I have just had the best moment of my life. I went to my first Prince aftershow and it is the absolute highlight of my 34 years of life. I never in my wildest dreams thought i would get to see Prince perform up so close. If i died tomorrow i would feel satisfied with my life now...
I won't go through the setlist,as it has already been done to some extent, plus i didn't know all the songs. But the main reason for this review is to show how it moved me and how lucky i was to see it.

I went to both Friday and Saturday night's concerts at the entertainment centre which were great. Saturday night's concert was better though, due to the great encore by Prince on the piano and the 3 bass players jamming at the end. I went to the Basement on Friday night and paid $30 to get in and there was no performance that night just Prince and his band makinga ten minute appearance on stage. Just that alone though was a big thrill, being able to see Prince up so close. It was a great thrill after missing out on the soundchecks to both concerts.

I was due to travel back to my hometown on the train on saturday night but decided to stay, in the hope of seeing Prince perform an aftershow, and i was pretty sure he would perform on saturday night. So i got tickets to the concert that night and then rushed down to the Basement on the bus with some other people, leaving my jacket on the bus in all the excitement...by the way my name is Steve. I met Joshy outside the soundcheck before Friday's show. Joshy looked upset that i was able to get into the basement for $30 on friday night, especially since i'm not a member and didn't have VIP tix.

Anyway, I've been a fan for 20 years and only dreamed of ever being so close to Prince. He has been my biggest hero since i was 14 and i am 34 now.

I was lined up outside the basement with some other people. I have forgotten their names now, but there was a couple from Sydney (an irish girl, and french guy - hi guys, if u read this email me ok?) I also met some guys from Wales, who were cool guys. Oh, and two other Sydney guys who were behind me. We weren't sure if we would get in but lucklily enough we did and we each paid $80. We knew from that that there would be an aftershow. The basement is a small jazz club that only holds a few hundred people and it is literally a basement under the street. It has a low ceiling and is a very cosy place to go. When i got inside i got a beer and headed down onto the floor as close to the stage as i could get. You could stand anywhere u liked.

At about 2am Prince and his band came out onstage and he had his back to the crowd while he warmed up with some guitar chords. He even briefly had some sunglasses on b4 heading over to the mic. I was about 3 rows back from the centre, just to the right. So i would say i was no more than 2 metres from Prince. I couldnt believe it.

Prince was dressed in a light blue or torquoise suit with an open-necked white shirt and white boots. He looked very sharp. The band played very tight and jammed for a while. The sound was very good and loud in the club. Prince played a cowbell which was on the amp near john's kit and even playeda small solo on it.

The version of 777-9311 was great and it was very funky. Then the first chords of the next song sounded very familiar. It was Purple Rain and have only just found ouot that he never plays this at aftershows, so it was even more special. They played a great solid version of the song and the crowd sand along very passionately and loud. Then Prince took a short break and we were all in shock and awe at what we were witnessing.

After the break the floor became even more crowded and i couldnt move. It was so hot in there that i thought i would pass out. Luckily i didn't. The band played some unfamiliar songs but they sounded great. Then they played Pass The peas, which i love. After that came songs from Chance and Rad. Prince took over on Chance's keyboard when he sang.

A funny moment i remember was when Prince was checking out Rad from behind her as she was playing. Mani was sitting just off to the side and was giving him dirty looks, but i think she was joking. Prince looked relaxed anyway. Prince also sat down next to her and played his guitar for a while, when the others were singing.

The ending was great when Larry Graham came out and they played a funky version of Alphabet St. Prince and Larry were having face-offs on stage which was funny. And then suddenly it was all over before i knew it. This was by far the greatest gig i've ever seen. Better than the 3 previous Prince concerts i've seen put together.

Some afterthoughts...Prince looks smaller than i imagined. When u see him he looks younger and more human, yet more charismatic than ever. He has a definite aura about him.
I also got John Blackwell's autograph in my program and i got to shake Chance's hand after the gig and tell him it was a great show. He said "Thanks alot". So it was a great night. When i got John's autograph, my friends said that he looked distressed. He had given some girl his drumsticks and he was chasing someone through the club. He came back and i got his autograph, but he didn't really say anything. My friends seemed to think he had a fight with some girl, but i don't really know for sure.

Anyway, the greatest experience of my life so far. I saw the greatest show i've ever seen and will likely ever see in my life.

i get such a sinking feeling reading the reviews about the sydney aftershow, because i could, SHOULD, have gone!!! but i was worried i wouldnt get in, tired, had an exam today, borke, blah blah. lame excuses i know!

BUT i did have a fucking awesome time the first night, the concert was amazing and i got to see prince live for the first time in my life (and after only beeing a fan for about 6 months) BUT i Am really glad that everyone at the second afterparty had such a blast!!! your so lucky!!!

now i think il stop reading these reviews before i pull my hair out...!

ally85 said:

i know exactly how you feel, ally...i made those same excuse myself, and told myself nothing could be the first night's concert anyway...oh well!

ive seen Prince 11 times now but the basement aftershow is the 1 ill remember the most, i guess u had 2 b there

Nice review.

Yes, it was definately the best performance I have ever seen.

tafnap said:

I'll second that. I've seen every tour from Nude through to New Power Soul in the UK, including Hippodrome and Brixton Academy. The two Sydney shows and The Basement aftershow are my top 3 Prince experiences.

Sadly my worst ever Prince experience was in Brisbane last night. The sound quality was terrible, distortion abound. I am surprised nobody else has said anything about it.
[This message was edited Tue Oct 28 2:33:42 PST 2003 by laguerra]