freedom
7th March 2007, 09:46 PM
Thursday, March 7, 2002 "One Nite Alone with Prince", Buffalo NY, USA
Soundcheck
We were supposed 2 be at the soundcheck at 5:30..of course we stood in line for 45 minutes. Finally, the line moved an inch-then we came in2 the hall outside the auditorium. I sat a couple rows from the front with other members 4 the soundcheck. I saw Prince 4 the first time ever when I walked in from the back (mouth agape). I sat down, and he was playing something, don't remember. But the whole time the spotlight didn't go on his face. Much of the time he spent playing with his back 2 us. Then he asked us if we knew "Last December"..we said yes, so he asked 12 people up..(of course more went). I didn't go up but then I was calling myself a shitwimp in my head so I said "I'm going up there if he asks again". So those 12 people sucked so he asked more up. I went up, and stood behind the group that had already assembled. I waved at Renato at the keyboard and he told me to be careful not to pull out the cable from his keyboard (or some unnecessary crap like that)..and I said ok. Then Prince stood up at the mic waiting for Rhonda--I don't know what took her so long. He kept singing silly stuff into the mic while he was waiting "La-da-daaa..dooo". I'm starting 2 sound negative but it wasn't a negative experience. Anyway, while we were waiting for Rhonda people started asking questions, there would be long pauses in between like everyone was choosing their questions carefully. Stuff like, "When is the next album coming out?", "Are you cold?" (to which he responded, "Yes, I'm always cold, My hands 2...are always cold."), and "Are you enjoying the tour so far?" ("It's the one I've enjoyed the most."). I was scared to speak up, but finally I yelled out, "I like your hat!!". Everyone laughed then he was like "Thank U". (((in deep, monotone voice)))).One of the questions asked was "You gonna take care of those scalpers out there?" Prince said "Ohh, we gonna take care of them. We're working on them." Then he started to, inevitably, preach. "They need the Knowledge Book..yall know what I'm talkin about? They lack some home training.....lack some training at home early on. And that's something pretty hard to fix up."
Anyway, Prince was jammin with Larry (in his blinding white suit.) but Larry didn't play in the show, go figure. After that, they told us 2 leave. So we left............
I waited in line 4 the actual show 4 a little while again. All of a sudden my friend says "Hey! Hey! There he is!" Me, like an idiot, says "Who? Where?" He got off the elevator nearby and walked by us and up the stairs next to us. Mani was with him. He had a little shy smile on..but he always looks like he's doing it deliberately. Nevertheless, he went upstairs then some guy from his entourage made a stink about how they cant let us in until Prince comes back down again, and they know he is through, blah blah blahzay.... Everyone in line started cheering 4 him and shouting as he made his way up the stairs above us.
He finally came back down and went through the doors again. Some lady was bawling when she saw him. I was still just trying to comprehend that he actually had a body!!
Buffalo SHOW report
One Nite Alone With Prince--and we didn't have 2 fake orgasm!
So me and my friend took our seats...and my mom and sis took theirs. My friend and I were left center, row 4. Onstage there was a big lava lamp type thing. Rhonda was sitting on Blackwell's drum platform.
Only complaints I have about the musicians: Blackwell CAN beat the hell out of his drums, but that shouldn't mean he should do it all the time. A couple times I thought he needed to back off a bit, u couldn't even hear Prince's guitar. Rhonda's bass was also loud as hell. Interestingly, she played an upright bass, not a bass guitar, for most of the show. Rhonda sang "Didn't Cha Know" by Erykah Badu (4 that person who wondered what song he was singing). I like that song, but u couldn't hear Rhonda, number one, because she has a soft voice, number two, because the people who knew the song were singing over her.(me!)
Blackwell was a maniac! I read somewhere that someone described him as looking like an "octopus on crack" when he plays. That's pretty accurate. At one point he took the full suit that he had been wearing off while he was playing like "Let me get in2 somethin more comfortable!!!" He didn't miss a beat.
The setlist went as someone else has said: Rainbow Children, Muse...etc. ...(Only at MY show he played Purple Rain a little bit on piano!)
The first half of the show was frenzied stuff, he played lot of guitar--and it was very inspired. A little loud as I said b4. I mean, if the volume were HALF as loud, we all still would have been able to hear. Anywho....
Some memorable Prince comments : "We gonna peel the plaster off the walls!" or something and "One of my favorite things to do.......One Of My Favorite Things To Do...ONE OF MY FAVORITE THINGS TO DO---is go like this!" (((claps his hands)
My favorite thing he said "SOULCLAP!" Everyone was right on it...Small venue--great audience.
So yeah, that was the first half, basically. (..and he really likes to say "Bridge!", don't he?)
