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Back in the early '80s when Prince was hitting clubs like The Ritz in New York City I was into punk and post-punk music and I had no time for that skinny disco guy wearing a thong. I'd see The Clash eight nights in a row (and I did) before I'd see that Minneapolis dude. I went to a ton of shows back then, passed on that Prince character.

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Then PURPLE RAIN broke big and he was playing a lot of shows out on Long Island at The Colisseum. I can not stand concerts in arenas or stadiums and refuse to go. But, heck, everybody I knew wanted to go see Prince, so I went to a PURPLE RAIN arena show. My first time seeing Prince....

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It was awful. Exactly the garbage I expected from an arena show. Pandering to the large crowd, making sure he gave the people what they wanted rather than putting on a show that he wanted. My God, I was sitting there and every move on stage was just a recreation of the film. Wendy drops to her knees during "Computer Blue," same hand signs for "I Would Die 4 U"....the show was so by the numbers. Prince was merely checking off all that he was supposed to do. No spontaneity, no life at all. Just a greatest hits set list and a recreation of the film. Terrible live experience. Last arena show for me. I'll stick to my Prince records. Man, he delivers greatness on those.

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Prince continued to come to NY playing The Coliseum and The Garden. I passed on all those big arena shows. That PURPLE RAIN show back in '85 turned me off so much.

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But then in 1999 Prince scheduled a date at The Jones Beach Theater out on Long Island. Hands down one of the world's best venues. An outdoor open arena and the stage is literally right on the water. The stars at night are above you shining bright, the wind off the water supplies a cool breeze, you can hear seagulls cawing, can smell the salt water and that great beach smell.... I'll see anyone at Jones Beach Theater...and Prince? Oh, man, was I going to be there. I was still loving the "Emancipation" set and wanted to hear those tunes live. A large group of us got tickets...me and a friend splurged and bought second row seats. It was the second show of that tour so I was expecting some erratic, clumsy, not fully rehearsed moments -- those actually add to the live experience. What Prince gave us that night was magic. Phenomenal. One of the best shows I've ever seen. Complete command over his audience. Complete control over his band. Complete confidence in his music. And thankfully it wasn't a greatest hits show. Yeah, he played some hits, but he played the best songs off "Emancipation," two extended jams that had us all singing along when he pointed at us, and some classic B-sides. Just look at this set list:

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[img:$uid]http://www.setlist.fm/widgets/setlist-image-v1?id=3bdc0444[/img:$uid]

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Show was extraordinary. Got lucky that night. Saw Prince in a smallish venue and everything about it was amazing.

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Here's what the venue looks like for those who do not know. Best place on Earth to see a show:

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[img:$uid]http://imgs.l4lmcdn.com/Jones%20Beach.jpg[/img:$uid]

Thanks for sharing your memories.

I myself only saw him three times, once on the ONA tour and twice on the 21 Nights in London residency.

I am very jealous that you got to see Face Down and Sleep Around live, love both of those jams!

[Edited 6/2/16 13:13pm]

Thanks for sharing!

MattyJam said:

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I am very jealous that you got to see Face Down and Sleep Around live, love both of those jams!

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Yeah, those were my two faves of "Emancipation" and Prince played them!

I'm sure not many folks at the show had "Emancipation," but Prince didn't care. Five songs from his set were from that album. Cool.