LightOfArt said:

Bloody hell, LightOfArt - I think we agree on something!

I love watching Prince concerts but there's something far more exciting about the sort of show that Madonna puts on.

i think we need to take madonna for what she is. an entertainer. she is not prince/beatles/hendrix etc. i am the first person to call madonna out on her pretenses but, let's face it, when it comes to entertainers...madonna is without a peer. even people who don't like her still pay attention.

adoreme said:

Yeah, lack of taste, lowest common denominator and some people like anything.

I'm sorry, I have to agree that there is no way you can compare Madonna's Show to a Prince Concert . Totally different avenues. I wish people would recognize the difference between a Musician that is very entertaining and an entertainer that is not a musician by any stretch of the imagination. Prince does not need all of the glitz and production to be entertaining. His talent and versatility are what set him apart. Madonna is a personification of pop culture, all style and no substance. Anyone that thinks Madonna puts on a better show than Prince probably needs the visual stimulation to appreciate the music. I hate going to shows where the band is an afterthought and musicianship is almost non-existant. Artists like Prince can play with any generation of Musicians. Prince would have fit in before the overproduced eye-candy fests, but Madonna would have just been a no talent hack trying to break into the industry. Could Madonna put on a jaw-dropping performance in a small theater or night club without all of the glitz and flash?

By the way, please stop calling people "Madonna Haters" simply because they state the obvious about her lack of musical skill. Despite what some of you may think, there are actually many people that prefer to see how talented someone is without all of the props that are used to titillate and hide their deficiencies as a musician.

You can tell how good a musician is by the group of artists they inspire. Madonna has inspired the Britney Spears of the world, while Prince has inspired E. Badu, D'Angelo, The Roots, Maxwell, Alicia Keys, Beck, etc. actual musicians that put on good live shows without the theatrics, backing tapes, circus atmosphere etc. Moreover, the latter group can bring it in the studio without having to jump onto the cultural trends at the time. When MTV aired "The Art of Musicology" special you saw everyone from Rock and Roll legends like Little Richard who said that Prince was one of the greatest live performers he's ever seen and you also saw musicians as diverse as ?uestlove, Robert Plant and Herbie Hancock praising Prince. How can anyone insult Prince with this comparison when he's performed with and been praised by greats like Miles Davis? Rock and Roll hall of fame where Prince performed a killer set with a his BAND and came on to play a GUITAR on While My Guitar Gently Weeps. The praise was for his musicianship, performing prowess and his skill as an entertainer. The crowd at the show stood whenever Prince touched the stage because he has TALENT, not video screens and backing tapes, but acutal talent. I would love to see Madonna and the rest of the current pop crowd sit in with Tom Petty, Steve Winwood etc. and blow them off the stage. The livedaily.com reviewer said it best when discussing Prince's show at the San Jose HP Paviollon:

"But perhaps the best part of the show--great as the band may be--was when Prince sat down with an acoustic guitar to run through a few favorites like "Little Red Corvette," "Cream," "I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man" and "Raspberry Beret." The result was breathtakingly intimate, and he stopped on several occasions, in true campfire style, to lead the crowd through their sing-along parts ("Cream"), or to just step back a bit and take in the vociferous energy flying at him ("Corvette"). Most of all, it was the moment when you could strip away the glitter, lights, wardrobe, anything extraneous to the artist, his guitar, and his songs--and be reminded of how terrifyingly talented he truly is.

Supposedly with new label backing by Columbia, Prince will be given more exposure, along the lines of current pop acts like OutKast, Usher, and D12. He'll pop up on MTV and its brethren a bit more. But the funny thing is, he doesn't really belong in that realm anymore. After seeing this show, the only real comparisons should come from much more legendary acts. As an entertainer: James Brown. Bandleader: Ellington. Guitar player: Hendrix.

This may have been one big party, and it's always great to be entertained, but it's priceless to be reminded that you're sharing air with one of the more gifted musicians on the planet."--by Don Zulaica.

