Peeps seem like they can't wait 4 Prince to make a mistake so they can quickly throw him under the bus & call him a jerk. I bet its tough 2 b in his shoes... He will redeem himself . He always does...The haters are out to attack him again...

The opening show is always the hardest to pull off. He has done a million good shows & gets attacked for a sound issue for just one..

[Edited 9/25/12 16:53pm]

KCOOLMUZIQ said:

Peeps seem like they can't wait 4 Prince to make a mistake so they can quickly throw him under the bus & call him a jerk. I bet its tough 2 b in his shoes... He will redeem himself . He always does...The haters are out to attack him again...

The opening show is always the hardest to pull off. He has done a million good shows & gets attacked for a sound issue for just one..

Oh shut up.

Genesia said:

purplethunder3121 said:

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

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.

I feel ya. The one show I saw last year that was sub-par made me wonder why I spent so much money... Fortunately, Prince made up for it the following two nights... But, like you said, what about those people who could only afford one concert. That's why, for those people who have tix for tonight and tomorrow, I hope he puts on a great show...

Additional note: Prince is a professional... As such, he has only himself to blame if he hires sub-standard people to work on his live shows.

[Edited 9/25/12 16:53pm]

rdhull said:

KCOOLMUZIQ said:

Peeps seem like they can't wait 4 Prince to make a mistake so they can quickly throw him under the bus & call him a jerk. I bet its tough 2 b in his shoes... He will redeem himself . He always does...The haters are out to attack him again...

The opening show is always the hardest to pull off. He has done a million good shows & gets attacked for a sound issue for just one..

Please. It's about quality. Doubt anyone bought tickets from the neighboorhood second hand store. But got a low quality show. No excuses.

purplethunder3121 said:

Genesia said:

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.

I feel ya. The one show I saw last year that was sub-par made me wonder why I spent so much money... Fortunately, Prince made up for it the following two nights... But, like you said, what about those people who could only afford one concert. That's why, for those people who have tix for tonight and tomorrow, I hope he puts on a great show...

Additional note: Prince is a professional... As such, he has only himself to blame if he hires sub-standard people to work on his live shows.

[Edited 9/25/12 16:53pm]

It's unfortunate that after this many years there is an inconsistency there. He should be one of the few you can ALWAYS count on for a good show. He's just that good.

Wow, it's a shame that things didn't go well, and it's not just the usual org gripes but mainstream press as well. I feel especially bad for those who were seeing Prince for the first time. I had high hopes for these shows and the cause he's supporting.

With two more nights to go I'm sure every effort will be made to correct what went wrong. Fingers crossed for those still holding tickets.

SchlomoThaHomo said:

purplethunder3121 said:

I feel ya. The one show I saw last year that was sub-par made me wonder why I spent so much money... Fortunately, Prince made up for it the following two nights... But, like you said, what about those people who could only afford one concert. That's why, for those people who have tix for tonight and tomorrow, I hope he puts on a great show...

Additional note: Prince is a professional... As such, he has only himself to blame if he hires sub-standard people to work on his live shows.

[Edited 9/25/12 16:53pm]

It's unfortunate that after this many years there is an inconsistency there. He should be one of the few you can ALWAYS count on for a good show. He's just that good.

Yes, it really is unfortunate that his shows can be irregular like this...and it ususally seems to fall on that opening night in a new venue... He makes up for it on subsequent nights...but that is no consolation to people who spent hard-earned money on that one concert that ended up sub-standard...

purplethunder3121 said:

SchlomoThaHomo said:

It's unfortunate that after this many years there is an inconsistency there. He should be one of the few you can ALWAYS count on for a good show. He's just that good.

Yes, it really is unfortunate that his shows can be irregular like this...and it ususally seems to fall on that opening night in a new venue... He makes up for it on subsequent nights...but that is no consolation to people who spent hard-earned money on that one concert that ended up sub-standard...

Yeah, for those who could only make that one show it's a real bummer to have it end like that.

two fans reactions:

http://touch.chicagotribune.com/#section/-1/video/p2p-72522488/

Genesia said:

purplethunder3121 said:

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

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.

