Prince @ The Forum: Nuit Dix-Huit

[SET LIST — PRINCE @ the Forum | May 27, 2011]


Opening ::: NIKKA COSTA!!!!
833pm
LIKE A FEATHER
NYLONS IN A RIP
KEEP PUSHIN'
EVERYBODY'S GOT THEIR SOMETHIN
CAN'T PLEASE EVERYBODY

923
Lights come down...new lightning sequence on stage Prince solo entrance, goes directly to the piano for...
Sample Teaser Medley:
WHEN DOVES CRY (whole song)/NASTY GIRL/SIGN OF THE TIMES/TMBGITW/ALPHABET ST./4EVER IN MY LIFE - full first verse and chorus/DARLING NIKKI/HOT THING (messup on lyrics)/I WOULD DIE 4 U


DMSR
POP LIFE (Renato on keys... Band costume change)
MUSICOLOGY/PRINCE & THE BAND (Prince rips shirt open!!! Woot!!!) Maceo Parker on horns!!!!
SHHH (prince hasn't picked up guitar yet) into U WILL B WITH ME back into SHHH extended

Renato on the THE LOVE WE MAKE piano into --- Prince on guitar (finally) --- into TAKE ME WITH YOU
ANOTHERLOVERHOLEINYOHEAD/ROCK LOBSTER ext. ending
PEACH!!!! (Where's my Miko at?? LOL)
(Special Forum talk) into 1999
COOL (Girls sing Don't Stop Till U Get Enough - homage to MJ)
LET'S WORK
U GOT THE LOOK

Break :::
MAKE U FEEL MY LOVE (all girls)
PURPLE RAIN (10 mins long)


ENCORE :::
NIKKA!!!
Beat to CONTROVERSY into LOVE BIZARRE w/ NIKKA and MACEO
CONTROVERSY/HQ chant
Prince pulls an older lady up to dance -- Can U say "GlamSlam Granny???" --- no hotpants, but she was rockin' a leopard print dress!

Celeb sightings --- from crowd pulled onto the stage:::
Holly Robinson Pete
Lisa Kudrow
Celestina -- the Dancer from Musicology & Black Sweat videos --- she was WORKING IT!!!

ENCORE :::
DISCO HEAT
BABY IMA STAR!!! (freaking FINALLY)
KISS


ENCORE 2 :::
NOTHING COMPARES 2 U (with Shelby J)

-------

On NIKKA:
FINALLY!!! After weeks of rumors, she opens for Prince. I happen to LOVE Nikka. Truly, she's the only other artist out there that I would follow like I follow Prince. She's quite a bit easier to "follow" since her diehard fans are faithful, but few compared to Princely standards. I don't have to wait in line for hours on end to get into a venue or to see her take the stage. It was quite exciting to see her in "Prince's House" although a bit bizarre to see her hauling ass across such a huge stage. At one point, as she was strutting down the long catwalk that makes up the bottom of Prince's symbol, she realized that she still had another 50 feet to go and she says into the mic, "Hang on babies, mama's comin!!!" LOL I actually prefer her in a more intimate venue --- especially since the people surrounding me had no idea who she was. "Please stop asking me who she is. Her name is NIKKA COSTA. Google it when you get home."


On MACEO:
Maceo is a legend. And it's always great to see him. Although the addition of him and Mike Phillips late into the LA run was very reminiscent of the MUSICOLOGY tour.

On the AFTERJAM:
I was once again blessed with the opportunity to get into the club. But the crowd was rather large and the afterjam was already underway by the time I got in. Nikka was playing sans Prince and she was rocking the joint. The sound was particularly bad tonight in the club. I'm not sure if it was always this bad, or it just sounded that way because I was way in the back dancing by myself. About 3 songs or so in, Prince sweeps in, flanked by security...sweeps back out after about 2 minutes...and then the show stops abruptly and DJ Rashida starts spinning again. Not sure what happened there, but I'm guessing Prince decided to move the jam session to his house. After dancing for another hour, the club started clearing out and we called it a night.

Prince @ the Forum: AFTERJAM | May 14, 2011

Through the kindness of a friend with connections, I found myself in the Forum Club for the afterparty once again. Although by the time I got in, the crowd at the stage was at least 8-9 people deep. There was NO WAY I was going to get to the front.

DJ Rashida was spinning the tunes as everyone waited in anticipation to see if Prince would play. At one point, I squeezed towards the front/side by her DJ booth and I was able to see the instruments all set up. But as yet, nothing was happening. Some of the crew got up on stage to take away some of the equipment and a lot of the crowd assumed that meant nothing was going to happen. So the masses cleared out quite a bit. Being in heels that night, the "dogs were barking" so I decided to wander over to the bar with my friend to see if we could sit while waiting for something to happen.

While at the bar, I stopped to chat for a bit with Dr. Funkenberry and a few other friends. And as we were standing there, Prince (flanked by security) floated by towards the club interior. Shortly thereafter, Janelle went by with her own entourage, and I took this as my cue to head back in.

Again, the crowd had gotten thick, and I kind of lost my friend in the mess too, so --- being 4'12" and unable to see shit, even in heels, I decided to find a place sit and listen to the jam session. As it turned out Prince didn't really play --- opting to enjoy from the sidelines while he let Janelle's band jam. I found a spot in the very back of the club on one of the comfy couches and sat to listen to the music. It was actually really great to sit and relax for a while.

