Of course today (June 7th) is Prince's birthday, but today is also the 30th anniversary of one of his best shows. The '84 Birthday Show at First Avenue was already legendary when the soundboard audio appeared a few years back, and that pristine recording just elevated the show's stature. A young musical genius hungry for success literally weeks away from global superstardom...there's an energy and quality to that show that is just unbelievable. Plus the introduction of Wendy and the premiere performance of "When Doves Cry" make this a classic.

Not to mention the setlist...That thumping version of "17 Days," the still-unreleased "Our Destiny/Roadhouse Garden," that chill-inducing re-working of "Something In The Water" (I always get goosbumps when he shrieks "Tell me baby, why the hell...why you wanna make me cry?"), and of course that rousing version of "When Doves Cry" and the energetic encore.

Happy 30th anniversary to a spectacular show! Oh, and happy birthday Prince.

Nice boot

favourite part of that show is noon rendevous

Amazing show and quality!

nursev said:

Love it...play it almost daily

I love it too, but, that wouldn't last if I played it daily.

NOTHING is good enough to listen to every day.

In my not-so-humble opinion, of course...

nursev said:

Love it...play it almost daily

renfield said:

The '84 Birthday Show at First Avenue was already legendary when the soundboard audio appeared

a few years back, and that pristine recording just elevated the show's stature.

Great show.. only wish there was a video of it out.

Bambi82 said:

Great show.. only wish there was a video of it out.

it was supposed to circulate years and years ago but never did

Lordy said:

Yeah - for me "Noon Rendezvous" is the standout. Gorgeous. One of the tune I HAD to learn on guitar. The start of "Erotic City" is super funky too. "Sitting in this café, waiting for my baby..."

Do you have the tab for it - would love to learn it.

I've heard a LOT of his shows from before till now, and this one is still #1 on my list followed by 8.1983 1st Avenue

luvsexy4all said:

Bambi82 said:

Great show.. only wish there was a video of it out.

it was supposed to circulate years and years ago but never did

Yeah, hopefully one day

OldFriends4Sale said:

I've heard a LOT of his shows from before till now, and this one is still #1 on my list followed by 8.1983 1st Avenue

8.3.83 is first for me. <3

Lordy said:

Yeah - for me "Noon Rendezvous" is the standout. Gorgeous. One of the tune I HAD to learn on guitar. The start of "Erotic City" is super funky too. "Sitting in this café, waiting for my baby..."

True true! I should've mentioned those two in the original post. But let's be honest, there's really not a bad moment in the entire show. Every song is a standout. Even the mistakes are charming, like the tempo adjustment at the beginning of "Noon Rendezvous" and the lyric flub at the top of "When Doves Cry" (where he started singing the chorus instead of the verse) that Prince covered by comedically berating the audience for not clapping.

Love, love, LOVE this show! What a boot!

nursev said:

Love it...play it almost daily

Bambi82 said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

I've heard a LOT of his shows from before till now, and this one is still #1 on my list followed by 8.1983 1st Avenue

8.3.83 is first for me. <3

Ramzoo said:

Bambi82 said:

8.3.83 is first for me. <3

Followed by the gig in 86' held at First Avenue. What about the concert at St Paul (the one with "Another Lonely Christmas")?

The 86 one would be the "Paul, punk of the month" one right? I do enjoy that one a lot but that particular moment kinda spoils it for me as it seems rather mean-spirited on Prince's part. The gig's also a bit rough and ready, as Prince acknowledges, so it's rather obvious that they haven't been rehearsing that long. I think this doesn't really work in the gig's favour as the Parade tour was quite a theatrical performance that must have taken a lot of work to get it en pointe. Still, it's great to hear stuff like the Dream Factory chant and Paisley Park get a live airing, so the gig's definately up there in terms of uniqueness.

renfield said:

Plus the introduction of Wendy

.

I hope you don't mean that this was Wendy's first gig with The Revolution -- that one happened almost a year earlier: http://www.princevault.co...gust,_1983 .

Bambi82 said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

I've heard a LOT of his shows from before till now, and this one is still #1 on my list followed by 8.1983 1st Avenue

8.3.83 is first for me. <3

June 7 '84 is awesome, though.

BartVanHemelen said:

renfield said:

Plus the introduction of Wendy

.

I hope you don't mean that this was Wendy's first gig with The Revolution -- that one happened almost a year earlier: http://www.princevault.co...gust,_1983 .

correct

and heard on Free & Iressistable Bitch (1982)

MrCrabtree said:

Lordy said:

Yeah - for me "Noon Rendezvous" is the standout. Gorgeous. One of the tune I HAD to learn on guitar. The start of "Erotic City" is super funky too. "Sitting in this café, waiting for my baby..."

Do you have the tab for it - would love to learn it.

Only have the chords for Noon Rendezvous...

.

Verse = F# / A#m / Bmaj7 – Bridge= Bm7 / C#m7 / F#.

.

(244322 / 113321 / 224342 // 224232 / 446454 / 244322)

.

...Love strumming this progression.

.

Check out http://prince.forum9.biz for other Princely tabs.

[Edited 6/12/14 9:42am]

Lordy said:

MrCrabtree said:

Do you have the tab for it - would love to learn it.

Only have the chords for Noon Rendezvous...

.

Verse = F# / A#m / Bmaj7 – Bridge= Bm7 / C#m7 / F#.

.

(244322 / 113321 / 224342 // 224232 / 446454 / 244322)

.

...Love strumming this progression.

.

Check out http://prince.forum9.biz for other Princely tabs.

[Edited 6/12/14 9:42am]

Cheers - thanks for the info - really appreciated.

Now lets pick up that guitar and jam.

BartVanHemelen said:

renfield said:

Plus the introduction of Wendy

.

I hope you don't mean that this was Wendy's first gig with The Revolution -- that one happened almost a year earlier: http://www.princevault.co...gust,_1983 .

Of course. But I like Prince's introduction of her here and the audience member who got it wrong when trying to jump in. "Check it, we got a new member to the band...""Lisa!" "Wrong. Wendy."

Fantastic Show full of lesser known at the time songs, and the unreleased ones.

He just nailed Something In The Water! My fave birthday show.

The rehearsal birthday concert put the actual birthday concert to shame! Prince did this 19 min version of "Noon Rendezvous" that was sooooo epic. Prince was on a whole new level that day! "Sitting in this cafe, waiting on my baby" so haunting.

Also the BEST version of "Something in the Water Does Not Compute"! That guitar solo was godly!