IN THIS FUNKY HOUSE
Impressions of the Bataclan show (formerly known as aftershow)

ARRIVAL

Arriving at the Bataclan we find the venue in turmoil; one long queue who want to get lucky and one pool of chaos that seems to be members of the NPGmc.
The stress is logical; it is unclear how to get in. People working for the Music Club are handing out the necessary wristbands to people who ordered tickets online, but have decided to do this in front of the entrance, in this way making it virtually impossible for people with wristbands to enter…
Except to one hell of a level headed lady, who handed out wristbands somewhat removed from the throng of people. This is where my buddy Bram and I score our wristbands. We run to artist entrance and gain access, only to have to door closed by security seconds after we enter. (“Hey tall fella”/Oh hey Mr Parker)
It felt nice running, I channelled my nervousness outa my system and for the first time that day relaxed…..

THE CLUB

The Bataclan is an old theatre; stage, small arena (really intimate), surrounded by a veranda on three sides with a seated first floor ring around.
Not many people are inside yet, so Bram and I have an actual choice where we are going to stand and enjoy the show. Bram spots a kewl place on the veranda and that is where we take refuge. We have a good view on stage and without the hassle of standing in the crowd. I have no people pushing me and enough space to dance when I want to.
We score an expensive drink and wait…

THE SHOW

The show is firm and not whimsical, like the Le Zenith show. Prince keeps the jams rocking in the beginning and does not converse much with the audience much. He seems to focus on the guitar driven first part of the show. After the angry faces at Le Zenith he shows a lot of smiles. He gets very chatty with the audience later on though…
The groovy part is that he switches instruments a lot, the first shows he rocks the house on guitar and then switches to bass to channel some funk, also briefly jamming on keys with Renato. He sumtimes hangs back and enjoys the solo’s of other band members. Even though he is the orchestrator, he seems to be able to lean back and just get with the groove, allowing his band members to take their time with their playing.
And believe it when people tell ya this is his tightest band ever. It’s true.

THE BAND

Renato Gives the band that bossa nova sway, a bland that fits the jazz mould , but he knows when to get tight just the same. One firm funk jam gets updated into this century when he inserts three simple notes, making the jam so tight it hurts.
There was a shifting of tectonic plates right then and right there and the Bataclan quaked. Prince seemed to have given his band some room to play and seems to trust Renato a lot.

What can I say about John Blackwell? He’s young, he’s eager. Not afraid of following the lead, but certainly not afraid to take off either, with the rest of the band in tow.
And he indeed can make those sticks disappear. You are skeptic when you read about it in reports until he actually does the trick and accelerates. We have lift off….

Rhonda in the back, bass to the fore. A good bass player isn’t heard, but felt. In your tummy. My tummy still rumbles. She loves playing so much it spreads around the club in flows. The shaking starts with her.

Maceo. Mr Parker doesn’t need to play, now does he? But when he does he’s indeed the teacher. If I had a teacher like that in school I wouldn’t have disliked some lessons that much. He’s cool enuf to take a step back and let his fellow brass players stand in the spotlight. Him just being there makes the stage ooze with contentment.

Candy Dulfer totally links with Mr Parker. They are sort of old buddies, as they played together before either of them joined this band. They have a similar way of enjoying the music. When she doesn’t play she dances, when she doesn’t dance she helps out with the backing vocals. She smiles. Her solo’s are bursts of that joy, filling the cracks laid open by the tectonic quaking of the rhythm section…

And then there is that fella straight from the jook joint, Mr Greg Boyer. He’s a kewl dude, but a charmer too. He holds the instrument that made the show jazz. His hips do that minimalistic thang. His trombone ain’t afraid to pull the band back to that jook joint He knows that is how nitty gritty the band could be. Looved the (soundcheck) pants, btw. He the dude.

Mr Nelson. Finally old and wise enuf to stand back and enjoy what he brings together. Happy and not afraid to share. His anger at the previous show neatly transmitted out of his system with some long guitar solo’s that made my day.
Props. Again.

THE SETLIST, thanks to BROWZER for having a somewhat more linear memory than I have. I have left out the question marks though. If anyone can update the list, please post.

Jam
Bambi
Whole Lotta Love
Famile Name
Something In The Water (Does Not Compute)
The Question Of U/The One/Falling
Ain’t No Sunshine
Shake
The Work

Then he stole Rhonda’s bass
777 9311
Hair
Brick House
Skin Tight

think they took a break here, but I am not sure….
Alphabet St
All The Critics Love U In Paris
(if he had used the French way of pronouncing Paris, he’s actually had the same tone as the
NY version, but HEY. I am not complaining)
Dolphin (nice and slow and bluesy)
Santana medley
Come On

the last encore was a jam called
It’s Time To Get Funky
Then he left prematurely. LoL. Shouting “It aint over” til I lost my voice didn’t help. Buggery Prince for leaving us panting for more.

And of course the crowd started to chant [I]”NPG, in the Mfin house, but I cannot remember when. He just cut the band off and said; “That is old, we need sumthing new. Then cued the audience into [I]”NPG, In THIS funky house”[I], so that is where the title of this itty bitty came from, just so you know.

Anywayz, soon the Le Zenith report, I am running out of time. HUGS!

Great report... thanks


Peace,
TheKid

Different, but definitely nice report! Thanx!

BTW, what was your highlight of the show?

