Please post your concert reviews here.


Sydney State Theatre

Noon Rendezvous!? Wow, what a treat!

When She Comes, Also

Short review of the 2nd show here

http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/music/review-prince-at-the-state-theatre--a-joyous-lifeaffirming-affair-20160222-gmzslx.html

grantevans said:

Girl said:

grantevans said:

New for sydney: noon Rendezvous, condition of the heart (sung not just instrumental), act of God, do me baby, I wanna be your lover, paisley park (full), partyman and probably some more

Hard to remember exact set list but I'm sure others will...it's all a blur! Lots of songs played for the only time in Sydney. The ones mentioned above and also Ruff Enuff (full), Dear Mr Man (full), The Most Beautiful Girl in the world (first 2 verses and chorus) and Time which sounded sublime! There were probably others!! He had the Afro covered under his Prince skull cap/beanie. State Theatre was more intimate than Opera House, not saying 1 was better than the other, both just as good just different vibes! For those in Aukland and Perth you are in for a real treat.

Auckland!

.

Damn Wikipedia got this wrong on their page and it has spread ever since.

Play When U Were Mine.

For this tour Prince said he would bring his new tunes, and many made an appearance during this concert (10pm Sunday 21 Feb) - RNR love affair, Screwdriver, When She Comes, Free URself; as well as other recent tunes - Time, Act of God.

The songs were amazing and Prince's performance was phenomenal.

.

Prince is the master of audience engagement and he made every effort to get the crowd on their feet - opening with Let's Go Crazy but morphing into Controversy.

.

He prepares the crowd for what is about to unfold with some groovy funky piano & the lyrics "When U come right down to the groove, I got something that'll make U move, This kind of funk y'all couldn't learn in school, Can't nobody do it like I do, If Ur rough enough get steady, come in long deep, hard & steady". [No arguments from me.]

.

Prince sets himself apart with a beautiful variation on Most beautiful girl which morphs into Noon Rendevous & Venus de Milo, and then launches into a classic Eye could never take the place of your man.

.

While the audience was politely enthusiastic, they didn't take the literal hint when Prince veered into Stand (Sly & the family stone). (All still on their bums.)

.

So he moved into his "story of relationships" (as described in my other post for 20 Feb http://prince.org/msg/12/...?&pg=1 astone Reply #25 posted 02/20/16 11:49pm)

and gave them the crowd favourite Little Red Corvette (most of it!!!) encased in Slow Down (yet again trying to get them up, but they remained seated),

so he continued down the "relationship story" using some different tracks this time

-eg on this night "Time" was the painfullly beautiful piano melody that finished in a lullaby. (The previous night Adore had this treatment.)

.

The intro to How come U don't call me finally had the desired result - Prince teased, the audience responded and once complete Prince left the stage, the audience roared and stood to encourage his return; Prince did a lap of the stage, and sat on, then lay on his back on the piano waiting for the audience to reach the desired pitch, so that he could continue on his "relationship story". (He had been giving his all, so he's hoping the audience will reciprocate - as this is the infinitely upward cycle that propels the Prince-live experience into the stratoshpere; Prince is doing all he can to get us there - like an attentive lover as he promised he would in the intro.)

.

I forgot to mention in my previous post that we hear Prince's side of the "relationship conversation" across the "relationship story" - for eg at the end of Screwdriver he says "I'm sorry, it was just a joke, where are U going, seriously..." implying the girl didn't take it very well, then Prince moves into Eye don't trust u anymore, where we bear witness to the relationship breakup.

.

When Prince reaches When she comes, the interjected conversation includes "Can we talk about the serious stuff" and then Act of God/Unchain my heart mashup.

.

Perhaps because this was the last Sydney concert in this tour, the encores touched on a lot of his massive tunes. For me it was thrilling to hear bits of Condition of the Heart , Do Me Baby and I wanna be your lover, then he performed a power packed medley of Take me with U, Raspberry Beret, Starfish & Coffee, and much of Paisley Park. (However because these songs are so amazing I'm always hoping to hear most of the track rather than just a sample).

.

