This is not music, this is a trip! Or at least it will be.

This is not music, this is a trip! Or at least it will be.  I know, right now you are asking yourself, "What the hell is he talking about?" All things will be revealed and all will make sense in due time.  At least I hope it will make sense.  I never know when I start writing these things where they are actually going so who knows.  So it's been months since I've posted anything here and I would love to give you a great reason why that is but I can't. To be perfectly honest, I just haven't made the time. It seems I got caught up in this thing called life and the next thing I knew, it was April.  So why post now? Well, I'm glad you asked (I know, I know. You didn't, I did but play along, damn!).  Way back in January, Prince debuted a show he was calling the Piano & A Microphone Gala Event at Paisley Park.

Now this was the same show he was going to take on a European tour last year (or at least very similar) before the Paris attacks changed his mind. No backing band, no guitar.  Just Prince, his piano, a microphone (see how he came up with the name, pretty ingenious, huh?), his vast musical catalog and that voice of his. Hearing these new, stripped down piano arrangements of these Prince songs I grew up listening to was amazing.  It was like rediscovering the songs all over again.  Huh, what's that? How did I hear them? Uh....well....you see what happened was.....uh......damn, what's with the questions?  Maybe I'll reveal that in another post at another time.  Maybe I won't.  For now can we just concentrate on the topic at hand? Thank you.  So where was I? Oh yeah, we were about to journey Down Under because in February, Prince announced an Australian Piano & A Microphone Tour. He performed 11 shows in Australia and New Zealand.

Then on his way home to Minneapolis, he stopped off in Oakland and performed three shows there.

Later, at the end of March, he would have shows in both Montreal and Toronto. 

The thing about all the North American tour dates is that they have been announced like his previous Hit 'N' Run tours with very little advance notice.  And that leads me to why I decided to post here after all this time.

Yessssss!!!! That's right!!!!! Prince is bringing his Piano & A Microphone Tour to The Fox Theatre in Atlanta and guess who has a ticket to the 7 p.m. show? ME, that's who!!!!!! I'll be headed down to the ATL to enjoy this intimate once-in-a-lifetime chance to experience Prince in a way I (and most of you) have never experienced his music. To say I am excited would be the understatement of the year. That excitement has done nothing but build over the last week since the show was originally scheduled for April 7th but was postponed just hours before the show due to Prince having the flu. Here is the original press release for the April 7th show.

Prince – Piano & A Microphone Tour

Thursday, April 7 at 7:00 & 10:00 p.m.
The Fox Theatre, Atlanta
Presented by Rival Entertainment
ON SALE WEDNESDAY, MARCH 30th AT NOON
Reserved Seats: $350, $275, $211, $175, $100
Tickets may be purchased by calling 855-285-8499 or online at foxtheatre.org.
The Fox Theatre Box Office will be open at Noon for in-person sales.

Every ticket purchased to Prince’s Piano & A Microphone concert includes a CD copy of his new album HITNRUN – Phase II, which will be distributed to ticket holders upon exiting the venue.

Prince will bring his Piano & A Microphone tour to Atlanta on Thursday, April 7th, for two exclusive and intimate shows at The Fox Theatre.

For those blessed enough to attend, everything about these exclusive performances has been carefully considered to deliver special once-in-a-lifetime experiences. The repertoire will be culled from Prince’s vast 39-album catalogue and each performance will have a unique set-list that evolves in real time, song-to-song. Fans should expect to witness special interpretations of well-known hits alongside rarely performed B-sides and new, never-before-heard material.

Prince’s Piano & A Microphone tour commenced on January 21 at his US recording studio, Paisley Park, where he stunned fans who travelled from all over the world to see him perform two very personal shows. According to a Rolling Stone review of these shows, Prince performed on a stage decorated sparsely with candles and shrouded in smoke. The show was framed by the story of how he mastered the piano and emerged from the shadow of his father, jazz pianist John L. Nelson. “The set moved chronologically (with a few exceptions) through the first decade of Prince’s career,” Rolling Stone reports, “including at least one song from each of his first 10 albums.”

In addition to classic songs from albums including 1999, Purple Rain, and Sign o’ the Times, the set-lists have also featured covers by Joni Mitchell, Paul Robeson and Ray Charles; songs Prince has written for other acts including The Time, Sheila E. and Vanity 6; and even a Thelonious Monk-style version of the theme to Batman.