You're right, the show was INCREDIBLE! Played for 2 hrs 40 mins. I think he wanted to come back for another encore, but the crew started to take down the gear.

calldapplwondery83 said:

There was so many highlights... "cool" and "automatic/shake" in the soundcheck, "trc","xenophobia","1+1+1 is 3/ loverollercoaster", "strange relationship", "sign "o" the times", "the everlasting now", "pop life","the ladder" in the show , and everything at the aftershow!

Gooey! Thanks for the report - how many shows are you going to see on this tour anyway? Lucky!!

What did you think of him doing "Fallin'"? How does it sound? Keys must be peeing herself, LOL...

"Candy said she wants me with her down in Candyland..." well, I'd like to...

gooeythehamster said:

What the hell are you talking about? He was in a fantastic mood at le Zenith!!! I was three yards away from him. Apart from one tiny problem with his guitar tech he was in a great mood and felt so happy to be there. The two shows were both amazing.

Wow...broke down props 2 The Band...C-O-O-L.
PEACE

Wow, Gooey, you really wrote a very respectful review! I'm looking forward so much 2 the Nighttown gig...

VINCENT said:

Tiny problem, hehehe. Him throwing around his guitar and then changing the entire set so he did not have to touch another guitar ain't tiny.
I do not think he planned to finish the show with a ballad set. But then again, who am I?

And you were right, both shows were amazing...

CalhounSq said:

Oh well, just these two shows. After this show I do not want to spoil my senses. Prepare yourself for some critical remarks about the Le Zenith show, as I think it was a strange show...
And Fallin was just a snippet. But fun.

calldapplwondery83 said:

Absolutely the jam where Prince and Renato had so much fun. See the fat remark about the three kewl notes that made that jam awfully wicked.

calldapplwondery83 said:

And of course my jaw dropped when he played so much guitar and so many of my faves.

And the bass jam.

And all the choires...

In other words; there was nuttin I did not like...

Nikkie said:

You got tickets? Congrats!
You would have loved Dolphin, the slow version...

calldapplwondery83 said:

LoL. I am always 'different'. I do not go crazy too much at shows. I love to look, watch, listen, observe. But I must say at the Bataclan I danced LOTS.
He was in such a good mood...

Glad you liked it Goo. I knew you were a bit skeptical ahead of time. So have you forgiven Prince yet?

TRON said:

There is no 'forgiving' needed. I did not understand some of his lyrics, which confused me. The songs of TRC were the best of the show, though. Too bad he made the European show mostly greatest hits, after all the "this is not 1984" speeches in the US. Cuz I think I want to be pushed some mo'...

I liked the jazz vibe. I want more but have to be content with what I've seen. I shall trust you next time when you say the show is great...

gooeythehamster said:

He normally doesn't touch his guitar in the second part of the show. I have seen him in England too and he certainly didn't touch it there too in the last hour. The second part of the show is all about the keyboards.

Moreover the second part was fantastic with Delirious, Starfish & Coffee, Condition of the heart, Sometimes it snows in April, Days of Wild.

When you listen to the official live you will notice he won't hear him playing the guitar in the last part of the show too.

VINCENT said:

Sorry YOU won't hear him playing blablabla...

VINCENT said:

Are you aware of the EDIT button and you CAN update your posts? LoL

Great report, gooey!

Funky fresh and uniquely done!

Expect nothing less from da hamsta

gooeythehamster said:

oh It seems that the truth just hurt you.

Hey Joeye

Very nice report glad that your Bataclan vibes still there .


Greetz Frits

Thank you for the recap! I was there but I began to tire around 4am! I was literally running on fumes! I didn't get any sleep the night before because me and my friend had driven from Paris to Oberhausen for the show there, then drove back to Paris afterwards for the show at the Zenith and the late night aftershow! I was in a daze! Your recap of the setlist helped me to remember and realize that I was actually more conscious than I thought I was! I remember bobbing my head to Come On, kind of the way a zombie might do it!!!

That aftershow was sooo tight! When Prince says at the beginning of Come On, "... I could do dis all nite"... he really isn't b.s-ing!!

onenitealone1970 said:

Imagine, you could have been there...

Can I just say that getting into the Bataclan was almost as frustrating as the 10 hour wait to buy le Zenith tickets.

After being followed for 15 minutes by a freak in the paris underground, I spotted this woman giving out wristbands in the ROAD and yes, accompanied with her bodyguard Omar, she was firm and kept telling people not to worry and not to push or shove ID in her face for Prince wasn't even there yet.

However, I didn't push at all and ended up getting seen to much later than a lot of other people and when she did see me she said my name wasn't on the list. Fortunately for me I had the print out. When she looked again (and again and again) she said that somebody else had come to her with my ID (instead of saying she made a mistake). As U can imagine, I was a tad annoyed at this point.

Thanks to my print out she gave me a wristband and told me to go in the side entrance. Once i got the wristband it took 2 mins to get in the club and life was sweet. Moral of the story: PRINT OUT YOUR CONFIRMATION!

I have to say though despite this cock-up, she was a braver woman than I, and I hope Prince was paying her at least double for standing amongst all the NPGMC lunatics!!!

Elodie said:

Hi Elodie, glad U made it, was it great and was your companian behaving himself?

Great report Goo! I told you I'd get to it!!!

I'm glad you enjoyed yourself. The set list is so much different from what he played in the US but still a good one!