Here's some reviews from HQ members that attended the 12/2 show and 12/3 aftershow. I copied and pasted there reviews here, if anyone is interested :

1) Dec 2nd show review from Flipnpg at HQ:


"Oh My gawd.. Saturday show was killer!! "Prince brought me up on stage.. but thats not why it was so good.. he played the bass alot...
Rhonda Smith played bass during 3121
There was this Sexy funky erotic version of SHHH.. that version was amazing
Black sweat sounded cool .. kinda freaky beging.. first tyme hearing that live..
Me on stage... oooh my gawd i had so much fun.. prince was in good mood
First clothes he was wearing was
white pants and jacket with a black shirt white high heels on
second was this white shirt with like charms hanging from the around the next and around the cuffs?"
Dec 3rd - 3121 Jazz Cuisiine Aftershow - review by Flipnpg at HQ:


"..then after at the cuisine he was wearing a baby blue clothing with an all white long jacket..."

oooh show was hype i know there is going to be a killer post.. but the Bass most of the night.. i almost peed my pants and only 6 inchs away from him when he was on the side of the stage.. oh wow.. he almost hit me with his knee...


So if any is intrested i flew in to vegas about 4:30 got to the rio at like 5.. i was able to make reservations for either 6 (when they open) or at 9 .. so i chose 6.. .. while i was there prince actully came thru with some people... 10 mins later walked out and told the band they were playing to loud .. laughed and left.. then i didnt seem him to the show.. there are fliers that said showing on the screens 3121 Jazz Cuisine opened till 5am... i was bummed all i got to hear was prince doing one song because they were having problems with his guitar.. i left about 4:15 .. so i missed all the good stuff.. but i had fun... and yes they serve a wide varity of food.. i had the young chicked which tasted good that was like $29 and then after show late menu i got the petite kobe burgers.. it was bascially 2 meatballs on to small pieces a bread.. it could been about the same size as white castle burgers with sweet potato fries for $10 .. good flavor.. $10? tho.. and dont u dare ask for tap water in the late nite because they wont serve it to u .. so its either voss at $6 or the palomino sparkling for like $8 or so...

thanx to Dark Lotus for letting me chill with him and his friends you guys were all tight . thanks for making my eveing extra special! only now i know to get a little later flight out... i missed 45 mins .. dammn "

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2) Dec 2nd show as reported by jimipaisley at HQ - 12/2

"Other song played , thanx Raphy (schkopi.com):

- Girls & Boys
- 3121 (with Rhonda Smith)
- The Sun Is Gonna Shine Again (title not certain)
- Start Me Up (sing by Morris Hayes!)
- What Have You Done 4 Me Lately?
- I Like Funky Music
- Sexy Dancer
- 7779311
- It's Alright
- Give It To Me Baby ( Rick James cover)


Sunday Dec 3rd AFTERSHOW at 3121 Jazz Cuisine:
Reported by jimipaisley from HQ:

..."That's true , Prince & the band have played an aftershow between 3h40 and 5h10 in the morning at the 3121 jazz cuisine!"

"According 2 Raphy , the administrator of the french site Schkopi.com , who was in Las Vegas this weekend , they start 2 play at 3h40 and end at 5h10.
There was no stage , the mood was jazzy ( "so what" , "what is hip" ) , but they also played some like funk, "brickhouse" , "skintight" ,"loverollercoaster"
"sing a simple song" ..."

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3) 12/2-3 Concert Review/Aftershow from "Meejaboy" at HQ
(4 part review):

"THE PRELUDE - PART 1

First, on the venue itself - the "jazz cuisine" restaurant is physically adjacent to the club, but their public entrances are in totally different places - very far apart, so it takes a minute or two to walk from one to the other.

The restaurant is composed of something like 4 rooms, 2 main rooms, the one nearest the entrance has the kitchen and a small adjunct dining room for about 10 people. The 2nd main room connects the 1st at the far corner, and this is where the miniscule stage was set up - behind that was an atrium.

The 2nd room is a restaurant with about 10-12 tables for maybe 40 people seated, and the stage, set up in the far corner of the room was only about 6 metres square - just enough space for a drum kit, keyboard and mike, with maybe two people standing on it at once.

(We actually had dinner in the restaurant before the main show and whilst I did not see the band at that point, being near the public entrance in the first room, I could hear that remato neto and maceo parker sat in for a spell or two. Food is pretty tasty to be honest, though it is pretty pricey.)