Black Muse was another painfully beautiful melody (with maybe a partial line from the piano from Diamonds & Pearls, & the "brand new day is dawning" sounds like a tune from elsewhere but I've forgotten which song/ female artist - "fighting for the right" or "it'll be alright"...???).

.

I think the 1st 5 or so songs had the string synthesizers - I understand why people object - string synths are a bit chintzy compared to the real thing; but I can also understand why Prince felt a need to fill the aural space with something more. This night we also had the fractal hallucinogenic visuals on the screen behind him, which I got lost in more than a few times. All up a very different experience to the previous night simply from these 2 elements. I think the only time he didn't use the string-synths was during the power medley in Encore 2.

.

I'm glad to report by the end the audience was fully engaged and singing Free Urself, and Prince left the stage, then returned and retrieved his cane (indicating this would be his final exit) and once he was gone the audience continued to chant, ever hopeful, but it was over. In a sense they would've missed it had Prince not taken the steps described earlier to leverage them up to fever pitch so they would leave satisfied.

.

An approximation of the setlist:
-[String intro - sounds like yo yo ma]

-Let's go crazy [intro only]

-Controversy

-ruff enuff?? (Lyric -When U come right down to the groove, I got something that'll make U move, This kind of funk y'all couldn't learn in school, Can't nobody do it like I do, If Ur rough enough get steady, come in long deep, hard & steady) (Astonishing piano work) (thx dodger)

-Most beautiful girl in the world (variation on a theme)

-Noon rendevous

-Venus de Milo (One I was hoping for in this piano tour)

-Eye could never take the place of your man

-Stand (Sly & the Family Stone)

-RNR Love Affair

-Slow Down/ Little Red Corvette mashup (most of LRC)

-Screwdriver

-Eye love U but don't trust U anymore

-Ballad of Dorothy Parker (others put Madhouse Track Four -but it sounds like Miles Daves So What)

-Time

-How come U don't call me anymore

-When She Comes

-Act of God/Unchain my heart (Joe Cocker) mashup

Encore 1

-Partyman

-Black Muse (partial Diamonds & Pearls piano line? Perhaps inadvertently)

-Condition of the Heart

-Do Me Baby

-I wanna be your lover (at the end of this Prince touched the outstretched hands, Crowd went crazy. People indicated their worship of him. He shook his head & indicated to worship God above. Also think people were requesting songs with lyrics he no longer wishes to sing.)

Encore 2 - no synthesizer background

Medley

-Take me with U

-Raspberry Beret

-Starfish & Coffee

-Paisley Park

Encore 3 - Synth background

-Love thy will be done

-Nothing compares 2 U

Encore 4

-Purple Music

-Free Urself

.

Thank U Prince for another incredible night!

And thanks to the great fans & all the great conversations at the concert & after party!

(And thanks to those who left comments on my other post)

[Edited 2/22/16 15:44pm]

[Edited 2/22/16 15:45pm]

[Edited 2/22/16 16:11pm]

[Edited 2/23/16 1:11am]

[Edited 2/24/16 2:13am]

[Edited 2/24/16 17:25pm]

astone said:

For this tour Prince said he would bring his new tunes, and many made an appearance during
this concert (10pm Sunday 21 Feb) - RNR love affair, Screwdriver, When She Comes, Free
URself; as well as other recent tunes - Time, Act of God.

The songs were amazing and Prince's performance was phenomenal.

.

Prince is the master of audience engagement and he made every effort to get the crowd on
their feet - opening with Let's Go Crazy but morphing into Controversy.

.

He prepares the crowd for what is about to unfold with some groovy funky piano & the lyrics
"When U come right down to the groove, I got something that'll make U move, This kind of
funk y'all couldn't learn in school, Can't nobody do it like I do, If Ur rough enough get
steady, come in long deep, hard & steady". [No arguments from me.]

.

Prince sets himself apart with a beautiful variation on Most beautiful girl which morphs
into Noon Rendevous & Venus de Milo, and then launches into a classic Eye could never take
the place of your man.

.

While the audience was politely enthusiastic, they didn't take the literal hint when Prince
veered into Stand (Sly & the family stone). (All still on their bums.)

.

