This topic of course, has been discussed several times on here, but what is your favorite Prince era and have you any mementos that you've saved for the sake of memories? I was going through some things today and found that I had saved quite a few items, from a few Prince concert eras. I have old concert tix from the Musicology, 3121 and Planet Earth eras to the evening concert at the Gansevoort in NYC., and others.

I came across some other items that I didn't realize I had, like some concert tix from the early part of the 3121 era, when Prince was promoting Tamar; 2tix from the Empire Vegas club in Las Vegas, to the 3121 pins, buttons, coffee cup, and the gold tag from the Golden tix contest that came with the purchase of the 3121 cd. Also have 3 1/2 guitar picks from different concerts, and other items. These are all for memories sake of course, and never to be sold to anyone, but just to share those experiences with younger relatives of mine and other Prince fans.

I'm sure many of you have your favorite Prince eras and a few items you've kept for the sake of sharing those concert experiences, but what was your favorite Prince era? Mine was attending a few Purple Rain concerts, the Lovesexy concerts, Musicology, and my most favorite was the 3121 era. 3121 being my most favorite, because of being able to see Prince perform in a smaller venue for the first time, because I had never seen him perform in a smaller venue, prior to that. Now although the first time was actually at the Nokia theatre in NYC, when he was promoting Tamar, and he was her backup guitartist, the best time was at the Empire Club in Vegas during the Memorial Day weekend in 2006.

It was cool to see him connect with fans, in a smaller venue, and the energy in that club that weekend was off the chain. Met some cool Prince fans back then. I think it is cool when you get to see one of the most well-known and respected musicians perform in a smaller venue, in comparison to an arena. At a smaller venue, the musician(s)/artist(s) gets to absorb and connect with the vibe of the audience in a more, intimate environment vs an arena.


It's not all the time, you get to see one of the most, popular and dynamic musicians/artist perform at a smaller venue or an arena for that matter. One of the artists, I regret never seeing perform live, was the late Michael Jackson. Earlier, within the same year MJ passed, and he had announced a world tour, I put it on my bucket list that I would attend his concert, if he performed in NYC, but unfortunately, that didn't happen due to his death. Both MJ and Prince were musicians whose music I practically grew up on, and during the mid 80s, were the most, well-known, dynamic artists and performers, whose music and performances, made an impact on music lovers, world-wide. So as I reminisce about all the Prince concerts I attended, and the many Prince fans I met and exchanged concert experiences with, I'm happy that I was at least able to witness one of the 2 greatest musicians/artists in the world perform live in both an arena and smaller venues, and have the memories to share. Guess I'm just having one of those purple moments today folks, and no, this has nothing to do with drinking purple koolaid, , as I am not about that at all, just appreciating the many opportunities and experiences of attending quite a few, live Prince concerts over the years, and having fun memories of it. Feel free to add your concert experience(s), and I hope we can keep this thread in a positive light.



'ell to well' edit

[Edited 9/8/13 17:16pm]

Gotta be last night of the 21 night stand at the O2....main show 8.30 to 11.10, aftershow 1.30 to 4.30ish. It was the sort of night with Prince I use to dream about when I boogied round my bedroom with my headphones on and my Prince bootlegs turned up loud!!

Fave era...'81 to '85, funky, raw, and played with the sort of urgency only a musician working to prove himself has. As with all artists, once they make it that sort of do-or-die drive disappears a bit.

DaveT said:

Gotta be last night of the 21 night stand at the O2....main show 8.30 to 11.10, aftershow 1.30 to 4.30ish. It was the sort of night with Prince I use to dream about when I boogied round my bedroom with my headphones on and my Prince bootlegs turned up loud!!

Fave era...'81 to '85, funky, raw, and played with the sort of urgency only a musician working to prove himself has. As with all artists, once they make it that sort of do-or-die drive disappears a bit.

Cool! @@bolded part of your post. That part of your post reminds me of a scene in a Tom Cruise movie, where Tom's character was dancing in front of the mirror pretending to be a singer, during one of those moments when you think no one is looking at you..

2elijah said:

DaveT said:

Gotta be last night of the 21 night stand at the O2....main show 8.30 to 11.10, aftershow 1.30 to 4.30ish. It was the sort of night with Prince I use to dream about when I boogied round my bedroom with my headphones on and my Prince bootlegs turned up loud!!

