And by bad, I mean awful, not the 80s adjective for being streetwise and cool. I know there are many threads here about shitty concerts by other artists. This one from 2004 is hilarious

http://prince.org/msg/8/100234?&pg=3

Lot of near forgotten acts here - Missy Elliot, Liz Phair, Sinead O'Connor (Who played 3 songs as a minimum number for fans not to demand their money back) and it is hilarious as Queen and MJ are counted.

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Now I know Prince had very few off days and we have a concert thread with his best shows. But what about his bad ones. I am actually not contributing anything here, as the 3 concerts I saw were all awesome and indicative how one man can bring so much magic to a stage.

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Just a couple of rules though.

1. No cancelled shows or ones where he never showed up - he must have been doing something on stage, singing, playing or even humping an instrument.

2. Satellites/Proteges are only okay if they were in a tour with Prince and their part sucked - not separate tours (Expecting a lot of Carmen Electra and Vanity 6). Also any support with Prince that was non satellite like Teena Marie and Zapp.

Does not have to be concert arenas and tours, can be after shows, one offs, club appearances and Paisley Park live shows.

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Have fun.

http://prince.org/msg/12/363834?&pg=2

Well...technically...I have. It was one of his late 90's Hit and Run concerts at the DTE Music place (just north of Detroit) and it was the summertime. I know this because Prince got on stage at exactly 8:00pm and after killing it for about an hour, there was something that happened with a backdrop...either it came down to early or too late. I couldn't really tell, nor could anyone else other than Prince. Because suddenly he walked off the stage with his band still playing. I thought he was just gone to change his outfit or something but then suddenly the band started leaving the stage. People were saying it was over and I was like, "Nah! They'll be back!"

Then the audience started leaving, and I was still like "Nah! they'll be back!" Then the house lights came up and the roadies came out and started packing up the instruments. And when I finally, reluctantly got outside, the first thing I noticed was the sun hadn't finshed going down yet, so it wasn't even 9:30! Needless to say but I will...I WAS PISSED!!!!

But Prince being the Prince that we all know and love...made it up to us a couple of months later by coming back and going to The Palace of Auburn Hills (still just north of Detroit) and showing OUT ALL DAMN NIGHT! He got on stage at 8:00pm and STAYED!

By 1:30am, even I couldn't take anymore and had to go. But from all first hand reports I got, he did not leave the stage until well after 2 am! Good times! Good times!

I miss Prince so very much!

ludwig said:

I saw him 10 times and all show were incediable. Even Jam of the Year because he played so damm long.

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.

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.

Today is a great day. I finally figured how to fix my broken nose. Also, there is no such thing as a BAD Prince concert.

MattyJam said:

I went to two of the 21 Nights shows at the o2. The first one was a bit disappointing. He played for 90mins, which I always think is the least amount of time you can get away with without seriously taking the piss. He just seemed to be going through the motions a bit, and there was so much call and response with the audience instead of actual singing... I don't mind a little of that, but it felt OTT. After about an hour and ten minutes he left the stage and I remember thinking "surely it's not time for the encore already?"... he came back out and did one of his sampler sets, which I always found dull, and I went away feeling a bit short-changed. Couldn't help but suspect he only gave 60% as he was preserving his energy for an aftershow, which is kind of a shitty thing to do for the people who can't attend aftershows. Fortunately, the second show was much better. It was longer, better setlist, he seemed more into it and we got a stunning piano set with an amazing rendition of The Morning Papers and Insatiable. [Edited 2/12/18 11:41am]

I wasn't at the first main show but attended the aftershow that night and although Prince did make an impromptu appearance - arriving onstage with sunglasses on - and played 'Stratus' on his guitar he didn't stay on for very long and sat down on a stool backstage for most of the show, keeping his sunglasses on the whole time... It did feel like he was holding back a little but I wouldn't say that the show was bad. Perhaps he was still a bit jetlagged after arriving in the UK and didn't have much energy, or simply getting used to the venue and building up his confidence/the crowd for the rest of the residency. The other 21 Nights shows I went to were totally exhilarating though and he really did give his all, which made up for the moderate start.

CherryMoon57 said:

MattyJam said:

mynameisnotsusan said:

MattyJam said:

I went to two of the 21 Nights shows at the o2. The first one was a bit disappointing. He played for 90mins, which I always think is the least amount of time you can get away with without seriously taking the piss. He just seemed to be going through the motions a bit, and there was so much call and response with the audience instead of actual singing... I don't mind a little of that, but it felt OTT.

The 2nd Piano and Mic show in Melbourne went for 70mins and a lot of people were not happy - considering that the majority of the tix were $400. He played and sang beautifully though so I was ok with it

Is this around the time Vanity passes away. The promoter said he did not think any shows were going to happen because Prince was so upset.

rusty1 said:

My brother & i went to the 2nd show of the 1986, hit & run tour.. The first night was called one of the best concerts of the year. The show started out amazing but the security was lacking at MSG, in new york. When Prince sang" sometimes it snows in April", bikers in the first few rows threw stuff at his mike. When launching into " purple rain", a young woman ran up on stage. Prince said " i guess that's what love is all about". Prince signaled to Wendy & the show was over. There were no encores such as "kiss" or "America". In 1988, when Prince came back during the lovesexy tour, the crowd at MSG wasn't that loud. Prince said " u don't want to do the same thing like the last I was here". It's amazing that the security was so lax in that 1986 show. I enjoyed the lovesexy concert but it's a shame the crowd wasn't more into it. [Edited 2/12/18 12:36pm]

You mean like Hell's Angel bikers?

