Dreamer20ten said:

wonder505 said:

Okay, first, the show was G-R-E-A-T!!!! I loved it. My first time being in Madison Square Garden, my 15th Prince show and a first for my honey who went with me. What was cool was there were a lot of my friends who are indie musicians that came to check him out as well. A few of them told me they wanted to see him live and study him. That's what I'm talking about. I'm telling you Prince inspires so many. Highlights for me:

How did your friends like the concert? I am always interested to hear how non-fans like his shows and it thrills me that most of the time they find Prince amazing!!!

They thought it was amazing. They were keen on the arrangements in every song and how he broke it down into parts. They love John Blackwell and Renato. Musicians listen to everything. They also liked his vocals and showmanship as a performer. One of my friends actually did an Adore cover. He wants to be a solo artist like Prince.

wonder505 said:

Astasheiks said:

Couldn't agree more...."Washed Up Singer"

If a "washed up singer" can pack a large venue like MSG and have people on their feet practically the whole show like last night then I guess being a "washed up singer" is not a bad thing at all.

[Edited 12/30/10 6:21am]

When your newest song on your Set List came out in 1991 and its 2010, 2 days away from 2011, one may not be washed up but certainly qualifies as a "Nostalgic Act"!!!

Wow! this thread has exploded, and thanks everyone for your input, and yes Prince's performance of "Question of U" was phenomenal. Lawd have mercy and 1000 bejeezuses, the Brotha had the audience in "awe" and took MSG by storm last night. He totally seduced us when he sang "Question of U" lyrics and captivated the audience with his sensual, teasing moves, especially when he pulled his shirt open and teased us more. That was a performance that will be talked about for a while by those who attended.

I'm so glad I finally got to see him perform that song live especially after watching a video in the past of him performing that song at one of his concerts years ago.

The energy was overflowing in MSG last night, and I'm beginning to wonder if it was Prince's fault that a sudden blizzard hit NYC a couple of days ago, since we haven't had one like that since 2003, and somehow recently hit us suddenly, when Prince came to town. Now I'm hearing there's another storm threat, possibly hitting the East Coast again, and we know who to blame if that happens. (j/k). One thing for sure is that Prince had the entire audience at MSG on their feet through his performances last night. The piano medley was great to hear with songs like "Do Me Baby", "How Come You Don't Call Me Anymore" and "I Wanna Be Your Lover". and we were begging for more and he gave it to us with about 3 to 4 encores. I loved when the Cindi Lauper got on stage and blew us away with her phenomenal voice. I almost felt when Cindi graced us with her beautiful voice, that went right through your soul and gave you chills, it was like vocals of the s the late, great Ivory Queen of Soul, Ms. Teena Marie was in the arena, and Ms. Teenawill surely be missed by many.

NYC did not want Prince to leave the stage. He owned MSG last night. The section I was in, section 225, was a great view by the right arm of the symbol, and basically no one in my section sat through the performance. The energy was definitely madness at last night's show, and although 12/18 projected a lot of energy, last night's show had more.

I did like Janelle's performance, and although there were some that were not familiar with her as an artist, they became familiar last night and showed interest. I have to say that her vocals are fantastic, but at times the music was louder than her vocals, so it was sort of "in and out" sound issue, during her performance, but she handled herself well.

Okay, so there was a stir in the audience before Prince's performance. Now no one knows for sure if it was actually Prince walking through the audience at MSG last night, before he performed, but if it was, it sure caused a major stir in MSG and people were going nuts. If it was actually Prince, he walked up near sections 85 up to near the 330 section walkway, and down between sections 224 and 225 walkway, straight down towards the lower sections (85?), the made his way down to the stage area, and went through the door. Some say it was an impersonater, but we need confirmation from either Drfunkenberry or one of the moquake mods to find out if this was the real "Prince". Anyway, all I have to say is I enjoyed that show, to the point where it drained so much energy out of me, but it was good and positive energy that Prince brought to MSG last night.

Too bad they didn't get to see John Blackwell on Shhh! last night, tell them they better come back next month just to see that!

wonder505 said:

Dreamer20ten said:

How did your friends like the concert? I am always interested to hear how non-fans like his shows and it thrills me that most of the time they find Prince amazing!!!

They thought it was amazing. They were keen on the arrangements in every song and how he broke it down into parts. They love John Blackwell and Renato. Musicians listen to everything. They also liked his vocals and showmanship as a performer. One of my friends actually did an Adore cover. He wants to be a solo artist like Prince.

