Best Prince concert ever!! I'm not just saying that either. I was not in the mood to see another "greatest hits" show. I'm the type of fan who would rather see him perform the entire Musicology CD and sprinkle in some less popular classics like Anna Stesia, Something in the Water and Last December. But, I was shocked at how truly great the show was. I realized that this man is a legend. Everyone should see this concert. I grew up on Prince. I am one of the few pre-Purple Rain fans and to see a lifetime of his work come to fruition was very moving. I'll let others post details of the show. I'll just say that the man killed When Doves Cry, DMSR, Question of You/The One, Purple Rain, 7 and Shhh. I'm taking all three of my children so they can witness the true musicianship of the greatest artist of our time.

Donny

Line of the night...."2 many trips 2 the bar !!!"

Agreed...it was a truly stupendous show...I kept pinching myself, "Is this really happening?" There were SO many moments that alone would have made a special concert experience, but damn...I mean, "7" AND "The Question Of U" AND God Instrumental, complete with backwards female vocals from 84...it's like Prince went through his back catalog and he hadn't listened to these songs himself in years, because he seems to know which parts of the songs really resonate with people, and he accentuates them.

Man, I wish that was on national television so the whole fucking country could see what a brilliant, beautiful, spiritual, KICK-ASS motherfucker looks like.

The simulcast was unbelievable. Prince was at his best. The new versions of "I would Die 4 u" sticks out for me. Prince was sooo coool and funny. Especially when that blonde girl with the white chiffon shirt fell right in front of him. And just to think millions of people saw her fall. He was hot as fire on "the one/Fallin" with Candy singing the later. Who knew she could sing that well. That girl is funky. I can't wait to see him live in my town. I'm frankly speechless yall but I have been schooled.

im so glad you guys had fun i cant wait to see the show

The ? of U was sick!

The concert was awesome. I was literally fighting back tears when he performed 'Purple Rain.' All hail to Prince.

i can't say i have seen a better prince show. start to finish he was unbelievable. i don't think i can wait to june to see it again!!! he was funny, moving and visibly loving every minute of it!

WOW.

Sorry, that's all I can add...I'm spent.

but holy friggin WOW.


I Princey

Fantastic show!

He was definetly in top form tonight. The guitar was on fire on several occassions. The scream was on. He even figured out how to tease without having to be R-rated.

The acoustic set was just too amazing. Very refreshing to see him chill on a stool with an acoustic guitar instead of doing to solo piano set.

School was definetly in session ans we all got schooled!

The LA show ranks high as one of his greatest shows. Watching him go through a library of his work with a top flight band was amazing. The guitar was on fire every time he touched it, and for those of you who didn't care for Mike Scott on the guitar on previous tours shouldn't be disappointed on this one. I haven't heard DMSR live in years and it was funky. Just like a LA Lakers game the celeberities were there (Paul Stanley, Babyface, Eddie Murphy, the lady who plays Nikki on Young & The Restless, No Doubt, Gavin Rossdale from Bush). I recommend for those who have never seen Prince live, get a ticket if he comes to or near your town!!

PS

On the ONA Tour in 2002 he did his solo set on piano on this tour or at least tonight it was on acoustic guitar.

Great show. Caveats: mostly technical. Some opening-night glitches with lighting cues. The mix, I thought, was truly horrible. Couldn't make out what Mike Scott was playing until halfway through the show (and what a shame -- that motherfucker is an awesome guitarist) and didn't hear what Chance was playing at all. The vocals sounded thin and Prince's guitar tones were of the louder=better variety. Plus it was too loud, as usual... unfortunately Scottie had Prince's guitar sitting right smack in a frequency spectrum that was attenuated by my earplugs, which is not usually the case, so when I had them in I lost the lead guitar completely. Sound quality was a drag overall. But...

... the performance was fantastic. He was in great form, had the scream working properly tonight, and seemed genuinely moved by the audience devotion. LOVED the acoustic set, a real high point. There wasn't a bad seat, as promised, and he worked the crowd masterfully. He seemed to have some trouble with Habibi during PR and eventually put it down. That's the wrong guitar for that tune anyway -- it needs to be played on the Cloud.

And NPGMC fucked up my tickets... I wasn't on the floor like I had been told. But overall, a great show.

TedW said:

How did they mess up your tickets?
How far out of the "members" section were you?
What was will call pickup like? The in-the-round stage arrangement?
How early did you get there?

It's a lot of questions I know. Just trying to prep for the 5/26 show.

Thanks.
Tribal Disorder

I loved when he kicked the shit out of controversy and let's work, the girl fallin down on stage was pretty funny 2, Prince had so much fun u all will love the show. Now i must wait til may 24th, 26th, and 28th to go again it's will worth it.Goodnite 2 all.

To all those who haven't seen the show and hate to read movie reviews that give the plot away, STOP READING NOW. You'll love the show that much more if you're surprised by what happens and not expecting every moment.