Fave era...'81 to '85, funky, raw, and played with the sort of urgency only a musician working to prove himself has. As with all artists, once they make it that sort of do-or-die drive disappears a bit.

Cool! @@bolded part of your post. That part of your post reminds me of a scene in a Tom Cruise movie, where Tom's character was dancing in front of the mirror pretending to be a singer, during one of those moments when you think no one is looking at you..

I had LOADS of those moments! And some when folks were looking to, embarrasingly When I was a kid listening to Prince I always pictured myself in a small club with Prince and the band on stage, in the early hours of the morning, the rest of the world in bed, a tightly packed friendly crowd dancing and singing, me a few feet from the stage watching the man at work...and that's exactly what that last aftershow was....when I walked back to my hotel at 5am it was a "I can now die a happy man" moment.

DaveT said:

2elijah said:

Cool! @@bolded part of your post. That part of your post reminds me of a scene in a Tom Cruise movie, where Tom's character was dancing in front of the mirror pretending to be a singer, during one of those moments when you think no one is looking at you..

I had LOADS of those moments! And some when folks were looking to, embarrasingly When I was a kid listening to Prince I always pictured myself in a small club with Prince and the band on stage, in the early hours of the morning, the rest of the world in bed, a tightly packed friendly crowd dancing and singing, me a few feet from the stage watching the man at work...and that's exactly what that last aftershow was....when I walked back to my hotel at 5am it was a "I can now die a happy man" moment.

..and you can cross that off your bucket list now.

SuperSoulFighter said:

For me it was the Melkweg in Amsterdam two years ago. Everything was right on that day. I found out in time (that's important!) atmosphere was great, the show was all about Prince, not Shelby or Andy (like the night before) and he played everything a diehard fan wanted to hear. Wonderful!

That's cool you paid your money to see what you want, and you got what you wanted, so that will always be good memories for you, all in the name of 'different strokes for different folks', which I respect. But you know, when I think about all the associated artists, whose names many fans have become familiar with, on the basis that he showcased their talent, while on stage performing with him, whether any of those artists'/musicians' talents became fan favorites or not, I somehow never had a problem with any well-known artist/musician, taking time out from being the main feature of their show, and sharing the talents of some of their band members, as well as, introducing new artists to their audience.

For example, most recently, the talents of Tamar, Andy Allo, Prince's back-up singers-Liv, Shelby J, and Elisa, the music skills of the current npg horn players, keyboard player-Cassandra, also the talent of bass player-Andrew Gouché. Now he is showcasing the talents of one portion of his current bands-3rdeye girl-Donna, Ida and Hanna as one group. Not to mention, how he exposed the talents of longtime band members, who shared the stage with him for a period of time, whose names have become familiar and favorites of many of his fans, i.e., Wendy, Lisa, Sheila E, Cat, Bobby Z, Morris Hayes, John Blackwell, just to name a few. They could have all just stood in the background, but he gave them an opportunity to showcase their talents while on stage with him, even though he is the 'main' artist/musician fans pay to see.

I find with today's, fast-paced technology, and the methods used in how music is distributed to/and purchased by the consumers, that it is much more difficult today, for new and younger musicians/artists, to make a living off their craft, unless their talents stand out from the rest or someone whose name is already 'out there,' so-to-speak, recognizes the talents of some of the new artists and lend a hand in introducing that talent to the rest of the world.

[Edited 9/9/13 6:03am]

SuperSoulFighter said:

^Sure! I don't mind Shelby taking over for a song or two or Larry joining in for a Sly Stone jam, but when you stand in line all day to see Prince in a small club...you go to see HIM and nobody else!

@ bolded part. Not necessarily so because at the end of the day, no one forces any fan to stand on line all day, (no matter how dedicated a fan they are), and believing because they did that, it will be a private concert designed just for them, with their imagined expectations of no other band member, allowed to perform on stage with Prince or Prince doing an entire solo act, just because the show is at a smaller venue.

The reality is, if a concert of any artist/musician, is advertised for the general public to attend, and not advertised as a private concert based and designed on one fan's expectations, then it is probably best to approach these shows with an open mind, and the result of the performance, will be based on each individual's experience of it.

