Friday March 30th

The first show was great, not the best I've seen. It did seem a bit "light". Not as light as the Hit n Run tour, but not as impressive musically as ONA.

Sheila E opened the show with A Love Bizarre, and Prince jumped in from a podium at the back of the room.
He continued with 3121, Black Sweat, Lolita, Pink Cashmere, Shhh, Musicology, Prince & The Band, Cream, Peach, Long and Winding Road, Satisfied, U Got The Look, If I Was Your Girlfriend...not in that order though of course he finished with Purple Rain, which is when I knew it was time to leave for the restaurant!

So we went over to 3121 and it was packed! Seeing as how it was perceived as the last weekend a lot of people came up. A few of the die hards who weren't going to Friday's show got into line at 3121. Talk about faithful. They received numbered cards staking their place in line (about 20 or so) There was serious commotion as a lot of wannabe a-listers (posers) mobbed around the front entrance thinking they could talk their way in. well commotion ensued! In the end about 120 people were let in (I think) and most of us were in the main room, listening (but not able to watch head on) to the jam session. At that point I was just glad to find a seat, grooved to the music and enjoy a slow dance or two Hey i did get to see him and
At the aftershow he played (among others) Sweet Thing, Rave instrumental, Sheila instrumental, a Santana sounding jam Early in the morning, Renato did a beautiful rendition of The Dance, Sugar Momma, Cherish The Day (I think). The jam closed out with More Bounce to the ounce complete with Vocoder vocals!
We gout out slightly after 5.



Saturday March 31st

The concert on Saturday started about a half hour later was even more busy! A lot of fans and a ton of casual folks, who were just appalled they had to wait on a performer. And also fight to keep their spot. Don’t these people know not to have liquids 2 hours before a Prince GA show? Isn't that common knowledge? The show had a lot more energy. Similar setlist, I didn’t make note of it, but I know he left out cream and peach, which were highlights for me the night before. He played Purple Rain 5 songs in, so I had no clue what the closer would be so I stayed all the way thru. Good thing because This time he did a short encore of Crazy and Nothing Compares 2 U.

Well the chaos of the Friday night aftershow was settled somewhat on the 31st. There was a specific VIP guest list which got entry first and then some general admission were let in, but not a lot.

I must say I was fortunate to be with a friend who knew how to say the right things. We got in the VIP list and sat in the terrace area behind the band. I was trippin'.

It was pretty empty until the band and their friends and family showed up. A few songs in we moved to the stage and watched the perform. Prince played guitar for most of it. I cant recall a lot of what he played at this moment but it was damn cool. Very jazz heavy set. I'm sure I will recall at a later time. Tamar and Shelby shared the vocals on 1 or 2 tracks. When I left to use the restroom about a half hour in the main dining wall was quite empty, with about 25 fans. Sittin' chillin'. Prince and the band left the small stage area, i was standing in the door way so i knew to squeeze out the way, suck my gut in so i wouldnt come within a foot of him. Told him it was a great show and he said thanks. I know that's really trvial fanatic shit to read but it's cool when u r there


I was very, very fortunate to have that experience that night and it wouldn’t have happened without that special someone. Thank u girl, for everything!!

So it wasn't nearly as intimate as I heard described in the months previous (I told y'all not to get my hopes up!) but all stressing aside I got 2 concerts and 2 aftershows. Oh did I mention they didn’t charge anyone for the Friday night aftershow? Not sure about Saturday.

He also announced another month of concerts Friday night, so he is just shameless about milking us dry now.

Fun time, not a lot of sleep, but I don’t get much anyways

Peace to my girl April from Chicago, the sweetest most devoted Prince fan ever! Also good to see J7, Alan, Kerry and the rest of all y'all from the West Coast!





ok, memories starting to flood back
other highlights:
Friday - Chance Howard and Candy came on stage - Candy was doing a show in town that night. Price tossed Chance a mic which he missed...I think Prince tossed it a bit lightly knowing Chance isn't the most flexible dude around. He laughed his ass of on that one for real, problem was the mic actually broke and Chance looked...well like a kid whose ice cream fell off the cone!

