Diana80 said:

Astasheiks said:

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

It should have been!

That's really a shame... I only went to one show last year that I considered sub-par (on the first night--with similar issues) but he put on terrific shows on the second and third nights...

Prince,

I love you brother and I hope the remaining shows go great!

[Edited 9/25/12 13:01pm]

Ok I've been hearing that there's someone new on bass & also Mike Scott is supposed to be back,can anyone tell me what his new lineup is?

Xibalba said:

rdhull said:

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!

See my follow up comment to errant.

Jboogiee said:

Ok I've been hearing that there's someone new on bass & also Mike Scott is supposed to be back,can anyone tell me what his new lineup is?

Wasn't Ina on bass?

purplethunder3121 said:

Diana80 said:

It should have been!

That's really a shame... I only went to one show last year that I considered sub-par (on the first night--with similar issues) but he put on terrific shows on the second and third nights...

It was very disappointing, and this was my first Prince concert, which made it even more of a let down. The sound system was muddy, the first half of the setlist sucked, too many background singers singing lead instead of him, and then when the setlist finally started to get good, it was only snippets of songs, and then after 30 minutes of waiting around for an encore, the house lights come up so most of us leave, and here were are finding out later that he came back eventually. It was bullshit.

Like I said, it was good to finally see him in concert, but I sure as hell would drive more than an hour to see him again.

rdhull said:

errant said:

rdhull said: 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

well that was definitely the most obvious thing. but the inability of the band to gel, the sound man having the mix completely off, and the guitar tech not once having Prince's guitar tuned right (resulting in what I can only assume were somewhat-improvised arrangements) were all factors. as well as the usual over-reliance on the background singers, etc.

like I said, it was problematic on a lot of levels, from start to finish. and quite frustrating as a fan who hasn't been to a show in 8 years. It was a Prince concert. I had a lot of fun. But I'm not sure I'd download the bootleg.

if it outright sucked and I'd say so. big chunks of the Musicology and ONA shows I saw (at Xenophobia) bored the shit out of me, and I thought those sections kind of sucked.

this was just kind of disappointing.

Orionforever said:

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

Okay, I'll concede to the number of encores; it really makes no difference. However, I enjoyed the show. The sound was not bad where I was although I did hear that folks in other sections couldn't hear. Honestly I had a great time. I went with fellow Prince fans and we worked up a black sweat dancing the night away. I didn't think it was the greatest show, but I enjoyed myself immensely. I think that depsite the sound Pirnce still performed his tush off.

It was a good time, mostly because it was my first time. He BARELY played guitar which is what I was looking forward to the most.

Who else waited 2 hours outside the United Center while they finished up the soundcheck? Then the show started an hour late which didn't suprise me. I ended up missing the very last encore because I thought the afterjam at House of Blues would start early. Boy was I mistaken, another 2 1/2 hour wait for fucking Andy Allo and more shitty sound.

Diana80 said:

I have seen him many times recently. This was the only troubled show I have seen. Try again. Really.

My ears are still literally hurting and ringing from that awful sound at the show last night.

He needs some new equipment or new sound people or both.

Diana80 said:

My ears are still literally hurting and ringing from that awful sound at the show last night.

He needs some new equipment or new sound people or both.

I know you didn't mean it this way, but...

I actually took foam earplugs with me last night, fully expecting my head to be ringing for 3 days if I hadn't, since his shows in the past have always been extremely loud.

I actually didn't wear them. It never got too loud at all.

That was a definite plus compared to previous Prince concert experiences.

philmoreliz said:

Diana80 said:

It was very disappointing, and this was my first Prince concert, which made it even more of a let down. The sound system was muddy, the first half of the setlist sucked, too many background singers singing lead instead of him, and then when the setlist finally started to get good, it was only snippets of songs, and then after 30 minutes of waiting around for an encore, the house lights come up so most of us leave, and here were are finding out later that he came back eventually. It was bullshit.

Like I said, it was good to finally see him in concert, but I sure as hell would drive more than an hour to see him again.

I have seen him many times recently. This was the only troubled show I have seen. Try again. Really.

rdhull said:

errant said:

rdhull said: 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

I'd give it that, BUT the soundcheck that was supposed to wrap up at 5:00 pm went until 7:00 pm, and the sound still wasn't good! I juct couldn't fathom a show without his guitar playing and that's exactly what happened. (He played the guitar part in Cream, and a small part in Purple Rain, but it was like 30 seconds, MAYBE, between the two)

Edit: I agree with Errant, it didn't exactly suck, but it did feel off. Prince still had great charisma and energy throughout.

