HELP! I missed the damn show! I am so pissed. Does anyone know if the show will repeat?! Is there going to be any video online?!

I was just NOT feeling this performance at all!!! Way too sedate for my taste!! What was up with the 2 or 3 slow numbers (with an almost Vegas-style band), immediately bringing down the already lackluster energy there was from "D.M.S.R."? Too many horns make things sound "schmaltzy" and makes it lack that raw, gritty type feel. I've always felt he only needs 2-3 horn players on stage TOPS (yes, the Hornheads were sometimes overkill!). I guess Prince does too much standing around and posing for my taste these days. "Housequake" should've been an absolutely funky ass performance, but instead it was just there. He barely even did the actual Housequake dance, and when he did, it lacked energy. Too much Frankie (& that other lady whose name escapes me right now), as well. Prince could've easily slapped in a few lines of "International Lover" or something (since they wanted to slow it down) in that slot (hey, I can dream, can't I?)! Sheila was more animated and, for my money, more exciting than Prince tonight. She stole the show from him yet again, just like before when they performed "Everlasting Now" on Leno a couple of years ago. It was good seeing Morris & Jerome again, I will say. I would've preferred "Jungle Love" to "The Bird", but that's just me. "Glamorous Life" rocked though, but that's Sheila for ya!!

I'm guessing he was going with a Minneapolis Sound tribute/grooves-or-older-artists-that-inspired-me type performance (it WAS nice to hear JB's "I Don't Want Nobody To Give Me Nothin'...", but it suffered from the same thing "Housequake" and "D.M.S.R." did; being too damn Vegas-y) but there were just too many players on that stage for it to have been executed well. The band left even die-hards wondering who the fuck were these people. And, if that song about "Foreplay starts with the mind" is his new song "3121" (or whatever it's called), then there goes my enthusiasm for the new album. He's still stuck in the slow to mid-tempo wanna-be jazz/soul rut that lacks any type of punch.

Sorry if this posts sounds so negative, but after being hyped all week long and hearing that "Housequake" was being performed with Sheila in tow and how funky it was all supposed to be, this didn't even come close to what I envisioned. That seems to be a recurring theme these days with Prince for me, I see. He's too polished these days...the hunger's just not there anymore today, regardless of what anyone says. His music lacks the passion and energy it once had, back when he probably felt he had things to prove and new paths to tread.

alexnvrmnd said:

Great analysis...I agree...thought I was watching a modern James Brown concert

I hate to say but the songs sucked ass
Sheila E killed her drum set and I don't know who that bitch was
with the fake eyelashes singing whatever it was she was singing.
But Prince looked hot, that's all that matters.

Look.Prince is functionally married, semi-born again, has grown up a bit,, and the TRC tour and The One Night Alone piano CD were his last original projects. Musicology made him a half a million bucks a night so he could party with his rich ass friends and feed his ego.He rolled out the media machine,included the CD with the concert ticket price because he knew it wouldn't sell otherwise. It was strictly business, not musical passion. He's tired of the fanatics (of which I was one for many years) who lick his butt when he takes a shit, but he can't help catering to 'em because they make him feel worthy. I find it pathetic that the same sheep who wanted him to do the fucking splits and wear assless pants 'till he was 100 years old say he's now living in the 80's. He's riding the gravy train, he could write a song in 15 minutes if he chose to, but the masses don't have any goddam interest in old school funk, ballads, guitar jams and could care less if he can play 10 instruments.Life isn't about sex and partying,wearing makeup every minute of the day,and looking down at people worshipping you at an afterparty. Maybe, Just MAYBE, people should look at THEIR lives instead of living thru someone else's and talking about how hot looking or beautiful he is. You're all Prince's favorite voodoo dolls who he can sticky post and moderate any time he wants, and it's kinda sad that you can't see it.

Blimey.

It bored me SHITLESS to start with. I think it's brilliant that Prince was honoured, but I have never seen such a boring performance initially, and turning it over to two unknown singers so early, I could do without that. And the horns, way too many horns, makes the music sound sooooo dated, like some 70s tribute act.

How Prince can make Housequake so dull is beyond me, but he did - things didn't hot up until Morris came out!

Fun to see Sheila and Morris up with Prince though.

