OperatingThetan said:

jdcxc said:

TwiliteKid said:

OperatingThetan said:

lynx said: I loved all the Montreaux shows, particularly 2009. He didn't play anything I didn't know at those gigs, but they were lean on hits for more casual fans.

I believe he/she is referring to this show in Montreal: http://princevault.com/in..._July_2001

That's the one , thanks for the link. Those instrumental jams seemed so long.

Lovesexy, Milano, 1988. The volume was simply too high: the first half of the show I did not listen music, but sounds. I remember a italian review, the day after: it was like a drink so cold that you could no taste.

fabriziovenerandi said:

Lovesexy, Milano, 1988. The volume was simply too high: the first half of the show I did not listen music, but sounds. I remember a italian review, the day after: it was like a drink so cold that you could no taste.

.

Earplugs help.

Use them more often, you will understand the vocals better.

Your ears will last longer too.

Worst one was in Dallas, 1997 at the outdoor Coca-Cola Starplex.. The sound was awful & the whole show was a letdown (was my first time seeing him live which made it even worse).. Thankfully, he came back to DFW a few months later at Reunion Arena (which was amazing) to make up for it!

The ones with Najee were not great.

I have never been to a BAD Prince show. However there were big differences in personal experience between the shows I saw. I think there was only one show which disappointed me, which was his first show of North Sea Jazz. The sound was terrible and way too loud, the lights too dark, the overall audience response was also lacking. Fortunately the other NSJ shows were much better.

aiden said:

Out of the 21 Prince concerts even my least favourite turned out to be one I think about a lot and the only time I saw Purple Rain in the rain. It was 10th july 2010 in Belgium the day 20ten was released, the weather was bad, the crowd were bad, Larry G overstayed his welcome and Prince seemed tired and something wasn’t quite right, it was the only time I thought he didn’t look well either.... And it still had great moments and amazing memories, it was the only concert I travelled out of the UK for and proudly have a poster of the concert framed..

I saw this show in Werchter 2010. What a bad weather. I remember during this show Prince threw a towel in the audience and 2 women fighting for it I agree not one of his best performances. I also saw the show the day before in Arras which was a realy great show (in my top 3). A big contrast to the Werchter show. In Arras from the first song on Prince was really in a good mood, enjoying himself and the interaction with the crowd was great. All of this unfortunately was lacking in Werchter.

[Edited 3/3/18 7:36am]

yes, I saw Prince and Jam of the Year tour at the Hollywodd bowl in Los Angeles, the show staerted late and then theere was a curfew...out of the 33 times I was luckly enough to see Prince in concert over 33 times ..this was my least favorite.

From the shows I've seen, Edinburgh '93 wasn't great. Meadowbank was/is a shithole, it's not a proper closed stadium so you could see buses pass in the background behind the stage every five minutes, and half the gig was in bright sunlight. Not a bad concert but not the best I attended.

It got better as it got dark though, there were no Lameboyz, and just to hear Prince shout "Ediboro!" every so often was funny, as was Maye falling off the swing during MNIP.

ufoclub said:

jdcxc said:

I saw him perform Avalanche in Chicago during the ONA tour. It was one of the most gripping concert performances I have ever seen. The crowd was spellbound...you could her an audible gasp after Prince sang that Lincoln was a racist. No lecturing, just a profound, melancholic, stirring and beautifully pleading song...one of my all time faves (truly underrated).

ONA tour was incredible! I was lucky to have front row center, even for the sound check and Q&A he did with club members before.

Atlanta by any chance? The Q&A part bummed me out quick because the whole format quickly devoved into a religous discussion and I have little patience for that.

MattyJam said:

SquirrelMeat said:

The only time I felt Prince did a bad performance was one of the middle nights at the 21 Nights in London. He came on late, looked dis-interested and barely made it to the 90 minute mark. Worst still, it was the night I took a bunch of casuals

I’m intrigued as to whether this is the same 21 Nights show I was referring to, as the first one I saw was in the middle of the residency and lasted just under the 90minute mark. Do you remember the date/setlist?

I bet it was the same one. Can't remember exactly which one is was (I went to 11 of them), but I was gutted because it was the one I took all my mates to to see the 'genius'!

GrayDorian said:

SquirrelMeat said:

I have a bunch of least favourite shows for different reasons. The first was the secret 'Dawn' gig in London, the night he 'killed off' Prince. He was really late, totally oversold the aftershow and did an weak set. It was sooo hot and we waited till aobut 3.30am before he showed.