Friends of mine, who never understood my love for Prince went to the concert and she send me an e-mail that she was surprised in a good way, loved it, felt inspired and she fell in in love wiht both Prince and the audience! She was blown of her feet

Astasheiks said:

jaypotton said:

I live in the UK and when I heard Prince was touring the states I was kind of jealous. However, having seen the set list I gotta say (and I never thought I would say this) but it all sounds a bit SAMEY...this is pretty much the basis of the gigs he has been playing the past seven years.

It certainly reflects the core songs played at the 21 Nights at the O2 in London (although clearly many of you guys in the States didn't get to see that set of shows).

It just seems so odd that Prince has always been so excited about his new music but never bothers to promote it and instead focuses on material that is over 20 years old!!!!!

While the overall consistency of the newer albums IMHO have not been as good since around 94/95 onwards (depending on when you consider TGE to have been recorded rather than belatedly released) there has without doubt been many wonderful songs in the past 15 years.

So why not play more of them?

The 21 nights gigs had a decent sprinkling of newer songs (including those from Planet Earth) - not every night but some. For me these were the highlights as it reminded me of the heady days of of the 80s when you heard new songs played at concerts, sometimes as the bulk of material!

I used to get cross when people said Prince was becoming a nostalgia act - but on the strength of the MSG set list I am starting to agree.

What a shame

[Edited 12/30/10 2:24am]

Couldn't agree more...."Washed Up Singer"

It always amazes me that people who weren't at a particular show, always have to b*tch and whine like they were there, and think the show they were "not at" mind you, was performed specifically with them in mind. The poster you replied to wasn't there, so reading a setlist from a piece of paper could never define or confirm how well a performance is. When will some fans "get that?" All I have to say is that Prince "owned " NYC with that show last night. I'm so glad, those who weren't there and complaining about a show they never attended, just by reading the setlist, and not "witnessing" the actual performance, well, I'd like to thank those those folks for not being there, because last night's show was awesome without you.

[Edited 12/30/10 6:51am]

2elijah said:

Okay, so there was a stir in the audience before Prince's performance. Now no one knows for sure if it was actually Prince walking through the audience at MSG last night, before he performed, but if it was, it sure caused a major stir in MSG and people were going nuts. If it was actually Prince, he walked up near sections 85 up to near the 330 section walkway, and down between sections 224 and 225 walkway, straight down towards the lower sections (85?), the made his way down to the stage area, and went through the door. Some say it was an impersonater, but we need confirmation from either Drfunkenberry or one of the moquake mods to find out if this was the real "Prince". Anyway, all I have to say is I enjoyed that show, to the point where it drained so much energy out of me, but it was good and positive energy that Prince brought to MSG last night.

I was wondering about that. I couldnt' tell if that was actually Prince. I was hoping someone posted an up close picture to tell for sure. If it was it will be surprising because that is just not Prince to do that! People were hugging him and grabbing him, if that was him. If anyone could confirm that for sure I am very interested in finding out.

[Edited 12/30/10 6:59am]

ficktyt said:

Too bad they didn't get to see John Blackwell on Shhh! last night, tell them they better come back next month just to see that!

wonder505 said:

They thought it was amazing. They were keen on the arrangements in every song and how he broke it down into parts. They love John Blackwell and Renato. Musicians listen to everything. They also liked his vocals and showmanship as a performer. One of my friends actually did an Adore cover. He wants to be a solo artist like Prince.

I was hoping for Shhh so bad too! Oh well

Did anyone notice that the Empire State Building lights were purple last night? Not sure if it was a coincidence or not, but it was cool!

IamFunkay7 said:

wonder505 said:

Between the big arena shows he does every so many years where he has to do the hits and, I have no problem hearing them in this setting (let's face it, part of our problem is that we go to most all of the shows--we are the exceptions, not the rules), he should do some smaller places now and then with other music that his more dedicated followers would like to hear (and I don't mean covers of other people's music or long drawn out arrangements of blues or the like, just his less-known songs that we would love to hear. We just have to be prepared to pay at least as much as we are now, like $200 a ticket. He can't play a smaller place and cover expenses at $31.21 or $20.10 a ticket or even $131.21 for that matter.

GaryMF said:

IamFunkay7 said:

I bet this boils your potatoe

"come often, because every time we play it's always something new. ... No concert is ever the same. I got a lot of hits" Prince

I love his music and his spirit.. but this seems to be that complaint that everyone has, I wish he knew his true fans love alot of his music, he can put a little Musicology in there. He's awesome and I cant say much because I'm not him.. but next time be sure your actions match the statement

I was wondering the same thing, who was that?

ARock said:

Anyone know who did the guitar solo during SAIMH it looked like Andre 3000 [Edited 12/30/10 6:31am]

ARock said:

Anyone know who did the guitar solo during SAIMH it looked like Andre 3000 [Edited 12/30/10 6:31am]

That was Kellindo Parker who is Janelle Monae guitarist... he's also the nephew of Maceo Parker.

