Where to begin.....

First I will say this. Prince being Prince is much like sex and pizza. Even when it’s not so good, it’s still pretty good.

It was my first time at this venue and I thought that the acoustics were horrible. There was a lot of echo, even in the 5th row seats we had. Maybe it was the volume.

I now understand why people say that going to the Superbowl is nothing like going to a regular or playoff game. The Superbowl has become a corporate event and the real true fans of the teams do not get to go.

I was in the 5th row and the first four rows were occupied by many of those types above that sat down for most of the show. I think Prince fed off of this early and knew what he was in for.

Energy was lacking. The Musicology, One Night Alone tours, and pretty much every other Prince show I have ever been to killed this show in fan energy alone (and I have been to some amazing shows, too many to even count now). I also understand that this was not a tour type show with the same production values.

The show was suited for a club type atmosphere for the fans. Most of the people at the show could have cared less about the 3121 material. The set list was very similar to the ones reported in the Vegas 3121 reports.

By the way, he did invite the crowd to come see him in Vegas, but said to come see him within the next few months as he did not know how much longer they would be doing it for. Consider that a heads up to people wanting to go.

I really hope that Prince does something to surprise us on Sunday. Something the make us and the world watching (not the fans at the game) really take notice. What I saw last night will not do that.

I will admit, it was nice to hear "Anotherloverholenyohead", "Girls and Boys" as they are more obscure hits not heard very often live. There was nothing new performed so no "Guitar" and no "All Along the Watchtower/Best of You" medley. Too bad as I really wanted to hear that more than anything else.

I guess my big problem is this. I understand that his *HITS* are his legacy and that is what everyone wants to hear. But it saddens me because I feel that Prince could put out the single greatest album ever made tomorrow and no one would care anymore because it would not be an album made in the 80's.

Purple Rain should (and I thought it was) have been retired after the Musicology tour. I mean sure it still sounds great, but it has become a shell of what it used to be when he performed it. It’s just not the same. Will the passion come back? That is what made the Musicology tour so great. He performed on that tour like it WAS going to be the last time he ever played these songs. Every song performed had a passion behind it on that tour.

This was not the case last night. Cream, 7, Purple Rain felt like they were just going through the motions. Prince is better than that.

I love Prince. Always have and always will support him, but it saddens me that he has become chained to his biggest radio hits. Prince is too creative with a huge library of songs to be playing the same songs over and over all the time. I guess that is why we are getting a lot of cover tunes now as well. At least he plays a song that the crowd knows, even if it is not his own.

Prince, if you read this, I am not trying to be judgmental and I do not expect you to have to blow our minds all the time, every time. But, don't sell yourself out either. Don't become the the slave again. The slave to corporate America to make them happy. Most of all don't become a slave to your past and ultimately a slave to yourself. You are too talented for that.

I still and will always love ya dude.

Later

I agree with your comparison. I'm always in awe when I see Prince live, but last night's show was definitely less than the Musicology tour, which was probably the best I've ever seen him. I was glad to hear some of the older tunes from Under the Cherry Moon, and 7 - even in a lesser rendition - is always great. I would have liked to have heard even older, more obscure songs, as well as new songs to weed out fair-weather fans. But this show was promoted as a classics show.

What was annoying was there were several people in the audience, especially on the floor who looked like they'd rather be someplace else. Some were older senior citizens, who I'm guessing received comp tickets for their casino activity.

Regardless, Prince still wailed on guitar, sang amazing, and had a great stage presence. I was fortunate to have seats close to the stage, and found him mesmerizing at times. (Unfortunately, I couldn't see the drummer or bass player because speakers blocked the view -- and these were $400 seats.) He was also flirty with the crowd -- at one point laying down on the stage and stretching out his arms to touch hands with people up front. He did invite people up to dance, but he left the stage to change outfits -- unlike Musicology when he stayed on stage.

I'm a huge fan, so I couldn't miss the opportunity to see him where I live (after missing him so many times in the 80s when I was in college). But for the amount I paid for the tickets, I was hoping for more.

I'm curious about the after-party. Did anyone go? Did Prince show up?