Saturday - Jerome came on stage with the shades and danced on a Love Bizarre. that was a real trip. I musty say I do love when he acknowledges his past, and Sheila represents a tie to that era, and it really warms my heart to see them play together. Now if only Wendy and Lisa... well officially at least. This time though Prince started the song and Sheila joined him on the riser at the back. He also dragged her out of her VIP seat and brought her to the stage for another song at another point of the show.

He also did Girls & Boys both nights, very funky.Terry Lewis was in the house Saturday but didn't come on stage. The Escovedo family opened Saturday night with the Glamorous Life


My biggest surprise - how damn fine the Twinz are! I never quite got them in all the TV performances, something bugged me but seeing them close up for both shows and seeing them just hang out at the after show I really like the. I mean REALLY REALLY like them lol.
Also it threw me to hear the accent. I forgot they were Australian so I heard them talking to each other and I felt like I was watching a ventriloquist for a second. but yea they are HOT.

The only thing that really bugs me about general admission shows is the pushing and shoving. now im not old nor am I small, but I hate the drunken hoes and tough guys who think they can sneak up when such a loyal group of people spent their day waiting. im a stickler for rules and shit so I do my best to keep people back on principle. Sure you can get up there but find another route you aint goin thru me.

Oh and there was a silly little hoe with a sharp loud ghetto voice chatting up a storm during the improvised blues intro to Purple Rain. I asked her politely to keep it down and she gave me this ugly ass look (well she was born that way) and started asking, LOUDLY, "does my voice drown out Prince? my voice don't drown him out! he said..." just to piss me off. I let her and her thug man thru later just to get away from them. ugh.

shit like that stresses me out, as much fun as it is, I can't focus on the show!

ok, rant over

Peace


[Edited 4/2/07 22:46pm]

I agree about the pushing and shoving. It really took away from what could have been a great concert when I went a few weeks ago. People need to respect each others space! I will never pay $125 again to have general admission with no seat! After standing and sitting in my spot for over 2 hours--as soon as the concert started and others started pushing and shoving in front of me, my friend and I had had enough and had to leave our great spot to stand in the back and not see a thing.

CapedCrusader said:

We had the great pleasure of seeing Prince play with Wendy again at the House of Blues aftershow in LA back in June 2004 after his Musicology show at Staples Center The place went absolutely BONKERS!!!

I got to the Rio early on Friday and decided to check out the line situation around noon and found the faithful working it out in line already. I greeted everybody and got to chat with folks I hadn't seen in awhile. I thought about lining up but after flying in a few hours earlier I couldn't do it.

Instead I went to an early dinner at 3121 with a friend where we heard a drummer and a keyboard player playing some funky jazz in the inner room where Prince does the after shows. I went to the door to see who it was and met two really nice guys that I'd never seen before but they were quite good. They invited my friend and I to eat dinner in there as the room was totally empty. When I asked our server if we could be moved we were told that Prince had reserved the whole room for a private dinner for the band members, friends, and family. Oh, well.

I had the filet mignon again and it was just as tasty as it was last month when I ate there last. We even got some free champagne from somebody, so it was a great start to a Beautiful Night.

I returned to the line around 7:30 and while I was waiting I looked over to the box office and I see Pete Escovedo's head of glorious, wavy white hair (I swear, that man's hair is just gorgeous ) So, I started telling folks that's Sheila's dad and mom over there, and sure enough her petite form was hiding behind some big ol' shades and a coat with a hood on it. Right about then a chorus of "We LOVE you Sheila!" erupted from behind me. She smiled and waved at us. So, I'm like, "Sheila's in da house???? Oh, this show is going to be SKRAIT IGNORANT!!!" (re: really, really good)

So I get up in the club to find a place on the left side of the stage. I’ve always stood on the right side but that’s where the crowd was, so this was my first time on the left. I really can’t tell if Prince favors one side to the other because if you’re in front you can see him where ever he is on stage. Of course, this is dependent on your height.