Just to add, when other artists or band members are given the opportunity to perform on stage with a well-known artist, you'd be surprised at how many fans that band member/independent artist/invited established or new artist will gain from that opportunity. At the City Winery shows, when Liv and Shelby J performed, there were people there who weren't familiar with them, but after the show, was amazed by their performance and showed interest in their sound/music. Even when Alice Smith was an invited guest. Two people walked up to me, when they heard me and a friend, discussing all the singers' performances, and they asked me how did I hear of Alice Smith and who she was. I told them I bought tracks from her previous album almost 5 to 6 years ago, and that she has a new album out, They told me they were amazed by her performance, and would look out for her music. So even though you may not like it, when your favorite artist/musician, unselfishly showcase the talent of their band members/or invited guests during small, venue shows, it's cool when they are given the opportunity to do shine their talent on the same stage, as that well known artist/musician, and gain fans from it as well.

[Edited 9/9/13 10:02am]

I still think the Musicolgy shows were the best I've ever seen him. It was the right mix of showmanship, funk, rock, hits, lesser known numbers, jams and featured a really, really tight band. Putting the show in the round gave everyone a great sight line of sight, combined with monitors above the stage. The acoustic set was legendary and a welcome change of pace from the "watch me fuck this piano, sing falsetto and make girls scream" ballad interludes of shows past, and was something he's never really featured in a big show.

*

I've seen the Purple Rain, Lovesexy, Hit & Run and One Nite Alone shows, along with 3 or 4 aftershows, and they were all great in thier own way, but Musicology never dragged and managed to combine a sense of intimacy even in a 16,000 seat venue. the sound quality was great. We got a free CD. I saw one show in Jacksonville, FL and one in Philly and they were both great. the only compaint I'd have is the same one I have for all of Prince's big shows: he doesn't change up the set list enough and most of them are the same. I still maintain that no true music lover ever appreciates Prince until they catch an aftershow

*

god dammit, org. Why are there no paragraph breaks on this site anymore?

herb4 said:

I still think the Musicolgy shows were the best I've ever seen him. It was the right mix of showmanship, funk, rock, hits, lesser known numbers, jams and featured a really, really tight band. Putting the show in the round gave everyone a great sight line of sight, combined with monitors above the stage. The acoustic set was legendary and a welcome change of pace from the "watch me fuck this piano, sing falsetto and make girls scream" ballad interludes of shows past, and was something he's never really featured in a big show.

*

I've seen the Purple Rain, Lovesexy, Hit & Run and One Nite Alone shows, along with 3 or 4 aftershows, and they were all great in thier own way, but Musicology never dragged and managed to combine a sense of intimacy even in a 16,000 seat venue. the sound quality was great. We got a free CD. I saw one show in Jacksonville, FL and one in Philly and they were both great. the only compaint I'd have is the same one I have for all of Prince's big shows: he doesn't change up the set list enough and most of them are the same. I still maintain that no true music lover ever appreciates Prince until they catch an aftershow

*

god dammit, org. Why are there no paragraph breaks on this site anymore?

I hear you. I enjoyed two back-to-back Musicology shows at MSG in NYC, and loved the combination of Rhonda and Candy Dulfer as part of those shows, Plus I was a returning fan after more than a 10-12 year absence, during that time. That was a great concert. (Off-topic: In order to make paragraphs, hold down the shift key and space bar at the same time, and then hit the 'enter' key.

DaveT said:

Gotta be last night of the 21 night stand at the O2....

That string of shows was indeed 'different'.

The 'aftershow' was cool...

2elijah said:

herb4 said:

I still think the Musicolgy shows were the best I've ever seen him. It was the right mix of showmanship, funk, rock, hits, lesser known numbers, jams and featured a really, really tight band. Putting the show in the round gave everyone a great sight line of sight, combined with monitors above the stage. The acoustic set was legendary and a welcome change of pace from the "watch me fuck this piano, sing falsetto and make girls scream" ballad interludes of shows past, and was something he's never really featured in a big show.

*

I've seen the Purple Rain, Lovesexy, Hit & Run and One Nite Alone shows, along with 3 or 4 aftershows, and they were all great in thier own way, but Musicology never dragged and managed to combine a sense of intimacy even in a 16,000 seat venue. the sound quality was great. We got a free CD. I saw one show in Jacksonville, FL and one in Philly and they were both great. the only compaint I'd have is the same one I have for all of Prince's big shows: he doesn't change up the set list enough and most of them are the same. I still maintain that no true music lover ever appreciates Prince until they catch an aftershow

*

god dammit, org. Why are there no paragraph breaks on this site anymore?

