after the house lights came up, and everyone was leaving, lighting guy in my section told me that the condesnation from the fog machine and the confetti was getting too slippery, hence all the sweeping. then when it was done, Prince wasn't saying anything.

however, the roadies and lighting guys were told to stay put. he might be back. after he told me this, went back to my seat. band came back and did a number. then most of the audience had filed back in by the time Prince returned to do Little Red Corvette.

very, very weird and frustrating way to end a very, very weird and frustrating (but decent) show.

I enjoyed the show. It was one of "those" shows, though. You know? Not bad, but didn't blow me away after the initial excitement of him opening with DMSR/Pop Life/Musicology.

I think, more than anything, this show would have been better with a different band. I think he needs to go back to the drawing board of who's in the band, how many of them there are, and completely replace the entire stage and sound crews. His guitar was fucked up every time he picked it up. SUPER PISSED when a sax solo replaced the guitar solo in Purple Rain, and then when I thought he was finally going to make up for it, zzzzzzt.

Oh well. It was fun.

This W2A sounds like it should have been called a "Welcome 2 a Hot Mess"

I didn't make this show but did see NJ, NY & Toronto. ALL NY shows blew me away, the others all had issues.

In my humble opinion, only a small percentage of die hard fans & org'ers attend the shows, when compared to the "Oh I used Purple Rain'. Sadly, the masses haven't heard his better albums. I'd have been very happy with this set list compared to Toronto's.

As regards to all those comparing his show's to Madonna's PFFFFT. I saw in at the Yankee stadium. She was 2 1/2 hours late coming on & we were all sitting, waiting IN THE RAIN. We keft 20 mins into the show because, well, she aint funky enough for me. Apples & Oranges.

errant said:

I enjoyed the show. It was one of "those" shows, though. You know? Not bad, but didn't blow me away after the initial excitement of him opening with DMSR/Pop Life/Musicology.

I think, more than anything, this show would have been better with a different band. I think he needs to go back to the drawing board of who's in the band, how many of them there are, and completely replace the entire stage and sound crews. His guitar was fucked up every time he picked it up. SUPER PISSED when a sax solo replaced the guitar solo in Purple Rain, and then when I thought he was finally going to make up for it, zzzzzzt.

Oh well. It was fun.

That was pretty much my take on it. I thought his performance was great, but obviously it wasn't his best work because he didn't play guitar. I had a blast though, and I am looking forward to tonight when he will have all of that sound nonsense worked out.

PurpleChi said:

errant said:

I enjoyed the show. It was one of "those" shows, though. You know? Not bad, but didn't blow me away after the initial excitement of him opening with DMSR/Pop Life/Musicology.

I think, more than anything, this show would have been better with a different band. I think he needs to go back to the drawing board of who's in the band, how many of them there are, and completely replace the entire stage and sound crews. His guitar was fucked up every time he picked it up. SUPER PISSED when a sax solo replaced the guitar solo in Purple Rain, and then when I thought he was finally going to make up for it, zzzzzzt.

Oh well. It was fun.

That was pretty much my take on it. I thought his performance was great, but obviously it wasn't his best work because he didn't play guitar. I had a blast though, and I am looking forward to tonight when he will have all of that sound nonsense worked out.

Yall make it sound like cognitive dissonance. Because you paid and went , you cant eactly say it sucked.

rdhull said:

I attended my first Prince show last night and I can honestly say I will not be attending another. That was the worst show I have ever seen and I guess I listened to much about how good he was on this site. That was the biggest bullshit of a show I have ever seen. All I saw was somes girls singing every song and bunch of horns. He only did a handful of actual prince songs and played NO guitar!! Guess he really aint all that afterall. The only part he actually did start doing his own songs was a bullshit piano medley where the band was not even playing. He hit a note and played the instrumental studio track and the crowd sang along. DEFINATELY NOT IMPRESSED!! Then he pissed off most of the crowd by having us wait in the dark like he is coming back out and doesnt. He deserved the boos he got 100%!! and I hope he lost a lot of fans. I stayed to let the crowd filter out and he did come out and do two more songs but it did not make up for anything. This was HANDS DOWN the worst concert I have ever seen and WILL NOT be attending andmore. I gave him a chance. Fans leaving had NOTHING good to say either from what I was hearing. He may have been good back in his day but that show was some straight bull!!

