Well, well...what can I say...
Sitting here in silence behind my PC-screen, with ears hissing and numb feet, still trying to recapture everything that happened tonight.

I'll keep it short (well, not really as I re-read all of this..., while it's already after 05 AM..

I'll just put up the setlists + some brief comments for now, so I didn't scribble all that stuff up for nothing!
Maybe some more info later.

Soundcheck:(started around 18:30, missed the first 10 minutes, so this is from others reporting to me)

Something in the water...
Calhoune Square
Muse (?)
Computer Blue (?)

18:50 (here I got in myself)
Little interaction with the crowd, asking how many new members were in the house, just so they could get these special tickets...some nasty black humor there

Then a looonnng version of 777-9311 with Prince tearing up a bass guitar like he's never done anything else...
Part of The stick, also from the Time
Love bizarre (snippet)
some jamming
19:15...Eric Leeds gets to the stage, and jams along a bit, but didn't participate in the show.

20:40 John Blackwell hits off a nasty beat intro
leads into Rainbow Children
Poplife
Xenophobia (with Candy in the spotlight)
leader vs follower portion (brings one guy up, for being one of the few followers...
Some more Xenophobia (a bit long this jam...)
then on with:

Money don't matter 2Nite (again with Candy up front)
The work part1
Purple Rain (+ some speech about harmony, togetherness and being 1 with THE ONE...)
Fabulous guitar work, I thought I've had it with this one, but he still touched a nerve here...)

1+1+1=3 (inbedded with Housequake) great solo's now from Greg and Candy)
Rollercoaster (with his jazzy George Benson guitar??)
Strollin' (very nicely re-arranged!!)
Got a broken heart again (although I'm not sure about that one..)
Radio speach, leading up to the WNPG portion:

Strange Relationship
Pass the Peas
When U were mine
Sign 'O' the times (played for the first time in 15 years here!!!this was one of the highlights, he played and fuzzed his guitar lying on the floor again, untill the resonance roared like thunder thrue the stadium
DAMN those AMP's should have almost burned their fuses!!)

Take me with U (Ronda tried to do the female part...not too strong a singer though..)
Raspberry Baret
The Everlasting Now (long and LOUUUDDD)

5 minute break into the pianoset...every song a pearl:

Adore
Condition of the heart
The ballad of Dorothy Parker
Delirious (that surprised the hell out of me, like Little Richard pounding those keys!!!)
Diamonds and Pearls
The Beautiful Ones (band kicked in on this...flawless...)
Nothing Compares 2 U (even more spotlight on Candy..., this one almost got to me, very moving...)
The Ladder

speech about setting the rules: everyone has questions, but nobody seems to have the answers...we just have to make it to that step by step...(thanks for that!!)

short break

How come you don't call me (+ band...sigh:)
Starfish and Coffee
Sometimes it snows in april
Days of Wild (long, but ever sooo funky, included the guitar intro from America)

That was that...no Anastesia but heee, look what we got already.

Aftershow was in Nighttown was cool, althoug the DJ wasn't al that mixing wise...were just about to split at 2:30 or so..
then this big black bus comes around the corner...
spotted Candy, (later Maceo too) but she told my good friend Andre: no show, just a party..but the second of november we had to be here for shure...

Then 2:40..He's in too...
2:50 Alphabet Street from the live box blasts out the speakers and outta nowwhere Prince jumps in front of the DJ boot!!
Some joking around, everybody of the band said hello, Eric was pushed forward, looking like 'Harry Vermegen' (sorry Eric no offense and flashed to the crowd with his designer raincoat!!! (not...)

3.20...exit, sneaked around the corner just to see Candy running to the basement underneath the club, and later on a very relaxed conversating and seemingly unnoticed Eric L. and Rene walking from away from the basement by foot, probably to get some late night Kabab or something.

Should have done the same...I'm starving!!

All in all, more hits, less 'learning' material, but he made me happy all along! He WAS in top form, and in NO way lost his fire!!

Amen to that!!






ps. creditcards do NOT comply under identification rules, you MUST have an ID WITH photo, in contrary what the NPGMC told us...

Ohhh and uhh,...yes!

Mani was at the afterparty too, dressed in a long beige coat, with matching baret, so nice...
She seemed in good spirits too...

And no, couldn't see any ring from 20 meters or so...

Hey mate thanks!
Makes me look forward to the 28th VERY MUCH.
All my Dutch mates will tell me beautiful stories I am sure!

