It is weird, writing this review a week after the fact. It took me some time, as I had to decide if I liked the concert. I also had to factor in the fact that I am a different kind of fan than I used to be. Gone are the days of camping outside a venue that would have tickets on sale. Gone are the days of camping outside a venue that would host the concert. Gone, certainly, my fanaticism towards Prince’s performances.

This certainly taint the way I will write this review, as I have to carefully thread on that thin line between cynicism and adoration. I will try to be honest.
Before hopping on the plane to London I had scanned Housequake’s superb thread with all the setlists (http://www.housequake.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=91442 ), so I knew what to expect, when it comes to the setlists.
I have always done this, I had tapes of Sexy MF performed in other places before Prince even hit Europe. It’s part of being a fan, the Huey way. It’s the completist in me.

What my inner fam needed was new tunes, I had decided; he played Guitar and Somewhere Here On Earth on previous nights and I told everyone who asked up front what I wanted and I told them Somewhere Here On Earth… for the rest I was open totally. Hit me up, whatever.

Also, I cannot withhold the info, that after all the hoopla of different ways of acquiring tickets the previous tour (ONA, 2001) and this time around (members only pre-sales/VIP packages/re-adjusting of prices later on in the presales), I was vastly disappointed in how Prince proceeds to keep certain things murky, often opting for the easy cash way than to think along with his big group of die-hard fans.

Together with how Prince’s live routine has developed over the years, I had decided up front that this was probably not going to bother with seeing Prince live again. His main performances started looking more and more like aftershows, speckled with (to me) the easy hits to sell out stadiums.
And with his famous aftershows becoming rather erratic when it comes to material (covers and covers and covers and playing songs he also plays the same way on the main shows,) AND a way to sell even more tickets without even knowing if he was going to play up front, I had my mind made up; I am too old for this BS.

So with this attitude I stepped into the O2. Seeing the stage got me psyched immediately, though. Seeing a stage in the round reminded me of Lovesexy.

Then, the lights went out and we got a very satisfying opener in 3121. I love the beat and how it is able to move ya. It was the start of the relentless flow of hits, only interrupted by Down By The Riverside where Prince takes time to conduct his horn section in a way that just spelled “Duke Ellington”.
But besides that, he ran the crowd through pleasers like Purple Rain, Cream and U Got The Look. To me, some worked, others did not. Shhhh always works for me. The rest was fun to hear, but did not touch me deeply. Songs like Girls And Boys have been better arranged other tours and U Got The Look always sounds a bit hoky live.

Prince ends his first burst of hits with Pass The Peas and Play That Funky Music. This, even though performed by Prince it can never be bad, is still a weak place in the setlist, to me. He teases the audience by telling us he’s got so many hits, then decides to jam on Play That Funky Music. Wassup with updating/re-arranging/jamming his own stuff?
It’s probably an homage, but is the reason he does not play a phat version of Mother Popcorn cuz he is afraid we might notice how much he ripped that song with tunes like Musicology? Uhmmmm…

What I loved was that Prince seemed rather talkative and in a teaseful mood. That lifted what could have been a boring experience somewhat higher and helped me enjoy hearing Prince running through ‘songs I have heard before’. I totally realise I sound spoiled here, but the difference of seeing an artist perform a fixed setlist or have fun is really important.
The fact I started comparing arrangements during the concert is kind of telling; if Prince catches my attention musically, I forget EVERYTHING and I do not (much) mind what he plays. As long as it’s not Nothing Compares 2 U, my own very personal Prince pet peeve.

And of course he plays it. But that was to be expected; this is a Best Of tour and he sticks to the format.
Then the second song to blow my mind comes along; Satisfied. The song on album is nice, but this workout is divine. Bluesy, sexy, fun. A joy to hear and watch.
What follows then is a mix of songs (Kiss, Let’s Go Crazy) that to me are as predictable like the previous hits. But this time are the hits that DO please me, If I Was Your Girlfriend has got him working the stadium and I Feel For You and Controversy are always great cuz they are old stuff. I love his older stuff.

Off to the first encore, being a Prince solo performance on guitar, playing Little Red Corvette, Raspberry Beret and Sometimes It Snows In April in a very, very satisfying way. Great to see he is still able to make the stadium rock out on this. GOOD singalong songs, like there should be in a stadium.
The band returns to run through Crazy. I still am in the middle about if covers at a main show are kewl or not; esp if Shelby is singing them. Nothing wrong with Shelby, btw, she and Marva liven up the entire concert, would not have minded their mics a bit more to the fore, even. But again, I rather hear her do a duet with Prince, as long as it’s not Nothing Compares, hehehe.

The last encore is Get On The Boat, a song I did not care for on album and does not work it live for me either.

So, sitting there afterwards, talking about the duality of it all; the concert is REALLY, REALLY good, except maybe the muddled sound throughout. The show is amazing; Prince works the crowds, the crowd seemed immensely satisfied. They wanted hits and Prince delivered. Totally amazing. But I still felt a bit sad, as to me it felt like seeing Prince move into Rolling Stones territory; crowd pleasing stadium rock. And he does it well. He’s got twins to avoid doing crazy dance moves himself. Prince is partying and most of us are partying with him. Great to most, nothing at all satisfying to me.

So, Prince’s main show totally re-affirmed my pre-concert tension; he’s moved beyond me, or the other way, it doesn’t really matter. I kept a bit silent on these thoughts to others, as it seemed Prince had touched them. It’s lovely to see someone so absolutely psyched as I can remember myself being back in 86, 87. 88.

