Hi,

Kinda new to all this Prince stuff (been a fan for years but only started org-ing recently).

Was watching the show on Thursday night and wondering at how the band could just (it appeared) play any song Prince decided he wanted to sing.

Therefore my question is - do you think people like Candy who haven't been in the NPG that long, have to learn just about every Prince song in case he suddenly decides he wants to play an obscure album track from 1981? LOL - he gives them a checklist and has weekly tests? ("Candy, what do you mean you haven't learnt My Little Pill"?)

The band were *so* tight that I figured maybe he gave them a list of all the songs he would choose from to make each night's set list and they would learn those ones only. Would this be about right? I mean, I know they are all virtuoso musicians, but even virtuoso's can't play that accurately together on every single song without some cock-ups, and from what I heard, there weren't any on Thursday!

Any ideas?

I'm not sure, but I always assumed that Prince rehearses his band pretty hard. I don't think he would set himself up for his band to screw up onstage and make him look bad.

If I remember correctly, someone requested a certain song last year at either a concert or aftershow, and Rhonda replied that she didn't know it.

I've always wondered about this topic, as well. I would think that P would want his band to focus on the setlist that is planned, and really be able to perform those songs very well, as opposed to saying, "Learn EVERY SINGLE song from my VAST collection, just in case I decide to go into one at the drop of a hat"

You only have to hear some of the tour rehersals to realize that Prince works his band hard,and it always shows in their performance too.

Much love Pochacco

I think while rehearsing for any upcoming tour, they'll probably have to learn about 50 songs.Obviously Prince isn't going to play 50 songs in a night so it's a case of maybe having a first 25 and the other 25 in reserve, just in case he wants to mix it up or change the setlist at the drop of a hat.

I knoW Prince decides the range of certain songs that they will play for this tour. and then if there is a song he diecides he wants to add in the tour, he will slowly teach it t o them. I remember one sound chek I went too, P was teaching Najee Extraordinary. then at a concert a dfew days later... the band played it!

Hi Stereoboy...
At the Celebration, Renato ( the Brazilian guy on keys)
talked about that...he said he had sort of a list of
25-30 songs he had to learn, pluzs he´s been on the road
with Sheila for quite some time before joining Prince.
So he is sort of experienced when it comes to certain
Prince classics, I asked Eric Leeds why they don´t just
let the tape run during concerts, burn it on CD-R and sell
it, would sell like hot cakes, and he said he´s been saying
this to Sheila and Prince for years, cause just like me, Eric seems to like the raw and unpolished sound without too
many overdubs. Anyway, I mentioned the Sheila E & Eric Leeds
concert from 1994,Hamburg, and how much I liked those versions of Noon Rendezvous and A Love Bizarre, and Eric replied that it was Renato who did the arrangements, so that was right after he joined Sheila and the E-Train.
Of course, back then I did not know who Renato was...Eric
said that Renato had very long hair back then...so much for
Renato, and people like Morris Hayes or Sonny and Michael
...well, according to Dave Hill´s book PopLife Sonny used to do covers of Prince songs way before he joined the NPG and he was supposed to be the bassist before Brownmark stepped in. And Morris and Michael, and of course Sonny, rehearsed and toured with Prince for something like a decade.Plus they´re just GREAT...still miss them , tight band, but the current band is extremely tight as well.
You probably know the Tokyo concert from 1990, where Prince plays Bambi ( it was broadcast back then )..a cool guy from
Japan told me that it wasn´t really planned but Prince supposedly played it because this guy´s friend held up a sign with "BAMBI" written on it , so he played it...
You´re going to any concerts on the continent ??

Plus they have a setlist and sometimes an alternate setlist,
like during the Parade tour. Eric called it something like
set A and set B and some spontaneous stuff inbetween.
That night at the celebration, the show after the acoustic set, was also spontaneous and not planned, at least that´s
how Renato described it. Originally, Renato was supposed to play something like 20 min. long, but then they did a whole show...unbelievable ...

I remember meeting prince back in the summer of 1998 at his belgian gig. While attending a meet-and-greet type of event, I asked him if they could possibly play 'Starfish and coffee' that night as it was and still is one of my favs. He politely replied that they played it the year before and won't be playing that song tonight. And indeed from all the '98 concert report there isn't much 'starfish and coffee' played. That leads me to confirm previous posting stating that band members receive 50ish songs to learn that will be eventually played during the tour...

Speaking of 'Starfish and coffee', I have just heard the 2002 Celebration version. John Blackwell is a real killer on that one.

Thanks everyone - that seems to make sense! Do you think then that the songs he is having them play in the soundchecks like Manic Monday and Girls And Boys might make their way into the set at some point?

Oh - and KoolEaze - no, that's it for me - Thursday, Saturday and the aftershow at the Marquee.

Happy fan though!