Where do I start.... please hang with me. OK, I am a crazy Prince nut.... having now just been to my 14^th show, this time in Rome, traveling a round trip of almost 32,000 km from Melbourne. Cost of the total journey for myself an the little lady was around 5000 EURO including flights, hotels and show tickets.

I have made many trips to Europe to see the man, The UK, Sweden etc. Plus numerous trips to Minneapolis/Paisley Park including June 7, 2008 50^th birthday bash at Cabooze and First Ave. So yes, I am qualified in this criticism of our man.

Well, the show in Rome. It was a RIP, BIG TIME.

Firstly, the start time. It was listed as 8.59pm. The show finally started at 9.38 after many technical issues, clearly in the booth there was a lot of frantic activity.... I was extremely worried as I knew from my research the PalaLottomatica (the stadium) has a 12:00 midnight curfew. Everyone out of the building by then. This meant the show had to be finished by 11.30, or there abouts.

Next. The technical issues. Lighting.... What the hell? How long was our man in the dark? There were some quite long periods where there were just no lights at all. Also, bad targeting of spots. There were 4 guys sitting atop the stage platform for the entire show, each one had control of a spot. They were just plain bad. Prince did 'Nothing compares to you' with one of the girls.... about 1 full minute Prince was in the dark!

The big screen. Anyone seeing excerpts of the show on YT will see there was a large cell in the center of the big screen that died at about 10:00. Just a big black square. The tech guys played, the screen came and went as they tried this and that, right to the end of the show, it was just a mess, and it never was repaired. I don't watch the screen, but the problem stood out like a sore thumb.

Princes guitar crapped out right at the start of (I think for memory) 1999, he went off stage, however from where I was, I could clearly see his silhouette in the darkened area off the side of the stage.. Drooped shoulders, possible 45 seconds he stood still, waiting for the replacement guitar to be handed to him. He really didn't look interested. His facial expressions showed total lack of interest for most of the night.

Next I must comment on the stage layout. We were front row of the lower balcony, maybe in the 4:30 position in relation to the stage. There were large speaker stacks on the stage to the sides. We could only just see half of JB slammin the skins. Could only see the top of Renato's head.... no bass player or 2^nd keyboardist. I have been to other concerts where the stage layout had been better planned! There was plenty of room on this one.

Next, the actual performance. Prince is a superstar. I took my wife to her first Prince concert after years of telling her that she'll just never understand until she sees. She loved it, but was disappointed by the set list and other issues mentioned. Not really a lot of thought went into it. No ballads? What??? I was expecting one as he pulls 'em off so well. Nothing from 20ten? Nothing!

Now, one thing that really pissed me off were the 3 woman. I don't know who they are, as I just don't care, I don't study these short stayers at all. They took up way way too much stage time. Prince should junk them and bring in a horn section. Where's Eric? Maceo? Cathy? Big hole in the stage. There were no Bass solos, really no drum or keyboard solo either. We have 3 on keys, but no horns, c'mon!

Getting back to the show start time. 9.38pm. At 11.22pm, “goodnight”. All the lights came on. The Romans just up and walked. No chanting “Encore”, nothing. Prince then came back a few minutes later with the one and only encore “Peach”. The stadium was fully lit. I know he was returning for this following info from other shows in the tour, plus watching the stage guys, I knew he was coming back. Did anyone realize how short the show time actually was? I had a stopwatch running the time Prince was on stage. 1 hour 14 minutes. That's it. The last time I saw Prince was in Melbourne in October 2003 (too long ago) the show was just over 4 hours.

So at 11:30, the show was over and the security guys came, 'get out'.... I like to watch the stage guys climbing the scaffolding set while I cool down, but not this time. My research was correct, game over, get out before 12:00 midnight

Really disappointed. Prince has the power to perform, but this was just sad. My wife says maybe it's because he's getting old.... I don't think so! He looks super fit to me!

Love to hear others comment on their experience.

The one reason, amongst many others, why I will never ever see Prince in concert again!!!! The 02 gig I went to in 2007 was a total anti-climax for me, so I should imagine that these concerts would be as well, even more so!!!

I stopped reading after "............crazy prince nut."

Well as it was my first gig of Prince, all I can say is that I truly enjoyed every second of it. But I fully agree with u that, the show was really short and there were some songs that were written in the setlist (Why U Wanna Treat Me So Bad?, Guitar, Take Me With U) but werent played. If I knew about setlists in Milan & Rome, I would definately go to Milan..

