Lawd. Today is a particularly late day for me since it’s almost 5pm and I’m still working. As some of you may be aware, I attended three Prince concerts here in LA last night/this morning — all in a row — and, as a result, my day today is running behind. The first show was at the Nokia Theater, the second show was at The Conga Room and the third show was at Club Nokia. While I had the time of my life, the night wasn’t without its snags. Overall, tho, nothing could mar the fact that seeing Prince perform three shows in a row all in one night was one of the best concert memories of my life. Here are a few photos that were snapped professionally of Prince’s first show at the Nokia Theater last night:

The first show was the one that was filled with the most Prince hits, which I’m sure delighted the mass Prince fan population that likes to attend his shows. I took my friend Johnny with me to the first show and we had a blast. Johnny had never seen Prince perform live before so I knew he was in for a treat. The tix I purchased for the first show were got thru the LOTUSFLOW3R.com website — natch, we got great pit tickets right in front of the stage. It was so much fun, I can’t even tell you. Johnny and I were having a great time … and when Sheila E. came out for the encore? Man, we lost our minds. So much fun!! Here are some of the cameraphone pics that I managed to take last night. I got some pics from the first show and the third show but none from the second, more intimate show. I didn’t want to risk gettin’ into trubs so I took no pics at the Conga Room:

I got to hang out with my friend Daniel and his friend Staci at the Conga Room and then David came out for the very late third show.

I’ve read a few fan reviews of the shows this morning and they are deffo mixed. I, personally, had a blast … seeing all 3 shows added up to one helluva master setlist for the night. After the jump, check out the full setlists for all three shows and check out a short cameraphone video I manged to sneak of the end of Purple Rain …

Here are the setlists for all 3 shows:

Show #1: NOKIA Theater – 7:40pm

Old Skool Company
Crimson & Clover ( Tommy James and the Shondells cover)
1999
I Feel 4 U
Controversy
Shhh
If I Was Your Girlfriend
Kiss
Play That Funky Music (Wild Cherry cover w/ audience members on stage)
Hollywood Swinging (Kool & the Gang cover)
Come Together (The Beatles cover)
Purple Rain

Encore

Lets Go Crazy
The Bird (The Time cover)
Jungle Love (The Time cover)
The Glamorous Life (with surprise guest Sheila E.)

Show #2: The Conga Room – 10:10pm

I’m Yours
Colonized Mind
Chaos & Disorder
With a Little Help from My Friends (The Beatles cover)
I Like it There
All Shook Up (Elvis Presley cover)
Empty Room
Peach
Spanish Castle Magic (The Jimi Hendrix Experience cover)
When U Were Mine
Guitar

Encore

Dreamer

Show #3: Club NOKIA – 1:10am

Under The Cherry Moon (Instrumental)
Dreaming Of U (Instrumental)
Lay U’re Hands On Me
Journey To The Center Of Your Heart
The Sun, The Moon And Stars
Sometimes It Snows In April (Instrumental)
When The Lights Go Down
I Love U But I Don’t Trust U Anymore
She Spoke To Me
A Large Room With No Light
Sweet Thing (with surprise guest Chaka Khan)
Insatiable
Scandalous

Encore

The Beautiful Ones
Nothing Compares 2 U

I mean, Wow! When you consider all the songs that Prince played last night … it was truly a concert experience to remember. The only drawback of the night was all of the tech problems that Prince encountered all night long at all 3 venues. The sound didn’t get right at the first show until about 40 minutes in. The second show had some probs but nothing too noticeable. The sound at Club Nokia was just horrid the entire time. Prince even mentioned from the stage that the sound sucked. He gave the names of the AEG owners of the clubs and told the audience to complain to them directly. He even told a story about how he saw Alicia Keys play a show at Club Nokia previously and that show featured “the worst sound” he’s ever heard at a concert. Why he decided to play there is beyond me. If I have any complaint about any of the shows, absent the tech problems on the part of the venues, was that the last show featured too much of the other players and not enough of Prince. Trust me, I know his band players are superb musicians … but when keyboardist Renato Neto is playing solo for about 40% of the show (no lie), it’s a bit much. The last show for me felt like one of his famous late-night after concert jam session performances … which was fine for me since I got to see the other 2 shows beforehand. But audience members who only attended that show might’ve felt a bit cheated … like David, for example. The final set was full of songs he’d never heard of and he was bummed he missed the other songs that were played earlier in the night.

That said, tho, I had a blast. I have to give a shout out to Pink readers Cassie and Raj who I got to meet last night — it was my pleasure meeting you both.

Prince has never disappointed me in concert and last night was no exception. If I had to choose one of the shows as my fave, I’d pick Show #2 at the Conga Room. That show featured Prince, Sonny T. on bass and Michael B. on drums — and that was it. The NPG 3 were just hot. Empty Room was, for me, the best song of the night (which was played at the Conga Room show). There were a lot of highlights but that single song was the moment for me. I would absolutely do it again if he chooses to play multiple shows in one night again. I’m pretty sure he’ll just launch a regular ol’ tour instead … and I’ll be there, too!

Here’s a little treat … a short vid of the end guitar solo of Prince performing Purple Rain at the first show. It’s a bit grainy (and the poor sound is due to the limitations of the phone) cuz it was taken on a cell phone but you get the gist, I think:

Just a great, great night.

I’m happy to report that the site migration is complete and everything should be back to normal. The lost posts have been retrieved (thanks to Pink reader Sharon who managed to help me salvage them in full) and republished HERE. The plan for tonight is to meet up with some peeps for dinner and mebbe a movie. I’m tired but lookin’ forward to seeing my beloved friends. Happy Sunday!

[Photo credit: Wireimage]