Since 2004 Prince has not had a major tour, of course 2004 was deemed the "last time for hits" and then of course he did one-off shows and played hits here and there. But now with a new exclusive and some exposure, and the fact that its been 5 years since he toured (i dont count brief stints and one offs as tours) PRINCE has the albums 3121,Planet Earth, and now Lotus and MPLsound to draw from, along with non hits and album cuts to draw from. I think this tour (if it happens) should be a more ONA vibe type tour, almost no HITS, some rare songs he never plays (i mean he pulled AnnaStesia out for ONA) and with the advent of the LOTUS club, he can do what he did back in 2001-02 with the NPG music club, and exclusive tickets and soundchecks. Just please NO HIT TOURS, if i hear Kiss again im going to shoot myself

I would love a ONA style tour again but it was one of a kind and i dont beleive it will happen again. Im thinking he will either do the two band thing for this tour, either play with both each show or each show he will be with one of the bands, like u dont know which band you will see.

I onestly just hope in a world tour, i cheked the tour list and the last time he came in Italy was 7 years ago!

lastdecember said:

When Madonna tours she plays the hits....When U2 tours, they play the hits...When Metallica tours they play the hits...When Springsteen tours he plays the hits...When Bowie tours he plays the hits...When Mary J. Blige tours she plays the hits...When Neil Young tours he plays the hits...

You see the pattern?

This is what most of the fans want to hear...This is what they pay their money for...However, the balancing act is playing enough new material and obscure fan favorites to keep things interesting...That means for every "Kiss" there is pulling off an early album cut like "I'm Yours" or ever doing a deep fan favorite like "The ? Of U"...Or a new track like "Dreamer" as he did at the LA shows...


And unlike most of those acts named, Prince usually plays aftershows where he plays the leftfield cover and hardcore album track and new album cuts...
[Edited 4/5/09 8:41am]

murph said:

Well ive been to 75 Prince shows, and tons of other artists shows, and sorry its NOT true that you are paying to see and hear HITS, thats a total false belief, you buy the ticket to see the artist not to hear the song. Most longtime fans who have seen any artist numerous times WANT something a little different from the last time. Prince actually has had trouble doing this "balancing" thing, with Emancipation he had 36 new songs avaiable, and yet never played more than 4 at a show, and at some played 2! As for others like u2, u2 is already saying that they are playing almost the entire new album on this tour, Duran Duran played shows were they played their entire new album and then tossed in RIO and Hungry Like the Wolf, for the non-loyals at the shows.

It is a long ranging debate, but most loyals dont want the "laundry list" rolled out, they want something they did pay money for 15 times already.

ONA was a fantastic show.....it was just so lovely, intimate and warm. I have seen him 3 other times and funny enough I have never heard him play Purple Rain. I don't really think I would want to anyway. The Musicology show was the largest venue that I saw him at, and found that though it was good, I much prefer the smaller venues that I saw him at.

At the smaller venues, he did not pander or cater he just played what he felt like playing. The smaller venues were more hardcore fans and he knew he couldn't get away with playing "the hits". I saw him when he was promoting New Power Soul and it was with Chaka, Larry. I was sad that they didn't do "I Feel for You" I thought it would have been a very kewl duet.

Another time I saw him he wasn't really promoting anything...it was before the gold album came out and I had gotten the bootleg material off that period and he did alot of that stuff. And I got the hear Shh.. and I thought I was gonna die!!

Michael B. friggin killed it!! okay enuff ranting....

I agree with LD,

I am tired of mass appeal fans pushing for purple rain and 1999.

I believe the artist has the right to do anything they want, however if we are asking what I would like to see... here goes.

Something like what Phish does. Where they rehearse about 180 songs, then do not repeat a song in a city and each night change the setlist. So if Prince played 3 nights at let's say MSG, he could not repeat a song.

I also think for encores it is fine to play "hits, however majority of the set should be an equal balance of obscure (ala No Light), deep cuts (lady Cabdriver), and new stuff like Colonized Mind.

I would ask him TO PLEASE STOP PLAYING COVERS LIVE. At a festival date or Superbowl it made sense to tie into relevance, but live at a Prince show no need.

It stands to reason that arena tours will be more hits oriented and geared toward mass appeal. He tends to play more fan-base friendly material in smaller venues, which is what I prefer. 2 or 3 covers is okay because Prince has to have fun too, but more than that sort of kills the Princey vibe that I love so much.

Lately he seems more inclined toward residencies and one off type shows so I'm not hopeful that he will tour with the new cd.

I hope I'm wrong because I'd like nothing more than for him to get his butt down here and rescue us from the hell that is dirty-south rap and reggaeton.

Ya hear that Princey? We're suffering here! Hows about an injection of real music to ease our pain?

Ps...bring Michael B and Sonny wit'cha please.
[Edited 4/5/09 10:07am]

skywalker said:

I totally agree, just balance it out
I think he plays too many of the same songs (called hits) even though there are many more (hits) he does play, and like you said the songs that are really popular but not technically (hits)

I don't think Sometimes It Snows In April is a (hit) but it is a fan favorite, this song should ONLY be performed in intimate settings at minimal shows and only if Sheila E Wendy Lisa is on stage

Uptown (is a hit) but he rarely played that after Controversy
17 Day is a (hit) but rarely played

For people to say they are tired of this hits doesn't make sense since he only plays a few (just happened to be the same ones)

lastdecember said:

Again...you are correct. That is if you were talking about an act who DOESN'T do after shows and routinely switches up the set-list for shows...But it so happens that that's what Prince does...

