Hey, it was 5 years ago today (it's still June 21 where I'm at) that Xenophobia began in 2002.


This, hands down, has to be the pinnacle of all Prince fan experiences. 7 nights of concerts, with radically different setlists, with stuff he hadn't performed in years (decades) or ever, at all! (Okay, so night 6 was pretty much the same as night 1 - the ONA setlist - but whatever).




I think my very favorite moment was when he started Empty Room. I screamed like a little bitch. I couldn't believe it. I also remember having an out of body experience during I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man and Calhoun Square. But there were so, so many wonderful moments.

Also, one of the best parts of it was all the cool people I met. I'll try to remember them by the names they use on the org. Or did back then.

violett, endorphin74, CarrieMPLS, Rio, NeptunEos, Zeinabau, NuPwrSoul, Lavish, unique, T, lolinex, prianna, TRON, and of course Moonbeam, who made it all possible for me on a huge fluke! Also, special note, I met the love of my life at that event, and I've been with him ever since. Our anniversary is June 27, in the wee hours of the morning after the night 6 show.

Thanks Prince, it was a fucking blast! One of the best weeks of my whole life!


Anyway, who was there? What are your favorite memories? Who did you meet?
[Edited 6/21/07 22:41pm]
[Edited 6/21/07 23:44pm]
[Edited 6/22/07 23:56pm]

This was my best Prince experience ever !
Some goosebump moments included that drastically rearranged version of Something In The Water, I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man, and of course Empty Room and the acoustic night. Another memorable moment was seeing him play "Paisley Park" at Paisley Park.

I also enjoyed talking to Shaundra, Bobby the Butcher, Ben and Matt and countless other nice people. And I got to meet BillySparxxx ( the orger, not the concert manager). Plus I had a great time in St.Paul and Minneapolis where I met some old friends.

Good times ! My personal Woodstock, just much better...

....and I also liked when he thanked his fans for sticking with him through the thick and the thin.

don't forget when he took us to see Minority Report!

ufoclub said:

Yeah, but I halfway through and woke up all right before the credits rolled.

CJBabyDaddy said:

I fell asleep too. It was definitely an exhausting week and I LOVED every minute of it!! It was the highlight of my Prince fandom I will never forget it and will always cherish it. OF course I'll tell the grandkids all about it someday.

He sued a lot of people over that concert.

wlcm2thdwn said:

what?

You know what's REALLY cold?? I still have links in my favorites for the Celebration - hotels in the area, etc I really thought I was gonna have me a Cele experience

I wasn't there, but read the reports each day and loved hearing about it all.

$250 for the week - at the time that seemed so expensive to me, but looking back, you can't get better value for money - that was fantastic.

I listened to Day 1 yesterday, and I'll be listening to Day 2 today. Fantastic stuff!

even with the airfare, ticket prices, hotel ..compared 2 what he's charging 4 the LA gigs ..u still come out ahead!

and the memories r so everlasting! ..Flew in late due 2 the storm in mpls, got 2 PP only 2 find out the tour of PP was changed due 2 some knuckleheads THANKS ASSWIPES WHOEVER U R!

highlights: 1st nite :
TOONA!!! my friend from Japan!

highlights 2nd nite: i can't belive we're all in jammies!! the looks on people's face when we went 2 the grocery store was priceless! coming around the corner cause it was so hot due 2 the a/c breaking, BAMN! Prince talking 2 Takumi about the unit. BAMN! Prince walking up behind me saying xcuse me so he could hug Sheila after she came off stage. Surreal that he took us all 2 the movies!

highlights 3rd nite: Is that my theme song DAYS OF WILD being played? .Is he doing Paisley Park in Paisley Park ..is he doing Sign O' The Times? kirky j's daughter dancing onstage was 2 cute!

highlights 4th nite : SEATS FINALLY! ..thanks Norah jones 4 allowing a brother 2 get some sleep during u'r set Acoustic set ...nuff said! the debut of Prince and the band xenophobia leading in2 busting loose

highlights 5th nite: Pyschodelic vibe during whole lotta love bumrushing the stage during all the critcs love u in new york and he had no NY people on stage dancing ending with beautiful strange

highlights 6th nite: the whole encore section of that night ..everlasting now, musiq soulchild, days of wild ..what's the name of u'r radio station? WNPG!!!

highlights 7th nite: the per4mances of God, soul sanctuary, empty room Connie living her dream Party 2 the sun came up

every night: going back 2 the chanhassen inn and chatting and singing it up all night long ..

after that week in MN, no celebration will ever happen again that can b matched 2 this feeling, hence there really hasn't been anything since.

Thank God, I can transport myself back 2 that week by clicking the play button

And I still have an unopened bottle of Xenophobia water

This is one of my biggest regrets in life.....that I couldn't go.

diamondsnpearls said:

lol so do i!!!! and from the 1st celebration!!

