LectricManx said:

bobzilla77 said:

As a Who fan who has more than once, attended three nights in a row and heard the same 15 songs at all three, I find this commentary laughable.

The song list for the entire residency has over 100 titles on it.

Can anyone name any artist/band that comes even remotely close to this? No, no chance.

I have worked for many large bands and seen their shows over and over...no one does this.

Rhetorical questions...my fav.

Are you talking right NOW or EVER? And exactly what are you talking about coming close to?

Prince has more material than just about every artist and band, so it's not really viable to make a comparison, because we're talking about a guy that literally has 600 songs that he's published, but if we level the playing field, there's plenty of people I could name. As Stillwaiting has mentioned a 100 times, the thing with Prince is the versatility; it's not 1 thing. But there's artists that play 3 hours straight and don't depend on jukeboxes and background vocalists that act as leads. There's artists that switch up their shows, plenty of artists, but either the shows are like Neil Diamond's in energy or their pool of songs is about 40 or 50, not 400 or 500. So I could say Erykah Badu switches up her shows, but so what? I could say U2 keeps playing music, instead of bragging about themselves on stage. I could say Stevie Wonder offers variety.

I mean let's not go overboard here, please. If one of these acts or about 50 others announced they were doing 21 shows, mostly for $25 and all in the L.A. area, I would be very interested. If Prince was doing 21 shows for $100 minimum at the Forum, then it would have ended after 3 shows. If U2 was doing 21 shows for $100 minimum at the Forum, then people would be asking when is show #22?

[Edited 6/2/11 14:52pm]

Genesia said:

ihatephish said:

grateful dead (now called furthur), phish, widespread panic, just to name a few. they usually go at least three to four shows without playing a single repeat.

sorry to add fuel to this fire, but these are three pretty large bands that play to similar sized crowds.

Hippie jam bands notwithstanding. How many actual songs do they play per show? You can fly for days when you only do 10 at a crack...and mostly riff for hours...

[Edited 6/2/11 14:46pm]

20-25 songs per show, on average. its easy to play 87 songs a night when you only play snippets of music and do medleys.

damn it. i ended up being sucked into this thread i've managed to avoid for days.

anyway, while i can see where the op is coming from, i do not agree with him. i knew EXACTLY what we were getting into. we made it to five shows at the forum and that was plenty. but i knew this. who didn't know/understand this was coming?

stillwaiting said:

mchotsie said:

I always felt that his aftershows and small venue shows were for the old school fans.....2004 HOB aftershows, Key Club, 3121 aftershows, etc. Those who are only familiar with the hits generally don't enjoy these shows and aren't willing to wait around until the man takes the stage at 1:30am and plays until 4:40am. In my opinion, they're missing out bigtime cuz he is on a totally different level at those shows

Funny, I've been to 10 aftershows, and 8 of them were full of background female singers singing lead on nearly every track, or worse...Doug E Fresh, or some other clown rapping, or Prince singing one verse of a song, and then no more singing. And believe it or not, a female singer singing "I'll Take You There," for the 1,000,000th time is not stuff of legends. 2 of those 10 aftershows were pretty good, but I'll take the main show over the aftershow 95% of the time. Other than Lovesexy and ONA, most of the aftershows were fairly lame.

You must not have been at the Paisley Park aftershows for the Musicology Tour in 2004. Three nights in a row Wed Thurs Fri night he played 2.5-3 hours beginning around one in a morning to 8-900 hundred people in this airplane hanger-like soundstage out in the sticks outside of Minneapolis. He walked out on stage during the first aftershow (Wed) walked directly over to me and slapped me five and then played "Miss You." An indescribable good time ensued for three days. No arena show Prince ever played could compare. There's just no fucking way I'll EVER believe that shit.

This is not a debate over whether Arena shows or Small Venue/Late Night Shows are better...

It's not even a discussion....

I did truly enjoy these Forum shows though... MUCH more than than most Big Venue shows I've been to. He wasn't promoting any album... It was VERY diverse... Regardless of what people who were looking for more say...