(Off-topic: In order to make paragraphs, hold down the shift key and space bar at the same time, and then hit the 'enter' key.

Thank you, sir. Let's try it then.

*
*

*holds shift, space and enter*

blah blah blah
nope.

*

*

Didn't work. Welcome to the only message board on the internet where hitting "return" twice doesn't break a paragraph. As if we don't have enough issues around here with an artist hardly anyone cares about anymore, a board no one posts on and messages full of L33T speak and virtually unreadable smart phone posts that no one who reads books can decipher.

*

*

Thanks for trying anyway. Guess I'll stick to the asterisks.

*ASTERISK*

**

*

*

I'm with you about Musicology, and thanks for the second there. Prince seemed happy and...I dunno...loose or playful during that tour. He promoted it, was doing interviews and specials and Leno and all this other shit that it just seemed to break right, like the perfect storm. The die-hards got what they wanted ("SHHH", "The ? of U", "DMSR", "SOTT", "The One", "I Feel 4 U", "Let's Work"); lesser known hits but still really good ones, the ones who came to hear the hits got what they wanted ("Let's Go Crazy", "Kiss", "Purple Rain", "When Doves Cry", "Beautiful Ones", "Cream"), there was a nice mix of new stuff ("Musicology", "Life O' the Party") and then the ones who wanted something fresh and intimate got the acoustic sort of "Storytellers" set that mixed in some of the hits as well as some covers.

***

**

*

I loved, loved loved that he did the interlude with an acoustic guitar other than a piano for once. He bantered with the audience a bit, played a few covers and seemed somehow content in his cemented legend. No medleys. There were entire songs for the most part. He brought people on stage. He seemed like person instead of this unappraoachable, weird, reclusive icon he'd built himself into and somehow struck the perfect balance, for once, between his mystique, his musicianship, his legend, his band, his die hard fans, the newcomers, and the ones who'd only heard to "go see PRINCE before you die".

****

*

Took my Mom to that concert. She was 57.

*ASTERISK*

****

*

She wants to see him again (She's 66 yesterday) and she fits the definition of what I'm talking about perfectly. That's a fine band, set list and an artist at the top of his fucking game that can satisfy a die hard like ME and also my 54 year old momma, if you catch what I mean.

[Edited 9/9/13 12:23pm]

[Edited 9/9/13 12:24pm]

SuperSoulFighter said:

A final word to 2elijah, because I really think we don't disagree that much:I think it's fine when a superstar allows his band members a chance to share the spotlight. Nothing wrong there. But... When an artist as famous as Prince announces a small club show then yes, he DOES force his fans to stand in line all day because otherwise they won't get in! Especially when admission is cash only at the door! And he knows that too! Still no problem, I had a great time chatting with old friend and new ones. And he rewarded us with a great show.

(@bolded part) Ok, I get your point, my apologies if I missed that in your earlier post. I can agree that if it's a 'cash only' situation, it can force fans to line up early, in the hopes of gaining entry into the venue. I have to be honest though, a show in a small venue, for any artist, famous or not, doesn't guarantee, that the main artist will not allow some of the band members or invited guest musicians to perform in either a solo segment or duet with them, during the show. Often times, when the main artist takes breaks, their musicians/backup singers will perform, until the main artist returns to the stage, but like I said, different strokes for different folks.

herb4 said:

2elijah said:

(Off-topic: In order to make paragraphs, hold down the shift key and space bar at the same time, and then hit the 'enter' key.

Thank you, sir. Let's try it then.

*
*

*holds shift, space and enter*

blah blah blah
nope.

*

*

Didn't work. Welcome to the only message board on the internet where hitting "return" twice doesn't break a paragraph. As if we don't have enough issues around here with an artist hardly anyone cares about anymore, a board no one posts on and messages full of L33T speak and virtually unreadable smart phone posts that no one who reads books can decipher.

*

*

Thanks for trying anyway. Guess I'll stick to the asterisks.

