I simply love Prince. Period. Just for August 3rd, 1983

Me oh my.

It's not strange the concert Prince & The Revolution played at First Avenue on August 3rd, 1983 is, according to The Vault, 'regarded as one of the most exciting' he ever played.

Which is not strange. This is the concert that Prince tried to recreate all through the Purple Rain movie. But compared to the real thing the movie is just plastic. Wow,it's SO great to see the man sweat through the entire set, still looking 1999 trash-chic, instead of the glammed up look he started sporting the year after.

And the set... nothing short of amazing... where the Purple Rain tour was a bit too over the top and too much cabaret, this show is just the grittyness I love.

I love the way he introduces Computer Blue, as, of course, it was the first time he ever played it live, just like Baby, I'm A Star, I Would Die 4 U and Purple Rain. He also performs a beautiful version of A Case of You, way more beautiful than the version he released later, I think, as it stays close to Joni Mitchell's original without doing it injustice, even without leaving away the first two verses.

He also performs Electric Intercourse on piano, but I think he also played that another time live,so I do not know if this is the first and only time he ever played it.

How I dreamt to be able to see this and hear it in good quality! It's the concert people rave about and with good reason! Wouldn't it be amazing to have this concert inlcuded as bonus to a remastered Purple Rain album?

I will never understand why Prince is being so overly protective over his past music. This concert is not only very important to Prince fans, but also to rock n roll history. Prince's place in R&R history is defined by this concert and the image he crafted around it. It's what earned him global fame.

Personally, I think the version of Computer Blue he performs here is one of the best he ever did.
Of course, he carefully edited I Would Die 4 U and Baby I'm A Star and reshaped the version of Purple Rain he performed on this concert into what he released on the actual album, but what is the harm in releasing this concert? It would not harm the memory people have of it, it would only show what a genius he is, shaping music.

I still love the album version of Purple Rain and like it better than this live version, but seeing this makes me understand what the song means to him better than witnessing him play it live these days.

So, are there any peeps here that actually witnessed that concert? Anyone who owns this on DVD, what are your thoughts about this concert?

HamsterHuey said:

Even though the outfit he wore during the D.M.S.R. encore is maybe a bit too much, even for me...

But then again, it is WAY fun... esp when he prances around during the break down after Lisa's scream...

HamsterHuey said:

I love that extended intro. And am totally WITH him on editing that extra verse out of the song.





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[Edited 3/31/06 6:57am]

hehehe, and I know why he gave Brownmark so little space in the spotlight; that guy was HAWT!

Especially sweaty. Purrrrr.

HamsterHuey said:

Excellent thread...1999 trash chic...i always thought that but thats a great term!

he is sweating which is a first really that ive seen....and his rendition of a case of u, is enchanting

That concert is THE BOMB and it's the realest, most intense performance I've ever seen by Prince. It's hard to tell from the footage but it seems like a small club where they are all just playing their hearts out and there is practically no choreography going on or any of that stuff. Just straight up playing their asses off. Yeah, Prince is sweating and I never even thought of that but you never see him sweat anymore. Anyways, that shit does deserve to get released so that everyone will be able to see it. And the performances of "Electric Intercourse," "Computer Blue," "Let's Go Crazy," "Automatic," "A Case of U,"....basically the whole damn thing is amazing.

And just like somebody said, better than the over-the-top style of the Purple Rain tour, even though that was amazing as well...this just has more of a "punk-rock" flavor to it.

Really want to see this concert. I've read so much about it.

I think it may be a future purchase...



I agree with many of your points, Herman. I'll never understand Prince's attitide to his legacy but, of course, that's up to him. But releasing things like this would only add to his reputation, I reckon.

Sure would like to see this!!!!!

HamsterHuey said:

that shit was a little out there !!!

One of the best concerts I've ever seen. The outfit he wore during D.M.S.R. was funny. But that was Prince in 1983. Pure raw perfection.

i haven't watched my copy in a looooong time...hell, there's a lotta stuff that i haven't watched/listened to in a while that's in my prince stash.

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

Well, I blew up my new external hard drive AFTER I loaded ALL my music onto it and deleted it from my internal drive.

So I thrown back onto discs... and as I just got this one, it's got my undivided attention...

HamsterHuey said:

mdiver said:

Hehehe, Phil, seeing the legendary concert for the first time;

HamsterHuey said:

You wore me out!!!!!

He was playing like he had something to prove back then. It's mesmerising to watch the actual vocal and solo for Purple Rain that is a part of music history being created before your eyes. However, I think he was a much better performer on SoTT and Lovesexy tours.

Now he's like 'Ain't my band great/real music real musicians/i'm so great'
His ability should put him above that.

HamsterHuey said:

Are you responding to your own posts?

HamsterHuey said:

I have most of the audio, but the handful of those videos posted were the main reason I was mad about youtube links getting blown up and subsequently removed. dangit!

mdiver said:

[Asking for it is not allowed snip - luv4u]

He's too careful and self-conscious. He probably doesn't think it's good enough to release. Of course, we'd like it, but he probably doesn't like one thing or another about it, so he just plays it safe and keeps it in the vault.

this was 5 months after i first saw him on the 1999 tour and ur making me feel like he's an emerging butterfly on this night ...

