They just got seriously funky!

I watched two periscope broadcasts - the 2nd one sounded great and the 1st one had the best view but was too close and the sound wasn't good at all. The FB stream ended before it was over. All over the place but I loved it. I need to experience this live with my Purple fam!

DMarieP said:

I watched two periscope broadcasts - the 2nd one sounded great and the 1st one had the best view but was too close and the sound wasn't good at all. The FB stream ended before it was over. All over the place but I loved it. I need to experience this live with my Purple fam!

I sure hope they do some more of these shows.

Not one complaint about how the setlist has been basically the same for all 3 shows?

Things certainly have changed around here!

purplethunder3121 said:

purplethunder3121 said:

Kimbra. Ugh. That was painful.

A little more explanation: instead of Bilal guesting tonight, we got Kimbra, who graced us with her rendition of Private Joy and Delirious. It was horrible.

dplatt said:

Kimbra. Ugh. That was painful.

A little more explanation: instead of Bilal guesting tonight, we got Kimbra, who graced us with her rendition of Private Joy and Delirious. It was horrible.

I was missing Bilal...Andre was just...

Didn't see Kimbra--Bilal did a good job.

Is this Kimbra? I don't know her.

Who was the blond w the throaty voice? She spoke about Susan wanted to be there but could not And Was that Apollonia on stage with the blond? Apollonia , if that was her, was tossing something out to the crowd, her hoop earrings maybe?

purplethunder3121 said:

I believe that is Tony Christian(Mazarati) playing guitar on the side

Pgeishirt said:

Is this Kimbra? I don't know her.

Who was the blond w the throaty voice? She spoke about Susan wanted to be there but could not And Was that Apollonia on stage with the blond? Apollonia , if that was her, was tossing something out to the crowd, her hoop earrings maybe?

The blonde was Brenda Bennett from Vanity/Appolonia 6. That was Appolonia with her, and she was tossing out a handful of hoop earrings to the crowd.

dplatt said:

Pgeishirt said:

Is this Kimbra? I don't know her.

Who was the blond w the throaty voice? She spoke about Susan wanted to be there but could not And Was that Apollonia on stage with the blond? Apollonia , if that was her, was tossing something out to the crowd, her hoop earrings maybe?

The blonde was Brenda Bennett from Vanity/Appolonia 6. That was Appolonia with her, and she was tossing out a handful of hoop earrings to the crowd.

thank you dplatt.

VelvetKittyKat said:

Not one complaint about how the setlist has been basically the same for all 3 shows?

Things certainly have changed around here!

This is beyond that.

SchlomoThaHomo said:

We had a great time last night with The Revolution and friends! The set list up through Little Red Corvette put a big smile on my face, that stayed there the entire time. Computer Blue was unbelievable to witness at First Ave, and they nailed it. America just smoked, and Mountains was just perfect. Those three alone were worth the ticket price. Sometimes It Snows In April was incredibly stark, and raw, and just so moving. The only time I almost choked up a bit. You could hear audible weeping in the audience during the performance, it was so quiet. Andre and Dez were such a pleasure. Dez was clearly the best singer up there and I would have loved to hear more of him singing lead. Andre was great, too, but seemed a little less familiar with the words. Seeing Mark and Andre both nail the Let's Work bassline in unison was so unreal. Two scarily funky men who haven't lost a thing. The audience chanting the war chant at the end of Partyup was great. Did Prince ever have audiences do that part when he played it live? Seems tailor made for audience participation. Wendy seemed like a capable front person, though her vocals and some of her parts felt a little hit or miss. Lisa looked fantastic and sounded wonderful. Bobby held the groove, steady as ever, and when he locked in with Mark it was magic. They lost me with 1999, which was incredibly sloppy. There was a moment when Wendy didn't finish the first chorus and started singing the second verse too early, and when she realized her mistake, and waited for the chorus to finish, she ended up coming in with the verse too early a second time. This is where Prince would have stormed out, I thought. When Bobby kicked in with Raspberry Beret, the drums were noticeably larder. Actually, way too loud. And the lead line was marred by a false start which was kind of frustrating. I think when big mistakes like that happen, it kind of takes you out of it, and you start to notice more mistakes. Especially when they're performing classic material written by a man with nearly impossible live standards. Kimbra doesn't need to be up there singing Prince songs. She ruined Private Joy for me, which is an all time fave. And her remaining contributions were kind of frustrating as well. I'm she she's a big fan, but she's not a good fit. I would have rather had Princess, who showed up during the encore, on vocals. They do faithful vocals, and you can tell they're true diehard Prince fans. Also, Maya Rudolph is such a pleasure to watch. She even knows the Baby I'm A Star choreography! I thought the encore songs kind of made up for the 5 songs that led up to them, but it still made me feel like they weren't really ready to do it. I also had more of an understanding of Prince's refusal to play with them. They're just not "on the level." I think they would have needed some serious Purple Drill Sergeant time to be able to hang with Prince, and maybe people of a certain age are less receptive to that. Again, his standards were so high. I thought VIP was more than worth it. We got right up front with no waiting, and got to hear some vault treasures courtesy of Questlove. I'll post his pre show set list later, as my phone is about to die. I also caught a hoop earring thrown by Apollonia, which was exciting. Ultimately, it was a good experience, and it was wonderful to see them together at the place where it all started. Prince's absence was sometimes too great, and sometimes they really held their own. However, I think they're going to need a lot more rehearsal if they want to take this show on tour.