//
I do care what any cry-baby lovey-dovey fans reply to that with, I'm entitled to my own opinion, and just because you don't agree doesn't make it wrong, and don't assume that because I didn't like it, means I agree with everyone else who didn't like it on all their points (LiveWithIt's post for example).

Disclaimer over

FYI ya'll...it was an award show performance. Lawd...he wasn't in concert.

I thought it was enjoyable but I guess I was watching it to be enjoyed and not to pick a part every little thing. Damn, ya'll even talked about the damn background singers who could actually sing. I think Prince was catering to the audience at hand. It was an older crowd and so he did an older vibe.

and I like the horns.....


I enjoyed it but above it all, I cried on Oprah's speech. It demonstrated the purpose of the show in the first place. And lastly, I'mma smack Melt for calling cornel west, "grady".



[Edited 3/26/05 3:56am]

Yeah. I thought it would've been better, but Sheila did fuck them drums up. DMSR with horns? Stop. Please. The fucking horns are killing me. P needs to move around more. Seriously. He's not anybody's fucking grandpa. I seriously seriously seriously seriously miss 80's Prince. I'm praying for him to come back. Purple Rain noodle hair and all.

glamslamkid said:

Dancing-wise? Newsflash, he's older.

Rhondab said:

Yeah it was an awards show (that didn't stop most of his other awards show performances from being funk on wheels though), but I think people were expecting more since Prince was given damn near ten minutes to perform. They/we expected him to really tear some shit up, and instead it was just "there" for a lot of us. Very Vegasy, and I, personally, was just hoping his new album is a start into another direction, musically, for Prince. He's had the same type sound for about four years now. And judging from that "new" song he played last night, like I said, he's still stuck in this rut of an arrangement.

alexnvrmnd said:

I still believe the performance was targeted for the audience not Prince fans or even music fans. It was a performance for the NAACP awards and I was entertained. I didn't expect booty bouncing and all of that. I'm sorry but that would have been inappropriate where as having Beyonce bouncing her ass around at the grammys was appropriate. Also, this wasn't to be a showcase for what is next to come.

I just think Prince was respectful of the award show. Shaking his ass in front of Julian Bond would have seem....something Michael Jackson would do...LOL...j/k


I was entertained and that's all I wanted. I guess my expectations where not as high as others.


another thing....I think some of ya'l think Prince is 25 years old. He is not and will not be sliding across the stage people. Hell the man can barely stand to wear the heels anymore. He had to design some high wedged kicks for the feet. I'm just going to enjoy the stage he's in now.
[Edited 3/26/05 5:39am]

Don't really agree, though. No, it didn't rock and it wasn't the greatest thing I've ever seen him do, but it was fun! And it was kinda neat to see the "old gang" together on stage. Though I agree, it's time to stop the Reflection Tour before it starts. Especially if he's going to go around changing lyrics again. I thought we were past that mess (Glass Cutters) until I heard "Shake it like you want some more" in DMSR. Was it fear of network censors, or was it... something else?

OMG!! I truly believe you people would pick apart his funeral!! Damn, I pray he outlives every last one of you nitpicking, can't get beyond your own issues, non-appreciative, hypocrites!!!

No matter what he does or how well he does it, you people are NEVER satisfied!!

Reading the nastiness that you hypocrites can come up with, somedays at the risk of my own personal enjoyment, I swear I wish Prince would just retire, go off somewhere exotic with his beautiful wife and enjoy his life!! You haters don't deserve him!!!

Rhondab, you go girl!! I thought his performance rocked!! He looks damn good for a man his age!! The award he received was a testament to his versatility and longevity in a business where it's not about the art but the almighty dollar!! His performance last night reflected what the award meant to him! From what I witnessed it meant a great deal!

I couldn't have been prouder of him!! One, I was happy they finally gave him the recognition he's deserved for so long! Two, I was happy he showed up! Three, I was damn happy he performed! Bringing Shelia E., Morris Day and Jerome along for the ride and taking Me there for a whole 10 minutes was just the icing on my cake!

I wish other people would learn how to count their blessings. Don't say I didn't warn you! When you neglect to be thankful for even the little things, the blessings do stop coming!!
[Edited 3/26/05 5:38am]