things of interest:

Morris Hayes walked onto the stage before the show with a 3121 album in hand, putting on an act like he was thinking about it, and wanting to choose someone to give it to... he walked to one side then the center than right by my side (I was front stage left) and acted like he had finally chosen someone than, tricked us and turned and walked backstage with the cd still in hand. It had the orange looking cover of Prince's back.

Everyone I was hanging with or talking to in line seemed to get on stage that night or interact with Prince. One new friend from Dallas got on stage for the dance off part and also caught the black "sweat" towel (actually just a black towel from Target) that Prince would throw in the stage.

Prince performed an encore (I think for the sake of Tamar's family or something) of Purple Rain, the typical shortened version like he did at the Brit awards.


He came out and did a second encore of a slow bluesy R&B song with Tamar singing...

I enjoyed the show more in it's funky dance section, Mike/Janet Jackson covers: Don't Stop till you Get Enough, What Have you Done for Me Lately (which went into Partyman if I remember correctly)... also covers of Play That funky Music (wild cherry), I Want to Take you Higher (Sly Stone), Rollercoaster of Love.

I think the jackson covers are for the benefit of the Twins (the two dancer vocalists) who are huge Michael Jackson fans according to their own website.

The greater portion of the show was an old school blues, R&B style Tina & Ike Turner style concept(imitation?) of R&B/blues covers and originals. I, for one was not as interested, because I like the odd funky or dramatic Prince songs the best live. I guess when his beautiful female DJ spun all kinds of old tracks before the show (including James Brown stuff), she wet my appetite for funky tunes like Love Bizarre or Hot Thing, or even Black Sweat, but that was not the concept of this show.

He had one costume change. First in a green and white(?) type asymetrical color outfit, then in an all white number with one of those white rounded hats on his head.

He was wearing his usual high heel boots.

Everyone on stage was sweating like crazy even in the face, the venue was so hot. We were hot too, my poor friend Jennifer almost fainted and had to be taken to the back of the venue to cool off, and she made it back for the very end (purple rain)

I talked with Jedimaster, txladykat,.... and met some cool fellow fan...atics.

As far as I know there were no new unheard tracks played by the DJ before the show, but there were a couple of selections that I couldn't identify.

If you like to watch Prince play guitar... this is a guitar musicianship showoff concert.

Many thanks to bosstones73 for this cool pic:

The afterparty was private and in the same bulding as the show. I saw someone with potato salad on a paper plate...

oh yeah, and for the entire first half of the show, Prince had some (inaudible to me) problem with his monitor, and kept on dancing,singing, but also pointing at this monitor and getting his tall braided stagehand to adjust it again and again. One time he was playing a riff, dancing a little, and still talking int he ear of the stagehand about some technical problem.

Takumi was nowhere in sight!

Sh....d, sorry I missed you last night. I barely made it on time, as I was doing a wedding. I walked in just b4 P. took the stage. I got backstage 4 the after party. Here is a piece of what I've been posting...

... Later, a few of us got backstage to hang at a private affair. The host, and hostess, were very gracious providing food, drink, music, and even a netflick for us 30 or so to enjoy. Prince finally emerged in a super-clean gray suit and spoke with most of us. (Don't ask me. I can't remeber)... Oh yes I do...

I told P. that "the brutha with the braids that sang with (them) ain't never gon' let us forget about this night"... or something to that affect...


Peter V.

I saw you at the end of the show up there in the VIP section... was that what it was?

How'd you get back there to the afterparty? dang. There was so much confusion because of what the dj said in the mic that wasn't on for a second... everyone just heard the words "afterparty".

and then it was like "its at Visions"
no its at the same building...

"certain audience members were given passes"...

etc.

I did meet Jedimaster, though, very cool guy.

peterv said:

[Edited 3/4/06 11:09am]

ufoclub said:

Just gotta ask, why do you always answer people above their quoted post instead of below it like everyone else? Just sayin' cuz it's confusing as all hell sometimes.

An absolutely amazing night in Houston with Prince and Tamar. I was fortunate enough to get up on stage for the dance off ( I was the last one going old school with the Cabbage Patch, Reebok, and snake dances of the 80's). I also caught the second "Black Sweat"towel (it really is a plain towel from Target that I give that title too - it still had a Target label on it) that Prince hurled to the crowd. A few of us swarmed around the front when Prince took off and layed his guitar in our hands before walking off the stage after one of his electrifying solos.

Both ufoclub and Climaxst have given great reviews and accounts of the incredible performance. What I want to make a comment on is how amazing and tight the Houston Prince people are. I came up from Dallas and was welcomed tremendously by them. They are a blast to hang out in line and see a show with. My personal thanks to greekmedusa, ufoclub, jedimaster, and all the other great people and new friends I met there. You made that show even more funkier and a better party with your enthusiasm. The Houston "org-ers" are the best!

Xrayman said:

Are you the guy that stole the towel from me ???