As for the crowd, it was ok, but didnt seem always to respond to Prince. And the monitor with that black square didnt bothered me, because I ws standing like 1.5m from Prince. Fans who live there told me that soundsystem isnt good in Palalottomatica. They said that music sounds better from seated places.

gopartyman said:

I have made many trips to Europe to see the man, The UK, Sweden etc. Plus numerous trips to Minneapolis/Paisley Park including June 7, 2008 50^th birthday bash at Cabooze and First Ave. So yes, I am qualified in this criticism of our man.

Well, I've been to one Prince concert in my life (and it wasn't this one), so I guess I'm not qualified...but since it's just an opinion at the end of the day, I'm going to jump in anyway.

Next. The technical issues. Lighting.... What the hell? How long was our man in the dark? There were some quite long periods where there were just no lights at all.

Was this when there were houselights on, or was the whole auditorium in the dark? Any chance it was a deliberate effect?

I saw a lot of reports of how people loved the fact that he started with the house lights on for several tracks (think that was Rome...?) - maybe it was planned, or maybe in the face of technical adversity, he worked with it, rather than delaying the start any longer. Either way, for many, it worked. Obviously it didn't do it for you.

His facial expressions showed total lack of interest for most of the night.

You're the first person whose account suggests that he wasn't enjoying himself - not saying you're not right (who knows?) but if he wasn't, he certainly fooled a lot of fans.

She loved it, but was disappointed by the set list and other issues mentioned. Not really a lot of thought went into it.

How do you know this? I doubt he just pulls the songs out of a hat. Presumably a lot of thought goes into it - they obviously weren't your picks. On the P&B Podcast the guys spoke about how P chooses the setlist based on the audience they're going to play to. Right or wrong, there is definitely a plan.

btw, if your wife loved it, was the money really wasted? Did you get some sightseeing done while you were there?

Now, one thing that really pissed me off were the 3 woman. I don't know who they are, as I just don't care, I don't study these short stayers at all.

How many years do backup singers have to sing with him (and how many albums do they have to sing on?) before they are no longer "short stayers"? Do you have the Indigo Nights CD? If so, you'd know Shelby at least.

Where's Eric? Maceo? Cathy?

Who's Cathy? Any chance you mean Candy?

Not that it matters, but for a self-proclaimed qualified crazy Prince nut who spends thousands of dollars following him around the world, you seem to be missing a lot of the story...

As I wasn't at the concert, I'm just going by your and others' observations and feedback, but it seems that the bulk of the issues were to do with the venue and the tech crew, not Prince and the band.

Unfortunate, yes, and I guess arguably you could still hold Prince responsible as it's his show, but his only real other choice is to just not play in places like Rome and I suspect the Romans would much prefer he play in a venue with some technical issues and curious curfews than to not play at all.

Sorry to hear he didn't give you and your wife the 5000 Euros worth you were obviously expecting, but unfortunately, that's the risk you take when you travel so far for one concert (why didn't you hit up Milan while you were there?)

I'm not up for a Euro or US vacation right now, so I'm going to sit tight and wait for news of a visit to Australia

MikeyB71 said:

I stopped reading after "............crazy prince nut."

I should have!

chocolate1 said:

MikeyB71 said:

I stopped reading after "............crazy prince nut."

I should have!

Now that was funnie!!!!!

Orger obviously took time to give his point of view.....this should be respected;;;even by the fams.

Many of us have given up on P doing anything interesting MUSIC6WISE again, but when he starts ripping off his fans at concerts, things have gotten really bad.

BONG101 said:

I think the Opy meant Cathy the woman who blew on the Rave DVD? I stand corrected. Anyway I must say that I was dissapointed there are no horns in his band. Could it be the resean for the setlist looking the way it does? Imagine how he would perform something like ''The work part 1'' without horns. I'm no music expert , maybe its possibl.

Everyboody has a right to their opinion but this review is so different from the many others I have read about the Italy shows that I think the reviewer just may be a little brunt out on Prince.

laurarichardson said:

BONG101 said:

I think the Opy meant Cathy the woman who blew on the Rave DVD? I stand corrected. Anyway I must say that I was dissapointed there are no horns in his band. Could it be the resean for the setlist looking the way it does? Imagine how he would perform something like ''The work part 1'' without horns. I'm no music expert , maybe its possibl.

