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| parmeda |
Hi Everyone! Let me start out by saying, "SS was dead-on last month with his review after seeing Prince". I was able to catch his first show here, last Friday...I have tickets for tomorrow's show, but unfortunately (as you read on) I will have to wait a few weeks for his return.
Understandably...that's fine by me. It's going to take a month for me to "come down". I was levitated into a trance the entire evening...I haven't had that happen to me in a very long time, lol.
The man is awesome...to say the least.
If he tours near you...GET A TICKET! You won't be sorry.
~~Luxy...get yer dancin' shoes polished and ready, girl! You won't be "still" for one second!!!~~
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Chicago Tribune
June 28, 2004
PRINCE RESCHEDULES REMAINING CHICAGO SHOWS
Below is a copy of the press release Prince sent to fans.
Due to a death in the family of NPG drummer John Blackwell, the Prince shows scheduled for this week in Chicago have been rescheduled.
The show scheduled for June 28 will now play on July 22.
The June 29 show will play on July 23, and the June 30 show will play on July 24.
The Prince show that was scheduled for June 26 will play on Aug. 3rd, as previously announced.
Tickets for this weeks Prince shows will be honored on their rescheduled dates in July.
Those who are unable to attend rescheduled dates will have refunds issued at the point of purchase.
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Chicago Tribune
June 26, 2004
DOES PRINCE REIGN?
Royally, with funk, soul and a little lasciviousness
By Greg Kot
Tribune music critic
In the midst of a ferocious opening montage of horn-spackled riffs, knee-buckling funk bass and whirling dance moves in glittering high heels, Prince came to a dead halt.
The packed Allstate Arena crowd collectively stopped rocking in the aisles Friday and burst into applause. Prince surveyed the scene just long enough for things to quiet down, and with an impish grin declared, "Ya'll been waitin' on this, haven't ya?"
The business of Prince being Prince can be a patience-testing ordeal for even his die-hard fans. But amid the quirky offstage antics and the inscrutable albums, the quintuple threat singer-songwriter-showman-musician-producer remains in a class by himself. He bides his time between major moves, and this summer marks one of them: A national tour with a powerful new edition of his longtime band, the New Power Generation, and an album, "Musicology," that reasserts Prince's passion for the music that first inspired him. With soul, funk, a dash of jazz and lots of electric guitar in the mix, the diminutive singer is once again a towering presence in the music world.
In a summer in which most major tours are languishing because of a soft economy, Prince is doing bang-up business, and is expected to sell 1.5 million concert tickets. But his tour hit a glitch in his five-show Chicago stand when he canceled his Saturday show, reportedly because of a sore throat. That concert has been rescheduled for Aug. 3. (Or ticket-holders can get refunds.) Prince is expected to perform here as scheduled Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
It hasn't hurt that Prince has emerged from years of club and theater tours that focused on covers or the more obscure to material to play on a larger stage: He kicked off the nationally televised Grammy Awards in February, and he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in March. A videotape of his induction speech, by R&B singer Alicia Keys, opens every concert on this tour, and Prince clearly revels in the connection he has made with a new generation of musicians. He interpolated bits of music by Keys, OutKast and Beyonce into his 2˝-hour set, but he also forged ties to Archie Bell and the Drells' "Tighten Up," Rufus' "Sweet Thing," Sam and Dave's "Soul Man" and even Louis Armstrong's interpretation of "What a Wonderful World" (in a sly saxophone solo by James Brown alum Maceo Parker).
The not-so-subtle point is that Prince's music is the bridge between the masters of the past and today, and he surveyed his career with an emphasis on its musical impact rather than its shock value. Once he strutted in bikini briefs and trench coats, a superfreak that might've made Rick James blush. But Prince has since toned down his sex-obsessed shtick, and amped up his interest in exploring the inner workings of his arrangements. So the opening 50-minute assault played like an extended medley, leaping from "Musicology" into "Let's Go Crazy," one verse of "I Would Die 4 U," and a deconstruction of "When Doves Cry" with jabbing keyboards that highlighted just how radical that 1984 single remains. The long sequence concluded with the three-part harmonies of Prince, bassist Rhonda Smith and saxophonist Candy Dulfer, and a furious sprint across the synth-splashed electro-funk terrain of "Controversy."
