stillwaiting said:

At the shows I went to he never sung to Single Ladies, meaning he was just standing there listening... Prince talks about being a serious musician, and wastes valuable time on stage.

In Prince's defense, "Single Ladies" only wasted about 3 seconds. But it is a puzzling inclusion, and the sampler medley in general just feels like a tease. It would be far more satisfying to hear "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" in its entirety, rather than just hear him sing the first ten seconds of that and then jump right into something else.

Also, when "Single Ladies" started playing, I was fooled into thinking he'd actually perform that song, which would have been adorable. What a tease.

I hear what people are saying about the show last night. i went with a friend who never saw prince before and i was happy for him to hear "the hits". i've been to all of the shows so far at the forum and i still had a good time although i've heard these songs over and over again. i think saturday nite is for more of the casual fans. thursday is for the fans that like to hear the more obscure tracks. he had his guitar up louder than usual last night and that was great because i'd be happy just listening to him play his guitar and the only beef i have if he is gonna do a hits show is, prince... please don't cut little red corvette out of the "crazy/delerious/1999" medley. that's the best part of that little set he puts together. i'm taking saturdays off from now on unless i have a hot date. just think hearing "kiss" for the 10+ time might be too much for me but i felt like i diddnt want to miss something new. i'm gonna check out the thursday shows and maybe some fridays ones tho and possibly the last one when he does that one. last saturday he played "something in the water, and strange relationship" those two songs were worth the price of admission so it's a gamble sitting out of saturdays but i have to resume my usual social life.

on a closing note, i think he's getting a bit worn out. prince at 80% is still better than an average human at 100% but i noticed there's a lot more guest vocal songs (sheila, shelby, etc...) compared to his earlier sets and he lets the crowd sing a lot more. he even sang kiss in his low voice instead of his falsetto last night.

oh well, thank you anyway for the eve prince. u still are the greatest.

npg4vr said:

stillwaiting said:

Now now, even as much as I complain about Prince and his short time singing at MOST, but not all of his shows...for $25, it was a bargain. I wish I was there. I would have to be out of my mind to say it was awful. Yes, I would have wanted a longer show, and as I pointed out, it was very close to my 3-21 show in Columbia. Throw in Anotherloverholenyohead, Scandalous, and Guitar, and it would have been awesome.

I just wish he sung full length Prince songs for 2 hrs 30 min each night, and did not have so much time given to background singers who won't be in the band in a few years. He gave all that stage time to Tamar, and for what? Where is she now? As much as I liked Tamar, she is probably waiting tables. In this day in age, if you don't rap about killing people or use Auto-Tune, then you may as well be out of the business.

Someone sounds a little un - grateful. Prince blessed us in LA with this concert run. Every night is not going to be what you want to hear. Deal with it. I've been to 3 different shows, they were all different for sure. By the way, on 4/22 he played Guitar, two weekends ago he played, Adore

If that's a little I'd hate to hear a lot! Dude has been going on about these same things since the lights came up at the last of the Carolina shows!

StevenAnthony said:

D.M.S.R.

Pop Life

Musicology (with Prince & The Band / Tighten Up)

Shhh (with U Will Be With Me)

The Glamorous Life

Take Me With U

Eye'll Never B Another Fool (with Nicole Scherzinger)

Hollywood Swinging (with Fantastic Voyage)

Play That Funky Music (with Love Rollercoaster)

Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)

Raspberry Beret

Cream

Cool / Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough

Rude Boy

Make You Feel My Love

Purple Rain

Let's Go Crazy

Delirious

1999

Controversy (with Housequake)

When Doves Cry / Nasty Girl / Sign Of The Times / The Most Beautiful Girl In The World / Darling Nikki / Single Ladies / Gett Off (Housestyle) / I Would Die 4 U

If I Was Your Girlfriend

Kiss

A Love Bizarre

[Edited 5/8/11 0:44am]

Anybody want to chime in on how 'Eye'll Never B Another Fool" sounded.

HonestMan13 said:

npg4vr said:

Someone sounds a little un - grateful. Prince blessed us in LA with this concert run. Every night is not going to be what you want to hear. Deal with it. I've been to 3 different shows, they were all different for sure. By the way, on 4/22 he played Guitar, two weekends ago he played, Adore

If that's a little I'd hate to hear a lot! Dude has been going on about these same things since the lights came up at the last of the Carolina shows!

