Bishop31 said:

2006, when he and Tamar went on Tour together. I saw him at a small club in D.C. called "Black Cat" , and was literally 5 feet from him in front of the stage. Watching him up close play guitar the whole show was something I'll never forget. It was unbelievable.

[Edited 5/29/19 8:21am]

I was in the exact same place as you were when he and Tamar played Houston that year, and I totally agree - it was the most incredible, mind-numbing guitar work I have ever seen.

I went into the cellar and found my review of the 3121 aftershow I went to the weekend after he played the Super Bowl. Still the experience of a lifetime.

I have no idea how it happened...but we ended up sitting right at Prince's elbow for the aftershow. When we were shown to our seats, I looked down and there were Prince's guitar pedals not five feet away -- along with the Hohner and the blue Fender. And there was no one in front of us. (My face ---> )

At about 3:00, the lights went down. The band went into an awesome jazz/funk jam. (Song names are going to be sketchy here -- it was a true jam with everything overlapping and running together.) Mike and Renato did some amazing solo work -- as did everyone else. (I don't know who's playing trombone and trumpet right now -- but Cora was on drums and Josh was on bass.)

And then...at 3:20 (I know the time because we had a pool on what time he would start playing )...Prince came out. He had on the "Black Sweat" outfit -- shiny black suit and mustard yellow shirt, with black boots. He picked up his guitar and wailed a bit, then set the guitar down and walked back over into the "sun room" where his friends were sitting.

Now, I'm not sure if it was before or after that break that he tried "Wasted Kisses." He was trying to get the audience to sing, "Why did I waste my kisses on you, baby? Why did I waste my kisses on you now?" but it just didn't take. I was singing (and was close enough that he heard -- he gave me a little smile), but one person does not a choir make, so he solo'd and left it.

After a short bit...he came back out -- and this time, he stayed out. The music got crazy hot at that point. He did "All the Critics Love U in Las Vegas" and several other songs that escape me (we were exhausted -- but still dancing like maniacs ). He launched into a 70s jam with "Sweet Thing," with lead vocals by "Shelby J," as he's calling her. At the end of the second verse, she came over to our little group and held her hand out to me. I took it and we sang, "Don't want your mind...don't want your money...these words I say they may sound funny...but oh...sweet thing...oh, you know you're my everything..." together. I was too through at that point -- but they weren't. They actually got the house singing on this one -- and it was great.

More 70s stuff followed, including The Commodores "Machine Gun," "Play That Funky Music" (which got everyone to their feet), and "Rollercoaster." When Prince started that one, he sang "Rollercoaster...of love..." and yours truly pops up with "Say what?" I was only person who said it and even though I wasn't that loud, I was close enough that he heard me and gave a little sidelong "Damn, girl!" kinda glance and added his own "Say what" and chuckled.

Well, by this time, we were all suitably sweaty, so he took a little break. People drifted back to their seats and some actually left ( never leave 'til the house lights come up, folks)!

And then came a very surreal moment where one of the techs carried out a set of timbales. Dare we hope?

Yes! Out walks Prince...with Sheila E behind him. OMFG! The band starts Santana's Oye Como Va and they let 'er rip. From there...they went seamlessly into Afro Blue (one of my all-time favorite afro-cuban jams by Mongo Santamaria). It was mellow and hot, all at the same time.

They brought that in for a safe landing and then rocketed into "Get On The Boat." Oh, my word. The horns were on point, Sheila let rip on the timbales, and people danced themselves into an absolute frenzy.

And then...a smidgen after 5:00...it was over. We were all exhausted, but ecstatic. My man had to practically carry me to the cab (okay, he only carried my shoes) and we barely made it to our hotel before we crashed.

It was a night of absolute magic. Hard to imagine anything topping it -- ever.

RodeoSchro said:

Bishop31 said:

2006, when he and Tamar went on Tour together. I saw him at a small club in D.C. called "Black Cat" , and was literally 5 feet from him in front of the stage. Watching him up close play guitar the whole show was something I'll never forget. It was unbelievable.

[Edited 5/29/19 8:21am]

I was in the exact same place as you were when he and Tamar played Houston that year, and I totally agree - it was the most incredible, mind-numbing guitar work I have ever seen.

Exactly! It was truly special.

Genesia I'm so envious .....so happy you had a wonderful time and u shared it with us..and all u others who were there to see the brilliant light of Prince

Buttox said:

One Night alone Tour DC at the intimate Warner Theatre in 2002. He orders the house lights on and peers into the audience. I swear that our eyes meet for a brief moment and I gave him this look like "how wonderful it must be to have limitless musical talent" and he gives a little sigh and a look of "I know" and looks away and the moment is gone...and i I wonder forevermore if I imagined it. [Edited 5/30/19 16:08pm]

yeah if you were close he seemed to make tons of eye contact and give little nods and looks... I bet he could tell who the real freaks were too...

ONA London Oct 3rd 2002 soundcheck where he played Days Of Wild!

Then attending the afterparty and running after him through Soho where he gets into his limousine and drives away

my favourite concert was Diamonds and Pearls tour at Earls Court , mainly due to it being my first ever concert. Also it made up for the disapointment of the cancelled Blenhem Palace gig which are tickets were tranfered for the D&P gig.

Having the chance to talk to him during ONA/NPGMC soundcheck access in Atlanta.

Also my first ever aftershow Thanksgiving Eve so no work the next day and I could stay up late. 2nd row. Opened with "The Ride" and holy shit....


Chuck D showed up.

[Edited 6/2/19 12:12pm]

BalladofPeterParker said:

LoveSexy '88 at the Omni in Atlanta! My date was hot and I was cool. Dayuum those were some good times!

