He needs much more variety in his shows, although I do appreciate the fact that he's still touring.

smoothcriminal12 said:

He needs much more variety in his shows, although I do appreciate the fact that he's still touring.

Ugh - here we go again! Someone has already listed the 150+ songs Prince has performed in the last 12 months and people are STILL saying "he needs more variety" - WTF are you talking about?

Is it really "he needs" - or is it "I need"?

What was the last show you attended?

And, given your avatar and name, ever checked out MJ's setlists? Let's take the HIStory tour as an example - loads of dates performed over the course of more than a year. Do you know how much he varied the setlist? NEVER! Same songs, night after night, for over a year, didn't even change the order in which they were played. Oh and, guess what? That was 96/97 and what songs still featured? Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'....Smooth Criminal....The Way You Make Me Feel....I Want You Back....Rock With You....Off The Wall..... Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough....Billie Jean....Thriller...Beat It........songs he'd been performing for nearly every damn tour anyway!

Dare I venture to suggest what you need? Some damn perspective!

Mindflux said:

smoothcriminal12 said:

He needs much more variety in his shows, although I do appreciate the fact that he's still touring.

Ugh - here we go again! Someone has already listed the 150+ songs Prince has performed in the last 12 months and people are STILL saying "he needs more variety" - WTF are you talking about?

Is it really "he needs" - or is it "I need"?

What was the last show you attended?

And, given your avatar and name, ever checked out MJ's setlists? Let's take the HIStory tour as an example - loads of dates performed over the course of more than a year. Do you know how much he varied the setlist? NEVER! Same songs, night after night, for over a year, didn't even change the order in which they were played. Oh and, guess what? That was 96/97 and what songs still featured? Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'....Smooth Criminal....The Way You Make Me Feel....I Want You Back....Rock With You....Off The Wall..... Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough....Billie Jean....Thriller...Beat It........songs he'd been performing for nearly every damn tour anyway!

Dare I venture to suggest what you need? Some damn perspective!

YES I AM A BIG MJ FAN

But yes this is so true. MJ is a great performer, he had something special but yes the shows were always the same each tour, same setlists and same moves, etc. I prefer the tours with his brothers and BAD tour over all other solo tours he did.

Prince has a lot of variety, been to all 3 NSJ gigs and they were all 3 completely different, different mood, songs, etc, etc.

No setlists are really the same, and no show is really the same. Yes he does repeat some songs over and over again YES, but which artist doesn't? A LOT. If not all of them.

So people please shut up with this bullshit, and go to other shows and concerts and you will see that there aren't a lot of artists/variety in setlists like Prince does. Been also to A LOT OF CONCERTS. And also to many artists more than once and I didn't saw much variety..

[Edited 7/20/11 9:27am]

ufoclub said:

TylerHippie said:

Let's be honest now. Every show he plays:

Delirious

1999

Little Red Corvette

Let's Go Crazy

Let's Work

Raspberry Beret

Cream

U Got The Look

Cool

Controversy

Kiss

If I Was Your Girlfriend

Nothing Compares 2 U

Purple Rain and a couple of covers.

He could easily take the first thirteen out and play something like:

I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man

Forever In My Life

All The Critics...

Lady Cab Driver

Private Joy

Batdance

Alphabet St.

I Wish U Heaven

Strange Relationship

The Ballad Of Dorothy Parker

Money Don't Matter 2 Night

When You Were Mine

How Come You Don't Call Me Anymore

7

Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad

I Wanna Be Your Lover

And I'm not trying to hear that "people wan't to hear hits" crap. Those songs was hits, to the Prince fan community and world.

I still love to listen to the shows, but I wan't something new. Prince is the greatest, but suprise us.

[Edited 7/8/11 22:58pm]

well out of your list, he used to always play Alphabet St, Strange Relationship, I could Never Take the Place of Your Man, The Ballad of Dorothy Parker, How Come U don't Call Me, 7, When You Were Mine.... in various tours/aftershows of the 2000's. So you should cut out those too.

