Anyone else sort of bothered by Prince's frequent "instructions" during shows these days? Turn up the lights! Turn this mic up. Turn the guitar up! In the middle of Purple Rain... he pauses to ask: so, did you have a good time tonight? You don't hear such comments during shows from Prince's heyday. Prince had a great crew that minimized issues and he soundchecked BEFORE - not during - the concert. This stuff kind of takes away from the performances in a way. Also, there's... we got so many hits... y'all ain't ready for that. Can I play this guitar? Y'all sing.....

I listened to one of the recent soundboard and it bothered me.

Why not just leave the lights on the whole time - since he calls for them to be on every freakin song!!

Better him yelling "Turn the lights up" than Shelbey yelling "Put your hands up".

The first half of Controversy on Louisville show1/night1 is a soundcheck and it's pretty freakin' awesome. I enjoy moments like that during a show that is typically the same each time.

"...wait a minute, wait a minute..."

Nope, does not bother me. I like it though.

Askani said:

luv4u said:

BobGeorge909 said:

luv4u said:

Nope, does not bother me. I like it though.

Me too...it kinda adds to the spontanaity or summin.

fbueller said:

Anyone else sort of bothered by Prince's frequent "instructions" during shows these days? Turn up the lights! Turn this mic up. Turn the guitar up! In the middle of Purple Rain... he pauses to ask: so, did you have a good time tonight? You don't hear such comments during shows from Prince's heyday.

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It's goddamn amateur shite. All that stupid "hype" is a sign of the weakness of it all.

NorthC said:

If you don't like that, you shouldn't go to a Prince show. It's spontaneous. He switches instruments during a show and not all of that is planned. And I love it when he says:"Put the house lights on!" and all of a sudden the whole hall is bathing in light.

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Bullshit. Mosty of it isn't spontaneous at all. Also, back in the days he used hand signals. Hell, why not simply have a pedal at his feet to signal such common commands?

While I still love Prince's concerts, this has been a pet peeve of mine for years. I really enjoy hearing band cues and spontaneity in the music, but yelling at the light and sound people to do their jobs? Not so much. What's worse is when they don't respond to his directions, and he has to keep yelling.

Always disliked it.

Breaks my mood of the current song.

My personal advice to Prince is "Don't talk. Just sing. Thank you."

I agree. I don't really care if it's once, but five times during a song is fucking ridiculous. I spoke about this a little while ago. http://prince.org/msg/7/416109

bluegangsta said:

I agree. I don't really care if it's once, but five times during a song is fucking ridiculous. I spoke about this a little while ago. http://prince.org/msg/7/416109

You make some good points on the other thread. The mystery is why Prince puts up with it. Seems like the crew is asleep sometimes or willfully ignoring things. It should be obvious that a guitar solo is happening or Prince is interacting with the crowd like he does on a particular song every show and he's going to want the house lights on.

Too funny. I was looking for somewhere to post that he keeps mentioning "house lights!" in the Louisville Palace show. I wonder if he yells that in his own house at night as he staggers to the bathroom in the dark.

Sometimes, the level of whining and complaining on this site just floors me with how absurd it is. If you've reached a point where Prince speaking in concert annoys you or ruins a song for you, it's time to move onto other artists. I mean...really?

I often wonder why the message boards haven't added a section for "Prince fans from 1978-1988 ONLY." Seems the "classic era" only fans will criticize any little detail about the current Prince, no matter how minute or inconsequential the detail is. Sorry to sound like I'm ranting, but sometimes I get very frustrated. There are opinions...and then there is nonsensical nitpcking.

Anyway, carry on...

[Edited 5/30/15 20:29pm]

bluefish said:

Sometimes, the level of whining and complaining on this site just floors me with how absurd it is. If you've reached a point where Prince speaking in concert annoys you or ruins a song for you, it's time to move onto other artists. I mean...really?

I often wonder why the message boards haven't added a section for "Prince fans from 1978-1988 ONLY." Seems the "classic era" only fans will criticize any little detail about the current Prince, no matter how minute or inconsequential the detail is. Sorry to sound like I'm ranting, but sometimes I get very frustrated. There are opinions...and then there is nonsensical nitpcking.

Anyway, carry on...

[Edited 5/30/15 20:29pm]

Well, 'classic era Prince' didn't give stage instructions to the extent that he does today.

bluefish said:

Sometimes, the level of whining and complaining on this site just floors me with how absurd it is. If you've reached a point where Prince speaking in concert annoys you or ruins a song for you, it's time to move onto other artists. I mean...really?

I often wonder why the message boards haven't added a section for "Prince fans from 1978-1988 ONLY." Seems the "classic era" only fans will criticize any little detail about the current Prince, no matter how minute or inconsequential the detail is. Sorry to sound like I'm ranting, but sometimes I get very frustrated. There are opinions...and then there is nonsensical nitpcking.

Anyway, carry on...

[Edited 5/30/15 20:29pm]

What's annoying are fans that attack anyone that dares to comment about Prince - it's as if they are personally being critiqued. At the Baltimore show recently there were numerous technical issues that affected the presentation, which was a shame, because Prince sounded on fire that night! Perhaps he's not hiring the best crew, or someone's not soundchecking and prepared.

.

Nonsensical nitpicking? "Classic era" only fans? Prince used to be more straightforward. Today, fans encounter a lot more hassle. Gone are concerts scheduled with normal, advance notice, so that fans can actually plan or book airfare to attend.

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He's just announced something happening at Paisley Park with like 36 hours notice. Wonder what airfare would cost last minute? Then, IF Prince performs, he might only play for 20 minutes - or it could turn out to be a "dance party" with somebody spinning records.

I miss the middle man.

BartVanHemelen said:

NorthC said:

If you don't like that, you shouldn't go to a Prince show. It's spontaneous. He switches instruments during a show and not all of that is planned. And I love it when he says:"Put the house lights on!" and all of a sudden the whole hall is bathing in light.

.

Bullshit. Mosty of it isn't spontaneous at all. Also, back in the days he used hand signals. Hell, why not simply have a pedal at his feet to signal such common commands?

Thats just nitpicking. Prince puts on a HELL of a show. If all u have 2 complain about is him talking......

bluefish said:

Sometimes, the level of whining and complaining on this site just floors me with how absurd it is. If you've reached a point where Prince speaking in concert annoys you or ruins a song for you, it's time to move onto other artists. I mean...really?

I often wonder why the message boards haven't added a section for "Prince fans from 1978-1988 ONLY." Seems the "classic era" only fans will criticize any little detail about the current Prince, no matter how minute or inconsequential the detail is. Sorry to sound like I'm ranting, but sometimes I get very frustrated. There are opinions...and then there is nonsensical nitpcking.

Anyway, carry on...

[Edited 5/30/15 20:29pm]

I coulddn't agree more.

BartVanHemelen said:

NorthC said:

If you don't like that, you shouldn't go to a Prince show. It's spontaneous. He switches instruments during a show and not all of that is planned. And I love it when he says:"Put the house lights on!" and all of a sudden the whole hall is bathing in light.

.

Bullshit. Mosty of it isn't spontaneous at all. Also, back in the days he used hand signals. Hell, why not simply have a pedal at his feet to signal such common commands?

Pedal?? Hand Signals?? 2015..Voice commands = SIRI should be controlling things.