1981-Paris at Le Palace

1986 Paris After show at the "New Morning"

1986 Paris Parade Tour at "Le Zenith"

1988 London Love Sexy Tour - Wembley Arena

Lovesexy Tour November 11,1988 at the Oakland Coliseum (California).

The best concert I've ever seen.

mschirmer said:

ernestsewell said:

LOVE FUCKING SEXY tour, Los Angeles, November 1988. Rocked my MFing world.

Yeah, that was an absolutely incredible show. November 7th, 1988 I believe.

only a few days before I saw him in Oakland

blackbob said:

just wondering what was thee best prince concert you ever saw ?.....now i know some of you have seen dozens so it wont be easy...i have seen around a dozen starting with the lovesexy tour at wembley arena in london in 1988 up to the earth tour in the 02 arena in london in 2007.....the best show i ever saw........it has to be one nite alone tour at hammersmith apollo in london in 2002......amazing experience.....the soundcheck....the small venue.....the selection of songs he played and one moment i clearly remember.....him playing a scorching guitar solo on his cover of led zeppelins ' whole lotta love ' blew my f**kin head off.....i was out on my feet after that concert after six hours that i couldnt make it to the aftershow i was soo tired... ........lightweight........

.

well thats mine.......whats yours ?

.

.just to add....the one tour i would love to have seen but didnt.....the sign o the times tour 1987 ........had tickets for wembley stadium but it was ...of course...cancelled.....

Ha I went to the Lovesexy tour in 1988-it was bloody a mazing. It was the perfect combo of sheer brilliance but with humour. Adore, Bob George-he perfoemed PR stuff better . However I agree with you "The One Nite alone" Tour. I wept through chunks of this-I'd never heard him perform the Beautiful Ones live and I just wept. I was like a teenage girl-the atmosphere was amazing

langebleu said:

14 August, 1986

Wembley Arena, London

24 years ago - tomorrow.

That was my first Prince gig-I was 14. I remember him doing kiss and the lights bouncing of his diamante shoulder things on his leather jacket. However for a 14 yr old I think it was a bit too sophisticated for me. I loved it but I was expecting something far weirder-this was a proper musical review

unique said:

squirrelgrease said:

For me...

June 24, 2002 Xenophobia Celebration - Night 4

Holy shit... an acoustic set. I couldn't believe my eyes and ears. Sure, he played Empty Room later in the week, but this show stands out for me.

	Don't Play Me
	Whole Lotta Love [Led Zeppelin]
	7
	Tangerine
	A Case Of U [Joni Mitchell]
	Pink Cashmere
	One Kiss At A Time
	Alphabet St.
	Girls & Boys
	(Sometimes I Feel Like A) Motherless Child
	The Truth
	Guitar Playin' Man Jam
	The Other Side Of The Pillow
	She Loves Me 4 Me
	Peach
	It Ain't Over
	Wherever U Go, Whatever U Do
	Forever In My Life
	Last December
	Asswoop
	Strollin'
	Take The A Train [Billy Strayhorn]
	How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore
	Diamonds And Pearls
	The Beautiful Ones
	Free
	Starfish And Coffee
	Sometimes It Snows In April
	Eye Love U, But Eye Don't Trust U Anymore
	Jazz Jam
	Prince & The Band
	Xenophobia

i've seen prince too many times to count, i've seen him front row at huge gigs, front row at the tiniest of gigs, i've seen him rehearse, i've seen him soundcheck, main shows, aftershows, been onstage at shows, even at paisley, been in the studio with him at paisley, i've seen and heard pretty much every show he's ever done in his life, but when you have to boil it all right down, out of every gig he's ever done, there are a lot of great great shows, but there are a few that just stand out, and the accoustic night at paisley, his only ever accoustic show, ever, is right up there with the best of them. it's probably the best show he's ever done. you've all seen the infamous 3rd august 1983 first avenue show where he debuted purple rain to an unsuspecting crowd, well if that was the best gig, then the accoustic night at the celly was the second best gig, and thus the best gig i ever went to. starting off the show we had norah jones playing pretty much her first cd live, completely chilled out, before she was a star, she was impressing a bunch of people who didn't know who she was with a fantastic set, unbeknownst to her as a warm up for such an amazing night

it's was so fucking hot that week, and that night they laid out chairs for people to chill out on. out comes prince on his own, no band, just his accoustic guitar, and played the mtv unplugged set we'd been waiting on for years, but without tv cameras, and without 25 people standing behind him with bongos and forming a choir to back the sound. this is what unplugged should have been like, but instead of being in a tv studio filled with execs and competition winners, prince was surrounded by his most hardcore fans. he did a celly before, so most fans got the first chance to visit paisley then, the second time around didn't have quite the same level of excitment, it was way more laid back, it was far better than the first

the thing is, as squirrelgrease points out, ever night was amazing. one night was a rock night, where he did not only his rock numbers, but other tracks we knew in a rock and blues style. if the accoustic show was the best night, the rock night was the second best. and then the following night the AC broke down, sheila e played an instead of the planned piano solo night we got a laid back jazzy jam session before being taken to the movies, whilst wearing out pyjamas as it was pyjama party night

he can play empty room, get us onstage, have a karoeke session, hand me the mic, pull me onstage (and i mean pull in the literal sense, physically pull me onstage), play piano whilst i'm in the studio with him, rehearse tracks in front of me that he's never once played on stage to date, but just prince and the guitar in front of you with no band, no show either, just songs, prince and a guitar without the show, it was fucking amazing. what people saw during the ONA and musicology tours was nothing compared 2 that nite

Were you part of the NPG club thing. I sound like an obsessive but does meeting Prince on this level advance or worsen your experience of Prince the person and the music. I've always thought I don't (Obviously I'm lying to myself) to meet him just in case. P.S. you lucky bastard

squirrelgrease said:

Nice synopsis. I balked a bit at the price for tickets, but I'm so glad my wife talked me into popping for it. It really was a once in a lifetime experience and worth every single penny.

I agree! Those 7 shows during a hot Minneapolis summer were my favorites. It was amazing to be in Prince's house listening to him play. Doing that once would have been great. Doing it 7 nights in a row was mind-boggling. I still can't believe I got to experience that. I got to go with my best friend, who is also a hardcore fan, and we had a ball exploring not only Paisley Park, but also Minneapolis. Words can't express the feeling when he played the first few notes of "Empty Room," and you could hear EVERYONE in the crowd give a collective gasp! There was one afternoon we were sitting in one of the studios and they had some live music playing (it would later be released as the ONA live box set), and it hit me: We were in the room that SOTT was recorded, listening to unreleased Prince music! Where else on Planet Earth would anyone rather be? Then there was the night he took us on a "date," then Prince karaoke, one night I was up on the big screen before the show, maaaan, at the end of the week, I was amazed at what I had just witnessed.

unique said:

blackbob said:

cheers unique....you really are a follower of the pfunk of the highest honour...you must have spent a fortune on prince over the years...i remember going to minneapolis for the 2001 celebration and buying my airline ticket the day before i flew out....purely impulse..i remember it cost me a grand for the ticket and a weeks car hire....i didnt have anywhere booked to stay but i am glad i did it....so you were there as well ?.......i just didnt want to miss what was a once in a lifetime chance to get inside paisley park.....i wish i was at the acoustic set in 2002...i would have loved that....hoping to make paris party this year but i am going to lennon's 70th birthday celebration in the cavern club in october so see how the pennies look....need to get a scottish party sorted again......its been too long....cheers again....