*ASTERISK*

**

*

*

I'm with you about Musicology, and thanks for the second there. Prince seemed happy and...I dunno...loose or playful during that tour. He promoted it, was doing interviews and specials and Leno and all this other shit that it just seemed to break right, like the perfect storm. The die-hards got what they wanted ("SHHH", "The ? of U", "DMSR", "SOTT", "The One", "I Feel 4 U", "Let's Work"); lesser known hits but still really good ones, the ones who came to hear the hits got what they wanted ("Let's Go Crazy", "Kiss", "Purple Rain", "When Doves Cry", "Beautiful Ones", "Cream"), there was a nice mix of new stuff ("Musicology", "Life O' the Party") and then the ones who wanted something fresh and intimate got the acoustic sort of "Storytellers" set that mixed in some of the hits as well as some covers.

***

**

*

I loved, loved loved that he did the interlude with an acoustic guitar other than a piano for once. He bantered with the audience a bit, played a few covers and seemed somehow content in his cemented legend. No medleys. There were entire songs for the most part. He brought people on stage. He seemed like person instead of this unappraoachable, weird, reclusive icon he'd built himself into and somehow struck the perfect balance, for once, between his mystique, his musicianship, his legend, his band, his die hard fans, the newcomers, and the ones who'd only heard to "go see PRINCE before you die".

****

*

Took my Mom to that concert. She was 57.

*ASTERISK*

****

*

She wants to see him again (She's 66 yesterday) and she fits the definition of what I'm talking about perfectly. That's a fine band, set list and an artist at the top of his fucking game that can satisfy a die hard like ME and also my 54 year old momma, if you catch what I mean.

[Edited 9/9/13 12:23pm]

[Edited 9/9/13 12:24pm]

Oh herb, I'm a female by the way, and cool story about your concert experience, thanks for sharing. I'm sure your mom had a great time.

On another note, as far as dealing with the paragraph break issues on this site, you have to hold down the shift key, spacebar at the same time, and hit the enter/return key quickly. I have no idea why it's taking more than 4 months for them to get that fixed.

[Edited 9/9/13 13:50pm]

The 'Gold' tour was kinda cool because he never re-did the 'less hits' thing.

1998 was interesting because of two tours in Europe, kinda 'old' aftershow policy in effect.

The concept of the ONA tour was good.

The O2 exprience was cool.

I've had incredible experiences over the years...

I think my favorite show was ONA in NYC... including the aftershow at The World in Times Square. NPGMC allowed us to attend soundcheck; we had excellent seats and had the time of our lives... I didn't appreciate The Rainbow Children until I heard the songs live.

Attending approx. 15 concerts, nothing can beat the 1986 - 1988 era. The Parade, SOTT and Lovesexy tours are the best he did. Unfortunately he never went to Europe with the Purple Rain tour.

udo said:

The 'Gold' tour was kinda cool because he never re-did the 'less hits' thing.

Yes he did. "One Nite Alone". Biggest hit played there was "Raspberry Beret" and the only other tunes that came close to "hits" were "Strange Relationship" and "Anna Stesia".

chocolate1 said:

I've had incredible experiences over the years...

I think my favorite show was ONA in NYC... including the aftershow at The World in Times Square. NPGMC allowed us to attend soundcheck; we had excellent seats and had the time of our lives... I didn't appreciate The Rainbow Children until I heard the songs live.

Cool! The ONA tour was a concert I missed. I believe I had just returned to living in NYC at the time.

GeurtWalraven said:

Attending approx. 15 concerts, nothing can beat the 1986 - 1988 era. The Parade, SOTT and Lovesexy tours are the best he did. Unfortunately he never went to Europe with the Purple Rain tour.

If I had to compare, the Purple Rain and Musicology Tours were more focused on the music, less dramatics/storytelling involved, whereas the Lovesexy tour, Sign of the Times movie, and Purple Rain movie, were more theatrical, centered around a story w/the music, But like I said in another thread, Prince pretty much held the crown as the 'Twerkmaster' back then, during the 'Darling Nikki' scene in the Purple Rain movie and throughout part of the Lovesexy tour.

