The ONA Tour Europe has come to an end, this is the final review by The Yormeister

outside we could hear the soundcheck starting and the only songs I could recognise are :
- familiar song (like Blues In G or Red House-like)
- Pop Life
- The Work

we were let in the arena in a bit of a messy way (people being crushed and other stuff like
that)

the soundcheck :

- Automatic (instrumental bit)
- little discussion with Prince and the tour manager + people in the front rows about
what happened when we were let in
- Sheila E on percussion
- Santana Medley (short) with Renato Neto solo
- little break
- Prince fooling around on the keyboard
- Flashlight with solo by Candy and Greg
- Xenophobia with solo by Greg, Sheila, Renato did an piano interlude and then Prince
played some guitar, Candy finished with a solo
- A Case Of You (acoustic)
- Don't Play Me (acoustic) with Prince asking the people to teach him some Dutch
- Don't Play Me (with the band) and a solo by Sheila on the bongo
- piano solo
- The Truth
- Telemarketers, Billcollectors and Fans with solo by Greg
- Hillbilly guitar bit from Alphabet St.
- Santana Medley with solo by Renato Neto

Concert :

- Drum solo
- Candy solo
- The Rainbow Children with solo by Renato
- Pop Life with 2 solo's by Candy and one by Renato
- Purple Rain with Sheila E on the drums near the end a drumbeat loop started (little
error)
- The Work with solo by Candy and dance contest/'Rotterdam We Come 2 Jam' chant
- Mellow
- 1+1+1=3 with solo by Sheila E. and Greg, the Housequake bit and a solo by Renato,
then came the It's Gonna Be A Beautiful Night horn part and a solo by Candy
- Diamonds And Pearls (on piano)
- The Beautiful Ones
- Nothing Compares 2U with solo by Candy
- The Ladder (with little preaching)
- Starfish And Coffee
- Sometimes It Snows In April
- piano interlude by Renato Neto followed by a spooky interlude and a little speech
- Strange Relationship with solo by Rhonda on the bass and 'Rotterdam We Want 2 Jam'
chant + the NPGMC members waving 'Thank U Prince' balloons
- The Ride with solo by Renato
- Sign 'O' The Times
- Take Me With U
- Raspberry Beret
- The Everlasting Now with Latino intermezzo, solo by Renato, Greg, Candy and Sheila
and another solo by Candy
- break
- Percussion by Sheila
- 7 (acoustic)
- Alphabet St. with solo by Greg and Candy + 'Rotterdam We Come 2 Jam' chant
- All The Critics Love You In Holland, short solo by Renato, dancers allowed on stage,
Sheila did a solo, then Prince and Sheila did an improvisation on keyboards and
percussion
- Flashlight with yet another 'Rotterdam We Come 2 Jam' chant
- 'It Ain't Over' chant (Prince offstage)
- Anna Stesia with 'It Ain't Over' chants
- Prince ask Rhonda's bass : Days Of Wild with solo by Candy, Prince on bass solo,
Renato solo, 'The Party Ain't Over' chant, band introducing (+ DJ Dudley)
- Outro

on to the last stop : Nighttown (2nd concert that night)

- a real soundcheck
- Prince does a '1-2'
- Instrumental Jam with Prince on guitar, a solo by Renato, Prince on percussion with
Sheila E., a solo by Candy, percussion solo by Sheila, Prince on guitar and a bass solo
- Whole Lotta Love with solo by Renato and a Prince/Candy interaction game on
sax/guitar
- Family Name
- When You Were Mine with solo by Renato
- Bambi
- The Question Of U with solo by Renato - The One - Fallin' - Take 5 + solo by Candy -
drum solo (fast/slow)
- break (20min.)
- Soul Power with 'Rotterdam We Come 2 Jam' chant, Renato and Candy solo +
1+1+1=3 bit and a solo by Greg
- Jam with percussion by Sheila, 'Can't Get Enough Of That Funky Stuff' chant, more
percussion by Sheila, 'Feel Like Bustin' Loose' chant, and more 'Funky Stuff'
- Alphabet St. with solo by Greg
- Instrumental Jam with solo by Candy (Prince yells out : 2 Nigs United 4 West
Rotterdam)
- Dolphin
- Calhoun Square
- Beautiful Strange with solo by Candy, Renato, and interlude, Rhonda solo

