Now that I can access a keyboard I thought I would give you my take on the main show and the aftershow last night, for what it’s worth.

This was just my second, and last, show. The first was the incredible 28th August which was always going to take some beating. But I did expect a different setlist. For the first show I was seated right opposite the point of the symbol, but almost on the back row. This time round we were still on that side of the arena, but in the lower section of the tier seats, block 407 row F. The view was much much better, even though we were only about 15 rows closer. It is really worth seeking out tickets for those closer seats.

The main show got started at about 8.40, without any dodgy support like the M.I.A. fiasco that I witnessed on the 28th. I looked around the arena during the e.g.-stroking, cringe worthy video and noticed that there were still a large number of people traipsing (beer in hand) to their seats in the lower tiers and floor areas. Maybe Prince saw that too because when he arrived on the elevator and the opening chord of Let’s Go Crazy played, Prince just waited, teasing us. I got that familiar shiver down my spine and then off he went. This was quickly followed by 1999.

Now it might have been my imagination but I thought he sounded croaky, even a little blocked up during the first period. I definitely felt that the guitar was getting a better outing that it did previously perhaps to allow his voice to rest. As I prefer his guitar to any other part of his act this was fine by me! Anyhow, if he was feeling under the weather he didn’t let it affect the audience.

I won’t go into the set list in detail, others have done that. There was a bit of variation from my previous show in that first section despite the first two opening songs being the same. Most notably there was no Come Together or 7, and of course no Maceo to do Wonderful World, so Mike Philips stepped in instead. He did a fine job, and was similar to Maceo, but lacked that certain something that makes Maceo “The Teacher”. Renato added a little of Elton John’s Your Song to hint at what was to come. Nice.

So Prince returned for the second section at the piano, and this injected a much needed boost to the atmosphere. All the people around me had remained seated throughout the first section, doing a little chair dancing and foot tapping. Highlights from the piano section were Sometimes It Snows In April, a short Beautiful Ones and Satisfied. Diamonds and Pearls got a big cheer from the crowd. God knows why. By this point he had been on for about 50 minutes.

When he got back on his feet the atmosphere had really picked up. He followed up with a stonking rendition of U Got The Look, which is now pretty standard. He teased us with “so many hits…how about Delirious?....Nah”. A great Guitar with extra solo, and of course Purple Rain. No sign of Habibi though. Is it out of favour since accusations of phallic symbolism at the superbowl? He thanked the crowd and sunk beneath the stage.

When he came back on for encore number 1 I could see someone strange wandering around on the stage. Sure enough it was Elton. I have never been much of a fan, but it is always special to see someone of his pedigree for a one-off. Vocally he did the Long And Winding Road justice, but really Elton, you embarrassed yourself with your moves. There is a lesson here. When on the stage with Prince don’t even try to look funky. He’ll show you up just by breathing. But overall it was an amazing treat.

This was followed by Crazy and Nothing Compares 2 U which I could do without. Sinead owned that song as soon as she covered it. I know that Prince likes to remind us that he wrote it, but I would happily have this dropped from the set. Then we got If I Was Your Girlfriend which was great. Off he went again at about 10.20.

As an aftershow ticket holder I was praying for a short main show, and I thought I might have got it, but the lights stayed down. Back he came for the synth sample set. Taking plenty of time to tease the audience, especially with the synths from D.M.S.R. In my opinion this part of the show has worked well. I don’t like listening to the verse of When Doves Cry being sung over the wrong part of the backing track, but otherwise it has been a great way of getting the crowd hyped up. By the way, he played a sample of Darling Nikki, but we all knew that he wouldn’t really sing that didn’t we?

By the second encore quite a few people had made their way out of the arena – maybe to beat the unnecessary scrum for the tube (why can’t we Brits do anything right? – that mess around the entrance of North Greenwich tube station could be avoided so easily). And many more people left when the house lights came on. But I stayed put. Quite a number of loyal fans continued the applause and cheering, encouraged by those that were seated down by the corner of the arena where the band emerge from. There were a couple of nutters a few rows behind me that put their hearts and souls into encouraging our man out, and of course, experience is always good….I knew he would come because there was no announcement from the stewards that we should push off quietly.

And after what seemed about 10 minutes out came the band, followed by Prince in his little box. With the house lights up we could really see this and I laughed. Farcical. I hope Meatloaf never plays the O2, they won’t find a box big enough, or roadies strong enough.

The final encore was a treat. A Love Bizarre was unexpected and superb. Then Chelsea Rodgers. Amazing. All hints of his cold were now gone. Prince wanted to keep going but he told us he had been asked to leave. The guy was in the mood for more. Fab. It must have been about 10.50 by this point.

So that was the end of my last main show.

