Best Prince show--Musicology or otherwise--I've seen. (Yeah, yeah, it was my 4th. So?? ) And I was with a very special person to share the experience with.


He played "17 Days"!!!!.....and played an AWESOME different version of "Prince And The Band". And finally got to see him play new one "Call My Name" live. But he took "The Question Of U" out.

(Harry from the Netherlands--if you read this--I can't find your e-mail address. You definitely want to have a copy of this. E-mail me! Oh, I won't be in Chicago from Aug 5-13.)

1st set:
Musicology
Let's Go Crazy
I Would Die 4 U
When Doves Cry
Baby I'm A Star!
Shhh!
D.M.S.R.
Pass The Peas
I Feel 4 U
Controversy

2nd set:
What A Wonderful World (instrumental)
Sometimes It Snows In April (instrumental)
--acoustic--
Little Red Corvette
? *new song??! starts "Boy is lonely/on a burning-hot summer night" "Think I'm gonna fall in love tonight"
Raspberry Beret
Peach
17 Days
Prince And The Band
Beverly Hillbillies theme song
Alphabet St.
On The Couch
Adore
I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man
-----
7
Sign O' The Times
Pop Life


3rd set:
Let's Work
U Got The Look
Life O' The Party
Soul Man
Kiss
Take Me With U

Encore:
Call My Name
Purple Rain

If I forgot something, let us know!

His humor was a LOT more "on point" at this show, I think. Playing all these Musicology shows night after night, and playing the same songs, has helped him better write/plan/strategize all his jokes, adlibs, and crowd interaction material. This was my 3rd (and last ) Musicology show and it was the most fun to watch. And MORRIS DAY & THE TIME OPENED AT 8:00PM!!! MY GIRLFRIEND AND I ARRIVED AT 8:45PM--WHEN THEY WERE PLAYING THEIR LAST SONG! RRRGGHHH!

B u t t a

Butta said:

that's 'elephants and flowers' from graffiti bridge...

i SOOO hope he does it at the next show, which is houston, friday night, as i'll be there...

peterv said:

THANKS A MILLION, PETERV! I think I've only listened to the Graffiti Bridge album once. Didn't realize that was such a popular song, but a lot of people on this board seem to love it.


B u t t a

peterv said:

I was gonna say...wasn't ele & flo played...well there ya go.

peterv said:

Hmmm.... maybe you could consider SCREAMING OUT THE TITLE during one of the quieter parts of the set.... ? Who knows? Might work.

Superspaceboy (or any who went to Chicago show)

am I alone in thinking that "17 Days" sounded weird?

I like that song a LOT and I have always wondered if he'd ever play that song when I'm at a concert. So--yeah--I'm a little sad he changed the music/chords last night. To me, it's as though he took a song that's rather light musically and made it darker and tense to make it bluesy-er..

Butta said:

Did not go to the show...but read about it.

Not a big fan of 17 days.. though I know the renditions of the accoustic set have been more dark and thought provoking.

so, was it the FULL version of elephants and flowers or just a verse? c'mon people...what kind of concert reports are these?!

C'mon Sassy, you know better than that!! Do you really think he'd play a full song in the acoustic set?

I'd bet my scrotal skin that it was a verse or maybe two and the chorus. In fact, I was listening to this song the other day, and much of it isn't even "appropriate" for his current beliefs, I don't think.

But what the fuck do I know? I wasn't there.

Figures The Time would open AGAIN at a show that I wasn't at. Oh well.

theblueangel said:

i'm thinkin' it was just a verse or so but he did do the whole thing at the last celebration. and that shit was mad electric! no acoustic about it. if it was the whole thing, i'd be interested in hearing it. if it was just a cocktease, i'd rather do without.