I never said he didn't play "Guitar." He played it at Charlotte and Greenville. I said instead of wasting time playing a tape, he could play these 3 songs, or for that matter any other full length song. If you spent $3000 traveling around the Carolinas to see Prince play mostly hour and a half shows, and then see him go to his next stop, and play a few 3 hour shows, and many tickets for $25, you might feel a little cheated. 75% of the tickets for those shows were $85 or more. Funny how your site name is "Honest Man." That's exactly what I'm being...honest. I'm not going to be a Prince ass kisser praising his every move. I'm also not going to turn into Bart Van Halen, and say that every single thing Prince has done since 1988 is terrible. I'm going to call it like I see it.

This is a website, and my opinions are fair game for you to attack, but that's all they are...my opinions. Prince is capable of so much more live, and I will call him out when I feel I need to. I also give him more credit than most on the site, saying his studio work as a whole is better than U2, The Beatles, James Brown, and Elton John combined. So There.

Somebody with this much talent should not be playing damb tapes and worrying about how pretty his hair is.

StevenAnthony said:

stillwaiting said:

Steven, just to be clear, I really appreciate you taking the time to put a set list up.

And, I admit, I was sort of wishing you had identified that those songs were not really played, but I still have to say I really appreciate you taking the time. I sometimes am guilty of thinking anyone who posts here has to have the ability of a professional journalist, but I still have to be sure I give credit where credit is due.

For the record I am, in fact, a journalist.

Ha! So you are a journalist. That's funny, considering what I wrote in my reply. I in no way was saying your writing was bad, it was just an observation from the info provided. From a music fan's view, I still say those who haven't followed Prince would have no idea that When Doves Cry was him singing over a tape. It just looks like he played the song with the band. So from that perspective the set list was misleading, but again, you are pure gold for posting it. I don't think anybody else did. So thank you again.

StevenAnthony said:

Eye'll Never B Another Fool is from Chaka Khan's Paisley Park album.

Rude Boy is a Rihanna song.

Make You Feel My Love is a Bob Dylan song.

[Edited 5/8/11 9:46am]

Cool, Thanks

HonestMan13 said:

Anybody want to chime in on how 'Eye'll Never B Another Fool" sounded.

It wasn't a highlight for me, but I was pleasantly surprised with Nicole Scherzinger's voice. She has some pipes... Crazy how much she looks like Vanity too.

Well, I went last night. I must disclose that this broke my Princian concert hymen.

I have to agree that the setlist was a bit "pedestrian" for my taste. Kind of a "greatest hits" thing, including a good chunk of Purple Rain (whether in snippet or full). Purple Rain is one of my least favorite albums.

I was hoping for a bit more of the obscure (and really hoping for Avalanche, though that would have killed the positive vibe last night).

That being said, live versions are often waaaaaay better than the album version. Purple Rain was excellent.

Like it has already been said, the energy was very high and infecctious. All in all, it was a very fun show.

The highlights for me were Shhh and Sheila E rockin' The Glamorous Life. She fuckin' killed it on the skins.

Prince is one hell of a guitarist.

It was a great night! Looking to try to go again.

DaveG said:

HonestMan13 said:

It wasn't a highlight for me, but I was pleasantly surprised with Nicole Scherzinger's voice. She has some pipes... Crazy how much she looks like Vanity too.

Thanks, I've always liked that song and am surprised he played it. Especially without Chaka being there.

stillwaiting said:

HonestMan13 said:

If that's a little I'd hate to hear a lot! Dude has been going on about these same things since the lights came up at the last of the Carolina shows!

I never said he didn't play "Guitar." He played it at Charlotte and Greenville. I said instead of wasting time playing a tape, he could play these 3 songs, or for that matter any other full length song. If you spent $3000 traveling around the Carolinas to see Prince play mostly hour and a half shows, and then see him go to his next stop, and play a few 3 hour shows, and many tickets for $25, you might feel a little cheated. 75% of the tickets for those shows were $85 or more. Funny how your site name is "Honest Man." That's exactly what I'm being...honest. I'm not going to be a Prince ass kisser praising his every move. I'm also not going to turn into Bart Van Halen, and say that every single thing Prince has done since 1988 is terrible. I'm going to call it like I see it.

This is a website, and my opinions are fair game for you to attack, but that's all they are...my opinions. Prince is capable of so much more live, and I will call him out when I feel I need to. I also give him more credit than most on the site, saying his studio work as a whole is better than U2, The Beatles, James Brown, and Elton John combined. So There.