Off to the aftershow it was. Even though real tired of travelling, meeting up with peeps and the main show, I still managed to feel rather okay while waiting for something to happen. And something was about to happen; Prince’s guitar was being tuned, so there might be a possibility that he might show.
Then the curtains opened and Beverly Knight started. True, I was disappointed; I wanted Prince. But Beverly won me over totally with her humble talk in between songs and her power house soul/rock performance.
And she knows how to please a Prince fan. Making the crowd spell Prince’s name and scanting “P.R.I.N.C.E.; I know who you came to see!” what made me love this girl even more. She reminded me of a young Tina Turned; bouncing around, belting out songs.

Then Prince’s horn section walked on and Beverly almost died; the sheer happiness on her face; she could not believe it. Then the rest came out too and Prince followed, holding his guitar. But when he started to play, the sound was all wrong.
It is almost mean to say, but sometimes it is fun to see Prince get angry; we are all so used to his carefully studied Bambi eyes flirting, that is fun to see his eyes fix on the guitar tech, speaking volumes.
The guitar tech could not get it right, so Prince gave up and pretended to be playing along, then walked off. You could see he wanted to play for Beverly, as he could see, as everyone else, how touched she was by his presence. It totally bummed him out.

The band stuck around a bit, but then left too, after which Beverly continued, which I thought was mega-cool. But soon again the band returned, as did Prince and he set things STRAIGHT.
They then ran through a set of soul classics, vocalised mightily fine by Shelby. My faves were Rock Steady and Mother’s Finest Baby Love, a long time fave, even, so that one had me belting along loudly. Something I almost never do, cuz I cannot sing a note. My apologies to the peeps in front of me.

Some jamming on various songs followed and ended with Bustin’ Loose, again, a long time fave of mine. The entire show uptil then had been a joy; it was messy but fun. Great songs, Prince playing an amazing guitar solo and all.
But while playing Bustin’ Loose he called out “On the one!”, which made everyone stop, but Prince continued the guitar, just cutting the tempo in half. What then followed, to me, was a musical wet dream, Prince conducting his horn section through Miles Davis’ Tutu, the title track of the album that got me into Miles. The jam was jaw droppingly good and it is a joy to see Prince groove out the way he did; he enjoyed playing it even more than I did witnessing it.

Just the joy of seeing that jam made me go mushy for Prince all over again. I walked to my hotelroom that night with a HUUUUUGE smile on my face.

So, there it is. I hope you can understand the fact I made it a little personal, instead of a song by song review. It’s obvious a lot of the songs he played on the main show are not on my personal Prince fave list, but even though I will proceed with caution towards any future Prince endeavours, I will carry that performance of Tutu in my heart.

Such a long post and I forgot to post that he did not play ANY song of Planet Earth on the 10th OR the 11th...

I was mightily disappointed with that. Really, really sad.

I really regret the fact I wasn't there that night. I'd love to go again but it's probably not possible and I fear last Saturday might be the last time I ever got to see Prince.

Thanks for sharing

JDInteractive said:

Why's that?

HamsterHuey said:

Because I have to work and the Saturday shows are all sold out I believe. Its also an expensive risk for me to go down to London to see if I can wangle a ticket.

MikeMatronik said:

Welcome. It was a weird experience, seeing someone whom's music I care for so much NOT being able to touch me...

And yet, the entire concert was GOOD, you know, just not for me anymore.

i'll read it tomorrow though since i have a headache the
size of a small country. just gonna listen to some slow,
relaxing music and lay on the couch for a bit

I agree about the lack of Planet earth songs on the 10th..
Even though I'm not a big fan of the album..it's usually
the new stuff that brings out the perfomer & it gives the hits extra
cachet..

After show on the 10th is still my best prince experience ever.. .
so precious..I should prolly never go & see him again..

thanks for the cool review man! kinda makes me feel like i was there
just a little bit as well.

having sold off my tix it's all i have to hang onto

i can't wait till that Tutu performance seeps thru the crack one of
these days. i'm so glad he played that and especially since it was
the night you attended the aftershow. i know that must be one of the
moments you just never forget anymore.

IstenSzek said:

So absolutely true. I savor the moments where Prince seems to lose himself in the music, which does not happen too often live...

A great review - well done for capturing that aftershow how it really was - Prince's guitar when he first came on making an awful sound, and Beverley working right through it fantastically well, despite her personal emotions clearly working overtime at being on the stage with Prince and his band! My boyf and I exchanged grimaces and nervousness when the guitar went wrong...without saying anything, we were both thinking "oh shit, he's going to storm off and not come back....please no, please no!!"

I share your thoughts on the main show to an extent - I too want to hear something new or something I haven't heard a lot at least. The songs that worked for you in the main gig worked for me too, although I did like some that you didn't. Personal choice, we're all entitled to our opinion.

Thanks again for helping me to remember that amazing aftershow. It reminded me why I'm going again and again and again to see him and keeping everything crossed for an aftershow. Although they're now "staged" (ie we know where they are and we can buy tickets), they are still a completely different show than the main sets. Better, in my opinion, because Prince can get on with the music, and doesn't worry too much about the crowd.

themellowone said:

Ermmm
Not really. The jamming, true, but at the aftershow I heard some stuff he played the day after at the main show...

I do not know why I am typing this, he used to do that always at aftershows. I suppose I just wanna hear more Miles Davis stuff... I would die if he did a version of Génériqe on electric guitar...