[Edited 12/30/10 7:14am]

P2daP said:

ARock said:

Anyone know who did the guitar solo during SAIMH it looked like Andre 3000 [Edited 12/30/10 6:31am]

That was Kellindo Parker who is Janelle Monae guitarist... he's also the nephew of Maceo Parker.

I was about to post that he is Janelle's guitarist, but you beat me to it. He's seen in her "Tightrope" vid. I don't know how some folks missed that. He does favor Andre's look with that wig on though.

[Edited 12/30/10 7:15am]

GaryMF said:

IamFunkay7 said:

I bet this boils your potatoe

"come often, because every time we play it's always something new. ... No concert is ever the same. I got a lot of hits" Prince

I love his music and his spirit.. but this seems to be that complaint that everyone has, I wish he knew his true fans love alot of his music, he can put a little Musicology in there. He's awesome and I cant say much because I'm not him.. but next time be sure your actions match the statement

To each his own .. But I think y'all are trippin' this MSG...it doesn't get bigger than that (figuratively). He's not going to do small club sets. I'm a die hard and I loved it. Thus night had several " gems" like SAIMH. ,ts work etc. And I love when he does Time songs And the "hits" sounded much better in an updated-but-true-to-original way than Musicology tour. [Edited 12/30/10 7:11am]

I hear you. The majority of MSG last night loved that he played many classics they could sing too. The energy was astounding. When he played "Raspberry Beret" the audience went wild. I definitely saw many fans from that era in the audience, so it is expected that he has to play classics that many fans know him for. For some reason, why is it that some diehard fans are so selfish? If he was playing at a small venue specifically for the diehards, then I could see him playing his rare songs, but this is MSG, an arena, that attracts fans from all over. He isn't playing specifically for "diehards" at these shows, but for a variety of fans from all his eras. When, just when are some of these fans going to "get that?" It's like breaking out the violin of them having the same, old complaints.

Last night he could have played songs from 20ten, but with a crowd like that it is obvious he knows he has to break out songs the audience are familiar with, to get "audience participation" which iaudience participation, is usually what is expected at arena shows. When he opened with "Welcome2America" on 12/18 of course, no one knew the wordsm and was happy to see him, but there was no audience participation, because the audience was not familiar with the song. I have to say that last night, that audience was more than elated they could sing some songs with him.

wonder505 said:

Okay, first, the show was G-R-E-A-T!!!! I loved it. My first time being in Madison Square Garden, my 15th Prince show and a first for my honey who went with me. What was cool was there were a lot of my friends who are indie musicians that came to check him out as well. A few of them told me they wanted to see him live and study him. That's what I'm talking about. I'm telling you Prince inspires so many. Highlights for me:

• The new version of Little Red Corvette,
• The Beautiful Ones
• If I Was Your Girlfriend-oh how I love this song live
• Question of U with the Gingerbread man take on it,
• She's Always in My Hair-first time hearing it live
• COOL-always a party song, Uptown, How Come You Don't Call Me, the piano medley's of Do Me Baby and I Wanna Be Your Lover.
• Prince opening his shirt-ALL THE WAY -YES!!!! And him being a little more sexual these days, telling that fan "can I touch you there" and all that.

Janelle Monae won me over, she is great and I want her CD, and as always Mint Condition, oh that band is sooooo tight!!!!! I love it.

I know a lot of fans complain about the setlist, but I went to the December 17 IZOD show and though some songs are similar the two shows feel different. The IZOD show had its own vibe and so did the December 29th show which is why I enjoyed and happy I went to both.

[Edited 12/30/10 6:10am]

Great rundown of the show. Loved the new version of "Little Red Corvette", and absolutely loved "Question of U" and the "Gingerbread Man" take on it. The thing is, when people who weren't at the show complain about the setlist, but the thing is, it's more about "how he performs it" each time he sings it, which many of those familiar classics are sung differently each time. Agree about Janelle. She is awesome. Great vocals! Her vocals went right through MSG last night. Only a few times, the band's sound, overtook her vocals, but other than that, she did well. Her band is definitely full of energy! One of the dancers that was in her tightrope video was there as well. Last night's show was definitely a show not to be missed, and will be remembered for a long time.

All I have to say is for Prince's rendition of "Question of U"..............and then some...totally awesome!

[Edited 12/30/10 7:30am]

[img:$uid]http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/cc1/Joyinrepatition/0a49a18d.jpg[/img:$uid]

[img:$uid]http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/cc1/Joyinrepatition/4bc0fdb7.jpg[/img:$uid]

[img:$uid]http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/cc1/Joyinrepatition/1db7749b.jpg[/img:$uid]

[img:$uid]http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/cc1/Joyinrepatition/b1dfd5ec.jpg[/img:$uid]

"Prince" was walking through the crowd after the Mint Condition set. Couldn't confirm it was actually him from my seats(the blues) but he was taking a lot of pictures with fans and video taping from his POV.

