jarvis76 said:

it's boring 2 me since he's been doing the same songs since vegas..oh wait ..since musicology tour..oh wait ..since ...1984 and then some...but i'm glad u enjoyed u'rself...

i just pray that after these shows he will finally put 2 rest all this old material and focus on the 90's-present music

in the imortal words of prince b4 launching in2 xenophobia "u c we aren't interested in what u know , but what u'r willing 2 learn..come on band!!"
[Edited 8/8/07 9:37am]

L4OATheOriginal said:

And you think he can perform that kind of show in a 23,000 seater arena?

The only way we are going to get that kind of show is if he performs in theatres ('ONA' Tour) or worse still, he performs exclusively in front of a TINY audience yearly at Paisley Park.

Do we want Prince to be successful or a cult Artist with little chance of attracting a larger audience?

Do we want albums in the shops or internet-only fanclub downloads?

I think if Prince plays an 'ONA' style tour in the future (which was very heavy on new material and rarities by the way) he may focus on newer material. However, I don't know of any Artists who neglect to play at least some of their hits in concert.

It's kinda black/white to say he can't do newer songs in a largish arena.
He has skills enough to put together a show with more than just songs he has been doing for over 10 years. (even older on average)
So it is kind of a sellout.
I don't mean I need to go back to 1995 to get the type of show (75% new stuff? nice!), but somewhat more than now (1 or 2 songs!?) would show him as a more mature artist, not as a has-been and now oldies singer.

Yes, I am concluding this from my chair at home and of course I will like the show more when I am there, at the O2, but from the music perspective (even just the song choice!) he does not get close to taking risks.

OperatingThetan said:

honestly i would prefer him being in a smaller venue, thus u wouldn't have sight problems like some r xperiencing being at the top of the symbol stage. everyone would get a good view. it would b like a "aftershow" feel 4 the main show tho.

and frankly i wouldn't care if he only per4med at paisely ..i loved seeing him there. as a artist, one would like 2 move 4ward in new directions of their art instead of being restrained from branching out artistically.

as 4 how his albums go, i'll take it either way, internet or in shops..at this point i would prefer the internet since it will come right in2 my home instead of going out and getting it. gas prices suck ass here! lol plus internet releases allow him 2 funk out more or jazzy where as a in shop album has "restrictions" on various levels

L4OATheOriginal said:

I agree.

I think he could strike a happy medium.

Play one month stints in major cities, in smaller venues. Particularly as he gets older.

Did anyone else catch the "Big Brother" comment during KISS ??

Babydubistzuschnell said:

Me too!!

SquirrelMeat said:

YEAH - definately a brilliant show - I LOVE PRINCE!!

well done for rembering all the set list....

L4OATheOriginal said:

Christ, you're a miserable git, arent ya? Well I for one hope he DOESNT stop playing the old material coz I love it, which btw doesnt make me any lesser a fan, and based on the crowd from the past few concerts i think Im not alone. I really dont get why playing the old tunes bothers you - maybe you are sick of it and prefer the 90's stuff which is your choice, but can you not appreciate that we all have different likes/dislikes when it comes to Prince music and his older stuff STILL remains the most popular?. He isnt over here just to entertain you, ya know.....!!

DreZone said:

HA HA - mexican wave me and these girls in front of me on the lower tier were trying to start one (sad?!?!?) but it took the upper tier to start it - BRILLIANT - just a cool wkd atmosphere.

And the boo's - why??? HE PLAYED HIS TIGHT BUTT OFF FOR A LOT LONGER THAN MANY PERFORMERS NOW-A-DAYS WITH A LOT MORE ENERGY - DONT BOO THE MAN - GET ON YOUR KNEES AND WORSHIP HIM!!!!!

synthiarose04 said:

i was not the only one then also cried for sometimes it snows - 36 - sort your head out girl.....

he he - would do it all again

IRISHFAN said:

by a long shot am i miserable. I just like it when one grows musically in different degrees, cause as humans we grow in all fascits of life. it's like when in 84 he sold so many albums but when ATWIAD came out ..oh how funny the fickle fans have left that joined a bandwagon. but here i still stand 23 years later enjoying his music from back then up until 3121 (don't really like PE), and not 2 mention if u saw my collection u would have a better understanding on where i'm coming from. I can appreciate that we're all different cause u and I are living proof, u would rather a 49 year old man 2 still sing songs he wrote when he 25-30..i prefer 2 hear a more mature man represent where his mind and soul are at 2day. And popular doesn't always mean a good thing.