SPECIAL TICKETING ARRANGEMENTS
To address ticket scalping concerns, the following procedures will be put in place to ensure that Prince fans and NOT resellers, are able to purchase tickets to these performances:

Ticket limit per customer: There is a strict limit of two (2) tickets per customer, per show. Any customer found to have purchased more than two (2) tickets per person, per show will have their additional transactions cancelled. Ticket dispatch / will-call / entry: Tickets will not be distributed in advance. Tickets may be picked up from the Fox Theatre Box Office on the day of the show. Pickup for the 7pm show will begin at 10am, and pickup for the 10pm show will begin at 1pm.

STRICTLY NO PHOTOGRAPHY OR VIDEO ALLOWED.

USE OF MOBILE PHONES WILL NOT BE PERMITTED DURING THE SHOW.

So there you have it world, that is why I am back and now that I am, I promise to post more often.  Hopefully I will be able to post my thoughts on the show if I can find the words.  Stay tuned and I will let you know. Until then, I will leave you with these pictures......

What a month to be a fan!!!

We all have those moments of fandom when we go nuts.  Whether it's waiting for the latest season of Game of Thrones to start, wondering where Clara and The Doctor will head next or waiting to see if Rick Grimes and the crew finally found a place to stay.  We all have those special moments that we wait for and then remember. This month has been one of those months for Prince fans.  We have had an increasing number of leaked tunes that have been "freed." But to top it all, we have seen an unprecedented number of soundboard boot releases this month.

First we started out with the Rally 4 Peace livestream on TIDAL.  You had to know that it would be ripped and sent out to the masses as a boot release.  Shortly after that, the Dance Rally 4 Peace surfaced on Soundcloud in soundboard quality.  So naturally these two were combined together to make one hell of a release.  My fav being Rallies 4 Peace.

Our next little gem was a soundboard form 1987.  Prince and Madhouse live at the Park Cafe in Munich on May 21, 1987.  Just a great release with a lot of jamming. 

Needless to say, I had this on repeat.  That is until FBG dropped Hit 'N' Run from the Soundboard Volume 1 - Detroit Fox Theater.  A great show recorded on April 9, 2015. 

And just when I thought it couldn't get any better, FBG dropped Volumes 2 and 3.  Volume 2 was recorded in Louisville on March 14, 2015 (first show) while Volume 3 is from the first show on March 15, 2015. 

Though they are all great recordings, Volume 3 is probably my favorite for the simple fact I got to hear most of it live while I waited for the second show that night. 

All these releases make me wonder what is next.  Guess we will all have to wait and see.

Finally beloved we meet at last!!! (Reposted)

As some of you know, I managed to score tickets to the fourth and final show of Prince & 3rdEyeGirl's US 2015 Hit 'N' Run debut in Louisville.  The Louisville Palace was the sight and I must say that it was an amazing venue.  Having seen Prince several times, including aftershows, this had that personable, aftershow feel and it turned out to be everything I thought it would be. Now the show was on March 15th but I have intentionally waited to write my review.  I didn't want to write it immediately after the show when I was still on that "purple high" so now seemed like a good time. 

I took the two hour drive up I-65 to Louisville while jamming out to purple music.  I had made a few playlists to listen to on the way.  One was just a bunch of classic Prince tunes that I enjoy while the other was sort of my version of what Plectrum Electrum and Art Official Age would be as a single project (with a few other cuts not on the albums thrown in).  I had heard about line troubles getting in the night before so I tried to get there early.  I managed to make it to the Louisville Palace shortly after the beginning of the first show.  I guessed parking was going to be a problem but was able to easily find a spot in a parking garage directly across the street from the Palace.  After walking across the street, I talked to one of the security guards and he told me where the line would be. It turns out I was third in line.  There was a married couple in front of me and during conversation, it turns out that the wife and I went to high school together.  She was two years ahead of me and I hadn't seen her since '85 but here we were.  Small world, huh? Me and my fellow purple family members patiently stood in line and swapped stories about shows we had seen until finally it was time for us to enter.  Since the first show wasn't over yet, after you entered, you were ushered into the bar area which was sequestered from the main lobby. After two more encores, the first show finally ended and we waited for security to push the crowd out.  Finally we were allowed to enter the lobby and I immediately made my way to the merchandise table. They had vinyl for both albums and the usual shirts.  The one shirt I actually wanted was already sold out so I settled on the black tour shirt with the picture below on it. Then I was off to find my seat.