The crowd is alsways a factor in the success of a show.

Sounds to me like those old geezers should've stayed in their rooms and given up their seats to people who cared.

I was at the Hard Rock show last night, and to some it up….was very disappointed!

The Bad
#1) The Price- I had lower bowl middle section seats @ face which was $300 each. Simply to high, but I paid. I bought from ticketmaster the day before the show, so 100% was not sold out. They did fill it up though as I am sure the casino took care of that. Better seats from brokers were in the $600-1100 range and I don’t mean 1 st row seats. Just insane prices.

#2) The set list- To many covers of other artists songs (3 I think), and 2 songs song by his new female side kick, one of which was an encore segment. Then 4, 3121 songs, and 1 Musicolgy song. So add that up and that’s 10 songs, and we have not touched the “classic” Prince songs yet in such a short (more on this later) concert.

#3) Sound- I don’t know if it’s the band size, type of instruments, or what, but some songs just did not sound too much like the CD songs. Black Sweat and Musicology both sounded very different than the version we are used to hearing. Is this because the band is not big enough to produces a similar sounding tune? I saw no back up singers. I think his band, as talented as they are, needs something more. (Small and “tight” doesn’t = great) The acoustics also are horrible here.

#4) Vision- I had above average seats, but it was hard to actually see Prince because of the lighting. The lights were behind him shooting out to the people instead of tons of lights shining onto him. Also, he would be standing in the dark A LOT. When he did have the lights on him, it was always a dim spot light. And there was a big screen behind him used only for “screen saver” type effects, no camera on him to see close-ups.

#5) Timing- It started at 9:20 and he was saying “thank you, goodnight” at 10:20. Yes, the show was not “over” at 10:20 I know, but we were at the wrap up & encore phases after only an hour! This really was disappointing. Then he did 2 encores that stretch out the official time, but it was really just 2 extra songs by him (1 by the other women). I have not seen the Vegas show, but I feel like this was a cheap version of that but with higher prices. For $45 this was ok at best, but for $300 and play 1 hr and 2 extra songs?

#6) Misc Items- A) The encore #2, final song was “Nothing compares to you”. He could have done this with the new women singer in a duet, but he just rushed through it alone. This is where she should have been used! B) He played only Guitar. I love his guitar playing (when I can see it), but he can play so many instruments. He never touched a keyboard/piano. C) A song called “Prince and the band”. I have not heard this one before, but he tried to rap in it for a wile and it sounded bad. And most people did not know this song at all. “whats my name?...silence from the crowd” D) The whole “who wants to dance with me on stage” bit- This is just a time killer & filler. It wastes at least 7 min of our hour watching strangers dance to an instrumental song I did not recognize. He did this in past concerts as well, but this time he was NOT ON STAGE!

The Good:
Guitar: If you like guitar, he sure did play it.
Classics that were selected: He played a long set of SHHHH, which is a great song and was the highlight to me. He also did Purple Rain, and the guitar part of Lets go Crazy that sounded good. Also “7” was good encore song.

Bottom line:
This show seemed “rushed” and simply thrown together. It reminds me of the Chaos and Disorder, Old friends for Sale, & Black Album releases. Those CD s were “required for his contract” and had a few good songs, but were not up to the others standards. This show was like that, except that he charged the highest price I have ever seen for a Prince show. As a big fan of his, I will never pay this much again to see his show. It is simply not the same performances you saw in the “Sign of the Times” days. Prince being older and limiting/altering songs for religious reasons can be seen in his live shows now. He is still worth seeing anytime you can and his music is great, but the price points must match the show quality. This show was worth $45.