Second half I liked the most, this was the ballad half. After the first half he left the stage for 10 minutes. We applauded all those minutes and eventually chanted "WE WANT PRINCE! WE WANT PRINCE!". It was a great moment cuz all the lights were out, and no one was going 2 stop clapping, it was obvious. We were all standing 2. Finally he came back, played the first few notes of Do Me Baby on his PIANO (finally!)..but then he said" yall aint ready 4 that". We all moaned. The he went back to the piano and played HCUDCMA, which made me forget that he never actually DID go back to playing Do Me, Baby.
The piano segued from one slow jam 2 another. Its amazing 2 c just how many great ballads he's had over the years. There were some he didn't finish, but I think he went far enough to do them all justice. The only thing that disappointed me was he didn't go far enough so that we could do the "WOO-HOO--HOO! part in Purple Rain (another key moment) Adore was a hit as usual-with almost every chick in the house singing it. My mother felt the last half showcased his talent more.
The songs I remember most were: I Love U, But I Don't Trust You Anymore-if anyone doubted Prince's phrasing or his incredible range--they aren't alive, Raspberry Beret-band sounded great on this one., Girls & Boys- I forgot for a moment that this is basically a diehard favorite, and everyone got loose. Strange Relationship- When it was the guys' turn 2 sing "do-do-do....do-do-do-dooo-do", I was laughing my butt off.
Another GREAT Moment--going into Rollercoaster Of Love, when that guitar riff came in, I knew the show was going 2 kick my ass.
We also sang La La La Means Love You-audience sounded cute on that one. Prince screeched into the mic during one slow song and basically the whole place was on their feet clapping til their hands were sore for more than half the show. I liked it when Prince told them 2 turn the lights on cuz then I could see all the folks in the balcony moving and having fun. They were doing the same as us-it was a nice sight.
I was surprised that he did a lot of Parade. Maybe he's starting to realize how great it really was. He even did the piano part from Under The Cherry Moon.
Last song-Anna Stesia.
Anyway, my dominant impression was that Prince's slogan is true: You just dance and you really don't care about what anyone thinks or whatever. It's different at other shows. I couldn't believe some of the people who sat down at this show!!!
My best friend, who I took along, is a major tight-ass. But I looked over a couple times and she was getting DOWN! Couldn't believe it. After the show, she said 2 me, "Prince is hot!" I was like "What? Looks-wise? Or his playing?" And she said "He's just hot!" Keep in mind, she doesn't own one album of his.
Case closed. Prince is the best performer today.
P.S. Prince said he will be touring England. (probably in the summer, I gather) :)
© Nep2nes (nep2nes@aol.com) 11/03/02
Soundcheck
We were supposed 2 be at the soundcheck at 5:30..of course we stood in line for 45 minutes. Finally, the line moved an inch-then we came in2 the hall outside the auditorium. I sat a couple rows from the front with other members 4 the soundcheck. I saw Prince 4 the first time ever when I walked in from the back (mouth agape). I sat down, and he was playing something, don't remember. But the whole time the spotlight didn't go on his face. Much of the time he spent playing with his back 2 us. Then he asked us if we knew "Last December"..we said yes, so he asked 12 people up..(of course more went). I didn't go up but then I was calling myself a shitwimp in my head so I said "I'm going up there if he asks again". So those 12 people sucked so he asked more up. I went up, and stood behind the group that had already assembled. I waved at Renato at the keyboard and he told me to be careful not to pull out the cable from his keyboard (or some unnecessary crap like that)..and I said ok. Then Prince stood up at the mic waiting for Rhonda--I don't know what took her so long. He kept singing silly stuff into the mic while he was waiting "La-da-daaa..dooo". I'm starting 2 sound negative but it wasn't a negative experience. Anyway, while we were waiting for Rhonda people started asking questions, there would be long pauses in between like everyone was choosing their questions carefully. Stuff like, "When is the next album coming out?", "Are you cold?" (to which he responded, "Yes, I'm always cold, My hands 2...are always cold."), and "Are you enjoying the tour so far?" ("It's the one I've enjoyed the most."). I was scared to speak up, but finally I yelled out, "I like your hat!!". Everyone laughed then he was like "Thank U". (((in deep, monotone voice)))).One of the questions asked was "You gonna take care of those scalpers out there?" Prince said "Ohh, we gonna take care of them. We're working on them." Then he started to, inevitably, preach. "They need the Knowledge Book..yall know what I'm talkin about? They lack some home training.....lack some training at home early on. And that's something pretty hard to fix up."
Anyway, Prince was jammin with Larry (in his blinding white suit.) but Larry didn't play in the show, go figure. After that, they told us 2 leave. So we left............
I waited in line 4 the actual show 4 a little while again. All of a sudden my friend says "Hey! Hey! There he is!" Me, like an idiot, says "Who? Where?" He got off the elevator nearby and walked by us and up the stairs next to us. Mani was with him. He had a little shy smile on..but he always looks like he's doing it deliberately. Nevertheless, he went upstairs then some guy from his entourage made a stink about how they cant let us in until Prince comes back down again, and they know he is through, blah blah blahzay.... Everyone in line started cheering 4 him and shouting as he made his way up the stairs above us.