[Edited 9/25/12 14:30pm]

MarquessMarq said:

rdhull said:

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

I'd give it that, BUT the soundcheck that was supposed to wrap up at 5:00 pm went until 7:00 pm, and the sound still wasn't good! I juct couldn't fathom a show without his guitar playing and that's exactly what happened. (He played the guitar part in Cream, and a small part in Purple Rain, but it was like 30 seconds, MAYBE, between the two)

Edit: I agree with Errant, it didn't exactly suck, but it did feel off. Prince still had great charisma and energy throughout.

[Edited 9/25/12 14:30pm]

he also played a lot during Take Me With U and Raspberry Beret. this was practically the first time he picked it up, and you could tell from the moment that he hit that first note that the tone was WAAAAAAAY off. I knew, of course, after the last 15 years, that TMWU would be segueing into Raspberry Beret. but the tone was so odd-sounding that I was almost fooled into thinking that he WASN'T moving into Raspberry Beret. it was that off. and Cream sounded really strange and not bright like it usually does.

what I don't understand is why he didn't immediately demand that it be fixed in time for Purple Rain.

errant said:

what I don't understand is why he didn't immediately demand that it be fixed in time for Purple Rain.

^ Precisely. When I heard Purple Rain start I thought something was going to happen, and it did, it was just via saxophone.

ohYeeeeeah said:

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 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.

There's a lot of us that have seen Prince live many times since the mid 80's, and I really dont think its ever sounded quite as bad as it does now.

He needs more than a good sound man to fix his recent output

johnny2000 said:

There's a lot of us that have seen Prince live many times since the mid 80's, and I really dont think its ever sounded quite as bad as it does now.

He needs more than a good sound man to fix his recent output

so true! sad thing is its 2012. Most bands have superb sound nowadays. I go to a lot of shows besides Prince. I can't really remember Prince having too many bad nights from the numerous times I've seen him but also I have not seen many bands with bad sound issues for a long long time. Back in the 80's the quality was all over the place but gear evolved. Prince and his fans deserve the best of the best.

johnny2000 said:

ohYeeeeeah said:

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.

There's a lot of us that have seen Prince live many times since the mid 80's, and I really dont think its ever sounded quite as bad as it does now.

He needs more than a good sound man to fix his recent output

His current line up of NPG is a mess. He degraded everything that once stood for a brilliand band. Not only that, these great musicians have to back up karaoke singers too that he's currently promoting.

SuperFurryAnimal said:

johnny2000 said:

There's a lot of us that have seen Prince live many times since the mid 80's, and I really dont think its ever sounded quite as bad as it does now.

He needs more than a good sound man to fix his recent output

so true! sad thing is its 2012. Most bands have superb sound nowadays. I go to a lot of shows besides Prince. I can't really remember Prince having too many bad nights from the numerous times I've seen him but also I have not seen many bands with bad sound issues for a long long time. Back in the 80's the quality was all over the place but gear evolved. Prince and his fans deserve the best of the best.

Wha?

Prince Baffles With Lackluster Set in Chicago

To misquote the master himself: His name is Prince, and he is vampy. Last night at the United Center in Chicago, Prince kicked off a three-night residency with a strangely subdued show that was by turns puzzling and anti-climactic. While Prince is never not energetic – most artists would have to work overtime to approach the singer at his most restrained – over the course of his two-hour set he continually ceded choruses, verses, entire songs to his trio of backup singers and the audience. You go to see Prince to hear him sing Purple Rain, not hear the drunk chicks from Berwyn seated behind you scream it.

The night closed with a long encore, and when Prince sank below the stage, the houselights stayed down while fans waited and waited, stomped and screamed, eventually filtering out as stagehands swept the stage; periodic waves of impatient booing swept through the crowd. After approximately an hour, Prince reappeared and treated the enduring few to two more songs.

The evening started off with promise, Prince taking the stage in a trademark look of a suit that was a bit of a "Batdance"-era sartorial throwback, half and half black tuxedo-tail and white suit, warning the audience, "You better call the babysitter – we're gonna be here all night!" He shimmied and wiggled and thrusted his way around his love-symbol stage, putting his mostly female backing band through their paces. He conducted the massive 11-piece horn section on an adjacent stage with a swift whip of his hand, like he was flipping on a light switch. He seemed content to prance around the stage demanding "more horns" and assessing himself as "2 funky," theatrically cocking an ear to cue the audience to carry the chorus themselves.