Prince then returned to the stage for a 20-minute solo set, unplugged. Accompanied only by his ornate, blues-inspired picking on a purple acoustic guitar, the singer put a fresh spin on some of his most familiar songs — "Little Red Corvette," "Cream," "Raspberry Beret," "7" — while letting some of the old lasciviousness peek through in the falsetto-voiced double-entendres of "On the Couch."
The latter one-third of the concert found Prince at his freest and funkiest, uncorking a majestic Santana-esque guitar solo to kick off "The Question of You," and bringing a bevy of female fans onstage to dance during a housequaking finale of "U Got the Look," "Life 'O' the Party," "Soul Man," "Kiss" and "Take Me With U."
By the time he wound up with "Purple Rain," Prince had served up most of the hits. But this wasn't a nostalgia show in the traditional sense. Slicing in tracks from his new album, rearranging his most familiar tunes, and using everything in the set as a springboard for improvisation that highlighted the muscular chops of his band, Prince still insisted on doing it his way. The lesson: Never count him out.
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PRINCE COMMANDS HIS FANS' RESPECT
Chicago SunTimes
June 27, 2004
BY JIM DEROGATIS -staff reporter
"What's my name?" the star asked at one point during his three-hour performance Friday night, the first of five shows in the Chicago area.
"Prince!" roared the sold-out crowd at the Allstate Arena, which was bathed in purple spotlights for the occasion.
"Respect that!" the artist snapped.
That exchange pretty much sums up the point of Prince's current tour, his first jaunt through the nation's enormodomes in more than a decade.
At age 46, newly inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and -- for the time being, at least -- once again signed to a major label for his "Musicology" album (copies of which were given to everyone who attended the show), this dedicated contrarian has decided that it's time to reclaim his rightful place as a pop icon after years of playing for his faithful cult following.
Hard-core fans have certainly seen better (because they were more intimate and less predictable) Prince shows in recent years. The Chicago Theatre in 2002, the Riviera Theatre in 2000, and the Aragon in 1998 all spring to mind.
The faithful may grouse about the PG-13 nature of the Allstate Arena show. (Recently converted as a Jehovah's Witness, Prince is skipping the hard-core sexual innuendo on this tour and cutting out all the cuss words.) And it was disconcerting to note that Friday's set list was almost exactly the same as it has been for every night of the tour, compared with the smaller-venue gigs of the last few years, where he has always mixed things up.
But all of this is quibbling: Prince was giving people what they want -- the hits -- after generally avoiding that for quite some time. And he was doing it in fine form, with one of the best bands of his career, notably including powerhouse drummer John Blackwell, incredibly funky bassist Rhonda Smith, deft keyboardist Renato Neto and the great James Brown veteran Maceo Parker on sax.
The set could have done with a lot more Maceo and a lot less Candy Dulfer, whose sax playing was superfluous. (She seemed to be around mainly to serve as eye candy.) But we've come to expect one useless woodwind player on each Prince tour, and at least she wasn't Najee.
The show opened strong with the title track of "Musicology," which found Prince throwing down the gauntlet by declaring his intention to "keep the party movin' ... kick the old-school joint." That he did, by following in rapid succession with the classics "Let's Go Crazy," "I Would Die 4 U," "When Doves Cry" and "Baby I'm A Star."
Other highlights included a dynamic version of "Shhh!" and a hard-grooving "DMSR" that, despite the cleaned-up lyrics, still didn't entirely purge the "sex" part of the "dance, music, sex, romance" groove.
Throughout the night, Prince played more lead guitar than he has in years, clearly enjoying the vibe of being a rock star playing an arena in the round.
But the best part of the long and generous set was arguably the acoustic interlude in the middle of the evening, when he rose on a revolving stool in the center of the stage alone with a purple acoustic guitar to perform some of his best-known songs.
Prince smiled, joked with the crowd, asked for the house lights to be turned all the way up and let the fans finish the choruses of tunes such as "Little Red Corvette," "Cream" and "Raspberry Beret." And these songs never sounded better.
It was just one man and one guitar, but he held the crowd in his grasp. In fact, the only other performer I've ever seen do that so effectively was Sir Paul McCartney.
That's star power. And Prince is right: You've got to respect that.