Yeah, seriously like. The amount of complaining people used to do only 18 months ago about him always bleedin' playing 7.....

RodeoSchro said:

So. F-ing. What.

Go to the next Prince concert. Take a poll. Ask how many people are seeing Prince for the only time this tour. I predict your positive response rate will be upwards of 98%.

So, Prince is playing for 98%+ of the audience, who will only see him once.

You'd do the same.

So let's all quit bellyaching about it. Those who do are only showing their ignorance.

Not sure I agree with your 98% percent comment, but I do agree with what you're saying otherwise. He is playing for the masses who have not seen him live more than once or twice. Those of us that have been big fans for many years and have seen him perform many times would love to see a concert where he plays obscure songs. Maybe some day he will do this.

Empress said:

RodeoSchro said:

So. F-ing. What.

Go to the next Prince concert. Take a poll. Ask how many people are seeing Prince for the only time this tour. I predict your positive response rate will be upwards of 98%.

So, Prince is playing for 98%+ of the audience, who will only see him once.

You'd do the same.

So let's all quit bellyaching about it. Those who do are only showing their ignorance.

Not sure I agree with your 98% percent comment, but I do agree with what you're saying otherwise. He is playing for the masses who have not seen him live more than once or twice. Those of us that have been big fans for many years and have seen him perform many times would love to see a concert where he plays obscure songs. Maybe some day he will do this.

He did it at NSJ a few nights ago! Have you actually read this thread?

TylerHippie said:

Let's be honest now. Every show he plays:

Delirious

1999

Little Red Corvette

Let's Go Crazy

Let's Work

Raspberry Beret

Cream

U Got The Look

Cool

Controversy

Kiss

If I Was Your Girlfriend

Nothing Compares 2 U

Purple Rain and a couple of covers.

He could easily take the first thirteen out and play something like:

I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man

Forever In My Life

All The Critics...

Lady Cab Driver

Private Joy

Batdance

Alphabet St.

I Wish U Heaven

Strange Relationship

The Ballad Of Dorothy Parker

Money Don't Matter 2 Night

When You Were Mine

How Come You Don't Call Me Anymore

7

Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad

I Wanna Be Your Lover

And I'm not trying to hear that "people wan't to hear hits" crap. Those songs was hits, to the Prince fan community and world.

I still love to listen to the shows, but I wan't something new. Prince is the greatest, but suprise us.

[Edited 7/8/11 22:58pm]

I went to 13 Forum shows when he was in LA and one House of Blues show. I was never bored, and most of the time he always changed up the setlist slightly every night. I was happy to have the opportunity to see him so many times in such a short span of time. I've seen him over a hundred times, and sometimes it's the hits and sometimes it's not. However, when he's playing for such big audiences, he has to play what the casual fans know. If he's playing mid-size and smaller venues then he has more flexibilty to play more obscure songs. This is Prince's job and how he earns a living. We all do what he's doing everyday at work, so why should he be any different. I love watching Prince play, and depending on the venue I know what I'm mostly going to get song wise.

Mindflux said:

Empress said:

Not sure I agree with your 98% percent comment, but I do agree with what you're saying otherwise. He is playing for the masses who have not seen him live more than once or twice. Those of us that have been big fans for many years and have seen him perform many times would love to see a concert where he plays obscure songs. Maybe some day he will do this.

He did it at NSJ a few nights ago! Have you actually read this thread?

I don't have time to sift through pages and pages of a thread. I was simply commenting on what RodeoSchro said. I'm glad to hear he played some different songs the other night.

I have seen Prince live many times and have NEVER been bored at his concerts and I'm sure I never will as I love his music and believe he's a master musician.

[Edited 7/20/11 9:51am]

this is Prince >

and this is y'all jealous folk below

Mindflux said:

smoothcriminal12 said:

He needs much more variety in his shows, although I do appreciate the fact that he's still touring.

Ugh - here we go again! Someone has already listed the 150+ songs Prince has performed in the last 12 months and people are STILL saying "he needs more variety" - WTF are you talking about?

