[Post on this thread. All other threads will be and redirected to this one - luv4u]

For those wanting to see the thread with the pics from the performance, here's the link to take you there http://www.prince.org/msg/7/192466

FIRST!!

Second!!

It was good to see P on tv again. I wish I could have gone.

Ok, I just watched the performance again.

P was working that guitar.

The camera work was awful. I don't think they even showed Sheila during her solo on LGC. Too much footage of the audience.

I really didn't like the choreography during Tamar's performance. The spastic dance moves the Twinz were doing was just too much, especially when they stood on the side of her and started shaking really hard. Tamar's dance moves were kind of odd too.

Tamar's outfit was ill-fitting and unflattering.

P looked delicious.

Sheila looked good as usual.

I noticed that Cora was wearing shorts. Too cute.

P messed up during LGC. It appears he had forgotten he wasn't suppose to launch into a 2nd verse of "Go, go, go."

Overall, it was an ok performance.

Fourth!!! .....oops.....

Fourth!!!

Great performance as usual. I'm really starting to dig the whole "just-relax-and-party" vibe of the 3121 era so far. Prince whispers something just before he begins "Let's Go Crazy" but I can't make out what he says... anyone catch it?

Tamar might not be my cup of tea, but she certainly doesn't deserve the critisism she gets. I thought her performance was pretty cool.

It's a pity Prince stuffed up in "LGC". That really put a nasty zit on an otherwise perfect performance.

Overall: 8/10

The performance of 'Get On The Boat' was good, although it didn't offer anything more than the CD version. Redhead Stepchild has fantastic guitar riffing from Prince (god, you'd just wish he'd release an entire rock album in this vein!) a fantastic guitar sound. But I still don't really like Tamar's voice, it's just a bit shrill for me and lacking depth. Let's Go Crazy is just a great party rock song that everyone knows and always gets the crowd going, it's a shame Prince messed it up, he clearly wanted to continue into the long version!

The filming was poor, Shiela and the Twinz were working it and didn't get a look-in. The great thing about the Brits performance is it was lit and shot beautifully, especially in the widescreen version, and was a faultless performance - this footage doesn't come close!

I really like the Twinz dancing, they have some great moves and really work it. I didn't think the outfit suited Tamar, she looked like she had thunder-thighs.

Any time Prince decides to play guitar throughout a performance - that performance is going to amazing. No one is as exciting to watch as Prince is when he's 'on'.

Lud it.

I was really disappointed in this performance and the AI performance.
I dont know whats happening, it all seems so stiff...
maybe its the songs, maybe its the band, his Tamar obsession is definitely a part of the problem (not the AI performance, obviously)..

Why doesnt he perform the song "Love" live?

Tamar needs to GO AWAY! she sux! and im just sick of seeing her everywhere, its always prince and tamar together, enough already...

Prince needs to play guitar like he does on Redheaded Stepchild on his own record! earth to Prince!

and enough with the tired lets go crazy chants...

Im sad that Im not feeling for this new phase AT ALL, and i actually think the album is OK.....

But he did look beautiful...

The performance was okay. I like the AL better though
Prince look fine than a mofo as usual
Tamar is a beautiful woman and all but damn she need a better wardrobe okay?
And the twins.. gosh they get on my nerves and they need to go away fast. Hope Prince get rid of them soon and now!
Cora is very good
Sheila E did her thing as usual thats my girl
all i have to say for now

Great performance. I did not like his hairstyle. Whose his hairstylist anyways?

scrambledeggsaresoboring said:

Well im gonna have to say its the band, whenever Prince has a band i know everyones names and i feel like he is vibing with them. Even though Mr. Hayes has been in and out for 15 years, the vibe is not there at all. They are good players but Prince doesnt seem to be vibing with them, this i think is part of the reason there is no large scale tour just more of a hit and run major city type shows, i dont think Prince feels this band can do a tour. I get the same feeling of 3121 that i felt during the Rainbow CHildren, however band to band there is no comparison.

lastdecember said:

I'm not sure I can agree with that, I think that's far more a case of getting used to a band and then that blinding you to the potential of the new band. When the ONA tour band came along people were still saying the Revolution were better, or the first or second incarnation of the NPG. Now everyone missed the ONA band! Specifically I couldn't hear anything wrong with the new band's performance and it was Prince who messed up, not them!

