You do realise you have almost quoted verbatim from the NPGMC recordings. It's almost like you are dead inside and only spout the most recent rant that appears relevent in this context. | |
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I definitely wouldn't. I don't think I'll ever get tired of the hits when they're being played live with energy, which brings me to my next point. DITCH THE FUCKING SAMPLER!!! At a Prince concert I expect him to be with a band of world class musicians playing everything live. I thought Prince has always preached the 'real music, real musicians' nonsense? A 20 minutes section of the set would like to word with you P I got two sides... and they're both friends. | |
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Well if I do have to discuss this 'til the cows come home, like all the way from India, there is only so much of a time window and only so much recordings. I for one liked it when Ida and Donna got together to even begin to play Hot Thing. And I am sure it is not based on some lesbian fantasy, more a "can you play this bass just a little downtuned".
Ah, Hot Thing. The thinking man's opposite of loud. We've all witnessed with our own ears how amplitude bends tone upwards due to a wave function of frequency enhanced by amplitude, and the off key bass of Hot Thing really did set the tone for all the later drug experiences that demand off centre tone experiences.
It's almost like Prince is testing both his band and his audience by getting people to play along with drum machine and synth sequences. Essentially the entirety of Sign O The Times.
You'll be telling us I Wanna Be Your Lover wasn't recorded next to a metronome next. | |
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I agree with DJJ, Funkomatic......and Mrsquirrel's ramblings like that of a drugged horse.
You see, to me, Prince still has it in him to push his new art, he has the fire inside of him to perform a challenging set and have it succeed because it is in him. He has not retired to a hits/oldies act (yet) and, as already said, doing so is a sign of a dead artist. He should not dumb himself down for the sake of folks trying to re-live their youth or folks trying to pigeonhole him. This is why Prince should retire the hits for awhile and get back on this music game for real. The february shows were hugely successful due to the refreshing nature of them. No hits, new band, fresh artist.....and what did he get? Fresh fans and a fresh outlook from critics. [Edited 5/24/14 6:18am] This Post is produced, arranged, composed and performed by WetDream | |
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Burnout? I became a fan in 2007 have only seen him live 6 times and i'm 27. I just don't think it is cool for him, or right for him to be belittling himself with constant hits. I want him to challenge me. When i went to my first Prince concert, i couldn't of cared less about the hits, i wanted to hear some crazy jamming, b-sides, new song, etc. This Post is produced, arranged, composed and performed by WetDream | |
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Saw Robert Cray band yesterday.
And the audiance cheered when he started "Right next door".
99% of my posts are ironic. Maybe this post sides with the other 1%. | |
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The thing is he doesn'thave to fully retire the hits.. Just reduce the perentage of stage time that they take up. I think 70% non hits and 30% hits would be a decent mix. Of course the general public will whinge, but thats all people seem to do these days anyway, so what ? Just bill it as 'Prince playing tracks from his new album' and its all covered, hardcore fans will tolerate a few hits when the majority of the setlist pleases them, but obviously generic fans would demand refunds from a show like that as in 1995.. He really should just do two nights in every city, one hits show, one show for the hardcore. Then everyone would be happy. Hard to believe I've been on the org for over 25 years now! | |
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The two nights thing is great. I know which one i'd be going to. ....But drastically reducing hit time is also a start. Forget the moaning ones....and to be fair, i don't think many would moan these days as back in 1995, he had a hostile image complete with "eff you!" attitude. The complaints during the One Night Alone Tour were also born from a unique circumstance. Prince was outright criticising fans that had turned up to "get their Purple Rain on".
Quite a few hitless shows of recent years, peaking at the UK's Feb shows have proven he can succeed without the hits and kick off like a new artist again. I thought that's where we were going from Feb's buzz....
Get this as a subject on the next Peach & Black!