So, the way it went down was this - as noted by several folks, Prince refered to the possibility of playing "next door" and "till 5am" several times during the main concert.

When 3121 (the song) was done with, I decided to stake my place in the restaurant on the off-chance that he was telling the truth and scooted through the casino to tell the wait staff that we would like some food.

At this point, around 2.30, the place was completely empty - the server took us in, and tried to sit us in the 1st room - i.e. that without the stage - a polite but firm "no thanks" had us placed in the room with the stage, we were over to towards the atrium side, about 3 metres from the stage.

From the noise coming from the club, it was clear that the blighter was doing more encores, but we stuck to our guns more or less, and waited it out - a couple more folks arrived to take up positions at their tables - Lisa and John, I believe were there names, and we chatted about the economics of running the place, how long he would be in Vegas and all that whilst the show wound up next door.

We could hear the baseline of Purple Rain rumbling through the walls and floors.

Once that was all wrapped up, a few more folks appeared, and were all seen to their tables - it really was a restaurant, rather than a concert - no-one bum rushing the stage, or standing - just sitting, ordering food and drink and generally taking it cool.

I got up to go to the bathroom and just as I made it to the connection of the two rooms, Prince strides right towards me, coming straight into the room with a couple of bodyguards and friends.

I stand to one side (seemed rude not to) and declared "after you, sir" (as will become apparent later, I can't help but call him "sir" when speaking to him

He then strides in, sits and the nearest open booth - of which there are still several - and declares "bring us food!"

After a little while, chatting and such like, he then departs through the rooms far exit, towards the atrium.

We are now really starting to believe that this is going to happen, and whilst it is horrendously late, and we have an early flight, and we are tired after the long show, we start getting really excited.

Various bits of equipment make their way from the club - the bass amp, a keyboard (with gaffer tape on the back, apparently holding it together), and various guitars and effects, guitar amp etc.

Members of the band start to appear to check their stuff - renato on keys, josh on the bass, no-one for horns - throughout the entire show, both horns and drums are unamplified - it is that small a room that it does not need it.

At about 3.10 the tables are full - apart from one right next to the atrium and the stage, where the band have installed themselves."


Continued...from Meejaboy of HQ:

"PART II - THE JAZZ JAM

Prince at around 3.10 or so comes into the place, to cheers and clapping - I shout out "Bravo Maestro" (I am horrendously pretentious) and as I do, he starts laughing and playing it up, with mock bows, and generally soaking up the attention.

He installs himself in the band's table, alongside DJ Rashida (who accompanies him all night), initially looking out into the room, but this gives him no view of the stage, so he swaps sides, has his back to most of the room, but is right next to the stage, and can call out instructions, or lean in for a word with someone as the fancy takes him.

He is wearing a full length cream trench coat, similar to that he had on at the Versace show - though with more detail in the cut. He has his collar up. Underneath this, he is wearing a pale blue version of the outfit he wore to the UK Hall of Fame induction. He has some very bling, kind of jewel-encrusted looking shoes, with trademark heels. He looks immaculate.

Let me be clear about this, the place is tiny, there are maybe 50 people max in the room - it is like a large living room kind of size - Prince is wandering about freely between tables, security is super-low key. Everyone is just playing it all too cool for school, and it is completely amazing.

Mike Phillips gets up with Cora, Josh and Renato - and they launch off into the first jam - kind of jazz improvization (if anyone can help with any of the titles, please let me know) - very funky. Prince is kind of up and down at this stage, sometimes there, sometimes out of the room. (Josh is sitting on the edge of the stage next to his bass amp - there is not enough room for him to stand on stage.)

After that, Renato leads the band into a super-sweet jazz version of "Gotta Broken Heart Again" - I am guessing that this was a favourite from the ONA tour - and he does a really nice job on it. Solos from Mike, Renato (excellent) and Maceo.

Then Mike kicks off into a version of "So What" - the band is unbelievably tight. Cora and Josh, who I must admit to having been sceptical about previously, are really excellent - both are super solid, not flashy, but highly skillful. Josh in particular seems musically "self-effacing" but is so fluid, fast and firm in laying down the track's foundation.

Anyways, Greg takes a trombone solo (I love that guy), Mike takes a solo, Prince tweaks his amp, sits on the stage's edge and takes a guitar solo, Renato solos, Josh solos, Greg and Cora trade licks, Maceo steps up to round it out, the Mike takes them back into the lead line and all the horns wrap it up nice and super tight.