OzlemUcucu said:

No more hits concerts. Prince will have to pay me to see him live again with the hits and covers.

Are we gonna get another rehearsal jam tomorrow?

Did you notice that too? I said to my husband when we left that it was like he was in rehersal.. he kept directing the band and talking to techs... WOW.. I DID hear tho- from a lady who WORKS at the U.C (hubby knows her well) that they had TONS of tech. problems last night and Prince was not happy.

And WHY Didn't he change his clothes until the short encore?
that is not like Prince at all............

theblueangel said:

With the exception of OF4S, he sure is making it harder to justify going out of my way to see him in concert.

Agree 100% We have tickets for Tue & Wed too and I am really wishing I could sell them...

Orionforever said:

OzlemUcucu said:

No more hits concerts. Prince will have to pay me to see him live again with the hits and covers.

Are we gonna get another rehearsal jam tomorrow?

Did you notice that too? I said to my husband when we left that it was like he was in rehersal.. he kept directing the band and talking to techs... WOW.. I DID hear tho- from a lady who WORKS at the U.C (hubby knows her well) that they had TONS of tech. problems last night and Prince was not happy.

And WHY Didn't he change his clothes until the short encore?
that is not like Prince at all............

I was not there, but the reason why it probably sounded like a rehearsal is, he may have done soundchecks while on stage, cause as everybody said he had sound problems. Why did he not change clothes? My guess is he had some serious talk with tech stuff backstage, and had no time to change clothes!!!

errant said:

rdhull said:

Yall make it sound like cognitive dissonance. Because you paid and went , you cant eactly say it sucked.

Well it didn't exactly suck. It was just odd. And kind of off.

from most accounts it seems like just the ending was a misfire..the encore issue

PurpleChi said:

That concert was on point! I'm too tired for a full review but the hight points were the revamped set list and his look. Prince was his usual fly self and just the overall showmanship. The negative was that he didn't play guitar too much. This is the first time I've seen Purple Rain played without his guitar solo. That was a bit bizarre. But back to the positives...four encores...it was just outstanding. I am so looking forward to tomorrow. Good night all!

He really didn't DO 4 encores.... most of those were just breaks in the show.. and what show were you watching? It was basically a mess... ????? Everyone around us was upset and I read alot of the Orgers were too.

Sound was horrible.. Prince was kinda "out of it" in the beginning.. too worried about Tech crap.. He made us wait nearly 45 min. for a 2 song TRUE Encore.. a royal mess.

NOT to even mention that he decided to do a sound check last minute and made the doors stay shut for 2 hours longer than they should of.. not cool

He Did LOOK great.. but only time he changed his clothes was at the very very end and 1/2 the crowd was already gone then

serpan99 said:

Prince courts Controversy in first Welcome 2 Chicago show

http://timeoutchicago.com...icago-show

Posted in Audio File blog by fsennett on Sep 25, 2012 at 1:23am

Prince kicked off his Welcome 2 Chicago three-night residency at United Center in fine voice and high spirits Monday night, with the assured backing of a delightfully funky NPG band. Unfortunately, the night ended on a jarring note for many fans before the pint-sized potentate attempted to smooth over a staging snafu.

After a first encore of "Purple Rain" and an extended second encore, Prince left the stage and fans started cheering for more. Normally in such a situation, the house lights either come up soon or the band comes back out for an extra song or two. At the UC, it appeared Prince would indeed come back out to perform again before heading to his after-party set at House of Blues. The house lights stayed down, the crowd kept clapping, the lights ringing the glyph-shaped stage remained lit and a few stagehands began mopping up glitter and, presumably, precious, precious Prince sweat.

In what soon became a minor comedic spectacle, one poor guy kept mopping and mopping that stage for more than 30 minutes. At one point, some smoke effects went off and a cheer rose again. And then, after nearly everyone had remained for that extra encore, the house lights finally went up. Boos rained down on the stage from every corner of the stadium. What had been a fun party vibe was ruined by--what? Was it a glitch? Did someone forget to tell UC staff that Prince was done, or had he been ready to go back out when the house lights inadvertently went on? Were there venue curfew issues (Prince didn't take the stage until after 9pm).