I was at that show, too! One of my favorites! He played some songs I hadn't heard live in years!

kapo74 said:

Actually, for me it was the last time I saw him before he died. The Antwerp 3rd eye girl show back in 2014. Was it 2014? My life has been kind of a blur the last couple of years. Anyways. My buddy and me were way in the back of the arena, far away from the podium. Towards the end of the show the confetti canon went off and doused the front rows in purple. Right before we left, one lonely piece of confetti floated right towards me. I caught it and still have it in my wallet. In hindsight it was a strange, ominous thing to happen. Or just an idiotic coincidence I now relate to seeing him live for the last time.

I still have some of the gold confetti from the Ultimate Live Experience concerts in Den Bosch.

Good memories.

funkytriton25 said:

BalladofPeterParker said:

LoveSexy '88 at the Omni in Atlanta! My date was hot and I was cool. Dayuum those were some good times!

I was at that show, too! One of my favorites! He played some songs I hadn't heard live in years!

Very cool! Where were you sitting? I was in the first 4 rows center stage!!! When Cat, Prince, and Sheila came out in the car I was close enough to touch them, made eye contact with everyone throughout the show, it really was a perfect evening! I still have the ticket stub, $22.50 for seats that good to see Prince...wow. I've seen him many times but never with seats that good!

2002, Detroit, One Nite Alone tour. My sister and I got to see Prince's soundcheck a few hours before the actual concert. He did some light banter with the audience (I'd say fewer than 50 people were at the soundcheck) in between performing various songs to check the sound in the venue.

My best memory of the soundcheck: Prince walked down the aisleway and walked directly between my sister and me. Music-wise, he did a hard rock version of Paisley Park that I won't forget.

Then the actual concert lasted almost 3 hours, where he didn't really play any hits. All stuff from ONA and TRC.

Thanks for sharing all these great Prince memories. Love hearing stories about how Prince affected people on some of the great shows I never got to see.

"The Beautiful Experience" concert.. Feb. 1994 Paisley Park. Amazing!!! Debut of Interactive, Days Of Wild, Shhh, and Now! Was standing next to Salt & Pepa in front row .. lots of celebs and pro athletes at show.. really cool night!

Being five feet from the stage at back-to-back Musicology Tour concerts when Prince had made his comeback (in '04) and he knew that everyone else knew he was the hottest act on Earth again.

And I always got a kick out of the joy people got after I'd convinced them not to walk out when Prince said good night (for the FIRST time). Sometimes it'd take 15 minutes of clapping and screaming, but he'd always come back for at least 2 encores. I know they were planned, but you never can be too sure! (Not until the house lights came on!!!)

KoolEaze said:

Listening to Prince working out the songs daily for the forthcoming "Purple Rain" while walking home from high school and passing by the St. Louis Park warehouse.

Seeing Purple Rain tour in Twin Cities.

Being at Ruperts for the debut of Sign O The Times.

Front row Lovesexy.

L.A. Musicology.

L.A. 21 Nights

Paisley Park shows.

Late nights at Erotic City.

And so so so many more.

PopcornFetus said:

The only time I got to see him live was the kick off of Hit n Run 2000 at the Palladium in Worcester, MA. It was a really small venue and Prince said that the show was a rehearsal. It was during the whole 'hanging chads' controversy of the Presidential election that year. They debuted When Will We Be Paid with a creepy arrangement then during Purple Rain he got to the "you say you want a leader, but you cant seem to make up your mind" line and stopped the band to talk politics. I was WAY into his Santana medley from 1994-95 and kept hoping that it might possibly come up. He played it as the encore and I flipped my fucking lid.

Wow, never even heard of that back then.

Do you remember what he said?

Ive got a few, but the one that keeps standing out is Piano and Mic Tour, Sydney, State Theatre, second show. The performance was magical and you could feel the emotion behind every song, the crowd was super loud and Prince kept teasing with the encore...unforgettable.

OnlyNDaUsa said:

getting a 'five' from him... I guess....

Same here. I got onstage during '93 Act I Tour in Atlanta. I gave him "five" on my way off the stage. These two girls I was sitting by kept holding my hand for the rest of the show since my hand had touched Prince's hand.

My best memory is probably Mayte's 21st birthday party at Paisley Park. Prince played in the atrium on a riser about a foot off the ground set up in front of the kitchen. There were about 50 people there. I was front and center and at one point he was playing a tambourine and he stood in front of me and held it out. I stood there frozen and my friend nudged me to take it and then he raised his eyebrows, like are you going to take it or not? I grabbed it. Later she asked Duane if I could keep it and he said if Prince gave it to me then I could keep it.

sro100 said:

Listening to Prince working out the songs daily for the forthcoming "Purple Rain" while walking home from high school and passing by the St. Louis Park warehouse.

Can you elaborate on that one?

herb4 said:

sro100 said:

Listening to Prince working out the songs daily for the forthcoming "Purple Rain" while walking home from high school and passing by the St. Louis Park warehouse.

Can you elaborate on that one?

Sure.

I went to St. Louis Park High School.

On the way to get back home I used to pass by a pet food wareshouse.

As chance would have it, Prince rented out the warehouse to practice and get ready for Purple Rain.

The Time, Appolonia, etc. and all kinds of folks would be there.

Prince's practicing was so loud and booming you could hear it from outside; again, this was not a residential area; a junk yard was close by (on an earlier thread I go into great detail about the location, what's there now, etc.)

Anyway this went on for quite a long time.

Me and my friends would sometimes kind of hang out around there and watch the limos and such and listen.

At the time, we would always hope they'd play something we knew; this was obviously when 1999 was popular; but they were practicing the music that would be Purple Rain.

It went on for quite a length of time and we'd hear and sometimes see him.

End of story.

That is epic! You win this thread