Been watching this perfromance quite a bit of late (Srewdriver, Bambi) and I believe this could be one of P's absolute finest moments when it comes to live TV - especially if you are a fan of his bad ass rock star side. Both songs are beautifully raw, technically breathtaking and Prince's swag is off the charts. For years we fantasized about Prince busting out Bambi live on TV - for me it was worth the wait. Before this my favourites were Fury(SNL), Shh (Grand Jornal) & Purple Rain (AMA & Arsenio)

It is really such a shame that these perfromaces are not out there for the public to appreciate - I surf live perfromances from the greats all the time and he really is at another level.

I agree 100%. I aved about it then, and have watched it about 20+ times. Incredible performance. I'm quite glad I DVRed it in HD.

Also, check out the lighting. It is perfect. Watch Prince's classic smooth half spin back at the very end of 'Screwdriver'.

Perfect.

Giovanni777 said:

I agree 100%. I aved about it then, and have watched it about 20+ times. Incredible performance. I'm quite glad I DVRed it in HD.

Also, check out the lighting. It is perfect. Watch Prince's classic smooth half spin back at the very end of 'Screwdriver'.

Perfect.

I agree on his half spin at the end of Screwdriver. So Rock Star. Prince has many little moves like that throughout the performance - especially in his handling of his guitar. Also like the little reverse lean with Donna right near the end of Bambi.

SpiritOtter said:

Screwdriver was good enough, to my mind. Bambi, on the other hand, was on a COMPLETELY different plane; truly, truly outstanding.

Yup. Amazing stuff. I remember secretly wishing that he would bust that out for the show and just about lost my gear when I heard him rip into those first familiar bars. After waiting to see/hear him play it live to the masses for so long, it was extremely gratifying

Again, WHY does he choose to not capture THAT guitar tone on tape? Live he sounds like a million dollars, in the studio in Musicology his lead guitar tone sounds like ass.

steakfinger said:

Again, WHY does he choose to not capture THAT guitar tone on tape? Live he sounds like a million dollars, in the studio in Musicology his lead guitar tone sounds like ass.

This is a good point, and as a guitarist and an audio guy I agree. Now I thought that 'Lotusflow3r' had some of the best overdriven/distorted guitar tones he's layed to tape, but that was an exception.

Besides guitar tones, I've noticed that his treatment of drum machines has been quite dry. With anything he's done with Linn sounds since he used them originally in the '80s, they've been painfully weak and dry. The programming is there, but the sound isn't nearly as big and bold as the '80s usage/treatment, which had EQing, gating, flanging, and radical mixing.

Sure, there have been a few notable songs where his current treatment of the Linn sounds worked well, but there have been plenty where I was left wondering why he didn't put that snare (or handclap, or tuned down sidestick) way up more in the mix.

For bass guitar, he primarily uses a fuzz and either an envelope filter or bass wah these days... when he chooses to have a bass guitar line on a song.

Some of the greatest guitarists in the rock world were in awe of that performance. Eric Ambel, for one. He couldn't quit raving about it.

Fallon was the one where he made the entire audience hang around while he checked the video of his performance to give it the ok for broadcast right? It'd want to be good after that.

edit: actually he probably always does that?

[Edited 10/8/13 7:47am]

2funkE said: