The London dates coming soon put me in the mood to "remember" some moments from the ONA tour. Right now I'm remembering some songs from Chicago. And good heavens, they kicked some ass there! The performance of When U Were Mine might just be the best ever. Amazing last verse and the interplay between Blackwell and Prince's guitar is so perfect. Blackwell has this very unique fills that he does sometimes and that very moment rocks hard.
Another thing is the last verse of Raspberry Beret. That was a stroke of genius, funky as hell.

Share some of your favorite memories if you like! One more that comes to mind is him jamming an all-too-brief version of A Love Bizarre on the keys with Sheila singing in LA.

Hamburg 2002 was one of my all time favorite concerts,and I´ve seen quite a few Prince concerts now. Another proof of greatness were the Rotterdam Nighttown and Paris Bataclan aftershows...that´s the kind of raw sound that I like.
Paisley Park / Xenophobia 2002 was something I will never forget, my personal "Woodstock" experience, probably better..
And those drastically rearranged versions of Sweet Baby and Something In The Water were killer !

I dind´t miss the splits or any kind of gimmick dancing at all, those shows were so music oriented that I actually prefer him not dancing at all in the future...focus on the keys and guitars instead.
And what a tight little band. I don´t like bands when they´re too big...and I´m not too keen on hearing more than one horn player.
Keep the band small, and bring back Eric Leeds from time to time...Maceo is great but I also miss Eric Leeds´ sound.

And don´t forget Empty Room and those beautiful tunes Tokyo and Osaka.



















.....get some sunshine man !
[Edited 7/14/07 10:00am]

Hamburg 2002 was my first Prince concert. Unfortunately, I don't seem to have many memories from it.
You were at those 2 aftershows? How I envy you!

And Xenophobia...damn, that was some monster groove.

calldapplwondery83 said:

That show where he played more "rock" stuff ( the night with Bernard Allison ) made my jaw literally drop...I was speechless and in a state of shock, in a positive way.

I went to the 2 gigs in Manchester.He played Purple Rain and Empty Room.
Two amazing gigs.
I'll miss John Blackwell this time round.

even though i think prince was working through some really unhappy stuff and i'm not glad for the circumstances, i loved the darkness of the ONA tour...there was a very tense, brooding feel to the shows i've seen and heard and especially with the band he had, i found it to be really exceptional. great tour.

I had the pleasure of xperiencing the ONA tour in New Orleans,La.in April of '02.Fave memories of the show was being so close up,and the piano medley with the oldies! Prince and I were like the only 2 people singing the lyrics 2 Annastesia!

sexxydancer said:

He did Anna Stesia there ? During the ONA tour ? Full version ? Cool,

I attended the ONA tour in Manchester in 2002 it was amazing. Small intimate venue and he played Purple Rain which was amazing and he certainly was not trying to be someone he was 20 or so years ago, he actually appeared at peace with himself.

Was up close never thought I would ever be up so close to ny idol.

The soundcheck, the "let's send everyone back out to the lobby to be searched for tape recorders after we'd already been seated (Gen. Admin.), and the aftershow in Atlanta.

I met my wife at this show.

Anyone remember the fiasco/near riot that occurred at the first Atlanta concert? I know you're out there. About 100 people (NPGMC members) had shown up pretty early to be first in line and get the best seats. Many had taken the day of work, left early etc. They let us in, gave us our member badges and everyone dashed down to get the best seats they could grab. We were all seated, Prince did a rip-roaring sound-check (even let a few people on stage - one did the Darling Nikki stage hump and one other guy got to play Prince's guitar...and quite well I might add). Then Prince talked to us a bit and asked us if we'd "been searched". Everyone said "no". He looked concerned and troubled. About 5 or ten minutes later, after he'd gone back to change clothes or whatever, security comes out and tells us we ALL have to back into the lobby and get shaken down for recording devices.

Now, like I mentioned, several people had waited a LONG time (and paid GOOD money) to get the best seats they could. When they ushered us out, there was a sort of a gentlemen's agreement to remember where you were sitting and to re-claim that seat when you returned. Trouble was, not everyone's a gentleman and a few late NPGMC members were just arriving, so when they let us back in several...um....let's call them "assholes" started jacking seats that had basically already been claimed by the early arrivals at the sound-check.

Things began to get ugly, tense and more than a bit strange.

Fortunately, I was able to re-claim my seat, along with the the people I was sitting next to, since we were sort of looking out for each other. But as I took my seat and began to look around, there were people who were literally cramming their asses together with someone else into one seat and refusing to move for the other person. 2 asses. One chair. Bystanders couldn't be sure who had Been There First and those that knew they weren't didn't give a fuck. There was a lot of shouting, selfishness and anger brewing. At one point I yelled out that "everyone fucking knows where the hell they were sitting before we were led out so cut the fucking shit!" or some such thing. Immediately, several NPGMC members put their index fingers over their lips, aware that Prince had by then had developed a disdain for profanity and went, "SHHHHH!" I guess they thought if he heard me from backstage swearing out loud he might cancel the show or some such thing. So, now, in addition to fearing the outcome of this increasingly weird drama that was unfolding, I began to fear for my safety if Prince suddenly decided that things were getting too ugly in the crowd for him to take the stage. Everyone would blame me, I feared, and would be Out For Blood.

My blood.

So much for LoveForOneAnother, I thought. Who ever heard of such a thing at a Prince show? I thought for a second we were here to see Guns & Roses or Slayer. Trust me, it was not pretty. The crowd was basically asked to police itself, and I suppose in the end we did, but the whole scenario was so tragically unnecessary and absurd that I actually began to grow angry with Prince and whatever half-baked security he'd trained for allowing it to degenerate into the situation that it did. I remember getting into it with one fellow and his girlfriend/wife/date who were sitting right behind me (but who weren't there prior to the re-seating). They had jacked someone else's seats, who were sadly standing in the aisle pointing at them and pleading with the clueless (and ultimately powerless ushers, since they were bound by the "General Admission" rules) to do something. To this couple's credit, they eventually moved after I gave them enough shit to appeal to their sense of guilt and/or decency. I remember, after about 3 minutes of banter with the guy, he finally asked me "So if I move, will that make you happy?" I replied, "Actually, yes, it would".

And so they did.

Now, get this. The next night (I went to both shows), Prince came out and was apparently feeling chummy and talkative with his fans. The FIRST THING HE SAID was "I heard there was drama here last night? Yes? And all over some concert seats. Aint that rediculous"

Oh, baby, was I pissed at that. First of all, many of those people used what little vacation time they had to go and see Him. Second, they paid $130 a pop to do it. Third, it was Prince's own fucked up security, lack of planning and communication AND paranoia about someone bootlegging the show that led us all to be herded out like so much cattle, searched for whatever, and led back in that allowed all that bullshit to go down. (BTW: the 2nd night, we were searched at the door before entrance).

It gets better.

This is still he 2nd night. Prince did a very brief sound check (I missed Calhoun Square, dammit, waiting for my friend) and announced he'd "make it up to us at the aftershow". He was real chatty. He passed a mic and took questions from the NPGMC members. Now, he'd already admonished us for our awful behavior the previous evening, and then the conversation started in on "God" and "Religion". This is always death, usually reserved for conversations at 3 or 4 am after the last of the booze is being drained and everyone's run out shit to discuss.

Yeesh.

I'd had enough. I was there to hear him play and see him perform, not to listen to his latest diatribe on The Truth or whatever such shit he and his fa(ms) were doing. The ass kissing and hero worship was cresting into a sick and false tidal wave of Purple bullshit.

It was too much.

I raised my hand, and eventually they passed me the mic. I asked him about what had happened the previous evening: "You mentioned the problems last night, and I remember you'd asked us if we'd "been searched'. Did you ask the ushers to lead us back out into the lobby after we'd already been seated to search us?"

"No. I wasn't here. Remember?"

Fair enough, but I knew it was bullshit. From there, the Q&A went back to The Holy Trinity, The Holy Ghost and The Holy Whateverthefuck religious debate/discussion that never leads anywhere. It sucked. So did missing "Calhoun Square" performed live and loose.

"I need a drink", I realized, and made my way to the lobby.

Anyone want to hear Part 2? This is where I met my wife, and I guess I can thank Prince in a way, and certainly this website. Maybe it was Devine intervention. I've always thought it deserved it's own thread, but this might be a good place to tell it.

Anxiety said:

Would bi-polar work? I saw him TOTALLY freak out during the Le Zenith show, throwing his guitar at his guitar tech in a rather evil way.

Then when he showed up at Le Bataclan, he was on FIRE, smiling, flirting, high spirited again...

Always puzzled me, that extreme moodswing.

herb4 said:

bring it on!

KoolEaze said:

Sure did! It was awesome,and he ended the show with it!

Anxiety said:

Okee Dokee.