Nice description of the concert. I am still no member of the NPGMusicclub, but I will be very soon. What a tremendous concert yesterday evening. For me it was the first concert I visited and therefore it better be very good. It was a thrilling concert. He really knows how to play his guitar and he sure knows how to put up a show. His talking about God didn't irritate me at all, shows me that he's really busy doing something close to real thinking. It was a very funky evening and he played a lot of songs, also a lot of The Rainbow Children. A pity I am not a member of the NPGMC, otherwise I should have enjoyed the afterparty for sure.

butter4yomuffin said:

It was not the music of Muse, but he sang the words of it.



He asked how many new members. Then he said: "Scalpers. Just joined to get the tickets. You know why they are called scalpers? Because they mostly have bald heads". After which Greg was clowning with Candy and Maceo and pointing at his bald head. It was funny.



That was cool to see Eric again. He got a very warm welcome from the crowd.



For me too, my last nerve. I really wish he didn't play it. And the same goes for Pop Life. I don't like the song that much, but apart from that I feel it didn't fit in. I liked the US first part of the show a lot more.



SOTT really rocked. And that noise at the end, fantastic. They had the sound set up really good, and that's quite an achievement in the Ahoy. This is the second show I saw there since 1986 (not just Prince) where the sound was good.



That DJ sucked. I hope after tonight he knows what the mute button is for. A couple of times, for a split second it waas silent and then the music continued. And he should try some variation in his selection. I still got that same beat pounding in my head.



All in all it was a nice show, but somehow I expected a bit more. There was no Anna Stesia, no Empty Room, no Whole Lotta Love, songs I really hoped for.

butter4yomuffin said:

LOL, I LOVE that feeling!



No "e" on Calhoun NICE soundcheck!



I just creamed my pants...



As usual, wishing I was there... Glad you had a good time, thanks for the report!

"Sign 'O' the times (played for the first time in 15 years here!!!"

Great review. One little correction. He played sign 'O' the times during the Act II tour in Holland '93

Eric leeds played along during the show on the righthand side just out of view. Behind the staircase but sometimes in sight. He played with and did the Maceo parts.

I think he should play less hits and more real ONA grooves. The original jazzy-funky concept is gone...I think it's a shame...BUT the soundchecks are the real thing!
Now play Muse again after TRC in Antwerp

esben said:

I think you should stop posting the same message in different threads and more original new messages. The original diverse concept is gone... I think it's a shame... But most of the posts here are the real thing!
Now post something original in a thread here on the org

1+1+1=27

dennisversteeg said:

Freedom of speech dennis...
funky greetz

One thing I noticed in Rotterdam is that Prince sang/rapped the "fucks" in Days of Wild. Wait till Larry Graham finds out!

You better not be lying! They said he swore in Manchester but I assumed they'd misheard... I'm amazed he's doing DoW the way it should be after his no-swearing stance in London!

Why such a sudden change? Not that I'm complaining

MartyMcFly said:

No no no, he said 'funk' instead of fuck... I'm absolutely sure.

...

I remember a lot of posts about Prince not laughing, dancing and screaming that much anymore: Rotterdam was so different!!
He laughed (not smiling, laughing!) during the whole concert, he was very happy on stage!

One of the highlights I guess was 'The beautiful Ones'. At the end he was crawling on the higher left platform, screaming his lungs out - it was an awesome version.

He gave Holland his best, his vocals were brilliant, his guitar playing was heavenly (Sign of the times was heavy!)

Another funky highlight- The Work pt 1, it was tight and funky. And he was dancing a lot!
The crowd went really crazy during the funky jams (1+1+1=3/Housequake, Everlasting Now)..

I'm happy
Next: Antwerp

Hey that bald head you're all talking aboutn (NOT a scalper but a nice guy, and no it's not me) is a member for months so no he cannot be called that negative about people. But yes we all know NOW that also PRINCE can discriminate people by giving them names they R not.

Sorry this is something I find discrusting and that is what I am ashamed off (also U who judge this as funny) and not the dutch audience who is always verry critical on what they see, hear or feel. (U all foreigners , being a little general sorry!, do not understand that we Dutchies are that upfront of what we feel and experience. Come live here for a year and be reborn.

Thanks all the nice people of NPGMC in the crowd, had the greatest experience and talks for ages.

B4ever

b4ever said:

Assuming it's a reaction to what I wrote. I didn't say Prince's remark was funny, I said Greg's reaction to it was funny. He sort of complained that Prince was in a way calling him a scalper.

Hi again...a quick comment on my report, I forget to mention a little detail (not too important, but what the hell)
The man looked sharp as ever...but his white longshirt and especially these snowboots with dangling glittery extensions was the WORST outfit he EVER wore!!

He even looked better in that blue space outfit he wore on the Rave album...

Just a little warning for the other fashion geeks out there...

Nikkie said:

Okay, what was that awful movie with Angela Bassett & Ralph Feines where you could put a disk into a player & see other people's experiences??? I need that right now...