WOW WHAT A SHOW! I have never ever seen guitar playing like that. My jaw is still hanging on the floor. I'm a guitar player, and I've seen a lot of greats in concert over my 47 years, and I've seen Prince 10 - 15 times over the last 20 years, but OH MY GOD. That dude is so freaking good, I don't even have the words to describe it so I'm going to shut up. But I can't end it without saying "Red Headed Step Child" was the greatest performance of a song I have ever seen or ever WILL see,

Also, I was the white guy singing onstage with AntBoogie on "Play That Funky Music". Man, that was a blast and a half! Ant was cool as all get-out and we had a lot of fun. I got to hug one of the twins (don't tell my wife).

Two years ago, my daughter got onstage with Prince in San Antonio and Houston, so now I'm at least as cool as her, LOL. Well, maybe not...

Oh yeah, one other thing. Knowing what kind of show Prince and Tamar put on, I would stand in line 5 hours again at the drop of a hat. It's worth it.

RodeoSchro said:

I knew you looked familiar! I met you and your daughter in Houston, in fact, I have pics of yall! LOL

The sound setup wasn't the best, while Tamar has a really dynamic voice, you had a hard time hearing the lyrics. I saw her complain a couple times to Prince that the music was too loud, but it never got better. Even Prince was hard to understand sometimes.

Ok, here is my review. You have heard the set list and such, so I won't go into those details. Waiting in line was hard, we got in line at 7, and stayed there till we were let in at 10:30.

Standing in line with members around us was totally awesome. I know I won't remember all the names right now cause I have still had little sleep, but MeSpree, smiley, chelsea (dont know ur screenname), brownsugah (not sure how you spell ur screen name), lilsilver, beautiful8 (ashley) geesh....I just cant remember everyone right now so please dont be offended if I didn't list you, were totally awesome! And of course, my home girls lee and donna! It was also great seeing all the members I met at musicology as well

We made our way up to the front of the stage and, of course headed straight to where we saw prince's pedals set up. I was about three back from the stage (brownsugah right at the stage, you lucky girl)!

I have to say, being that close to Prince, didn't seem to make a huge difference to me last night because I rarely watched him. Even though I was right in front of him and only a few feet away, I couldn't take my eyes off Tamar! That woman's voice is so magnificent and so powerful, it truly takes your breath away! In addition to her vocal ability, her stage presence and energy is totally amazing! The only time I watched Prince was when he played his magnificent guitar solos, other than that, my focus was on Tamar. She definately takes front stage and let's you know, this is her show, and you will have fun! The twinz were nice eye candy, did a good job, but still couldn't match the energy and magnificence of Tamar. I even noticed toward the end of the show, the twinz seemed to be getting a bit tired, and their energy level going down, but Tamar's only seemed to go even higher!

I can honestly say I would probably have not bought Tamar's cd had I not seen Tamar live, but from here on out, I will definately buy anything she puts out, and will go see her live when given the opportunity (but will never do another general admission at the warehouse live!). venue report to follow in different post.

Yes, we were totally lucky to get the Purple Rain encore. He announced he was playing it for Tamar and her mother...and then Tamar came out and said "Houston, this is for you!" Best ending to the show you could hope for.

The DJ, I cant remember her name, but the same one yall keep reading about, came out and said "see you at the afterparty', but no one knew where it was, nor did I care. My feet were hurting to bad at that point and I had been up for almost 24 hours, so it was time to go.

Looking forward to seeing yall at the next one!

While standing in line (for hours and hours) we got to know alot of the venue security people....an independent company hired by all the local venues. Most were really cool. I had an awesome time at the concert, and will post about that in another post.....

Not all members necessarily ended up in the middle of the room, it all depended on when you got in line. We chose to get in line at 7 for our will call tickets (even ticketmaster holders had to do this), then after that, we all had to get into the same entrance line. Plus, the security was real good about making sure no one wsa in the entrance line without a will call ticket, this prevented pairs of people from splitting up and one getting in one line and one getting in the other to ensure a good spot.

When the security starting letting people in, it was very organized so people did not rush the stage. They let in a few, then stopped..and so on and so on. Since we were cose to the front of the line, we had a good spot in front of the stage. I was about the third person back, until about 2/3 of the way through the show.

There was this one lady that persistently kept trying to push her way through to the front and myself, and the other members around me kept building a wall to block her. Hey, we felt we paid our dues standing line for 6 hours to get a good spot, and they had no right to push their way through like that

At any rate...she eventually left, and we were able to go back to watching the show (she kept causing a huge disruption trying to get through, preventing us from enjoying the show). So, eventually she came back with a security guy who tried to "assist" her in pushing her way through. She would push on me, trying to shove me out of the way, pushing me into the people in front of me, who would then push me back, causing me to push the lady back. This went on for a few minutes when the "security guard" told me I needed to stop pushing on the lady. BTW...by this time everyone had already figured out the security guard was her boyfriend . I told him when she stopped pushing on me, I would stop pushing back. A few minutes later when she still hasn't got through, he pulls out his flashlight, flashes it in my face and tells me and these were his exact words "you need to step aside before I have you escorted out"

Wait.I need to step aside and give up MY spot that I stood in line for SIX HOURS to get, so your girlfiend (that probably didnt even buy a ticket) can take my spot? I started to argue back, but some of the members around me that had been witnessing the whole thing stopped me...opened up a spot for me to move over. So needless to say, the girlfriend got her way up there.