I went and got a drink, then headed outside with my buddy to have a smoke and wait for the show to start In Proper, while everyone inside discussed Jesus and kissed Prince's shoes. I spotted 2 women chatting and smoking, one dressed decidedly sluttier than the other. Naturally, I sauntered over and began chatting up the sluttier of the 2, and, realizing rather quickly that she had nothing much to say, started talking to the other girl. Turns out, she had an ex-boyfriend who was a club member that was supposed to take her the show the previous night, but had flaked or some such thing, and took someone else so she got her own tickets and was waiting outside for the shitty seats.

She loves Prince and started asking me about what was going in inside. She seemed surprised that even though I was a Club Member that I was outside and ignoring the whole thing. I described the previous night, mentioned that I'd actually spoken to Prince and told her that once they got into A God discussion, I couldn't make my way to the bar fast enough. If memory serves, I think my exact words were, "They're in there talking about God and Jesus and whatever the hell else, so I had to get out of there." We talked about the new album (Rainbow Children), and I remember her joking about "we don't give a duck" and whether or not the lack of swearing made a difference to the music. She got cuter and cuter the more we talked, and I told her I'd see her at the after show. Apparently, the slutty buddy was just some chick she'd run into outside, and at this point, I wouldn't know if her if I saw her. I went back inside since it was getting near to showtime. My friend had never seen Prince, and was just starting to get into the stuff I'd been playing and had loaned to him, so I didn't ant him to miss anything.

I never did see her at the after show. The front section of the club (Club 11, was it?) was roped off for members, but after the show started, the rope was quickly toppled. Pretty good after show (my second), and I remember being happy that my buddy got to see it, since every true fan knows that's where The Action and the Magic lives.

OK, then. We went home, and the next morning, I got on the org and wrote a review of the show(s). Buried, in the middle of that review, was one sentence that read "Oh, yeah, BTW, who was that woman I spoke to outside? Sorry I missed you at the after show." Obviously, i never expected to hear from or see her again, but meeting her stood out in my mind. A few days later, I got an orgnote: "I was the girl". I guess she remembered me. We started exchanging org notes and a few e-mails.

Now, let me interject here, because it gets even more interesting. At the time of the ONA shows, I was unemployed and living in Atlanta, so i had nothing but time on my hands to go see Prince when I wasn't job hunting. We started exchanging e-mails and I had an epiphany.

I had met this woman before.

In 2000, when i was living in Jacksonville, FL my friend and I had roadied up to Atl for the Hit N Run tour at the Tabernacle, where Where Prince also performed a (legendary) aftershow at THE SAME CLUB. I recalled and expressed, via our e-mail exchanges, that I think I thought we'd met before. Thanksgiving Eve, 2000 at Club 11 (or whatever). I remembered it vividly, because she had been standing right next to me at the club, by herself, waiting for Prince to show up, and we had chatted some. We had discussed his recent work, the show, and what he might play at the after-show, etc. Here I was, with a head full of margeritas, still buzzed from the Hit & Run show, waiting to seeing my favorite musician, 2 rows from the stage and talking up a pretty cute brunette, feeling great, when the aforementioned (now ex) boyfriend walks up with their drinks from the bar. Big dude. Very tall.

Conversation over.

Prince takes the (small) stage and launches into "The Ride" then "She's Always In My Hair". At that point, I almost ejaculated and I forgot all about her...Until I noticed Chuck D. come on stage and wondered out loud to her if they might do "Undisputed".

And, yes, I like that song.

Fuck off.

She actually remembered meeting me previously, but at this point, had a DIFFERENT/NEW boyfriend. Cock-blocked and unemployed, there wasn't much I could do except invite her out form time to time and send her e-mails about whatever the fuck it was I thinking or doing at the time. I'd finally run out of job opportunities in Atlanta and had decided to move back to Florida since I had more more word-of-mouth back there, and then she FINALLY agreed to meet me for lunch one afternoon. I was leaving in, like, 3 days and she still had this cocksucking boyfriend situation that I was in no condition to seal with or compete with. But the lunch went well as it turns out, even though I was sure she hated me. I remember commenting to my friend (the one i took with me the night I really met her), "You know what's going to happen? We're going to fall in love and I'll be stuck in some hicktown 3 hours away from her. This is my life. This is my luck".

And that's exactly what happened.