So please stop with all of the comparisons.
[This message was edited Wed Jun 16 11:20:20 2004 by DorothyParkerWasCool]

DorothyParkerWasCool said:

Well my friend there were really no comparisons discussions of Madonna and Prince on this thread...

Madonna is just selling image - not talent, not by any stretch of the imagination.

And unfortunately, her image has been re-invented so many times, she doesn't know what she looks like anymore.

Madonna is just selling image - not talent, not by any stretch of the imagination.

And unfortunately, her image has been re-invented so many times, she doesn't know what she looks like anymore.

adoreme said:

Yeah, lack of taste, lowest common denominator and some people like anything.

I'm sorry, I have to agree that there is no way you can compare Madonna's Show to a Prince Concert . Totally different avenues. I wish people would recognize the difference between a Musician that is very entertaining and an entertainer that is not a musician by any stretch of the imagination. Prince does not need all of the glitz and production to be entertaining. His talent and versatility are what set him apart. Madonna is a personification of pop culture, all style and no substance. Anyone that thinks Madonna puts on a better show than Prince probably needs the visual stimulation to appreciate the music. I hate going to shows where the band is an afterthought and musicianship is almost non-existant. Artists like Prince can play with any generation of Musicians. Prince would have fit in before the overproduced eye-candy fests, but Madonna would have just been a no talent hack trying to break into the industry. Could Madonna put on a jaw-dropping performance in a small theater or night club without all of the glitz and flash?

By the way, please stop calling people "Madonna Haters" simply because they state the obvious about her lack of musical skill. Despite what some of you may think, there are actually many people that prefer to see how talented someone is without all of the props that are used to titillate and hide their deficiencies as a musician.

You can tell how good a musician is by the group of artists they inspire. Madonna has inspired the Britney Spears of the world, while Prince has inspired E. Badu, D'Angelo, The Roots, Maxwell, Alicia Keys, Beck, etc. actual musicians that put on good live shows without the theatrics, backing tapes, circus atmosphere etc. Moreover, the latter group can bring it in the studio without having to jump onto the cultural trends at the time. When MTV aired "The Art of Musicology" special you saw everyone from Rock and Roll legends like Little Richard who said that Prince was one of the greatest live performers he's ever seen and you also saw musicians as diverse as ?uestlove, Robert Plant and Herbie Hancock praising Prince. How can anyone insult Prince with this comparison when he's performed with and been praised by greats like Miles Davis? Rock and Roll hall of fame where Prince performed a killer set with a his BAND and came on to play a GUITAR on While My Guitar Gently Weeps. The praise was for his musicianship, performing prowess and his skill as an entertainer. The crowd at the show stood whenever Prince touched the stage because he has TALENT, not video screens and backing tapes, but acutal talent. I would love to see Madonna and the rest of the current pop crowd sit in with Tom Petty, Steve Winwood etc. and blow them off the stage. The livedaily.com reviewer said it best when discussing Prince's show at the San Jose HP Paviollon:

"But perhaps the best part of the show--great as the band may be--was when Prince sat down with an acoustic guitar to run through a few favorites like "Little Red Corvette," "Cream," "I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man" and "Raspberry Beret." The result was breathtakingly intimate, and he stopped on several occasions, in true campfire style, to lead the crowd through their sing-along parts ("Cream"), or to just step back a bit and take in the vociferous energy flying at him ("Corvette"). Most of all, it was the moment when you could strip away the glitter, lights, wardrobe, anything extraneous to the artist, his guitar, and his songs--and be reminded of how terrifyingly talented he truly is.

Supposedly with new label backing by Columbia, Prince will be given more exposure, along the lines of current pop acts like OutKast, Usher, and D12. He'll pop up on MTV and its brethren a bit more. But the funny thing is, he doesn't really belong in that realm anymore. After seeing this show, the only real comparisons should come from much more legendary acts. As an entertainer: James Brown. Bandleader: Ellington. Guitar player: Hendrix.

This may have been one big party, and it's always great to be entertained, but it's priceless to be reminded that you're sharing air with one of the more gifted musicians on the planet."--by Don Zulaica.

