Here is the set list, although the order may be somewhat off.
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Spoken intro, apologizing for short notice of the show.
Sign of the Times
Talking Loud and Saying Nothing
Purple Rain (whole version)
Let’s Work
Delerious
Kiss (longish version, some funky jamming)
She’s Always in My Hair
ICNTTPOYM (partial, some soloing
Gett Off
U Got the Look (pre-recorded back up vocal)
The Christ (short)
Nothing Compares 2U (short)
Let’s Go Crazy (short)
1999 (short)
Take Me With You (short)
Cage
Come On
[/pre:0deadbeef0]
The most notable thing about the show was how on uninvolved Prince's band was. When I saw him in
Boston last year, Kat Dyson and Rhonda (the latter now now absent), played prominent roles. Kat was
particularly dominant during Face Down. At this show, it was all Prince, and you could hardly see the
other members.



The first half of the show was stellar, and it appeared that Prince was headed towards the classic
evening. However, the energy flagged noticeably during the second half. The turning point seemed to
be She's Always in My Hair. As usual, the audience seemed somewhat perplexed by this song, and the
collective drop-off in enthusiasm seemed to influence the rest of the performance. From then on in,
mostly medleys were performed, contrary to an earlier report. Little more than snippets of Let's Go
Crazy, 1999, and other tunes were played,. This was in stark contrast to earlier in the show, when a full
version of Purple Rain was played, as well as a full version, with falsetto vocals, of Kiss.



Also notable was the fact that no songs from Emancipation were played. Jam of the Year, Face Down,
God, Mr. Happy, Sleep Around, etc., were all gone. In fact, Come On was the only song played that
Prince has reported as the Symbol. This is of course quite odd given that several years ago he said he
would play the Prince songs rarely if ever, and concentrate primarily on new music.
The energy of the performance was quite high throughout, and the performances were all at very least
polished and competent. The inspiration of the first half, however, gave way to a truly Vegas style show in the
second portion. Prince opened the show, prior to Sign of the Times, by stating that "We will play until they
make us stop." This idea was apparently abandoned as the show ended up only slightly longer than
usual, about 2 1/2 hours.



All told, a very enjoyable show. It was, however, short on surprises in the second half. In the first half, it
was a joy to hear the SOTT opening and a full version of Purple Rain. The best part of the show was
that Prince played so much guitar, as there was no other guitarists present. I left happy but slightly
slightly unsatiated. I had to leave Vegas the next day and was unable to attend The studio 54 show. At
any rate, as much as I would enjoy seeing Prince night after night, financially it would've been unrealistic.
For the Grand Garden show., I sat in the cheapest seats, which were fifty dollars. Fortunately, I was just
as close as some of the people down in the seats that cost $125.00.



Before launching into Come On, he did a little rap, while playing the keyboard, about how “You’ll have to
put me in a cage.” He also plugged his websites, and then stated something like “We’re not trying to
down nobody, we’re just fighting for freedom out there.” This was the closest he came to mentioning the
lawsuits.



During the intro, prior to SOTT, Prince apologized for the short notice for the concert. This seemed like an attempt to
explain the only 2/3 full arena. Actually, the show has been advertised prominently for weeks. A huge
electronic billboard in front the MGM Grand was advertising the show, complete with pictures, every five
minutes for the entire period I was there.



I also heard Larry Graham’s soundcheck. Stand, Free, and a jam were played. It was not apparent that
Prince was there. Security was fairly lax outside the arena, and only a small handful of fans was present.
We could not get into the arena, though. I offered a guy $20 bucks to let me in, and he said “It’ll have to
$100--I’ll lose my job.”