There's a new book out from Da Capo Press called The Show I'll Never Forget. The author Chuck Klosterman writes about a 1997 show (in Fargo, North Dakota, where Larry Graham opened). Unfortunately, the article's more about Chuck's up and down appreciation for Prince and how he has to wait for Prince to come on than it is about the actual show. And in fact he admits that he doesn't even remember that much about the show (kind of ironic, considering the title of the book) but he offers up some nice (I think) praise at the end--most notably, "Prince doesn't really deserve credit for being a genius because he is not a normal human. His ability to create and perform music is so inherent and instinctual that it cannot really be measured against normal criteria; the only other rock musicians in this class are Jimi Hendrix and (maybe) Bob Dylan."

Just thought I'd share in case people were interested.

Thanx 4 sharing-I'll b on the lookout 4 it.

Hey cool! I was at this show JOTY!!!

I'll fill in some of the blanks (from what I recall)

First off before the show started, some fool local DJ kept hounding us to sell our tickets to him (front row direct center) for $500.00 each - he was directly behind us in Row 2 (really not much of an "upgrade" from where he was) Finally his gf told him to chill out and leave us alone lol.

Next, we all had to evacuate the front and center area because the huge light thingy was gonna fall on our heads and they needed to fix it!

Graham Central Station opened the show - and they ROCKED OUT!!!! (The only performance I have seen of theirs/Larry's that I actually didn't look for them to be leaving the stage.

Prince's performanace that night - absolutely phenominal!!
- He made fun of Fargo by saying "yaaah" ala the movie "Fargo" all night, somehow I don't think those from Fargo actually picked up on it tho, I was killing myself when he did. hehehe
- a couple people threw their underware on stage, again he cracked me up when he went over and picked them up with the end of his cane with a look of total disgust on his face to remove them from the stage.
- as always, he asked a few people onstage to dance, one young woman wearing pink with long blonde hair did a fantastic job (kudos to you if you read this).
- the highlight for *ME* was when he came and sat on the edge of the stage right in front of me, lookin' all seductive, and started (you know it!) "Purple Rain" I tried to be all cool and intently listen as he sang directly to me, but burst into laughter and then he gave me a big-assed smile like he was about to laugh too and stood up and sang the rest of the song on stage.

Other that that, it was pretty much a standard JOTY show - but the vibe that night was one of the best. I believe this was the first (and only) time he played Fargo, and I'm pretty sure he gives a little more magic for audiences that wouldn't normally get a change to see him live.

My first Prince concert was the one that I won't ever forget.. the Controversy concert, with the bed that rose from behind the stage..

This was possibly 1982, at Cleveland Public Auditorium. He had Zapp f/Roger Troutman as his opening act (I think the Time did something too)..

I was about 11-12 years old, and I went with my mother (still a Prince fan to this day also). My older sister and cousin had the floortickets a few rows from the stage, my mother and I tagged along, but sat in the balcony..

The tickets back then were less than $20.... Ahhhhh, good times..