So he moved into his "story of relationships" (as described in my other post for 20 Feb
http://prince.org/msg/12/421853?&pg=1 astone Reply #25 posted 02/20/16 11:49pm)

and gave them the crowd favourite Little Red Corvette (most of it!!!) encased in Slow Down
(yet again trying to get them up, but they remained seated),

so he continued down the "relationship story" using some different tracks this time

-eg on this night "Time" was the painfullly beautiful piano melody that finished in a lullaby. (The previous night Adore had this treatment.)

.

The intro to How come U don't call me finally had the desired result - Prince teased, the
audience responded and once complete Prince left the stage, the audience roared and stood to
encourage his return; Prince did a lap of the stage, and sat on, then lay on his back on the
piano waiting for the audience to reach the desired pitch, so that he could continue on his
"relationship story". (He had been giving his all, so he's hoping the audience will
reciprocate - as this is the infinitely upward cycle that propels the Prince-live experience
into the stratoshpere; Prince is doing all he can to get us there - like an attentive lover
& as he promised he would in the intro.)

.

I forgot to mention in my previous post that we hear Prince's side of the "relationship
conversation" across the "relationship story" - for eg at the end of Screwdriver he says
"I'm sorry, it was just a joke, where are U going, seriously..." implying the girl didn't
take it very well, then Prince moves into Eye don't trust u anymore, where we bear witness
to the relationship breakup.

.

When Prince reaches When she comes, the interjected conversation includes "Can we talk about
the serious stuff" and then Act of God/Unchain my heart mashup.

.

Perhaps because this was the last Sydney concert in this tour, the encores touched on a lot
of his massive tunes. For me it was thrilling to hear bits of Condition of the Heart , Do Me
Baby and I wanna be your lover, then he performed a power packed medley of Take me with U,
Raspberry Beret, Starfish & Coffee, and much of Paisley Park. (Though these songs are so amazing I'm always hoping to hear most of the track rather than just a sample).

.

Black Muse was another painfully beautiful melody (with maybe a partial line from the piano
from Diamonds & Pearls, & the "brand new day is dawning" sounds like a tune from elsewhere
but I've forgotten which song/ female artist - "fighting for the right" or "it'll be
alright"...???).

.

I think the 1st 5 or so songs had the string synthesizers - I understand why people object -
string synths are a bit chintzy compared to the real thing; but I can also understand why
Prince felt a need to fill the aural space with something more. This night we also had the
fractal hallucinogenic visuals on the screen behind him, which I got lost in more than a few
times. All up a very different experience to the previous night simply from these 2
elements. I think the only time he didn't use the string-synths was during the power medley
in Encore 3.

.

I'm glad to report by the end the audience was fully engaged and singing Free Urself, and
Prince left the stage, then returned and retrieved his cane (indicating this would be his
final exit) and once he was gone the audience continued to chant, ever hopeful, but it was
over. In a sense they would've missed it had Prince not taken the steps described earlier to
leverage them up to the fever pitch so they would leave satisfied.

.

An approximation of the setlist:
-[String intro - sounds like yo yo ma]

-Let's go crazy [intro only]

-Controversy

-?? (Lyric -When U come right down to the groove, I got something that'll make U move, This
kind of funk y'all couldn't learn in school, Can't nobody do it like I do, If Ur rough
enough get steady, come in long deep, hard & steady) (Astonishing piano work)-Most beautiful in the work (variation on a theme)-Noon rendevous-Venus de Milo (One I was hoping for in this piano tour)

-Eye could never take the place of your man

-Stand (Sly & the Family Stone)

-RNR Love Affair

-Slow Down/ Little Red Corvette mashup (most of LRC)

-Screwdriver

-Eye love U but don't trust U anymore

-Ballad of Dorothy Parker (Theolonius Monk So Blue)

-Time

-How come U don't call me anymore

-When She Comes

-Act of God/Unchain my heart (Joe Cocker) mashup

Encore 1

-Partyman

-Black News (partial Diamonds & Pearls piano line?)

