It's been a wonderful summer.

I fell off the P-Train sometime in the mid-nineties, but eight arena shows, eight aftershows, and an iPod filled with what I missed and the music he’s been playing at the aftershows have got me right back on board. Seeing it all, time and again, at such close quarters, with such great seats, has been a privilege.

I'm very grateful to Prince, his fabulous band, everyone involved with the show, the lovely people I've met, and everyone at prince.org and housequake.com for such a memorable few weeks. Thank you all.

It's difficult to put into words. Comparing shows is impossible, because so many of the best bits happen inside your head. Sometimes there's a bit of magic that the person standing next to you or the person on the internet doesn't experience.

Here are a few scattered highlights from me.

The first show. During one of the big hits, sharing a thrilled look with the woman next to me. It's really him!

The surprise encore at the first show after the equipment had been put away, and he hops onstage and calls for a guitar: vaulting the barrier amid the hubbub and the confused security staff to get to the front for our own intimate show and "Sometimes it Snows in April"

The opening of the second show, completely different from the previous night. I've got a great view from the "wings" of the arena as he prowls the stage in semi darkness, silhouetted in a spotlight aimed straight at me, and launches into "Satisfied".

Controversy. Any night. Either venue. Tears the roof off every time.

Joy In Repetition. Back in the day it was impossible to get hold of bootlegs and stuff in my hometown, but I somehow managed to get some fifth-generation copy on an audiotape of a bunch of unreleased songs, and that was one of the best ones on it. It felt like it was a song only I knew about (which is obviously far from the truth nowadays, but it felt like that to me).

Prince's guitar playing. I never truly appreciated before just how good he is. When he finishes a blistering solo at an aftershow, and strides off stage, as if to say to his band "Follow That!" and gets an amazed look from his guitar tech. Wow.

Shelby. Every member of the band deserves thanks, but Shelby was my favourite. She lit up the aftershows. Dancing and smiling at me made my evening.

When he seemed to be taking the piss out of one of the audience members for wearing a Prince T-Shirt, which seems a bit rich when you actually are Prince. He then berated him for clapping on the snare drum instead of the off-beat, stopped the band, taught him how to do it right, and then restarted "Play that Funky Music, White Boy." Poor lad. Still, at least he got a good story out of it.

The first piano set. It happens after Controversy has died down, and the crowd are getting some drinks in. When Mike Philly is doing his circular breathing for the Wonderful World interlude, some girl in a sleeveless black outfit pops on to mop his brow for him. Wait just a minute. That's no girl! That's Prince in a new top, and they've setup a little piano for him on the curly bit of the crossbar. I may be a man, but I think my admiration for him just crossed a boundary it shouldn't. But who could resist? For, accompanied only by his piano, his sweet little falsetto has just sung Do Me Baby.

"Somebody's been sleeping in my bed! Somebody's been wearing my suit!" The Stones have had the o2 for the last couple of days. He breaks into some familiar Stones guitar licks, throws in a few of his own and turns it into one big guitar meltdown. "OK. Everything seems to be in order now. This is MY house. These are MY rules." Whatever you say, boss.

My first ever aftershow, something I've been dreaming of for a long time. Best night ever. Die Happy. Common, Prince, every single member of their bands, the crowd, all in one sweating bundle of funk, hip-hop, rock, jazz and soul and I'm right in the middle of it all, inches away from the performers: you can reach out and touch them. It seems to go on longer than the main show. I'm pretty sure it's the most fun I've ever had at any gig ever. Common freestyling over Controversy (which is the song of the tour, no question). Common, Prince, 2 drummers, a DJ, 4 keyboard players, guitar, bass, Shelby, Marva, the Twinz in riding gear, and a horn section featuring Maceo and the rest. And me. Man alive.

Missing high-fiving / handshaking / sleeve grabbing Prince by inches when the bloke in front lost his footing at just the wrong moment.

Stratus. Whether Prince is tearing it up on guitar, or the NPG horn section are taking it in turns to carry the riff, building it up every time, again and again...

The funk. The jazz. The horns. After a few shows I wasn’t coming for the hits, and not even particularly for Prince, but for those players. My ears have been opened for what feels like the first time. That music is what I’m going to miss most of all. I hope I can recapture some of that feeling in the music I hear from now on.

Thank You For Talking To Me, Africa / Shadows and Chains at the aftershow, and When Will We Be Paid? during the piano set.

Chelsea Rodgers. Not so much for any one performance, but for how it was the fan's song of the summer. Every time the DJ dropped it, everyone loved it. Dancing to it in the kitchen with my daughters. Yelling for it when he wanted us to pick the next single.

Ticketmaster. Constant refreshing throughout the work day. Crazy words. Every great seat felt like winning a competition prize. I know some of the people paying VIP prices felt a bit cheated, but to me I felt I’d hit the jackpot. Living so close to the venue, cheap prices and great seats were an irresistible combination.

The Indigo. A really nice venue, great sound, upstairs and down.

The lovely people I chatted to at the shows. It was a pleasure meeting you all.

Prince-as-evil-supervillain shaking his fist at us during the sampler set.

Beverley Knight – Rocksteady.

I Wanna Take You Higher, dancing like mad, getting (I think) a bit of eye contact and a smile from Prince just as it built to a climax,.

His computer's broke. Ain't nothing on it - I tried looking, but it didn't have *this* on it (ratchets up the groove a little more).

The aftershow party songs: 3121, Girls and Boys. I’m glad he chose G&B for the final arena encore.

Every moment of the final night.

Finding my seat just as the lights are killed. Concentrating on my ticket and the seat numbers. Finally looking up to see a million purple glowsticks. Magical. Well done to everyone with a hand in that.

Feeling spent at the end. The music had been pouring out of him for so long. I didn’t want another encore. I had nothing left. Lying on the floor by the bus stop at 4:30am for the final trip home.

Some lowlights that don't really bear repeating, but I might as well include them for completeness. The very variable sound in the arena: different nights, different seats, different songs. You never knew what you were going to get. The Dr John aftershow. Packed into a tiny space (at a good spot, just under his guitar!) for hours with no drink and no toilet breaks, no information from the venue, still expecting him to show up at 3:30 am. Getting thrown out of the best-night-ever Common aftershow by a bouncer who got me mixed up with some photograph-taking guy and wouldn't listen to my panicked pleas. Thankfully another bouncer outside the Indigo took pity on me when I showed him my toytown mobile phone that can barely send text messages and certainly couldn't take a photo, and lets me back through the pearly gates. All of the aftershows that I didn't go to, thinking sensibly about work the next day. I now regret missing every show I didn't see.

The trials make the good bits sweeter still. If he played every aftershow it wouldn't be nearly as exciting when you do see the Hohner and his guitar pedals waiting onstage at the Indigo.

And that’s it. I had a bit of an empty feeling last night, but going over my memories has been very enjoyable. It was a summer to remember. With two young kids, I’ve stayed in a lot over the last few years, so these weeks of partying have been extra-special for me.

Thanks again. See you all again next time. Let’s hope we don’t have to wait too long. He’ll be back. He said so.
[Edited 9/23/07 3:11am]
[Edited 9/23/07 4:26am]

After the aftershow he came out to the gate again by the car park. There were maybe 30 other people there and we all applauded each of the band as they got into their cars and walked by us, then Prince came up to the gate again. He ddin't say anything but he ran his hands across the rail and we all either just applauded or said Thank You to him

It's been a wonderful summer.

...

See you all again next time. Let’s hope we don’t have to wait too long. He’ll be back. He said so.