I've somewhat mixed feelings about the aftershow at Bagley's. I was very excited to be at the gig, but there seemed to me to be far too many fans crowded in the venue to be safe, which made for an uncomfortably hot, airless and claustrophobic experience.

By the time we got to the closing number Peach, we were really struggling with the conditions and had to move to the back, where, if I am remembering correctly, I think security had opened a fire exit door, in order presumably to let some cool, fresh air into the place.

It was our first aftershow and I was determined not to leave before the end, but I gotta admit that by the latter stages it had become as much an ordeal as a blessing.

Peach that morning was the only time I ever attended a Prince gig and literally prayed for him to leave the stage. Any other Prince gig we couldn't get enough and were always hoping against hope that he would return for another encore.

By the time we managed to get outta that place, it was so late that it was early morning and we were able to take the tube back to the hotel. Crazy times, but good memories and still very grateful we had the opportunity to go.

I remember leaving, dripping in sweat as the sun came up, thinking (at 23 years old), 'I'm getting too old for this shit'. It was the first aftershow I was actually glad was over.

I had a memory recall, in 2014 (44 years old), when Prince played Koko. I was hiding under a table to stay in the venue between the different shows. My thought? 'I'm getting too old for this shit'.

Damn you Prince.

Welcome 2 America - an aftershow at House of Blues in Chicago.

I remember the actual concert earlier that day was quite amazing - especially considering his age at the time. However that aftershow was pretty disappointing for many reasons.

He seemed exhausted. He could barely sing and he hardly did. My friends who were seeing Prince for the first time that day, asked me if that was one of his "diva gimmicks" or something. The crowd wasn't thrilled...he seemed like he was in a bad mood too....it was so off. Kept his shades on throughout the entire night. Clearly that particular aftershow was organized to feature and promote his protege at the time (Andy Allo and another girl, don't remember her name) and that's what was most disappointing...false advertising! lol. But seriosuly, If I'd known that Prince was only going to stay on stage for half an hour, barely performing, I wouldn't have gone. The rest of the time (an hour or an hour and a half after PRince left the stage) was fillled with just Andy and others singing and playing that night...we took off early.

Next (and unfortunately the last) time I saw him at Vegas with 3rdeyeband however...I'll never forget. It ended up being my favorite Prince concert EVER.

SquirrelMeat said:

GrayDorian said:

I've somewhat mixed feelings about the aftershow at Bagley's. I was very excited to be at the gig, but there seemed to me to be far too many fans crowded in the venue to be safe, which made for an uncomfortably hot, airless and claustrophobic experience.

By the time we got to the closing number Peach, we were really struggling with the conditions and had to move to the back, where, if I am remembering correctly, I think security had opened a fire exit door, in order presumably to let some cool, fresh air into the place.

It was our first aftershow and I was determined not to leave before the end, but I gotta admit that by the latter stages it had become as much an ordeal as a blessing.

Peach that morning was the only time I ever attended a Prince gig and literally prayed for him to leave the stage. Any other Prince gig we couldn't get enough and were always hoping against hope that he would return for another encore.

By the time we managed to get outta that place, it was so late that it was early morning and we were able to take the tube back to the hotel. Crazy times, but good memories and still very grateful we had the opportunity to go.

I remember leaving, dripping in sweat as the sun came up, thinking (at 23 years old), 'I'm getting too old for this shit'. It was the first aftershow I was actually glad was over.

I had a memory recall, in 2014 (44 years old), when Prince played Koko. I was hiding under a table to stay in the venue between the different shows. My thought? 'I'm getting too old for this shit'.

Damn you Prince.

You hid under the table?! Heh-heh! Awesome!

That's sheer desperation and determination! Respect!

It almost tops your story about walking into Paisley Park and meeting Prince (if I am remembering you correctly).

GrayDorian said:

SquirrelMeat said:

I remember leaving, dripping in sweat as the sun came up, thinking (at 23 years old), 'I'm getting too old for this shit'. It was the first aftershow I was actually glad was over.

I had a memory recall, in 2014 (44 years old), when Prince played Koko. I was hiding under a table to stay in the venue between the different shows. My thought? 'I'm getting too old for this shit'.

Damn you Prince.

You hid under the table?! Heh-heh! Awesome!

That's sheer desperation and determination! Respect!

It almost tops your story about walking into Paisley Park and meeting Prince (if I am remembering you correctly).

I like to think of that one as 'evicted by' rather then 'met'. lol. That was my first trip to PP. same year as Bagley's actually.