Prince declares "I'm in heaven", Mike thanks Prince for arranging 3121 "real music for real musicians". People are loving it - I am in music nirvana - "Prince plays Miles" - holy crap. Has he ever been played that song in public before?

Something is not quite right with his guitar, though, and as the next track gets going, techs start fiddling about with it, and wheel in another set-up from the club.

The next track - a funk jam (name anyone?), Prince takes his seat, looking out over the band. This track feels really familiar, but I can't place it, so I turn around behind me to ask one of his security guards (seated in a booth near the non-public exit) the name of the song. He says, "I don't know - ask him...", gesturing to Prince.

I am, to be honest, shocked by this and think it not a good idea - but as I look round quizzically to the guard, he says it again - "go ask him" - so I cross the 4 feet between me and Prince, touch him on the shoulder and say "hello there, sir! what's the name of this song?", to which he replies "I dunno" ! (I thought he had a degree in Musicology

Not wishing to further impose, I strategically withdraw.

Anyways, it was nonetheless superbly cool to have a chance to say hello, even if the conversation was A) short and B) not that informative

Maceo solos, Prince goes and fiddles with his new amp set up, Greg and Mike both take solos too.

The band is on fire.

Prince moves Renato off the keys and takes them himself, and plays a break that I know, but cannot place - though at the time I am convinced it is from "The Munsters".

(Thinking about it, I believe that the break was from a keyboard part in the middle of "Dionne", from "The Truth" - the bit referred to when he says "dance to Mancini".)

They set off on another funky jam number (name anyone?), Prince leading on keys, Mike getting some serious vocorder action, then Morris Hayes coming back in on keys (after being tracked down by DJ R, at Prince's request). Freed up, Prince now takes on the guitar and lays it down, upping the tempo considerably.

A key change moves the song into what I believe is "More Bounce to the Ounce" - the funky side of things is really coming on now.

The next number is really kind of strange - Prince was not around for the first time, so installs renato back on keys, and they run through "Gotta Broken Heart Again", again - I guess Prince really likes renato's version of this.

Prince has not sung at all throughout the show - and hearing this again, I have to strongly supress a desparate urge to shout "sing!" at him - he does such a good job on this song.

When it comes time for renato's solo, Prince calls out to Cora and Josh to move to doubletime, upping the funkiness once again, and Maceo jumps back in, when renato is done.

Towards the very end of the song, Prince says "testing, one, two" through the two mikes that are set up on the stage - the only time he "sings" the entire show,"


"PART III - THE FUNK JAM

Prince then takes off his coat and takes up his guitar and, facing the band, and away from the audience, runs through a couple of licks - the first a snatch of "When you were mine", then some more more noodling about, before settling on a fantastic version of "Brick House".

Prince is really leading things now, and it is just him, Morris (I believe), Cora and Josh for the most part - though Maceo takes a solo or two.

Time is also getting on - it must be about 4.45, so he ups the tempo to round the show out.

The song then morphs into "Skin Tight" and I am totally grooving - Prince is taking his guitar right up to people's tables as he plays.

The room has also filled in a little more at the section where it joins the other main dining room - there are now maybe another 30 people standing in the connecting entrances, making a grand total of maybe 70 people (!)

As the song shift gear again, into "Love Rollercoaster" I can no longer confine myself to my seat and just get up and dancing, as several other folks have and, to my eternal delight, Prince looks over at me, checks me out, and gives me a good point out for my "groover's maneuvers". Sweet as you like!

Wrapping that up, he then calls out "What is Hip" and the band launches into a truly ferocious version of the song, with Prince's guitar lead taking most of the melody, instead of a voice - I do love this song, and this version is just killer - the band seem to love being just so super tight.

As the song ends, Prince hands his guitar to one of the people at the table directly adjacent to the stage, and gets someone to wave their hat over it to cool it down.

The crowd goes nuts, Prince wanders about a little, but then wraps things up with a "thanks for coming", Cora and Josh get some serious audience appreciation, and I am as happy as can be."

It is just past 5am.


"PART IV - REFLECTIONS

3121 Las Vegas
I have to say that I was pretty sceptical about the whole Vegas thing - and there was a lot about the whole set-up that I was not keen on - Las Vegas is not a nice place, and the Rio is not all that nice either.

That said, the restaurant was good, and the club format // layout is very cool. It is a huge circle, with table seating on two raised levels, where people who get the VIP package, or table service, can sit. (They should advertise the VIP thing more too - I was not really aware of it, despite being a rabid Housequaker, and I would probably have bought it, had I known - dinner at the restaurant, concert tickets and a table with champagne!).