Good review

I have to remember that as a band that haven't played together outside of the 2012 show since 1986 so I can cut them a lot of slack for the short amount of time they had to put this together adding Andre (Dez was at the 2012 show) and said he hadn't listened to much Prince albums after he left the band. I don't know when they actually startd rehearsing, but it was a short time.
Even Prince mixed up the lyrics when performing live songs like Purple Rain, Darling Nikki and some others.
Their 'fearless leader' is no longer there, so I assume it would be very disconcerting to try to not 'fill his shows' and put this together while & because Prince is recently deceased.

They'll work it out and iron out the kinks.

Great passion always.

[Edited 9/4/16 21:34pm]

http://www.startribune.co...2295351/#1

The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported on the 3rd night of the Revolution shows at First Avenue. Included in the article is a quote from prince.org founder Ben Margolin. Congrats Ben! Thanks all for representing.

bilbolives said:

http://www.startribune.co...2295351/#1

The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported on the 3rd night of the Revolution shows at First Avenue. Included in the article is a quote from prince.org founder Ben Margolin. Congrats Ben! Thanks all for representing.

SchlomoThaHomo said:

bilbolives said:

http://www.startribune.co...2295351/#1

The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported on the 3rd night of the Revolution shows at First Avenue. Included in the article is a quote from prince.org founder Ben Margolin. Congrats Ben! Thanks all for representing.

purplethunder3121 said:

SchlomoThaHomo said:

So...this was my second night of shows and the last show on saturday night....

Questloves DJ set again was remarkable. I give the slight edge to Fri nights opener but this set was packed with Prince nerd gems. He really is a master and can read a situation and flip it up expertly - his ability to read the crowd and respond is impeccable - I know people expect that of a DJ but most dont really know wtf they're talking about when they talk about what that skill actually IS. Quest has a dancers ear for it, not just a musicans ear and those different ways of hearing and responding in a DJ set can make or break a mix at any certain time. Knowing what mix to drop and when makes me totally DJcrush on questlove because not only is he a prince deep cut nerd but... its not for the sake of the nerdom that he constructs his sets in certain ways - he does it for the dancers not the dudes who stand around and try to shazam the whle set so again his opener set the mood and the anticipation for the show...

This night tho was SO much more crowded. I could not get anywhere near the front - on the floor - as most taller people move to the back I could see nothing but necks lolololol I had a friend who was up in the front row texting me to get up there with her but I just didnt have it in me to annoy everyone on my way pushing through to get there, and hubby was like go ahead but you're on your own I'll be upstairs.