He finally came back down and went through the doors again. Some lady was bawling when she saw him. I was still just trying to comprehend that he actually had a body!!
Buffalo SHOW report
One Nite Alone With Prince--and we didn't have 2 fake orgasm!
So me and my friend took our seats...and my mom and sis took theirs. My friend and I were left center, row 4. Onstage there was a big lava lamp type thing. Rhonda was sitting on Blackwell's drum platform.
Only complaints I have about the musicians: Blackwell CAN beat the hell out of his drums, but that shouldn't mean he should do it all the time. A couple times I thought he needed to back off a bit, u couldn't even hear Prince's guitar. Rhonda's bass was also loud as hell. Interestingly, she played an upright bass, not a bass guitar, for most of the show. Rhonda sang "Didn't Cha Know" by Erykah Badu (4 that person who wondered what song he was singing). I like that song, but u couldn't hear Rhonda, number one, because she has a soft voice, number two, because the people who knew the song were singing over her.(me!)
Blackwell was a maniac! I read somewhere that someone described him as looking like an "octopus on crack" when he plays. That's pretty accurate. At one point he took the full suit that he had been wearing off while he was playing like "Let me get in2 somethin more comfortable!!!" He didn't miss a beat.
The setlist went as someone else has said: Rainbow Children, Muse...etc. ...(Only at MY show he played Purple Rain a little bit on piano!)
The first half of the show was frenzied stuff, he played lot of guitar--and it was very inspired. A little loud as I said b4. I mean, if the volume were HALF as loud, we all still would have been able to hear. Anywho....
Some memorable Prince comments : "We gonna peel the plaster off the walls!" or something and "One of my favorite things to do.......One Of My Favorite Things To Do...ONE OF MY FAVORITE THINGS TO DO---is go like this!" (((claps his hands)
My favorite thing he said "SOULCLAP!" Everyone was right on it...Small venue--great audience.
So yeah, that was the first half, basically. (..and he really likes to say "Bridge!", don't he?)
Second half I liked the most, this was the ballad half. After the first half he left the stage for 10 minutes. We applauded all those minutes and eventually chanted "WE WANT PRINCE! WE WANT PRINCE!". It was a great moment cuz all the lights were out, and no one was going 2 stop clapping, it was obvious. We were all standing 2. Finally he came back, played the first few notes of Do Me Baby on his PIANO (finally!)..but then he said" yall aint ready 4 that". We all moaned. The he went back to the piano and played HCUDCMA, which made me forget that he never actually DID go back to playing Do Me, Baby.
The piano segued from one slow jam 2 another. Its amazing 2 c just how many great ballads he's had over the years. There were some he didn't finish, but I think he went far enough to do them all justice. The only thing that disappointed me was he didn't go far enough so that we could do the "WOO-HOO--HOO! part in Purple Rain (another key moment) Adore was a hit as usual-with almost every chick in the house singing it. My mother felt the last half showcased his talent more.
The songs I remember most were: I Love U, But I Don't Trust You Anymore-if anyone doubted Prince's phrasing or his incredible range--they aren't alive, Raspberry Beret-band sounded great on this one., Girls & Boys- I forgot for a moment that this is basically a diehard favorite, and everyone got loose. Strange Relationship- When it was the guys' turn 2 sing "do-do-do....do-do-do-dooo-do", I was laughing my butt off.
Another GREAT Moment--going into Rollercoaster Of Love, when that guitar riff came in, I knew the show was going 2 kick my ass.
We also sang La La La Means Love You-audience sounded cute on that one. Prince screeched into the mic during one slow song and basically the whole place was on their feet clapping til their hands were sore for more than half the show. I liked it when Prince told them 2 turn the lights on cuz then I could see all the folks in the balcony moving and having fun. They were doing the same as us-it was a nice sight.
I was surprised that he did a lot of Parade. Maybe he's starting to realize how great it really was. He even did the piano part from Under The Cherry Moon.
Last song-Anna Stesia.
Anyway, my dominant impression was that Prince's slogan is true: You just dance and you really don't care about what anyone thinks or whatever. It's different at other shows. I couldn't believe some of the people who sat down at this show!!!
My best friend, who I took along, is a major tight-ass. But I looked over a couple times and she was getting DOWN! Couldn't believe it. After the show, she said 2 me, "Prince is hot!" I was like "What? Looks-wise? Or his playing?" And she said "He's just hot!" Keep in mind, she doesn't own one album of his.
Case closed. Prince is the best performer today.
P.S. Prince said he will be touring England. (probably in the summer, I gather) :)
© Nep2nes (nep2nes@aol.com) 11/03/02