The show was amazing. I was a little bummed out when I first sat down. First, the seats I bought through the NPGMC, the ones that were supposed to be general admission in the first few rows, were actually not even on the floor. I was the first section up, 9 rows back. I was surrounded by other members so I didn't feel too bad. My only question is what happened? Have that many people joined the club now? And why didn't the club send an email alerting me it was assigned seating? I almost spent the whole day at the Staples Center to try to get in the front row. Thank God I had to work.

Anyway, Staples Center was sold out. I was a little bummed that it was at such a tremendous venue, since I've been spoiled the last few times at the LA and Vegas HOB shows. But once the show started, and the energy of the crowd kicked in, it was all good. I'd still prefer to see him in a small club, but it was good to see a huge crowd adoring him again. And man, did they adore him. At one point, during the acoustic set, he finished playing Little Red Corvette, and the crowd started cheering. Everyone eventually stood and gave him an ovation. It was very organic and touching. You could see on the video screen he was close to tears. It was nice. A definite highlight...

The in-the-round staging was cool. The set dressing was minimal. A couple of chaize lounge chairs and stuff. And he had that circle of string pearls, the one he used during the 94 "Symbol" tour, and they actually came down while he sang "insatiable". It was a great show, and it made me long for an aftershow, for something more intimate and jam-like... I guess I have been spoiled...

Anyway, the set list, to the best of memory was (not too sure on the order)...

Musicology
Let's Go Crazy
I Would Die 4 U
Baby I'm A Star
When Doves Cry
Shhh
Nothing Compares 2 U
DMSR
I Feel 4 U
Controversy
God (instrumental with Renato & Mike Phillips (?) on sax)
The Beautiful Ones
Insatiable
The ? Of U/The One/Fallin'
Take Me With U
Sign O' The Times
Let's Work
U Got The Look
Soul Man
Life O' The Party
Kiss

Encore - Acoustic (accompanied by Mike Scott on guitar, except where noted)
Forever In My Life
Real Players?
Past Midnight? (the "your breath or mine" song)
On The Couch
Little Red Corvette
Sometimes It Snows In April
7 (started acoustic, then joined by band)
Purple Rain (with band)

I think that's it... While I was driving to the show, I was thinking what I would love to hear, especially since I had read he would do an acoustic set, and the two songs I thought of he did (Forever In My Life and 7) so that was cool. He basically went on a little after 8 and ended a little after 10:30 so the show was about 2 and a half hours... All in all, it was great. I still think the ONA show was his best, followed by the Lovesexy tour, but I'll be going again when he rolls back in here at the end of May... Have fun everyone!!!!

How did they mess up your tickets?
How far out of the "members" section were you?
What was will call pickup like? The in-the-round stage arrangement?
How early did you get there?

It's a lot of questions I know. Just trying to prep for the 5/26 show.

Thanks.
Tribal Disorder[/quote]

Like I wrote earlier, a lot of us members weren't on the floor. I would like to know from those who were down there if they were surrounded by other members or radio station give-aways or corporate bigwigs, etc... The Will Call line was fine. There were four or five seperate lines just for members, and when I got there at 7:15pm, there was never more than 2 or 3 people in a line. I don't know if it will be the same for every show, but there was no general admission seating. Even on the floor, you could see people getting usehered to their seats. The in-the-round worked well. Not a bad seat in the house. If he was facing the opposite side of the audience, you could look up and see what he was doing on the video screens. It was a great set-up. Those tickets however... I wonder what happened.

JoeZeo said:

Thanks for the lowdown. I can't wait.

Stax said:

I was totally losin' it. I was waiting w/baited breath to see what he would play that would make me scream. That was one of 'em, especially since I had the pleasure/privilege of seeing the Joffrey Ballet do "Billboards" and ? of U was one of the songs...I cried.

Yeah, our boy played his @ss off on that geetar!

JoeZeo said:

Like I wrote earlier, a lot of us members weren't on the floor. I would like to know from those who were down there if they were surrounded by other members or radio station give-aways or corporate bigwigs, etc... The Will Call line was fine. There were four or five seperate lines just for members, and when I got there at 7:15pm, there was never more than 2 or 3 people in a line. I don't know if it will be the same for every show, but there was no general admission seating. Even on the floor, you could see people getting usehered to their seats. The in-the-round worked well. Not a bad seat in the house. If he was facing the opposite side of the audience, you could look up and see what he was doing on the video screens. It was a great set-up. Those tickets however... I wonder what happened.[/quote]

I saw U2 there and was in the VERY TOP ROW, behind the stage and it was still a good seat (it helped that I love the drummer Larry). Shows he used to do at the Forum were worse because the Forum is built out, not up like Staples. I mean, come on...were you really that far? You gotta remember...L.A. is home to tons of P fans. Power 106 was doing their Traffic Jam and played tons of Prince. Martin Lawrence walked right in front of us, and Jerome (yes, THAT Jerome, was sitting in the next section over). I remember the LA Forum during the Purple Rain tour and I was on the floor...about a mile away it seemed. And he did play to all sides. Just wish they would have let ME know where to sit to go onstage!

Wonderful, wonderful night. It's nice to follow someone for so long and actually see them get what they deserve. It also helps that he's just f-in phenomenal.

I wanna go agin...can I ride agin?