PS Read “between the lines” on the local reporters reviews of the show, and you can see that they were also very disappointed in the show. I did not go to the aftershow next door at the club. I heard he did not show, if this is true then it would have been “rip off” #2 of the night. Fool me once…

I just got back to NYC from the concert. It was great, although much of the front section were comped casino guests and Superbowl people who only stood through the hit songs they knew. Nevertheless, by the second half of the show, the crowd was into it. I agree with the previous posts to some extent, but I knew going in it would be this type of show. He is not on tour, he is playing to a crowd, much of which were either there as casino guests or for the Superbow., They were put in the front in large part taking away from the vibe of the whole thing, etc. Like I said, I expected this going in and therefore was ready for lots of old hits and little new material. Nevertheless, it was great to hear 7, anotherloverholeinyourhead and girls and boys along with 3121. To me the vibe was much better in the second half than the first, even for songs that people didn't know, if they were upbeat and he was playing guitar, like Shhh! they were appreciative and standing. For the 3121 material, there were two sections standing, you could tell where the fans were. Prince is at his best playing the guitar, it seems he can no longer tame a crowd by dancing for physical reasons. His moves are no longer anything to write home about, so the only way to get an unfamiliar crowd standing to the non-hits is to play his but off and that he did in the second part of the show and there was a noticable difference to me. Now, on to the show:

There was a salsa/Latin band that opened and played about 45 minutes. Prince took the stage around 9:20pm after the horn section came out and played an opening intro with the rest of the band in the background. Renato Netto was with the band and played keys.

Prince opened with 3121 followed by the following (the order may not be correct):

Girls and Boys
Satisified
Lolita
Black Sweat
Kiss
Pass the Peas (with people dancing on stage including an elderly old man
(costume change)
Musicology/Prince and the Band
Shhh!
U got the Look
Let's go Crazy (edited version he has been doing)
Purple Rain
Two encores included:
Cream
Nothing Compares 2 U
Anotherloverholeinyourhead
7

and what's her name singing a couple of songs, one during the encore and one during the main show.

No aftershow, even though there was an official aftershow. Some band members showed up, but then left.

When Prince's head of security tried to leave, the security from the club and the reservation stopped him. It seems he took the door money and the club wanted it or part of it (I don't know the details) back since Prince didn't show and they shut down half the club for him. The girl who is always around arranging the details of these aftershows, etc. came back. They were still there with the police outside the back of the club when I finally left around 2:00am. I saw Greg Boyer with his wife/girlfriend and said hello.

Will edit post if I remember anything else.

Only disappointment was no Get on the Boat. I thought for sure he would do it being in South FL and the salsa sound to it, but maybe he is saving it for the Superbowl.
[Edited 2/1/07 11:30am]
[Edited 2/2/07 6:17am]
[Edited 2/2/07 6:17am]

I'm probably one of the only ones who will say this.

But his schtick is tired for his stage performance. Here is a once innovative artist who put on dynamic performances. And he is now reduced to the phone by numbers songs and the usual. Every setlist I have seen, not once have I been surprised at what I am looking at. And to pay this kind of serious money it's no different than to me to see a Funky Wayne Newton who is an accomplished musician. How many times can you play "Pass the Peas" There's alot of James songs to choose from.


Another thing that alot of fans seem to be living is this delusional cloud that Prince is in touch with what people want to hear. And it's so far from the case. That's why he is in Vegas. Prince's biggest problem as of late is his isolated island and drought of inspiration and creativity. Even his lyrics are phoned in examples of his approach now. Prince is at a point where he thinks he can compete with the industry when he hasn't really delivered any "Weight" for serious consideration for a long time.





3121 can't be saved because it's just out of touch. They booked Confunkshun for godsake. This club is so out of touch with culture and what's interesting that they are running out the neosoul bandwagon in fullsteam. It's just not well thought out and the artists chosen arent going to bring in the numbers. I would guess that the RIO is losing money whether some prince fans admit it or not. It's painfully obvious that this venture isn't promoted. I know some Housequaker's and Orger's have tried to state otherwise. But this is a dejavu scenario like with Glam Slam only hyper accelerated.


As far as Prince with his Superbowl performance, how can I say this?
Most people have amnesia. So unless Prince has something controversial in mind with his presentation. No one is really going to care. If he wanted to play the ace card he would have Jagger/Richards come down from a plane/helicopter. and play a Stones medley to close it. But he wants to go with "Shelby"
I know alot fans don't want to admit it. But Prince doesn't have the universal charisma of Rolling Stones. Most kids won't even flinch when they see it. Alot of people flip the channel during the break.