SquirrelMeat said:

GrayDorian said:

You hid under the table?! Heh-heh! Awesome!

That's sheer desperation and determination! Respect!

It almost tops your story about walking into Paisley Park and meeting Prince (if I am remembering you correctly).

I like to think of that one as 'evicted by' rather then 'met'. lol. That was my first trip to PP. same year as Bagley's actually.

Lol, still an absolutely awesome memory for you...and will no doubt make for a heckuva tale to tell the grandkids!

That's if you haven't already got any.

I very nearly gave that a go myself back in the summer of 2015, though discretion definitely ruled that day over valor. I cetainly didn't fancy risking getting charged with trespassing, that's for sure.

Looking back, I'm still amazed by how lax security was at Paisley Park (gates wide open and not a soul in sight on the premises). Still strikes me as odd, and it just doesn't tally up with the public perception of supposedly 'paranoid' Prince for me.

laurarichardson said:

Musician9 said:

Lovesexy Tour, the night before Thanksgiving, Mid-South coliseum in Memphis. My first Prince concert and a disappointment. The arena maximum is only 10,085 and the place was more than half empty. This tour was P's equivalent to KISS's Creatures Of The Night Tour. The performance was phoned in, though I could see why, but still, at the price I paid I expected better, plus with his reputation as a live performer, come on. And the people around us repeated phrases like "What album's this song from?" "Whats with all the religion talk?" and the classic "When's he gonna play Purple Rain?" And the grandest irony came when there was no encore because of course he namechecks Tennessee in Alphabet St. Not impressive to me for my first Prince show.

Interesting the first time I saw Prince was Lovesexy in Landover Md. He played to a half empty arena and he rocked it like it was full. He even told us people in the cheap seats to move on down closer.

It made me a fan for life.

This was my first Prince concert as well. The energy that night was amazing for what felt like an almost empty arena.

mynameisnotsusan said:

Not bad but we saw a Nude show at Wembley which was less than 80 mins... Great performance but so short.

Yes. NYC Palladium July 13, 1994....the worst Prince show I ever saw. Kept us waiting till past mid-night and then stunk up the joint. Worse sound system ever.

In contrast, Palladium July 14, 1994....a wonderful show. I still remember the first time I heard "Gold" as he opened up that show....amazing.

Sounds like Prince himself has never put on a bad show, but he's been the victim of bad sound systems a time or ten.

Although I enjoyed seeing Prince LIVE a few times, I'd have 2 say the "Welcome To America" Show at Tacoma Dome (Tacoma WA) December 2011 is My LEAST favorite.....

No.

Susu1976 said:

Susu1976 said:

Susu1976 said:

I don't know what was going on in Köln to make it such a mess but his concert in Helsinki was awesome, a complete opposite of what people said about Köln just a few days prior. He was into it, the crowd was into it, no problems with sound etc. The only thing that was the same in Helsinki was the hair dye running down his face. It was a bit strange and uncomfortable to watch because at least in Helsinki, he didn't seem to be aware of it. That's unusual for someone so meticulous about his looks and appearance.

ETA: Now that the Andy stanning is on full force again, I must say in Helsinki she would have been better off without the guitar. She handled it like it was some sort of a foreign object. She should have pretended to sing or draw or whatever but people (I'm sorry Andy stans) were laughing how stupid she looked.

This is something that I never understood about her. She can play acoustic guitar, she has a decent singing voice, yet back then her stage presence and performance was basically zero.

What was that all about ? What was the point?

I mean, she can clearly sing and play guitar.....so why did she just hold that thing and pretend?

Susu1976 said:

mynameisnotsusan said:

I remember this thread being the worst reviews I'd seen for any of his shows

I don't know what was going on in Köln to make it such a mess but his concert in Helsinki was awesome, a complete opposite of what people said about Köln just a few days prior. He was into it, the crowd was into it, no problems with sound etc. The only thing that was the same in Helsinki was the hair dye running down his face. It was a bit strange and uncomfortable to watch because at least in Helsinki, he didn't seem to be aware of it. That's unusual for someone so meticulous about his looks and appearance.

That hairdye problem happened a couple of times between 2004 and 2011. I wonder why he´d still use that even though it was very obvious to see, especially during the Musicology cinema broadcast. I mean, why use non-permanent dye if you could just as well use permanent and proper dye? With all the attention he paid to his hairdo, one would think he´d dye it properly and permanently instead of using that non-permanent stuff.