Is it really "he needs" - or is it "I need"?

What was the last show you attended?

And, given your avatar and name, ever checked out MJ's setlists? Let's take the HIStory tour as an example - loads of dates performed over the course of more than a year. Do you know how much he varied the setlist? NEVER! Same songs, night after night, for over a year, didn't even change the order in which they were played. Oh and, guess what? That was 96/97 and what songs still featured? Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'....Smooth Criminal....The Way You Make Me Feel....I Want You Back....Rock With You....Off The Wall..... Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough....Billie Jean....Thriller...Beat It........songs he'd been performing for nearly every damn tour anyway!

Dare I venture to suggest what you need? Some damn perspective!

Have I hit a nerve?

This is not an MJ thread, so get off it, and if it was, then both Michael and Prince needed more variety. This is about Prince. The 150+ has a bulk of songs that were only played once or crappy covers, variety is not there.

And just because Prince's shiz doesn't stink as much as Michael's doesn't mean that it still ain't shiz. It still smells bad no matter what. The fact that you had to resort to putting another artist down in a pathetic attempt to make Prince look good makes it look even worse. Prince should do good on his own without needing anyone else's help.

Dare I venture to suggest what you need? Some damn truth!

NelsonR said:

this is Prince >

and this is y'all jealous folk below

HAHAHAHA.

Like the picture from Prince with his fans on stage!

Mindflux said:

Empress said:

Not sure I agree with your 98% percent comment, but I do agree with what you're saying otherwise. He is playing for the masses who have not seen him live more than once or twice. Those of us that have been big fans for many years and have seen him perform many times would love to see a concert where he plays obscure songs. Maybe some day he will do this.

He did it at NSJ a few nights ago! Have you actually read this thread?

No one does!

They all wanna read what they want 2 read.

smoothcriminal12 said:

Mindflux said:

Ugh - here we go again! Someone has already listed the 150+ songs Prince has performed in the last 12 months and people are STILL saying "he needs more variety" - WTF are you talking about?

Is it really "he needs" - or is it "I need"?

What was the last show you attended?

And, given your avatar and name, ever checked out MJ's setlists? Let's take the HIStory tour as an example - loads of dates performed over the course of more than a year. Do you know how much he varied the setlist? NEVER! Same songs, night after night, for over a year, didn't even change the order in which they were played. Oh and, guess what? That was 96/97 and what songs still featured? Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'....Smooth Criminal....The Way You Make Me Feel....I Want You Back....Rock With You....Off The Wall..... Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough....Billie Jean....Thriller...Beat It........songs he'd been performing for nearly every damn tour anyway!

Dare I venture to suggest what you need? Some damn perspective!

Have I hit a nerve?

This is not an MJ thread, so get off it, and if it was, then both Michael and Prince needed more variety. This is about Prince. The 150+ has a bulk of songs that were only played once or crappy covers, variety is not there.

And just because Prince's shiz doesn't stink as much as Michael's doesn't mean that it still ain't shiz. It still smells bad no matter what. The fact that you had to resort to putting another artist down in a pathetic attempt to make Prince look good makes it look even worse. Prince should do good on his own without needing anyone else's help.

Dare I venture to suggest what you need? Some damn truth!

No, you didn't hit a nerve - you missed everything!

The thread doesn't have to be solely about MJ in order to mention him, so get over it. I used MJ as an example because you are obviously a fan, so I thought it might help you understand better. Clearly I was wrong. If you were a G'n'R fan, I'd have used them instead. Furthermore, I wasn't putting him down, I used him as a comparison. Seems to me that you're the one who's nerves have been hit!

Your comment about the 150+ songs claim is immature and naive in the extreme. Whether he played them once, twice, or a hundred times is irrelevant. They were still performed, they'd most likely been rehearsed and there are very few acts around that have that ability or motivation. Frank Zappa was one of those rarities who would perform wildly diverse setlists - but, again, he's one of very few and, of course, sadly he's not around anymore.