Whatever the reason for the snafu, it led most of the grumbling fans to leave on what was, after all, a Monday night. But then something strange and pretty wonderful happened. NPG retook the stage and, with the full house lights on, tore into a couple of jazzy instrumental numbers. It seemed at first that they were just trying to placate the remaining 5,000 or so fans with a consolation prize. But then Prince came back out as well, dressed for the after-party but game to make amends to the now-depleted crowd.

NPG, sounding sharper than it had all night, got the fans screaming when it launched into "1999." After a rousing rendition, Prince asked the crowd if it would be all right if he played one more. Over the cheers, he performed a saucy, soulful "Little Red Corvette" before leaving for real around midnight. It looks to be a long night ahead for fans with tickets to the House of Blues after-party.

WHY when every he left the stage and came back they said it was an ENCORE.. come on people..

serpan99 said:

Prince at the United Center more fizzle than sizzle

Greg Kot Music critic

1:45 a.m. CDT, September 25, 2012

http://www.chicagotribune...792.column

Prince’s concert Monday at the United Center didn’t really finish, it fizzled.

The singer spent two hours working his band and the nearly full house, including an encore, and then walked off stage with a smile and a wave. The lights stayed down, and crew members swept the stage. The crowd waited, and waited some more. After about 30 minutes, fans started filtering out. The lights finally came up, and the remaining fans booed. Then, nearly an hour later, Prince returned to play two more songs, according to some of the fans who stuck it out. By then, most of the arena had emptied.

It was a strangely anticlimactic ending to the first salvo in Prince’s three-night Chicago residency, which also included after-parties at the House of Blues after each United Center concert.

In recent years, Prince has been pouring his energies into live performance rather than recording, and he prides himself on a no-two-shows-alike work ethic. On Monday, he set up in the center of the arena on a stage shaped like the Prince “love symbol” that became his signature in the ‘90s. His rhythm section was arrayed at the base of the stage, and an 11-piece horn section set up in back of the mixing board. Prince and his three backing singers roamed the stage walkways, and played to every corner of the arena.

Prince looked sharp in a black and white tuxedo-style outfit and sunglasses, and he orchestrated everything with the precision of chef serving a multi-course meal: the band, the lights, even the audience. He choreographed solos, drum fills, dance-offs and sing-alongs. The man knows pacing, and the first 50 minutes were like one continuous song, with an insistent Curtis Mayfield tune (“We’re a Winner”) rubbing shoulders with a sultry Aretha Franklin blues (“I Never Loved a Man [the Way I Love You]”). A snippet of James Brown melded with Prince’s rumbling “Housequake” and The Time’s “The Bird.” Only a drippy version of Sarah McLachlan’s “Angel,” sung by the backing vocalists, exhausted the momentum.

Later, a sassy “C.R.E.A.M.” with a preening Prince (“I wrote this song while I was looking at the mirror”) slid into a cover of Michael Jackson’s dancefloor-filler “Don’t Stop ‘til You Get Enough.” It would prove to be the night’s high point.

For most of the opening set, Prince deferred to and spotlighted his band, particularly protean drummer John Blackwell and vocalist Shelby Johnson. He struggled to integrate the horns into the sound – with 11 pieces, the brass section was a bit unwieldy for a free-flowing show such as this. Prince danced with dazzling grace and sang with potency, but just as often he extended the microphone toward the audience to finish choruses. His back-up singers often assumed lead roles; on “Nothing Compares 2 U,” Prince shared the microphone with Johnson.

At some point, you figured Prince would seize the show. But that moment never really arrived. He and his guitar appeared to be on the outs most of the night. The singer picked it up briefly during “Purple Rain” and teased the audience: “Can I play this thing?” Instead of a solo, he played a handful of notes and set the instrument back down. A saxophonist tried to pick up the slack, to no avail.

The encore was strange, too: Electronic versions of some of his biggest hits, mostly without the band. A full-on finale with Prince going nuts on the guitar seemed in order. But, instead he made everyone wait in the dark. When he finally did re-appear, fans who paid more than $100 to attend were in their cars, probably wondering what the heck happened to an evening that had started off with such promise.