Our seats were 3 rows off the floor. I had Perfect cuz my homegirl is 5'1" and was really concerned about not being able to see if we were on the floor. Plus where we were there was some kind of "doorway" that he just seemed to fit in all the time! Very cool and artistic...I love Prince (as always since '78)

donnyenglish said:

PReach on, brother...that is the best post I have seen on this site in months - aside from my own.

Stax said:

It always is when he plays it live.

AS I said on the NPGMC boards, I can't cope today. He did Question of U and my tears started. He did 7 and they started up again. The Question of U was indeed sick and the way he incorporated other songs and went back into The Question of U was really sick. I just feel like crying all over again. Let's Work with no lyric changes? It sounded so fucking funky. I thought that seeing the simulcast would calm me down til the 10th, but I feel like a junkie going through withdrawal. Words cannot describe the joy I feel in my heart and soul.

I was there. Awesome. It's the next moring and my ears are still ringing. The man ripped it up. Awesome.

dUDE,
i COUlDN't AgREE mORE!!! i FiNALLy sAW hIm PLAY purplerain ON hIS cLOuD!!!! iT waS the bLue oNe wHicH i Think iS the Only one he has now. anYway... gonna see him tomorrow in pHoenix!!! tHis will be my 17th tIme!!!!

dUDE,
i COUlDN't AgREE mORE!!! i FiNALLy sAW hIm PLAY purplerain ON hIS cLOuD!!!! iT waS the bLue oNe wHicH i Think iS the Only one he has now. anYway... gonna see him tomorrow in pHoenix!!! tHis will be my 17th tIme!!!!

TheOrgerFormerlyKnownAs said:

co-sign...DMSR AND LETS WORK...WERE OVERWHELMING...AND RENATO WAS AWESOME ALL NIGHT ON THE KEYS.....I DONT KNOW IF I HAVE HEARD PRINCE SOUND ANY BETTER...NPG WAS IN RARE FORM LAST NIGHT (THIS MORNING ON THE EAST COAST...)

TheBoostress said:

I saw U2 there and was in the VERY TOP ROW, behind the stage and it was still a good seat (it helped that I love the drummer Larry). Shows he used to do at the Forum were worse because the Forum is built out, not up like Staples. I mean, come on...were you really that far? You gotta remember...L.A. is home to tons of P fans. Power 106 was doing their Traffic Jam and played tons of Prince. Martin Lawrence walked right in front of us, and Jerome (yes, THAT Jerome, was sitting in the next section over). I remember the LA Forum during the Purple Rain tour and I was on the floor...about a mile away it seemed. And he did play to all sides. Just wish they would have let ME know where to sit to go onstage!

Wonderful, wonderful night. It's nice to follow someone for so long and actually see them get what they deserve. It also helps that he's just f-in phenomenal.

I wanna go agin...can I ride agin?

Our seats were 3 rows off the floor. I had Perfect cuz my homegirl is 5'1" and was really concerned about not being able to see if we were on the floor. Plus where we were there was some kind of "doorway" that he just seemed to fit in all the time! Very cool and artistic...I love Prince (as always since '78)[/quote]

theAudience said:

1) I don't know, but they did. At first the will call guy couldn't find them, but I gave him my confirmation number and he came back with my tickets, as if he just grabbed a pair from the emergency pile or something.

2) I was in the seventh row up from the floor, in the corner. It turned out not to be too bad because I had an unobstructed view of the stage and video screen for moments when he was on the other side of the stage. If you were on the floor you probably wouldn't have a great view of the video screen. The best seats for this show are probably on the side of the arena, half-court line, a few rows up. Still, it made me mad that I was in the club and didn't get what I feel are the club privileges.

3) I went down to Staples in the afternoon to get my tickets, so no trouble with any lines.

As usual I thought Prince’s performance was nothing short of amazing!!!! The man truly is a musical genius. I have heard many prince followers say this concert was the best. I thought this concert was definitely at the top of my list, but nothing beats the Pantages Theater back in 1996!!!!!

I am a music club member and sat in section 8 row 13. I have been to several prince shows and usually sit in the music club section. My friend and I both said that there were no familiar faces sitting around us. I have no idea how many people sitting in our area belonged to the club. We both agreed that seats to the side and perhaps a few rows back were probably the best in the house. So for those of you who scored with seats located there….. I am sooo jealous! From our seats on the floor there were times were it was difficult to see. Being slightly elevated would have definitely been a plus!!

All-in-all I don’t think any NPGMC members can complain. The concert was amazing!! Even though we all miss the days when the club got us up close and personal, I was glad that I did not have to spend the entire day in line and my seats were still really good!

The concert was so phenominal! He looked wonderful and put on a show that left me smiling, matter of fact I still am smiling about it! Pej and I got awesome seats... 2nd row! We had a blast. My ass is sore from dancing and I am so tired today, but on cloud nine!! Was an added bonus to have met Supa and Ursullasgirl (not sure thats how ya spell it) and waved to Byron from afar! Everytime I meet someone from the org they are always just genuinely nice! Anyway, had a blast... so glad I have the experience forever!!