We would still e-mail each other. I would send her bootlegs I had from time to time. She would comment on stuff I wrote on the org (way back in the IceNine days). We would talk on the phone with greater and greater frequency. And so forth. But every time we talked (or wrote), she would always drag the conversation into the area of her (current) boyfriend, and what was obviously a doomed and tragic relationship with no future. Having learned a few things along the way (I'm 9 years older than her), I did everything I could to stay out of the "Friend Zone"...You know, the emotional tampon/nice guy that never gets to have sex with the girl he's speaking with, but really wants to. You men know what I'm talkin' about. All along, she kept telling me "I Hate U" in all of her e-mails.

OK, then. It was a few days before Valentine's Day. I had broken up with the girl I was seeing about 2 months previous. I was working the night shift and came home one night around midnight and started making her a CD. I led off with "Dreamin About U." By 4 O'Clock in the morning, I had made a CD, wrapped it up with a purple candle, a card, The Undertaker and a few other boots I owned and then realized in that act in in that instant that I was in love with her.

The next day I mailed the package, and immediately grew frightened that I'd sent it. It was a bold stroke that made me vulnerable and scared, hanging out to dry and twisting in the wind in a way I couldn't take back. After all, she STILL had a boyfriend, albeit a shitty one, but her I was intruding her relationship and putting myself up for rejection at the same time. Plus, it was corny. A mix tape? What the fuck was I thinking, right? And that bastard was already in the mail.

Now,

The NEXT night, i got a call from her. She was crying, telling me all about how she broke up with this guy - the night before Valentine's Day of all nights. I said to her over the phone, with a smug smile on my face, "Oh. That's terrible. I'm so sorry. Soon, you'll feel better. I promise. Call me tomorrow, OK?"

She got the CD, lit the purple candle and cried listening to it.

The last song was "I Hate U". :;

She moved down to Florida with me and we got married April 29, 2006. We danced to "The One" at our wedding. Her user name is "PurpleK" and she's wonderful. Fate? Coincidence? I don't know, but if Prince had never found religion, if I hadn't lost my job and had the time to see both shows, if I hadn't joined the NPGMC, if not for this message board....?

Who knows?

So the ONA tour will always have a special place in my heart. Maybe I'll a draw a hot bubble bath tonight and play "Here On Earth" for her one more time.

That is an awesome story...

Reading peoples comments on the tour sorta reinforces my theory that the downside of that tour was some of the tracks from TRC didnt really excite much when played live , e,g people have said how much they liked Annastasia , Empty Room , Other Side Of The Pillow , but theres not much enthusing over the live versions of Mellow , Muse 2TP etc etc

herb4 said:

U wouldn't happen 2 have that slutty girls number would U?

j/k Cool story!

moonshine said:

On the contrary, this was one of those tours where he played lots of songs from his new album ( he hadn´t really done that since 1995 and later he wouldn´t perform much from Musicology and 3121 ), and the live versions he did were fantastic, much more powerful than the album versions, he played almost every song during this tour and my personal favorites were the instrumental parts of the title song, Muse 2 The Pharaoh ( though I dislike the lyrics ) , and that powerful rendition of Family Name . I wonder if he´s going to perform any material from his new album in August.

herb4 said:

I used to frequent the Org much more often back then, and he said his name was Herb...I said, "OH--Herb4!?" And he said, "Yeah, you go to the org?" I said, "Yes, but I mainly just lurk."





I'll meet you there about 9-10 pm?

moonshine said:

I actually enjoyed them more live, and there was a level of intimacy on that tour that was really special to be a part of. It's hard to describe, but it felt like a cult or something (in a good way). You felt like you were in on something that no one else knew about. The "Musicology" tour was terrific, and I actually enjoyed that one more than ONA, but there was a vibe to ONA that's hard to lay down unless you were a part of it.

It was like a big secret you were in on.

moonshine said:

i enjoyed the TRC tracks played during the ONA tour...in fact, i think more justice was done to those songs live on that tour than by the studio versions.

purplek said:[quote]

herb4 said:

If you get a post from me tagged at 9:30, you all will know I fucked something up.

ONA Chicago is my favorite live bootleg by far. Even without being there, you can almost feel the smaller, intimate vibe. The setlist was fantastic and I'm glad that he focused on the Rainbow Children material and less of the well-known hits. And the band was ON FIRE. The highlights of that show for me were an amazing performance of "Xenophobia", "The Rainbow Children", a cool rendition of "Didn't U Know", the best version of "When U Were Mine" I've ever heard, and a beautiful performance of "I Love U But I Don't Trust U Anymore". I can listen to this show every day and never grow tired of it.

Beautiful story herb. Thanks for sharing.

Wow, thanks for sharing your story, herb4. Amazing read.

ChaosDisorder said:

So much energy there!