I can say that I wasn’t crazy about the vibe among the fans on that side of the stage. The guys were great, really considerate, but the women were very territorial almost rude. Now, the same could be said about me if you try bogard your way up front and I haven’t seen you in line ahead of me or sitting on the floor for the last 3 hours, but these women were on another level. There was no chatting or sense of excited like I’ve experience when I sit on the right.

So the show starts, and Sheila’s on the right side of the stage (figures!) looking absolutely STUNNING!!!! She’s wearing a leopard print corset, nude colored skirt, and 4 inch leopard print mules. She’s wearing her hair straight, long, and jet black. And who does she look like (to me, anyways)???? Nicole from the Pussy Cat Dolls! I thought that was kinda funny. All I could say was, “That’s 50 years old in December?????” Surely, not! She was looking good, and sounding and playing even better! It was great to hear and see her perform with Prince again.

The show itself was great. He was VERY playful with the audience, at one point telling Mike he was gonna get somebody pregnant with his sax playing and announcing that a group of women in front were “Ovulation Station!” Also, Prince seems to dance more and more with every show that I see. Which I love.

I have a habit of watching Prince perform with my head cocked to the side and a HUGE goofy grin on my face and I don’t realize it. While he was singing Satisfied, Prince looked over at me and bugged his eyes out REALLY wide at me . It took a few seconds for me to realize he was directing his mocking trance-like gaze at me. When I realized it, I kinda snapped out of it and laughed out loud and he smiled and shook his head at me.

Musically the band was tight as always, I LOVED hearing Peach live and Black Sweat is always a fave. We’ve all seen the setlists before and heard the same complaints. But don’t sleep on the sets even if they feature the same songs because I heard many of the same songs on Friday AND Saturday that had very different arrangements, lyrics, emotions, and delivery from one night to the next. For instance, Satisfied was twice as long and sexier on Saturday than it was on Friday (even though it was still great). He changed some of the verses in Pink Cashmere on Saturday and it was also longer on Saturday. Black Sweat also sounded different. At any rate, I enjoyed hearing how he changes songs from one night to the next.

The one complaint I do have regarding Fridays show occurred when he went into Musicology after the 4th song. Usually this comes about halfway through the show as this is when he brings up the fans to dance. Being that it happened so early I noticed that Musicology was extended for an eternity with Prince running away from an amorous dancer on stage most of the time. But it was GREAT to see Candy and Chance do their thing. Then they did Pass the Peas, It’s a Wonderful World, Shelby sang Crazy, then 1 or 2 more songs without Prince. So it was at least 25-30 minutes of no Prince doing a song by himself. I was having withdrawals and was ready to see/hear Prince again. But the rest of the show was wonderful.

On Saturday, I decided to go check out the line and to my dismay there are way more people waiting at 2:00 on Saturday than the day before. I also run into some cool girls from Chicago that I met on New Year's Eve so we decide to go grab a bite to eat. After lunch we return to the line around 4:00 and more people are waiting. We decide to cop a squat and join in the madness because standing in the back is not even an option.

As the day progressed, I realized that I would need to go upstairs and change clothes but the more and more I thought about it, the more I was dreading getting all dressed up and wearing 4-inch heels to sit on the floor for 6 hours again tonight. So I decided to go to the show in what I was wearing, a pink cotton polo dress and white tennis shoes. Did ya'll see me??? I was the fool that looked like I was going to play in a tennis match. Several people called me Serena. But that's alright, I was comfortable and my dogs were NOT barking for once.

While we're waiting, I hear what sound's like a soundcheck and I hear somebody (Sheila?) beating on the timbales. Awwwww sooky, sooky, they gon' get IGNANT again tonight!!!!

