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Check this out! Have a look at Brian May's write up of P!! www.brianmay.com  'U have 2 climb all of the steps in between' | |
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Lovely write up! | |
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just thought id paste what brian may wrote so its easyer for folk!
**Wed 19 Sep 07** AN ARTIST ROCKS Well, I had a treat this weekend [Sunday 16 Sept]... I don't get out much recently, as you might know! But this was not to be missed. Prince, the Artist. At the O2 arena. Well, a great thing to see. I know about 400,000 other people who probably had the same feeling that I had ... it was a feeling of peeking in to watch a genius at work. To my mind, Prince really is that rarity, a work of art in itself. He actually just has to be there, doing what comes naturally to him, and he is endlessly fascinating. In fact, he is so much a part of his own act that I feel he is the embodiment of a paradox - it is as if, when a performer goes to the extreme of awareness of himself as an artist, he becomes, in a way, a thing of which he cannot be aware. We are then in a kind of voyeuristic position - we see him as something elemental - like watching a thunderstorm. It's impossible to find reasons for a lot of what Prince does, but it's all individual, and it's all HIM. Within his incredibly unusual stage persona, he produces, as if out of a hat, choreography, vocal gymnastics, sensuality, dazzling keyboard playing, and world-class guitar-playing - all splashed out with an apparently careless bravura, and much of it treading the dangerous line between the planned and the spontaneous. You could not really ask for better value for money ... the guy is every inch the real thing - a thing of quicksilver and gossamer, and pure rhythm - a free spirit of Rock. I have never met him, though our paths have come close. I have no idea how hard it could be to work with someone like this ... though he has a lot in common with Freddie, as far as I can tell. But I felt very lucky to see this piece of living art, a thing of beauty. Incidentally, one of his daring masterstrokes on the night I saw him was a version of Led Zeppelin's Whole Lotta Love. The Artist, stap me, did Jimmy Page and Robert Plant all at once, with an easy confidence and effortless heaviness, and obviously huge affection, and we all got chills up the spine. Soon it will be possible for a lucky few to see the Mighty Zeppelin in the same arena, but the place is already echoing with the pre-echo of that moment, thanks to this diminutive Hendrix-James Brown-Stevie Wonder person ... a whole spectrum contained in one body. Incidentally, the O2 arena, for my money, is everything London has needed for along time ... as a concert venue, it succeeds in every way that the sterile new Wembley Stadium fails so miserably ... sound, view, atmosphere, infrastructure, comfort, intimacy, sense of occasion ... all great. Finally a place with the energy potential of a Madison Square Garden. Prince had the whole place dancing; I'm sure Zeppelin will unleash a different physical reaction - I can almost hear the roar .... Let's hope they get so fired up that they take the Great Ship around the world one more time. Cheers Bri "Im Too Funky To Sleep With Myself" | |
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georgeguitar said: just thought id paste what brian may wrote so its easyer for folk!
**Wed 19 Sep 07** AN ARTIST ROCKS Well, I had a treat this weekend [Sunday 16 Sept]... I don't get out much recently, as you might know! But this was not to be missed. Prince, the Artist. At the O2 arena. Well, a great thing to see. I know about 400,000 other people who probably had the same feeling that I had ... it was a feeling of peeking in to watch a genius at work. To my mind, Prince really is that rarity, a work of art in itself. He actually just has to be there, doing what comes naturally to him, and he is endlessly fascinating. In fact, he is so much a part of his own act that I feel he is the embodiment of a paradox - it is as if, when a performer goes to the extreme of awareness of himself as an artist, he becomes, in a way, a thing of which he cannot be aware. We are then in a kind of voyeuristic position - we see him as something elemental - like watching a thunderstorm. It's impossible to find reasons for a lot of what Prince does, but it's all individual, and it's all HIM. Within his incredibly unusual stage persona, he produces, as if out of a hat, choreography, vocal gymnastics, sensuality, dazzling keyboard playing, and world-class guitar-playing - all splashed out with an apparently careless bravura, and much of it treading the dangerous line between the planned and the spontaneous. You could not really ask for better value for money ... the guy is every inch the real thing - a thing of quicksilver and gossamer, and pure rhythm - a free spirit of Rock. I have never met him, though our paths have come close. I have no idea how hard it could be to work with someone like this ... though he has a lot in common with Freddie, as far as I can tell. But I felt very lucky to see this piece of living art, a thing of beauty. Incidentally, one of his daring masterstrokes on the night I saw him was a version of Led Zeppelin's Whole Lotta Love. The Artist, stap me, did Jimmy Page and Robert Plant all at once, with an easy confidence and effortless heaviness, and obviously huge affection, and we all got chills up the spine. Soon it will be possible for a lucky few to see the Mighty Zeppelin in the same arena, but the place is already echoing with the pre-echo of that moment, thanks to this diminutive Hendrix-James Brown-Stevie Wonder person ... a whole spectrum contained in one body. Incidentally, the O2 arena, for my money, is everything London has needed for along time ... as a concert venue, it succeeds in every way that the sterile new Wembley Stadium fails so miserably ... sound, view, atmosphere, infrastructure, comfort, intimacy, sense of occasion ... all great. Finally a place with the energy potential of a Madison Square Garden. Prince had the whole place dancing; I'm sure Zeppelin will unleash a different physical reaction - I can almost hear the roar .... Let's hope they get so fired up that they take the Great Ship around the world one more time. Cheers Bri Wow, that's some complement coming from Brian May! He seems as in awe of Prince as any of us, and he was in debatably one of the largest rock groups ever, with one of the most extrovert front men. Nice one  | |
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This review is amazing - the only thing I 'll say is that out of the concerts I've been to I felt that sunday night was the weakest - imagine what Brian would have thought if he'd seen one of the others! I've got to agree that Whole Lotta Love was a well chosen, brilliantly recreated cover for Prince to choose to do.
It's quite interesting cos we were sat just behind Brian May's row and to onlookers it didn't really look like Brian was enjoying himself all that much - he must have been quietly listening and no doubt in awe! From the man who can count Freddie Mercury as being in the same band this review has got to be worth something. It feels so good it must be a crime... | |
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totally changed my mind about this cat now. shows how wrong you can be if you build up an opinion about someone from 'the media'
way to go Brian - a great review with great perspective... | |
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