Just curious what everyone's thoughts were on the best show of the 02 run. Each of them had songs in common, but at the same time had little nuances that the others didn't.

methodcal said:

Just curious what everyone's thoughts were on the best show of the 02 run. Each of them had songs in common, but at the same time had little nuances that the others didn't.

Are you talking about from attending or listening to the boots? Because there aren't very many people who saw all 21 shows.

I saw 5 mains and 4 aftershows. Of those, I remember the 14th August being a favorite aftershow, and I think the 4th August was a great main. I might be getting those dates wrong, that's from the top of my head of the ones I saw. I forget which main show it was, but there was one I saw where he did the unreleased song "10,000 Kisses", and that was a great show.

As for the boots, I haven't listened to all of them. Only a handful of shows. But it's hard to say what's the best show, because from listening to the boots of the shows I saw, there was some stuff that sounded way better in person than listening back on the boot, and vice versa.

Militant said:

methodcal said:

Just curious what everyone's thoughts were on the best show of the 02 run. Each of them had songs in common, but at the same time had little nuances that the others didn't.

I forget which main show it was, but there was one I saw where he did the unreleased song "10,000 Kisses", and that was a great show.

1,000 hugs and kisses? 13th September. I remember because that was the one where I took my Mum as a thank you for several nights of baby sitting! Went to the aftershow too, was the night where he opened with Around The World In A Day and also played Beautiful Strange. Good night.

Did 12 main shows myself, not sure which one was the best for me, there were some crackers. 18th August stands out as being the worst, I seem to remember it being rather short. But there was an awesome afteshow so I soon forgave him.

I loved the first night. Went to the O2 with only aftershow tickets but turned up early and asked at thte box office if they had any main show tickets. Got an unsold VIP for £31.21 right near the front. This became something of a thing as I'd only bought advance tickets for 3 main shows, all the others were unsold VIP's bought on Ticketmaster on the day of the show. It was certainly handy being only a half hour drive from the O2.

But of all the nights, the 6th September will have to stand out as the most memorable and the most Important. The show was good and the aftershow was cool, it was the aftershow where Prince declared it, 'the summer that changed everything'. For me that was certainly true, it was tthe night I met my wife .

Sorry, I meant listening to the boots, but actually I would be interested to know both now that you've mentioned it.

TheEnglishGent said:

Militant said:

I forget which main show it was, but there was one I saw where he did the unreleased song "10,000 Kisses", and that was a great show.

1,000 hugs and kisses? 13th September. I remember because that was the one where I took my Mum as a thank you for several nights of baby sitting! Went to the aftershow too, was the night where he opened with Around The World In A Day and also played Beautiful Strange. Good night.

Did 12 main shows myself, not sure which one was the best for me, there were some crackers. 18th August stands out as being the worst, I seem to remember it being rather short. But there was an awesome afteshow so I soon forgave him.

I loved the first night. Went to the O2 with only aftershow tickets but turned up early and asked at thte box office if they had any main show tickets. Got an unsold VIP for £31.21 right near the front. This became something of a thing as I'd only bought advance tickets for 3 main shows, all the others were unsold VIP's bought on Ticketmaster on the day of the show. It was certainly handy being only a half hour drive from the O2.

But of all the nights, the 6th September will have to stand out as the most memorable and the most Important. The show was good and the aftershow was cool, it was the aftershow where Prince declared it, 'the summer that changed everything'. For me that was certainly true, it was tthe night I met my wife .

Brainfart. Of course I meant 1,000 Hugs & Kisses! Are you sure it was September? Could have sworn it was in August. Anyway, that was one of the shows I saw.

14th August was the night that stood out for me, as it was at that aftershow (after playing a blinding set that included "Empty Room" and "Partyman" with me right at the front) that I actually met Prince!

It was the same night where he opened the main show with "1999" after having not played it in several years. And that same night I found out that my then-wife in the US had just got her visa approved to move to the UK and was about to book her flight. Well, that ultimately didn't work out so well but it was good news at the time!!!!

Militant said:

TheEnglishGent said:

1,000 hugs and kisses? 13th September. I remember because that was the one where I took my Mum as a thank you for several nights of baby sitting! Went to the aftershow too, was the night where he opened with Around The World In A Day and also played Beautiful Strange. Good night.

Did 12 main shows myself, not sure which one was the best for me, there were some crackers. 18th August stands out as being the worst, I seem to remember it being rather short. But there was an awesome afteshow so I soon forgave him.

I loved the first night. Went to the O2 with only aftershow tickets but turned up early and asked at thte box office if they had any main show tickets. Got an unsold VIP for £31.21 right near the front. This became something of a thing as I'd only bought advance tickets for 3 main shows, all the others were unsold VIP's bought on Ticketmaster on the day of the show. It was certainly handy being only a half hour drive from the O2.