It kept me coming back.... That's for sure.

ihatephish said:

Genesia said:

Hippie jam bands notwithstanding. How many actual songs do they play per show? You can fly for days when you only do 10 at a crack...and mostly riff for hours...

[Edited 6/2/11 14:46pm]

20-25 songs per show, on average. its easy to play 87 songs a night when you only play snippets of music and do medleys.

Yep, that's probably a good number. Sometimes a couple less, sometimes a few more. Being a "jam" band doesn't mean all your songs are wandering fifteen minute long freakouts. It means you have the ability to go there if you feel like it, or that its more unlikely you play a song exactly the same way two times in a row.

And you think you go sucked in!? I wasn't coming back at all and look what happened!

adguy31 said:

An Open Letter to Prince:

Dear Sir,

I have been a fan of yours since 1981 when a friend let me borrow the Controversy cassette tape. Even though I was 9 years old and my parents wouldn't let me listen to it, I somehow sneaked it into the house and put in whatever tape deck I could find and listen to that great music for hours. It was at that point you had me hooked. And, subsequently, I have been an arden supporter of yours by buying every album you have ever produced, defending you to so many people when you went through you name change and lack of commercial success as well as buying your concert tickets whenver you would tour or come to the area in which I have lived. In short, I have chosen to support all of your ventures and believe in your musical prowess and genius.

When I heard you were coming to LA for 21 Night I was excited to have the opportunity to see the greatest living musician; an icon. Never before had I been given an opportunity to see your talents in a smaller venue for such a long period of time. So, when tickets went on sale I made it a point to snatch up as many as I could afford and see as mnay shows as possible with the hopes of hearing some of greatest music that was an intregal part of my life. But, as I went to show after show at The Forum or Troubadour I became incressingly frustrated at the reality of hearing the same songs over and over and over again. Herein lies my issue with these concerts...

For once, I would like to see a real concert for REAL fans. Why can't you provide a concert for the people who have folowed you for (now) 30 years. I don't know how many times I have heard 1999, Little Red Corvette, Kiss, Alphabet Street, Take Me With U, Shhh, Let's Go Crazy and Purple Rain. Why do you have to make a concert for the "Radio" fans and not for the REAL fans. I know I cannot be alone in thinking this way. Why can't you perform a set that rewards the loyal, loyal followers who have helped to share the word about your music and performances with a concert that showcases your incredible catalog. For once, I would love to see a concert where you perform for the REAL fans with such greats as Thunder, Party Up, Condition of the Heart, America, Private Joy, Dorothy Parker, Eye Know, Partyman, 17 Days, Let's Pretend We're Married, and ANYTHING off the Gold Experience (minus Endorphine Machine or Shhh). This is not a wish list but an attempt to hear something... anything different.

I seems like the last 10 years of touring have been a "greatest hits' show and I would hope you would consider performing the songs that have made you great to the real fans. Your music is so much more than just "The Hits." And, if you can change the lyrics around to DMSR to fit your new beliefs then why can't you do that for other songs. And, more importantly, if you new beliefs prevent you from playing Darling Nikki then why in the hell would you even perform it (or just a snipet of it) in concert. C'mon, man. Now don't get me wrong. I am appreicative of every show you perform and loved every minute of it, however, I started getting disappointed when I kept hearing the same songs, anecdotes, and words to the crowd (Y'all ain't ready for me). It became more about Schtick then about performance.

I hope you keep touring and sharing your music with the world. We all know the music industry needs someone like you to show younger generations what good, make that great, music is all about. I just hope you add more songs to reward your life-long fans the opportunity to hear the songs that have become the soundtrack our lives.

Your loyal fan,

Seth

(PS - this is NOT intended to start a flame war here - I just wanted to air my frustration with the repetitive shows).

[Edited 5/30/11 19:06pm]

everybody needs attention I guess...

NelsonR said:

everybody needs attention I guess...