i went 2 MPLS 5 years in a row in june, from the first celly to the 2004 mini celly type thing. the first celly was my first time outside the uk, i got my passport and i was going to stay with a couple of other scottish plans but they went ahead of me so i ended up going abroad for the first time without having a hotel booked. i remember i made the mistake of watching final destination the night before i flew, and thats the first movie that has the accident on the plane. so i was up at 5am online in the chatroom worried about everything and i was chatting to a girl who was also going but didn't have a hotel either and said we could share a room together. we never swapped details though...

so i went to MPLS and the first thing i did after getting through the sliding doors past customs was pick up a payphone and dial a cellphone number of an orger i'd chatted to for a few years who offered me a ride. he picked up almost instantly and said he would be there in 10 minutes. within 10 minutes i was outside and his pickup truck was there to greet me. he said he had another person to pickup from the other terminal, someone i knew...

so we drove to the terminal to meet two girls, one of which was the girl i was chatting with in the chatroom just a few hours earlier before i flew, who didn't have the hotel room either. so we went for a ride to find a hotel, found one at a cheap price near enough paisley and that was us set. i remember i went to the shopping mall across from the hotel and thinking it looked familiar. it wasn't until i got back home that i found out it looked familar like something out the movies because it was the mall that kevin smith shot mallrats in.

anyways we got on great, so we hooked up for the next two cellys. and on our first trip to paisley we arrived just before 8am with only a few people around, we videotaped the drive there and out arrival where a local tv station was filming and looking for people to interview. when he saw me with two girls and found out that a scottish guy hooked up with 2 girls from texas, well that was the perfect story for him, so within 10 minutes of arriving at paisley park i was on live tv being interviewed and asked to sing prince songs and dance! i remember jokingly saying that when i get to america everyone will know about it, and i was on live tv for 2 or 3 channels, on radio and on the front of the entertainment section of the star tribune. after leaving paisley we went to the mall to get some supplies and this woman came up to me and said "your the guy from scotland", she saw me on breakfast tv that morning. i hadn't been in the country 24 hours and people were recognising me from the telly. i was on the mpls equivilent of gmtv so people were waking up to watch that, particularly the fans going to paisley, so i was recognised a bit

what was cool was that i went to the tv station and they gave me a tape of all the footage they shot, without the ads and crap, so i have a great memento of my time

i went to mpls for a holiday in june 2003 when there wasn't a celly, he released NEWS online 1 track at a time when i was there and i thought he would do a secret gig but nothing happened so we went to a party at first avenue instead. there were rumours that prince was going to turn up for a secret show but it didn't happen. i think thats when i met bro jules who was late turning up and i talked my way into covering for him on the decks for a bit just as he turned up

in 2004 there were the 3 shows in st paul, i think 1 went on sale after the other, not 3 at once, so i didn't get tickets as it's expensive and a long way to go for 1 show. i remember i had just started a new guy at work a couple of months before and another temp guy was starting on the monday to help over the busy period. i had only literally said on the friday that i had no holiday plans and then got home and found the announcement of 3 aftershows at paisley after the st paul shows that were going on sale the next morning, with the shows starting the following wednesday. the next day i got all 3 aftershow tickets then managed to get pretty decent seats from ticketmaster for the main shows, all floor seats near the stage (it was in the round like the o2), and then i booked my flight, then called the chanhassen inn who remembered me from my voice (i'm probably the only scottish person who's stayed there) and i booked my room. and that was the entire trip booked in about an hour. so i went to work on the monday and told my collegues then my boss that i wasn't going to be in for the next week as i was flying to america the next day to see prince, and i left the 2 new guys in charge of my department whilst i was away for a week. i think the previous year i had booked a trip or two to the states one day and flew the next so i had a bit more confidence of doing this

but it's being flexible and able to go somewhere at the drop of a hat that works in favour of prince fans. in 98 i didn't have tickets for wembley or brixton until i got the invite to cafe de paris which i think was 8am on the monday with the show the following thursday, with wembley the day before and brixton the day after, and the fucking amazing hippodrome aftershow where he played the war, the show went on from 3am to 5am