So, off to the upstairs we went. I staked out a spot by the railing on the right side jsut to the right of the dj/sound booth - I was rt next to someone professionally shooting the show but I was behind two rows of tall people but I could get a view when everyone got settled...since I couldnt see that well there I went on FB live and broadcast some to my friends - (where I grew up in Plainfield NJ - we knew of Prince longgggg before he made it big. Theres a big connection to funk music via Parliemnt Funnkadelic whose many members and extended family lived in my hometown. Because of where I grew up and who I was around - I knew of Prince when I was 12/13 I'm 53 and Pirnce would be 5 years older than me....) Most of my highschool friends couldnt be there so since I wasnt going to be upfront Iwanted to do as much for them as possible s they could be a part of it.

So I'm holding my phone up and fb broadcasting for my friends til lmy arm gets tired I look over my shoulder and hubby found a sweet SEAT on the stairs where the view was flat out perfect - so i go down and sit below him and cant believe my luck that I can see so well and SIT! woooooo!

The mood was celebratory fromt he outsset and gained steam throughout the night - you could tell the past two perfomances allowed everyone to get out their grief and start to process accepting .....it was lighthearted and celebratory and felt fresh and exciting even though I was there the night before.

Someone said something about the revolution not being on princes level up thread - and i have to say thts fcking ridiculous. These musicans created with Prince a sound like no other before or SINCE. And it was evident IMHO that they are easily on Princes level as he selected them for reasons that are apprent when you see them in person. Wendy did mess up on a chorus and Princess kind of devolves the whole thing into a mess but I'll get to that....the band didnt rehears that much and they were on point and amazing and in sync with each other - the funk breakdowns and jams were absolutely spellbinding and you can tell thats where they are very comfortable. They want to JAM - they dont want to be upfront. They are noticeably working through Prince not being there, thats not a reflection of their skill levels - its just something reality dealt them.

This band doesn know how to not have Prince yet - so no shit its different but it entrely demonstrated why Prince jumped off like he did w Purple Rain and this band in particular....they belended seamlessly with Andre and Dez on the early songs and they HAD A BALL PLAYING WITH EACH OTHER you could see this night they were enjoying the shit out of themselves so mcuh that I could feel it in the back sitting on the stairs. It was joy joy joy joy.

I was disappointed Bilal was not there - he can give you Prince transcendance without parody or impersonation.

That brings me to Kimbra - I loved her - I agree her version of Private Joy wasnt on point but she did capture the quirkyness of it and she does have a wicked voice - Delerious was better for her and i liked it - I think shes a good fit for songs like that if she works on it - again performers need to be wary of parody and impersonation - they need to spend real time with the material and understand it inside out - I think Kimbra can be a viable guest singer where she messed up on style she made up for with that voice - seriously her voice is amazing.

This brings me to Princess...I love Princess OUTSIDE of the Revolution - I get why they were there (tribute bad does tribute at tribute - very meta) BUT.....I find in this instance Maya started to slip into parody and I could have done without them...she needs to dial back the mugging a little ... but they were alot of fun but they seem to get in the way of the band a bit - thats when I found the band kind of descend into a bit of messy but it was so much fun,and how can you not love Maya? and in a real live experience it didnt matter at all...so take that for whatever


Susannah was there as well as Apples and Brenda - I was glad to see them both nights....

The highlight of this night for me was the extended funk jams that they seemed to really love doing - I felt the ecstatic kind of joy when Mark and Andre were double bassing solos and Dr Fink Lisa and Dez beamed with huge smiles while they got their shine on...I LOVETHESE PEOPLE. The speak through their instruments...and they were beaming love. They did an extended funk breakdown almost on every song! It was spectacular....Wendy finally got the nerve to do more ofPrinces solos and you know what? Im soooooo glad she did - it made me burst into tears for her becaue Prince would SO LOVE WENDY DOING THAT - Prince had faith and love for Wendys abilities and when she played some of his parts I wept with sobs of joy - how else could she say goodbye? Its the only way and there was a point in the night where each band member said their goodbye their own way. Maybe it was noticed maybe it wasn't.

I would ony give an edge to the second show becuase of Bilal - but both shows I saw were transcendent and absolutely healing and it was the most fitting way to say goodbye to Prince the man & musican and celebrate the coming future of Prince the Icon and Enduring Legend.

[Edited 9/5/16 15:35pm]