Yes it is weird to criticize an artist for playing the same songs every night on a tour. It is fresh for 99% of the people who don't go to multiple show and you can't expect them to come up with an entirely different show every night. No one does this except those jam bands like Phish...and they suck.

And Prince has done tours in the past with a lot of more "obscure" material...yes the last 10 years has mostly been Greatest Hits, but how many people do you think would pay to see him play obscure B sides and unreleased tracks? Yes you would and I would but he would piss most of the concertgoers off if he did this.

So he mostly plays hits and puts in a few extra gems too...like "Cool". What is sad is that he doesn't even play songs from his new albums any longer.

So yes it is too much "Greatest Hits" but you can't fault him for doing the same show night after night..that is largely what a tour is and he and the band can't learn 200 songs to a level of expertise and mix them up every night..that just isn't possible.

I remember in a past life seeing Mozart and he would play the same songs all the time too.

We also used to bitch and moan about it on mozart.org

Well...

We'll see what mr P does during his Welcome 2 Europe's (mostly) Festivals tour 2011.

Difference in venues is big: from an 80.000 capacity stadium, via 9.000 and 8.000, to a 6.500 room. Outside in a park, on an athletic course, an airport, a field near a castle....

We'll see what the 'jazz' festival setlists will do compared to the non-jazz venues.

Also we can try to see any difference between the big things outside versus the smaller halls.

After that we can decide if there's any hope of a return to a concept at all, ever.

udo said:

Well...

We'll see what mr P does during his Welcome 2 Europe's (mostly) Festivals tour 2011.

Difference in venues is big: from an 80.000 capacity stadium, via 9.000 and 8.000, to a 6.500 room. Outside in a park, on an athletic course, an airport, a field near a castle....

We'll see what the 'jazz' festival setlists will do compared to the non-jazz venues.

Also we can try to see any difference between the big things outside versus the smaller halls.

After that we can decide if there's any hope of a return to a concept at all, ever.

yep, so true !

udo said:

Well...

We'll see what mr P does during his Welcome 2 Europe's (mostly) Festivals tour 2011.

Difference in venues is big: from an 80.000 capacity stadium, via 9.000 and 8.000, to a 6.500 room. Outside in a park, on an athletic course, an airport, a field near a castle....

We'll see what the 'jazz' festival setlists will do compared to the non-jazz venues.

Also we can try to see any difference between the big things outside versus the smaller halls.

After that we can decide if there's any hope of a return to a concept at all, ever.

time will tell but i just don't see him becoming the avandt garde artist that will do a show of sprinkled hits and focused more on his latest material anymore ..sadly 2 say but i hope 2 be proven wrong

FunkiestOne said:

Yes it is weird to criticize an artist for playing the same songs every night on a tour. It is fresh for 99% of the people who don't go to multiple show and you can't expect them to come up with an entirely different show every night. No one does this except those jam bands like Phish...and they suck.

And Prince has done tours in the past with a lot of more "obscure" material...yes the last 10 years has mostly been Greatest Hits, but how many people do you think would pay to see him play obscure B sides and unreleased tracks? Yes you would and I would but he would piss most of the concertgoers off if he did this.

So he mostly plays hits and puts in a few extra gems too...like "Cool". What is sad is that he doesn't even play songs from his new albums any longer.

So yes it is too much "Greatest Hits" but you can't fault him for doing the same show night after night..that is largely what a tour is and he and the band can't learn 200 songs to a level of expertise and mix them up every night..that just isn't possible.

He has whole bunch of "Hits" on albums that have been released since Warner Bros break up that don't get played! And nobodys asking the band to learn 200 songs. They are Pros and they basically played the same 25-30 songs for all the Forum shows with a few changes here and there. I know cover bands that can nail 50-60 songs to a tee!