-Condition of the Heart

-Do Me Baby

-I wanna be your lover

Encore 2 - no synthesizer background

Medley

-Take me with U

-Raspberry Beret

-Starfish & Coffee

-Paisley Park

Encore 3 - Synth background

-Love thy will be done

-Nothing compares 2 U

Encore 4

-Purple Music

-Free Urself

(And thanks to those who left comments on my other post)

Thank you so much for the detailed review! Sounded like a fantastic night. what an impressive setlist.

I bet Curious Child would be a good song to do on these Piano and Microphone concerts. Opinions?

astone said:

For this tour Prince said he would bring his new tunes, and many made an appearance during this concert (10pm Sunday 21 Feb) - RNR love affair, Screwdriver, When She Comes, Free URself; as well as other recent tunes - Time, Act of God.

The songs were amazing and Prince's performance was phenomenal.

.

Prince is the master of audience engagement and he made every effort to get the crowd on their feet - opening with Let's Go Crazy but morphing into Controversy.

.

He prepares the crowd for what is about to unfold with some groovy funky piano & the lyrics "When U come right down to the groove, I got something that'll make U move, This kind of funk y'all couldn't learn in school, Can't nobody do it like I do, If Ur rough enough get steady, come in long deep, hard & steady". [No arguments from me.]

.

Prince sets himself apart with a beautiful variation on Most beautiful girl which morphs into Noon Rendevous & Venus de Milo, and then launches into a classic Eye could never take the place of your man.

.

While the audience was politely enthusiastic, they didn't take the literal hint when Prince veered into Stand (Sly & the family stone). (All still on their bums.)

.

So he moved into his "story of relationships" (as described in my other post for 20 Feb http://prince.org/msg/12/...?&pg=1 astone Reply #25 posted 02/20/16 11:49pm)

and gave them the crowd favourite Little Red Corvette (most of it!!!) encased in Slow Down (yet again trying to get them up, but they remained seated),

so he continued down the "relationship story" using some different tracks this time

-eg on this night "Time" was the painfullly beautiful piano melody that finished in a lullaby. (The previous night Adore had this treatment.)

.

The intro to How come U don't call me finally had the desired result - Prince teased, the audience responded and once complete Prince left the stage, the audience roared and stood to encourage his return; Prince did a lap of the stage, and sat on, then lay on his back on the piano waiting for the audience to reach the desired pitch, so that he could continue on his "relationship story". (He had been giving his all, so he's hoping the audience will reciprocate - as this is the infinitely upward cycle that propels the Prince-live experience into the stratoshpere; Prince is doing all he can to get us there - like an attentive lover as he promised he would in the intro.)

.

I forgot to mention in my previous post that we hear Prince's side of the "relationship conversation" across the "relationship story" - for eg at the end of Screwdriver he says "I'm sorry, it was just a joke, where are U going, seriously..." implying the girl didn't take it very well, then Prince moves into Eye don't trust u anymore, where we bear witness to the relationship breakup.

.

When Prince reaches When she comes, the interjected conversation includes "Can we talk about the serious stuff" and then Act of God/Unchain my heart mashup.

.

Perhaps because this was the last Sydney concert in this tour, the encores touched on a lot of his massive tunes. For me it was thrilling to hear bits of Condition of the Heart , Do Me Baby and I wanna be your lover, then he performed a power packed medley of Take me with U, Raspberry Beret, Starfish & Coffee, and much of Paisley Park. (However because these songs are so amazing I'm always hoping to hear most of the track rather than just a sample).

.

Black Muse was another painfully beautiful melody (with maybe a partial line from the piano from Diamonds & Pearls, & the "brand new day is dawning" sounds like a tune from elsewhere but I've forgotten which song/ female artist - "fighting for the right" or "it'll be alright"...???).

.

I think the 1st 5 or so songs had the string synthesizers - I understand why people object - string synths are a bit chintzy compared to the real thing; but I can also understand why Prince felt a need to fill the aural space with something more. This night we also had the fractal hallucinogenic visuals on the screen behind him, which I got lost in more than a few times. All up a very different experience to the previous night simply from these 2 elements. I think the only time he didn't use the string-synths was during the power medley in Encore 3.

.

