So glad I didn't get tickets. Scathing reviews.

What? No real guitar solos??? Barely played the guitar????

I'm just 30 minutes away from Chicago but I'll so relieved I didn't splurge on this....

[Edited 9/25/12 10:11am]

the sound was a hot mess in the upper level. i knew right away that prince was having trouble with his guitars. the guitar sound was awful - which undoubtedly was why he threw those solos to the horn section (sax solo in purple rain). he still put on a great show. i would rather hear him sing songs from beginning to end instead of asking the audience to sing all the time. also, the sample set was very awkward. almost like karaoke. he has a kick ass band - use them!

glad i went though!

OzlemUcucu said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

Prince @ the United Center, more fizzle than sizzle

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

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 “Cream” 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.

Lots of terrible reviews for the man lately. I do admit I feel kinda sorry for him, it could be a natural fan instinct, but there is something wrong going on with him, that only he knows.

What could the reasons be for his technical issues. He is not the first performer having gigs at those venues, and not many have sound and light problems. Besides, he has those long interval breaks in between, he did same in Europe and Oz too.

I felt the same way, at first I blamed it on the afro, but found out he changed that

Last thing I want is to see my Prince have a messy show

Was Andy Allo on stage? How about the new drummer?

OldFriends4Sale said:

OzlemUcucu said:

Lots of terrible reviews for the man lately. I do admit I feel kinda sorry for him, it could be a natural fan instinct, but there is something wrong going on with him, that only he knows.

What could the reasons be for his technical issues. He is not the first performer having gigs at those venues, and not many have sound and light problems. Besides, he has those long interval breaks in between, he did same in Europe and Oz too.

I felt the same way, at first I blamed it on the afro, but found out he changed that

Last thing I want is to see my Prince have a messy show

Was Andy Allo on stage? How about the new drummer?

There is no word on Hanna Ford. She was not there, tho she was announced. As fans there is nothing we can do about this. He has sole responsibility for the shows and the bad reviews.

I have the impression he is not taking the issues seriously, and may not be aware of the effects, maybe nobody is telling him?

If fans are travelling long distances to see him, and pay lotta money, then get disappointed surely they will vent off. It is only natural. Everybody has bills to pay and does not live in the world Prince lives and see things.

However, Prince does have huge issues, and I do not think anybody paying yet attention to this, but it needs some consideration.

I think something is going on...negatively!!!!

I was in Section 118, and the sound was so bad I actually put in earplugs. I waited outside the United Center 4 over 2 hours before security finally let me and the rest of the massive crowd in, and the UC staff insisted that they were just following Prince's orders while he was doing his soundcheck. Which is a shame - Prince spent so much time with that, and they STILL couldn't get the sound quality issues right. I don't know, maybe the United Center is better suited 4 its sporting events.

As far as the performance itself, I didn't think it was that bad. Yes, the sax solo in Purple Rain threw me off, and the some of those cover songs took a little excitement out of the crowd. But I don't regret going 2 see him.

computerblue said:

To top it all off, we waited in a darkened arena for 30 minutes for the second encore while crew members swept the stage like they were cleaning a level 3 bio-hazard lab.

I'm curious as to sound.

I know that all large arenas have in-house PA systems. My understanding is that the artists' instruments are miced and then run through a soundboard, and then all that goes out the soundboard and through the PA.

Is this correct?

If so, then is the sound problem with:

1. The in-house PA;

2. The mix of the instruments on the sound board; or

3. The sound coming out of the artists' instruments/amps?

If it's #1 or #2, I wouldn't think that would be too hard to fix.

If it's #3, then does Prince need different amps? Different guitars/pickups?

Anyone know, or can make an educated guess?

RodeoSchro said:

I'm curious as to sound.

I know that all large arenas have in-house PA systems. My understanding is that the artists' instruments are miced and then run through a soundboard, and then all that goes out the soundboard and through the PA.

Is this correct?

