So I strolled up at about 11:15 and the line was looking pretty slim. Mind you it was a good group there but not a long line as you'd expect when Prince was playing. After a while Prince's limo pulled up to the entrance and he quickly went in. He was wearing a Purple Suit with an Orange (maybe Peach colored?) shirt. Looking dope as usual. Round midnight we were still in line. Then Paris Hilton and her crew stepped out and were immediately ushered in.. Fab 5 Freddy was next. Followed by ?uestlove. Then Prince jumped back in the limo (not many people noticed at this point) and the limo drove off. Finally we were let in. I made my way to the front once I get in (pretty close in line considering I got there so late). As I was walking up to the front, Jay-Z and Beyonce were right behind me making their way to their table with their entourage. I stopped off to say hello to Mr. Carter and we exchanged greetings. Beyonce was looking hot as usual. Once everyone was situated Prince made his way to the front. Mind you there was no stage or anything so if you were in the back you were SOL. I think they started off jamming, leading into Peach.(I can't remember the whole set list). He played (in no type of REAL order) The Ride, Partyman, If I Was Your Girlfriend, Te Amo Corazon, Joy in Repetition, Play that Funk Music with the guy who interviewed him from BET for the Art of Musicology singing (terribly) , and a bunch of others. For the 2nd set Tamar came up and did a couple of songs (including Red Head Step-Child, Never Loved a Man). After a whirlwind of songs. Prince went to go change clothes. When he came back he was wearing a black outfit sleeveless with the collar up. When Prince came back he went straight through the new album: he did 3121 (with the crowd signing "3" "1" "2" "1" on the chorus. Then he played Lolita. After that he jumped on the keys to bring in Black Sweat (so dope so dope so dope!). He played a whole lot more than what I'm writing but you gotta understand: I just got back and the clock says 4:45. ?uestlove jumped on the drums at the end and they grooved and brought people up on stage to do a dance from the 80’s.. I left after that (I think it was 3:56 but I’m sure they didn’t play anything else) The show was spectacular. And Tamar gave me a tambourine. Great times. Thanks Prince. You rock harder than a boulder!


PS: Prince sorry for getting up there and doing the Wooden Leg on stage and calling it the “Oak Tree” (but still a dance from the 80’s right?)

Sounds great!

Glad you had a fantastic time and thanks for the review.

So Paris Hilton is his new best friend.

Novabreaker said:

I want to dance with Paris!

Sounds like a great show. How long would you say he played?

NuPwrSoul has another great review over at Housequake.

Thanks for taking the time to post this!

I'm happy for you! Sounds like a fun night!

GangstaFam said:

Thanks for mentioning them GangstaFam! I went over and read that thread and they are really great reviews!

I wonder what Beyonce was thinking of her old pal Tamar doin her thang . . . I'm sure she's proud that Tamar is gettin hers!

What a night (morning)!!!

I was one of those people who missed the sale because it sold out in 45 seconds. It being Prince and all, I decided to show up anyway and take my chances. I met some really cool folks in the line and we talked and they encouraged me to stay. They were really nice and I"m glad they did.

There was talk of how small the venue was... and it was really true. So this made me think I had really zero chance of getting in. But I noticed that they were forming a line of people without tickets. Ultimately, after all of the ticketholders were let in, they told us (about 20 people), that we could get in for $312, cash. Now, this threw me for a loop and a number of people passed on it. Me? I ran down to the nearest ATM (I don't carry that much cash with me normally) and got the damn money.

I ran into the cool folks I'd met on line. Eventually I made my way up front, since I"m tall and I had a fighting chance of being able to see. I ended up 3 people from the front. To my right were Beyonce, Jay-Z, and ?uestlove. Over to my left were Puffy and Paris Hilton (but they didn't stay very long).

At the end of the night when Prince asked "who wants to dance with me," I was one of the people she picked. Okay, so this type of thing NEVER happens to me.
So I was in a daze and went up there with 4 other ladies. And they had us jamming up there for quite a while (at least 20 minutes). For those of you who were there, I'm the tall one with the red glasses. ?uestlove was on the drums. We were doing 80s dances and the whole time I'm thinking "Please don't tell me to leave the stage. I want to stay!" Between trying to get Prince to look my way and smiling at ?uestlove and trying not to bump into the trumpeter (which I did several times), it was all I could do to keep from looking crazy. But they had us up there until the very end of the show.

Once they said goodnight, nobody in the audience really moved. Which meant that I was still on the "stage." And with Prince standing right there (it really was a small space), pretty much alone, I thought that this was a chance. So I tapped him on the shoulder to tell him thanks, but he was really not trying to act like he saw me. I don't really blame him, and I already know that's how he is. But I can't believe I actually touched my idol!!!! I will NEVER forget that.

At this point it was 4am. I saw his limo was still there, so I figured I'd come this far. I might as well see his final exit, which I did. He was smiling and it really seems that he had a good time.

So I really don't think I'll be able to top this experience in terms of my Prince famdom. It was the pinnacle, truly. I'm still on a high. The best $312 (actually $310, the guy gave me a break) I ever spent. Damn, it was a bargain.

Peace out.
Altavista

(And shout out to the guy from Japan, who flew to NYC two days ago just to see the Good Morning America 3 1/2 song peformance and ended up sitting next to ?uestlove. He's leaving today, but big ups to you for doing the damn thing!)

altavista said:

nice! that's what i am talkin' about. way to take a chance!

People are having the time of their lives all over the place lately. Well done!

wonder how much of that $312 went straight into the doormans pocket?

KrystleEyes said:

None of it. Prince and his people had complete control of the door. That is why the owner of the restaurant couldn't even run his own guest list or bring in his people. I spoke to someone who has connections with the owner and it was on lockdown.

Are you suggesting that the doorman was running a side hustle, because that was definitely not the case.

Robert3rd said:

Thanks for the review.

altavista said:

Wow! Congrats. I am really kicking myself for not going down there... I figured there was no way in hell I'd get in without a ticket.

Sounds like you had a fantastic time!

Thanks to everyone who's been posting their reports!

andykeen said:

Wooden Leg is the dance Prince did on Sheila E.'s concert video from the 80's. He did it again in 98 on the tonite show (when they played Come On)