Folks,
I originally wrote this review for a friend of mine but thought that some of you might find it interesting. I've not read all of the reports on the forum so if I've repeated some of you, my apologies. Also, since this was written for a non-orger, apologies if some of it seems a little obvious to you ...

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A Show for the Enthusiasts

Prince - One Night Alone - Saturday 5th October - Hammersmith Apollo

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Prince took to the stage at 8:30pm on Saturday night. By this point, the crowd was getting noticeably restless as previous nights he'd been on by 8:15pm and we'd heard that the venue had a 11pm curfew. Many people were already feeling they were going to be shortchanged, but we discovered that the curfew rumour was obviously wrong, or ignored, as he stayed on stage till 11:15. In between, we were treated to an absolutely incredible experience.


Set List (pinched from SqirrelMeat - well remembered SM)

The Rainbow children
Muse 2 the Pharoah
The Work
Extrodinary
Mellow
1+1+1=3 (love rollercoaster)
The Ride
Strange Relationship
Strollin
When U were mine
Whole Lotta Love
Gotta Broken Heart Again
Pass the Peas
Family Name
Take Me With U
Raspberry Beret
Everlasting now

Guitar Set:
Dont Play Me
7
Pink Cashmere
Caller ID Song
One Kiss at a time

Days Of Wild
Peach
Joy 'n Repetition
Alphabet Street


It was clear from the opening song that we were about to experience a real collectors item. 'Rainbow Children' (title track from his most recent album) was a real jazz workout. The band were into their stride from the opening drum solo and swaggered their way through some fantastic jazz sequences. Prince himself was quickly doing what he does best asking 'Can I play my guitar' and launching into one of the many breathtaking solos to which we were treated.

By the time he'd melted through 'Muse', and blasted into 'The Work', it was becoming obvious that this gig was going to be one for the enthusiasts. Having not had any great commercial success since the era of Diamonds and Pearls (with the Noticeable exception of 'The Most Beautiful Girl In the World'), it was only going to be those fans who'd stuck with him through his many 'Concept Albums' who were going to get the full benefit here. I couldn't help but think that the fans who have only a passing interest in his work would have been better saving themselves £50 and staying home listening to 'The Very Best of Prince'. For those who'd been die hards, it was almost as though he was rewarding us with a HUGE performance of some really complex music.

During 'The Work' he invited 2 people onto the stage for a dancing competition. This was to be the first of 4 such invitations. It was also during this section that we got a glimpse of his humour (sadly hidden in most of his previous tours) as he mimicked Ozzy Ozbourne with a shuffle across the stage.

Extrodinary was the first song NOT from The Rainbow Children album and was again delivered with a distinctly jazz feel. But the break was only brief as he then played a further 2 songs from the album, 1+1+1 is 3 including one of the most incredible guitar solos of the evening.

Next came the Ride, and for me, this was the highlight. Taken from the album 'Crystal Ball' it's a slow blues workout including some haunting guitar riffs. He also delved into his humour archive here with line 'If U like to be alone ... I like 2 watch ... (television).

Next came Strange Relationship which saw the man putting down his guitar and playing the piano. After Strollin' you would have been forgiven for thinking the band had been replaced as Jazz became heavy Rock as they delivered 'When U Were Mine' like it's never been heard before. The versatility of the band was exceptional, and it struck me that with the possible exception of Michael B (drummer for most of the 1990s), Prince had never before had such a musically accomplished backing. Throughout the show, Maceo Parker played sax and trombone solos and Candy Dufler also played sax.

Real music is obviously something close to Prince's heart as he complained about the lack of real music on radio and said that he'd like to run his own station playing real music. He also said that we'd joined real music class and that he would be our teacher. He pointed towards Rhonda Smith and said 'That is a bass ... and that is a bass PLAYER'.

As the band played the intro for Raspberry Beret, Prince asked for a show of hands for anyone who had never seen him in concert before. He said, no-one can have ANY excuse for not knowing this one, then stepped back from the mic to allow the crowd to provide vocals.

Next came Everlasting Now (another track from Rainbow Children) and ended with the customary 'Good Night' although everyone knew that there was far more to come ...

After a break of maybe 15 minutes (during which the crowd spontaneously sang oh ee oh ...oh oh (a la Sign O The Times) the stage lights went back on to reveal only Prince, an acoustic guitar and a stool. Previous nights had apparently been treated to a piano set, but this was a real collectors item. The official web site had asked fans a couple of months back whether they felt that Prince should re-tour America, this time playing an acoustic set, or take the One Night Alone tour to Europe ... looks like we got a bit of both ...

During the set, Prince stopped mid-song TWICE ... once to reply to the scream of 'I love you' which had come from one of the men in the crowd. He said 'Wait a minute ... that voice was a little too low. You know I like lovin' as much as the next fella but if any men want to shout that they love me, please wait till I'm playing a heavy rock song. The second time was to explain the intricacies of 'Caller ID' as he obviously felt the British audience hadn't heard of such a novel gadget. He mimicked a phone conversation saying 'Prince? No he's not home ... ah you saw him on TV last night saying he's still rich? ... well he may be still rich but he's not got any money for you'.

Once again he left the stage, and once again everyone knew he'd be back shortly. 'Days of Wild' has probably been the biggest casualty of his new 'no cussing' rule, as the words have had to be changed dramatically. In the new Days of Wild, it seems that Mutha F*ckers are now Europeans, and Dick no longer f*cks Lizz, he now bones her.

He rocked, melted and partied through 'Peach', 'Joy In Repetition' and 'Alphabet Street' and during the latter invited about 50 fans onto stage to dance (to the obvious panic of his security personnel).

All in all, we had experienced an outstanding 'real music' experience featuring a phenomenally talented band and a typically genius Prince who has obviously now discovered that laughter, as well as music, is a great medicine.

Great review thanks!

Only 2 stars?? What did I do??

3 ... 3 stars ... do we have any advance on 3

I hear 4 stars from the back of the room ... going once ... going twice ...

'4' stars because I totally agree with the 'highlight of the show' being THE RIDE (and cuz I know you! ).

Mikki

Thanks Mikki ... yeah, The Ride was outstanding. But my girlfriend missed it as she chose that point to go to the bar

Oh which reminds me - for a coke and a fresh orange and lemonade, she paid £6.80 (about $10). Add in a return flight from Glasgow and couple of purchases at the merchandise stall and all in all it was expensive night.

Just a quick question for anyone who went to Saturday's
concert. Did he use the 'Alphabet St.' loop? or was it
played using just live drums, I'm just intrigued to
know how he interprets this song live these days.

It's hard to describe, it was more of a party jam, incorporating Alphabet Street. But it was all live band. He also had a cool backdrop which flashed letters of the alphabet ... was a fantastic finale.

It was a show 4 enthusiasts but I spoke 2 some non-npgmc members after inluding 1 girl who only really knows SOTT and Purple Rain after the show. They said it was an awsome experience and didn't need 2 know any of the songs as it was still moved them. They are now going 2 buy the Rainbow Children.