But of all the nights, the 6th September will have to stand out as the most memorable and the most Important. The show was good and the aftershow was cool, it was the aftershow where Prince declared it, 'the summer that changed everything'. For me that was certainly true, it was tthe night I met my wife .

Brainfart. Of course I meant 1,000 Hugs & Kisses! Are you sure it was September? Could have sworn it was in August. Anyway, that was one of the shows I saw.

14th August was the night that stood out for me, as it was at that aftershow (after playing a blinding set that included "Empty Room" and "Partyman" with me right at the front) that I actually met Prince!

It was the same night where he opened the main show with "1999" after having not played it in several years. And that same night I found out that my then-wife in the US had just got her visa approved to move to the UK and was about to book her flight. Well, that ultimately didn't work out so well but it was good news at the time!!!!

Okay, now you've probably told this story a million times since, and not being as frequent a visitor to the worlds of the org anymore, i've obviously missed this little tale.

I'm all ears - sock it to me!

Xibalba said:

Okay, now you've probably told this story a million times since, and not being as frequent a visitor to the worlds of the org anymore, i've obviously missed this little tale.

I'm all ears - sock it to me!

The layout of the indigo2 (where the aftershows were) is kinda strange. So there's the stage. Near to the stage there's a bar and a bathroom.

But if you've walked around the entire venue, you find that there's another bar and another bathroom on the other side that isn't immediately obvious. If you've not walked into that part you wouldn't really notice it was there.

So Prince finishes his show. People start moving towards the bathroom nearest the stage. My friend says he needs to go. I tell him "let's go round to the other one, there's less people".

So we do, and this whole area is basically empty.

Next to the door to the bathroom is another door. I'm standing by these doors, waiting for my friend to come back out. All of a sudden, the other door swings open..... and out walks Prince, and stands right next to me. I'm in shock, but manage to start telling him how much I enjoyed the show, and he thanks me and says he had fun - It all happened so fast that I don't remember the exact words, but that was the gist of it. I remember that he had a very distinct aura and he was really happy and smiling really widely. Obviously having a great deal of fun that night and probably also amused at my shock and awe.

All of a sudden, a big group of fans spotted that he had appeared in that section and a huge wall of people started coming towards us. At that point a security guy appeared from nowhere and whisked Prince away through another door.

After this is all finished, THEN my friend comes back out the bathroom to find me standing there with a stupid grin.

Militant said:

TheEnglishGent said:

1,000 hugs and kisses? 13th September. I remember because that was the one where I took my Mum as a thank you for several nights of baby sitting! Went to the aftershow too, was the night where he opened with Around The World In A Day and also played Beautiful Strange. Good night.

Did 12 main shows myself, not sure which one was the best for me, there were some crackers. 18th August stands out as being the worst, I seem to remember it being rather short. But there was an awesome afteshow so I soon forgave him.

I loved the first night. Went to the O2 with only aftershow tickets but turned up early and asked at thte box office if they had any main show tickets. Got an unsold VIP for £31.21 right near the front. This became something of a thing as I'd only bought advance tickets for 3 main shows, all the others were unsold VIP's bought on Ticketmaster on the day of the show. It was certainly handy being only a half hour drive from the O2.

But of all the nights, the 6th September will have to stand out as the most memorable and the most Important. The show was good and the aftershow was cool, it was the aftershow where Prince declared it, 'the summer that changed everything'. For me that was certainly true, it was tthe night I met my wife .

Brainfart. Of course I meant 1,000 Hugs & Kisses! Are you sure it was September? Could have sworn it was in August. Anyway, that was one of the shows I saw.

14th August was the night that stood out for me, as it was at that aftershow (after playing a blinding set that included "Empty Room" and "Partyman" with me right at the front) that I actually met Prince!

It was the same night where he opened the main show with "1999" after having not played it in several years. And that same night I found out that my then-wife in the US had just got her visa approved to move to the UK and was about to book her flight. Well, that ultimately didn't work out so well but it was good news at the time!!!!

Looks like I'm also having the brainfart. According to Princevault, 1000 hugs was played 31st August.

That 1999 opener was spectacular, so unexpected. Next to me was a girl from Germany who had flown over that day for the show, as 1999 started we both looked at each other in shock. Obviously whatever Prince says can't be taken to mean forever but at that point we both thought 1999 had been retired.

So many great memories. Awesome summer.

i went to 4 main shows and 2 aftershows...to me..the last night was the best because of the atmosphere..i went to the first and third shows as well...and got a front row seat for one of the shows halfway through the run which was a first for me...funnily enough...with that stage being high..you get a better experience being higher up than at the very front....the aftershows were a bit of a anti climax for me because he i didnt see him for the first one and the second one i went to..my girlfriend was with me and she was pregnant so i was on edge with people banging into us so left early....but the main shows were great..

I Some great stories that bring back memories of a great summer. I grew up near The Dome and when it opened I hated it and said to another Prince fan friend the only way you could get me to like it was if Prince played there... forward 7 years

I was lucky enough to do all 21 nights (aftershows included)

There are so many highlights from both main shows and aftershows.