p.s. name any song that u would like him 2 do and i can provide 4 u every tour that he's done that song at.

p.s.s. and i'm not from the UK
[Edited 8/9/07 9:31am]

L4OATheOriginal said:

Well from my own perspective, i have been a fan from the early 80's and probably do prefer his older music, thats not to say I dont like his more recent stuff and I do have most of his albums from the 90's - present, but as I mentioned in another thread, I have only seen him 4 times - as he has only been to ireland on 4 occasions. I havent been so fortunate to see him numerous times, enough that I am sick or bored of his older stuff - we never got to see the Lovesexy Tour or any earlier tour over here therefore never saw him perform the 80's songs when they were current. I also have alot of friends who will go to the concert and only know/like the older stuff, does that make them a lesser fan? I would think that there are a huge amount of Prince fans that havent seen him more than 5-6 times and like me are not bored with his live performances!


I just think its sad that people are so diffcult to please these days and thats what came accross in your oringal negative comment.

IRISHFAN said:

this is what is cracking me up tho..if anyone not just me, says something they don't like it's described as being negative. i'm sorry it just cracks me up. then if someone uses the name fanatics..people get in a uproar. hilarious. so since u want 2 label me..put me in the diehard section

also i can understand where u'r coming from tho, in the US we never got 2 c the sott tour, the diamonds and pearls, nude tour and only a selected got 2 c the gold experience tour. but please try 2 understand something as 2 why it may seem that i'm being negative, and this was my choice 2 do some of these things, imagine if u had at least one copy of each tour prince has done since 1980, and some tours many multiple copies, u keep hearing the same songs over and over again. now that's just from a diehards perspective, can u imagine as the actual artist how many times u have done a song 4 so many years how it could wane on u'r mind?

aerosmith's joe perry was quoted as saying he hates doing walk this way anymore, there were over 90 dates of the nude tour so that means at least 90 times purple rain was done live. and here were r 17 years later and he's still doing it..

Wow what anight!!apart from the annoying twats behind me shouting 'SIT DOWN'when i turned around they where eating pizza !!!Fucking Twats thought they where at the cinema !!Before the main show i gambled with buying aftershow tickets which me and my girlfriend had not planed to go to.We have already got tickets for the 9th sept main show and after show so thought we would not be able to afford that night and after hearing about peoples disapointment with the other nights.
But when i saw the price of t-shirts and i would of been gutted if we had missed it.
It paid off !!!what anight ,we were right at the front centre stage with PRINCE playing 'I LIKE IT THERE' guitar solo for about 5 mins ....before the Stevie Wonder tracks ,WORTH EVERY PENNY .better than a t-shirt anyday..

Some people at these shows don't even know the words to 'Take Me With U'. I'm convinced many think 'Controversy' is a new song.

'Kiss' gets the biggest reaction which really illustrates the basic level of over 50% of the audience.

Even the 'Beautiful One's', 'Sometimes it Snows in April' and 'Diamonds & Pearls' didn't get a huge reception on Tuesday. Again, a large percentage of the crowd did not know them. It is quite apparent by the looks on their faces.

Given that, how can Prince realistically play a slew of new material at these gigs?

In fact, I can well envision the new material performed becoming steadily less and less as the weeks pass. Prince already seems to have dropped a huge amount of new material from the first night.

Maybe smaller venues would be 'better' in regard to new material. But these gigs are huge, have a great atmosphere, prove Prince can still sell-out arenas in the UK and have showcased brilliant, sometimes superlative performances from Prince himself.

I think it's important to acknowledge in your posts, particularly if they are critical, whether you have actually attended the concerts or not.

If your criticism merely stems from reading a set-list then your opinion is not nearly as informed as if you had been present.

OperatingThetan said:

hmmm this is a interesting perspective. i'm on basing this question on u'r post, do u think it's due 2 a younger crowd attending that they didn't know the songs or could it b that's it a been there done that feel?

i will acknowledge that i haven't seen prince in person since 2004 but i have heard a great deal of the songs done at all of these shows from vegas. i will admit that the symbol stage looks hot!

Whats the name of P's current minder?

The little mexican loooking one with very gelled hair? He's really lovely.... at the aftershow party on Tuesday 070807 he danced at the side of the stage with us for ages.. I thought that P kept came over coming to over to stage left so much to see what he was doing...did anyone there notice that? or maybe it was just me.

