I must say that I was taking the Musicology theme literally. I thought Prince would do somewhat of a clinic. I expected him to play different styles and instruments and show a full spectrum of what real music is.

Now, Prince does that naturally - who can say any Prince album had only one kind of music on it? - but I suppose that being well educated on the Prince repertoire, I would have liked some of the more obscure tunes. Granted, it was an arena tour and meant to have the historic Prince catalog rolled out for the less serious fan.

I also wanted to see him do something on the keyboards. The One Nite Alone CD made me get some new found appreciation for his virtuosity on the ivories. There was plenty of guitar - which I absolutely need from every Prince performance - and I think hh has done quite a bit to establish himself as one of the premier rock guitarists of our time.

No complaints here. Prince never fails onstage. I was glad to see so many people in the large venue come to see Prince - proving he has not fallen off once and for all. Choosing LA to kick off the tour was smart - I loved going to shows in LA because all the celebs would be out there in the crowd with you.

I would have liked to see some splits even though it is obvious that he doesnt do that anymore. I mean, even Alicia Keys referred to them during the Hall of Fame intro.
[This message was edited Tue Mar 30 8:02:21 2004 by newwave]

the simulcast was excellent. enjoyable and very affirming for someone who's been a fan all along to see prince wowing the public again.

to reply, well obviously this is a greatest hits tour, and that's ok. i guess i can always stand hearing the oldies but goodies 'one more time'

but, why not play a few more of the newer songs too? why not work in some of the truly excellent songs from 1999-2003 like prettyman, my medallion, etc.

i can never figure out what makes him play the songs he decides to play. is it his mood? is it a strictly rehearsed setlist that his musicians have to follow? does he wake up and say "hey, it's the extended version of purple rain again tonite instead of soul sanctuary, or emale, or sex in the summer"? WHAT makes him pick one song over another?

if i were him i'd be playin' the more obscure hits, to interest the public in my recently released product, and i'd have years 1 2 and 3 of the club available on the website. just my 2c

Well, considering this has been heavily marketed as a straight up greatest hits tour, expecting to hear obscure stuff like Vavoom or Emale seems a little unrealistic to me.

Since he did sprinkle in several songs from Musicology along with at least one tune I didn't recognize (the funky breath song), that was his push for showcasing the newer stuff.

That said I kinda missed seeing Prince on the piano, but the acoustic set made up for it, imo.

I was hoping he would finally play a full version of Little Red Corvette since he's been playing full versions of other songs like Take Me With U. I liked the acoustic thing and he did sing the second verse but I was hoping he would do some of the crooning at the end of the song which is my favorite part.

Universaluv said:

yeah i know my post was a bit unreasonable given the tour is a greatest hits endeavour.. .

it's just, so great to see the world is HOT again for mr. nelson!! i mean FINALLY the man gets his due. but it seems a shame to waste the chance to turn the public on to some of the excellent work he's done in the last few years. i'd love for the rest of the world to know he's been making hits (well, at least among die hard fans) all along, and inspire them to buy the recent albums too.

really, this is the only thing i didn't 'get' from the show. imo it was excellent

I expected a less heavy dose of Prince last night. I didn't think anything could compare to our last time at the movies together. That time we wore our PJ's and snuggled up in a real cool room after a blazing hot day at the Park in Chanhassen. This time he felt closer than before. He entered in a stressed uptight manner but quickly transmuted his energy into a magnificent live performance.
I didn't expect to see his big beautiful biceps. I guess I expected a telecast concert to be a detached, remote viewing. Not so.
Thanks Prince

The song "Free". Surely Prince must know what a good ol' joint like that would mean these days.

DK47 said:

That would have been good!! But I was hoping he would do "If I was your Girlfriend". But no comlpaints... the show was awesome!

I was mistakenly expecting a glitzy/theatrical stage (á lá Lovesexy)...but I can honestly say that I wasn't dissapointed with the simple, open design. It suited the show just fine. (Was the "cross" shape a religious thing?)

The simulcast was great. I thought for sure that there would be technical difficulties left and right...but I was glad to see that it was nice & smooth.

The concert itself was AWESOME. I can't WAIT to see how he has refined it by the time it gets to New York. The true measure of its greatness lies in the fact that I dragged my brother along who isn't a Prince fan, and he really enjoyed it!

The only dissapointment was with the mostly low-key and unemotional demeanor of the people who were in Screen 11 at the U.A. Stadium 12 theater in Westbury, NY. I couldn't believe that NO ONE popped out a lighter for the Purple Rain finale!!!

Otherwise though...MAGNIFICENT!

PurpleJedi said:

Really doubtful since Prince doesn't believe that Jesus was crucified on a "cross" pre se.

I expected less than what I got, so I guess I didn't get disappointment. I WANT MY MONEY BACK!!!!