Of course who opens the show??? None other than the Escovedo family. It was great to see Sheila open with her father and brother, they tore the roof of the sucka. And she's wearing some 5-inch heel platform (stripper) shoes. Which, to me, is very impressive considering my tennis shoe situation.

The show’s energy was on a higher level. And it was really great seeing Tamar who looked genuinely surprised to be pulled on stage because she was waving at the band members and had a look like, “I wasn’t expecting to be on stage with ya’ll again.” Then the twins came up behind her and they went into their dance routine from last year’s tour. Tamar sang, “I Never Loved a Man” then Shelby followed with “Crazy.” The last thing I remember was Mike Philly singing “One Nation Under a Groove” over whatever Prince song was playing (isn’t it sad that I don’t even remember ) And we TRULY were a nation UNDER a purple groove.

All in all, a beautiful weekend with beautiful people from around the globe, not only was Texas, Illinois, New York, Jersey, Cali, Maryland, Georgia, Florida, Minnesota, Virginia (what up, T!) reppin’ hard. But the international contingent from Italy (Ciao, Rita y Lori!) Japan (Cayoko), London, Holland, and other nations were in FULL effect. Who’s ready for round five???? Me, Me, Me!!!!

I’ll comment on the after shows in another post.
[Edited 4/3/07 12:44pm]

Nice review SCNDLS!

CapedCrusader said:

THANK YOU for listing this, it was such a moving, beautiful rendition! It was driving me nuts because I KNEW the song, but couldn't think of the name...old age sucks.

After helping you get in and outta them boots umpteen times on Friday, I see I talked you into wearing those tennis shoes after all on Saturday.

CJBabyDaddy said:

HAHAHAHAHAHA You were a complete angel for letting me literally lean on you repeatedly Friday! I didn't know you were BabyDaddy! LOL! That's what I get for trying to be cute, but those boots were HOT weren't they??? The things we women do for fashion, but fashion IS pain. But I've learned my lesson as far as waiting for hours and hours for a show to start it's all about the tennis shoes. Thank God nobody tried to stop me when I went in the club. If they do next time, I'll tell them they're orthopedic Keds.

Nice review SCNDLS!
Speaking of the Jazz Cuisine, my friends and I had dinner there on Thursday evening. I had the Salmon dish which was delicious. The hostess, took us on a tour of the main room, and they even let me go behind the mic and pretend I was singing...hey it was just for fun! lol!.
[Edited 4/4/07 15:08pm]

SCNDLS said:

Watch that kind of talk! I've got a reputation I'm tryin' to build here! Grrrr.

CJBabyDaddy said:

Oh, I'm sorry I didn't know you had a rep to protect.

One more thing, one of the highlights for me on Friday was Shelby performing a song called "Let Him Go." Elijah was it you that told me that was a Nancy Wilson song? If so, I can't find it. Anyway, she sang that song with so much passion and soul and got the audience to sing it back to her. That was da bomb. I was screamind (prolly in CJBabyDaddy's ear ) "LET HIM GOOOOO!!!!"

SCNDLS said:

No that wasn't me...I never heard that song before, but yes, you felt the words of that song...I loved it, she needs to release a track with that song.

Friday’s After Show

So after the main show, I hustle my way over to the entrance of the Jazz Cuisine to attend the after show. It’s complete chaos but I just stand there waiting for the VIPs on the list to enter. Candy Dulfer (she looked great, btw) and her group arrive right behind me and are ushered in. Then the guy at the door, Kip, reads off the list to get the other VIPs in. Since I’m not on the list but I have a card to get in, I just wait patiently hoping that the room is not already full. Since I was in front I didn’t experience most of the pushing and shoving but there was some of that plus a lot of drunks and obnoxious people trying to bribe their way in. And security is looking at these people like their crazy which is really funny.