All in all the shows were excellent, not withstanding the crappy sound in the venue itself. I was a little disappointed not to hear Planet Earth, Fury or especially Gold. Has he forgotten that Gold was a hit here? It was an awesome finishing song when he toured with it when it was fresh. Shame. These stadium shows were far better than the (old)Wembley Stadium, probably on a par with those at Earls Court and the NEC (I can never remember the names of the tours) but still the best main show I have seen was on the ONA tour at the Manchester Apollo. But it was very different – radio NPG has become a wonderful greatest hits performance. The band were not as tight, but god they were good (how does Greg play that trombone like that…Prince is right, I have never heard a trombone like that before.)

A quick aside…I am in a minority amongst my friends and colleagues being a Prince fan. I always have been. And I’ve taken some stick for it over the years. I hope that this extended run of nights has served to educate more people and create a few more fans. I think it was a brilliant idea. Let’s have another one soon.

So then we traipsed off to see that state of the Indigo queue. It went all the way out of the door and around the dome. It was daunting. So I settled down with a beer at the thai place opposite and waited for the queue to start moving. We then joined the end and we must have had drinks in our hands by 12.00.

Indigo is a great little venue, well presented. The DJ was playing some funky stuff like One Nation Under a Groove etc. There was an overwhelming desire to get in amongst the crowd but we hung back. For those of you 5ft 8 and under I can recommend either getting right to the front or standing on the step at the back, it makes a big difference to the view.

I did observe a strange number of people that had sort of collapsed by the edge of the venue, sitting on the floor and resting their feet. I can only assume that they were loyal partners of fans that were doing their best to remain patient.

A roadie popped out from behind the curtain a couple of times with the Hohner Stratocaster so I felt our chances of seeing Prince were now close to 100%. They guy took the scattered applause without looking up.

Then the curtains opened and Renato was there playing The Dance. Renato has become Prince’s most psychedelic keyboardist hasn’t he? Slowly the other band members took to the stage and then out popped Prince.

Seeing him this close for the first time was surreal. I felt like I was having an outer body experience or something. I’m sure that all the way through Around The World in a Day I shook my head in disbelief. He made that song so much better than the way it\s performed on the album. The rendition was the same as the way it was played at the aftershows in 3121 at the Rio, Las Vegas. I love the funky guitar underneath the chorus. I haven’t stopped humming the tune since. It had an urgency about it that gave it an edge. It got even better with Beautiful Strange. This was the Prince I had wanted to hear, playing what he wanted, improvising, controlling the band, and just so engaging.

Seeing this show has seriously messed with my head – I can’t stop thinking about it. I’m guessing it will take a few days.

It was at about this time that I became aware of some of the annoyances of Indigo. The security team were not subtle. I did my best to note down the set list on my phone and that attracted the attention of a zealous bouncer who insited on leaning on me and looking at every word as I wrote them. Despite the warnings about photos there were still plenty of people that took photos and recordings. I’m sure I can rely on you to send them to me it that was you! A bit crazy and you were risking eviction from one of the most unique events you are likely to see.

Gotta Whole Lotta Love was nice, and was the extended musicology/Prince and the band/Funky London at the end. I loved Party Up and The Question of U. Somehow Prince was on stage for almost two more hours. He finished with some of the audience dancing on the stage – the reward for all that queuing earlier.

Next time I’m in bed with a cold I’ll try to remember what Prince achieved last night and try to complain a little less. When we got out of the venue we wandered back to the hotel. Totally drained, but on a high that will last for weeks.

Now I get to gloat to everyone about one of the best days of my life.

Sounds like a great night

Nice, thanks.
Are you liverpudlian? I had that accent in my head while I was reading your piece, don't know why. Very odd. Enjoyed it nonetheless, thanks.

TracyTracy said:

Don't worry, your hubcaps are safe. I live in Derby (but don't have the accent).
[Edited 9/14/07 16:28pm]

Wow...well done i'm finding it hard to muster up the words to tell people what i thought coz it so mindblowin.
All i can get out whist shaking my head was "it was just brilliant..just brilliant".
And there was lil ol me thinking...crap..we've bought them tickets and he's not gonna show up.HA!
Definatley going down as one of my best memories!

Great post. Reading reports like that make me feel less bad for not having the words to write about it more fully myself.

stu241273 said:

Or perhaps loyal fans who were only able to get a single ticket for the main show at short notice, and who don't have parters to talk them out of making yet another trip to London?

After dancing my proverbial arse off to Chelsea Rodgers down on the floor at the main show, no way I would have lasted through to the end of Musiology/Prince and the Band had I not had a nice little sit down with my drink in a corner of the Indigo.

stu241273 said:

A spotted a girl who was stood near me for a while early on in the show sneakily recording the audio on a hi-tech phone contaption. In hindsight I kinda wish I'd asked her to send me a copy if it came out okay, but at the time I considered such a request would probably sound like a really bad chat-up line.

ThePartyman said:

My pleasure. Getting it all down will help me remember what happened, it's a great way of preserving the memory.




I wish I had been a little braver, but I just didn't want to risk it. Having all of the Beautiful Strange performance on mp3 would have been just soooo cool.