No one else but Prince chose the songs every night and the way they are played (mostly like the original recordings) and if he didnt have a problem playing them then you shouldnt have a problem hearing them as a hardcore fan. He obviously enjoys being the big egotistical rock star that said "if i played all my hits, we'd be here till next Saturday". After all his name is Prince or did he not remind you enough at the concerts? He can do whatever show he chooses. There are plenty of bands that had big hits and then chose to change them (the arrangements) in concert so they would never have to play the hit parade. They forced their audience to either like all their material or not go to the concert. Examples are Neil Young, Counting Crows, and Pearl Jam which will never be as BIG as Prince, The Stones or U2 who must play the big hits to stay the huge rock stars they are.

lapazapa said:

He obviously enjoys being the big egotistical rock star that said "if i played all my hits, we'd be here till next Saturday".

Nonsense. He never plays the otehr 'hits'. Just the very mainstream stuff and a few inbetweens.

He doesn't DARE or perhaps KNOW how to play an unknown song at the heigth of the show anymore.

Jus as an intro perhaps, or as an encore.

How different can it be at an aftershow...

Astasheiks said:

FunkiestOne said:

Yes it is weird to criticize an artist for playing the same songs every night on a tour. It is fresh for 99% of the people who don't go to multiple show and you can't expect them to come up with an entirely different show every night. No one does this except those jam bands like Phish...and they suck.

And Prince has done tours in the past with a lot of more "obscure" material...yes the last 10 years has mostly been Greatest Hits, but how many people do you think would pay to see him play obscure B sides and unreleased tracks? Yes you would and I would but he would piss most of the concertgoers off if he did this.

So he mostly plays hits and puts in a few extra gems too...like "Cool". What is sad is that he doesn't even play songs from his new albums any longer.

So yes it is too much "Greatest Hits" but you can't fault him for doing the same show night after night..that is largely what a tour is and he and the band can't learn 200 songs to a level of expertise and mix them up every night..that just isn't possible.

He has whole bunch of "Hits" on albums that have been released since Warner Bros break up that don't get played! And nobodys asking the band to learn 200 songs. They are Pros and they basically played the same 25-30 songs for all the Forum shows with a few changes here and there. I know cover bands that can nail 50-60 songs to a tee!

Not without practice.

NelsonR said:

adguy31 said:

An Open Letter to Prince:

Dear Sir,

I have been a fan of yours since 1981 when a friend let me borrow the Controversy cassette tape. Even though I was 9 years old and my parents wouldn't let me listen to it, I somehow sneaked it into the house and put in whatever tape deck I could find and listen to that great music for hours. It was at that point you had me hooked. And, subsequently, I have been an arden supporter of yours by buying every album you have ever produced, defending you to so many people when you went through you name change and lack of commercial success as well as buying your concert tickets whenver you would tour or come to the area in which I have lived. In short, I have chosen to support all of your ventures and believe in your musical prowess and genius.

When I heard you were coming to LA for 21 Night I was excited to have the opportunity to see the greatest living musician; an icon. Never before had I been given an opportunity to see your talents in a smaller venue for such a long period of time. So, when tickets went on sale I made it a point to snatch up as many as I could afford and see as mnay shows as possible with the hopes of hearing some of greatest music that was an intregal part of my life. But, as I went to show after show at The Forum or Troubadour I became incressingly frustrated at the reality of hearing the same songs over and over and over again. Herein lies my issue with these concerts...

For once, I would like to see a real concert for REAL fans. Why can't you provide a concert for the people who have folowed you for (now) 30 years. I don't know how many times I have heard 1999, Little Red Corvette, Kiss, Alphabet Street, Take Me With U, Shhh, Let's Go Crazy and Purple Rain. Why do you have to make a concert for the "Radio" fans and not for the REAL fans. I know I cannot be alone in thinking this way. Why can't you perform a set that rewards the loyal, loyal followers who have helped to share the word about your music and performances with a concert that showcases your incredible catalog. For once, I would love to see a concert where you perform for the REAL fans with such greats as Thunder, Party Up, Condition of the Heart, America, Private Joy, Dorothy Parker, Eye Know, Partyman, 17 Days, Let's Pretend We're Married, and ANYTHING off the Gold Experience (minus Endorphine Machine or Shhh). This is not a wish list but an attempt to hear something... anything different.

