"There is only one man who is so loud he makes you soft, so strong he makes you weak, so honest you kinda feel bashful, so bold he defies you to be subtle, so super bad it feels super good. He is the only man that I've ever seen, that lights, electric guitars, slides, pianos, dances, voices, splits, and song. Song so powerful that you are forever changed - songs that make you laugh and cry, dance and think. Songs that made me look at songwriting as stories that are untold passions dying to be heard. Because of him I have never wanted to be like anyone but myself. Because of his music my music has wings to be different." ~ Alicia Keys
From the second the lights dim in the arena and the audience erupts with applause, chants, screams . . . until his encore performance of Purple Rain and his smooth exit off stage, Prince totally delivers!
The cool one doesn't' have special staging, flashy dancers or other distractions that many artists have during their shows. He doesn't need it. For Prince, its all about the music! And for three wonderful concerts during the summer of 2004, I had the extreme pleasure of witnessing his genius "Live and In Person"!
And to memorialize my unforgettable experiences, my concert tickets, Musicology CD's and purple streamers that I grabbed while they fell at the end of each performance . . . .
Oh, Kathy - Your idol, sigh! I do agree he's different and kudos to him - he took risks. For me -- Alisha Keyes is more my style. But, I can't imagine with this world would be like without all genres of music. Love it all! Happy tunes to you, menehune
ReplyDeleteHi Menehune, thanks for your comments! Alicia Keyes is very talented as well. Like you, I love it all too! :)
ReplyDeleteHave a great weekend!
Yay, a post about the Cool One (that is what I call him now, thanks to you!).
ReplyDeleteLove the purple streamers! Alicia Keys' quote is awesome too.
I was talking to some friends one time, and we were talking about modern music and about how there are some people who are good entertainers and then there are others who are both entertainers AND geniuses. We started naming the genuises and I named Prince, and everyone agreed.
I have only seen him in concert one time and would love to see him again someday. I need to dig out my ticket and see what year it was. I think it was the "Lovesexy" tour which was a long time ago. It was such an awesome show. At that time, his concerts were kind of like Broadway productions. Interesting and cool that he's streamlined his shows these days.
Have I told you about my friend who lives in Minneapolis? She told me that he sometimes shows up in little clubs and plays these surprise shows to small groups of people. Wouldn't that be incredible?
Anyway, I'm going to look for my ticket stub when I get home from work. Great post and Happy Friday to you!
We like his older work but haven't been too crazy about more recent recordings. We go hot and cold on some artists.
ReplyDeleteWe've gotten out of going to concerts. I think it is part of getting old. :) Our last concert was a great outdoor concert to see Pink Martini about 2 years ago. It was great. I do try to see them when they are around but usually find out too late for tickets.
I am sorry that I never saw Joni Mitchell perform.
Fabulous post,Kathy. Your admiration for Prince shines through your words. I like him too, but never had the pleasure to see him in person. I really like the Alicia Keys quote and your purple steamers.
ReplyDeleteHi Annie, Alicia Keys’ quote is very cool and really pin points Prince and his impact in the music industry. I’m so glad to hear that you mentioned Prince in that discussion of great entertainers and geniuses because without question he is. And I am also so happy that the others in that group agreed with you!
ReplyDeleteGlad you like my streamers too. When I went to search for my ticket stubs and concert booklet I saw my streamers and I thought cool, I’ll add it to my post.
The one thing I really love about Prince is his mass and diverse appeal! At all of his concerts there were people from all walks of life and we were all just equally hypnotized by his talent and performance. He really is a genius.
That is so cool that you saw him perform live too. I didn’t realize he had the razzle dazzle show before. He really has changed in that respect. There’s this one favorite part in the concert where it’s just him and his guitar and he is so awesome. That would be cool if you could find that ticket and it would be very cool if you can see him perform now. I wish I can see him perform live again soon too. Sadly, I missed out on some of his recent LA appearances.
I don’t know if you mentioned your friend to me before. But I too have also heard that he has a tendency to show up and just do a set at small venues. And it is usually unannounced. I missed one that he did with Shiela E, only five minutes away from me. If I had known, I would’ve been down there in a flash.
Glad you liked my “cool one post” Annie! Have an awesome weekend!
Hi Marta, I love his older work more too! In fact, that’s why my friend and I went to as many concerts as we did that summer because he had announced that would be the last time that he would perform all his old songs. So we were on a mission! Since then he’s had a change of heart and has been seen around continuing to perform his older songs like Purple Rain and 1999.
I’m not a very big concert goer too but will go if I really like the performer a lot. I’m not very familiar with Pink Martini, but the outdoor venues are fabulous places to listen to live music. The Hollywood Bowl here in LA is a great place to see concerts. I once caught Antonia Carlos Jobim perform there and it was cool. You can bring food and drinks in and have a picnic before the show. I think Joni Mitchell is fantastic and I wouldn’t mind seeing her perform live. I also enjoyed seeing Andrea Bocelli perform at the Staples center during one of his few visits to the US. There’s a funny story about that. Our group originally had nose bleed seating and one person in our group who is by nature pretty bold, asked the usher if we could get better seating. He said yes and asked us to follow him. We were only expecting to move down maybe one level or two, but next thing we knew we were in row 8 center stage and had the most perfect view! We were so close, that when my friend yelled out "I love you Andrea" he heard her and smiled! :) So like the saying goes, it never hurts to ask?
