After having seen the O2 Arena gig we went to the Indigo2 and managed to get to the seated balcony having standing floor tickets since they never actually looked at the tickets. Very nice indeed since we were very tired after all the travelling, standing and walking we'd been doing all day.
The sound at the Indigo2 is totally state-of-the-art excellent and it is a really cool smaller venue. It is possible to get a great view of the stage from almost anywhere and the bars are never overcrowded when you need your next vodka-Redbull to keep your eyes open.
Beverley Knight opened the after-show playing for what seemed like an hour or so. She reminds me a bit of a young Tina Turner when she's dancing around on stage but seriously that woman can sing. She did a very great set and then real magic was about to happen.
The engineer put Prince's guitar on stage at one point during Beverley's gig and then removed it again after a while. Had Prince decided not to play? Oh, no. Suddenly it was brought back on stage. Ah, yes. The theory is that he liked Beverley's performance so much that he couldn't resist joining it, despite his official website having announced that he wouldn't perform.
In came the NPG horns (with Maceo Parker) and joined the Beverley horn section. More and more NPG musicians joined in. At one point there were countless horns, 2 bass players, 2 drummers, the twinz dancing and well, quite simply there were two full bands there. More than 20 musicians jamming on stage. Completely outstanding.
When Prince finally did enter the stage his guitar was actually "dead" so it ruined his first guitar solo and you could clearly see that he was strongly thinking about kicking his guitar tech in the teeth. But quickly they got it fixed and it rocked for the rest of the show.
Prince started taking control and slowly the band were trimmed down to mainly the NPG. Beverley stayed on for the entire gig though. I think Prince really loves her "Another Piece Of My Heart". He made her sing it one more time after the NPG had come on. I agree. It is a good song.
Prince played for somewhere near one hour and it was really excellent. We were treated with gems like "A Love Bizarre", "Alphabet St.", "Sweet Thing", "Controversy" and "3121". Prince was really in a great mood and this has to be one of those after-show you just have to feel lucky to have witnessed.
Oh, and let's not forget the guy who sat a few rows away from us. Congratulations dude, you just slept through an entire Prince after-show. Guess you must really hate yourself for that?
Taking photos in the Indigo2 is rather difficult since security really goes nuts about it. But from the balcony I found it a bit easier than downstairs on the floor. But obviously you'll be a bit further from the stage up there.
[O2 Arena, 2007-08-10], [O2 Arena, 2007-08-11], [O2 Arena, 2007-08-14],
[Indigo2, 2007-08-10], [Indigo2, 2007-08-11], [Indigo2, 2007-08-14],
Rating: 
Band: Prince
Venue: Indigo2, London, UK
Concert Date: 2007-08-10
Support Band: Beverley Knight
Setlist:
Beverley Knight set.
NPG set: Piece Of My Heart / Miss you (Prince joins on guitar), Sexy Dancer / Le Freak (Shelby vocals), Love Rollercoaster, Rock Steady, I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Loved You), Sugar Mama, Baby Love (Shelby vocals), Controversy, A Love Bizarre, Sweet Thing (Marva King and Beverly Knight swapping lead vocals), 3121, Alphabet Street, One Nation Under A Groove, Bustin' Loose, Tutu, No Diggity
Content Type: Concert Review
Language: 
Updated: 2007-08-16 17:27
Created: 2007-08-16 11:30