The first hour was paced like a medley, song after song ebbing into each other, a mix of covers (Aretha, Curtis Mayfield), hits and songs Prince wrote that were popularized by other singers, including the Time's "Jungle Love," "Glamorous Life" and Sinead O'Connor's 1989 Number One, "Nothing Compares 2 U." On "Nothing," Prince laid back and let his featured singer, Shelby Johnson, do the heavy lifting, her sequined bald head shining under the stage lights. From there, they went to an endless gospel rendition of Sarah McLachlan's "Angel," a band showcase that grew torpid as the minutes passed. The constant deferring to his band was an unexpected bit of largesse, but for a Prince show, there was a surprising lack of Prince.

Finally, an hour in, he picked up his guitar, but it was only a brief flirtation, giving a few quick peals of solo and a spare arrangement of "Take Me With U." The second half of the show was certainly larded with hits, though many of them were given new arrangements that hewed to the style of his later era, relieving them of their familiar tautness. A chorus and verse of "Raspberry Beret" melded into "Cream"; Prince sauntered to the lip of the stage and explained he wrote that one "while looking in the mirror." "Who remembers the Eighties?" he demanded before reviving us with an electric hit from 1979, Michael Jackson's "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough."

Twenty-two songs into his set came "Purple Rain" as a full-tilt production, replete with confetti cannons spewing purple paper rain, banners symbolizing lightning, thunder samples and the bandleader's purple piano lit up with LED lightning. The band vamped the opening measures for several minutes before Prince rose up through the stage, appearing through the mist. He paced the stage and delivered a monologue on love, asking rather rhetorically, "Do u love me?," urging the audience to turn to their seatmate and tell them "I love you" and reminding us he was in Chicago because "I want 2 B here." He ceded the song's famous solo to the tenor sax player before donning his guitar, teasing "Can I play this thing?," which he did for about 90 seconds before tossing it to the guy who catches Prince's guitars.

With a thank you and goodnight, he sank under the stage, purple raindrops still fluttering in the air . . . only to reappear for a revue-style encore a few minutes later. Treating the audience to popular favorites and shouting "I got 2 many hits!" Prince stood by his piano, seemingly triggering samples and snippets of "Kiss," "When Doves Cry" and a faithful version of "Housequake." There was a centerstage spotlight dance of freeze-poses and ass-wagging and "If I Was Your Girlfriend" performed atop the piano. Prince was smiling, goofing, spoon-feeding the audience the songs they came for, and would gladly take, even in his bizarre Prince-doing-Prince-karaoke form.

daPrettyman said:

From a recent interview she said that she was going to be playing more guitar & according to the poster Yeeeeeah there was someone else on bass last night & I was trying to find out who it was.

Yeeeeeah's quote:
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!!!

Glad I chose not to support this tour. Frankly tired of the same shit. 300 songs at the ready and its always the same songs. The same loud ass backup singers (we all know who I mean) the same time off stage, the same antics.

I'm sticking with boots until someone gets a clue and restarts his career.

I chose to see Olivia Newton John in Omaha this Saturday and Sunday instead. Haven't seen her in 6 years and it was a dual show then too.

No regrets here.

I enjoyed the show but I can understand why many were disappointed. Prince is known for giving great shows and this one had too many obvious flaws.
I have a feeling he will redeem himself the next couple of shows...hopefully.

fantasticjoy said:

He'll bounce back,he always does.

fantasticjoy said:

Fat lot of good that does those who had the misfortune of choosing last night's show.

Yikes. Prince getting booed last night was a lead headline on the 6 o'clock news. And now Rolling Stone is reporting on the debacle? I hope he really kills it the next couple nights. These days fans are fickle, and it sounds like he blew more than a few first impressions last night.

SchlomoThaHomo said:

Yikes. Prince getting booed last night was a lead headline on the 6 o'clock news. And now Rolling Stone is reporting on the debacle? I hope he really kills it the next couple nights. These days fans are fickle, and it sounds like he blew more than a few first impressions last night.

He's gonna have to knock it out of the ballpark tonight to make up for the publicized debacle of last night x2...

purplethunder3121 said:

What about those who could only afford or make one show? They end up with a shit sandwich - and will never spend money on Prince again.

It kills me that, for what I spent on tickets, I could have had new carpeting in my house. I won't make that mistake again.