and also TFI friday and the tube apocalyplse. i remember watching TFI friday which was a bit crap by then, and i turned the show off just before the end as some crap band was playing and i went online to the org chatroom and someone said chris evans just said prince is playing next week and i missed it. but due to meeting the right people at brixton academy who let me in at the front of the line cuz they knew i was at cafe de paris and wanted to know about it, i got my way on the guest list to TFI friday and the tube in newcastle. in fact at the tube i travelled from london with the guy who organised the guest list for the tube, and i was his plus 1. prince recorded his section in the afternoon, but the main show was broadcast live that evening with a very strict and limited guestlist, and we got to go to that (the other prince fans in the afternoon didnt). as we were there early in the day on the saturday we say most of the crew etc hanging about, we met beverley knight who wasn't famous then but the other guy knew she was a prince fan so we got talking to her about the night before and she was really nice. as we had been there earlier i think some of the crew thought we were working. i remember at the very end of the show i went looking for the bathroom and someone pointed me to the closest loo and i found out it was the backstage loo and robbie williams band were in there drinking champaigne from a bottle, contractulating me for a great show! i met them with robbie in the hotel bar beforehand, after we saw prince we found the hotel he and robbie etc were at by accident so went for a drink. i got a round in, which is hard to believe i know (being scottish) and when i put the drinks down there wasn't a seat for me, so i went to the next table to ask if the chair was free and they said nothing, then i looked properly and noticed i was just asking robbie for a chair, he musta presumed i wanted to sit at their table. so the band must have recognised me from that but not put 2 and 2 together and thought i was part of the crew as i'd been around all day. i'll tell you the story about meeting macca another time

hopefully you can make the paris party. i tried to arrange a scottish meetup for next weekend but as usually people say they will go and then cancel, so i had to cancel it

Good god how do you afford this Cosmopolitan Man

jcurley said:

unique said:

i've seen prince too many times to count, i've seen him front row at huge gigs, front row at the tiniest of gigs, i've seen him rehearse, i've seen him soundcheck, main shows, aftershows, been onstage at shows, even at paisley, been in the studio with him at paisley, i've seen and heard pretty much every show he's ever done in his life, but when you have to boil it all right down, out of every gig he's ever done, there are a lot of great great shows, but there are a few that just stand out, and the accoustic night at paisley, his only ever accoustic show, ever, is right up there with the best of them. it's probably the best show he's ever done. you've all seen the infamous 3rd august 1983 first avenue show where he debuted purple rain to an unsuspecting crowd, well if that was the best gig, then the accoustic night at the celly was the second best gig, and thus the best gig i ever went to. starting off the show we had norah jones playing pretty much her first cd live, completely chilled out, before she was a star, she was impressing a bunch of people who didn't know who she was with a fantastic set, unbeknownst to her as a warm up for such an amazing night

it's was so fucking hot that week, and that night they laid out chairs for people to chill out on. out comes prince on his own, no band, just his accoustic guitar, and played the mtv unplugged set we'd been waiting on for years, but without tv cameras, and without 25 people standing behind him with bongos and forming a choir to back the sound. this is what unplugged should have been like, but instead of being in a tv studio filled with execs and competition winners, prince was surrounded by his most hardcore fans. he did a celly before, so most fans got the first chance to visit paisley then, the second time around didn't have quite the same level of excitment, it was way more laid back, it was far better than the first

the thing is, as squirrelgrease points out, ever night was amazing. one night was a rock night, where he did not only his rock numbers, but other tracks we knew in a rock and blues style. if the accoustic show was the best night, the rock night was the second best. and then the following night the AC broke down, sheila e played an instead of the planned piano solo night we got a laid back jazzy jam session before being taken to the movies, whilst wearing out pyjamas as it was pyjama party night

he can play empty room, get us onstage, have a karoeke session, hand me the mic, pull me onstage (and i mean pull in the literal sense, physically pull me onstage), play piano whilst i'm in the studio with him, rehearse tracks in front of me that he's never once played on stage to date, but just prince and the guitar in front of you with no band, no show either, just songs, prince and a guitar without the show, it was fucking amazing. what people saw during the ONA and musicology tours was nothing compared 2 that nite