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PRINCE BASKS IN LIMELIGHT AGAIN
Daily Herald
Sunday, June 27, 2004
Mark Guarino - Daily Herald Music Critic
You're kidding yourself if you don't think Prince isn't enjoying his current blitzkrieg of media coverage.
At the Allstate Arena Friday, the first of five nights, he plopped himself down in an easy chair and pretended to block out the sound of 18,000 cheering fans by reading -- what else? -- a recent issue of Rolling Stone with his picture on the cover.
Ever since his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame earlier this year, the 46-year-old has led a savvy campaign to throw a spotlight on his relevancy in today's marketplace and to celebrate his survival in it. Though he toured as late as two years ago, he labeled his current emergence a comeback and, borrowing that hoary showbiz standby, a last call for the hits.
Many times during his 2-hour, 15-minute show he made digs at the low bar of expectations set by canned phenomenons like Britney Spears who have flooded the charts in recent years. He joked about lip syncing and, standing in front of his eight-member band, declared, "This is real music. These are real musicians."
To drive that point home, Prince's show was decidedly free of spectacle. It was designed as a big band funk and soul revue set in stone by James Brown, his spiritual mentor, in the early '60s. The first hour was a single extended funk odyssey, peppered with early hits ("Let's Go Crazy," "I Would Die 4U," "When Doves Cry"), new songs ("Musicology"), references to new generation heirs OutKast and a full palate of band solos.
Swallowed in one breath, it was both exhausting and exhilarating. Prince is not an artist known for holding back, which has been a fault and strength. As he gave equal time to every corner of the cross-shaped stage, charisma flowed from his fluid dance twirls and poses.
Veteran Brown sax player Maceo Parker led a three-person horn section that helped set even the older songs inside similar sounding fat grooves. When the deluge was over, it was no wonder a wave of people scrambled to the lobby for a breather.
As much as the New Power Generation kept pace, it was Prince who stood out as its most flamboyant player.
When he strapped on a bass, he battled bassist Rhonda Smith in a mad burst of slapping strings. His guitar moments were flourishes of Jimi Hendrix-like extremism, from a rush of notes to a single-note solo, even going so far as to lay the instrument on the ground and cover it with a white cloth.
The middle set featured Prince on a rotating stool playing an acoustic guitar (purple of course) and leading a breezy sing-along of older songs (including "Cream," "Little Red Corvette," "Raspberry Beret"). His appetite for carnal pleasures was muted, as he let the crowd handle the spicier lyrics.
When the band returned for the final blowout -- a mixture of jazz fusion, former hits ("Kiss"), old school soul ("Soul Man"), party funk ("Life ‘O' The Party"), a ballad ("Call My Name") and the show-ending anthem "Purple Rain" -- Prince invited more than a dozen female fans to fill the stage picture. No surprise once again that it made him stand out even more. Which was the point, after all.
Prince postponed his Saturday night performance because of illness. The concert has been moved to Aug. 3, and tickets for Saturday's show will be honored. Those wanting refunds can get them wherever they bought their tickets. |
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| luxury1 |
But Parmeda--the question remains--did he wear those lucite-heeled rhinestone shoes you lust after???
Thanks for the reviews. I am going on July 14--MSG. Cant wait. Throbby has been most busy downloading live shows, and by the sound of what I hear, it will be a funkified jam session for sure (I have seen him a bunch of times since 1981, and he remains the absolute best live performer in terms of musicianship, dance moves, tightest band).
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| GimmeExile |
Where can I find setlists from the different shows of Prince's tour?
I'm going to see him in August and am interested in what's he's playing and how much he shakes up the setlist each night... |
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| parmeda |
Lux.."The shoes" were EVERYTHING I thought they would be, LOL...Wait until you see them! I tried to get my cameras in...bastards made me check them in at guest services 
Throbby is downloading? Hmmm....I may have to get in touch with him 
Gimme...I've heard that Prince is sticking to the same set list for most of the shows, but in a case where he has more than one show in the same city...he mixes it up just a tad. Doesn't matter to me...I could sit thru the same "abuse" for a couple of nights, lol.
Here's what the paper had to say today...
BTW...rumor is, John Blackwell's 2 year old daughter drowned in a pool. Very sad, to say the least.