He doesn't have the project to launch off of this. People are skeptical of putting any muscle or investment behind it. Prince seems to think he can just coast and he will get his hit acclaimed album. Which that isn't the case. Everyone makes albums these days. You are going to have to show something serious to get media reaction. And this time you can't just drag out Beyonce, or can he still do that?

Nope he did not show for the afterparty. He had his "people" clear out the VIP (what??? clear the VIP??? LMAO) to check the area and make sure that everything was to his liking (this is what I have heard) They were unhappy with something and had a meeting with the promoters to fix it. He was going to come in but had the people come back to recheck. I heard that they then told the club peeps that they were unhappy with the dancers (the ho's dancing on the top of the tables that worked for the club) outfits. too skimpy or something.... They said that that was all they had for them to wear and all they had were street clothes. They were going to dance in the street clothes, but I guess he found another reason to not come in so they left. I hear he and the entourage were in cars outside the back entrance. But thats Prince, and all the diehards know that. Alot of the other fans were like "what the hell??" But all I could do was laugh and say that is SOOOOO PRINCE!! Because I know the way he is and can see beyond it. But as for the 20.00, What a gyp! It should have been free with the concert ticket and the fans would not have felt like they were robbed!

Oh and the show was too short and lacking in passion and energy. I was SO GLAD that I only paid $100.00 for it. That is the best that I could say about it. The front looked totally dead and I am sure that it had someting to do with the general lack of energy all around.

**Prince**, All the fans knew that this would happen. We all knew that the real party would be in the back and sides. I knew that the condition of the crowd would not be to your liking. Next time, no matter how much money they throw at you, DON'T do it. I knew that you would not be happy without your fams in the front to give you the energy and love, and it effects your performance. We LOVE ya, and want to be close to you where we belong! Please play somewhere this week so us Miami fans can give you our love! some little club and not too expensive preety please!

Trickology said:

Actually...if he REALLY wanted to cause a ruckus...he could probably drag out Britney Spears.

PurpleJedi said:

If Prince wanted people to talk he would get Out Rolling Stones and be drinking a bottle of J.D. and passing it around the stage during the three of between Mick/Keith singing a Stones Medley. That would get everyone RILED up.


But the SB fans would go nuts. Because if it's anything that football fans like is people showing their drinking appreciation. But of course NFL would probably have a supernova reaction.

But definitely don't perform "Get on the Boat" during superbowl. That's a definite flipper right there.

Trickology said:

I so agree with you on that!

Sorry to say, the first half of the show sucked. The sound was really bad. I kept moving around the venue trying to find the sweet spot. There was none. Every section had an annoying echo. Didn't they just build that place? How can it sound so bad?

The 2nd half, Prince was beginning to warm up with some great guitar work, but whatshername took up too much time. The show was way too short for the $$$ charged. I have often defended Prince against other live acts, but I have never seen PFunk, The Stones, U2 or RHCP come onstage at less than 100% power. This uneveness is just becoming tired.

The afterparty was worse. The DJ was playing some type of techno (I call it vampire music). He would get a beat-down in NYC for claiming to be a club DJ. Prince had a problem with the dancers. That is hilarious for Mr. G-String. The dancers were actually the highpoint of that dump. Even the females on the dance floor were admiring the dancers. It didn't matter. It was not a Butter-type setup where he was going to perform.

The whole vibe at Hard Rock was weak. A wanna be Vegas/South Beach. Don't bother watching Sunday. The set is going to be too predictable for fans. Opening, then Purple Rain, ending with Let's GO GO GO crazy. Try to catch him in Vegas before he leaves and be sure to hit the aftershow.

Problems with the dancers???? You'd kinda wonder if he has seen anything else in Vegas besides the Rio.....

pfunkpilot said:

Wasn't the music terrible? I hated it too!! I was thinking maybe thats why he did'nt come in, I could just picture him walking in and just saying "Ohhh hell naw", shaking his head and walking out. I was banging my head on the pole in front of me like ahhhhh! lol I feel ya on the hard rock as a whole. Its just mad weak. So poseurish and stupid. The whole vibe sucked. Its like they are trying soooo hard.

