I'm a huge Prince fan!! His Super Bowl halftime show is undoubtedly one of the best of all-time.
One of the best concerts I ever saw was a Prince "aftershow". It was part of his "Hit N' Run" tour in 2000. It was so called because each show in the tour was announced a week or less beforehand. He had recently separated from Warner Brothers and was back to using the name "Prince" and playing a bunch of old songs he had not played for many years. A huge deal.
I didn't see the regular concert. I already had tickets to see Macy Gray and Common that night...
The Macy Gray show was at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago. A block away from that venue was The Riviera Theater where Prince was playing. In between the two was a tiny "Mr Submarine" sandwich shop. I stopped in there for a bite to eat before my concert. While I was eating I overheard two people talking about how Prince was going to play an aftershow at The Metro (small club near Wrigley Field) after his regular concert. I wondered if it was true and was determined to find out.
After the Macy Gray / Common show (which was great) I high-tailed it down to The Metro. There was a line outside it several blocks long and the marquee had a question mark on it. It was edging midnight, so a line outside this venue (known for its all-ages rock shows) at this time was very unusual.
I got in line.
Eventually we were let in. Pretty sure the cover was less than $20 cash for entry.
Prince hit the stage close to 2:00am. He sang, played guitar, played piano. His band was red-hot. Macy Gray and Common appeared on stage with him as guests and sang as well. They didn't play many of Prince's hits (I distinctly remember "Adore" though. Incredible!). It was a lot of cool covers and funk jams.
The show ended close to 4:00am. I went out for pancakes afterwards at a 24-hour IHOP, watching the sun rise. I could not believe what I just witnessed.
What an amazing story Phil -- lucky you! That's one to keep you warm at night into your old age, lol! And how awesome to see Prince in such an intimate setting, with Macy Gray and Common, no less.
Oh the days of staying out until 4AM rocking out and eating pancakes and not paying for it the next day!
I'm a huge Prince fan!! His Super Bowl halftime show is undoubtedly one of the best of all-time.
One of the best concerts I ever saw was a Prince "aftershow". It was part of his "Hit N' Run" tour in 2000. It was so called because each show in the tour was announced a week or less beforehand. He had recently separated from Warner Brothers and was back to using the name "Prince" and playing a bunch of old songs he had not played for many years. A huge deal.
I didn't see the regular concert. I already had tickets to see Macy Gray and Common that night...
The Macy Gray show was at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago. A block away from that venue was The Riviera Theater where Prince was playing. In between the two was a tiny "Mr Submarine" sandwich shop. I stopped in there for a bite to eat before my concert. While I was eating I overheard two people talking about how Prince was going to play an aftershow at The Metro (small club near Wrigley Field) after his regular concert. I wondered if it was true and was determined to find out.
After the Macy Gray / Common show (which was great) I high-tailed it down to The Metro. There was a line outside it several blocks long and the marquee had a question mark on it. It was edging midnight, so a line outside this venue (known for its all-ages rock shows) at this time was very unusual.
I got in line.
Eventually we were let in. Pretty sure the cover was less than $20 cash for entry.
Prince hit the stage close to 2:00am. He sang, played guitar, played piano. His band was red-hot. Macy Gray and Common appeared on stage with him as guests and sang as well. They didn't play many of Prince's hits (I distinctly remember "Adore" though. Incredible!). It was a lot of cool covers and funk jams.
The show ended close to 4:00am. I went out for pancakes afterwards at a 24-hour IHOP, watching the sun rise. I could not believe what I just witnessed.
The setlist of the show is available online:
https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/prince/2000/metro-chicago-il-1bd9a160.html
There's also a bootleg recording of it!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljT_gJjewIc
What an amazing story Phil -- lucky you! That's one to keep you warm at night into your old age, lol! And how awesome to see Prince in such an intimate setting, with Macy Gray and Common, no less.
Oh the days of staying out until 4AM rocking out and eating pancakes and not paying for it the next day!
Thanks for the setlist and recording!
Truly one of the greats, a rare combination of talent, creativity, style, and substance.
Two of my favorites; first the triumphant scene from Purple Rain (where he does the title tune):
https://youtu.be/TvnYmWpD_T8
And I've always loved the whimsical nature of Raspberry Beret:
https://youtu.be/l7vRSu_wsNc
FWIW, his YT channel has a comprehensive playlist of music videos:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrwXzbX3SWnu1H2yesZA0-28anAKGK6ZE
Has some very interesting rehearsal sessions he taped.
Wow! Thanks for the info, WS! Not that I expected less from a Minnesotan!
Raspberry Beret is my second favorite.