If so, then is the sound problem with:

1. The in-house PA;

2. The mix of the instruments on the sound board; or

3. The sound coming out of the artists' instruments/amps?

If it's #1 or #2, I wouldn't think that would be too hard to fix.

If it's #3, then does Prince need different amps? Different guitars/pickups?

Anyone know, or can make an educated guess?

It is 1 and 3 not in synch causing input and output to deteriorate, and fuck up everyone's ears including people on stage. Just my assumption tho.

This was my first Prince show and it was a TOTAL disappointment. Sound was muddy and you couldn't understand the lyrics, sick of seeing Shelby J front and center all the time, all that 70's sounding shit at the beginning was stupid, and don't get me started on the encore.

Instead of all that stupid shit for the first 45 minutes, why not sing full versions of the GOOD songs instead of just little snippets?

I'm glad I can cross this off my bucket list, but I would not travel for over 2 hours again to go see him.

Oh, and he needs to stop with that "I got too many hits!" line. Maybe if he had spent the first half of the show performing OTHER people's hits he could have performed his own.

I wouldn't appreciate waiting for a show to start, or long breaks between encores either. It's true, people have travelled, they work, they've paid and they're tired. And it makes sense for those that do stick around to play something obscure that the die-hard fans want i.e. new experience.

I also agree, Prince should quit with the 'tired old lines' (I wrote this while I was looking in the mirror) and so many covers. It even makes reading reports old. I still like the sample set idea, but it too should change. Every review is starting to sound the same in any country newspaper if they talk about the tracklist.

For the audience, if it's gonna be hits, do it, but then also, give the audience what they paid for and play the whole thing.

I hope he goes out of his way the next few nights to do something extra special. I agree with an earlier comment too. Just come to the aftershow and play a few songs on an accoustic. Improvise with what happens and at least keep the smaller fan groups happy. It's not rocket science, they'll be eating out his hand if he just gives a little more music. People do pay for Prince, not the bells and ribbons that come with it.

Come on Prince, do your thing! Be yourself and stop worrying about others and the band.

rdhull said:

His concert events are just too ..unreliable? as of late. Shows need to start at 8-8:30. Last 2.5 hours. Standard. Decent waits for encores, not extended waits that confuse the audience as to whether it's over or not. Going to see Prince should not be a fucking chore. He must really be feeling himself to continually pull shit like he has been doing.

He just really seemed like he was having fun, and him having a good time was good enough for the fans to have a good time. I really liked how he engaged the audience during the main show in this way, but he pulled similar antics at the afterjam which really rubbed people the wrong way. Peaking his head out of the curtain, peaking over the balcony in a VIP box, hiding behind stage while Allo performed, and dancing. He teased and teased and most certainly did not deliver. I'd never fucking call him back!

[Edited 9/25/12 14:40pm]

Bohemian67 said:

I wouldn't appreciate waiting for a show to start, or long breaks between encores either. It's true, people have travelled, they work, they've paid and they're tired. And it makes sense for those that do stick around to play something obscure that the die-hard fans want i.e. new experience.

I also agree, Prince should quit with the 'tired old lines' (I wrote this while I was looking in the mirror) and so many covers. It even makes reading reports old. I still like the sample set idea, but it too should change. Every review is starting to sound the same in any country newspaper if they talk about the tracklist.

For the audience, if it's gonna be hits, do it, but then also, give the audience what they paid for and play the whole thing.

I hope he goes out of his way the next few nights to do something extra special.

I agree with an earlier comment too. Just come to the aftershow and play a few songs on an accoustic. Improvise with what happens and at least keep the smaller fan groups happy. It's not rocket science, they'll be eating out his hand if he just gives a little more music. People do pay for Prince, not the bells and ribbons that come with it.

Come on Prince, do your thing! Be yourself and stop worrying about others and the band.

Don't worry, he's been making pancakes all day.