I can't remember the year but I was at the show where Prince played Montreal jazz festival and played zero recognizable songs for over an hour. Man, were people upset. He played about 9 or 10 hits after an encore but that first hour was crazy awkward.

laurarichardson said:

mynameisnotsusan said:

laurarichardson said:

Is this around the time Vanity passes away. The promoter said he did not think any shows were going to happen because Prince was so upset.

He heard the news of her passing just before the first show. The last song he performed was a heartbreaking version of Purple Rain so I totally understood why he didn't want to do another encore after that because he sang like he was crying

The promoter said he could barely get out on the stage for crying. This is actually a concert I hope they never release.

lynx said:

Two "Jam of the Year" shows come to my mind. Jones Beach probably my least favorite Prince show and also the MSG Jam of the Year show. The Jones Beach one mainly because of sound and something with PRINCE gets lost in outdoor big venues, honestly I feel his best was always in smaller venues.

I saw three versions of the Jam of the Year tour, and there was one in Houston that didn't seem to match how everything came together in Austin.

Also the first of the 3 last Chicago concerts where his guitar wasn't right, and he ended the show and waited so long before an encore (he was firing the sound guy), that the lights came on and almost everyone had left.

Then he came back on and played two more songs!

But they still weren't bad!

ufoclub said:

I saw three versions of the Jam of the Year tour, and there was one in Houston that didn't seem to match how everything came together in Austin.

Also the first of the 3 last Chicago concerts where his guitar wasn't right, and he ended the show and waited so long before an encore (he was firing the sound guy), that the lights came on and almost everyone had left.

Then he came back on and played two more songs!

But they still weren't bad!

JOTY shows were funk heavy. That is where the hate for them came from.

OperatingThetan said:

lynx said:

I can't remember the year but I was at the show where Prince played Montreal jazz festival and played zero recognizable songs for over an hour. Man, were people upset. He played about 9 or 10 hits after an encore but that first hour was crazy awkward.

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

lastdecember said:

Two "Jam of the Year" shows come to my mind. Jones Beach probably my least favorite Prince show and also the MSG Jam of the Year show. The Jones Beach one mainly because of sound and something with PRINCE gets lost in outdoor big venues, honestly I feel his best was always in smaller venues.

Yeah, playing outside is a whole different ball game. I remember the first time me and my band played outside. Everything that could go wrong went wrong..

We got rained out, didnt get a chance to do a proper soundcheck because we were opening for a much bigger act and we were bound by contract to be on stage right @ 6:30, Sound guy had volume too low for the first few songs, then the the soundboard shorted out, bass player was high as fuuck because he had just broke his foot and took a bunch of hydros then he forgot the bass lines (first time ever). Even forgot how to play how come you dont call me. Then on one other tune he was in the wrong key.

I mean tunes that we had played a million times before.. grhhhh...

I ended up firing my sound guy, he f'd up royaly. He just had to do things his way, smgdh..

The whole perfomance is out here on youtube too, but i WILL NOT POST IT,LOL!!!!!

laurarichardson 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 went multiple nights but convinced a group of friends to come with me on this one).

I've had a few bad experiences, but it wasn't Prince's fault. I went to a show in Amsterdam in 86 and a fight broke out. I was nearby to it and it ruined the encore section.

A couple of aftershows were ruined simply because half the audience couldn't see a thing, notably at the Hippodrome in 98, Paard Van Troje in 88 (the 'Small club' gig) because I was against the very back wall, and for Camden Palace in 88, I saw nothing but the top of his head. The gigs were fine, but my personal experience was tainted.

Then there were a few where Prince didn't do anything wrong, I just didn't like his choice of performance. Notably Paris and Brixton and Cafe De Paris in 98.

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.

The Second was an Act 1 show in Chicago. Nothing wrong with Prince's performance, but I had an woman over my shoulder who would scream 'Woooaaaah!!!!' every ten seconds at a level that almost made your ears bleed.

The third was Musicology show in LA, where I had great seats, but I had a drunk couple next to me that had been given tickets and refused to stop talking the entire show and kept saying it was boring because Prince as doing 'yet another cover version' to songs like I Feel 4 U, Nothing Compares 2 U and Kiss.

OperatingThetan said:

lynx said:

I can't remember the year but I was at the show where Prince played Montreal jazz festival and played zero recognizable songs for over an hour. Man, were people upset. He played about 9 or 10 hits after an encore but that first hour was crazy awkward.

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.

There are two cities with jazz festivals where prince played. 1. Montreal, Canada. 2. Montreux, Switzerland, which you spelled wrong. And lynx is not talking about the swiss shows.

My first and only time seeing him was a let down. It was in the middle of his residency at the Ingelwood Forum, in 2011, I think. The setlist was expected, and something about the performance felt rote, and "Las Vegas" in the worst way. The two highlights were 1. The Nikka Costa opening set, which at least felt spontaneous, and 2. a moment when Prince looked into the camera, and out of the monitor, and the stadium lost it, just at his eyes. The crowd was a highlight, too. But not the actual Prince set.

I love this thread.

The second ever show at the Köln (Germany) AKA Cologne 28 july 2011 at the Lanxess Arena was BAD:

- long soundcheck (same as in 1998 when he was there the first time and this also took ages)

- still no good sound: After the first song. Prince and the band left the stage.

- The show wasn't started back up until 30 minutes later

- short setlist

- I was in the frontrow center and have the video to more or less prove it