PurpleAlegria said:

I can concur about the girls, because I was hanging by the back door and saw one of the in her street clothes and after the incident about the money the manager told her to get dressed and start dancing again. Anyway, it was no "Prince" aftershow. There was no Prince music (or Prince-like artists) except for Kiss and a snippet of Purple Rain.

They should have gotten the money back from Prince's team and given back to us!!!!!

I am sure that lounge area on the other side was held off incase he decided to play, otherwise it didn't make sense to close it "for a private party" that never happened.The place got packed and then died out quick once it was evident that Prince wasn't showing up. They got to the point where, after they cleared the VIP area, they were putting trays of food out. Must have been a quick decision.

I agree with the lukewarm review. I"ve seen Prince many times, including Vegas a few weeks ago. Usually it's off the hook! But the crowd at the Hard Rock Show was so boring! I was in main floor sec 107 row S and people weren't standing up in front of me. I could not believe it!!! It was definitely not one of his best...but I blame the low energy of the crowd. It was still great to see Prince live.

Anyone see that girl in the see though outfit only wearing a thong?

Thanks for the reviews !!

Thanks for the reviews....even though they are on the down slope. It seems that Prince wasn't very happy about something. I can't imagine playing for a stuffy crowd when your used to a whole lot of energy directed at you. The after party...well...I guess he just simply didn't want to go.

I was there too. What can I say? I guess the first rows were filled with people from NFL, CBS and high rollers who were clueless for the most part and the acoustics in the place were dreadful.

I suppose Prince did the best he could with what he had to work with. He was good but nothing like the many inspired performances I've witnessed.

He played the Vegas setlist but when I saw him in Vegas it was worth every penny. There were some good points, I especially enjoyed 3121, Shhh, and him playing bass but the vibe was definitely not there like it is when he has us right in front where we belong. I mentioned on another thread that I was afraid this would happen.

Shelby is a much stronger singer than Tamar but her chemistry with Prince is not as strong. She's very much an individual and came off as distant from the rest of the band.

The latin band from the Thursday Vegas shows went on at 8pm and played for around 40mins. The lady next to me left and told me to call her when it was over. Maybe 3 people danced. They might play well to drunken gamblers in Vegas but down here people know the difference between good and so-so latin music and folks were underwhelmed by their performance.

I didn't even try to go to the afterparty because I doubted P would show. Afterparty announcements are just a bunch of hype where the headliner seldom performs. I did hear about the drama over there though and I have to say that even at the show some stuff went down. I mean, Prince's security detail is supposed to be working for Prince, right? Good thing the venue security was on top of it...that's all I'll say about that.

He more than made up for it at rehearsal the next day so I ain't mad at him. You guys won't be disappointed on Sunday and that is all I can say about that!

Trickology said:

amazing how some fans can be his biggest critics

pkidwell said:

It's the only criticism that truly matters!

The latin band from the Thursday Vegas shows went on at 8pm and played for around 40mins. The lady next to me left and told me to call her when it was over. Maybe 3 people danced. They might play well to drunken gamblers in Vegas but down here people know the difference between good and so-so latin music and folks were underwhelmed by their performance.

I was losing it after 2 songs by the salsa band. Cracked me up when they would say "this is an oldie..or this is one of our hits" When my friend asked what he said I told her "He said go pee now before Prince comes on!"

I thought the crowd was way too subtle. we had a couple on both sides of us and none of them got up to dance or clap, they sucked. I even thought there was going to be a fight because some guy in 2nd row asked guy in front of him to sit down!...Sit down at a Prince concert? hmmm Reminded me of the guys in the front row at the stadium telling those in rows 2-6 to IMPROVE YOUR SEATS! Regardless I still enjoyed the show, but was hoping for just a few more songs. Loved the guitar work and thought Shelby did a fine job on Never Loved A Man.

ggras said:

I remember the name now, I think it's Grupo Fantasma. I hear they also performed at one of the private parties last night. Please Prince, not in Miami of all places.

Some guy asked me to sit down too. I asked him if it was his first Prince concert? He said If I dance with him then it's okay so I did.