So please stop with all of the comparisons.
[This message was edited Wed Jun 16 11:20:20 2004 by DorothyParkerWasCool]

DorothyParkerWasCool said:

Well, I know you won't be happy to hear this but, Britney HERSELF said in MTV's Artist Bite that Prince is such a big inspiration on her

gman1966 said:

But see, the performance alone wasn't average. Just as a fan I'm gonna go over the top in loving what I saw, this writer went way over the top in negativity. The people I saw this show with in Vegas loved it -- the crowd was totally into it, and even the version of Imagine had the crowd going crazy. I expected to be totally turned off by the song, but she carried it off well.

asg said:

I'm not going to knock Madonna for recycling. Original is a lot harder nowadays than when she first came out, because she actually has to use her image and the theatrics to sell her music and that's what....hmmm 90% of the new female entertainers are doing now. Let's face it, Madonna was never a fan of competition. I remember when she made that hater comment about how "Gwen Stefani needs to stop copying my image" and "Oh, my album is at number 3, that Mariah album must be at number one again". She's said snotty comments about Whitney and Lauryn Hill too. It's one thing to be outspoken, but being that much of a bitch about not being number 1 over an artist who can....hmm actually sing is pathetic. I still can't understand why she's such good friends with Britney Spears after she made that rude comment about Gwen Stefani....Britney Spears is copying Madonna's image waaay more than Gwen. They're starting to look alike, because I thought that Madonna was Britney on the Grammies. Their shows are similar in that they consist of lots of glitz, many costume changes, and choreography that takes the focus off the fact that neither of these two broads can sing worth a flip. They need all the theatrics, because they don't have the real talent to just do a show without them. More power too them, but I'm not going to congratulate them for the spectacle that is done by the lighting specialists, stylists, and choreographers.

DavidEye said:

There he is….There he is…. The #1 ass.. oh I’m sorry… fan, the defender of Madonna on Prince.org…DavidEye.

You say I am a joke, annoying yet amusing, well let me retort……

You say “she is not Eric Clapton on guitar”, well that is helluva understatement anymore
original observations or statements like that my man….

Highest grossing concert or selling out stadiums, that’s not the issue hell I don’t care for
George Strait, but he can fill football stadiums, 60,000+ – it’s all relative.

What amuses me when someone say Madonna sucks as a musician (which she does) like in that previous review of her concert, here comes the Madonna brigade “Oh Madonna this” “Oh Madonna that” I am not really knocking her, it’s just the truth man. You guys make more out of her ability than it really is.

Yes, I watched that Drowned World Tour because I wanted to check out her ability as a live performer and the conclusion is this or analysis as you would say of Madonna. She is one-dimensional – take away the over the top productions, the crew of dancers, the over-staged and over-rehearsed choreography she is not that good live- Madonna built her fame from videos period. Again it’s all relative. I am not into big spectacle type concerts if I want that I will take my niece to see Barnum & Ringly Circus. I would rather see a person just sit on a stool and groove with pure musical ability. Not just Prince, but someone like B.B. King for example.

Funny thing is I have seen many post where you have put down other artists but when anyone talk about your beloved Madonna - Oh boy!!!!

I'm sorry, I have to agree that there is no way you can compare Madonna's Show to a Prince Concert .

So please stop with all of the comparisons.

gman1966 said:

i hate to admit it, but DavidEye, he's right.....

DorothyParkerWasCool said:

No. I went to both shows, they are my two favorite artists, and I can compare them
as much as I want. They both happen to be doing greatest hits tours with a few touches
from newer work. They both made a name for themselves being sexually provocative in
the 80's. They both wear their religion on their sleeve and like to flaunt it. There is PLENTY to compare.

As a presentation of older works, which happened to be popular at the same time, I found Madonna's interpretations of her classic hits more interesting than Prince's take on his hits. One Nite Alone shows SLAYED me, and Musicology was a great party, but it didn't move me. Re-Invention did. Big deal. My prerogative. Maybe it's also because I've seen Madonna only one other time, and I've seen Prince nearly 15 times. WHo knows.