[Edited 9/12/13 3:52am]

Thing is I wasn't "there" during the classic years (I discovered P in 89) so even thiough I've tripped on these albums 4 years, it's not quite the same when u live it as it happens or retroactively. So in the end I'd tend to say the Gold years (94-95) and the plastic years (96-2001). I was still quite young and very enthusiastic, and listening to Prince more intensively than later, and these albums and events in P's career were really kind of the soundtrack of my life, and I remember having such a ball living my life with Come, TGE, Emancipation, Newpower Soul, Crystal Ball, Rave, Come 2 My House and the High/Peace/TCI/Slaughterhouse tracks from NPGMC always playing in the background, giving me energy and positive vibes every day, and a definitive spiritual guidance and ego boost thanks to the songs' lyrics

This happened later as well: my personnal life was totally in phase with the spirit of most of the albums ever since 2001, I remember for example how crazy I've been for 6 months about Lotusflow3r/Mplsound/Elixer, how these tracks just fitted perfectly with my life at this point, but globally I got a bit older and I started listening to more and more other things, leaving less space for Prince because days are only 24 hours, and also it was more an album per album thing that would last for a few months after each release than a continuous flow as it was before. So yeah, in the end my favorite era is probably 94-2001, mostly the plastic years. Don't sue me

databank said:

Thing is I wasn't "there" during the classic years (I discovered P in 89) so even thiough I've tripped on these albums 4 years, it's not quite the same when u live it as it happens or retroactively. So in the end I'd tend to say the Gold years (94-95) and the plastic years (96-2001). I was still quite young and very enthusiastic, and listening to Prince more intensively than later, and these albums and events in P's career were really kind of the soundtrack of my life, and I remember having such a ball living my life with Come, TGE, Emancipation, Newpower Soul, Crystal Ball, Rave, Come 2 My House and the High/Peace/TCI/Slaughterhouse tracks from NPGMC always playing in the background, giving me energy and positive vibes every day, and a definitive spiritual guidance and ego boost thanks to the songs' lyrics

This happened later as well: my personnal life was totally in phase with the spirit of most of the albums ever since 2001, I remember for example how crazy I've been for 6 months about Lotusflow3r/Mplsound/Elixer, how these tracks just fitted perfectly with my life at this point, but globally I got a bit older and I started listening to more and more other things, leaving less space for Prince because days are only 24 hours, and also it was more an album per album thing that would last for a few months after each release than a continuous flow as it was before. So yeah, in the end my favorite era is probably 94-2001, mostly the plastic years. Don't sue me

Thanks for sharing. Interesting that so many fans have stated his music was sort of a soundtrack for their lives or how some of his songs reflected a time or event in their lives. I was exposed to so many different sounds of music during the 80s, that there was so much to enjoy at the time, so I couldn't really just focus on one musician's/artist's music, because of the variety of music that was flowing during the 80s from funk, minneapolis sound, new wave/british invasion, you name it, it was there.

I remember during the Purple Rain era, when many musicians/artists were trying to duplicate Prince's look, sound/music, hairstyle to his clothes. I used to think that group 'Ready for the World' was part of his associate bands, because when they made that song 'Oh Sheila', a lot of people thought it was written by Prince or that it was 'The Time' singing it. I kind of missed out on Prince's 90s music, so not familiar with a lot of his songs from that era. Life was busy for me then, so sought of dropped off from being a fan from the 90s until 2004, when the Musicology Tour started. I do like a few songs from the Lotusflower album, and especially the 3121 album, because I attended quite a few concerts during that time period. So for me the Purple Rain era, Musicology, 3121, and Welcome2America (NYC), were the best Prince eras, even though I still listen/purchase some of the tracks he has released for sale recently.

[Edited 9/14/13 16:07pm]

My favorite concert expereince was the 2002 ONA show in Lakeland, Florida. I was 2nd row, right in front of Prince's mic (and the woman in front of me was extremely short, so it felt like 1st row). The soundcheck included "Empty Room" and "Paisley Park" and blew my mind away completely.

Then during the main show, I got to sing into his mic during "How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore" .. you know the part, when he said, "Make a white man wanna sing up in here" (or something like that) and I belted out "CALLLL ME!" in my best (ahem) falsetto. The crowd cheered and Prince gave me a stink face and said "I'm scared o' you."

Not only my favorite Prince experience, but one of the best moments of my life!

