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: Nuit Treize

[SET LIST — PRINCE @ the Forum | May 13, 2011]


OPENING ACT ::: Janelle Monae

10pm --- Prince takes the stage
DMSR
MUSICOLOGY/PRINCE & THE BAND (Mike Phillips on sax)/back into MUSICOLOGY
SHHH/U WILL B WITH ME
GLAMOROUS LIFE (Sheila E.)
SOMETIMES IT SNOWS IN APRIL intro into TAKE ME WITH U (w/ Janelle Monae)
RASPBERRY BERET/CREAM (Prince messes up on lyrics)
COOL (girls sing DON'T STOP TILL U GET ENOUGH)
LET'S WORK
U GOT THE LOOK (Prince messes up lyrics again - rips out earpiece from his ear and throws it on the ground...ends song early and leaves stage.)
QUESTION OF U (instrumental - just the band w/ Mike Phillips on sax, long solo) into THE ONE into U WILL B WITH ME
CONTROVERSY
PLAY THAT FUNKY MUSIC (Prince pulls Cody Breedlove from the VIP section to do vocals --- GO CODY!!!)
WHICH WAY IS UP
DISCO HEAT (Shelby J on vocals)
"LATIN GROOVE (with Sheila & Mike Phillips) back into
CONTROVERSY/HOUSEQUAKE CHANT

Renato stays on keys...Prince returns amidst lots of fog so all we see is his silhouette...
LET'S GO CRAZY/DELIRIOUS back into...LET'S GO CRAZY/1999
LITTLE RED CORVETTE/SLOW DOWN chant
Mike Philly continues playing even after song ends and goes into...


PURPLE RAIN

ENCORE :::
SUPERSTITION!!!!!!!!!!! WITH STEVIE WONDER!!!!!!!!!!!!
Prince leads Stevie out to center stage...and hands him the mic...
Stevie does a little "Happy Birthday" on his harmonica and then does some vocals EVERYTHING IS ALRIGHT chant into
SUPERSTITION
Then Sheila and Prince lead him over to the keyboards where he continues singing the song and playing the keys. (OMG!!!)

INGLEWOOD SWINGIN'
(Bunch of friends get pulled up on stage to dance --- Miko, Cody, Cheryl Dr. Funkenberry, etc)
FANTASTIC VOYAGE/LOVE ROLLERCOASTER

ENCORE 2 :::
Sample teaser medley:
WHEN DOVES CRY/NASTY GIRL/PARTY ALL THE TIME/SOTT/TMBGITW/BLACK SWEAT/DARLING NIKKI/I WOULD DIE 4 U
IF I WAS UR GIRLFRIEND
INSATIABLE
SCANDALOUS
ADORE

———
On Janelle Monae:
I was very excited to see Janelle Monae perform live. After seeing random TV appearances and music videos, I knew she was going to bring a special energy to the place. Not to impune either Esperanza Spaulding -- She was fascinating to watch. In my opinion, her style of music seemed a bit out of place in a venue as large as the Forum. I'd have loved to see her in a smaller jazz venue...a more intimate space.

As expected, Janelle didn't disappoint. She and her band were on an entirely different plane — wonderfully energetic, crazy weird, and playful. At one point, everyone on stage was supine with Ms. Monae still belting out lyrics. It was all very interesting to witness.

On Prince:
This being the 9th show I'd seen at the Forum, I have to admit that I'm getting quite tired of the setlist. As with the Musicology tour, I've gotten to the point where I'm identifying songs even before he's started playing them. And the $25 I'm paying is truly for that ONE random song he may or may not decide to throw at us. And amazingly enough, even with monitors everywhere flashing lyrics at him, Prince still manages to mess up on some of his songs. What??? I suppose he's allowed some missteps here and there...and his band is bound to miss a cue every once in a while. But still — after seeing this show so many times, (sadly) the errors are easier to notice.

On Stevie Wonder:
Just when I thought I was through and this show was going to blur into my memory along with the other shows I'd seen thus far, Prince throws me a bone. When the symbol lights started flashing to the driving beat of the ever familiar SUPERSTITION, we all lost our minds. Seeing Stevie Wonder play live and in person was one of the items on my musical "bucket list." Watching Prince lead the great Stevie center stage was just EPIC and I swear, even after he had left the stage, I could still feel the beat of the song resonating throughout the place. His presence made that night UNFORGETTABLE!!! In a word? WOW.

But wait...there's a little bit more...