And I'll stop calling them Madonna haters when they stop spewing hate. So she's not
a great musician. BIG DEAL. She's an entertainer. So is Prince. He has more
musical talent. Should everyone who is not as musically talented as Prince be forced
out of the business?

gman1966 said:

That's the point I've been trying to make, but I get called a Madonna hater. Plain and simple, without the theatrics, the publicity stunts, and the well-done music videos, Madonna wouldn't be any bigger than Paula Abdul and that's the truth. Her shows are always going to be big spectacles, because that's the only way she can sell herself. But, artists like B.B. King, Prince, and Patti LaBelle could sell their shows either as a spectacle, or as a simple production. It actually takes a lot more skill to go against the grain and not do what is popular or expected. We all knew that Madonna's show was going to have a lot of theatrics the moment she mentioned she was going on tour. It's a typical Madonna show, that just happens to have $300 tickets.

DavidEye said:

There he is….There he is…. The #1 ass.. oh I’m sorry… fan, the defender of Madonna on Prince.org…DavidEye.

You say I am a joke, annoying yet amusing, well let me retort……

You say “she is not Eric Clapton on guitar”, well that is helluva understatement anymore
original observations or statements like that my man….

Highest grossing concert or selling out stadiums, that’s not the issue hell I don’t care for
George Strait, but he can fill football stadiums, 60,000+ – it’s all relative.

What amuses me when someone say Madonna sucks as a musician (which she does) like in that previous review of her concert, here comes the Madonna brigade “Oh Madonna this” “Oh Madonna that” I am not really knocking her, it’s just the truth man. You guys make more out of her ability than it really is.

Yes, I watched that Drowned World Tour because I wanted to check out her ability as a live performer and the conclusion is this or analysis as you would say of Madonna. She is one-dimensional – take away the over the top productions, the crew of dancers, the over-staged and over-rehearsed choreography she is not that good live- Madonna built her fame from videos period. Again it’s all relative. I am not into big spectacle type concerts if I want that I will take my niece to see Barnum & Ringly Circus. I would rather see a person just sit on a stool and groove with pure musical ability. Not just Prince, but someone like B.B. King for example.

Funny thing is I have seen many post where you have put down other artists but when anyone talk about your beloved Madonna - Oh boy!!!!

gman1966 said:

You hate Madonna. You aren't going to change anyone's opinion here. The end.
[This message was edited Wed Jun 16 17:45:49 2004 by VoicesCarry]

VoicesCarry said:

"I hate Madonna" Now what gave you that impression???

I'm not reading the hate -- but Madonna's re-inventions were much more interesting than the 5 minute blitz of Purple Rain hits that Prince is currently serving up.

madartista said:

-----
The only problem is this is not the only bad review of Madonna's show. This is like the 5th or Six one I have read. I have not come across any bad reviews for Prince's show.


Madonna is not the all around musical force that Prince is and it is going to be hard to hold the public's attention without that musical talent.

laurarichardson said:

And yet she's done it for 20 years. You sound like one of the people who claim Madonna's 15 minutes are up.....20 years later.

I do agree, however, that Madonna is not the musical force that Prince is. Very very very few people are.
[This message was edited Wed Jun 16 18:18:51 2004 by VoicesCarry]

madartista said:

-----
The only problem is this is not the only bad review of Madonna's show. This is like the 5th or Six one I have read. I have not come across any bad reviews for Prince's show.


Madonna is not the all around musical force that Prince is and it is going to be hard to hold the public's attention without that musical talent.

Funny thing is I have seen many post where you have put down other artists but when anyone talk about your beloved Madonna - Oh boy!!!!

Madonna is just selling image - not talent, not by any stretch of the imagination.
And unfortunately, her image has been re-invented so many times, she doesn't know what she looks like anymore.

i find it telling that nobody has responded to my comments....to make things more complicated..i found her perfomance of "imagine" to be heartfelt and beautiful.....
and thats my problem with this show.....in order to entertain you must build commonality.....you must convey emotion to your guests.....yet she didnt do it enough....
that evita song? come one.....her hooky adaptation of holiday? come one.....the dance interludes that didnt feature her? come on now....
her pathetic guitar strumming? come on now?