This review is much more ON... we commented too on how he wasn't playing his guitar much.. but it would make sence if the sound was not right... and the fact that he never really changed clothes either is odd.. usually Prince shows are so visual and theatric.. but we felt like he was just walking around the stage most the night... very sad

Genesia said:

Definitely not the best show I've ever seen. For a while, I thought I had stumbled into a meeting of the Chicago chapter of Oversingers Anonymous. Way too much time and attention given to the back-up singers. The sound was terrible, which I suspect is why Prince barely touched his guitar.

Very well stated Genesia !!!! We felt the same way.. I mean its ok to have the gals sing a bit. but it was over done.. I wonder.. cause he mentioned in Vegas that he was alittle bit hoarse.. I wonder if his throat was bothering him????

Can someone please elaborate on the merch. sold at the venue. Was there a program available ?

Thanks

Orionforever said:

Genesia said:

Definitely not the best show I've ever seen. For a while, I thought I had stumbled into a meeting of the Chicago chapter of Oversingers Anonymous. Way too much time and attention given to the back-up singers. The sound was terrible, which I suspect is why Prince barely touched his guitar.

Very well stated Genesia !!!! We felt the same way.. I mean its ok to have the gals sing a bit. but it was over done.. I wonder.. cause he mentioned in Vegas that he was alittle bit hoarse.. I wonder if his throat was bothering him????

His throat was bothering him for a long time now. It is all the extensive coca use that makes the throat sore, and keep him up on his sexy shoes..,,real music by real musicians...

It’s seems blatantly obvious that touring without anything ‘real’ to promote for the last 5+ years has resulted in an uninspired Prince live experience, which previously was his one last trump card to critics who would say he’s musically washed up.

It’s odd that he is so dismissive of the idea of releasing a new album in the current climate of the music industry, when it was the independently released low selling ‘Rainbow Children’ album and tour that actually re-ignited interest in the Prince, and that was after 10 years of similar opinions to what the verdict on Prince is now.

It seems like he’s even bored himself into saying the same banter & shtick at every show, and it’s pretty much the same set-lists with the odd song added here and there… it’s not the ‘well oiled machine’ he really thinks it is.

The never ending sound issues that seem to be a problem at pretty much every gig (to me) points to the fact that his band is not really that good. The ‘muddy sound experience’ is not something that was ever an issue in his glory years when every keyboard sound, drum sound, guitar sound was bang on the money.

And the idea that Prince is now blaming the Chicago police for his music shambles is comedy in itself … he’s literally blamed everyone and everything for his artist decline over the last 20 years… apart from himself of course. He is still managing to play these large venues, but at every stop the shows are peppered with bad press reviews… it’s going to catch up with him sooner or later.

trax said:

I attended my first Prince show last night and I can honestly say I will not be attending another. That was the worst show I have ever seen and I guess I listened to much about how good he was on this site. That was the biggest bullshit of a show I have ever seen. All I saw was somes girls singing every song and bunch of horns. He only did a handful of actual prince songs and played NO guitar!! Guess he really aint all that afterall. The only part he actually did start doing his own songs was a bullshit piano medley where the band was not even playing. He hit a note and played the instrumental studio track and the crowd sang along. DEFINATELY NOT IMPRESSED!! Then he pissed off most of the crowd by having us wait in the dark like he is coming back out and doesnt. He deserved the boos he got 100%!! and I hope he lost a lot of fans. I stayed to let the crowd filter out and he did come out and do two more songs but it did not make up for anything. This was HANDS DOWN the worst concert I have ever seen and WILL NOT be attending andmore. I gave him a chance. Fans leaving had NOTHING good to say either from what I was hearing. He may have been good back in his day but that show was some straight bull!!

Hey Trax.... I have been to 25 some shows and you got a raw deal for your first show.. Usually I walk away in AWE.. so excited.. my heart pounding.. everything spinning... that is what normally happens at P's shows...

Last nigth I was totally disspointed..

BUT I will strike it up to bad Tech and a bad night on his part.. and pray that tonight is better...

I always forgive him at least once.

I hope if you ever get a chance to see him again you WILL.. you just got a really odd show..

