First of all, I seem to take a lot of heat for complaining on this site. I simply say I am honest. Even though Prince seems to have his Diva-ness on High for these shows, each and every one of the 4 concerts so far have been out of this world. Greensboro was my 43rd show, so I can say I have seen some better shows, but these shows were simply outstanding!

Some cons: Singing over the tape playing bits of a few songs was lame.

Having the audience sing when many of us paid $100-$500 to hear Prince sing....this is almost comical.

Playing for about an hour and 40 minutes if you just count the time that Prince is singing, and omit the time Shelby or somebody else is singing. For example, Bruce Springsteen is in his 60's and still plays 3-4 hours sometimes. Bruce, of course, is nowhere near as good as Prince, and I could not sit through more than 2 hours of his stuff. Prince, however, exists on a diet of Ken-L-Ration, and does not have the stamina to play that long anymore. If he skipped two meals, he would need an IV.

The Pros: Despite my bitching, this is one hell of a show. And he is making each show different. I had never seen him do this unless you count the last Celebration. The Raleigh show was similar to Columbia, but it was almost performed BACKWARDS! I was stunned.

Rating the shows:

1. Charlotte 2. Greensboro 3. Columbia 4. Raleigh

Instead of 4 reviews, just an overview of most....BUT NOT ALL... of the songs performed, and my opinions. As usual, I am not trying to be positive or negative here. I am being bluntly honest with how I feel.

Song ratings:

U Got The Look: A- He's playing it in full now, after several years of it being a mess. Great guitar playing and singing.

Shh: A+ His guitar solo is still amazing, and he still sings it with passion. Having John Blackwell on drums makes it every bit as good as when Michael B used to play it.

Purple Rain: A ...Still the show stopper for the casual fan, and whenever I try to think it is getting stale, it is still somewhat fresh....for Pizza's sake...this is Prince playing Purple Rain!

She's Always In My Hair: A- Much better than the last time I heard him play it.

DMSR: B+...had to knock the rating down a bit...as it really was better with a horn section. He started the Columbia show with this, and then ended the Raleigh show with it something like 10 minutes after the house lights were on. As cool as that had to be for those of us who stuck around...I have to be honest. Think of those who paid over $300 for seats and were not aware that he would come back...Damb!

Something In The Water: A...considering he did this in Charlotte solo at the Piano, I am amazed it sounded so nice.

Pop Life: B+....love it...just not quite as good as it was way back when.

Anotherloverholenyohead: A+++ I like the original version better without all the guitar, but at least this is a fresh take on the song that he has been doing on and off since 2006. The Rock Lobster bit was a little extended, and Prince was totally feelin' it on the guitar

Scandalous: A...perfectly performed at Columbia, and Raleigh...and flubbed the lyrics a bit at Greensboro....unless it was an issue with the mic.

Adore: A...nowhere near my favorite ballad, but the performance was super. He was in Diva mode, but I give him a pass.

Insatiable: A...again, not my fave, but he was in to it.

Extraordinary: A...I love this song, and was lucky to see him perform it a few times on the ONA tour....now if he had done Power Fantastic as I saw him in 2002...I would've died.

Take Me With U: B....kind of sick of this one, but John plays the drum solo with passion.

1999: A...much much better than the sweet and low version he did from 1987-1999. I was glad when he retired it, but now am happy he brought it back in full, and proper.

Let's Go Crazy: C-...he's getting better with it, but just barely. The guitar playing gets an A+, but he has not played this right since 1985...although a few shows in early 1998 he had it right...and then by spring of 1998 he started screwing it up again.

Kiss: B+...great to have elements of the 12 inch version....bad that he has the crowd sing so much when I want to hear him sing it. The beautiful women around me sang it nice, but I would not pay them $200 to sing.

IF I Was Your Girlfriend: A+...as much as I liked the newer version with the extra guitar, I am glad he is back to playing this in the traditional arrangement. This is one of his best songs, and considering it was only a minor hit, I'm glad he understands its appeal to hardcore Prince Hippies like me. Prince really needs to use the teleprompter for this one. He started with the third verse one show, and the second verse at another. If my memory serves me, Columbia was the only one where he seemed to know what the lyrics were. Perhaps he should get U2's Bono to help out with this. (Just kidding...Bono doesn't know the words to a few U2 songs....Check out any 1987 U2 bootleg for a flubbing of Spanish Eyes!)

Delirious: B- I like how it is sorta like the Purple Rain tour with Let's Go Crazy, but is a little flat...still very good though.

Uptown: A...like somebody else pointed out, he opened the last Charlotte show in 2001 with this, (Like a lot of 2001 shows)...and it sounded just as good this time.

Raspberry beret: F...songs are like children. When you cut them short after the first verse and the chorus, it is like your child has no arms and legs. Not cool.