Hey, I just wanted people's opinions on this show who were there. Don't get me wrong, the concert was OUTSTANDING and I could go on and on. But since it was my first one on this tour I wondered if someone could compare the sound quality. I hate to say it, but the sound at Allstate was atrocious. Whenever The Time or even Prince talked into the microphone it just echoed all over the place and no one around me could understand any of it. Plus, as big a fan as I am, sometimes it took about 30 seconds to figure out what song was being played because something just wasn't right. I still had the time of my life. But wondered if anyone else felt the same way.

Mod said:

You are correct..... The sound WAS bad on Tuesday night at the All State Arena.....
I have been to all the shows in Chicago and that was by far the WORST night..... The Time set was reallly really bad!!!!!
But the show was great none the less.....

Peace

Mod said:

SassyBritches, it wasn't the entire song. Verse/two verses + chorus (sorry...I don't own album, so I'm not familiar with how the song goes).

I don't know how to rate/compare sound at big stadiums and arenas. Given that Prince is a perfectionist--and EVERYTHING from the big video screen shots to the lighting was so precise--I'd want to assume that HE'S happy with the sound, you know? From MY seats, section 206, I could hear everything he said very clearly and the guitar solos were clean too. That's all I'm looking for. But I know what you mean about the atrociousness in a sense... I go to concerts often and I record all the shows I attend...and I've noticed over the years listening to recordings made at the SAME VENUE (e.g., recently two different shows at Allstate) that the sound is different on different nights or events! I'm not sure if it's 'cause of where my seat is or because of the venue's sound system, though. But to answer your question, this P fan was very satisfied with the sound on 8/3. And MUCH more than on 7/24.

I have never been to a single show at the Allstate, formerly Rosemont Horizon, where I was satisfied with the sound. The acoustics have always sucked in that place. That's why I was a bit bummed when I first heard that this was going to be the venue.

SassyBritches said:

Yeah, that's why I'm STILL kicking myself for not somehow MAKING it possible for me to be at that last Celly. He was playing full-length songs, and so many of them were just ---- WOW. I need to get a better bootleg of that.

The sound seemed okay from where I was on 7/24, but it was just WAAAAAY too loud, so that sometimes when he sang or played the guitar it was.....I dunno, it was so loud I couldn't actually hear the sound anymore. That sounds crazy, but I've never experienced anything like it before (of the hundreds of concerts I've been to), so I don't really know how to describe it. I could still hear sound, just not pitch.

But luckily it didn't happen very often. I gotta say, Champaign and 7/24 Chicago remain my favorite shows on this tour. Get that many funky people in the audience and he can't HELP but put on a good show!!

theblueangel said:

- "Alphabet St." he goes up to "If U don't mind, I'd like to watch"... What more do y'all want?

- "Adore" and "Cream", he plays a satisfactory amount. But when stripped down, virtually all those songs he picks become two verses and the chorus. When we say full song, remember the whole song has other-instrument-fill-in parts when he's not singing...and it's just him and the gui-tar. (Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying he couldn't solo and funk it up)

maybe a dumb question here...but I haven't seen anyone mention it when reviewing any other concerts. I'm guessing it's been done many times before, but thought it was a great moment. Right before starting "Adore" in the acoustic set, he had everyone snap their fingers to make it sound like it was raining. Coulda been cheesy, but came off as funny and cool instead.

Orionforever said:.[/quote]
You are correct..... The sound WAS bad on Tuesday night at the All State Arena.....
I have been to all the shows in Chicago and that was by far the WORST night..... The Time set was reallly really bad!!!!!
But the show was great none the less.....
Peace [/quote]


I was there on the 22nd and again last night. I thought the 22nd was worse. I wonder if it depends where you sit. I am sure it stinks all over..but different degrees of stink!
I was at 112 the 22nd and then totally diagaonlly across from it at 195 last night.
Had a blast though!
[This message was edited Wed Aug 4 20:26:05 2004 by iggiesdance]

Mod said:

Yeah, Mod...that is really cool. He says "Snap your fingers" ... [7 seconds] ... "Clap your hands" ... [7 seconds] ... "Pat your thighs" ... [7 seconds] ... "Listen...it's raining outside." Mod, you are the first person to bring it up!