I remember reading about this performance in a small blurb in Rolling Stone back then. I was intrigued by th e titles they mentioned such as Computer Blue, Purple rain, and I Would Die 4 U. I wanted to be there so bad. Then I used to read about it later and remember the ballet instructors interlude speech and presenting Prince with an award etc.

When I finally got to see it on vid more than ten years later I was blown away. They even have the ballet teacher giving the award..."we dont have a Prince in MN..we have a king!"This, the June7th 1984 rehearsal concert, and SOTT Valium are the best Prince performances ever.

But this Aug 83 is def hot

its First Ave..all hot n sweaty in there. And they are goin for it. Yeah prince is 1999-trash chic..loookit that hairdo! I love it! And he just looks so alien and enigmatic...like a black Bowie!

skywalker said:

Of course, I just typed down a huge amount of words and the Org went on me. So I saw a few things I missed and quoted myself.

Good thing I am so quotable.

DiamondGirl said:

I think that is the best way to describe that 'do'! Kewl!

Daddy said:

It's a shame. I know he is in it for different reasons we are, but his musical legacy is wasted, gathering dust.

It makes me sad, so many jams wanting to come out and play and he keeps them locked up...

I think Prince has ways of making music in his head take shape by playing his audience and the press.

The buzz leading up to the release of the album Purple Rain, including this concert, reminds me alot how he prepped the world for 3121, where he held a series of much talked about concerts in his own home.

I still think it is a pity that these concerts were so shielded and only silly fam reports edited by Prince (and/or his people) were released to the public.

Still, in the fan camp the little tidbits we were fed still made the anticipation for the album rise. Same with the listening parties.

Too bad the Prince camp is so close-knit these days, I still love the many versions of the Purple Rain album Prince compiled before settling on the released version.
Anyone remember the long studio version of Computer Blue? The edited version of Darling Nikki? I often ponder if there is a studio version of the song Purple Rain, maybe a demo... even though I am willing to go with Prince's decision that the edited live version is sublime cuz it captures that special sweaty August 3rd, 1983 feeling.

On the other hand, that rehearsel where he reworks the song into Gotta Shake This Feeling is maybe an indication of what a demo'studio version of Purple Rain could sound like.

Like many a fan I dream of remastered versions and I think there is a concensus about what is a proper treatment of the album; the original album remastered with b-sides, extended version and outtakes.
Of course I would also love to see this dream-release adorned with a disc containing the audio of the performance this thread is dedicated to.

But I would love to see Prince re-experience this material. What if in 1984 he had a medium like DVD or CD? What would Purple Rain sound like then? Would he still whip back songs back in length if he did not have the LP limitations?
What would the album sound like if he could have fit the longer Computer Blue or Let's Go Crazy on there, or had room for songs like 17 Days and Electric Intercourse?



This is what I like about all the leaked material; you can compile your own albums, even if we do not have top-notch versions... I still get a musical hard on hearing that intro feedback on the original studio version of Computer Blue...

HamsterHuey said:

And that is also what I miss about the 'Prince- the image' of these days. Back then he was running through ideas faster than the speed of life and he was able to capture my imagination with intended projects like Dream Factory, Camille, Crystal Ball.

He still has this vibe, running through musical ideas like N.E.W.S. , One Nite Alone and Xpectation, for instance, but then does not seem to capture the feeling these old projects held.
Then again, material of those projects would still find it's way to the adorning masses, while these days Prince is firmly in control of the stamp his music makes on people.
The thing is, Prince's ideas of what we like differs from what his fans think. To him, Lovesexy is a closed deal, while in my head the concept still burns and I love to read interviews with people like Eric leeds, telling that the earlier versions of the released material spoke to him more. Amazing. It makes me yearn for those versions.

It is also plain cruel to have Alan Leeds hint at the various versions of U Got The Look in the liner notes of The Hits and then just sit on those versions. Besides the dream releases I spoke of earlier, I also have dreams of EP releases with different versions of one song on it, just to celebrate the diversity Prince is capable of.
I mean, I still cannot chose between the earlier We Can Funk with The Revolution and the George Clinton version, dayum! Imagine an EP with both versions and some we havent even heard about yet!

Yeah, it's a great concert.

Is this Purple Rain version the version on the record?
I think it is....just a little bit shortened.
Later he sang Purple Rain rather different than the record version.
I know there is no studio vrsion of Purple Rain (officially)

Pellwormer said:

Hehehe. You know? No, you don't. Let's call it safe that when it comes to Prince, no one knows.

And yes. This basis track of this live version of Purple Rain was edited and became the album version.

Prince shortened the long intro, took out a verse (of which the lyrics were just too crude, methinks), overlayed a new 'smashing' guitarsolo and then also added an extended outro with strings.