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PRINCE 2 CHICAGO: C U NEXT MONTH
Chicago SunTimes
June 29, 2004
BY JIM DEROGATIS - Pop Music Critic
The Purple Reign has been cut short. After a triumphant opener at the Allstate Arena on Friday, Prince rescheduled the remaining nights of his five-show run on the Chicago stop of his Musicology tour.
Monday afternoon, the artist's Los Angeles publicity firm announced postponement of shows on Monday night, tonight and Wednesday night, blaming a death in the family of New Power Generation drummer John Blackwell.
Prince publicist Jean Sievers said the artist did not want to release any more information out of respect for Blackwell, but "it's just about the worst thing that can happen, and Prince is not going to just replace his drummer in the middle of the tour."
In completely unrelated circumstances, Saturday's show was canceled just before the 8 p.m. start, when thousands of fans at the 18,500-seat venue were already in their seats, because Prince was suffering from a sore throat. About 6 p.m., he visited Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge.
On Friday, Prince was in fine form musically, showing no signs of being ill. "Prince is a perfectionist, and this is a vocal-intensive show," Sievers said. "He's not going to perform if he's not at his very best. But Saturday's cancellation has nothing to do with the cancellation of the other three shows."
Monday's show has been rescheduled for July 22; Tuesday's show, for July 23, and Wednesday's show, for July 24. As announced earlier, the concert that was to have taken place on Saturday has been rescheduled for Aug. 3. Tickets for the original dates are good for the new dates. Ticketholders can request refunds at points of purchase.
Fans who showed up Monday at the Allstate Arena, unaware of the cancellation, were disappointed but understanding.
"I was very excited to see him tonight. We had the whole night planned around this. It's too bad," Stephanie Seligman, 38, of Schaumburg said, adding, "How can you fault somebody for wanting to be with their family in a time of need?"
Jason Epstein, 23, of Vernon Hills arrived Monday with friend Jerry Attere, 24, of Chicago, saw few cars and figured "something was up." Epstein and Attere will attend the makeup concert. "I'm disappointed, but we understand situations come up. We are looking forward to it. We love Prince." |
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| GimmeExile |
quote:
parmeda wrote:
Gimme...I've heard that Prince is sticking to the same set list for most of the shows, but in a case where he has more than one show in the same city...he mixes it up just a tad. Doesn't matter to me...I could sit thru the same "abuse" for a couple of nights, lol.
parmeda, do you have at least one setlist you can post?
He's playing 3 shows in DC, so I'm sure he'll mix it up a little... |
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| jb |
Thanks Pam..but sadly, SS has made the transition.... |
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| parmeda |
quote:
GimmeExile wrote:
parmeda, do you have at least one setlist you can post?
He's playing 3 shows in DC, so I'm sure he'll mix it up a little...
...from one of my "buds"
Friday 6/25/04
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*Alicia Keys intro clip
*Musicology
*brief crazy in love/i like the way you move
*Let's Go Crazy
*When Doves Cry
*I Feel For You
*Question of U/The One/Fallin (brief Candy Dulfer vocals)
*Controversy
*Let's Work
*Shhh
*D.M.S.R.
*Life O the Party
*Brief housequake
*Brief 777-9311
*Call My Name
*Take Me With you
*I would Die For You
*Love Bizzare
*Sign O Times
*U Got The Look
*Baby I'm A Star
*Soul Man (Chance Howard (?) on vocals w/Prince)
some renato neto spacey new age instrumental (intermission)
maceo playing what a wonderful world/smooth jazz instrumental (intermission 2)
Acoustic:
Little Red Corvette
Cream
Raspberry Beret
Kiss
Adore
On The Couch
Alphabet St
Black Sweat (new song or cover?)
some famous chaka kahn song i don't know (Sweet Thing?)
7 (1st half acoustic 2nd half full band)
final song:
Purple Rain
[Edited by parmeda] |
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| parmeda |
quote:
jb wrote:
Thanks Pam..but sadly, SS has made the transition....
...it breaks my heart, jb |
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| jb |
Did you feel even the slightest bit of embarrassment being at a Prince concert?
Also, the Cubs, not SS, shall break your heart.
[Edited by jb] |
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| parmeda |
Are you kidding, jb? It was an experience!
You would have loved it!