Everyboody has a right to their opinion but this review is so different from the many others I have read about the Italy shows that I think the reviewer just may be a little brunt out on Prince.

Maybe, but if what he says is correct, the show was very disappointing.

Thank guys for the comments, I really just wanted to express my disappointment. The pointless reply comments I just don't understand. Nothing intelligent to say, please don't! Problem with the org.

With regard to Chiquetet's comments,

The lighting, no, I believe most of the problems were just that.... problems. Not just stage lights out, but the entire stadium in darkness. Seen enough Prince to see things weren't quite right.

As for the apparent lack of interest, again, may not have been that noticeable to the Roman crowd, but to a Prince fam, just that's what I saw. My wife commented too, unprompted at the show.

My wife loved the show, yes, but didn't quite measure up to her expectations. Her first real concert, and years of me saying how special his shows are.

I do know Shelby, she was just plain bad. Swap the girls for Horns! I do have Indigo nights, good work. Cathy, yes, sorry, Candy. However I do know she doesn't like to tour with him.

Now to follow on again with the bad crew problems, lighting, tech issues at the start, I'm talking probably from a value for money standpoint. Prince make huge money for these shows, HUGE. I expect nothing but the very best from all concerned in the execution of the show. In the past, this is what I've seen. It is up to him to select the team, the best team as he usually has. Seems to me, he's cutting costs.

One other point, the guitars! Where the cloud.... symbol or the lightning bolt? They're trademarks... be like going to a Kiss concert and not seeing Gene with the axe!

I do see the comments here from people going to the shows all over Europe etc., but just as I believe I have seen enough shows, after-shows and sound-checks to be a very qualified critic.

eireboy34 said:

but when he starts ripping off his fans at concerts, things have gotten really bad.

Ripping off his fans?? People are paying to see him in concert playing his songs! And that's exactly what he does! If people are disapointed by him doing that, they probably should check their out of this world expectations and demands! The OP is disappointed Prince didn't play a 4 hour gig, like he supposedly did the last time he saw in Melbourne? In what kind of world he's living?? He played close to 2 hours... that's the absolute norm of concerts these days! He wasted 5000 € on a Prince concert?? Geez, he flew halfway across the world... so he's got his money's worth... he only paid 120 € for the concert.

Maybe it was just a bad night , nothings perfect everytime ,give the guy a break . Sucks that it happened on your night.

PatrickS77 said:

eireboy34 said:

but when he starts ripping off his fans at concerts, things have gotten really bad.

Ripping off his fans?? People are paying to see him in concert playing his songs! And that's exactly what he does! If people are disapointed by him doing that, they probably should check their out of this world expectations and demands! The OP is disappointed Prince didn't play a 4 hour gig, like he supposedly did the last time he saw in Melbourne? In what kind of world he's living?? He played close to 2 hours... that's the absolute norm of concerts these days! He wasted 5000 € on a Prince concert?? Geez, he flew halfway across the world... so he's got his money's worth... he only paid 120 € for the concert.

Ah Patsy!

Missed you!

Where have you been??!!

You're surely right...as always!

hi everybody

I just can't stand these critics all the time anymore. I was in Milan and it was awesome. It really was.

And i don't need a symbol guitar, which was ridiculous anyhow to enjoy Prince playing. I love the guitar he uses nowadays and always has.

If you haven't realized yet. it's about the music and not the show anymore.

Fidel said:

hi everybody

I just can't stand these critics all the time anymore. I was in Milan and it was awesome. It really was.

And i don't need a symbol guitar, which was ridiculous anyhow to enjoy Prince playing. I love the guitar he uses nowadays and always has.

If you haven't realized yet. it's about the music and not the show anymore.

OK, but orger was talking about the Rome show!

[Edited 11/7/10 12:16pm]

^^Which was only a day earlier... so it's hard to believe that there was such a difference in quality (apart from technical problems, which can happen), that anyone would say it was a waste of money!

Fidel said:

If you haven't realized yet. it's about the music and not the show anymore.

ONA was about the music, 21 Nights was about the show - this time it's all about the money!

PatrickS77 said:

^^Which was only a day earlier... so it's hard to believe that there was such a difference in quality (apart from technical problems, which can happen), that anyone would say it was a waste of money!

It's not hard to believe at all. One day can make a big difference. I've seen it happen numerous times over the years with different bands. Hell, I've seen it happen on the same night with the early show rocking, and the late show being lame in comparison.

