Prince London O2 Arena 9th September 2007
Prince has been in the news recently, as he has been over here in the UK playing a series of guerrilla gigs in London and Manchester. The reviews of those gigs have been overwhelmingly positive, with fans and critics alike proclaiming the purple one as one of the best performers in the world. Now I don’t pretend to be a big Prince fan, but I did go to see him during his record-breaking unprecedented 21 night run at the O2 Arena in London in 2007, billed as the Earth Tour. Tickets were priced at a mere £31.21 a pop in order to “make the concerts affordable to everybody”, and also entitled the bearer to a free copy of Prince’s CD, Planet Earth. Similarly, the reviews of the time were extremely positive: “Every night, from the moment he hit the stage, he had the audience eating out of his hand with his consummate showmanship and musical genius — his guitar playing, in particular, was extraordinary. You got the feeling that he was simply pleasing himself, but the fun was mightily contagious” (totalproduction). I enjoyed the gig much more than I had anticipated, Prince included several of his hits, and some amazing covers. He stage was modelled in the shape of his trademark symbol, and he used it to its full extent, popping up at various different places during the evening. 
You can see shades of many influences in Prince’s music and style, but the artist who he most reminds me of is Sly Stone; now there is someone who I have never seen and would love to…(but I doubt I will get the chance to now). Prince may be back in the UK in the summer for shows at Glastonbury or Hyde Park.
Setlist: Let’s Go Crazy; Baby I’m a Star; Proud Mary (Creedence Clearwater Revival); All Along the Watchtower (Bob Dylan via Hendrix); Take Me With U; Guitar; Shhh; Musicology; Play That Funky Music (Wild Cherry); Sexy Dancer; Le Freak (Chic); What a Wonderful World (Louis Armstrong). Piano set: Somewhere Here on Earth; Diamonds and Pearls; Adore; Strange Relationship; Sometimes It Snows in April; 7; Come Together (The Beatles); If I Was Your Girlfriend. Encore: Black Sweat; Kiss; Purple Rain. Sampler set: Irresistible Bitch; Sign “☮” the Times; Raspberry Beret; When Doves Cry; I Wanna Be Your Lover; Soft and Wet; Lady Cab Driver. Encore 2: I Feel for You; Controversy
Archive for the ‘Prince’ Category
26 Feb
Vintagerock's Weblog. 