OzlemUcucu said:

Orionforever said:

Did you notice that too? I said to my husband when we left that it was like he was in rehersal.. he kept directing the band and talking to techs... WOW.. I DID hear tho- from a lady who WORKS at the U.C (hubby knows her well) that they had TONS of tech. problems last night and Prince was not happy.

And WHY Didn't he change his clothes until the short encore?
that is not like Prince at all............

I was not there, but the reason why it probably sounded like a rehearsal is, he may have done soundchecks while on stage, cause as everybody said he had sound problems. Why did he not change clothes? My guess is he had some serious talk with tech stuff backstage, and had no time to change clothes!!!

He DID a sound check. that is why the doors opend to the U.C 2 hours late..

xenophobia7 said:

Can someone please elaborate on the merch. sold at the venue. Was there a program available ?

Thanks

Yes there was a Prince tourbook, and evidently, an Andy Allo tourbook as well as t-shirts and posters.

johnny2000 said:

. He is still managing to play these large venues, but at every stop the shows are peppered with bad press reviews…

No they are not. Stop making shit up lol.

Orionforever said:

trax said:

I attended my first Prince show last night and I can honestly say I will not be attending another. That was the worst show I have ever seen and I guess I listened to much about how good he was on this site. That was the biggest bullshit of a show I have ever seen. All I saw was somes girls singing every song and bunch of horns. He only did a handful of actual prince songs and played NO guitar!! Guess he really aint all that afterall. The only part he actually did start doing his own songs was a bullshit piano medley where the band was not even playing. He hit a note and played the instrumental studio track and the crowd sang along. DEFINATELY NOT IMPRESSED!! Then he pissed off most of the crowd by having us wait in the dark like he is coming back out and doesnt. He deserved the boos he got 100%!! and I hope he lost a lot of fans. I stayed to let the crowd filter out and he did come out and do two more songs but it did not make up for anything. This was HANDS DOWN the worst concert I have ever seen and WILL NOT be attending andmore. I gave him a chance. Fans leaving had NOTHING good to say either from what I was hearing. He may have been good back in his day but that show was some straight bull!!

Hey Trax.... I have been to 25 some shows and you got a raw deal for your first show.. Usually I walk away in AWE.. so excited.. my heart pounding.. everything spinning... that is what normally happens at P's shows...

Last nigth I was totally disspointed..

BUT I will strike it up to bad Tech and a bad night on his part.. and pray that tonight is better...

I always forgive him at least once.

I hope if you ever get a chance to see him again you WILL.. you just got a really odd show..

I have a feeling he's going to make it up to folks tonight. If I can snag a last minute ticket for 20 bucks again, I might give him another chance. Probably not, though.

It's funny, because the last time he was here for Musicology, he did like 5 shows, and they were hearalded! Now THAT was a well-oiled machine. He did all but 2 songs from Purple Rain, most of the hits you could ever want to see as a casual fan, great acoustic sets, and he even managed to sprinkle in a smattering of new songs (Musicology, Call My Name, Life O The Party, On The Couch). I don't remember hearing sound complaints back then either. He can do it right when he wants to.

johnny2000 said:

It’s seems blatantly obvious that touring without anything ‘real’ to promote for the last 5+ years has resulted in an uninspired Prince live experience, which previously was his one last trump card to critics who would say he’s musically washed up.

It’s odd that he is so dismissive of the idea of releasing a new album in the current climate of the music industry, when it was the independently released low selling ‘Rainbow Children’ album and tour that actually re-ignited interest in the Prince, and that was after 10 years of similar opinions to what the verdict on Prince is now.

It seems like he’s even bored himself into saying the same banter & shtick at every show, and it’s pretty much the same set-lists with the odd song added here and there… it’s not the ‘well oiled machine’ he really thinks it is.

The never ending sound issues that seem to be a problem at pretty much every gig (to me) points to the fact that his band is not really that good. The ‘muddy sound experience’ is not something that was ever an issue in his glory years when every keyboard sound, drum sound, guitar sound was bang on the money.

And the idea that Prince is now blaming the Chicago police for his music shambles is comedy in itself … he’s literally blamed everyone and everything for his artist decline over the last 20 years… apart from himself of course. He is still managing to play these large venues, but at every stop the shows are peppered with bad press reviews… it’s going to catch up with him sooner or later.