Somebody with this much talent should not be playing damb tapes and worrying about how pretty his hair is.

I completely understand your opinion. The thing is after 3 weeks it's coming across as pure bitterness. You've been stating the same thing since the LA show tickets went on sale.

LA only paying 25 dollars and you spent X amount of dollars...

He only played 90 minutes in Carolina and he played 3 hours in LA...

I'm not an ass kisser...

Bart Van Halen(which you continue to spell wrong)...

You didn't like the sampler set...

We get it. The odd thing is you have not specifically mentioned one thing that you enjoyed about any of the shows you attended.

stillwaiting said:

GDB said:

The setlist posted above is accurate and complete. The Forum was full to the rafters and it was rocking. Very enthusiastic crowd last night.

At the shows I went to he never sung to Single Ladies, meaning he was just standing there listening. That is the one moment in a Prince concert I am just as talented as Prince. I too have the ability to listen to "Single Ladies," standing there doing nothing. OK, maybe he was shaking a bit, which I can do, but would get booed. Imagine Miles Davis or John Coltrane just standing on stage to a tape of a song like "Single Ladies." You can't, because if they were still alive, they would not stoop so low. Why mention it? Prince talks about being a serious musician, and wastes valuable time on stage. Based on reaction to my posts where I put down the Karaoke, it seems many on this site here would rather Prince just play the tape then take the time for a full length song like "Computer Blue," or "Act of God."

Truly insightful point. Love that this gets hated on when it's completely true. You hit the nail on the head on why the "Sampler Set" has always rubbed me wrong.

Farfunknugin said:

Will someone address the sound @ the forum? How is it & what are the best sections to see/hear the show. Thanx [Edited 5/8/11 17:43pm]

I've been to 8 of 10 and last night I really enjoyed the sound to PR in the lobby. I normally get out and get back in asap, but last night I was in line for water. I chose to stay there compared to when Alicia came out on the 22nd and I ran back in. PR stood out, sonically speaking.

Thursday sounds different then Friday and sounds different than Saturday regardless of where you are. The one definite I know is that Loge is cooler (temperature-wise) than Collonade.

DANCE ON!

I really, really wanna hear "U Will Be With Me".

HonestMan13 said:

DaveG said:

It wasn't a highlight for me, but I was pleasantly surprised with Nicole Scherzinger's voice. She has some pipes... Crazy how much she looks like Vanity too.

Thanks, I've always liked that song and am surprised he played it. Especially without Chaka being there.

Great Country and Western tune.

Astasheiks said:

StevenAnthony said:

Eye'll Never B Another Fool is from Chaka Khan's Paisley Park album.

Rude Boy is a Rihanna song.

Make You Feel My Love is a Bob Dylan song.

[Edited 5/8/11 9:46am]

Cool, Thanks

and yet Prince says he hates covers of other songs. I counted 10 covers fromthis show. Prince is so full of it. Why does he play everyone elses music anyway? Is that his way of saying everyone else's music is better than his? Thats the way it feels. I was so disappointed going to see him and yet he does so many covers. I want to hear Prince play his own music. I dont want to hear him play Chaka Khan, Larry Graham, Rihanna, Beyonce, Sheila E, The Time, Sly Stone, the guy that sang play that funky music, bob dylan or anyone else. IT sucks!! I won't attend another unless I see the setlist ahead of time now and he is doing his stuff. I truly dontunderstand all the hype about him. Very disappointing for sure.

dandeeland said:

Astasheiks said:

Cool, Thanks

and yet Prince says he hates covers of other songs. I counted 10 covers fromthis show. Prince is so full of it. Why does he play everyone elses music anyway? Is that his way of saying everyone else's music is better than his? Thats the way it feels. I was so disappointed going to see him and yet he does so many covers. I want to hear Prince play his own music. I dont want to hear him play Chaka Khan, Larry Graham, Rihanna, Beyonce, Sheila E, The Time, Sly Stone, the guy that sang play that funky music, bob dylan or anyone else. IT sucks!! I won't attend another unless I see the setlist ahead of time now and he is doing his stuff. I truly dontunderstand all the hype about him. Very disappointing for sure.