But from the o2

2007.08.01 - The first night the atmosphere was electric, Live premieres of many songs and a great encore delivered to a half empty stadium

2007.08.07 - Opening a show with nothing more than a spotlight and a guitar for first 6 songs (so brave and bold but had everybodies attention)

2007.08.31 - 1000 Hugs & Kisses played live was an event enough but being one of the 5 people that screamed cause they recognised it was amazing, It was like having an echo locater for other die hards in the room (also I took my mum and brother this night and they insisted I buy them more tickets)

2007.09.06 - My 30th Birthday, The morning papers and Insatiable on Piano were just stunning

2007.09.12 - 1999 Piano Medley and the Superbowl medley, Also Satisifed with The Rules (the energy in the room was killer)

2007.09.13 - Got floor seats and watched Elton John and Prince jam (bliss)

2007.09.21 - An emotional end to the summer, I was happy I was sad I cried I danced there was purple raining glow sticks and extra encores... It was a fitting end to a legendary summer

There are so many more memories. Special mention to everybody in the London meetup group who met for Nandos in between the show and the Indigo every night..... I love you guys

[Edited 7/4/13 8:24am]

Militant said:

Xibalba said:

Okay, now you've probably told this story a million times since, and not being as frequent a visitor to the worlds of the org anymore, i've obviously missed this little tale.

I'm all ears - sock it to me!

The layout of the indigo2 (where the aftershows were) is kinda strange. So there's the stage. Near to the stage there's a bar and a bathroom.

But if you've walked around the entire venue, you find that there's another bar and another bathroom on the other side that isn't immediately obvious. If you've not walked into that part you wouldn't really notice it was there.

So Prince finishes his show. People start moving towards the bathroom nearest the stage. My friend says he needs to go. I tell him "let's go round to the other one, there's less people".

So we do, and this whole area is basically empty.

Next to the door to the bathroom is another door. I'm standing by these doors, waiting for my friend to come back out. All of a sudden, the other door swings open..... and out walks Prince, and stands right next to me. I'm in shock, but manage to start telling him how much I enjoyed the show, and he thanks me and says he had fun - It all happened so fast that I don't remember the exact words, but that was the gist of it. I remember that he had a very distinct aura and he was really happy and smiling really widely. Obviously having a great deal of fun that night and probably also amused at my shock and awe.

All of a sudden, a big group of fans spotted that he had appeared in that section and a huge wall of people started coming towards us. At that point a security guy appeared from nowhere and whisked Prince away through another door.

After this is all finished, THEN my friend comes back out the bathroom to find me standing there with a stupid grin.

That last part is absolutely brilliant. I hope you rib him mercilessly whenever it comes up

Xibalba said:

Militant said:

The layout of the indigo2 (where the aftershows were) is kinda strange. So there's the stage. Near to the stage there's a bar and a bathroom.

But if you've walked around the entire venue, you find that there's another bar and another bathroom on the other side that isn't immediately obvious. If you've not walked into that part you wouldn't really notice it was there.

So Prince finishes his show. People start moving towards the bathroom nearest the stage. My friend says he needs to go. I tell him "let's go round to the other one, there's less people".

So we do, and this whole area is basically empty.

Next to the door to the bathroom is another door. I'm standing by these doors, waiting for my friend to come back out. All of a sudden, the other door swings open..... and out walks Prince, and stands right next to me. I'm in shock, but manage to start telling him how much I enjoyed the show, and he thanks me and says he had fun - It all happened so fast that I don't remember the exact words, but that was the gist of it. I remember that he had a very distinct aura and he was really happy and smiling really widely. Obviously having a great deal of fun that night and probably also amused at my shock and awe.

All of a sudden, a big group of fans spotted that he had appeared in that section and a huge wall of people started coming towards us. At that point a security guy appeared from nowhere and whisked Prince away through another door.

After this is all finished, THEN my friend comes back out the bathroom to find me standing there with a stupid grin.

That last part is absolutely brilliant. I hope you rib him mercilessly whenever it comes up

I do. I tell him, you could have met Prince but you were too busy taking a piss

When he first came back out, he saw the look on my face and said "What's up?" and I said "I just met and talked to Prince!" and he said, "Yeah, bullshit"..... then I told him the whole story and he realised I wasn't kidding!!! So funny.

Militant said:

Xibalba said:

That last part is absolutely brilliant. I hope you rib him mercilessly whenever it comes up

I do. I tell him, you could have met Prince but you were too busy taking a piss

When he first came back out, he saw the look on my face and said "What's up?" and I said "I just met and talked to Prince!" and he said, "Yeah, bullshit"..... then I told him the whole story and he realised I wasn't kidding!!! So funny.

Brilliant.

Favourite main show - The last night.

Favourite aftershow - Sept 10th.