What a bunch of drama queens some of you are...

I have seen P more than 50 times since 1984 and it's not the first time he has a bad night. Even in the eighties or start of the nineties.

I have seen several times lately and the sound was really good and he was at the top of his game. Moreover I have experienced different setlists.

But I agree that when he misses, he misses. i.e Cologne and that's always due to sound issues.

errant said:

I enjoyed the show. It was one of "those" shows, though. You know? Not bad, but didn't blow me away after the initial excitement of him opening with DMSR/Pop Life/Musicology.

I think, more than anything, this show would have been better with a different band. I think he needs to go back to the drawing board of who's in the band, how many of them there are, and completely replace the entire stage and sound crews. His guitar was fucked up every time he picked it up. SUPER PISSED when a sax solo replaced the guitar solo in Purple Rain, and then when I thought he was finally going to make up for it, zzzzzzt.

Oh well. It was fun.

I will say a bit more later if I can muster the energy for a full post. However, I agree with what you said. I had a great time because I was at a Prince concert. However, I did notice problems with the sound early on. He kept calling for them to correct things. I know many people didn't notice his constant cues, but I did. I hoped they would get it right, but they never did, which sucked! The absent guitar on Purple Rain was a real buzz kill!

For the life of me, I cannot understand why Prince of all people has such a lowrate soundcrew! Every time he picked up his guitar is sounded awful, which is why he would quickly put it back down after only a few notes. The lack of guitar definitely took away from the show last night and I felt bad for all the people who came and did not get to see the full Prince show that so many of us are use to. Why didn't he play piano either? Some people were seeing him for the very first time and I wanted them to be blown away by the spectrum of talent that he holds. However, he left out some of the main ingredients last night.

I love that he moved Ida off the bass. She is talented, but I just wasn't feeling her as Prince's bass player. This new cat is good, he gives Prince's music just what it needs. So, at this point I don't get Ida's role. She can go. Cassie is cool, too, but I prefer Renato. Is Morris Hayes no longer in the band? The backup singers are good, but they are getting a little too much time. One showcase for them is ENOUGH! The horns are good at times, but they seem a bit green. When Prince called for one of them to take a solo, they seemed lost as to who was going to do it, and I wasn't that impressed by what I heard. I liked their arrangment on OF4S, but the horrible mix drowned out Prince's vocals. Why was Andy there with that guitar as a prop? Mike Scott doesn't do it for me either. I wish Prince would go back to handling his guitar duties himself. At this point, he doesn't need anyone else. At one point, there were three guitarists on stage and not one of them was Prince!!!

PRINCE, PLEASE PLAY YOUR GUITAR FOR THE REMAINING SHOWS!!!!!

The show was a mess. Instead of singing all that 70's sounding shit for the first 45 minutes or whatever that most people didn't even recognize, it would have been nicer to have heard REAL hits in their full versions instead of little snippets. And WTF cares about Shelby J? Both me at other people around me said we didn't pay to see her, we came to see Prince, yet so much attention was focused on her the first half of the show.

Don't get me started on that 2nd encore. I ended up missing it because after 30 minutes of nothing and then the lights finally coming up, most of us figured that the show was finally over. And now that I read he eventualy came back to do Little Red Corvette (my FAVORITE song that I had wanted to hear), I'm fucking pissed.

All in all, it was a mediocre show. I wouldn't drive 2 hours again to see him that's for sure. A woman sitting next to me said it was her first time seeing him and her last and she ended up leaving early because the first part of the show was so boring.

BTW, am I the only one who thought the sound was a mess? It sounded too muddy and a lot of the time the vocals were distorted.

Astasheiks said:

This W2A sounds like it should have been called a "Welcome 2 a Hot Mess"

It should have been!

rdhull said:

PurpleChi said:

That was pretty much my take on it. I thought his performance was great, but obviously it wasn't his best work because he didn't play guitar. I had a blast though, and I am looking forward to tonight when he will have all of that sound nonsense worked out.

Yall make it sound like cognitive dissonance. Because you paid and went , you cant eactly say it sucked.

Sorry RD, I respectfully disagree. Because they paid and went is EXACTLY why they can say it sucked if they felt so!