I never would have thought I would meet the love of my life because of the musical love of my life. But, sure enough, I met L almost three years ago over a shared appreciation of the much-maligned Prince. At a company poker game, she announced her belief that Prince hadn't recorded anything worthwhile after 2000, and I set out to prove her. Sure, he hasn't put together a complete album since, perhaps, 1994's The Gold Experience... but there has been some amazing tracks over the past 15 years on albums such as The Rainbow Children, LotusFlow3r, Musicology, 3121.... it doesn't reach the peaks, but there have been more than only valleys.
Anyway... we bonded over Prince's live version of "Joy in Repetition", and the last 2+ years has featured bemoaning and cajoling over our inability to see our mutual musical legend together. We missed two high-profile opportunities, at the Avalon post-Oscar show and the Nokia Theater, and started to wonder if we'd get another. Prince's enigmatic performance choices didn't make it any more certain we'd ever get the chance, especially since he spent much of the 2000s in LA, but had appeared to have quietly fled the LA scene. When he announced his Welcome 2 America tour in NY, and then proceeded to not announce a national tour, we thought another opportunity would pass by.
But in Prince's inimitably inexplicable manner, he announced he was coming to LA. Not for one show, but for 21 of them at the LA Forum, the crumbling arena that was the site of so many famed concerts, but now was largely used for the occasional rock show and frequent religious revivals. Needless to say, we jumped at the opportunity. When Prince further announced that 85% of the tickets would sell for $25, we knew this wouldn't be an one-time affair. It was a chance to make up for lost time.
We didn't know then that our love of Prince would lead to 5 shows in 4 weeks, one of them in the most intimate of settings imaginable.
We started on April 14th at opening night. My fast trigger finger on the hateful Ticketmaster left us with riser seats just off the tip of his glyph-symbol stage. Though we sat next to two extraordinarily stoned young hipsters, one of whom threw up over our whole row midway through the show, it was everything we could've possibly wanted - and twice as much as we could have imagined. Prince put tickets on sale two days before the show, and it was only 2/3rds full. This allowed us to wander wherever we wanted during the show - our view got better and better throughout.
But more notably, Prince was in salesman mode. Not by pitching the other shows, but by knowing that word-of-mouth is the best way to generate crowds. How do you do that? By playing a 4 hour show with 6 encores, that never seemed to end. It just went on and on, and L and I spent the final 90 minutes of the show standing right next to the stage, underneath Prince as he played guitar on a heartbreaking version of "Sometimes it Snows in April", because launching into a blistering version of "Laydown", one of those tracks that proves that Prince can take a mediocre recorded cut and turn in into a live classic with astonishing ease.
After four exhausting hours, we were hooked. We talked the show up to everyone who would listen, and waited with itchy mouse fingers on Ticketmaster for the next show.
I decided that taking Z to the next show was essential. Not because a 6-year-old loves Prince that much, but out of that selfish paternal need - I wanted to be that cool dad who took his kid to a hip, cool show, and have him look back 10 years from now and be able to tell his friends, "Yeah, my dad took me to see Prince when I was six". He may not appreciate it now, but that will make for some great cocktail conversations later in life.
Z loved the experience - the walking with the crowd, the being out late, the energy. The music itself was a little overwhelming, and he spent the first half of the show with his hands over his earplug-filled ears, but then he loosened up, amazed at Sheila E's powerful drum solos. When Sheila kicked over her cymbal, Z curiously asked why, and I had to respond "Because she KILLED it!". His mind was sufficiently blown. Show #2 in the books. Show #3 was with my best friend P, and another close friend that I've bonded with Prince over for the past 10 years.
Show #4 at the Forum started with dance pit tickets, but we moved to prime seats just off the side of the stage. Janelle Monae was the opener, and while I had been dying to see her, it doesn't seem like her material is best served by an arena. In a club she'd probably be mind-blowing, but her high-energy, insanely ambitious stage show came off a little flat in the cavernous arena.
While the length and freshness of the April 14th show wasn't quite matched (and that show is already becoming known as "legendary" among Prince fans), it was nonetheless a stunning show. Prince was perhaps the most high-energy of any of the Forum shows, and we were treated to an intense version of "Shhh", and a non-stop display of guitar theatrics and Prince moves that left the audience shrieking like teenagers. Prince had the audience in his hand, and he knew it.
The show closed more than three hours after it started, but not before Prince brought out a special guest: Stevie Wonder. It was Stevie's birthday, and no matter how old he may be, the audience graciously appreciated the appearannce, and were treated to "Superstition", with Prince taking the side of the stage on rhythm guitar, as Stevie played harmonica and then keyboards. It was a true treat, and again reconfirmed just how special these shows have continued to be.
The LA Forum set lists mostly had a similar template each time though some skewed a more guitar-heavy (such as playing the B-side "She's Always In My Hair") as the second track of a Friday show. Prince would play covers with more regularity than his own tracks, with "Hollywood Swinging" becoming a nightly dance-party on stage, appearing more frequently even than "Let's Go Crazy".
"Glamourous Life" with an ageless, sexy-as-all-hell Sheila E appeared more frequently than "Sign O The Times", and was never a remote disappointment. In fact, it was a regular highlight, leaving the audience nearly as sweaty as Sheila herself.
One of the more surprising aspects of the shows was how some of the least expected tracks could be have the biggest impact, such as the aforementioned "Laydown" or a mind-blowing version of "The One" on May 13th. Dedicated Prince fans know better than to complain about his song performance choices though. How can a fan possibly have all your wishes granted when he has at least 200 songs he could justifiably play - not even counting the 20% of the songs that are covers. You get what you get, and you can expect that you'll love it. All of it.
Here's a list of all 66 different songs we heard over 5 separate shows. Yes, 66. Not counting samples.
Of all the big-venue shows I've seen Prince put on (the Bowl, Staples, Nokia, etc.), the Forum shows have far and away been the best he's put on. It's been pure joy - both for Prince and the audience. Sharing these concerts with L have been the greatest musical experiences I could imagine.
The dedication and enthusiasm we brought to these shows as a couple were only outdone by the enthusiasm, energy and grandiose perfectionism that Prince brought to the stage every night.
But even these amazing performances at the Forum weren't the peak of our Prince musical journey this month. The peak came somewhere else entirely...
Next Up: The Troubadour
If you want some more official, published reviews, here's some reactions to the LA Forum shows.
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