However, Prince does take a long time rehearsing and rehearsing a band, getting them used to his signals and the vibe he wants. Yes, he may not feel this band is yet ready for a full tour yet, or there may be a thousand other reasons why he hasn't toured again so far. If he does tour and he uses this band, would that indicate you are wrong and he is suddenly happy with this band? In future years, this band may well be regarded higher than the jazz-based ONA band, who knows?

my 2 cents:
i've been feeling that p has been going through the emotions since the naacp awards last year.
the swagger hasn't been there.
everything seems 2 be forced.
the whole victory stance at the end of a song is tired
even the guitar faces don't seem genuine anymore
for lack of better words, p has gone "vegas"

i don't hate tamar. i think she is talented. she can sing
she just doesnt fit in2 the prince vibe.
i dont know if it is hers or prince's idea but the fake ass tina turner meets beyonce shit needs 2 stop. it is pititful
leave that up 2 beyonce and let Tamar develop in2 Tamar

the current NPG lineup is boring. the "vibe" isn't there. The arrangements are a bore. Cora is great. who is the bass player? mr.hayes on keys? anytime he is around, it means that something musically is lacking (his keys are used 4 horn parts, backing vox, anything but keys)
the last lineup was one of the best (imho)
those cats knew almost every damn prince song ever made
(i dont think we will hear tambourine or the ballad version of dolphin from these cats)
the majority of those arrangements seemed 2 be fresh and new. p knew he had a kick ass band.that's why they were on the so-called comeback musicology tour.

the oompa loo...i mean sheila and her fake bake needs to go away 2. the whole grab the cymbal trick and walk around is old and she needs some new tricks
not that many people care that she can bang on the timbales these days

revolution75 said:

I can't help thinking you've got pre-formed opinions that are being projected onto recent performances and refusing to see anything that does not agree with those opinions.

For instance, the swagger not being there? Of the few tv performances Prince has done, he's shown huge amounts of swagger. The way he played the guitar on SNL and the way he stormed off with a cheeky smile, the way he came on and the way he took the applause on AI and swaggered off, the way he played guitar on the Brits and his triumphant poses at the end of that. I don't see his victory poses as being 'tired' at all - he was triumphant at those performances.

Things like his 'guitar faces' being fake is down to opinion, sure he camps it up and acts up, but that's just part of the tv performance, most of his tv performances have had theatrical elements to them over many many years.

You accuse him of going 'vegas' but dropping the horns has definately been a move away from a 'vegasy' feel to me. The arrangements are a bore? His performance of 'Let's Go Crazy' at the Brits totally blows away the soft version at the opening of the Rock n' Roll Hall Of Fame, it's a vast improvement on that arrangement if you ask me.

I thought the ONA/Musicology tour band was great for it's time, but footage I have seen of the Musicology tour he seemed far more 'going through the motions' than he did on the ONA tour, no wonder he needed a fresh band. The old band knew all the songs because he rehearsed them over a long period, there's no reason why this band isn't going to go the same way or learn the same songs. Actually this band play songs that the old band never played, so what does that prove? Nothing, it's just a case of whatever Prince wants to add to his setlist he does.

The bass player is Josh who is Cora's husband, now there's a rhythm section that should be tight! As for Morris, if you don't like his playing, fine, but I don't hear something 'musically missing' like you suggest, merely something musically different. Morris plays in a style Renato couldn't do and vice versa. Personally I prefer Morris's funky bluesy playing to Renato's rather sterile, precise jazzy sound, but each to their own.

Anyway, the NPG line up of Sonny T, Michael B, Tommy Barbarella, Morris Hayes was far more creative, earthy, funky and fun than either the current band or the ONA line-up! But even so I think Prince looks just as happy with this band and it's 'vibe' as he did with any of those older bands, no worse no better.

Good but not great performance.

Loved the pink suit. Who else could pull that off other than Andre 3000?