So, come on, give me some "truth" - name me any other artist out there who is playing with the kind of variety you seem to think is necessary (ie - more than 150 different songs performed in 12 months and, apparently, more than once is also a requirement, going by your rules). You've just said that 2 of the greatest live performers ever don't do enough, so I'm really looking forward to your answer - its going to have to be good!

[Edited 7/20/11 18:16pm]

I'll take that as a "I can't" then, smoothcriminal12

Mindflux said:

I'll take that as a "I can't" then, smoothcriminal12

Oh, sorry. I was gone for 5 days without internet access. But sure, you win.

TylerHippie said:

Let's be honest now. Every show he plays:

Delirious

1999

Little Red Corvette

Let's Go Crazy

Let's Work

Raspberry Beret

Cream

U Got The Look

Cool

Controversy

Kiss

If I Was Your Girlfriend

Nothing Compares 2 U

Purple Rain and a couple of covers.

He could easily take the first thirteen out and play something like:

I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man

Forever In My Life

All The Critics...

Lady Cab Driver

Private Joy

Batdance

Alphabet St.

I Wish U Heaven

Strange Relationship

The Ballad Of Dorothy Parker

Money Don't Matter 2 Night

When You Were Mine

How Come You Don't Call Me Anymore

7

Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad

I Wanna Be Your Lover

And I'm not trying to hear that "people wan't to hear hits" crap. Those songs was hits, to the Prince fan community and world.

I still love to listen to the shows, but I wan't something new. Prince is the greatest, but suprise us.

[Edited 7/8/11 22:58pm]

your right....when prince plays festivals and big shows...he shouldnt play his big hits....

.

when i go and see brian wilson live in glasgow for the first and probably last time...i dont want to hear any of his classics from the 60s....i want to hear his crap from the 1980s onwards...its only 50 quid a ticket...

.

have you not seen his setlists from the jazz shows he has played or most of his small venues...he plays all sorts of stuff...i really dont understand some prince fans...they must be the hardest group of fans to keep happy in the world...

.

i saw him at hop farm festival and his setlist was spot on ...full of big hits and the odd cover..perfect for the crowd he was playing to...lots of fair weather fans and people just there for the festival ....he blew them away with a great set....i would love to see another one nite alone type tour full of album tracks and lesser known stuff and i am sure he will do another one like that but lets give the guy a break...

.

.

blackbob said:

TylerHippie said:

Let's be honest now. Every show he plays:

Delirious

1999

Little Red Corvette

Let's Go Crazy

Let's Work

Raspberry Beret

Cream

U Got The Look

Cool

Controversy

Kiss

If I Was Your Girlfriend

Nothing Compares 2 U

Purple Rain and a couple of covers.

He could easily take the first thirteen out and play something like:

I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man

Forever In My Life

All The Critics...

Lady Cab Driver

Private Joy

Batdance

Alphabet St.

I Wish U Heaven

Strange Relationship

The Ballad Of Dorothy Parker

Money Don't Matter 2 Night

When You Were Mine

How Come You Don't Call Me Anymore

7

Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad

I Wanna Be Your Lover

And I'm not trying to hear that "people wan't to hear hits" crap. Those songs was hits, to the Prince fan community and world.

I still love to listen to the shows, but I wan't something new. Prince is the greatest, but suprise us.

[Edited 7/8/11 22:58pm]

your right....when prince plays festivals and big shows...he shouldnt play his big hits....

.

when i go and see brian wilson live in glasgow for the first and probably last time...i dont want to hear any of his classics from the 60s....i want to hear his crap from the 1980s onwards...its only 50 quid a ticket...

.

have you not seen his setlists from the jazz shows he has played or most of his small venues...he plays all sorts of stuff...i really dont understand some prince fans...they must be the hardest group of fans to keep happy in the world...

.

i saw him at hop farm festival and his setlist was spot on ...full of big hits and the odd cover..perfect for the crowd he was playing to...lots of fair weather fans and people just there for the festival ....he blew them away with a great set....i would love to see another one nite alone type tour full of album tracks and lesser known stuff and i am sure he will do another one like that but lets give the guy a break...