I hear you! I'm in a SHITLOAD of fucking debt as it is, yet I still decided to buy a ticket because I'd never seen him before and I figured someone like Prince wouldn't let me down and it would be worth my money. Wow, was I wrong! I won't make that mistake again either.

Is Prince paying a pittance for guitar techs and sound guys? It seems that way. He needs to sort these issues out as it's a common gripe from concert reports these days.

KCOOLMUZIQ said:

I won't lie. I had a great time with my BFF watching this show, but it was uneven in spots, and the sound in the UC was pretty bad. Having said that, he played a lot of his greatest hits, and the crowd really responded to that and the Time/Sheila E songs he played. It wasn't his best show, and the whole second encore stuff was a bummer , but I enjoyed it. I'm sure his shows tonight and tomorrow will be rather diffferent.

728huey said:

I won't lie. I had a great time with my BFF watching this show, but it was uneven in spots, and the sound in the UC was pretty bad. Having said that, he played a lot of his greatest hits, and the crowd really responded to that and the Time/Sheila E songs he played. It wasn't his best show, and the whole second encore stuff was a bummer , but I enjoyed it. I'm sure his shows tonight and tomorrow will be rather diffferent.

Too bad you won't get to see Sheila E. & Prince perform together... It was pretty awesome (even though that word is over-used... LOL).

I read a lot of the posts here but don't post myself very often. I just felt I had to chime in on this subject.

I've been a fan since 1983, so almost 30 years. This was my first Prince concert. Actually my first concert ever, I wanted my first concert to be Prince, no other artist interested me enough to travel to see live.

Even though I'd never been to another concert before and had nothing to compare it to, the sound seemed a little off and of course I wish he'd played the guitar more. But honestly, I got to see Prince perform live!!!!!!! It seemed like everytime he was playing in or near Illinois I wasn't able to get tickets, afford tickets etc.

Am I upset by the concert last night? (Luckily we stayed until the actual final encore.) Taking the good (Old Friends 4 Sale ) with the bad (sound issues) I will say no, I had the time of my life and I'd pay to see him again in a heartbeat.

I've read comments about this being a "hits" concert and not having any new music. That may be true and maybe to the lucky people who have been able to see Prince live countless times it get's boring. It was actually great for me. Since I had never been to any other Prince concert I feel like I got to hear a little bit of what I'd missed over the years.

To each their own but I really really had the most amazing time. Just being there was a gift and I feel so lucky to now be able to say I've seen Prince live in concert. My biggest complaint is that I'm not able to go all three nights!

[Edited 9/25/12 18:20pm]

Was at monday's show and prince was his playful and energetic self. I Love prince and was glad to see him in concert again.I did notice the horns were off on their cues, even when prince tried to give them more direction.Enjoy the rest of the shows. oh and don't leave until they usher you out'lol.I left and miss the encore of 1999 and little Red Corvette.

fantasticjoy said:

KCOOLMUZIQ said:

Peeps seem like they can't wait 4 Prince to make a mistake so they can quickly throw him under the bus & call him a jerk. I bet its tough 2 b in his shoes... He will redeem himself . He always does...The haters are out to attack him again...

The opening show is always the hardest to pull off. He has done a million good shows & gets attacked for a sound issue for just one..

[Edited 9/25/12 16:53pm]

I agree. Like many I spent money that I really couldn't afford, but I have no regrets about it. I will defitnitely see him again at any opportunity. Prince may not be perfect but he is a perfectionist. I have faith he'll learn and will redeem himself. I can understand people getting upset but one bad show doesn't mean he's no longer capable of showing his royal badness on stage.

ambercat123 said:

I read a lot of the posts here but don't post myself very often. I just felt I had to chime in on this subject.

I've been a fan since 1983, so almost 30 years. This was my first Prince concert. Actually my first concert ever, I wanted my first concert to be Prince, no other artist interested me enough to travel to see live.

Even though I'd never been to another concert before and had nothing to compare it to, the sound seemed a little off and of course I wish he'd played the guitar more. But honestly, I got to see Prince perform live!!!!!!! It seemed like everytime he was playing in or near Illinois I wasn't able to get tickets, afford tickets etc.