I seems like the last 10 years of touring have been a "greatest hits' show and I would hope you would consider performing the songs that have made you great to the real fans. Your music is so much more than just "The Hits." And, if you can change the lyrics around to DMSR to fit your new beliefs then why can't you do that for other songs. And, more importantly, if you new beliefs prevent you from playing Darling Nikki then why in the hell would you even perform it (or just a snipet of it) in concert. C'mon, man. Now don't get me wrong. I am appreicative of every show you perform and loved every minute of it, however, I started getting disappointed when I kept hearing the same songs, anecdotes, and words to the crowd (Y'all ain't ready for me). It became more about Schtick then about performance.

I hope you keep touring and sharing your music with the world. We all know the music industry needs someone like you to show younger generations what good, make that great, music is all about. I just hope you add more songs to reward your life-long fans the opportunity to hear the songs that have become the soundtrack our lives.

Your loyal fan,

Seth

(PS - this is NOT intended to start a flame war here - I just wanted to air my frustration with the repetitive shows).

[Edited 5/30/11 19:06pm]

everybody needs attention I guess...

Cosign

I reluctantly reply to this thread knowing that by doing so it will keep it active

The incredible sense of entitlement on this board is nauseating. This board is so incredibly negative. What Prince just did in LA was beyond incredible

Well written letter.

xlr8r said:

Astasheiks said:

He has whole bunch of "Hits" on albums that have been released since Warner Bros break up that don't get played! And nobodys asking the band to learn 200 songs. They are Pros and they basically played the same 25-30 songs for all the Forum shows with a few changes here and there. I know cover bands that can nail 50-60 songs to a tee!

Not without practice.

so really he couldn't take time 2 practice the other songs as well? 4 the all time he's practised lgc, pr and other songs he could take that time and practice the other songs as well

it still gets me how he won't do a full unedited version of when doves cry but will bore everyone 2 tears with purple rain

smh

darkstranger521 said:

stillwaiting said:

Funny, I've been to 10 aftershows, and 8 of them were full of background female singers singing lead on nearly every track, or worse...Doug E Fresh, or some other clown rapping, or Prince singing one verse of a song, and then no more singing. And believe it or not, a female singer singing "I'll Take You There," for the 1,000,000th time is not stuff of legends. 2 of those 10 aftershows were pretty good, but I'll take the main show over the aftershow 95% of the time. Other than Lovesexy and ONA, most of the aftershows were fairly lame.

You must not have been at the Paisley Park aftershows for the Musicology Tour in 2004. Three nights in a row Wed Thurs Fri night he played 2.5-3 hours beginning around one in a morning to 8-900 hundred people in this airplane hanger-like soundstage out in the sticks outside of Minneapolis. He walked out on stage during the first aftershow (Wed) walked directly over to me and slapped me five and then played "Miss You." An indescribable good time ensued for three days. No arena show Prince ever played could compare. There's just no fucking way I'll EVER believe that shit.

I have bootlegs of those few Paisley Park aftershows from 2004, which were really good, almost great. I went to 7 shows on that tour, and there were no aftershows, only afterparties where Prince walked through for a min, and then was gone. Lovesexy and ONA were full of aftershows.

Since Prince ignores many of his classic songs, this would be a great place to play songs like Computer Blue, but apparently, Everyday People means more to him.

DaveG said:

These songs were all played at The Forum:

Extraordinary, Uptown, Make You Feel My Love, Insatiable, Scandalous, Adore, Peach, Stratus, Sometimes It Snows In April, Laydown, Endorphinmachine, She's Always in My Hair, Dreamer, Welcome 2 America, When Eye Lay My Hands On U, Guitar, Anotherloverholenyohead, Beginning Endlessly, Future Soul Song, Misty Blue, How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore, If I Was Your Girlfriend, When We're Dancing Close and Slow, Joy in Repetition, Brown Skin, 17 Days, Shhh/U Will Be With Me, More Than This, Partyman, Jungle Strut / Soul Sacri...L'Overture, The Question of U / The One / Gingerbread Man / Beggin' Woman Blues, So Far So Pleased, Something In The Water (Does Not Computer), Strange Relationship, Sexy Dancer, The Love We Make, Eye'll Never B Another Fool, & Pass The Peas.