You do realize that you will never attend another Prince show again, ever?

yeah i dont want to if he is going to play covers. I can go to a bar to hear those.

wha? acoustics . thats what i'm getting to. You know like quality of the venues sound...

legna said:

Farfunknugin said:

Will someone address the sound @ the forum? How is it & what are the best sections to see/hear the show. Thanx [Edited 5/8/11 17:43pm]

I've been to 8 of 10 and last night I really enjoyed the sound to PR in the lobby. I normally get out and get back in asap, but last night I was in line for water. I chose to stay there compared to when Alicia came out on the 22nd and I ran back in. PR stood out, sonically speaking.

Thursday sounds different then Friday and sounds different than Saturday regardless of where you are. The one definite I know is that Loge is cooler (temperature-wise) than Collonade.

DANCE ON!

Farfunknugin said:

wha? acoustics . thats what i'm getting to. You know like quality of the venues sound...

The Forum is notorious for poor acoustics but Prince's PA overcame many of those inherent issues and I have been beyond pleased with the sound, for the most part. Each instrument can be heard distinctly in the mix, clear without mud...each voice and instrument seated very well in the mix. The last show was uncomfortable for me because they have recently increased the volume level to where that crystal clarity I appreciated so much for the first three weeks of shows was affected. Hopefully this will be addressed and the volume level will be restored to its previous level where everything sounded beautiful. Best arena sound system I'd ever heard in over twenty five years of attending concerts.

thanx gdb, appreciate it. Thinking of flying from the bay for fri/sat this week. Know of any decent hotels near the forum?

StevenAnthony said:

stillwaiting said:

Steven, just to be clear, I really appreciate you taking the time to put a set list up. I know my post above looks like I'm picking on you for not putting in "Prince Karaoke," for the sampler set. So far you are the only one to post the set list, and Please don't think I was picking a bone with you. I was not. Sure, I am a self-described Prince historian, full fledged fanatic. I also call Prince out for crap like the playing of a tape during a concert.

And, I admit, I was sort of wishing you had identified that those songs were not really played, but I still have to say I really appreciate you taking the time. I sometimes am guilty of thinking anyone who posts here has to have the ability of a professional journalist, but I still have to be sure I give credit where credit is due.

For the record I am, in fact, a journalist.

When a song interpolates another song, it is worth mentioning. Prince (and U2 fans, as you mentioned) have always done that. I copy & pasted this from my setlist that I built for setlist.fm, and took out all of their coding, but when I say (with Love Rollercoaster) or (with Housequake) it's mentioning that parts of the track were played. Not the entire song. Two seconds, five seconds, whatever. If it's long enough for a Prince fan to notice, it's long enough to mention.

It's great that you don't think so, but Prince setlists have always included these snippets/interpolation markers and I'm not going to stop including them just because you don't like them.

You may not like the sampler set, but I'm pretty sure the casual fans are in love with it. Ultimately it doesn't matter anyway, Prince is gonna do whatever he wants.

I disagree with your assessment that a song is worth mentioning when a snippet is played. First of all, Prince is not a snippet artist; he TRULY is a musical genius, but there seems to be some confusion between interpreting when someone is nitpicking, being unfair, or fairly critical. My personal opinion is that a disservice is being done to fans AND an artist is receiving too much credit when misleading setlists are provided. With that said, the ONLY way I determine whether a Prince set list is worthy is based on the amount of covers. I've tried to explain to people he has so much quality music in his arsenal to where it's become pointless regarding which of HIS songs he plays, as long as he plays them thoroughly and passionately. That's all everyone really wants to see and hear any way, whether they are new to his music or have followed it for decades.

Farfunknugin said:

GDB said:

The setlist posted above is accurate and complete. The Forum was full to the rafters and it was rocking. Very enthusiastic crowd last night.

Highlights for me were "Shhhh..."interlaced with "U Will Be With Me"...incendiary guitar work on that one...and "Rude Boy," which appeared to be impromptu. During "Cool," P called Shelby over, "Shelby, can I talk to u?" He told her something off-mic, she then relayed it to Renato and the other singers and the band fell into it and Shelby knocked it out of the park IMO. Believe it or not, the covers "Hollywood (Inglewood) Swinging" and "Play That Funky Music" went down well, maybe due to being played earlier in the set while there was more energy available to put into them.

A complaint: the volume has been turned up to the point where it was uncomfortable for me at times. What was a crystal-clear sound experience has been affected to a degree by the increased volume. Not sure why this decision was made because it was not too low by any means before but for the first time, the clarity that I had bragged so much about was marred. Hopefully this will be corrected in future shows.