After awhile the hostess comes up and asks for those with numbered cards (this was something new) I hold up mine and I’m brought in and given a wristband, but I’m struggling to put my boots back on cuz the dogs was sho nuf barking. The hostess then takes me to a seat at a table in the back of the Jazz Room where the band is jamming, without Prince. My table happens to be next to Candy and her group’s table. After a few minutes, Candy’s party leaves (apparently she had to catch a flight) and the hostess asks me if I want to move over there. Sure why not, it’s a better view.

About 5 minutes later, the hostess ushers 5 people into the booth directly behind my chair. I look over my shoulder and who do I see??? Pops and Mrs. Escovedo, baby sis Zina, Lynn, and of course, Ms. Sheila E. And I’m thinking, “God is Good!” I don’t turn around cuz right about now the band is starting to get off, I mean they are smoking! Don’t ask me what they’re playing but I know I’m feeling it. So I start clapping and dancing in my chair (you know, cuz of my ever-barking dogs). I look out of the corner of my eye and I swear I see Sheila whispering to Lynn about my boots while she’s pointing in my direction. Bark on dogs, it was now worth all the pain and discomfort.

A few minutes later, I hear this voice over my right shoulder then over my left shoulder and when I turn slightly it’s none other than Prince flopping his body into the booth almost sitting on Sheila and giggling about it. (He did this repeatedly which was funny to see) Again, “God is Good!!!” At this point, I think Shelby is singing Suga Mama and just cuttin’ up so I start yelling for her and stand up and start clapping, then both Sheila and Prince stand up behind me and start encouraging Shelby too. Then Shelby really puts extra stank on her performance by going from a powerful forceful voice, to an almost inaudible whisper of a croon. This whips the crowd into an even bigger frenzy over her vocal skills. THAT GIRL IS BAD!!!!

Soon after that Prince gets inspired to start playing and brings Sheila up to take over the drum kit from Cora. They play the song that sounds a lot like a Santana song and Sheila commences one of the fiercest drum solos I’ve evah heard and kills it, as usual. After that, I was like that was awesome but my year would be totally made if your Dad got up there and got him some too. (That didn’t happen at the after show but it did at the concert on Saturday.) Sheila and her family left soon after her solo and the rest is a blur but it was a great night.

These after shows have been a true blessing and are a huge part of what has made 3121 such a special experience and I will miss them greatly. The regular concerts are wonderful in their own right but it’s the after shows that REALLY puts the skill, talent, and artistry of Prince and ALL of his band members truly on display.

I’ll post a review of the Saturday after show soon.
[Edited 4/5/07 5:47am]

Keep the reviews coming you give such great detail. I can almost invision myself actually being present. Thanks so much for taking the time out to share your experiences with us all. Look forward to more on the after show from Sat.

SCNDLS said:

SCNDLS said:

the song is "face it girl (it's over)". and yes, it is a nancy wilson song

GigaByte said:

Thanks, I found that song on a boxed set and thought that might be it. Thank you!

Hi everyone. I've tried to come op with a setlist from the March 31st show. This is what I think was played:

01. Intro (Sheila E, Pete & Juan Escovedo)
02. The Glamorous Life (Sheila E, Pete & Juan Escovedo)
03. Satisfied
04. Girls & Boys (Drum Solo By Sheila E)
05. Purple Rain
06. Down By The Riverside (Horns)
07. Lolita
08. Black Sweat
09. Kiss
10. Musicology (with some jamming)
11. I Never Loved a Man (Tamar)
12. Let Him Go (Shelby)
13. Sax Solo
14. If I Was Your Girlfriend
15. Pink Cashmere
16. A Love Bizarre

Encore
17. Crazy (Shelby)
18. Nothing Compares 2U

I thought it was a great show. I came all the way from Holland with some friends just for Prince. Together with the experience of one day and night in Vegas, it was unforgettable.

We hope he will come to Europe soon, it's been FIVE years...