Not sure how many casual fans know that setlist.... But I sure enjoyed the one's I got to hear live.

Ok, what if you had to limit the list to songs where Prince was on lead vocals, and sang at least 75% of the lyrics without turning the song into a shadow of itself? I bet the list gets a lot shorter.

All 6 of the Carolina shows were very good to great, but it was very frustrating dealing with the high of hearing Mountains, and then the low in the same song when it was obvious that Prince was whispering in the mic, while Shelby& The nameless girls were singing.

Like I've said a lot, Prince is on stage singing less than an hour and a half on these shows, and in Carolina, we did not get $25 seats on the floor.

The pros: Great show, Prince is a legend, guitar solos from Heaven, great showmanship

The cons: Not enough singing, going through the motions at some shows, too many covers, show is shorter than some people much older than 52.

The truth: Prince could go on stage singing a Cool Whip commercial instead of Cool, and I'd still be there paying my $200, and then I'm come home and bitch about it here as I sold my soul on ebay to buy tickets to see Prince play a set of Sly Stone remakes.

UltraLash said:

Look, if I heard Raspberry Beret and Inglewood Swinging one more time, I was going to cut someone. BUT that's not Prince's fault. It was my fault for going to 6 damn concerts. When bands tour, they practice and choreograph only a certain set of songs... and Prince picks the songs.

He claims his band knows 150 songs. Yet they play the SAME TWENTY SONGS every night. The same Sly Stone covers. The same Sylvester cover. The same hits.

He actually did a damn good job of throwing a few wild cards and fan favorites into the mix on most nights (17 Days, Strange Relationship, Beautiful Ones, Dreamer, Peach...) and scheduling intimate, guitar-driven club appearances for the hardcore fans.

"See, the fans got what they wanted. All they had to do was spend lots of $, hope to be amongst the very few able to squeeze into a small room, make no plans and be prepared to end up with nothing because halfway through the night Prince couldn't be arsed to perform, and then they got to listen to largely the same songs he's been playing for eaons, except with more guitar in the mix."

He brought in a slew of opening acts and guest artists (including Stevie Wonder, Janelle Monae, Mary J. Blige, Larry Graham, Gwen Stefani and Chaka Khan!).

The simple fact that a no-talent has-been like Stefani is allowed in the building speaks volumes.

The truth is, Prince can't play for a venue that holds 17,000 people

Except there weren't 17,000 there most of the nights.

DaveG said:

Two of the HOB shows & both of the Troubadour shows were pretty darn obscure setlists.

The Forum show I went to on 5/14 started with:

-When Eye Lay My Hands on U.

Played at at least one Forum show.

-Laydown

Which he'd played on TV and at several Forum shows.

-She's Always in My Hair

He's even playing this very regularly.

-If I Was Your Girlfriend

Played regularly since 1996.

-Insatiable

Which he's been playing for ages.

udo said:

Well...

We'll see what mr P does during his Welcome 2 Europe's (mostly) Festivals tour 2011.

Difference in venues is big: from an 80.000 capacity stadium, via 9.000 and 8.000, to a 6.500 room. Outside in a park, on an athletic course, an airport, a field near a castle....

We'll see what the 'jazz' festival setlists will do compared to the non-jazz venues.

Also we can try to see any difference between the big things outside versus the smaller halls.

After that we can decide if there's any hope of a return to a concept at all, ever.

I betcha the setlists will contain at least 50% the same things he played in 2010 or 2009.

BartVanHemelen said:

udo said:

Well...

We'll see what mr P does during his Welcome 2 Europe's (mostly) Festivals tour 2011.

Difference in venues is big: from an 80.000 capacity stadium, via 9.000 and 8.000, to a 6.500 room. Outside in a park, on an athletic course, an airport, a field near a castle....