Am I upset by the concert last night? (Luckily we stayed until the actual final encore.) Taking the good (Old Friends 4 Sale ) with the bad (sound issues) I will say no, I had the time of my life and I'd pay to see him again in a heartbeat.

I've read comments about this being a "hits" concert and not having any new music. That may be true and maybe to the lucky people who have been able to see Prince live countless times it get's boring. It was actually great for me. Since I had never been to any other Prince concert I feel like I got to hear a little bit of what I'd missed over the years.

To each their own but I really really had the most amazing time. Just being there was a gift and I feel so lucky to now be able to say I've seen Prince live in concert. My biggest complaint is that I'm not able to go all three nights!

[Edited 9/25/12 18:20pm]

ambercat123 said:

HOB offers ticket trade-off

http://blogs.suntimes.com...icago.html

[Edited 9/25/12 22:07pm]

Okay, me and my girlfriend just got back to Ann Arbor from Chicago after spending two days looking at art exhibits, shopping, eating fancy food at fancy restaurants (basically splurging way to much money to take a break from some insane work schedules we've had) and of course take her to her frist Prince concert, the opening night concert in Chicago.

First, let me tell you she is a Bruce Springsteen front row type of fanatic. Prince of course, maybe some of you don't know this, lifts a lot of his show patterns from Springsteen, so that's a plus. So what was her impression of the concert? She thought is was great, and was amazed at how fun a "dance party" atmosphere Prince created.

She had never seen Prince show mind you. So let's get to the infamous encore situation. The lights were still down, the one guy started sweeping glitter off. Then a second guy. They swept for over half an hour. My girlfriend was at first, "What the hell is this? A statement on the labor strikes of Chicago?". Then she just took a nap on my shoulder. She woke up at one point when the smoke machines started smoking, but then there was even more sweeping. It became a strange performance in itself, because they were resweeping portions of thestage they had already swept. She went back to sleep.Then the lights just went on. It seemed over. Everyone around us was cussing and started leaving. I started to leave, and my girlfriend said, "wait... do you think something is going to happen?" I said "I think it's over". She wanted to stay and see just in case. Her nap had totally reenergized her from the intial weariness of the first 15 minutes of sweeping. As a matter of fact we had a theory that Prince was taking a nap too.

then she pointed out that the horn section was filling back in. the lights were still up. Then the band started playing a funky piece... lights still on. I wondered if this was exit music? We left our seats and moved in very close on the first tier. People had started to come back in.

Then of course the lights went down, and Prince came up the elevator and did 1999 and Little Red Corvette, and to the third of the people that came back in, I think it seemed very cool. Normally I would have been bored by these two numbers, but they sounded great, and he was really getting into it on these, lying on the piano for moments and screaming, etc. And we were close now and could see him very clearly. It was in the end a very fun night for us. and we actually liked the bizarre awkward ending that alienated most of the audience. Whether it was intentional or not, it made us feel like we had stuck it out and gotten a secret treat.

But there's one thing no one has mentioned here or on the org. And that was that before Prince came backup and the lights went down... the band was grooving, and my girlfriend said.... do you see him? She pointed to the far side of the symbol stage where some kind of commotion was going on the floor of the VIP section. "He's walking around there". Other people around us had spotted him too and were pointing. I couldn't get a good look, but then he came around the arrow of the stage towards our side, seeming to chat with VIP people, smiling... but.... but.... he looked all wrong. It looked like he had put on an almost regular suit, gotten a haircut that was a very very neat parted parade era cut, wearing black shades, and his face looked a half shade darker.

A woman standing next to my girlfriend was like "No...no... uh..uh. that aint Prince. Nope"
I said... "He completely changed his look?" In my mind I thought was it possible he had washed off the foundation, and then taken of A WIG? And put on a suit????

This guy was walking and pausing and soaking in the attention. he was raising his hands, nodding, and talking to people in the VIP section. His face from what we could see was very Prince shaped. But it wasn't Prince... because Prince rose up in the middle of the stage looking like himself. And the lights went down, and I don't know who that guy was!

Here's some quick crude sketches I did of how the imposter looked and how Prince looked. Prince actually looked like he had more mass to his face last night, and some of that had to do with the hair sash/band/scarf.
[img:$uid]http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8034/8025625689_b10a9d58f9.jpg[/img:$uid][img:$uid]http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8312/8025625739_1b23bf5c24.jpg[/img:$uid]

Who was this imposter????