He gave me and a couple of other ladies a Mother of pearl plectrum(sp) with the metallic purple symbol in the middle... one of the other ladies gave him her number ..

he was so not Working that night!!

I wanted to ask him his name but felt embarrassed that I didnt know it

does anyone know it?

All in all it was the most amazing night the concert and the aftershow where out of this world ( even without my pressie!)

Fair enough, but he hasn't played the hits in the UK this century. That's a long time to go without having played the songs that made him popular here. Really, out of the crowd there each night, how many do you really thing saw the Hit 'n Run Tour, the Musicology Tour or any of the shows in Vegas?

stereoboy said:

this century? the same songs he's been doing in london have been done numerous times in europe b4..it's a set list comprised of 79-91 set list..with primarily one tune that is new. and on the ONA tour he did several more hits than the american leg of it which have been done once again during this stint in europe. but this is billed as the last time he does the hits..so time will tell if he keeps his word.

Did anybody else speak to Mr Hayze in the Indigo? I went to get me and my girlfriend a drink which tock forever when i turned around with the drinks she was been chatted up by the man himself!How cool was that ,what a nice guy ,we got his altergraph and chatted for a while . He didnt slip my misses the tongue .
Whos bag was that left on the floor?Everybody kept on tripping over it spilling drinks everywhere!!!!!.

purpleparty3000 said:

Noticed the big man standing 8 feet behind me when I checked if there was any action at the sound/light controls that would indicate a prince performance would be possible.

I saw him chatting with some people and handing out autographs. So after standing there for 1 minute deciding if I should walk up to him or not, I walked over and waited for him to finish his conversation. I then slipped him my Concert tick asking for an autograph, which I don't really collect but it gives me some extra time to ask him some stuff in the mean time.

I told him I was happy to see him back with Prince again and that the sound was incredible genuin , like they were recorded on the album. I asked him if he was responsible for that and he replied that it was good now, but they were working on it and it was gonna be even better in a couple of days.
He then told me thanks for all the love and support shook my hand and gave me a hug (I'm a guy ). Man, I was gloating the next 2 hours

The guy is so encredibly normal and easy going and nice and approachable.
[Edited 8/10/07 6:02am]
[Edited 8/10/07 6:04am]

L4OATheOriginal said:

I guess the phrase different strokes for different folks applies!

IRISHFAN said:

i guess so

Here is a review I wrote for another board of the 7th August show (my one and only Prince gig on this tour). I am not the sort of Prince fan that has to have everything, but I like a lot of his music.

Second gig for me at the former Millenium Dome after Keane in July and have to say, I had a great view for the Prince gig. Just below the mixing desk area and as the concert was 'in the round', pretty much perfect.

However, I thought the sound was crap. Although maybe it's just my ears.

An interesting show, lots of stuff I didn't know, but the guy is still one seriously talented musician and really did try and work the crowd.

Talking of the crowd, I thought it was a rather subdued audience but read comments saying the opposite. Not sure what the other nights have been like if that was supposed to have been a great audience

He pulled out people from the areas around the stage that people paid about £250 a ticket for. I am unsure as to how many of these were planted because there was one seriously sexy looking woman shaking her bits all over the place and then a guy that was brought up was singing a song and on the night, he sounded good, but listening to my recording this morning, he sounded crap. So I am not sure. If he wasn't planted, then fair play to him, that takes balls to sing in front of all those people if you are just a fan.

Anyway, overall, I enjoyed it although I found the piano based part of the set rather dull and not as good as my other Prince outing at Earls Court in 1992.

Here is the set list:

Intro
Little Red Corvette
Raspberry Beret
I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man
Alphabet Street
Sometimes It Snows In April
Cream
U Got The Look
Musicology
Pass The Peas
Give It To Me
Play That Funky Music
I Feel For You
Controversey/Housequake
What A Wonderful World
Somewhere Here On Earth
Diamonds And Pearls
Beautiful Ones
How Come You Don't Call?
Condition Of The Heart
Do Me Baby
I Wanna Be Ur Lover
If I Was Ur Girlfriend
Black Sweat
Kiss
Purple Rain
Let's Go Crazy
Take Me With U
Guitar
Get On The Boat

Cream is one of my favourite Prince songs and it was the first song with the band and unfortunately, it sounded rather flat.

My main highlight was the Take Me With U and Guitar coupling. Both excellent and the latter works just as well live as it does on cd and is it just me or does a bit of Guitar sound like the opening riff from I Will Follow by U2?