I'm going to see the Nokia Centre show on Saturday and it will be one of my first big concerts (my biggest yet, saw Brian Wilson two years ago) and my first live Prince experience. What should I expect? I'm guessing the answer to that is expect the un-expectable because I'm reading stories on this forum of him showing up late, having to wait in line for very long periods of time, etc.

FrankCapraMoment said:

I'm in the same boat! I'm going to the Nokia Centre show and the Club Nokia show and have never seen P live. Very excited!

Any kind of wait or pain will be erased when he gets onstage. After it is over you will say that whatever you went through (or didnt go through) was well worth it.

Kelly619 said:

Good to know I won't be alone. After connecting with his music so intimately, I'm also very excited to be seeing it done in the flesh.

xlr8r said:

My heart's already beating.
[Edited 3/22/09 20:51pm]

you may experience chills when he plays his guitar

FrankCapraMoment said:

Welcome, welcome.

It's sort of like labor and childbirth...the memory of the pain dissolves away when you're holding your newborn.

It's worth getting good seats too because seeing Prince live and up close is a phenomenal experience you'll never forget.

Here's hoping you have a blast... come back and tell us all about it.

Get ready to shake your ass!

Whoa.....get ready for one helluva night

You're gonna have a great time. Prince Live is an event everyone should see.

If you drink alcohol, please please don't get blitzed. I made that mistake for

the musicology concert and barely remember the experience.

If you decide to bring a camera, be very careful. Don't use the flash if

possible, and certainly do not go up to the stage and try to get a pic as you

will get your camera confiscated... as I did...lol.

I had a lil disposable camera and security took my camera.

It was a cheapie but I had some great ppics on it.

Anyway, Have a great time. Tell Prince HELLO for me ok.

Peace & Love

FrankCapraMoment said:

Yep, Prince does as Prince does, so u gotta bear with it, especially with 3 concerts in a day or whateever he's doing, he'll be tired and will be reserving himself for the next performances, so I can't see any 1 performance being especially good unfortunately,

I saw him a few times at the O2 and though he's still a good performer, he's a pale imitation of the great performer I saw in the 80's where he was head and shoulders above anything else out there.

It will be a great night, just don't set your expectations too high, there were allot of disappointed people at the O2 expecting more.

Well in the 80's he was a lot livelier thats for sure but very raw, he is a much more polished performer these days, please guys he is 50 now!!! you need to take that into consideration. I saw him in 86 as a 19 year old, and like to think i have grown up with him, like a lot of his fans.
The new fans that watch 80's videos might be disapointed if they are expecting a 20/30 year old doing the splits, but anyone he has seen any clips of him in the last few years will have a great time.

The response in London to the O2 shows (21 nights) was very very good, a hell of a lot of P Virgins were there to all the shows and a good time was had, but we might have drunk a little too much, hic.

Just enjoy the show, but remember he is 50.

A living legend though.
[Edited 3/23/09 13:46pm]
[Edited 3/23/09 13:46pm]

RobLondon67 said:

I prefered the raw element of the shows in 80's, where he'd just get Sheila to kick up a beat and go jamming for abit, his set is abit too contrived and rigid now, his band are more 'employee's' whereas in the 80's it felt more like a band !

As u said, he is in his 50's now, so that's why he's not bouncing around the stage anymore, thats fair enough, but I also preferred his style of playing in the 80's, that he would jam more in the concerts and it felt likie he was enjoying it all abit more.

As I said, it will be a great show, just don't set the expectations too high, I spoke to a few people at the O2 who went to see him for the first time and they were quite disappointed at the shows, I guess lots of them remember Purple Rain and expected that.

Thanks for the replies! I haven't been able to stop singing "Raspberry Beret" and "I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man" since Sunday. I'm driving everyone nuts. I don't think I'll be expecting too much only because I've been to so few shows. Brian Wilson's another hero of mine and I think by most standards, the show was pretty much an oldies thing but I was still very impressed and had a lot of fun. What really got me interested in shelling out for this is seeing footage of P at Coachella.

I will come back with an overly sentimental report though. Maybe I'll see some .org people there and not even know it!

P.S. even though I'm a notoriously horrible dancer, I'll still be getting butt-wild. I'd rather look like a spasmic dork than sit still for this.
[Edited 3/23/09 22:48pm]

I know everyone is sayin he's 50 and all, but if you've ever been to one of his "aftershows" you would be blown away. One in particular sticks in my mind. House of Blues - Hollywood in June 2004. He didn't come on stage until 1:45am and he walked off the stage after 4am. He played a full length concert at Staples Center just a few hours before this aftershow too!!!! Wendy came out and played with him too which was fantastic to say the least. So, the man has insane energy no matter how old he is now. Does he jump off pianos into the splits on the floor? Nope. But, he is still damn amazing to see live.

Enjoy

I will say he isn't what he was in the 80's but he's still head & shoulders above everyone else. He set an unrealistic standard.

He still has that "kid" energy when he wants too. I saw a House of Blues Vegas show in 2/04 i think? He played 2 nights & the difference of energy from the 1st night compared to the 2nd was ridiculous. He danced alot more on that friday then he did the following night. So he still has it in reserve but either way your going to have a blast.

You'll be totally amazed.. he is worth the standing in line in the hot sun, aching and swollen feet, headaches (from hunger/thirst) etc... (I swear I would not do that for my hubby, but for Prince I'll suffer in silence )

Oh and don't worry about waiting in line... Prince fans are the best!
[Edited 3/24/09 16:42pm]

I don't know what the weather is like in LA but I guess the sun will be out, better bring umbrellas to shield yourself from the sun.

Okay...that was officially the hottest thing I have ever seen in my life. One of my new top ten moments of all time: 2..1-2-3! Hoo hooo hoooo....

I only waited a little while and passing the time was very fun because I was able to chat with some other fans (and the people sitting next to me were very nice). I was a little nervous about shaking my ass but the people behind me were cool too.

Never seen anything that grand before...pretty amazing how everyone went nuts even when his video image appeared or when he played a guitar solo. I don't think I've ever been such a big group of excited, happy people. He gave high fives to just about everyone in the front row. Had I known that, I definitely would've sprung the extra cash for the good seats. He even took people backstage. His banter was great too. I think they had some sound issues but he vowed to play through them. Before he launched into "Come Together" he said something like this; "I was having a conversation with a friend the other day...he said 'music is something you do'. I said 'I don't think so.' I AM music! But that doesn't make me better than anyone else cause we all music!"

There was so much audience participation and everyone sang along to just about everything but "Old Skool Company". The encore was especially cool as he played "The Bird", "Jungle Love" and brought out Sheila E. (who looked stunning) for "The Glamorous Life".

All in all, a beautiful experience!

Thanks for sharing Frank...I knew you were gonna love it!