Hi guys,

I found this review of the same concert I went to on the 31st of August. I'd describe myself as a die hard fan, but i left before the first encore because i was so upset with Prince...i feel really let down by him. I cried with dissapointment.

This review I found sums up how I feel about the concert I witnessed.I'd like to hear your views, whther he was having an off night or whther my expectations were just too high?

http://www.theconsole.co....music.html

To be fair, he did strike unlucky compared to most of the other nights, but I too felt "I need another cover like I need a hole in the head" that night...

I must have been at a different show ????!!!

Fristly I didn't think the opening few songs were the best choice for getting a crowd going but I'm not going to spit my dummy out over it.

Secondly, the constant (shodily produced) adverts for merchandise.. well just ignore them and don't buy anything. I didn't buy anything.
Thirdly, it is possible to use a message board without becoming an 'obsessive sycophant'.

abigailj said:

Oh God, you are so right. I couldn't agree more!

Friday night was not the best show so far but not the worst either - I agree with the tepid first half hour, but would also say the following:

- Why on earth did they turn up so early? Have they never been to a gig before? They could easily have come an hour later and not got so fidgety. Go and get a drink in the bar instead.

- They should have stayed for the encore - no excuse really.

- The guitar playing - to him it might look lazy, to me it looked effortless. Take your pick.

"22.40. I've realised by this point, that the band aren't all that". Rubbish. I saw the aftershow when NPG played. No P was disappointing, but it also gave the opportunity to appreciate what outstanding musicians they all are. (though I do agree a bit about the Twinz).

He walked out earlier than he said, probably about 22.30 if not sooner, becuase he missed Crazy and Nothing Compares 2U as well as the final synth encore (which was the best bit).

He's also got other 'facts' wrong in his article. Everyone's entitled to their opinion, and not everyone is a die-hard, but I think some of the article (and his attitude) is rather lazy.

I didn't got to Fridays show, but i can appreciate from seeing the setlist that it might not have begun in the way to set an arena or the crowd on fire. Why Prince should think Musicology would work so fantastically as an opener is beyond me...and most others probably.. except Prince himself. But the thing with Prince is that every show will differ to a lesser or greater extent, and thats what makes seeing him so special. He's also playing to a wide audience, and the reviewer hit on it himself - Cat1, Cat2 and Cat3 fans all need to be catered for - so he will always play stuff to keep everyone a bit happy.

Anyone who's seen Prince at least twice will have some idea what they're in for. I first saw him in '88 and quite a few of the songs i didn't know - not because i didn't own the records, because they were not even released! Bob George and Superfunkycalifragisexy etc. But i still loved the show as i'm a fan of live music, and generally someone has to be pretty bad for a live show of any kind not to work. Having then going on to see him 2 more times in '88 i realised then that i wasn't going to get all the 'hits' or all my favs in one show.

So, although i can understand people being a bit disappointed i sometimes think they are there for the wrong reasons or expecting something else.

I have to pick up on a few points too -

"I paid £40 to see him on his Rainbow Children tour at the Manchester Apollo" - no you didn't, there was no such tour in the UK.

"18.41pm – After taking my seat, three tiers up and seventy rows back, I realise that I'm going to have a shit view" - why get there so early? Go have a drink and socialise with friends, grab a bite to eat, wander around and soak up the atmosphere. Plus i'm not sure where the 70 rows back comes from - upper tier goes A-U and Lower A-Z, the way the arena is desinged you'll be way closer to the action than at Wembley Arena or Earls Court. Also, i live in Greenwich and was lucky enough to be invited to look around the arena before it opened - i appreciate some seats may be closer or better than some others, but in my opinion none can be described as shit. Now if you were in Wembley Arena...!

"I've realised by this point, that the band aren't all that" - think he'll find he's in the minority there.

"then as I exit the building I catch the start to 'Get Off'.. "Meh"" - Must have been on someones iPod as he didn't play it!

Each to their own n all that jazz.
[Edited 9/3/07 5:44am]

Whilst I had a good time, I have to say, I agree with a lot about what the reviewer is saying.

The tour was sold on Prince doing his hits, not other peoples.

I enjoyed Fridays show but there were too many covers and the starting 20 minutes was definitely not the right way to go to get Friday night casuals in the mood.

SquirrelMeat said:

I can understand and agree with a lot of what this reviewer said about that particular show. Some of his facts are not correct (in particular the timings) and he did miss the great last 2 encores which just about recovered the night.

Ive been to quite a few of Princes shows and this was the worst one ive seen on this tour. If that was the only show I was exposed to I would have been disappointed too. However in the context of the whole tour I could appreciate it for what it was... an average prince show with some sprinklings of great.

amandeepr said:

you agree with the tepid first half hour? Theres no excuse for that, if Prince really wanted to and wasnt so self obsessed he could blow the roof off the O2 every night of his 21 nights!

for starters: the point has been made numerous times but this pathetic piano with 30second snippets of his hits is UNBELIEVABLY FRUSTRATING! for who's benefit is such an exercise, coz its certainly not for the fans?