I'm glad to report by the end the audience was fully engaged and singing Free Urself, and Prince left the stage, then returned and retrieved his cane (indicating this would be his final exit) and once he was gone the audience continued to chant, ever hopeful, but it was over. In a sense they would've missed it had Prince not taken the steps described earlier to leverage them up to fever pitch so they would leave satisfied.

.

An approximation of the setlist:
-[String intro - sounds like yo yo ma]

-Let's go crazy [intro only]

-Controversy

-?? (Lyric -When U come right down to the groove, I got something that'll make U move, This kind of funk y'all couldn't learn in school, Can't nobody do it like I do, If Ur rough enough get steady, come in long deep, hard & steady) (Astonishing piano work)

-Most beautiful girl in the world (variation on a theme)

-Noon rendevous

-Venus de Milo (One I was hoping for in this piano tour)

-Eye could never take the place of your man

-Stand (Sly & the Family Stone)

-RNR Love Affair

-Slow Down/ Little Red Corvette mashup (most of LRC)

-Screwdriver

-Eye love U but don't trust U anymore

-Ballad of Dorothy Parker (Theolonius Monk So Blue)

-Time

-How come U don't call me anymore

-When She Comes

-Act of God/Unchain my heart (Joe Cocker) mashup

Encore 1

-Partyman

-Black Muse (partial Diamonds & Pearls piano line? Perhaps inadvertently)

-Condition of the Heart

-Do Me Baby

-I wanna be your lover (at the end of this Prince touched the outstretched hands, Crowd went crazy. People indicated their worship of him. He shook his head & indicated to worship God above. Also think people were requesting songs with lyrics he no longer wishes to sing.)

Encore 2 - no synthesizer background

Medley

-Take me with U

-Raspberry Beret

-Starfish & Coffee

-Paisley Park

Encore 3 - Synth background

-Love thy will be done

-Nothing compares 2 U

Encore 4

-Purple Music

-Free Urself

.

Thank U Prince for another incredible night!

And thanks to the great fans & all the great conversations at the concert & after party!

(And thanks to those who left comments on my other post)

[Edited 2/22/16 15:44pm]

[Edited 2/22/16 15:45pm]

[Edited 2/22/16 16:11pm]

Thanks for all of that. How long did it run? Sounds a little longer than the Melbourne shows.

astone said:

For this tour Prince said he would bring his new tunes, and many made an appearance during this concert (10pm Sunday 21 Feb) - RNR love affair, Screwdriver, When She Comes, Free URself; as well as other recent tunes - Time, Act of God.

The songs were amazing and Prince's performance was phenomenal.

.

Prince is the master of audience engagement and he made every effort to get the crowd on their feet - opening with Let's Go Crazy but morphing into Controversy.

.

He prepares the crowd for what is about to unfold with some groovy funky piano & the lyrics "When U come right down to the groove, I got something that'll make U move, This kind of funk y'all couldn't learn in school, Can't nobody do it like I do, If Ur rough enough get steady, come in long deep, hard & steady". [No arguments from me.]

.

Prince sets himself apart with a beautiful variation on Most beautiful girl which morphs into Noon Rendevous & Venus de Milo, and then launches into a classic Eye could never take the place of your man.

.

While the audience was politely enthusiastic, they didn't take the literal hint when Prince veered into Stand (Sly & the family stone). (All still on their bums.)

.

So he moved into his "story of relationships" (as described in my other post for 20 Feb http://prince.org/msg/12/...?&pg=1 astone Reply #25 posted 02/20/16 11:49pm)

and gave them the crowd favourite Little Red Corvette (most of it!!!) encased in Slow Down (yet again trying to get them up, but they remained seated),

so he continued down the "relationship story" using some different tracks this time

-eg on this night "Time" was the painfullly beautiful piano melody that finished in a lullaby. (The previous night Adore had this treatment.)

.

The intro to How come U don't call me finally had the desired result - Prince teased, the audience responded and once complete Prince left the stage, the audience roared and stood to encourage his return; Prince did a lap of the stage, and sat on, then lay on his back on the piano waiting for the audience to reach the desired pitch, so that he could continue on his "relationship story". (He had been giving his all, so he's hoping the audience will reciprocate - as this is the infinitely upward cycle that propels the Prince-live experience into the stratoshpere; Prince is doing all he can to get us there - like an attentive lover as he promised he would in the intro.)