DJJ, yeah, i agree....when done with pure passion, the audience will not mind....as proven. This Post is produced, arranged, composed and performed by WetDream | |
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i would like him to actually play the hits the way they were when they became hits .. this medley sampler set piano tease crap is so fucking stupid and he has been doing it for decades .. would it really be so hard to play his best songs the right way? the way they were when they were good? | |
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The word ''hits'' speaks for itself. The songs that were hits and made him famous. So yes, he actually is committed to play the ''hits'', when playing Arena's. If it was for me he only played songs up to 1995 (The Gold Experience). Im an old-school fan. After 1995, i have no connection at all with his music, although the ''ONA'' tour is one of his best. I have to say, there's a lot more to choose from than ''Raspberry Beret'' or ''Take Me With U'', or ''Kiss''. He has a huge catlogue of songs, and still the same songs comes along. And why cover-songs? Im attending a Prince concert, , so not interested in songs from other artists. Instead he could play something ''surprising'' from his own catalogue.
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So, if I feel dissapointed, I only got myself to blame. I promised myself to not do stadiums anymore, so if don't keep my own promise, it's on me. And I'll remember it next time.
Maybe it will just be a confirmation of why I should not go to stadiumconcerts. Or maybe I get into it, and will dance my ass off on the hits. 99% of my posts are ironic. Maybe this post sides with the other 1%. | |
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Don't think there have been more rarer material with 3EG than say the NPG in 2011/12 European tours. But people seem to give 3EG a pass for some reason. The wooh is on the one! | |
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why would you not play the hits? Mainly because those hits are banging tunes! | |
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Verdict: 99% of my posts are ironic. Maybe this post sides with the other 1%. | |
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Well, the merch has all new songs written on it
And for me, it was definitely awesome to hear all these songs in the setlist in Birmingham.
More smaller venue shows with focus on newer material would be cool, but the arena shows are cool too.
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I enjoy the drastically reworked hits but the sampler set bores me. Either play the songs properly or not at all. | |
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. Prince played hits in February. | |
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. Do you feel that away about all legendary artists touring or just Prince? . Count yourself lucky to see Prince playing hits (some of them the best versions he's ever done, or versions like we've never heard before AND he's playing some of the most balanced set lists he's done in ages) while he can. . It pays the bills, and makes people happy. How is that belittling himself? If you think that, then maybe you think Prince isn't standing by that era of material? . Stay with him long enough and he will do the shows that make the trainspotters wet themselves too. He's capable of tossing in a rare bit now and again at any show, for the hardcore fans but he's not touring for people like yourself, the cult base, and I think that realization might be what's at stake here. You are a fan of a pop artist, if you want to be challenged, there are plenty of challenging artists out there to learn about. The era you find interesting wasn't some artistic wild period he went through, you realize, right? . Also, doing small club shows, playing obscure songs, he's not making new fans like you alluded to, by doing that. If you didn't count yourself a Prince fan at the start of the week, you're not going to instantly become one when they announce a last minute show and you've got to spontaneously run to see it. The US club shows weren't easy or affordable to get in to like the UK shows. Wait, weren't the smaller UK shows problematic too? I will say the people in attendance left happy, and it may have made some fans into even bigger fans (maybe that's what you meant?). For stadiums though, I find it baffling you wouldn't want to hear the monumental classic songs that the majority of the arena audiences love. | |
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This Post is produced, arranged, composed and performed by WetDream | |
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See bolded text in quote. This Post is produced, arranged, composed and performed by WetDream | |
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This Post is produced, arranged, composed and performed by WetDream | |
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As far as preference, I'm happy to get both, like we have done this year! Small venue, non-hits shows in Feb for the fans, arena shows in May for everyone! See, I went to the small venue shows with hardcore fans like myself and orgers, and more casual friends and family to the arenas, which is nice, because you're not just preaching to the choir! Most of the people at the small venues know damn well how amazing Prince is, the people at the arenas largely don't, so a mix of hits with some new songs thrown in too, to show off his incredible musicianship is the right way to play it. Like I said in the other thread, the version of "Nothing Compares 2 U" he did at the second show was absolutely mindblowing. Any casual fan would have been absolutely astounded at that, and because it's a song they know, it has huge impact. |
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Yes, i agree, this makes perfect sense logically. But still, for me, i just don't think he should be doing these Arenas for a bit. He came straight off a fresh perspective and then back to 70% hits (granted, some are with fresh arrangements)....i think, as i have hammered on about, he should get out there and become fresh again, like he did a few months ago. I understand that taking family along who may not understand Prince would be better with some hits....but, i don't think i would take the hits in that circumstance either! I would love to take my fam who would be expecting an oldies act, ready to embarrasingly sing along to 1999, but to have Prince go shitting mental with his band and jam the entire set with the occasional rare track and new song. Then i'd walk out with them like...."that's what Prince is all about....he's still fresh. Still artistically driven"....and it'll be likely that the fam would come out going "wow, didn't know he was that good of a musician!".