The main concert was very cool - although, we were right at the back, and it being a round room, the place did not have the best acoustics for us.

"3121" is absolutely killer live - he did such a good version of this. Really liked "Black Sweat" too - Prince did some deep keybaord grooves at the opening of this song.

It was kind of odd to have renato, greg, and maceo back in the band (creating a horn section, with Mike Phillips) - and rhonda came on in "3121" for a solo - does Prince now think that the ONA band was one of his best, and is trying to re-form it?

Or is he just bringing players in for fun? Will he be bringing back other folks from his past bands - Michael B, Sonny T, Sheila E, Brown Mark, dare I say it, Wendy and Lisa?

That would be very cool indeed.

I do wonder though, how long he will have to do this for - it looks like the Rio has invested quite a bit in this whole thing, and I can't see how 1000 people two nights a week can bring in all that much revenue to keep a band // club running for weeks on end? And how long will it take to re-coup the investment, from the Rio's point of view?

I think he might have to be there for a while - though what do I know?


The Aftershow
This was my 4th, after Bagley's 93, Emporium (2nd night) 95, Marquee 04 - short of Prince coming to my house and singing me "happy birthday", I could not have wished for a more intimate concert.

I kind of get the impression that this format was much more like the 3121 thing that he ran at his house in LA - really small, no barriers between artist and audience, playing whatever takes his fancy to an appreciative and knowledgeable folks.

It must be a little tough to have to be "Prince" all the time, and I get the sense that this was what it was about for him - just playing great music without format or necessity to please anyone but himself and his friends. He did not play once Prince song this whole show.

That said, it really was the most amazing Prince concert I have ever witnessed - the musicianship was superb - but it was the the burning passion for excellence that really makes the difference.

Whilst I am sad that there were probably too few people there for it to have been recorded for posterity, I am so glad that I could be there to be a part of it.

And thanks to Prince, for just being so cool (even if he didn't know the name of the jam I asked him about "
(End of 4 part review from Meejaboy at HQ)

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4) 3121 Review from "Meedoc2003 from HQ:"

"the jazz jam was the way coolest.
the venue: inside the 3121 restaurant, there are 2 rooms, the main dining room and a smaller, more intimate room with a very small stage. my guess is that there are maybe 5 booths against the wall and eight 4 top tables. the stage is very small, only enough for keyboard setup, drums and room for one soloist out front. josh playing bass couldn't fit on stage. i estimate for that the lion's share of their playing there were maybe 40-50 people in the room

the set: all instrumentals. the band: cora on drums, josh on bass, renato on keys for most of the night (prince too a turn on keys for 1 number), greg boyer on trombone, maceo on alto, and mike phillips on alto. morris hayes was there but just mingled.

it started with a charlie parker tune, i believe - moose the mooch, but possibly ornithology. prince did not play on the first tune, but was sitting at the table next to us for most of it grooving to maceo, mike phillips and greg boyer. next was miles davis', so what. i can die a happy man, in that i got to see prince do a guitar solo to miles' so what. they also, did a deconstructed version of god bless the child. there were several other tunes that i did not recognize. as mentioned earlier, prince took a turn on keys. he was funny, when he sat down, he said something on the order of, "renato, what were you doing up here, the keys are all sticky, and asked for a towel, someone through him a napkin, and he wiped down the keybord, before going into a funky jazz thing.

towards the end, he medleyed, for maybe 15-18 minutes, brickhouse/skintight/sing a simple song/what is hip?, he threw in a very brief guitar lick of "heaven" from los lonely boys with the place literally going crazy.

one of the coolest things was that prince's table next to us was so crowded that for a lot of it, maceo sat at our table, and as i said, only one soloist could be on stage, so when the horn players were doing their ensemble stuff, they did it from either standing around the stage or from their tables, so we were sitting at our table, with maceo, and he'd pick up his horn, and blow out a few licks, then sip on a drink, then get up, blow a solo, come back and sit down. all the while we were eating our mini kobe burgers, which were dynamite, i also, had a terrific dessert.

they were all very loose, cat calling each other as they played, prince was very loose, joking around, obviously in a very comfortable good mood.

as mentioned, it started around 3:20 - 3:30, and ended at 5:10. i have seen a bunch of club gigs and aftershows, and this ranks with one of the coolest prince moments"


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Okay, that's all the stories I'll post on this thread from those who attended the shows for 12/2 and the aftershow. It's a good read, I'm sure others will add more threads about the 12/2 show and aftershow in the concert section, but nice reviews!!!. Thanks Flipnpg,Jimipaisley and Meejaboy<-- and Meedoc2003 from HQ, I felt like I lived through your experiences!
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Quote of the Day:"Embrace and love the person you are and never allow anyone to define you...live your dreams…live your life…be you!" (2elijah)
[Edited 12/4/06 7:13am]
[Edited 12/5/06 20:27pm]
[Edited 12/5/06 20:29pm]

Prince also joined the jazz band at the 3121 cafe Saturday night before the concert.