Have a great weekend Marta!
Hi Candi, thanks for your comments. Yes, I am a huge fan. I can’t believe that its been 5 years since that summer tour. Great memories. I think if you were to see Prince perform live I know you would really enjoy yourself. I bet you’d even stand up, dance and scream! :) He is so talented and a great entertainer. I think Alicia’s quote is pretty cool. She’s such a great and talented songwriter in her own right too. Glad you liked my purple streamers.
Have a great weekend Candi!
Thanks everyone for sharing and for your comments! Have a great weekend! :)
Hi! How's your weekend going? Saturday morning here, I'm sipping my cappuccino, watching Trixie and Pyewacket sleep on my bed on the electric blanket. Here comes Tigger too.
ReplyDeleteAnyhow, re: Scotland.
Do you know Hamish Macbeth?
I have all of the mystery books and have reread them all several times. I am now collecting them on audio book from my local library.
I also have the whole set on DVD and have seen that about three times.
Just wondering. Was the talk about the GORGEOUS Highland cattle that made me ask. :)
Hi Leslie, sounds like you're having a fabulous morning! It's Friday evening here and our weekend has officially begun! :)
ReplyDeleteI have not heard of Hamish Macbeth and so I googled it. Sounds interesting and fun. Cool! I'll see if they are available on netflix or at the bookstore.
Don't you just love Annie's story and that cute little highland baby cow! I've seen Annie's postcard and watched the Youtube several times already! Too cute! Highland looks so beautiful and I am looking forward to seeing it.
Thanks so much for mentioning Hamish Macbeth Leslie. Keep on enjoying your Saturday and your entire weekend!
Hi Kathy, I found my ticket stub!
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Lovesexy World Tour
Greensboro Coliseum
Sunday October 16
Price: $20.00 (can you believe that?!)
The year was torn off but I googled and found out that it was 1988. Wikipedia has a page about that tour that includes a set list; check it out:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lovesexy_World_Tour
I remember that he saved some of the biggest hits for the end of the show and people were going crazy when he played them. The Wikipedia article says that he lost money on that tour because of all the fancy props. I remember the Ford Thunderbird was on hydraulics and was moving around in the air with him standing on it. It was really like Broadway.
I also remember that the crowd was so cool...all ages, races, walks of life. Lots of older black ladies there, very dressed up kind of like Aretha looked at the Inauguration. It was so much fun!
Thanks for bringing back such great memories! I don't go to as many concerts as I did when I was younger but I still love to go to one every once in a while. I hope we both get to see Prince again someday soon.
Happy weekend!
Hi Annie, thank you so much for going to the trouble of finding your ticket stub. I checked out that link and was so impressed with the song list. He really sang a lot of his hits. I love the song, "The Cross" but have not seen him sing it. And all of my favs are on that list. Must have been an awesome concert!
ReplyDeleteI read about the staging and was really amazed. An actual thunderbird and on hydrolics is very cool. It must have been an awesome tour. And how fun to enjoy the concert with such a fun crowd.
Your concert story reminded me that when I was in Munich Germany I happened to find this Rock museum at the Olympic Park and there was a poster of Prince because he performed at the Olypmpic Stadium on June 14, 1990. I was so psyched to see it that I included it in my Slow Travel Munich Album. :) I went to find it so I could get the date and notice there are 185 views! he, he! Here's the link:
http://www.slowphotos.com/photo/showphoto.php?photo=33268&cat=4035
Like you and Marta I don't attend concerts as much as when I was younger too. Although if it was Prince, I would go in a heartbeat. I'll keep my fingers crossed for Prince to go on tour soon so we can both get another opportunity to attend and witness his genius again!
Thank you too for the walk down memory lane! It has been a lot of fun flashing back to days gone by but never forgotten!
Hope you're having a great Saturday! Have a great day tomorrow too.
LOVE this entry, Kathy! What a thrill to read your passionate descriptions of the Cool one and his performances. I know what you mean about there being the odd artist you would do most anything to see...for me, that would be Bowie.
ReplyDeleteHi Anne, David Bowie and the Cool One! Like Prince he is very talented and has a style all his own. Very few artists can have that said about themselves.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I like KISS on AI, I think I would've preferred David Bowie! :)
Thanks for your comments...
Hi Kathy,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the link to your Munich photo album. I love that Prince poster! I bet that museum was so much fun to visit. I enjoyed looking at all of your photos from that trip!
Hope you are having a good week!
Hi Annie, I thought you would find that little poster interesting. Thanks for your comments about my Munich photos. I was only there for a couple of days so I wasnt' able to see much, but I was so glad that I stumbled onto the Rock Museum and part of the Cool One's past! :) Pretty cool to know that Prince has fans worldwide! There was some talk on the Prince fan sites that he was going to take his Summer 2004 tour on the road to Europe! Now that would've been fun to attend one of his concerts while in Europe! Have a good day today!
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