That was such an incredible week. I'll never forget it. To see him perform "Paisley Park" IN Paisley Park was surreal!

Remember when he called us his favorite fans in the world?

I remember the awesome cookout at Lake Ann on the last day. Man, the food was off the HOOK, the whole week was like a huge family reunion.

L4OATheOriginal said:

HOLY FUCK, I am so jealous reading this. DAMN ME for ever poo pooing this shit, I thought it was all SO corny that first year. Then by the time I wanted to go he had moved the fuck on. I'll always regret not getting my ass there & being too broke to go @ the time

This is one of those things as a married man with kids that just was impossible. Glad to see everyone had fun. One day I hope to share the experience.

Oh man. Not much to add to whats been said but this was a fantastic week. One Night Alone sets, acoustic set, electric jam... all sorts of styles through the week. And some cool openers. Norah before she hit big, Victor Wooton was excellent!! Maceo.... What a great time!!

Speaking of this does anybody still have the pix from the org bbq, I lost them on my old hard drive.

NPG2045 said:

Your wish is my command.

Here is what I have up on TheDetroitCrawl.Org website.

A lot of the Celebration was memorable I agree...

One of the moments which isn't often mentioned is the encore of Joy In Repetition on the first night.

Prince is without doubt a musical hero of mine, but I felt on that first night everything was really by numbers, and as we expected. When he came back out unanounced for an encore there was a really intimate atmosphere...and it was such a quiet performance (relatively speaking). A moment of magic for sure...

I also loved the acoustic set - one of his greatest performances in my opinion (that I've seen anyway) and then followed by an amazing second half on the organ, it was like Ray Charles was rapping! Amazing extended jams like Prince and the Band and the Peach one on another night stick in the mind.

My final memory was the fantastic opening to the final night of the piano set with just a flute playing...and all of the great songs he played, Ur Gonna C Me, With You...but then I surprised myself by walking out before the end - it became too much like Prince's church at a certain point which made me feel like I was at a convention. It just tipped into uncomfortable fandom for me during that show, so I went and got laid!! And I've never regretted that decision at any time since!

It was a truly amazing experience whatever anyone tells you, and $250, well I can't believe anyone ever even considered the price. Prince was giving those tickets away...I think he repeatedly used the expression during that week "take advantage of it, it may never come around again". Ain't that the truth.

See you all at the o2...I won't be worshipping but I will be celebrating.

"I felt so good, I told the leader how to follow..." In Time

Tokyo said:

yeah, my friends and I would go out for a smoke whenever he got all Jehovah on us. or whenever Larry Graham would take his shoes off


I swear, I was outside for 20 minutes or so on the last night, and I had walked out when he started that rambling during "God" and when I came back, Najee was still doing his 20 minute solo for that song.

a2grafix said:

damn i found a picture of me and bobby ..what the hell were we doing?!!

Oh, the memories!

Circumstances with my ill father kept me from going. I was hugely envious of my brother Moonbeam who got to go for the whole thing.

Every night I would call him for a concert report and I became so sickeningly jealous that after my father was stabilized in the hospital, I decided to go. Luckily, Ian was vigilant enough to find me a last minute pass.

Even though I only saw the last 3 nights, this was without a doubt one of the highlights of my life. Night 5 alone was worth it and still stands as probably the single greatest Prince show I've ever seen. I had been up 50 hours straight and I STILL danced my ass off.

But more importantly, I had a life-changing experience by meeting some of the most important and special people in the world to me. I count Endo, Violett, CarrieMPLS, Rio and Aaron as some of my best friends to this day. There were so many others that I loved meeting...the list is endless, really.

There was something very positive and spiritual in the air...and no I'm not talking about Prince's preaching. He opened his home to us in a way that he had never done before. He was humble, funny, kind and generous. We got a different show every night and some of the best performances of his career. I think all of that went a long way to humanizing the man and boosting morale among the troops. The casual nature of the event and Prince's comfort with the audience made us feel like he truly appreciated his supporters.

Weeks after the Celebration people were still talking. We really couldn't believe what we had experienced. I know I'm sounding like an old hippy, but it truly was the "Summer of Love" in Princeland. Of course, after that he got all popular again and he rarely visits Paisley Park anymore. But I'm getting the feeling that London is in for something similar in the coming months. This was a one of a kind event that I feel so fortunate to have been a part of.


[Edited 6/22/07 23:50pm]

Thank U so much

a2grafix said:

diamondsnpearls said:

he took u guys to the movies!!! :Omg: ...

booyah said:

wow... $250 for a WHOLE week!!! ... now that's not even enough for one night at the Roosevelt. Oh, how times change.

I'll get to this in a bit. Just marking it now!

Moonbeam said:

was wondering where you were.