Cool: A...not really into Prince taking back songs he gave others, but I'd be lying if I said it was anything other than great.

Little Red Corvette: A...love the new arrangement, and love that he is singing all the lyrics. His guitar playing is great, and since he has only been dancing on this song for years, it is great to see him finally playing an instrument during the performance.

The Bird/Jungle Love: C+...not as fun as Cool, and Prince seems to be going through the motions a bit. Still, there are some good moments.

Controversy/Let's Work: A-...pretty much a carbon copy of the versions from the Musicology tour...but fine with me.

Cream: A-..never my favorite song, but he's singing the lyrics pretty much in full. The music and lyrics borrow from Bang A Gong...but not a deal breaker.

Remakes like Play That Funky Music/Angel/backup singer songs: C. The crowds got into these more than I do. As a hardcore supporter plunking down $1300 for tickets, and another $1000 or more for travel...I want Prince songs sung in full by Prince only. I can't have everything my way though.

[Edited 3/27/11 23:39pm]

[Edited 3/28/11 8:52am]

Thanks for the excellent review. I could only attend the Raleigh show and (because I've seen him many times in the past) was a bit disappointed. As I stated in a post last week nothing could top the Lovesexy tour from 1988 but I know I need to move on! The setlist in Raleigh was weird and because I had to drive 3 hours to get home and get to work at 8 am I missed DMSR. 10 minutes is too long after the house lights came up to perform an encore. I really missed the horns which I think have been present on all the "in the round" tours. A rhythm guitar player would have been nice. While I respect the background singers (they are very talented--otherwise they wouldn't be on stage) it just doesn't work for the show. The Raleigh show did have several highlights but I know what he's capable of when he's on!

Well...I did say Raleigh was the "worst" of 4 great shows. If my memory serves me...it was Raleigh where he started "She's Always In My Hair," and then decided not to finish it...but it was Greensboro where he played it, and it was great!

Stillwaiting wrote:

Some cons: Singing over the tape playing bits of a few songs was lame.

Having the audience sing when many of us paid $100-$500 to hear Prince sing....this is almost comical.

Playing for about an hour and 40 minutes if you just count the time that Prince is singing, and omit the time Shelby or somebody else is singing. For example, Bruce Springsteen is in his 60's and still plays 3-4 hours sometimes. Bruce, of course, is nowhere near as good as Prince, and I could not sit through more than 2 hours of his stuff. Prince, however, exists on a diet of Ken-L-Ration, and does not have the stamina to play that long anymore. If he skipped two meals, he would need an IV.

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Some people are never happy just going to show.

If you enjoyed the shows as much as you said you did, then you have a problem as you still feel the need to complain about something.

powersoul99 said:

Stillwaiting wrote:

Some cons: Singing over the tape playing bits of a few songs was lame.

Having the audience sing when many of us paid $100-$500 to hear Prince sing....this is almost comical.

Playing for about an hour and 40 minutes if you just count the time that Prince is singing, and omit the time Shelby or somebody else is singing. For example, Bruce Springsteen is in his 60's and still plays 3-4 hours sometimes. Bruce, of course, is nowhere near as good as Prince, and I could not sit through more than 2 hours of his stuff. Prince, however, exists on a diet of Ken-L-Ration, and does not have the stamina to play that long anymore. If he skipped two meals, he would need an IV.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Some people are never happy just going to show.

If you enjoyed the shows as much as you said you did, then you have a problem as you still feel the need to complain about something.

Because life is full of people who don't have the balls to express how they feel. Some people are

going to kiss Prince's ass about how wonderful the Lotus Flow3r website was. Some people are going to say that the $20 Face Down live cassette was underpriced, and some people like me, are going to do something really weird and strange....give their opinion. This is a website where you can kiss Prince's ass, or you can be Bart Van Halen and say that every single move Prince makes is horrible. Or you can be like me, and give your honest opinion.

Look, I think Prince is more talented than U2, The Beatles, James Brown, and Mozart combined...but I think he and Warner Bros both equally ruined his chances to get the kind of success that U2 has had. U2's 360 tour is approaching $865 million in gross since 2009, and floor seats are $55. U2 may be my second favorite, but Prince should have better success. I love Prince for what he has done for my life. There is a reason he has not done better, but if you want to live in a cookie cutter life where everything is wonderful, you live on the wrong planet.

One of the reasons the gap between rich and poor is getting worse each generation, is a lot of us in the middle class just accept that CEOs of companies losing money still get $15 million bonuses, while most workers doing the real work have to get by on $8-$15 an hour jobs. (I'm not disclosing how much I make...not the point of this statement.)