Prince throws down the microphone, throws his guitar in the air and leaves (he didn't seem to happy though !) Strange ending to a wonderful show, which didn't have too much response from the audience (strange, very strange ending)

That's it, after 3 concerts (+ aftershow) in London, a concert in Rotterdam and Antwerp, then Oberhausen, Paris (+ 2nd concert), Rotterdam (+ 2nd concert) this tour has come to an end
We'll be back next time

TJ
The Yormeister
http://users.skynet.be/yormeister

I just got out of the train! This was the GIG of the year in Holland! I was blown away...and although the end of the show was pretty sudden. It was a very cool way to end the tour! Peace 2 Prince and the NPG!

the ending was very, very strange indeed!!!
i am almost sure that it wasn't planned that way.
some fool upstairs took some photographs with a flashlight
during "beautiful strange". i think that kind of
disturbed him, made him angry and he threw everything away.
takumi was surprised too, because prince threw away his microphone twice. all the band-members seemed surprised and not informed. i am sure the show was planned to last longer
and was going to be jazzier and funkier; prince's bass
was just ready to be picked up! that sucks a bit! he didn't talk a word with the crowd by the way, no joke, nothing, not a word; that's very strange, too!!! anyway it was a great concert, he rules!

Yormeister,

phew,
how do you do this

Great, thanks
Very strange ending indeed,
(even the band hadn't a clue what was happening)
But what a great night,
he ended in climax

and after the crashing and smashing,
he trew us all a kiss

---

Oh by the way,
after the concert,
the security at nighttown where criminal,
I mean they said:
"he might come back and play,
make up your mind,
in or out"
so people where going back in, when the whole mass was pushing to get out,
terrible ,
but hey,
that's what you get a such hyped events ...

EDD

Thanks for the report

super4nk said:

If that was the reason he could at least have informed us instead of leaving us the way he did.
So I agree with your 'sucks' opinion.
This also makes the ending a bit more understandable which is good.

udo

super4nk said:

that photographer has been part of the entourage for at least the second half of the euro tour ... i saw the guy pop up everywhere, he was at bataclan, on stage at ahoy and indeed at the aftershow in nighttown ... this is the guy who makes the "official" photographs i'm sure

m3taverse said:

If so... (I didn't see him do his work at the moment described above but I did see him at other venues and I think I can believe m3taverse)
What _was_ the reason for ending the show the way he did?

udo

super4nk said:

not true, prince interacted with the crowd at several points.

for example, prince started playing when you were mine which the crowd started singing along to loudly
he then stopped the song while the crowd continued singing it.
He then said that we should clap, showing us how to do it ... while we were clapping he started the song all over again

there is more, but i only just woke up and everything still needs to sink in

udo said:

hey udo, nice to meet you face to face in rotterdam
here's my 2 euro cents on this subject ...

i've seen 6 shows during his euro tour including bataclan, and i've seen them all ended in a way that the audience feels sure that he's not done performing yet.
At several shows, this was amplified by leaving the house lights off for a very long time with stage technicians running all over the place to set everything up for yet another encore (even setting up the song book in bataclan).

in my mind the nighttown show had a rock and roll concept, it was very loud and at times musically agressive... i think smashing up some gear was just part of the emotion that prince was communicating that night

EDD said:

Met pen en papier !

Wauw,this was the greatest evening of my life!!! I was really impresed by the guitar,he just couldn't let go... Hmmm,feels good...

udo said:

Y'all want so much from him...