I guess I'll just look forward to the next show....I'm down with Prince for life.

this was to be my first Prince show, and i sure was excited. i enjoyed the opening band and was getting my groove on, though i received a stern talking to from the lady behind me.

she said "now i know you are just having a good time, but the people around you are uncomfortable with your dancing."

i say, "I'm not hitting anybody and I'm staying in my own space".

she replies, "people are afraid you might hit them, so be careful."

i replied that i would, but it was already a bad sign. South Florida crowds are notoriously lame, and the fact that the corporate Super Bowl shills and Casino shlubs made up a large part of the crowd didn't help. (Maybe the show would have had a better crowd had the tickets been reasonably priced...)

a few minutes before the lights fell and Prince was to take the stage, a person walked in front of me to get back to his seat. i accidentally bumped him, and he spilled his beer on the empty seat in front of me.

two minutes later, the seat's occupant goes to claim her seat. she notices that it is wet, and immediately goes out of the row and back up the section.

three seconds after the house lights go down and the bacd takes the stage, 10 big dudes in black blazers grab me and my friend and drag us out of the row, pushing us up the stairs and out the section, claiming that i had intentionally spilled my drink on this girl's chair that we were being ejected from the venue. no warning, no trying to reason calmly with them. they screamed and shouted obscenities at us, and threated us with bodily injury if we did not leave the facility faster.

i spent 200 dollars on my ticket, and have been awaiting this show since the day it was announced. i paid $66.00 for each of the three seconds of the show i saw, and i didn't even get to see Prince in his pimp orange suit until they showed it on the nightly news.

anyway, Hard Rock Live sucks. I will never ever give that company, or the Sovereign Seminole Nation that owns it another penny of my money.

here's to the chance to see another Prince show!

smedvin said:

WOW!

Just WOW!

That is all I can say to that story.

Unbelievable.

I did not like the venue before just from my experience, but I can really say it sucks now!

Amazing how you can't have fun at a concert any more.

Later
[Edited 2/3/07 12:16pm]

liltalkm said:

Somehow after reading some of these reports I appreciate General Admission. Seems like floor seats causes more problems because when one person stands up in front of you while you're sitting, then you have to stand up too to see the show, which means everyone else in back of you has to do the same, then next thing you know everybody's shouting to each other to sit down because they can't see, then again sometimes with GA you can't win either...but who wants to sit down at a Prince concert anyway?







-----
"In the 7th month at 7:07 am she said, "Hello World, can't you see, that I'm a 'Triple 7' baby, make room for me!!"
[Edited 2/3/07 13:15pm]

smedvin said:

ficktyt said:

Was that you??? LOL

dearlybeloved said:

That's strange my whole response disappeared. Anyway, what i said was i sat two rows behind you guys and saw the whole thing. I didn't know what happened so I assumed that folks were mad cuz you were blocking their view. Personally, they ALL should have been standing up in the first place. Sorry you guys had such a bad time. I assure you that if you come to DC WE STAND THE WHOLE SHOW!!

I wanted to give my 2 cents about this show a while ago but my computer was acting strange so here it goes. CALL ME CRITICAL IF YOU LIKE!!!

1. There was a huge lighting issue. Whether or not Prince himself said make the lights real low we'll never know but I would have hated to be the folks way in the back. That would have sucked!
2. All the songs were done straight through. NO adlib, no key changes, no fun.
3. He walked off stage (for an outfit change) durinig Pass the Peas after asking folks to come dance "with him".
4. He said good night "Vegas" LOL, that is STILL funny to me.
5. Came back with Purple Rain (i guess some Jedi Mind trick stuff) LOL
6. All the encores were whack!!!! ROCK LOBSTER MAN???!!! all the songs in the history of songs and he plays rock lobster (with the Fury flames behind him) I was sooooo hoping he would play Fury and save us but NOPE!!
7. And then to top it off the after party was WHACK!!!

Believe me when I say that either this was a performance that was a contractual agreement or he was just not in the mood to be in front of a crowd that night. I wish we could ask him what happened but whelp, we'll never know...