Bottom line, this is my opinion. I'm not saying I'm right or wrong, but I express how I feel, and I won't change for anyone. If you don't like my opinion, you can choose to read posts by those who want Prince to stop singing all together and just hold the mic out for the fans to sing every song. Maybe you think Tony M should be back in the band? Well...if so, that is your opinion...and I will respect it.

[Edited 3/28/11 11:21am]

stillwaiting said:

powersoul99 said:

Stillwaiting wrote:

Some cons: Singing over the tape playing bits of a few songs was lame.

Having the audience sing when many of us paid $100-$500 to hear Prince sing....this is almost comical.

Playing for about an hour and 40 minutes if you just count the time that Prince is singing, and omit the time Shelby or somebody else is singing. For example, Bruce Springsteen is in his 60's and still plays 3-4 hours sometimes. Bruce, of course, is nowhere near as good as Prince, and I could not sit through more than 2 hours of his stuff. Prince, however, exists on a diet of Ken-L-Ration, and does not have the stamina to play that long anymore. If he skipped two meals, he would need an IV.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Some people are never happy just going to show.

If you enjoyed the shows as much as you said you did, then you have a problem as you still feel the need to complain about something.

Because life is full of people who don't have the balls to express how they feel. Some people are

going to kiss Prince's ass about how wonderful the Lotus Flow3r website was. Some people are going to say that the $20 Face Down live cassette was underpriced, and some people like me, are going to do something really weird and strange....give their opinion. This is a website where you can kiss Prince's ass, or you can be Bart Van Halen and say that every single move Prince makes is horrible. Or you can be like me, and give your honest opinion.

Look, I think Prince is more talented than U2, The Beatles, James Brown, and Mozart combined...but I think he and Warner Bros both equally ruined his chances to get the kind of success that U2 has had. U2's 360 tour is approaching $865 million in gross since 2009, and floor seats are $55. U2 may be my second favorite, but Prince should have better success. I love Prince for what he has done for my life. There is a reason he has not done better, but if you want to live in a cookie cutter life where everything is wonderful, you live on the wrong planet.

One of the reasons the gap between rich and poor is getting worse each generation, is a lot of us in the middle class just accept that CEOs of companies losing money still get $15 million bonuses, while most workers doing the real work have to get by on $8-$15 an hour jobs. (I'm not disclosing how much I make...not the point of this statement.)

Bottom line, this is my opinion. I'm not saying I'm right or wrong, but I express how I feel, and I won't change for anyone. If you don't like my opinion, you can choose to read posts by those who want Prince to stop singing all together and just hold the mic out for the fans to sing every song. Maybe you think Tony M should be back in the band? Well...if so, that is your opinion...and I will respect it.

[Edited 3/28/11 11:21am]

Everyone is allowed to express a opinion, and love him or hate him, that is upto the persons opinion.

It's just you gave a good account of the show and the negative you gave at the beginning spoilt the whole thing as it was not really needed and seemed you just could not be 100% positive.

But as you say that is a opinion.

stillwaiting, I like your reviews. I've been to two shows in the Carolinas thus far (Columbia and Charlotte) and will probably be at the Charleston show on the 30th.

Prince did some unwelcome pandering by playing Wild Cherry. I did like the backup singers version of "Which Way Is Up" from the brilliant Richard Pryor movie. The majority of the folks at the shows aren't die hards like you or I (I drove 14 hours from Columbia to see him December 15th, opening night) so he has to modify his shows for a "less saavy" audience, no offence to any native born Carolinians. I loved the Charlotte show but the set list was quite different from the Columbia and NJ shows, especially when he didn't do the Scandolous/Adore/Insatiable medley for one of his encores. I took a good friend to her first Prince show and it would have been nice for her to hear those songs, which all women swoon when they hear them.

Still can't believe he did a brief cover of "Rock Lobster" in Charlotte. I was blown away by it.

Stillwaiting, I only went to all of the NC shows and 2 in NYC, so I can't comment on the Columbia show but I will make comments on the others.

I'm going by total package, music, performance, and crowd participation, My opinion was that Charlotte was the best show, followed by Raleigh, then Greensboro a close third to Raleigh. Musically, none of the shows could touch what Prince put on for Charlotte. Yes, he played alot more covers, but they key word is he played. He was jamming out his guitar for most of the night and it was spectacular.

I chose Raleigh over Greensboro's performance because of the song selections and performances he gave were simply vintage, sexy Prince. One of the biggest complaints non-Prince fanatics have about Prince is that they can't get into his fast songs. But everyone absolutely adores his slow stuff. Prince delivered a sexy show in Raleigh, even down to the color cordination of everyone in Red & Black to correspond to the arena's settings to the hurricanes and NC State. Most of his best love songs, full editions, plus an encore performance of sweet thing with Chaka Khan on a clean sounding microphone just added that extra oomph Greensboro didn't give. Not to mention a shirtless Prince, something that no other city in the country has gotten so far meant Raleigh was a very special event.