.

.

As I said, the songs I listed that he should play is just as popular as the ones he keeps playing. So why not play them. And I know he plays different songs at smaller places, but I would love it if he played those songs at bigger places.

TylerHippie said:

blackbob said:

your right....when prince plays festivals and big shows...he shouldnt play his big hits....

.

when i go and see brian wilson live in glasgow for the first and probably last time...i dont want to hear any of his classics from the 60s....i want to hear his crap from the 1980s onwards...its only 50 quid a ticket...

.

have you not seen his setlists from the jazz shows he has played or most of his small venues...he plays all sorts of stuff...i really dont understand some prince fans...they must be the hardest group of fans to keep happy in the world...

.

i saw him at hop farm festival and his setlist was spot on ...full of big hits and the odd cover..perfect for the crowd he was playing to...lots of fair weather fans and people just there for the festival ....he blew them away with a great set....i would love to see another one nite alone type tour full of album tracks and lesser known stuff and i am sure he will do another one like that but lets give the guy a break...

.

.

As I said, the songs I listed that he should play is just as popular as the ones he keeps playing. So why not play them. And I know he plays different songs at smaller places, but I would love it if he played those songs at bigger places.

I hate this thread but I just wanted to point out a few things from your setlists

1999 had about a 10 year absence from 2000-2010, it's good to hear it again.

LRC had the nice acoustic version during the Musicology shows but a full band version had been rarely played for a LONG time before that incredible version from Coachella.

Cool is a recent-ish addition

If I was Your Girlfriend hasn't been anywhere near as frequent as the other 'standards'

ICNTTPOYM has been played just as much.

All The Critics has been played quite often recently

Forever in My Life has been popping up

I don't think Lady Cab Driver or Private Joy have been played for 25 years plus (someone can correct if I'm wrong I'm sure) I like them but don't hold your breath

Batdance is trapped in 1989 and that's where it should stay

Some people would say Alphabet St had been overplayed and are glad for the break from it.

Strange Relationship, Money Don't Matter, When U Were Mine and HCYDCMA were all regular features on the ONA tour

7 was regular for Musicology tour

I think he's mixing it up better. Did you see the Melkweg setlist from last night?

* What's my Name

* The Balad of Dorothy Parker

* Beautiful Strange

* Guitar

* Kiss

* Chocolate

* Cool

* Mutiny

* When we're Dancing Close and Slow

* I like it There

* Bambi

* Colonized Mind

* Dear Mr. Man

* Funky jam. (Lyrics of what's my name... )

* Strange Relationship

* If I was Your Girlfriend

* Controversy

* Sexy Dancer

* Skin Tight

* Play that Funky Music

Amazing.

meanwhile u2 and sade do the same show everynight and they don't get critized for it.

Prince's setlist is Venue driven. (at least it seems that way 2 me)

TrueFunkSoldier2 said:

meanwhile u2 and sade do the same show everynight and they don't get critized for it.

I'm sure their die hard fans critize them...

And it's the fact that Prince has hundreds of good songs to perform.

Graycap23 said:

Prince's setlist is Venue driven. (at least it seems that way 2 me)

I wish it were MORE venue driven. So if he's playing a big show he actually plays a huge number of hits, not a good few hits, a few obscurities and a bunch of covers.

Similarly when he's playing a small show why feel the need to play ANY hits? He'll often break out Purple Rain and Kiss at a small show? Why?

If he axed the HUGE number of covers and actually played hits exclusively when at a big show and non-hits exclusively when at a club show I think it would go down a lot better.

I don't think he strikes the balance right and that's why people complain so much....

well that and the sampler set.

jaawwnn said:

Graycap23 said:

Prince's setlist is Venue driven. (at least it seems that way 2 me)

I wish it were MORE venue driven. So if he's playing a big show he actually plays a huge number of hits, not a good few hits, a few obscurities and a bunch of covers.

Similarly when he's playing a small show why feel the need to play ANY hits? He'll often break out Purple Rain and Kiss at a small show? Why?