We reported it to the security supervisor, but he didn't seem to think it was a big deal. To me, it was a big deal, as was to the others standing around me. We paid our money, we did our time standing in line, and we should be forced to move back from our spot so a security guard's girlfriend can take our spot.

txladykat said:

God that brings back memories. The amount of times chit like that has happened to me, it ends up spoiling the show. People can be so frakkin' selfish sometimes. Sorry that you had to experience that, hope it didn't detract from the show to much.

greekmedusa said:

Hey, thanks a lot!

Hey! I was hoping to make the dinner thing but had to work late. We were back behind you guys in line, I guess. Orgnote me if there's some pics of Sydney and I that I can buy from you. Thanks!

txladykat said:

BananaCologne said:

I'm sorry.... I'm thinking these days maybe I'm slightly mental in a very alienating way....

RodeoSchro said:

Honey, you were JAMMIN!!! I was sooooo proud of you! LOL! It was a great night and it was great to see Prince TRULY enjoying himself with the crowd. You probably couldn't see him but I noticed he was nodding his head in approval at your performance. The whole night was AMAZING. And I would stand in line again with my Gucci stilleto boots hurting my feet like hell! LOL!

Hey Txladykat, Thanks for the shout out.
Just 2 let U know. That I am a Prince follower from way back and enjoyed the show to the fullest. Given my point of view was the best. I was standing stage left right in front of Prince and his amp. I heard everyword from his mouth including the comments on the mic problems, Antboogies singing, (He couldn't believe that he knew the second verse of the song and was ging to sing it. Blackprince's sitting in the chair and Prince said that he liked the shirt he was wearing. Also when Louis was dancing he liked his movement and flow.

It was truely great to be so close to genuis and to actually touch him, pants legs, shoes, and one of the twins hand when she came over there to sing.
Any true fan would have loved the intimate atmosphere and in your face fun.
Yes we stood in line(s) a long time, but it was great to see some fellow members/orgers/quakers.(Jedimaster, lee22?, Txladykat, Antboogie, blackprince, PeterV and some names I don't remember(Kim,Johnie). Plus meet new ones that were tottally off the hood in a good way. "BeeSpree" it was a pleasure.
I 2 was at the 'The After party' which hit the biggiest high when Tamar intoduced us individually to Prince and we got to shake his hand and talk to the master himself one on one.(He actually let me hold his while we talked) No bodyguard interuptions. That made the whole experience worth the sore feet and sleeping most the next day. It ended about 4:30 am.
I can't beleive there was nothing in the Saturday or Sunday Chronicle about the concert.
Oh yeah, Txladykat I know what you mean about the pushy security quard with the two women trying to push to the front. He was all up on my back with his bigxss arm in my side and I sicked the real security on him and they made him back away from me. I did see that him and his "friends" pushed you over because I couldn't reach back and talk to you and Ashley anymore. I wish I could have got him make them leave. I hope the Axxhole didnt ruin it to much for you all.
Keep in touch and see you at the next concert.
Brsugah
Purple Wishes N Computer Blue Dreams 2 U
[Edited 3/5/06 15:15pm]
[Edited 3/5/06 15:21pm]
[Edited 3/5/06 15:23pm]

SCNDLS said:

Nobody want to share a little story about what you said to Prince?
[Edited 3/6/06 2:00am]

ufoclub said:

See! You can do it! *starts singing: 'You can do it if you reaaaaaly waaaant...'

What an incredible show! I had hell getting there, but it turned out to be completely worth it! Tamar was incredible! FAR better than I expected (I was worried she would be another pretty-but-talentless protege). The girl can sing, and she had amazing energy. Prince, of course, tore it up! LOTS of guitar work, which made me quite happy.

The highlight of the show was seeing my old friend Anthony up there with RodeoSchro tearing it up! A great moment, and I couldn't have been happier to see him up there.

Of course, it was great to visit with the usual suspects after the show, like PeterV, TxLadyKat and Madcute. To XRayman, GreekMedusa & UFOClub, it was such a pleasure to meet you in person! Y'all are all great people, and I enjoyed getting to share the experience with you!

Some of us talked briefly with Mr Hayes after the show, and he was gracious as always. I briefly talked with Tamar, and she was sweet as can be. Big love to her for being so kind!

There are some professional pictures of the concert on HQ.

PurpleCharm said:

The thread has been pulled. I have no idea why. The pictures were really nice. Fortunately, I was able to save them before the thread was deleted. I would post them, but I suspect that there is a legal reason why the thread was removed.

PurpleCharm said:

ooooh meeeeoooow

PurpleCharm said:

Do share!!!

JediMaster said:

Only if nana says it's ok.

PurpleCharm said:

Only if HQ says it's ok