.

I forgot to mention in my previous post that we hear Prince's side of the "relationship conversation" across the "relationship story" - for eg at the end of Screwdriver he says "I'm sorry, it was just a joke, where are U going, seriously..." implying the girl didn't take it very well, then Prince moves into Eye don't trust u anymore, where we bear witness to the relationship breakup.

.

When Prince reaches When she comes, the interjected conversation includes "Can we talk about the serious stuff" and then Act of God/Unchain my heart mashup.

.

Perhaps because this was the last Sydney concert in this tour, the encores touched on a lot of his massive tunes. For me it was thrilling to hear bits of Condition of the Heart , Do Me Baby and I wanna be your lover, then he performed a power packed medley of Take me with U, Raspberry Beret, Starfish & Coffee, and much of Paisley Park. (However because these songs are so amazing I'm always hoping to hear most of the track rather than just a sample).

.

Black Muse was another painfully beautiful melody (with maybe a partial line from the piano from Diamonds & Pearls, & the "brand new day is dawning" sounds like a tune from elsewhere but I've forgotten which song/ female artist - "fighting for the right" or "it'll be alright"...???).

.

I think the 1st 5 or so songs had the string synthesizers - I understand why people object - string synths are a bit chintzy compared to the real thing; but I can also understand why Prince felt a need to fill the aural space with something more. This night we also had the fractal hallucinogenic visuals on the screen behind him, which I got lost in more than a few times. All up a very different experience to the previous night simply from these 2 elements. I think the only time he didn't use the string-synths was during the power medley in Encore 3.

.

I'm glad to report by the end the audience was fully engaged and singing Free Urself, and Prince left the stage, then returned and retrieved his cane (indicating this would be his final exit) and once he was gone the audience continued to chant, ever hopeful, but it was over. In a sense they would've missed it had Prince not taken the steps described earlier to leverage them up to fever pitch so they would leave satisfied.

.

An approximation of the setlist:
-[String intro - sounds like yo yo ma]

-Let's go crazy [intro only]

-Controversy

-?? (Lyric -When U come right down to the groove, I got something that'll make U move, This kind of funk y'all couldn't learn in school, Can't nobody do it like I do, If Ur rough enough get steady, come in long deep, hard & steady) (Astonishing piano work)

-Most beautiful girl in the world (variation on a theme)

-Noon rendevous

-Venus de Milo (One I was hoping for in this piano tour)

-Eye could never take the place of your man

-Stand (Sly & the Family Stone)

-RNR Love Affair

-Slow Down/ Little Red Corvette mashup (most of LRC)

-Screwdriver

-Eye love U but don't trust U anymore

-Ballad of Dorothy Parker (Theolonius Monk So Blue)

-Time

-How come U don't call me anymore

-When She Comes

-Act of God/Unchain my heart (Joe Cocker) mashup

Encore 1

-Partyman

-Black Muse (partial Diamonds & Pearls piano line? Perhaps inadvertently)

-Condition of the Heart

-Do Me Baby

-I wanna be your lover (at the end of this Prince touched the outstretched hands, Crowd went crazy. People indicated their worship of him. He shook his head & indicated to worship God above. Also think people were requesting songs with lyrics he no longer wishes to sing.)

Encore 2 - no synthesizer background

Medley

-Take me with U

-Raspberry Beret

-Starfish & Coffee

-Paisley Park

Encore 3 - Synth background

-Love thy will be done

-Nothing compares 2 U

Encore 4

-Purple Music

-Free Urself

.

Thank U Prince for another incredible night!

And thanks to the great fans & all the great conversations at the concert & after party!

(And thanks to those who left comments on my other post)

[Edited 2/22/16 15:44pm]

[Edited 2/22/16 15:45pm]

[Edited 2/22/16 16:11pm]

Great review again, thanks. The song after Controversy must be Ruff Enuff.

.

I'm loving the set-lists, this is how they should be - good mix of hits, rare and newer songs. Keen to hear Time.

looks like another great show !!

heard noon rendezvous/venus di milo.....very cool