I immediately thought that was out of character. Anyone got photos?

ficktyt said:

Did anyone notice that the Empire State Building lights were purple last night? Not sure if it was a coincidence or not, but it was cool!

Now that would be cool, anyone have pics?

P2daP said:

That was Kellindo Parker who is Janelle Monae guitarist... he's also the nephew of Maceo Parker.

[Edited 12/30/10 7:14am]

Very nice pic!

It was amazing. I was about 40 feet away from him and he was on our side of the stage for 75% of the night. By far, one of the best nights of my life.

wonder505 said:

2elijah said:

Okay, so there was a stir in the audience before Prince's performance. Now no one knows for sure if it was actually Prince walking through the audience at MSG last night, before he performed, but if it was, it sure caused a major stir in MSG and people were going nuts. If it was actually Prince, he walked up near sections 85 up to near the 330 section walkway, and down between sections 224 and 225 walkway, straight down towards the lower sections (85?), the made his way down to the stage area, and went through the door. Some say it was an impersonater, but we need confirmation from either Drfunkenberry or one of the moquake mods to find out if this was the real "Prince". Anyway, all I have to say is I enjoyed that show, to the point where it drained so much energy out of me, but it was good and positive energy that Prince brought to MSG last night.

I was wondering about that. I couldnt' tell if that was actually Prince. I was hoping someone posted an up close picture to tell for sure. If it was it will be surprising because that is just not Prince to do that! People were hugging him and grabbing him, if that was him. If anyone could confirm that for sure I am very interested in finding out.

[Edited 12/30/10 6:59am]

It wasn't Prince. It was just a look-a-like posing for pictures. When I was walking out of the Venue at the end the guy was doing the same thing and I got to see him. Not our man...

delirious26 said:

wonder505 said:

I was wondering about that. I couldnt' tell if that was actually Prince. I was hoping someone posted an up close picture to tell for sure. If it was it will be surprising because that is just not Prince to do that! People were hugging him and grabbing him, if that was him. If anyone could confirm that for sure I am very interested in finding out.

[Edited 12/30/10 6:59am]

It wasn't Prince. It was just a look-a-like posing for pictures. When I was walking out of the Venue at the end the guy was doing the same thing and I got to see him. Not our man...

There was a guy at the Dec. 18th show who was posing for pix with people, dressed in PR gear.

My question is: WHY?!

bobjorge said:

delirious26 said:

wonder505 said:

I was wondering about that. I couldnt' tell if that was actually Prince. I was hoping someone posted an up close picture to tell for sure. If it was it will be surprising because that is just not Prince to do that! People were hugging him and grabbing him, if that was him. If anyone could confirm that for sure I am very interested in finding out.

[Edited 12/30/10 6:59am]

It wasn't Prince. It was just a look-a-like posing for pictures. When I was walking out of the Venue at the end the guy was doing the same thing and I got to see him. Not our man...

Thanks for confirming that. He sure fooled the majority of the audience who actually thought it was Prince. I'm surprised security did not stop him from doing that, unless this was planned.

[img:$uid]http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/cc1/Joyinrepatition/4132dc33.jpg[/img:$uid]

[img:$uid]http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/cc1/Joyinrepatition/578b9498.jpg[/img:$uid]

[img:$uid]http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/cc1/Joyinrepatition/c4fdcadb.jpg[/img:$uid]

Acrylic said:

It was amazing. I was about 40 feet away from him and he was on our side of the stage for 75% of the night. By far, one of the best nights of my life.

Prince was on the left, front side of the audience, (the VIP ticketholders area) for sometime toying with that area off and on, which is where he picked a fan (a female) to come on stage when he sang IIWYGF with Janelle Monae. It was funny at one point, when he left the fan there standing alone as she wandered back and forth on the stage, when Prince and Janelle were holding hands singing up and down the stage, but he was a good sport to the fan, because he just played along with her although she seemed giddy and a bit tipsy. I believe he took her cup and placed it on a corner of the stage, then when it was time for her to get off the stage he said something like (paraphase) "Okay it's time for you to go back to your seat before you man gets mad", then he walked over picked up her cup and walked her off stage, giving the security the cups, then giving the fan a big hug. I thought that was so cute.

He also was on the right side of the arrow a lot, as well as the front tip of the arrow. Sections 225 and 224 were pretty good sections, and those just below it. Very good view from that section.

[Edited 12/30/10 8:03am]