I'm grateful to hear all opinions, and gopartyman had a lot of valid issues relating to that show. It sounds to me like the venue staff was incompetent. Either that or they were having one-time technical issues that they simply couldn't fix on the fly. That kind of thing is out of the hands of the artist, especially when playing in countries where the venue resources may or may not be up to par with what you will find in the US and the UK among others. I don't blame Prince for any of that. I would blame him though if he chose to play at that venue again in the future, especially if it's known for having poor acoustics.

That said. Traveling long distances to see a show has some inherent risk that you have to be ready to accept. It's easier to be let down as opposed to someone who walked to the gig from their house. Sorry to hear that you had a bad time, gopartyman. Every time I've seen Prince over the years his show has been right up there with the best music I see in a given year. I would like to see set lists from those NY/NJ shows before tickets are sold for the CA shows, but it's not likely to happen as more tour dates are expected to be announced in the next 2 weeks. I live in CA and plan to hit at least one show. Seeing some set lists from the NY/NJ leg of the tour and hearing some reviews would be nice though as it would make the difference in how many shows I decide to attend.

I've seen roughly 80 shows from 1985 to current. Plenty have had technical issues, that happens, and not only at Prince shows. I've seen Prince in a good mood, bad mood, and meh mood. We all have our days! Sure I could complain about different set lists through the years, but it is his show and he'll play what he wants. The band...is his band, he'll play with who he wants. I personally prefer the bands prior to 97, but then again I prefer that music too. The only real complaint I can agree with you on is the actual time the show lasted, if it was only 1:15, then you did get ripped. I will say I've never walked out of a show disappointed.

you should have stand in the pit. There you get more atmosphere plus you were able to see even when the lights went out. But it s a pity you got dissapointed coming from australia....

MikeyB71 said:

I stopped reading after "............crazy prince nut."

wow that sux! 1hr 14 mins? i i remember a korn show that short once. i got a dvd with inxs and the trumpet microphone didn't work for never tear us apart...sounds like one disaster after another

I recently saw Jennifer Hudson. She did FIVE songs.

could be worse. u could be at first avenue and see the revoltion do only 1

Sorry, you're concert wasn't a good experience. I've only seen Prince once (the Musicology Tour back in '04) and it was great. When I posted my review of the concert, I got a lot of surprised comments from several people. They thought their shows were great too but they were very surprised that he humped his guitar at our show and did 'Adore'. I think Prince goes with his audience's mood and vibes and we were all on it that night and the show wasn't even sold out and it was right before he did the Essence Festival in New Orleans. My roommate screamed 'play Adore' at him during the acoustic set of the show and he started playing it. I doubt he was able to hear her even though we were super close to the stage and it was so quiet during this part of the show that you could hear a pin drop but he played it right after she requested it so that was nice. Our venue was super small, (Bossier City, Louisiana - blink and you'll drive right past it) but the energy in that place was off the radar and Prince felt it and was on it that night...even started calling us 'B-City' . Everybody in our section started changing up the lyric "I Think I Love Her" from 'Raspberry Beret' to "I Think I Love You". He stopped the band and told everybody in the building, 'There are some girls over there that say they love me...well, I love you too.' We gave him energy and he gave it back 10 fold. People said that the mood during the Essence Festival in New Orleans was down and it happened a few days after our show, but John Blackwell's young daughter had also died suddenly so that's most likely the reason why.

[Edited 11/8/10 18:39pm]

That sucks OP!!! Sorry this was such a disaster. I would be pissed with the lighting issues..and I"m sure the issues pissed Prince off...which could account for his lack of interest. I would be upset too if I spent that much money. ONe of the the things that I justified my Denmark trip with was the shows were SO AMAZING!! I feel for you...hope this doesn't make you stop going to Prince shows..or your wife? Since you've been to so many shows, I think you have the right to voice your disappoinemnt. You may have a different aspect that others who are casual fans...

Thank guys for all the comments, usually most just receive stupid comments, but seems some are reading my message and seeing where I'm coming from. Please don't all get me wrong, I love Prince's work and will continue my obsession. I would not hesitate to do the same trip again, and will next year, to wherever it's happening.

Portions of the show sure were up to standard. I see one comment regarding the just short of 2 hour shows are 'standard' nowadays. Yes.... maybe for Ga Ga or Justin Bieber, as they just have little material, but Prince has so much to choose. I don't expect 4+ hours as the last show I saw in Melbourne, but seriously 1 hour and 14 minutes on the stage, no, don't cut it.