Esperanza Spalding opened again but this time P didn't come out to jam with her. Ironically, the sound issues that plagued her set on Friday night were worked out for the most part.

I heard A LOT of complaints about the music being too loud last night, very interesting. I didn't notice it, but I'll take everyone's word that that was the case. I'm concerned that he's starting his shows much stronger than he's finishing them...to the point where I could have done without the last two encores. Shhhh seems to be the most consistently great song on the 21 Night Stand; it was tremendous again. The crowd was great and I'm happy that people were once again, pleased with the performance. Way too many covers for my tastes...and any songs led by the backups are too much for me. If Prince needs a break, I would prefer that it's just Sheila E doing Glamorous Life and Love Bizarre while he rests and/or changes outfits. With all that said, Prince and his band delivered a much stronger performance than the night before and surely convinced thousands of people to return this coming week.

Farfunknugin said:

thanx gdb, appreciate it. Thinking of flying from the bay for fri/sat this week. Know of any decent hotels near the forum?

You're welcome. Re hotels...there are a few hotels along Manchester Blvd heading west of the Forum where it intersects La Cienega Blvd that some visitors have reported as decent...also along Century Blvd (which is south of Manchester) in the same area. Continuing west along Century and you run into LAX...all within ten to twenty minutes of the Forum. All depends upon your budget, needs and lifestyle. If you have the resources then head south towards the Redondo Beach/Torrance/Manhattan Beach areas and you get a nicer area...head north towards Santa Monica, same thing. But if you're planning to drop in primarily for the concert and don't need malls and ambiance then those basic hotels along Manchester or Century should suffice. I can help you out with some specifics if you'd like...send me an Orgnote.

ShutUpAlreadyDamn said:

Shaki00 said:

OMG Esperanza was amazing! So talented. Not a jazz fan, but that girl can rock! Oh did anyone find that guy with the fro dancing to rude boy on stage ridiculous! He was trying to be the star by outshining everyone else and then he lifted up his shirt! Oh lord! At least Prince called him out, and was like "Security!" haha

By the way, the guy with the fro is JaQuel Knight. He choreographed Nicole's new video and also won an MTV award for choreographing Single Ladies for Beyonce. I think the spotlight was very well deserved don't you? Especially since Prince pulled him out front in the first place..

I'm still laughing that JaQuel is getting mad raves for stealing from (oops, I mean, "doing an homage" to) an old Bob Fosse choreography. Check it on Youtube. 1970s at its best.

Really surprised about the amount of complaining about this. Would you rather he packed it all in and did not perform there? You are getting reasonable seats, to have alot of fun, hear LIVE MUSIC, from a legend that will not be performing forever. You can go to 10 shows for the price I paid for 1.

My opinion regarding covers-so what. I would get bored playing the same thing every night. It is called having fun. It never sounds exactly like the original artist anyway so it is is nice to see a new spin on it esp from Prince.

I recently went to a concert from a supposed legend and I was disappointed because it was lip synched and one hour+. There is a saying you don't know what you have till it's gone. So be appreciative and if you don't like what you will see..don't go. Sure each night is different but you have an idea of how it will go....

Spoiled society.

vandeluca said:

Really surprised about the amount of complaining about this. Would you rather he packed it all in and did not perform there? You are getting reasonable seats, to have alot of fun, hear LIVE MUSIC, from a legend that will not be performing forever. You can go to 10 shows for the price I paid for 1.

My opinion regarding covers-so what. I would get bored playing the same thing every night. It is called having fun. It never sounds exactly like the original artist anyway so it is is nice to see a new spin on it esp from Prince.

I recently went to a concert from a supposed legend and I was disappointed because it was lip synched and one hour+. There is a saying you don't know what you have till it's gone. So be appreciative and if you don't like what you will see..don't go. Sure each night is different but you have an idea of how it will go....

Spoiled society.

I've noticed the people doing the majority of the complaining are those who don't live in LA and haven't seen one of these shows. Another point about the covers, some of them are songs that Price wrote (Shh, Cool), so they're not technically covers. I've been to 6 shows so far and I'm loving it. Every show has its highlights, every show has been different enough. There have been some valid constructive criticism of certain nights, but that's to be expected. Prince has been more inspired/energetic on some nights but I've been entertained and satisfied by every show.