In high school I was in a club where one of our warm-up activities was doing that, except it started with rubbing your hands together, then snapping, clapping, patting thighs, then stomping feet--then we'd go in reverse order, and it'd sound like the rained passed over.

Here's the scarier part: it actually RAINED after the 8/3 concert, and the rain started during the show. (Something bad, for those of us parked in the other lot. We had two choices--stand in long line in the rain to wait for a shuttle bus to take us to the far 2nd lot, or walk to it in the cold and rain. )

Mod said:

I went to the 1st Chicago concert on June 25th and I didn't want to say anything cause some people take things the wrong way. The Allstate in my opinion has the worst acoustics of any shed or venue in Chicago. The sound was terrible and I've seen 2 of Prince's gigs. One in St. Louis and one in Chicago. The sound in St. Louis improved as the concert went on. After the acoustic set the sound was great and I was in the 2nd row. The sound at the Allstate was in my opinion WAY too LOUD! Rhonda's bass was just there. There was no definiton. Everything was muddled. The acoustic set was better but soon as everyone came back, the sound got terrrible again. It was so loud that my eyes were watering and the only time that happens is when I go to a dragstrip and Funny Cars are running.

Mod said:

he did something like this during the purple rain tour also. this time it wasn't nasty, though, lol. back then he had everyone in the venue snap their fingers for about 30 seconds or so and then he told us that is was the sound of orgasm...or something crazy like that, lol. this time he just said it was rain.

it was corny both times, lol!

Butta makes a valid point about the instrumental parts of songs. Like a lot of orgers, I play guitar and play acoustic sets all the time. One of the challenges when you put together a setlist is picking songs that can last 3 - 4 minutes acoustically. That's a challenge because most of the time, you aren't going to play the solo parts of a song. It just doesn't sound right playing a solo without backing instruments. A lot of times, just to get a laugh, I'll play a verse and won't sing, and tell the audience, "OK, imagine a kickass solo right now".

So what you do most of the time is play a song but eliminate the solo. And so many songs begin with a drum fill or lead line that also isn't played acoustically either, so you end up cutting out 1 minute or so, leaving you with a short song.

Prince plays his acoustic stuff exactly the way most of us would (and do) in a smoky little bar. Shortened songs that keep the audience's attention, with fills and solo parts thrown in between songs.

Hey people. First post here. I just wanted to share a few thoughts I had about the sound quality at Allstate Arena.

First off, as with any indoor, smaller arena, the sounds sucks. In such a tight space, and with the quad sound setup, there are too many vibrations bouncing all over the place. Between that and the volume level you won't get much in terms of musical enjoyment. The only way to get better sound out of a palce like that is to shove the stage all the way at one end and place all the seats in front of the stage going all the way back.

I completely agree with what was said. Great concert, but crappy sound. I was upset that I didn't her Morris and The Time better as that would have been great. However, after that first set and my ears being numb after it I decided todo what I do at all concerts, put in ear plugs.

I would recommened any of you who go to concerts or complain about ringing, the sound of glass breaking, or feeling in/out in/out of the ear drum, to use them. I used plugs for the entire Prince part of the show and I could hear everything perfectly. They eliminated the vibrations and extra noise created by the sounds waves hiting the baclk walls and coming back, not to mention I was in the 6th row just in front of the speakers.

In fact, aside from making my screams and shout louder, the sound from the stage was perfectly clear and pronounced. A few times I would unplug one ear to see ifit was any better, and I have to say that even during the acoustic set, the noise was unbearable.

I work in the audio biz so take my word for the fact that sounds at that volume do cause irrepreable hearing loss, for even a short amount of time, let alone for an extended hearing such as that long concert. Meaning wear the plugs, they work and don't block the musidc out..only the bad sounds.

I was able to take them out minutes after the show without feeling drained, yelling "what?" after eferyone asked me a question, and felt normal upon leaving.

Hope this helps.