Bohemian67 said:

I wouldn't appreciate waiting for a show to start, or long breaks between encores either. It's true, people have travelled, they work, they've paid and they're tired. And it makes sense for those that do stick around to play something obscure that the die-hard fans want i.e. new experience.

I also agree, Prince should quit with the 'tired old lines' (I wrote this while I was looking in the mirror) and so many covers. It even makes reading reports old. I still like the sample set idea, but it too should change. Every review is starting to sound the same in any country newspaper if they talk about the tracklist.

For the audience, if it's gonna be hits, do it, but then also, give the audience what they paid for and play the whole thing.

I hope he goes out of his way the next few nights to do something extra special. I agree with an earlier comment too. Just come to the aftershow and play a few songs on an accoustic. Improvise with what happens and at least keep the smaller fan groups happy. It's not rocket science, they'll be eating out his hand if he just gives a little more music. People do pay for Prince, not the bells and ribbons that come with it.

Come on Prince, do your thing! Be yourself and stop worrying about others and the band.

I am so sorry to hear this? It seems as everyone can agree the sound contributed in a bad night last night....Damn! That's a real bummer. I am sure Prince feels pretty bad about what happen..I mean as for all of the people who flew in and spent all of that money, to get all of this negative feedback...it must really sucks! I know he will deliver these next two days! You can believe that!

He will express his emotion and anger on the guitar in extreme measures! I have no doubt about that, something similar happen in Australia...Remember?

Bohemian67 said:

I wouldn't appreciate waiting for a show to start, or long breaks between encores either. It's true, people have travelled, they work, they've paid and they're tired. And it makes sense for those that do stick around to play something obscure that the die-hard fans want i.e. new experience.

I also agree, Prince should quit with the 'tired old lines' (I wrote this while I was looking in the mirror) and so many covers. It even makes reading reports old. I still like the sample set idea, but it too should change. Every review is starting to sound the same in any country newspaper if they talk about the tracklist.

For the audience, if it's gonna be hits, do it, but then also, give the audience what they paid for and play the whole thing.

I hope he goes out of his way the next few nights to do something extra special. I agree with an earlier comment too. Just come to the aftershow and play a few songs on an accoustic. Improvise with what happens and at least keep the smaller fan groups happy. It's not rocket science, they'll be eating out his hand if he just gives a little more music. People do pay for Prince, not the bells and ribbons that come with it.

Come on Prince, do your thing! Be yourself and stop worrying about others and the band.

I am so sorry to hear this? It seems as everyone can agree the sound contributed in a bad night last night....Damn! That's a real bummer. I am sure Prince feels pretty bad about what happen..I mean as for all of the people who flew in and spent all of that money, to get all of this negative feedback...it must really sucks! I know he will deliver these next two days! You can believe that!

He will express his emotion and anger on the guitar in extreme measures! I have no doubt about that, something similar happen in Australia...Remember?

SO far from the reviews being written now..PRINCE IS BRINGING IT!

Diana80 said:

This was my first Prince show and it was a TOTAL disappointment. Sound was muddy and you couldn't understand the lyrics, sick of seeing Shelby J front and center all the time, all that 70's sounding shit at the beginning was stupid, and don't get me started on the encore.

Instead of all that stupid shit for the first 45 minutes, why not sing full versions of the GOOD songs instead of just little snippets?

I'm glad I can cross this off my bucket list, but I would not travel for over 2 hours again to go see him.

Oh, and he needs to stop with that "I got too many hits!" line. Maybe if he had spent the first half of the show performing OTHER people's hits he could have performed his own.

Oh Diana! That's terrible. I feel for you.

I have seen Prince 4 times and twice I traveled over 5 hours to see him. I was never disappointed.

I"m with you, I absolutely hate covers and for Prince to spotlight other people. I would have been so pissed to listen to covers for 45 minutes to an hour --especially if I didn't get a full slate of Prince songs.

[Edited 9/25/12 20:37pm]