Seat located and now to wait.   I didn't have to wait too long though.  Out of the darkness and from behind the purple rain influenced curtain, we heard Hannah's voice.  She welcomed us all to Louisville and thanked us for coming to the show.  Then she gave us the phone warning, telling us not to use our phones for any pictures or videos.  She said, "Trust me, technology can not capture what you are about to witness on this stage tonight!" Then she was gone. 

You could feel the tension building in the crowd and then we heard it, "Dearly beloved....." and the crowd lost their minds.  From those opening lines all the way through the Frankenstein addition and back to the ending solo, Prince let us all know that it was gonna be one hell of ride.  Next was Take Me With U followed by U Got The Look.  Prince was all over the stage and was really interacting with the crowd.  After rocking out, it was time to cool down a little as we were lead into Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough.  That of course could only lead into Cool.  Louisville are you hot? NO! Do you know why? Cuz you COOL!!!! He brought a few folks up to dance on stage as he danced around the stage cuing the crowd and band. But when he yelled somebody dance with me and busted his dance moves, the crowd went nuts.  Then, after leaving the stage, Prince reappeared on the piano for a crowd singalong of Diamonds and Pearls before launching in to the full version of The Beautiful Ones.  This was followed by When Doves Cry (which I thought would be a snippet leading to the sampler set) and I was shocked it was the full version.  Prince asked, "How many of you remember the 80s?" which caused a huge response but not nearly as loud as when he asked, "How many of you were born in the 80s?" All of this lead to Controversy followed by 1999.  I was actually shocked about how many people were just standing around by this time.  When P asked, "Louisville, what do you wanna do?" As most of us die-hard fans were yelling, "PARTY!!!!!" there were plenty of people just standing there.  Next was the slowed down Little Red Corvette with the call and response of slow down.  Prince then delivered a heart felt and emotional Nothing Compares 2 U before saying "Thank you, Kentucky!! Goodnight!!"

After a couple of minutes, the crowd responded to the shadows on the stage and we heard Prince ask, "What should we play? How about Scandalous? Insatiable? I know, I know, how about Adore?"  Each question got a louder response but then he said, "I wrote all these songs and you know what? I play what I want, how I want and when I want! Hit me Hannah!" as Hannah cued the guitar loop for Kiss.  He played it much like most recent performances (U don't have to watch Real Housewives) to include the dancing breakdown after the normal end of the song.  And then he was gone again.

When he appeared again, he had his guitar with him and he said how much he loved that guitar before rocking out on Guitar.  That was quickly followed up by Plectrum Electrum and then Pretzelbodylogic.  Both songs allowed the band to rock out with Prince featuring Donna and Ida on solos throughout.  Finally it was Hannah's turn with Stratus and a breathtaking drum solo as she was left alone on stage.  I don't know how long it was but it seemed easily five minutes. I tweeted out that she rocked the solo so hard that she broke three of MY ribs.  Then she was gone too. The band appeared one last time and the show ended with Purple Rain.  Like Nothing Compares 2 U, this seemed very heart felt and his solos were screaming.  I've seen him perform this song live ten other times but this seemed the most emotional since I saw him on the Purple Rain Tour.  

And then it was over.  The lights were up.  The stage was being broken down and we sat. Dumbfounded.  Exhausted.  Emotionally spent.  Overdosed on purple music.  As most of you know, I had lost my faith in Prince after my experience on the opening night of Welcome 2 Chicago.  Well, now that faith has been renewed. Rekindled.  Once again, I had witnessed the greatest performer of our time and I had just experienced one of those "I was there" moments.  Now, like all purple junkies, all I can do is wait for my next purple fix.  Hopefully it comes soon.

Note:  Only the pics of the Palace are my photos.  The others were taken from Twitter and all credit should go to the original photographers.  Unfortunately, I don't remember who to credit.  Sorry.

This post originally appeared on my other blog, Are Friends Electric?