If you were a Prince virgin, or just a casual fan, Greensboro would have been the best show to catch him at. The crowd was the rowdiest and funkiest of all of the NC cities but that didnt translate necessarily into a better performance. I felt that he just gave you a rehash of the other cities here with the exception of she's always in my hair and the crowd favorite Time jams. He gave us more of a canned, greatest hits show in Greensboro, which by no means am I complaining about, but for the enthusiast, you are left for that rare highlight/exclusive moment that no other city will get. Thats what made Charlotte and Raleigh more special in my opinion.

I agree with your cons of him singing over a tape or just singing on top of the sampler loop was kind of cheesy. But again, the man does have a million hits and he doesn't want/have time to play them all every night, but it gives the fans enough teaser to say "oh my god I heard XYZ!" Even I found myself tickled at the promise of Hot Thang and 777-9311. I also agree that he needs to do something else for filler then letting the girls have their extremely long boring solos. But thats not a new thing for Prince, on tours past, He'd have extremely long solos from Najee, Renato, Maceo or Mike Phillips. It's by design where basically he has to give himself to change outfits and/or give the band some time to rest.

I disagree with the fact that you don't want Prince to allow the crowd to sing the songs. Like seriously? Why even be a fan if you don't want people to love the very same stuff that has you travelling to see him every night? It's everyone's right, and damn near duty to sing and/or dance to EVERY Prince song. We all love Prince, but cmon have we gotten to the point of snobbery where we only want him to perform in a library or museum where we can't let loose and enjoy the show? There is no bigger respect paid to an artist than when they don't even have to sing the words to their song and the crowd takes over in unison. Thats Love.

But I digress, all in all I loved the Carolina shows more than I enjoyed the NYC welcome to America shows. These were less star studded, but more entertaining, in my opinion. I could go on and on about what he sang that was right and wrong, but thats going to step on other people's toes that absolutely adored the song that particular night. Highlights for me on the NC tour was: She's Always In My Hair, Something in the Water (Does Not Compute), Elixir.

Wow!! If Columbia ranked near the bottom, I can't imagine how over the top the other cities were. For me, the Columbia Prince concert was the most unreal, fun, entertaining concert I've ever intended.... Ive seen many--Pop, Rock, Funk, Fusion, Progressive, Metal---huge stage productions...etc this concert was above all of them in entertainment value.

It was my first and only Prince concert to date, though... I have no others to compare it to.

Thanks Stillwaiting. Nice to hear your views.

Bohemian67 said:

Thanks Stillwaiting. Nice to hear your views.

I like your reply an awful lot. It is nice to hear the positive and negative reactions to my writing, but it is a slam dunk to read a reply that does not really express an opinion. Of course, I am very strong with my opinions on most of my posts, but it is great to just hear a "Thank You." My ten or so friends that have seen the show don't agree with me word for word, but are all about 75% on board with my feelings. Of course, maybe that's why they are my friends..

Not that it matters, but now that I have seen all 6 shows, I might update this, and create a new topic...even though it has been a few days since the last 2 shows, and it might not really matter to anyone.

A new thread discussing the music would be nice. As you've seen all shows and seem to recall well the differences between vibe, setlist sequence and such, it would make for a great topic.

It's always interesting to get input on how others perceive things. I think we all forget on this board sometimes that our cultures span the world and act as metaphorical affective filters which narrow or broaden our senses to particular things.

I appreciate when people like yourself, take the time to share your thoughts in detail. It's obvious you're an enthusiastic fan who really listens to the music.

powersoul99 said:

Stillwaiting wrote:

Some cons: Singing over the tape playing bits of a few songs was lame.

Having the audience sing when many of us paid $100-$500 to hear Prince sing....this is almost comical.

Playing for about an hour and 40 minutes if you just count the time that Prince is singing, and omit the time Shelby or somebody else is singing. For example, Bruce Springsteen is in his 60's and still plays 3-4 hours sometimes. Bruce, of course, is nowhere near as good as Prince, and I could not sit through more than 2 hours of his stuff. Prince, however, exists on a diet of Ken-L-Ration, and does not have the stamina to play that long anymore. If he skipped two meals, he would need an IV.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Some people are never happy just going to show.

If you enjoyed the shows as much as you said you did, then you have a problem as you still feel the need to complain about something.

I dunno, I think it all depends on the crowd.

The last Oakland show I went to was OVER 3 HOURS!

The Charleston show was off the chain. I was in V.I.P. on the 3rd row, and got some great pics..

http://www.setlist.fm/set...24ca0.html

It was by far the best concert I have been to in a long time...I hope he posts more dates again soon. I plan to be there...

[Edited 4/3/11 11:43am]