After regaining the feeling in my toes, I wandered back towards the crowd as I heard OUTSTANDING by the Gap Band being played. I was dancing toward the back of the crowd when I saw Pej off to the side by DJ Rashida. He motioned for me to come over and when I did, he positioned me in front of him so I could see a clear shot of Prince — looking gorgeous and tight in his baby blue suit — jamming with Janelle and Cassandra on the keys. (Thank you, Pej!)

So Prince didn't play. And Janelle didn't really play much either. It was really just a jam session by the band members. Shelby got up to sing, as did Liv...and lead the crowd in a few chants. Prince was in a playful mood getting up on the mic to say, "We all need to say a prayer for sister Shelby's mom. She fell asleep with a candy necklace on and the ants got her." Overall, it was a cool ending to a great night. And we get to do it all again "later".

And there's that little bit mo'. Good times...
:)

Prince @ the Forum: AFTERJAM | April 30, 2011

When I said, "Wait, there's more...." I wasn't joking.

Word has gotten around that Prince throws an afterparty after every show. And since these parties are usually VIP & Celeb A-list only, I had no delusions or intentions of even trying to get in to any of them.

Imagine my surprise --- after witnessing my favorite show of the tour (thus far) --- when I found myself INSIDE THE CLUB after the show. I am still not entirely sure how I was able to get in. A friend of a friend of a friend hooked us up...and when my friend said, "Follow me and don't ask any questions," I did. And next thing I knew, I was escorted through a curtain and into to the afterparty.

Several celebs we saw on stage were already milling about. Maksim from DWTS and his partner, Kirstie Alley...Taraji P. Henson...Juan Escovedo...et al. On my way past the bar, someone yelled out my name and I wondered for a split second, "Who the hell knows ME??? I'm no one special." Turns out, it was my Hanaa, whom I met at one of the LA Live shows. I hadn't seen her since 2009 and I was very surprised and flattered that she remembered me. With her was her friend Carmen.

And after introductions were made, we made a beeline for the "stage" to "mark our spots" just in case Prince played. He hadn't played at any of the 6 previous afterparties...and tonight turned out to be LUCKY # 7 for me because he actually "floated" in behind me to step onto the stage and begin a jam set.

SETLIST:***

• Let's Work --- Extended Groove
• Endorphinemachine (instrumental)
• She's Always in My Hair
• The Walk (instrumental)
• Future Soul Song
• Sweet Thing (Marva King on Vocals)
• Brown Skin (Liv Warfield on Vocals)
• Bambi!!!! (instrumental)
• Laydown
• Which Way Is Up

Prince comes back to jam to the track DJ Rashida is playing ---

• OUTSTANDING by the Gap Band
• Stratus --- extended JAM

Dj Rashida plays

• We Want The Funk

and Prince and Liv return to lead us in the chant...

Cody, off to the side starts us on the FREAKS ON THIS SIDE chant....

And Prince ends the evening by bestowing the tambourine he's playing on the hotness to my left.

Highlights best shared via bullet point:

• The stage wasn't really a stage more than it was a 5-6 inch step up platform. It was like watching him play in the corner of a living room. It was about 7-8 people wide, and the room was rather long and narrow. Starting from the far left (stage right) the front row was made up of Taraji Henson, Miko, Me, Hanaa, and 3 other people I didn't know.
• His mic stand was right in front of me and Tamiko and the half circle of pedals for his guitar was just behind a few feet away. The man himself was about 2 feet away from me for most of the performance. (HOLY SHIT!!!)
• Most of the celebs that attend these parties, don't really know his music very well. I think Prince appreciates it when people DO know his songs and he seemed to feed off of us because we knew the lyrics to every song he played --- even when the jam was instrumental, we were singing along. Several times, Prince would smile and turn his mic towards us. We were singing into his mic--- very cool cuz it felt like we were singing for him.
• When Prince did come towards the mic, he'd swing around and come at it sideways...so I had to back off to keep from getting hit in the head with the neck of his guitar --- If he'd have smacked me, I wouldn't have been mad at him. I'd have cherished the black eye and bruises to the right side of my face. Prince "War Wounds"??? LOL
• Several times during the night, I went from staring at his hands on the guitar to looking up at his face...and every time, I found him looking directly at me...and I'd smile and nod...and he'd smile and nod back. It was the best conversation I ever had!!! I felt connected to him...Somebody pinch me, cuz I KNOW I must have been dreaming.
• He was so close to me, I could smell him ——— Incense and Flowers. Mmmmmm.
• Watching his hands on the guitar and keyboards was mesmerizing. I'd swear he was being guided by an unseen force. I don't exaggerate on this. He is TRULY GIFTED..a MUSICAL GENIUS...Does this man EVER hit a wrong note??? EVER???? He's not even looking at the keys...he just puts his hands down and he's always on the right note. Hell, I need to look down at the keys when I'm playing the freaking chopsticks. The instruments are like an extention of his being....again, not exaggerating.

By the time we left, I was floating to the car and drove home on autopilot. I drove in complete silence --- not wanting to mar the experience with any other music...I was letting the events of the past 2 hours sink in...and wondering...WHAT THE FUCK JUST HAPPENED???? I can't believe that I just had that amazing experience. I've witnessed his shows from the front row...I've been close to him before...less than 4 feet and at eye level...But this experience beats any other HANDS DOWN. Making eye contact with him...having him smile and nod back at you??? UNREAL.

I have no idea how I'm going to top this night. I don't think I should even try.

GAME OVER.

"This is not music....this is a trip."

***Since cameras & cellphones were strictly forbidden during his performance, I couldn't very well pull out my cell and start jotting down the song titles as he was playing them. Special thanks to Dr. Funkenberry for tweeting the songs from the back of the club. The set list above was compiled from his posts through the course of the night.