PERSONAL
My daughter singing with Prince twice on the Musicology tour
Me singing with him on the Tamar tour
Band signing tambourines and a cymbol for my daughter at the Musicology tour

FAVORITE CONCERTS
Purple Rain, where I took the son of a friend of mine and got to watch his mind get blown
Lovesexy, first Prince concert with my wife. She tried to not like it but just couldn't help herself, LOL
ONA, got to sit third-row center with my son and watch incredible musicianship
Musicology, including watching the first concert at a movie theater and getting the CD on the way out
Tamar tour, the guitar work was just incredible. It was so good that I almost quit playing guitar because I knew I'd never get within 100 miles of where Prince was

.

[Edited 9/15/13 10:33am]

Hmmm, it's gotta be the night a few of us actually met Prince at the soundcheck in Vegas right before a wonderful show.

Also being in the Superbowl Halftime show even though I got soaked and fractured my knee...i'd do it again in a heartbeat.

And the 777 shows in Mpls, three in one day...kickass aftershow!

Yes, I agree Musicology.

I've been going to his shows since 1981 and

seen almost all the tours that came to the Bay Area,

but Musicology was different: He was "SO HAPPY" and it really made a difference overall.

I was at the first Musicolgy show at the (I believe) Lawlor Convention Center in Reno and the crowd cheered him so immensely that his joy was marked by his tears.

WOW, I'll never forget it. So good, I went to the following shows in Oakland and San Jose,

all of them great, But the Reno show was really special...

Thanks Orgers for sharing all your memories!

2elijah said:

This topic of course, has been discussed several times on here, but what is your favorite Prince era and have you any mementos that you've saved for the sake of memories? I was going through some things today and found that I had saved quite a few items, from a few Prince concert eras. I have old concert tix from the Musicology, 3121 and Planet Earth eras to the evening concert at the Gansevoort in NYC., and others.

I came across some other items that I didn't realize I had, like some concert tix from the early part of the 3121 era, when Prince was promoting Tamar; 2tix from the Empire Vegas club in Las Vegas, to the 3121 pins, buttons, coffee cup, and the gold tag from the Golden tix contest that came with the purchase of the 3121 cd. Also have 3 1/2 guitar picks from different concerts, and other items. These are all for memories sake of course, and never to be sold to anyone, but just to share those experiences with younger relatives of mine and other Prince fans.

I'm sure many of you have your favorite Prince eras and a few items you've kept for the sake of sharing those concert experiences, but what was your favorite Prince era? Mine was attending a few Purple Rain concerts, the Lovesexy concerts, Musicology, and my most favorite was the 3121 era. 3121 being my most favorite, because of being able to see Prince perform in a smaller venue for the first time, because I had never seen him perform in a smaller venue, prior to that. Now although the first time was actually at the Nokia theatre in NYC, when he was promoting Tamar, and he was her backup guitartist, the best time was at the Empire Club in Vegas during the Memorial Day weekend in 2006.

It was cool to see him connect with fans, in a smaller venue, and the energy in that club that weekend was off the chain. Met some cool Prince fans back then. I think it is cool when you get to see one of the most well-known and respected musicians perform in a smaller venue, in comparison to an arena. At a smaller venue, the musician(s)/artist(s) gets to absorb and connect with the vibe of the audience in a more, intimate environment vs an arena.


It's not all the time, you get to see one of the most, popular and dynamic musicians/artist perform at a smaller venue or an arena for that matter. One of the artists, I regret never seeing perform live, was the late Michael Jackson. Earlier, within the same year MJ passed, and he had announced a world tour, I put it on my bucket list that I would attend his concert, if he performed in NYC, but unfortunately, that didn't happen due to his death. Both MJ and Prince were musicians whose music I practically grew up on, and during the mid 80s, were the most, well-known, dynamic artists and performers, whose music and performances, made an impact on music lovers, world-wide. So as I reminisce about all the Prince concerts I attended, and the many Prince fans I met and exchanged concert experiences with, I'm happy that I was at least able to witness one of the 2 greatest musicians/artists in the world perform live in both an arena and smaller venues, and have the memories to share. Guess I'm just having one of those purple moments today folks, and no, this has nothing to do with drinking purple koolaid, , as I am not about that at all, just appreciating the many opportunities and experiences of attending quite a few, live Prince concerts over the years, and having fun memories of it. Feel free to add your concert experience(s), and I hope we can keep this thread in a positive light.



'ell to well' edit

[Edited 9/8/13 17:16pm]