Anyway, my impression of the concert, was that the sound seemed too loud, almost like it was distorted from the hanging speaker array... but it did sound strong and powerful. I was really puzzled that he didn't touch the guitar, and that when he did, it seemed to sound like you could hear good playing and also a layer of bass mud fuzz. I thought that was just because the whole thing was jacked up too loud.

I can tell you that apart from the ending tease of sweeping that pissed off the crowd, everyone seemed to have a GREAT time. But even my girlfriend commented on Prince seeming to shout out a lot to the soundguy, and also he seemed to toss his guitar angrily to the tech. She said she thought it looked like he was trying to hurt the tech.

Things I actually enjoyed as a Prince concert veteran:

Pop Life seemed especially powerful. His vocals were booming, but seemed good.The horn section were always dancing in sync when they weren't playing, and it was almost like a video backdrop to the energy of the concert. I liked that a lot.

The novelty of the glitter falling during Purple Rain was really kind of amazing to see. There's a lot of that shit, and it falls form a long time, seemingly suspended in the air.

The best performance section was the "cool"/MJ tribute cover of "Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough"
This part is pure happiness, and to see the audience doing the hand letters, and just the joy of celebrating MJ in such a way is a great thing. The arrangement is exciting and fun. But you've all heard it before. so have I. But it really worked.

this was the first time I saw the sample set live. And I loved it. To me it seems like Prince is playing with the idea of the new celeb DJ's that actually tour around on private jets and have big concerts. And also, the sight and sounds of those beats at such a loud volume with intense colored lights and electronic displays going had the dark voodoo Prince mood that is missing from his housewife friendly phase that has been going on lately for years now. It seemed like we were in his mad scientist laboratory and those beats are fucking killer and wild.

Anyway, I wish wish wish that I had taken her to the second night, because I know it was the real stuff... but, as a newbie, she had mad respect fro Prince and his "dance party" concert. And she loved the sweeping and the imposter as part of some bizarre performance... she is an professional artist by the way, working on a post doc.... so like me, she likes it when someone plays with perception. Of course in this case it was probably not Prince's intention!

[Edited 9/26/12 7:48am]

[img:$uid]http://i56.tinypic.com/cjd49.gif[/img:$uid]

Genesia said:

The "imposter" is Marcus - a fixture in the Chicago-based Prince community. Sweetie and I laughed our asses off at all the people mobbing and taking pictures with him. He does this on the regular at Prince shows all over. (Last time I saw him was at Paisley Park in 2009.)

What gets me is that he has management. I actually saw a woman with him lining folks up to take pictures with him! Hilarious. I've seen him pretty often around here.

ufoclub said:

this was the first time I saw the sample set live. And I loved it. To me it seems like Prince is playing with the idea of the new celeb DJ's that actually tour around on private jets and have big concerts.

Bwahahahaha.

ufoclub said:

this was the first time I saw the sample set live. And I loved it. To me it seems like Prince is playing with the idea of the new celeb DJ's that actually tour around on private jets and have big concerts. And also, the sight and sounds of those beats at such a loud volume with intense colored lights and electronic displays going had the dark voodoo Prince mood that is missing from his housewife friendly phase that has been going on lately for years now. It seemed like we were in his mad scientist laboratory and those beats are fucking killer and wild.

I always enjoy reading your posts ufoclub! I like the open minded approach and the interesting perspectives you bring to the table.

paulludvig said:

ufoclub said:

this was the first time I saw the sample set live. And I loved it. To me it seems like Prince is playing with the idea of the new celeb DJ's that actually tour around on private jets and have big concerts. And also, the sight and sounds of those beats at such a loud volume with intense colored lights and electronic displays going had the dark voodoo Prince mood that is missing from his housewife friendly phase that has been going on lately for years now. It seemed like we were in his mad scientist laboratory and those beats are fucking killer and wild.

I always enjoy reading your posts ufoclub! I like the open minded approach and the interesting perspectives you bring to the table.

Thanks! I can't help but have my perspective.