HORRIBLE camera work. The cameras were either on the crowd, the wrong band member, or between band members/dancers when P was soloing on guitar, Sheila was soloing on percussion, and Maceo and Ray were doing their horn solos.

metalorange said:

i respect what ur saying
just my humble opinion homey
minus the snl show, which i thought was great (classic)
the recent performances did nothing 4 me
my fav tv performances have been the '85 grammies, 87 mtv awards, and the rrhof with t petty and the boys
the gma performace did absolutely nothing for me. the brit awards-nothing. dont get me started on AI!!
the funk just isnt there

i am well aware that the bass player is cora's husband
he just doesnt have the presence or funkiness (maybe he does, just haven't seen it yet) of levi, sony, brown, or rhonda.

the horns were not vegas-y 2 me. was eric and atlanta vegas? what about the npg/hornheadz?
those twins and tamar dancing around makes it very vegas 2 me. all they need 2 do is speed up the songs in2 one medley and it's james brown's current revue.


and the let's go crazy arrangement isnt anything new...it's the same ol' lovesexy arrangement that has been around 4 years...i can c that "gooooo frigging crazy" a mile away.

i think my whole point of my posting was that I am not feeling this current incarnation of him and the npg. something just isnt right and i can't put my finger on it. i felt this way after the 99-00 hit and run tour.
it seems forced and the reasons that i stated above and in the previous thread makes me feel this way.he seems 2 be "trapped". maybe he wants 2 do something else but he can't because he doesnt want 2 lose the audience that he won back after the last tour. i dont know. all i know is something isnt right.

revolution75 said:

I thought all the performances were classic in their own way, okay the GMA was ropey but only because of the poor footage and format, not the performance itself. The Brits performance is now one of my all time favourites. I think the funk IS still there, and even more so the rock which I prefer even more.



I'd agree he doesn't have much presence, he just gets on with his job in the background, but I don't mind, it's always hard to take your eyes of Prince anyway, as long as the sound is there, I've not heard anyone complain about his bass playing. In a way, I don't think any of Prince's bass players have had that much stage presence really, even Sonny T was prone to sitting down on a chair at the back.



I think the horns, in any context, soften the Prince sound. Sometimes that's fine, but he's had the horns for ages now, personally I'm up for a break and to see how he fills the sound without them. Let's Go Crazy is a song that improves without horns I reckon, yes it is going back to an old arrangement, but one that worked better in my opinion. I think it is a great song and I actually never get tired of listening to it.



I'll give you that, I wouldn't miss Tamar, and that aspect of the show is very vegas, still those twins can shake their asses in front of me all day as far as I'm concerned!



If he didn't want to lose the audience he won back after the last tour, surely he'd just have stuck with the same band? Prince is a control freak totally in control of his own empire, I can't see how he could be 'trapped', he can do anything he wants at this point in his career. No, you can bet that this is exactly the way Prince wants it, he's certainly not against sacking people and changing personnel or his mind if that's what he wants.

First I was there LIVE was MUCH better!I was super fast and PRINCE LOOKED GREAT!The PINK was SO much BETTER in Person!!
The sound check was fun!!
PRINCE ON!!!

metalorange said:

great discussion!
ur correct with him doing what he wants 2 do..he's always been that way
and whether i agree with the direction or not, that's one of the reasons why i respect prince as a musician
what i meant by trapped was that we all know that deep down inside p wanted that purple rain fame again. and he has that back 2 a certain extent
and it seems like from his performances and his last 2 recording efforts, he's playing it safe, very safe. this can't b the same dude that made 2045 or jukebox w/a heartbeat.

i wish he would 'rock out with his cock out' like he did on the undertaker, some of those after shows at that time, or even some tracks off of chaos and disorder the title track or i like it there)
he's never went down that road completely
i will say with this band, it's a possibility.
cora kicks ass on the drums.
will it happen? only time will tell.

metalorange said:

I understand your point, I clearly was NOT one of those who put down the ONA band, I am not a fan of the Revolution as a Band, they were good but they couldnt keep up in my opinion, as Prince grew and stretched to other genres they didnt. As for this band they arent bad, if they were Prince wouldnt have hired them, i just dont feel the "vibe" they arent "clicking" with each other, though it was better last night at BUTTER, they still lack that certain punch to their performance that isnt there, even Morris who was probably my favorite band member ever, I just feel its not there yet. Maybe this is the warm up, to something bigger. I do think Prince will do a small tour, but i think it will be after Tamars cd is out, and it will be to promote her work, and all the shows will be similar to the BUTTER performance, which i wont mind at all.

revolution75 said:

I don't know, safe means different things to different people. For instance, I thought Musicology was 'safe' in that it lacked a certain punch, but lyrically it wasn't safe, with relatively contentious tracks like Cinnamon Girl and Dear Mr. Man and the title track criticising modern music, and Prince opening his heart up with Reflection. 3121 has a commercial feel to it and in that sense is 'safe' plus it avoids any contentiousness altogether, however I reckon it has far more punchiness than Musicology and doesn't actually sound like anything out there.