CalhounSq said:

i don't CahounSq to me it was a perfect show, i couldn't have asked for more after such a beautiful night

also Calhoun, i enjoy reading your postings and when he played Calhoun Square yesterday night i remembered reading one where you hoped he would play the song once while you were in the room. So i thought about you when he played it, maybe some of it beamed over to you, i hope so

m3taverse said:

Yes, that was a great part!
The audience was singing When you were mine. Prince stood and listned for a moment, than said something like: "I'm glad I don't have to sing something it Dutch" and later he said "Let ME sing it and you clap" or something like that.
But this was about the only moment when he actually talked to us.

Just came back from Rotterdam...

but I was a bit disappointed by the half part of the show that was quickly done ... he looked tired

and when I compare the nighttown show to the bataclan show, for me, there is definitely no comparison !

the bataclan was maybe one of the best aftershow he ever played with Den Hague, Rex Club, New Morning & Utrecht;;;(I didn't think to my 100 $)
whereas the nighttown show lacks of inspiration (for a while we thouht he didn't kown what to play) and of energy (he was not specially in a good moon and looked tired - i can understand-) and I thought when leaving Nighttown that this was not worth 100 $.

However, some greats moments, but these two shows were a bit disappointing for me and my friends...with all this year concerts, he placed the level so high that each time he does not reach it...we r a bit hard with him

The show in Ahoy was extremely tight and you saw that the whole band was in a great mood.

The show in Nighttown was a world apart. Let me comment on the photographer: Before me on the balcony there was someone with profesional equipment. A short middle-aged guy with half-bold grey hair. Is that the one?

Also Prince was (and the band) in a very very very good mood. Smiling all the time, while he was not playing his guitar. Yes for me the show may last longer, but okay, that's rock & roll.

While he left after the guitar incident (and hearing this 15 min. feedback) he shooked tens of hands while he walked through the bar to the entrance. Still smiling, including the band.

Actually I like it when he does NOT interact to much with the crowd. Keeps the eye on the music.

Cheers,

J

lolo said:

Serious, but this show was way better than the Tivoli gig in Utrecht. Also better than the rex club. OK New Morning and The Hague were better. Oh and BTW the first half was tight as heaven.

Cheers,

J

Why is everyone always wondering why Prince ends a show the way he does? He has to end it somehow, doesn't he?
Its almost like people think they or someone else in the audience did something wrong which spoiled Prince's mood!

Prince was having a great time in Nighttown, yesterday. I stood very close to the stage and could see every expression on his face. The man smiled a lot! The mucisians were have great fun, challenging eachother, kidding with eachother. And Prince sometimes just stood and listned when there was a great solo.

The crowd was relatively quiet, not hysterical like i've seen sometimes, but that didn't seem to upset Prince or his band in anyway.

And the ending...

Well, that was Beautiful Strange!!!

the show may be a good show, but the venue sucked big time, the security let a lot of people enter the place without tickets during the show. The security must have a lot of friends. I couldn't see shit from the balcony where we were and i think the audience was not that nice as i am used too.

Highlight of the bad experience: a security guard was whining that he couldn't see the show and grabbed some crates from behind the bar and stood on right in front of my view so he could watch the show, when we said something about it he got angry and was pissed...jeeez what a fuck up!

I saw a lot of shows throughout Europe and even the states, but I never experienced such a bad venue with a lack of organization and security fuck ups, sorry if i seem upset but i paid $ 200 to be there with my girl and we couldn't see shit. To me the London aftershow of this tour still rules, but Prince must pay his taxes as well so I am glad we can donate the money to him.

some fool upstairs took some photographs with a flashlight


the bad part about this was:
security rudely pushed people around to find the photographer, like a manhunt with bloodhounds.
I pointed out to the balcony and explained it was Prince's own photographer, they didn't believe it and kept on going pushing people around. This raised some aggression amongst some folks who clearly drank too much. And just when you think things have calmed down... some folks with white wristbands claimed some space that simply wasn't there. They were Candy Dulfers guest, nonetheless, very arrogant people. Luckily their was this music to focus on...