We'll see what the 'jazz' festival setlists will do compared to the non-jazz venues.

Also we can try to see any difference between the big things outside versus the smaller halls.

After that we can decide if there's any hope of a return to a concept at all, ever.

I betcha the setlists will contain at least 50% the same things he played in 2010 or 2009.

I think you are right but its fair to say that he did this quite a lot in the 1980's too

dualboot said:

BartVanHemelen said:

I betcha the setlists will contain at least 50% the same things he played in 2010 or 2009.

I think you are right but its fair to say that he did this quite a lot in the 1980's too

in the 80's the only songs that were constant are the same ones from purple rain with lgc only missing the parade tour ..

adguy31 said:

An Open Letter to Prince:

Dear Sir,

I have been a fan of yours since 1981 when a friend let me borrow the Controversy cassette tape. Even though I was 9 years old and my parents wouldn't let me listen to it, I somehow sneaked it into the house and put in whatever tape deck I could find and listen to that great music for hours. It was at that point you had me hooked. And, subsequently, I have been an arden supporter of yours by buying every album you have ever produced, defending you to so many people when you went through you name change and lack of commercial success as well as buying your concert tickets whenver you would tour or come to the area in which I have lived. In short, I have chosen to support all of your ventures and believe in your musical prowess and genius.

When I heard you were coming to LA for 21 Night I was excited to have the opportunity to see the greatest living musician; an icon. Never before had I been given an opportunity to see your talents in a smaller venue for such a long period of time. So, when tickets went on sale I made it a point to snatch up as many as I could afford and see as mnay shows as possible with the hopes of hearing some of greatest music that was an intregal part of my life. But, as I went to show after show at The Forum or Troubadour I became incressingly frustrated at the reality of hearing the same songs over and over and over again. Herein lies my issue with these concerts...

For once, I would like to see a real concert for REAL fans. Why can't you provide a concert for the people who have folowed you for (now) 30 years. I don't know how many times I have heard 1999, Little Red Corvette, Kiss, Alphabet Street, Take Me With U, Shhh, Let's Go Crazy and Purple Rain. Why do you have to make a concert for the "Radio" fans and not for the REAL fans. I know I cannot be alone in thinking this way. Why can't you perform a set that rewards the loyal, loyal followers who have helped to share the word about your music and performances with a concert that showcases your incredible catalog. For once, I would love to see a concert where you perform for the REAL fans with such greats as Thunder, Party Up, Condition of the Heart, America, Private Joy, Dorothy Parker, Eye Know, Partyman, 17 Days, Let's Pretend We're Married, and ANYTHING off the Gold Experience (minus Endorphine Machine or Shhh). This is not a wish list but an attempt to hear something... anything different.

I seems like the last 10 years of touring have been a "greatest hits' show and I would hope you would consider performing the songs that have made you great to the real fans. Your music is so much more than just "The Hits." And, if you can change the lyrics around to DMSR to fit your new beliefs then why can't you do that for other songs. And, more importantly, if you new beliefs prevent you from playing Darling Nikki then why in the hell would you even perform it (or just a snipet of it) in concert. C'mon, man. Now don't get me wrong. I am appreicative of every show you perform and loved every minute of it, however, I started getting disappointed when I kept hearing the same songs, anecdotes, and words to the crowd (Y'all ain't ready for me). It became more about Schtick then about performance.

I hope you keep touring and sharing your music with the world. We all know the music industry needs someone like you to show younger generations what good, make that great, music is all about. I just hope you add more songs to reward your life-long fans the opportunity to hear the songs that have become the soundtrack our lives.

Your loyal fan,

Seth

(PS - this is NOT intended to start a flame war here - I just wanted to air my frustration with the repetitive shows).

[Edited 5/30/11 19:06pm]

If you can, check out the Arnhem show from 11/18/2010. Very different setlist than the norm, including Partyman!

what artist does not repeat their hits time and time again? Are these shows really meant to be attended by the dozen, or are they once in a lifetime experiences?