after going to two concerts so far and reading what he has played at the other concerts...it is clear to me that prince is fed up playing his big hits....he trys to get away with the bear minimum that he can by playing snippets of them (which only annoys the people watching ) or plays cover versions when we all want to hear prince songs...
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prince has always been a bit of a mystery but why play huge arenas that you know are going to have mainly casual fans in there and then only play a handful of your well known songs ??...
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if he is clearly fed up playing the hits then he should be playing the smaller concerts to his more hardcore followers like he did during the one nite alone tour...i dont mind what he plays personally but i just dont understand his thinking behind this set of concerts he is doing...
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if you look at the setlists during the musicology tour in the us....he certainly played more of the big hits than he is now and its the same sort of casual fan he is playing to...

To be honest, my favourite Prince concert I've ever been to was one where he didn't play any old hits! I've probably heard Kiss and Purple Rain live enough times now, I wouldn't blame Prince if he was bored playing them

Its all about the performance for me not the song choice If the performance is him at his best I'm satisfied. Last nite he was at 85% but thats better than anyone out there. No one in the world has been so natrual on so many insturments but it is true he doesn't like playing so many obvious songs.

How many times haveI heard "Play That Funky Music" and "Le Freak" and "Crazy" in my life?

Nice you see you back Bob.

I was there on 11th Aug. I saw it too Prince was not having it ! The medley and samples he played on the syth was a clear message he wasn't going to be coerced into playing his hits no matter what the crowd demands. There is a clear trend evolving, Prince is caught between the demands of his fans and what he wants to play.

The way he pushed that piano stool across stage in frustration was nuts everytime the crowd cheered when he started playing stuff like SOTT and Alphabet Street. At one point he flung it so hard one of the staff had to move it back as it was close to falling off the stage ! Sophie Ellis Bextor and possibly half of the fans probably failed recognise why he is behaving like this and puzzled why he chops and changes between songs every 20secs !

To tell you the truth I dont see how he will be able to keep this up all the way into September. I reckon he will get bored and go do his own thing possibly overhaul the current playlist and take a different direction.

This should make the future concerts even more exciting to look forward to.

To all the fans, Prince is not a puppet and will always do his own thing.

blackbob said:

GOOD!

i dont want to hear his hits!! we have all heard purple rain etc 1,000's of times, i would MUCH rather hear random hard funkin' out, jamming, and medley's. thats why the aftershow is a much better show to go and watch!

purplemf said:

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yes but thats my point....why play such big concerts filled with so many casual fans who EXPECT to hear prince play his big hits (mainly from the 80s) and it was also advertised as 'the greatest hits one more time ' then not do it ??...yes i know he is playing a few big hits but it is certainly NOT a greatest hits concert.....
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if he wants to play what he wants to play then do it at smaller venues in front of the hardcore fans who dont care what he plays....

A bit in agreement Blackbob

Thats the beauty of Prince he changes his mind every other minute ! I seriously dont think he can cope churning out the same hits for 21 nights, it will send him insane !

I dont care what he plays now I'm just looking forward to what he comes up with next.

Mace

blackbob said:

Hello Blackbob. Fancy meeting you here.

I agree with you.. There are certain 'hits' or popular songs that I've not heard much live.. Amongst them SOTT, Alphabet Street (complete), Partyman, I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man..etc.

He's a tease. But that's part of his charm I suppose!

Totally agree.

Prince needs to decide which way to go. At the moment, he is trying to please both parties, and end up delivering a good, but not great show.

blackbob said:

It's all about the $$$

People (casual fans) will pay to see Prince perform the hits and you need casual fans to fill up 23,000 seater venues.

jaypotton said:

So why then piss some of them off by only doing a limited amount of hits?

SquirrelMeat said:

In a way it's a shame he didn't announce something like "2 out of 3 shows will focus on the hits but 1 out of 3 will be for the real fans, jamming, obscure trax etc" Giving people a choice. Probably impossible to do as I'm sure Prince makes changes on the night depending on his mood.

He should be playing more of Planet Earth. It's the one album you know everyone in the audience has heard in its entirety (or if not, it's their own fault given it was free with a newspaper and most people know someone who didn't want it). He can't be bored of playing that yet - he's only played a few songs from it since it came out and they were on opening night (and Guitar on other nights). That would be a good way to strike a balance between playing new stuff and playing stuff people know.

OK, here's a controversial suggestion. I know they can pull of amazing individual solos. I'm staggered by Mike Phillips' sax solo, but maybe this band are just not up to playing the full repertoire of his old stuff [except Renato].

They are great individuals, but they really seem suited to one certain sound only Old Skool JB Funk/R&B. Perfect for 20 minutes Musicology/Pass the Peas/Satisfied, but how will they achieve any authenticity with SOTT/When Doves Cry/Poplife7?

I especially thought this on Tuesday when Prince did his solo guitar and solo Piano set and thought, the band serve no purpose, they have no life, and he does not need them.

i want newer stuff --i`m bored of cream

SquirrelMeat said:

I agree with U there.

Good. But not Gr8!