If he axed the HUGE number of covers and actually played hits exclusively when at a big show and non-hits exclusively when at a club show I think it would go down a lot better.

I don't think he strikes the balance right and that's why people complain so much....

well that and the sampler set.

Seems to me the only people complaining are the same old orgers who listen to every fucking live boot going! Its little wonder then, eh?

I was at Hop Farm - hit after hit after hit, 3 or 4 covers and 1 obscurity (If you can call Let's Work an obscurity). Balance seemed perfect for that night.

When was your last live show? How was the "balance" then?

Mindflux said:

smoothcriminal12 said:

Have I hit a nerve?

This is not an MJ thread, so get off it, and if it was, then both Michael and Prince needed more variety. This is about Prince. The 150+ has a bulk of songs that were only played once or crappy covers, variety is not there.

And just because Prince's shiz doesn't stink as much as Michael's doesn't mean that it still ain't shiz. It still smells bad no matter what. The fact that you had to resort to putting another artist down in a pathetic attempt to make Prince look good makes it look even worse. Prince should do good on his own without needing anyone else's help.

Dare I venture to suggest what you need? Some damn truth!

No, you didn't hit a nerve - you missed everything!

The thread doesn't have to be solely about MJ in order to mention him, so get over it. I used MJ as an example because you are obviously a fan, so I thought it might help you understand better. Clearly I was wrong. If you were a G'n'R fan, I'd have used them instead. Furthermore, I wasn't putting him down, I used him as a comparison. Seems to me that you're the one who's nerves have been hit!

Your comment about the 150+ songs claim is immature and naive in the extreme. Whether he played them once, twice, or a hundred times is irrelevant. They were still performed, they'd most likely been rehearsed and there are very few acts around that have that ability or motivation. Frank Zappa was one of those rarities who would perform wildly diverse setlists - but, again, he's one of very few and, of course, sadly he's not around anymore.

So, come on, give me some "truth" - name me any other artist out there who is playing with the kind of variety you seem to think is necessary (ie - more than 150 different songs performed in 12 months and, apparently, more than once is also a requirement, going by your rules). You've just said that 2 of the greatest live performers ever don't do enough, so I'm really looking forward to your answer - its going to have to be good!

[Edited 7/20/11 18:16pm]

I can name someone...Tori Amos.

Wildly divergent setlists from night to night, usually only one or two "staples" that run throughout a respective tour, etc.

Not that the fact that someone else DOESN'T do this makes them any worse...just different ways of compiling setlists.

And of course, having never been to a Prince concert, when I do get the opportunity, I won't care what he plays...I'll just be happy to be there!

=0P

Mindflux said:

Seems to me the only people complaining are the same old orgers who listen to every fucking live boot going! Its little wonder then, eh?

I was at Hop Farm - hit after hit after hit, 3 or 4 covers and 1 obscurity (If you can call Let's Work an obscurity). Balance seemed perfect for that night.

When was your last live show? How was the "balance" then?

oh, arras. I liked it well enough, loved it in fact, but I could understand people complaining about the setlist, both hardcore fans and casual fans. I mean "I got too many hits, here's Peach"

But yeah, like I said earlier in the thread, people were whinging about 7 being played all the time only a year and a half ago and now we have someone starting a thread saying HE ALWAYS PLAYS THE SAME SONGS, WHY WON'T HE PLAY 7???

the man can't win.

Question remains though, does ANYONE besides him want to hear covers at his shows? 1 cover, sure, but not 5 or 6. If he dropped the covers I bet we'd see the reviews improve tenfold.

Unfortunately. He rationalizes it somehow. Bad Prince.

lol if he played mostly covers, there'll be complaints (hell check the ones right now), if he played all the hits (and just that), of course we get this thread... if he did "obscure songs", there'll be a thread or two complaining about THAT. If Prince sung by himself and didn't allow his background to lead on anything, someone would complain that he didn't use the singer like he did Shelby.

The world of the ORG lol