As far as U2 and Duran Duran, naming them is a bit misleading...U2 will be doing a stadium tour this year...So trust me when I tell you that they will be doing a majority of their "hits" along with newer songs....As for Duran Duran, I saw them on that last tour...It was in a small space that held around 3000 people (that was the average size of the tour btw)...When you are doing small spaces like that you can afford to play nothing but your new album or B-sides to all your singles...And you know why?....Because those 3000 people mostly made up of the loyalists who know those B-Sides/new songs like the back of their hand...

But when you are doing 15, 000- 25, 000 seat arenas or large stadium tours you have to do a balancing act...Because 10,000 to 5, 000 or so of those folks want to hear the "hits"...whether they are the chart-toppers or famous album cuts (like Purple Knight said, would a song like "DMSR" be considered a "hit"...or "Adore...")...

All this to say, it's not as easy as you make it out to be...
[Edited 4/5/09 10:12am]

Kim69 said:

You've seen four shows (not aftershows or clubs) and no Purple Rain? Sorry I find that hard to believe. I went to 10 Musicology shows and can't recall one w/out Purple Rain.

SUPRMAN said:

I have a feeling he's talking about the smaller venue shows...not the Musicology tour...

I agree. I have no intentions of going to a Prince concert to hear truncated hits which sound like their being performed by a really good, tight New Orleans Jazz band

I want a new direction and new material damnit.


I don't blame Prince for doing hits tours though. He should do them as they generate buzz. He can't just cater to long time fans. He needs to build his audience from time to time--especially in America where the average attention span of the pop listening audience is equal to the shelf-life of sushi.

SUPRMAN said:

My bad.....he did do Purple Rain at Musicology.....I totally forgot it....I remember now cause the whole arena had their hands in the air thing going on....I can't believe I forgot that, the most memorable songs for me was "Sometimes it snows in April" and "Diamonds and Pearls"

he has to do the hits. thats where his money is. A whole bunch of non hits would appeal to a small minority.

You guys have to understand that. The hits draw the crouds especially those stuck in the 80s.

I partially agree with this idea, but think also about fans that never had a chance to see Prince live even if they know perfectly every album! For sure i saw online many live versions of DMSR, or Get Off or 1999 but live is totally different!

The "hits" are like comfort food. They are equivalent to Mom's famous meatloaf! You had it so much as a kid.....but oh my goodness, you love to come home to it! Furthermore, when you bring your significant other "home", you can't wait to share your Ma's meatloaf!

Prince knows what he is doing and the "hits" will always be on the menu!
[Edited 4/5/09 20:41pm]

he better play some hits on any tour, or he's not going to be able to tour again, because no one will show up.

errant said:

Unless he releases another truly great album.
When i was a kid i wanted to see him in concert to see what those songs sounded live, i wanted to hear each and every song live.

Lately tho' you go to a show hoping he doesn't play anything from the last decade.
[Edited 4/5/09 21:08pm]

MaryTheTrashyCougar said:

90% of the people there are not going to know or want to hear the recent stuff, no matter how good it may hypothetically be, and they will remember that that's all he played the next time he tours. and they won't bother.

and why would they? everyone should get a chance to do the off-key "woooo-hoooo-hooohooo" singalong to Purple Rain. and if they don't, then they're going to be pissed.

hell, i've seen him several times, and *I* would be pissed

YES ! lets keep it obscure and current please.

errant said:

I disagree! Most of the Celebration gigs were very short on the hits, and those shows were very well-received.

Moonbeam said:

Celebration gigs! Who else is going to that mess other than a bunch of purple people eaters!

Of course they are well received, but my sister would not enjoy a whole nights worth of B sides. trust!

oh and Hi Moonbeam

Moonbeam said:

at Xenophobia in 2002? well, yeah but that wasn't a tour.

but the actual tour that year did have SEVERAL hit bones thrown to the casual fans.

salaciousV said:

Hey there!

The Purple People Eaters need to get some love too, sometimes.

It just depends on the type of tour he does. It wouldn't make sense to do a bunch of obscure stuff at an arena tour, but he could pull it off in a tour of smaller venues.

errant said:

Granted. But if he did a tour of smaller venues, shows akin to Xenophobia could work. It's never gonna happen, because it wouldn't be nearly as profitable, but I'd love it!

It's all about balance.

In the old days Prince seemed to get the balance right. Each tour used to
showcase a lot of new material from whatever the latest album was, mixed
with a sizeable chunk of hits, with several fan favs and unexpected tracks
thrown in. This is also what most successful acts try and do on the whole.

However, recently Prince seems to have lost sight of this this simple formula
for pleasing everyone, and either does 'hits' shows where he barely plays
more than a couple of songs from his latest album (plus several completely
unnecessary covers) or he does the opposite and plays no hits whatsoever.
Of course this is great for aftershows of quiet fan-club type gigs, but when it
comes to the big arena shows, he needs to get the balance back to how it used
to be IMO.

I personally love seeing Prince perform his older stuff whether it's the 'classics' or obscure tracks. I would love to see him tour with the setlist (changed to mix things up & include more new songs) that he did during his 3 gigs in LA recently....& with no sound issues of course!

If he tours, then it will be most likely a US tour and there's no way that he'd tour without the hits. They will always be there, some left out, but still, most of Purple Rain performed along with "Kiss" & "Cream". Touring is where the money's at for artists like Prince, so he's obviously trying to attract the people who never heard any music by him in the last 15 years. It's the way it is.