Still, changing up a lot of the hits to fit in some jams and extra vamps is a great move. [Edited 5/26/14 10:54am] This Post is produced, arranged, composed and performed by WetDream | |
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He also pulled out Bambi and that kind of thing, and played more 3rd Eye material. But the majority of the show was hits. Purple Rain, When doves Cry, Rasberry Beret, etc. | |
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Raspberry Beret was not played at Shepherd's Bush.
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Who said anything about age? Why should any artist pretend they don't have 30 years of classic hits and reject his catalog? Would James Brown fans have wanted him to ever stop playing "It's a Man's world" or "Good Foot"? . What would Prince get artistically from playing a live show of new album cuts that he doesn't get from reworking old songs? You want him out there trying to shine shoes, hustling to promote new albums, for new fans. Let the man breath. You find the classic filled set lists boring, then that's on you. Trying to argue what's really best for Prince or Prince fans is silly, because most of the arena crowd that pays for Prince to be Prince just want to hear Kiss, and PR. To them Housequake is a deep cut. . Rainbow Children was a wild artistic period, without a doubt...FOR Prince. Follow what I'm saying? That someone at that point in his career would release Digital Garden is an artistic statement, and challenging to his audience, because he's a pop-soul artist, and in that case, he incoporated some gospel blues jazz stuff into an experimental context. Don't mistake that for thinking you're listening to Merzbow. You're not listening to challenging music, unless by challenging you mean, boring to the average listener or freaky for a pop audience. When The Beatles put out Revolution N.9 it wasn't just artistic or challenging because it was on a Beatles record. See the difference? . . Prince "growing and evolving"? Sorry, but he's currently playing with a Rock n' Roll band, singing songs about Rock n' Roll, and frankly, he'd be no more growing or evolving if he's playing songs off Sign of the Times, or songs off Rainbow Children. This is just about our individual preferences. | |
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. Is this set list accurate, and helpful to jog the memory? http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/prince/2014/o2-shepherds-bush-empire-london-england-23c51833.html . He still did the sampler and piano sections, is the point. He apparently played hits. . He played Raspberry Beret at the next date. | |
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I agree. I love Raspberry Beret and his other popular songs. I guess I feel that he should be able to do both. He is an artist that has so much talent that it is unreal. | |
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Yes, it's accurate. I don't need my memory jogged - I remember that entire day vividly. It was the best gig I have ever been to.
What the setlist doesn't tell you, however, is that the sampler and piano sections combined took up not much more than 30 minutes of a 2.5 hour show. And in the other 2 hours that he performed, it was 90% not hits.
The arena shows are hits show. The February shows were not.
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. I respectfully disagree. He played hits that night in February, and he played hits during the February tour. If the OP is asking about retiring the hits, these are not examples. They are however examples of how a balanced set mixing it up works nicely. While not an arena, Shephard's Bush Empire isn't a club show either. [Edited 5/26/14 20:36pm] [Edited 5/26/14 20:37pm] | |
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