How could he? Here was a perfect, crystalline opportunity for him to work on his massive karmic deficit... and he blew it. I know he's in town, one of Sheila's musicians is a friend of mine and they were told he was here, 'cause he leaves for Hawaii on Sunday. All those people up there, playing that music, and here was a chance to put aside a lot of negativity and bad feelings with his former musicians, friends, and ex-lovers for a cause larger than himself. So much history -- even the venue is significant, as the Forum was where he played that legendary string of Purple Rain shows... but Prince couldn't be bothered to bless us with his presence, even just to say, "I support Sheila and what she's trying to do." Asshole.

Well, it's no big surprise. I'm more interested in knowing if The Family showed up in silk pyjamas.

Paul did put on his smoking jacket as a joke.

Anxiety said:

No St. Paul had on jeans and a plaid shirt and Susannah had on a green cotton miniskirt. There were about 50 people taking pics and filming so I'm sure they'll be posted soon.

So for those who went, how was it? Were there any surprises (other than the obvious non-surprise no-show)? How was the overall vibe?

Who cares edit.....
[This message was edited Sun Dec 14 9:44:28 PST 2003 by DJ506]

I didn't think Prince was gonna show for this. He seems completely disinterested in revisiting his past (generally speaking and musically for sure) not even for Sheila and not even for just a few hours. Which is too bad, imo.

At any rate I'm looking forward to hearing LOTS AND LOTS of details about the Family Jamm and hopefully seeing lots of pictures. I thought about all you lucky people there tonight and wished I could've been there too.

With all the ex-girlfriends and people he's owed money to on the same stage, if he showed up they coulda recited my favorite lines from Purple Rain:

"Wait, I've got something for you!"

"What, a subpoena?"







Baby You're An Edit And A Half
[This message was edited Sun Dec 14 1:01:46 PST 2003 by Anxiety]

Anxiety said:

PRINCE IS DEAD !!!

Prince a no-show...Wow really...Oh wait this is Prince we're talking about.

what did Wendy & Lisa do ???
did they perform by themselves?

eroica29 said:

Probably didn't show up without enough bodyguard support to protect him from possible "onstage" attackers.

((Picturing several of the band members ringing his neck))

Granted, I don't have all the details, but for him not to show up for this event is regretable. I concede that there might be extenuating circumstances for his absence, but this was a great opportunity to mend some fences, and be helpful to a charitable cause. I am so sick of, and really disappointed in Prince's act, full of egocentric, insecure, and bizarre behavior (I don't have to go into detail, I'm sure). I wonder how he will behave at the Hall of Fame induction?

Did anyone every think that by not appearing Prince was trying to keep the attention on what the event was really about. It is Sheila's charity for abused and abandoned children.

I personally considered flying in for the event and then realized it would be more supportive to not attend. Why is that?... Because everyone if they looked at the big picture would realize to pay between airfare, hotel, rental, etc. around $300-700, depending on when you arrived in Los Angeles,to attend a concert and pay $100 for a ticket that goes to the charity is an irony in itself. When the travel costs could be a larger direct donation.

I determined in the big picture of things it makes more sense and it is more supportive to send the money directly to Sheila's charity than to pay all the expense of traveling there. ..And those who will respond to this post with a "I bet this person posting has not ever donated to Sheila's charity" ..yes I have donated to Sheila's charity before.

My final point is to everyone...stop judging people and assuming that if someone did not attend a concert or perform at a benefit concert they are not being supportive behind the scenes. For all those who attended I think it was supportive of them. I just think sometimes people loose site of the big picture. So to anyone complaining..have you donated to Shiela's charity?
[This message was edited Sun Dec 14 7:48:48 PST 2003 by keepinitreal]

[beginrant] oh, for fuck's sake--and not because ol' boy didn't show up, that was inevitable--it seems like some of ya'll had your expectations set too high once again(like some folks here often do) and were let down by yall's own accord once again. most of ya'll who frequent these boards have been fans/friends/freex/fams/whatever from the jump, so you guys should know how fickle prince can be when it comes to showin up at events/ceremonies, but yet n'still ya'll gripe if he don't show up at wherever.

the "ohmigod, he didn't show up! shame on him!"-type exasperations/displays of flabbergastment need to be stashed away. seriously. i bet ya'll a pack of now n'laters that somewhere, in the back of your minds, you knew full-well that prince might not have shown up to the event at all. just because the event was comprised of most of his proteges/ghost bands don't mean that he's obligated to be there. and because he didn't show up don't mean that he's some evil guy or whatever else.

...ya'll gots to .[/endrant]

keepinitreal said:

nicely put!

keepinitreal said:

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

love the word!

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

Yeah, I'm sure that's exactly what Prince thought.

Sometimes it's not about money... when you blow off your friend's birthday party but send a big gift anyway, does that make it all right? My point is, it wasn't about him performing "Mountains" or whatever with his old band, it was about him showing some love for his old friends and the fans by being there. There was a palpable sense of "will he be here?" in the room and he disappointed. If he had a gig somewhere, I'd understand, but he was in L.A. What exactly was he doing that was more important that this show? Banging his wife/some groupie? Writing a tune? Resting for Tuesday's gig? Whatever. He's a rich rock star -- the world moves to his whim. If he wanted to move heaven and earth to be there, he would've. And if that's what it took, then he should've moved heaven and earth. Everyone else did, and without any of the means that he has at his disposal.

TedW said:

lest you forget, the event wasn't about reliving the past. it was all for a very worthy cause.

it all rolls back around to what i had said in my initial post: people shouldnt've been worried about if he was gonna be there or not. that ain't what the event was about. seems like the people who wished he were there so badly only wanted to see him there for vanity purposes only, totally overshadowing what the event was truly about.

and once again, the brotha is not obligated to be wherever. he started up the careers of most of the folks there, sure...but he still does not have to be joined at the hip with them in wherever/whatever they do.

cues up violins...

Well, exactly. It was about Sheila and what she is trying to do. But the way she's trying to do it is directly related to that music and those people and him -- the point was to live in the past for an evening to raise money for a worthy cause. The Revolution wasn't up there playing new music, man. If you had been there you would have seen the obvious hole. And Prince is hardly joined at the hip with any of them. In fact, since he's going to go on stage Tuesday night in Hawaii and basically play the same tunes, his appearance would've fit nicely into his whole "retiring the hits" concept -- perfect closure, actually. Then he really could put that part of his life behind him. But he blew it. But hey, that's just the type of guy he is.

I don't think there was room on the stage for Prince's ego last night. Also this event was about the music, not the man.

Alan Leeds gave a brief speech in which he recognized those that were not able to be there (Bonni Boyer, John Melvoin, etc.) He then introduced the Revolution saying something to the effect of: "sometimes people say behind every superstar there is a great band, but other times great bands STAND NEXT TO the superstar".

Wendy held it together just fine, in fact she was excellent. She said "there was a genius behind these songs and he's not with us tonight,but if you all sing along maybe his ears will start burning". To me, that sounded like she still had love for Prince and recognized he was the force behind them. And that it would be nice IF he performed with them again,for nostalgias sake- which would be for the fans. We are the only ones complaining.

The Revolution is one thing. Prince and the Revolution is another. Sometimes things are best enjoyed as memories. I really don't see them playing together again. It was good for Prince to grow into himself on his own, although we may not like all the directions he took and where he is today. The Revolution was and is able to stand on their own. I think it would be a step down for Prince to come back to them, AND for them to play with him. Neither of the two need each other.

Now in a few years (if this Jamm continues) if Prince wants to come off his high horse and surprise everyone at the end for a hit or two (Baby I'm a Star, etc.) whoopee.But if he gets top billing or puts his name on the Jamm, then it will be all about Prince (the man) and not the music (Revolution, etc.) and certainly not the children.

My opinions only...
[This message was edited Sun Dec 14 12:48:59 PST 2003 by beautifulone7]

Yeah, I'll have to disagree on that one. There is no Revolution, they don't exist in a context outside of Prince. The music doesn't exist in a context outside of Prince. If it did, we would all thrill every time some cover band plays "1999" in a bar somewhere or at a wedding party. The fact that they sounded great last night and those songs are still great only made me miss the galvanizing presence at the front all the more.

Actually, if he really wanted to help the children -- which means money -- he would have agreed to a one-time reunion with his old band on the very stage they wrecked so many years ago, the Forum. A sold-out crowd would've meant more money for the charity and his appearance with those people would've done a lot I bet to erase some perhaps-lingering bad feelings. Since it's a benefit, there would be no talk of "revisiting the past" or "living in the past" or whatever pseudo-artistic nonsense is the excuse. Last night was all about the money, and there was a way he could've helped raise more of it. One time only -- and that's how you retire the hits.

TedW said:

When's the last time Prince has done anything for free? I'm not surprised he didn't show, but ya know if Simon and Garfunkel can get back together, Plant and Page, Fleetwood Mac, the Eagles and many other bands who really can't stand each other, but do it for the money and the fans..why the hell can't Prince play a couple of songs with Sheila at least? I mean cmon mann..

TedW said:

---
Dude shut the hell up.!!! You don't know Prince. Therefore, you have not idea why he did not show. Perhaps he donated some money to the charity. We just do not know the whole story so stop speculating.

FACT: More people would have shown if Prince had confirmed.
FACT: He had an open invitation which means that he could have shown up at the very end just to wave and it would have been okay.

I didn't go so I wasn't expecting anything but if you're reading this your excellency.

THESE ARE YOUR PEEPS!

I'm glad they held it down.

Prince is a fucking self-absorbed, little human Pez dispenser, pixie-assed fuck for not showing. It was a benefit for abused kids you little dwarf fuck!!! I hope the bible study with Larry was worth it. What happened? Did you get into a lengthy discussion about how women should be subserviant and lose all track of time?

Get over yourself. Dick.

dosn't surprise me