I have a friend that went to the concert Saturday night. I told him to make sure to go to the 3121 cafe because Prince has been spotted walking through there.

I get a call at 11pm. I look at my caller I.D and it's my buddy from Vegas. I thought to myself, oh shit, this fool has run into Prince.

Sure enough. He goes, "you're going to be sooooo jealous." He and his girlfriend were eating at the cafe, the jazz band was playing, and Prince casually walks in and joins the band for approx. 45 minutes.

My friend, being a casual Prince fan, takes out a camera and snaps photos. Of course his camera was confiscated by P's bodyguards. He also said that he saw Sinbad and Howie Mandel at the cafe.

Shit! Just my luck. I used to go to Vegas every three months and I would never see anybody famous. Now that Prince is living there, my ass cant go.
[Edited 12/3/06 15:21pm]

12/2/2006 Club 3121, Rio Suites (Las Vegas, NV)

Sexuality (now known as “Spirituality”)
Johnny Be Good
Girls & Boys
Unknown Bluesy Track
Lolita
Black Sweat
Kiss
Shhh
Musicology/Tighten Up/Pass The Peas
Joy In Repetition
Anotherlover/Rock Lobster
If I Was Your Girlfriend
Pink Cashmere (incl. a bit of “Do Me, Baby”)
ENCORE #1
3121 (joined by Renato and Rhonda Smith)

ENCORE #2
Partyman
Play That Funky Music White Boy
Start Me Up
What Have You Done For Me Lately?
Sexy Dancer
It’s Alright

ENCORE#3
What A Wonderful World (Renato and Maceo)
A Case of You (Prince and Renato only)
Purple Rain (Full Version)

*Show began at 12:10 a.m. and lasted until 2:35 a.m. No UK HOF video, just the sounds of thunder at the beginning
*The comedian Sinbad attended the show, and Prince said he was playing “Purple Rain” for him
*Prince wore a white suit with black shirt for the majority of the show, changing into a white outfit with the gold bangles on the collar and sleeves prior to the third encore
*”Girls & Boys” was the complete version, and included a bass solo from Prince at the end
*Speaking of bass, he played the instrument more Saturday night than I have seen him play it since the “one-eyed bass” days of the 1995-1996 era! I had almost forgotten how great of a bass player he is!
*He was in a great mood from the start, and although he didn’t invite as many people onstage to dance as the previous night, he wandered all over the club and at one point during “Pass The Peas,” he was playing guitar from BEHIND the soundboard!
*During “3121” he was joined onstage by Renato and Rhonda Smith
*The second encore that kicked-off with “Partyman” was SUPERB! During the Rolling Stones’ “Start Me Up” he was imitation Keith Richard’s guitar mannerisms almost identically…it was pretty funny!  He played the bass again during “Sexy Dancer” and “It’s Alright”
*”Purple Rain” was the FULL version of the song, all of the verses and guitar solos were played

Uptown1...Woo Hoo!...nice setlist and review..3121 gets better every weekend!
[Edited 12/3/06 17:51pm]

I need to win the lottery so I can go out to Vegas. These shows seem to be getting better and better.

uptown1 said:

Good looking. I am already trying to find an excuse to go again.

Wow, that aftershow must have been amazing. Sounds like the venue was completely the wrong sort of place for live music! Makes me think of several times when Prince has gone to cities and not played aftershows supposedly because he couldn't find a suitable venue - from this it sounds like he could set up in my local chippy and still put on a fantastic show!

The song then morphs into "Skin Tight" and I am totally grooving - Prince is taking his guitar right up to people's tables as he plays.


I would go completely if he does this at my table!!

4everYoung said:

.
[Edited 12/4/06 12:03pm]

wow!
sounds GREAT! thanx for sharing

uptown1 said:

Unknown bluesy track is "The sun is gonna shine again" (Ray Charles cover)

Raphy

OMG! I love it all! Thanks for givin' the review!