I also don't think playing album tracks like Get On The Boat and Redhead Stepchild is particularly safe, or indeed Lolita and Satisfied, all tracks that the general public won't recognise. These days artists promote the current single over and over, it is like the current fast food generation WON'T make a decision to like a song until they've heard it a thousand times already.



I've got to agree with you there, I love it when Prince plays rock, and he'd actually bring in a lot of new fans doing a rock album. The undertaker is the closest thing to a pure electric guitar album he's done since Purple Rain and the undertaker wasn't even properly released! Put together the odd rock tracks Prince had done on various albums, they'd make a hell of a punchy album.

I think the reason he doesn't though, is to him it is too easy. I think laying down some heavy riffs is so effortless he doesn't really appeciate it as much as a well-crafted funk jam or R&B number. And yet, rock songs can sound fantastically satisfying even when they are very simplistic. I don't think we will ever get a pure rock album from him, but he will always show flashes of it like he showed with Redhead Stepchild, but just as you are getting into it he will be off into another genre.
[Edited 6/18/06 1:04am]

I was at the Bryrant Park show and I thought the performance was a disappointment. The sound was bad--at least from where I was about 50 feet from the stage--and, after waiting for hours in line, it seems that P could have at least played more than 2 and a half songs. He had his whole band there; it wouldn't have been too hard for him to play a couple more songs (after the GMA taping) to treat the hordes of people who were in line from five and six in the morning to see the show. It's always nice to see Prince live, but it I left there a disappointed in him.....

I didn't go but watching it it seems a little dissapointing. I don't really like the twins, Tamar, or this new version of the NPG much.

TruFunkSoldia said:

I have kinda mixed feelings about the new line-up...I think because it feels temporary, like it's an in-between group.

If indeed permanent, I'd like to see Tamar and the Twins only in moderation.

Did anyone notice how awkward it was in between songs? It looks like Robyn expected Prince to talk to them(mini interview) but he never walked over....hmm...I wonder if they got ticked off at that

LoveAlive said:

If that was the case then they shouldn't have been standing at the opposite end of the stage from Prince! I think they simply weren't used to introducing live bands, and when Prince started warming up to perform Let's Go Crazy they didn't know whether to get off stage or not!

God, I hate how they put up the banner Bryant Park over the performance footage - like, we needed to be reminded of that THE WHOLE PERFORMANCE! They must think we have the memory of a goldfish.

revolution75 said:

I agree with that.
I was at Nokia in New York and she sounded MUCH better there than she did on GMA. I'm not a huge fan of hers but I was surprised it didn't sound better on GMA.



I am not very familiar with Morris Hayes (why is it always "Mr. Hayes"?) cuz I didn 't like the NPG, but I'm SHOCKED by your comment above.

At the Nokia date, Hayes was practically holding down the entire band..... and was doing ORGAN on practically every song, with a little acoustic or synth riffs thrown in here and there. I play keys and he defintely was playing keys not "horns" that night.



You better watch it! Sheila is the best thing in that band..... She looks amazing..... plays her ass off.... and is the only person who can stand next to Prince and lead a band as an equal. I wasn't so into the draggin the cymbal thing, but honestly, how many times has she realy done it? I think one other time at NAACP a year ago. Maybe Prince should stop throwing his guitar in the air too cuz he's done that 2 or 3 times before.

Sheila was tan and lookin pretty hot. Tamar wore something hideous, but I like her, just don't like Red Headed Stepchile much. Another rushed song from a man who is supposed to be a genius, but you don't know it from his current song output. If he is still a genius, then let's see it Prince.

Horrible mix on GMA. P seemed pissed off, probably why he didn't do any extra gig.

GaryMF said:[quote]

revolution75 said:

Apparently it is because he comes from a gospel church background and used to mimick the preachers, so was called 'Brother Hayes' or 'Mr Hayes'.



She also did it when they performed 'The Everlasting Now' (forget which tv program it was) and also at the end of the Brits!

And people, it's Redhead Stepchild not Redheaded Stepchild.