CalhounSq said:

Oh well...
It just depends. It's no big issue. I cannot change it anymore nor tell him to do it different another time.
If I could compare this incident while performing to maybe a normal conversation, or maybe compare his reaction to someone smoking during the soundcheck earlier to this incident I would expect some verbal communication...

udo

I obviously don't know why the show ended the way it did.

for me it felt just right.
It was totaly in with the performance,
so much energy building up,
so much things happening
that it was THE way to end this european tour,
just leaving us behind wanting more ...

It's just the way to do it.

On another issue,
I got the impression,
and got this more and more as the day went by
that prince was gonna say,

"well fuck it,
and start playing HEAD"

I don't know,
I've got a feeling he's at a crossroad again,
and that he's got to choose a new direction ...

But then again,
like a said before,
I don't know anything,
It's all based on feelings,
But that's what princes music does for me,
it get's in my body,
between my flesh and my skin.
[This message was edited Sun Nov 3 8:59:17 PST 2002 by EDD]

super4nk said:

I guess he does not like his picture taken.
I know that some Native American cultures also do not like their picture taken. They do not like their essence captured on film. I wonder if there is any connection to this.

Stylecipation said:

Hello there,
I completely agree that the staff at Nighttown are realy untrustworthy..
First: at 15th october i got more or less forced to take someone as my guest inside, but i refused...They got very upset and aggressive towards me..
Yesterday at the Nighttown gig they also were very rude and you could easily get into a fistfight with them, by only asking simple things as: i cannot go inside immediately as my friend is still searched...also the bartenders are very impolite and unprofessional...the next time i hope he will perform in Amsterdam because Nighttown has the wrong vibe for me...
Luckily, i was standing in the arena section and missed the whole thing what you had to go through...
By the way, there were a lot people in who were definately not members:
exemple:
Heeft Prince al opgetreden vanavond?? Ja, ik geloof dat hij in Ahoy al gespeeld heeft...Jonge, jonge jonge...

En proberen voor te dringen...maar goed, deze figuren dropen vrij vroeg af omdat ze waarschijnlijk verwachten dat Prince hits speelt en een jam sessie is voor deze figuren oninteressant...Maar Nighttown, bah...

m3taverse said:

I also wrote this on another thread, I also thought about you Calhoun! Hope you get to hear it live one day.

m3taverse said:

While this is the most plausible reason, at the show I thought it could have something to do with Sheila. During the last 10 minutes or so, Sheila was gone from her percussion set. Prince also exited the stage, came back, did one agressive solo and smashed his mic twice, guitar and Sheila's cymbal. Perhaps Sheila didn't want to play anymore and pissed Prince off somehow. Am I making any sense, or is it because I like conspiracy theories?

Stylecipation said:

We were sitting on the stairs when a guy came up and said "you've got to stand there's more people comming in and you're taking too much space sitting". It was already pretty full so we all thought, what are you talking about more people comming in. After a bit of an arguement he said he was from Nighttown and said there was more people comming in that needed a place. I think they sold too many tickets, or had a lot of friends come in for free. So we had to stand for a small hour or so. At least I had a pole to lean on.

EDD said:[quote]I obviously don't know why the show ended the way it did.

for me it felt just right.
It was totaly in with the performance,
so much energy building up,
so much things happening
that it was THE way to end this european tour,
just leaving us behind wanting more ...

It's just the way to do it.

On another issue,
I got the impression,
and got this more and more as the day went by
that prince was gonna say,

"well fuck it,
and start playing HEAD"


I totally agree with u on this one edd !!

I guess I missed some of the quarrals, but I thought the crowd was pretty responsive. At the regular shows I thought the member-sections were calm and passive, but at Nighttown I found the members friendly and enthousiastic.

Also, the photo-guy was Prince's photo-guy, so that has nothing to with the dramatic ending. Also, Prince does not share the native american view on photographs. That's just nonsense.

Style, Prince told the ushers himself to enjoy the show! I guess they took it a bit too seriously!