complaints. its as if he has a rehearsed version of an aftershow. i mean, the show was slightly different but it was basically the same. instead of performing call my name, joy in repetition, girls and boys, purple rain, and adore he performed controversy, the ride, bambi, and whole lotta love. when larry does something new and they leanr a song other than no diggity, i might get interested. a lot has changed in the past 5 years or so with prince but i never thought i'd see the day where even his aftershow is rehearsed to this extent.

I was at the concert and aftershow on Saturday night too. I wish I would have met you guys. Here are my thoughts about Saturday night:

I'm used to Prince starting late, but having to wait 90 minutes at the Allstate Arena, then over 2 hours at HOB was funked up. I don't understand what the hold up is but I must say that the wait at the Allstate Arena was worth it. This was my third Musicology show and it got better each time.

However, the aftershow is a different story. First of all, I was hoping that Sheila E. would make an appearance since there's a rumor that she will be replacing John Blackwell. (I was hoping to see her at HOB on Thursday night, but the show was cancelled.) No Sheila, no big deal. John is great.

I figured Prince would keep is jazzy for the afternoon but was GREATLY disappointed with I saw Larry Grahm come out. At first it looked like he was replacing Rhonda Smith because she left the stage when he came out, but then it took a bigger role in the show.

Larry is cool, but I don't dig him. It's like when Prince had Tony M. perform. Yuk! Then Larry's wife does the towel thing. What's up with that? At first I thought it was someone from the audience until they both dipped at the same time.

The No Diggity thing really sucked too. I paid $150.00 for me and my girlfriend to see Prince, not these other people. Plus, Prince looked pissed most of the night.

Prince finally started to rock at about 4:45 to 5:00. I wish he would have done that sooner. Also, the setlist wasn't the greatest. I was hoping to hear something new or different. I love me some Prince, but next time I'll think about it twice before going to an aftershow.

Peace ya'll!