Ive also read people in this thread saying its was an average show in the context of the tour! well thats OK for people who can afford to go to 7 or 8 shows. There is no excuse what so ever for such a LAME show! 3 covers on the first 4 numbers? give me a break! "Ive got more hits than Madonna's got kids!" Spare me Purple One, why so many covers on your GREATEST HITS TOUR!!!!

the reviewer makes a really good point that many Artists try and avoid the commercially successful songs, but Prince is taking the biscuit! im aware he has so many songs so spare me the " he cant please everyone line" beacuse if he was half as good a performer as many of you are making out then he certainly could!! Im sure i will still appreciate hearing more obscure tracks but no SOTT??

i love Prince but I fear reading these threads has given me too many preconceptions about the gig! In a way im glad im prepared for the 30sec snippets of the songs he should be playing! If he plays the samples of SOTT and then plays a 15minute version of 'Black Sweat' or 'Lolita' i will get thrown out for trying to attack the stage!!
[Edited 9/3/07 9:29am]
[Edited 9/3/07 9:30am]

I really enjoyed it. What wasn't to like? Shhhh was utterly awesome. SISIA was beautiful. And I thought the 'samples' set at the end was great - although I wish he'd gone further into Erotic City.

I was with a few "casuals" who thought it was a great show.

Oh, and by the way, 1000 hugs and kisses, so there. And I'd have to check but I'm pretty sure he DID play SOTT at the end.

The aftershow proved what incredible musicians the band are, but to be fair if you couldn't tell that from the main show then you needed your ears cleaning out.

Not bad summing up - it wasnt a disaster but after going to the main and aftershow on friday, hearing about saturday's I am at the moment severely pissed off with the unpredictable nature of a Prince show - let's not forget the hotels, travel and everything else just to find out that you picked the wrong night. Thank God I live in the UK - I feel sorry for the Danish folk I was sitting next to.
[Edited 9/3/07 10:57am]

I am happy to have missed all of them. Why not wait until the 21st September like me.

heheh ahh come on-that was a good review-and shit...i KNOW im a category 3!!!

Interesting review, i can agree with alot of it, from the point of view of a casual fan, especially those who were only attending one show. As a category 3 fan, I loved the show. Was abit stunned with the 4 opening numbers, but I was estatic that I was witnessing this, had very much the feel of an aftershow, except it was on the big stage. As for it being a lazy show, well that is utter bullshit, but to be fair, it was a show very much aimed at the diehards. easy to reflect I guess after seeing 3 main shows and an aftershow within a week before this show. I also went to the aftershow, which was brilliant as well, even if P did not turn up.

PlanetEarth said:

Has somebody told you 21st September is gonna be special ,hope your right cos i'll be there.
For those of you attending the last nite,what more are you expecting from it than say any other night.

I think there were two nights at the Manchester Apollo. I only went to one, but he played 'sign of the times', 'the beautiful ones', 'take me with u', 'pop life', 'nothing compares 2 u', 'when u were mine' amongst others on that night...I really enjoyed it!

IWANNABYOURLOVER said:

I suspect that the final show will be similar to the first show. A longer set (8.30 to 11) and more of the hits and the new album. With any luck some of the teasing earlier in the tour will materialise into full versions of SOTT, WDC etc

phils123 said:

Get a grip people please! Prince has ALWAYS been unprecitable. His shows have ALWAYS been different from the last. No one attending has ever known what really to expect because the setlists change all the time. Even the band are left behind sometimes! If you watch he'll give a sign, say something or whatever and lead them into something else they clearly didn't expect.

What doesn't float your boat or mine will float someone elses. If you wanna go and see someone who runs through a show with their eyes closed and sings the same songs in the same order in a style v close to the record whether you're in London, New York or Paris then go and see Madonna!

With Prince expect the unexpected!

Not happy with that? Sell your tickets and don't go.
[Edited 9/3/07 12:49pm]

FunkyAphrodite said:

Exactly, Prince is an excellent band leader, changing things up, conducting the band to do different things - it keeps the band on their toes, and more importantly keeps it fresh

i've seen bands where the music has become stale on a long tour because they've playing the same songs in the same way every night

People don't always appreciate that the change/variation is necessary for live music - they just want to hear an exact replication of the recorded music - i guess this is why milli vanilli were so popular

Girl you know it's true!

FunkyAphrodite said:

Is that Milli Vanilli?

Yep.

FunkyAphrodite said:

haha! very apt!

I think it's an interesting point though...not just with music, but with everything in life

people 'think' they want consistency and conformity
-----
for example, people eat a big mac, they say they like it so it gets rolled out consistantly across the planet - this means you will never get a burger that is worse than a big mac if you go to macdonalds...but, it also means you will never get one that is better than a big mac either
-----
the same is true with music,

'without deviation, there can be no progress' - Frank Zappa - another great band leader.

people liked Prince and the revolution - i imagine a lot of people were really pissed when Prince disbanded the revolution...how dare he, we want our big mac band

could 'sign of the times' have existed if Prince hadn't of disbanded the revolution

(for the record, whenever you see a poll of the greatest albums of all time, sign of the times is always princes highest album)

For me, the only way for an artist to be an artist, is for them to be entirely true to themselves - you could say selfish...often people won't realise how good that artist is until years or even centuries after.

it's the difference between being an artist or a muppet/milli vanilli
[Edited 9/3/07 13:31pm]

I feel a bit confused, I really enjoyed Friday (3rd time). Prince seemed to be really enjoying himself, smiling, relaxed. He totally ripped up the guitars and watching him play the piano properly was wonderful. The crowd all around me were all up singing, clapping, dancing etc. I had such a sore throat the next day but it was worth it and I even missed the final encore thanks to the crappy rail service.

the covers thing is interesting - (i can understand people not wanting to hear prince play covers)

I'm finding it fascinating though...when did Prince start listening to the beatles? or inxs? is it the band that introduced him to these artists?

there's some record of music that has influenced him, or that he appreciates - the miles davis album in the baskground of utcm or joni references/covers sly/chuck d etc but it's something i've always wondered about

when did he start listening to billy cobham?

for my part, the superstition cover has re aquinted me with stevie wonder - and just how good some of his music is (and how bad!)