Were you part of the NPG club thing. I sound like an obsessive but does meeting Prince on this level advance or worsen your experience of Prince the person and the music. I've always thought I don't (Obviously I'm lying to myself) to meet him just in case. P.S. you lucky bastard

yeah i was a club member. you had to be to get access to new music each month (without worrying about trying to find it online to download). as a bonus we got to buy tickets for the cellys and tickets to other shows without paying booking fees, plus free entry to soundchecks and aftershows, so you easily saved more than what the club cost

it does change your perception of prince and other artists i suppose. i'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing. it makes you realise prince is a human being and you can touch and speak to him, and paisley park is a building, not some fantasy from a song lyric

you can sometimes tell the uninitated fans from the hardcore at prince gigs, as the hardcore fans have seen and done it all and aren't scared to speak to prince, yet the newbies get over excited and fall to peices and do stupid shit or don't know what to say. i have full confidence and no qualms about going up to prince and talking to him about something without stuttering or anything, whereas standing in a group of other fans at times, i've been pretty much the only person doing the talking and everyone else is shocked he is there. after the initial screams of "prince" they don't know what to say to engage conversation and get a response

and yes it cost a lot of money to do this, but the way i see it is i don't travel or take holidays normally, and when most people take holidays they like to do the things they enjoy the most. so when i go to see prince it's my holiday and i do what i like doing most, only i can't just do what i want to do at any time i want, i have to plan to fit around princes tour plans, and i'm one of the few that's glad he only plays the UK so often cuz i couldn't afford to see every show otherwise. it's not just the ticket price, but travelling, accomodation, food and drink and time off work. the cellys were one thing as it was centred around a week, but the o2 shows over 2 months was a financial killer. i was travelling up and down between shows each week so the travel costs were high. my bosses must have thought i was nuts, but after my first trip down i just pulled plectrums from my pocket to show how close i was to the action. unfortunately we couldn't take photos as evidence, but on the final night prince took a load of photos of the audience, so i know he has a great show of him standing onstage with his back to me so we are both in shot, but those shots didn't make the book

I think xenophobia2002 celebration is my No 1 ....

A tie between these 3:

- The 1987 Sign 'O' the Times concert in Utrecht (my 1st P concert, we sat in 20th row)

- All 4 Lovesexy 88 concerts I attended, especially the one in Dortmund which made it on Video Disc ( )

- ONA 2002 in 'The Point', Dublin a) for the possibility to join the soundcheck and b) for the aftershow @ Spirit

Hands down the Love4OneAnother show at the Tower Theater in Upper Darby, PA. Not only was it cool because I could walk there from my house, but he did Purple Rain very high up in the setlist (like the third or fourth song I believe) and then it segued into my favorite Prince song of all time...17 Days. I remember it catching me by surprise as it was the first show of the mini-tour and I had no idea what the setlist was going to be. Face Down and Mr. Happy also kicked ass!

Serious said:

eelco said:

having seen around 35 shows it's a close call between :

1) 20ten in Vienna, great performance with a really great Sheila E and an absolutely amazing setlist.(only pity was teh omission of Forever In My Life which would have made this an absolute standout show) The inclusion of the little child (elisa's daughter??) and the natural and relaxed behaviour of Prince made for a really nice performance. Also his thanking the crowd somehow came over as genuine instead of generic

2) ONA in Oberhause, including the soundcheck with the silly jokes (Ausfahrt anyone?) and the nice crowd interaction and even his discussion with fans about teh steep prices for the Rotterdam and Paris aftershows. Performance was also great, as any ONA show was

I am very sure she was just in the audience and Sheila picked her to come on stage. After the concert I saw here leave the area where the photographers usually are and she was looking around in the audience as if she was looking for her parents.