And hey!...Don't pull my chain. I bleed Cubby Blue, lol
(...I do miss SS) |
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| jb |
quote:
parmeda wrote:
Are you kidding, jb? It was an experience!
You would have loved it!
And hey!...Don't pull my chain. I bleed Cubby Blue, lol
(...I do miss SS)
Have you noticed that Ken Griffey Jr. and Janet Jackson look remarkably similar? |
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| telecaster |
pam I saw Jim DeRegotis (Chicago Sun Times rock critic)
walking down the street 2 yrs ago near Wrigley.
Since he always has negative things to say about the Stones I felt it my obligation to yell out the window as I was driving by him:
"Lay off the Stones you fat fuck!"
I felt it was my duty and I felt much better after doing it |
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| Joey |
quote:
parmeda wrote:
Are you kidding, jb? It was an experience!
You would have loved it!
And hey!...Don't pull my chain. I bleed Cubby Blue, lol
(...I do miss SS)
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| Stonesdoug |
Prince cancelled his Friday show in Chicago due to a sore throat and than the next two shows were cancelled when his drummer's child drowned. |
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| jb |
quote:
Stonesdoug wrote:
Prince cancelled his Friday show in Chicago due to a sore throat and than the next two shows were cancelled when his drummer's child drowned.
Thanks Doug... |
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| Joey |
quote:
Stonesdoug wrote:
Prince cancelled his Friday show in Chicago due to a sore throat and than the next two shows were cancelled when his drummer's child drowned.
Thanks So Much Doug .
www.pollstar.com |
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| MarthaMyDear |
You're welcome...   lol........... PEACE!!!
*** Martha *** |
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| PolkSalad |
quote:
jb wrote:
Also, the Cubs, not SS, shall break your heart.
 |
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| MarthaMyDear |
Ball players are good-looking... Ball players probably break hearts... :P :P :P :P :P :P :P :P :P :P
*** Martha *** |
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| parmeda |
Oh Martha, if you only knew! lol
Sammy & the boys have been killing me lately |
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| MarthaMyDear |
I'm not a sports fan but I do like watching baseball (probably
just the guys in their uniforms)!!!
ROTFLOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My father killed all
enthusiasm for sports for me, unfortunately, even though I was
a cheerleader and a songleader, etc.!!! lol........... But, I
know that it sucks when your team loses!!! lol....... Anyways,
nice to hear from you, Pammy, and now I think I'd better get
some rest before I start moving tomorrow... FUN!!! FUN!!!
FUN!!! lol....................... :P :P :P :P :P :P :P :P :P
:P lol.... LOL!!!!!!!! :P Anyways, take care,
PEACE, and DO ROCK ON!!! PEACE!!!
*** Martha *** |
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| Taptrick |
I went to buy Prince tix last night for San Diego. They wanted $200 for 2 upper level reaer seats at Ticketmaster($82 apiece, $10 service charge apiece, taxes) - had to pass.
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| jb |
Prince is very overrated in my opinion...he is also very short and has a Napoleonic complex. |
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| Joey |
quote:
PolkSalad wrote:
Polksalad ........................I absolutely love the new improvements at U.S. Cellular Field this year -- looks like more are on the way for 2005 .
Well Done ! |
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| jb |
The Cubs shall not win a pennant in your life time. |
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| PolkSalad |
quote:
Joey wrote:
Polksalad ........................I absolutely love the new improvements at U.S. Cellular Field this year -- looks like more are on the way for 2005 .
Well Done !
It looks good. Haven't been this year yet. Still miss the old park.
[Edited by PolkSalad] |
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| jb |
Harey carey has left the building. |
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| Joey |
quote:
jb wrote:
Harey carey has left the building.
Harry Carey is now " Hard As A Carp " !!!!!! |
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| MarthaMyDear |
I would like to nuzzle you... lol...... LOL!!!!!!!!!!
lol..
*** Martha *** |
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| Joey |
quote:
MarthaMyDear wrote:
I would like to nuzzle you... lol...... LOL!!!!!!!!!!
lol..
*** Martha ***
Martha My Dear ...............wanna " Hula WHO " ?!?!?!
W- W- W- W- What ?!?!?! .............Oh , sure :
http://www.kathyszaksite.com/
[Edited by Joey] |
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