I agree about the thanking of the crowd .

actually I can confirm that the girl was from the audience because I know her or to be exact, I more know her parents, especially her father, he's a long time hardcore Prince fan from Linz, I didn't even know he was at the show... but then I spotted the girl in closeup on the video screen and said to myself I have a vague feeling that face looks somwhat familiar...

and now that I think about it ...I promised to send him those short iPhone clips I made with his daughther drumming and shaking Prince's hand, he was so happy cause noone of his buddies did catch that... but silly me I completely forgot about it... shame on me, I will send it this evening

and yes, this WAS my fave Prince concert so far (though there are only four to choose from SOTT, Nude, ActII, 20Ten)

and I also agree, his interaction with the audience seemed genuine, he REALLY enjoyed the evening a lot, I think this everytime I listen to the bootleg of the show

oh, and Hi Martina

[Edited 8/17/10 7:46am]

Dancelot said:

Serious said:

I am very sure she was just in the audience and Sheila picked her to come on stage. After the concert I saw here leave the area where the photographers usually are and she was looking around in the audience as if she was looking for her parents.

I agree about the thanking of the crowd .

actually I can confirm that the girl was from the audience because I know her or to be exact, I more know her parents, especially her father, he's a long time hardcore Prince fan from Linz, I didn't even know he was at the show... but then I spotted the girl in closeup on the video screen and said to myself I have a vague feeling that face looks somwhat familiar...

and now that I think about it ...I promised to send him those short iPhone clips I made with his daughther drumming and shaking Prince's hand, he was so happy cause noone of his buddies did catch that... but silly me I completely forgot about it... shame on me, I will send it this evening

and yes, this WAS my fave Prince concert so far (though there are only four to choose from SOTT, Nude, ActII, 20Ten)

and I also agree, his interaction with the audience seemed genuine, he REALLY enjoyed the evening a lot, I think this everytime I listen to the bootleg of the show

oh, and Hi Martina

[Edited 8/17/10 7:46am]

Hallo Markus !

It was really sweet how Sheila took care of the girl while she was on stage . It's good to know she's the daughter of a long time fan and I can imagine how happy she and her dad will be to get your footage!

xlr8r said:

that's a BIG FAT

Actually the first one I Saw - Lovesexy tour , Worcester Massachusetts, I saw the 2nd concert as well.

Particularly Blues in C ( I've I Had a Harem) (i can F__ u up with 1 note), many cuts from Sign of times, ie adore, If I was .. Girlfriend , U got the look, Anna Stesia (organ) - Awesome.

Next is a Musicology concert in Boston. Massachusetts. The band was so tight, Maceo , Candy, John Blackwell , etc amazing band. Party time!

ernestsewell said:

LOVE FUCKING SEXY tour, Los Angeles, November 1988. Rocked my MFing world.

Mine too..I was at the same show!...did we bump into each other...or just bump.

blackbob said:

just wondering what was thee best prince concert you ever saw ?.....now i know some of you have seen dozens so it wont be easy...i have seen around a dozen starting with the lovesexy tour at wembley arena in london in 1988 up to the earth tour in the 02 arena in london in 2007.....the best show i ever saw........it has to be one nite alone tour at hammersmith apollo in london in 2002......amazing experience.....the soundcheck....the small venue.....the selection of songs he played and one moment i clearly remember.....him playing a scorching guitar solo on his cover of led zeppelins ' whole lotta love ' blew my f**kin head off.....i was out on my feet after that concert after six hours that i couldnt make it to the aftershow i was soo tired... ........lightweight........

.

well thats mine.......whats yours ?

.

.just to add....the one tour i would love to have seen but didnt.....the sign o the times tour 1987 ........had tickets for wembley stadium but it was ...of course...cancelled.....

I thought SOT tour was to be at Blenehim Palace-its where I had my ticket. I remember being so depressed when it was cancelled