Prince performs three L.A. shows in one night

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Funk rocker Prince blasted a concert promotion giant for its poor sound equipment as he struggled to perform three concerts in one night at separate venues in Los Angeles.
The man who once sang about traveling "Around the World in a Day," shuttled among three venues on Saturday at a new downtown entertainment complex operated by AEG Live.

But his ambitious promotion for an upcoming album hit a snag soon after he hit the stage at the 7,100-capacity Nokia Theater. He had problems with the monitors, and constant pleas to the venue's crew to fix them never had much impact.

"This is my celebration. I don't care what goes wrong," he said midway through the 90-minute set, before scrunching up his nose in disgust.

The second show, at the 1,100-capacity Conga Room, began with a five-minute soundcheck and lasted about an hour. Each of the shows was promoted as being "full-length."

The third show, scheduled to begin at midnight, kicked off an hour late as Prince and his crew grappled with sound issues, forcing fans to wait in a long line outside the 2,300-capacity Club Nokia. He began the show before many entered the venue.

Toward the end of the show, he mentioned a few AEG executives by name, and told fans to complain to them about the buzzing speakers.

"I came to see Alicia Keys here, and it was the worst sound I've ever heard," Prince said, noting that the AEG had spent plenty of money on seating and lighting.

"If you fix the sound, I'll be here every night, and I'll do it for free."

Prince played most of his hits, like "1999," "Kiss" and "Let's Go Crazy," at the first show, which was attended by celebrities like basketball legend Earvin "Magic" Johnson and Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood. The set lists and the bands were different for each show.

Prince's new album, the three-disc set "Lotusflow3r," will be released on Sunday exclusively at big-box retailer Target Corp and on his Web site.

Officials at AEG did not reply to a late-night email seeking reaction to Prince's criticisms. The firm is owned by Denver billionaire Philip Anschutz.

http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE52S0QZ20090329

Chocolate box extended mix

AUSTRALIA: Get yo Prince on April 7th

Thanks to a tipster in the shoutbox, i can confirm that the lotusflow3r delux 3disc set will be available from April 7th domestically. You can pre-order here.

Melbournites, "Music Machine" in Chapel Street is said to be receiving copies of the CDs within the week!

RRP is $59.95 for Australians.

Thanks for the tips guys!

And so it begins...

So lotusflow3r is open...ive been browsing it now for a while, ive found the MLPSound album but cant find the lotusflow3r download yet. Im not interested in Elixer, I'll grab it later...much later on.

None of the videos in the "orb" seem to run properly, and i have a pretty fancy computer and great connection, so it seems the site is already frought with tech issues that i just paid AUD$110 to witness...

Another Prince website, another debacle...sigh...

Reminder: Prince on The Tonight Show THIS THURSDAY NIGHT!

Aussies with Foxtel can tune in from Thursday to witness Prince as the musical guest. It begins at 10.30pm on "The Comedy Channel".

https://www.foxtel.com.au/EPG/EPG.aspx

Official countdown is up and running

With still no word on an Aussie release date/distributor, the lotusflow3r website ticker clicks along for the Americans...

LA Times Review -"LotusFlow3r"

02:30 PM PT, Mar 23 2009

By now, most music fans are well aware that Prince will self-release three albums that will sell in one $11.98 bundle at Target and on the artist's website starting Sunday. Which one you fancy the most depends on what flavor of Prince "u" prefer -- the nasty antiquity of "MPLSound," the guitar-hero antics of "LotusFlow3r" or the VIP-lounge purrs of his protégée Bria Valente on "Elixer."

"MPLSound" is a valentine to Revolution-era traditionalists. The nine-song collection pays homage to Prince's beloved Minneapolis and trades in nostalgia, lifting the syncopated drum machine beats from "When Doves Cry" and name-checking Rick James. But it's not all naughty retro: "MPLSound" also incorporates Prince's faith as a Jehovah's Witness, like when he shouts "thank you, almighty" and "hallelujah" to a lover in "Dance 4 Me."

All three albums have a touch of the spirit, an abiding cleanliness that elevates sex to heavenly communion, but "MPLSound" might be the most pristine for what it ultimately lacks: the sense of real, lusty sin.

Ballads "Better With Time" and "U're Gonna C Me" leak syrup all over the soundboard, but "Chocolate Box," a strutting bit of funk braggadocio set in the club with a guest spot from Q-Tip, is electrifying. In "Valentina," Prince addresses Salma Hayek's daughter: "Tell your mama she should give me a call." Hayek might be one of the world's most voluptuous movie stars, but new mothers and their "nightly feedings" are not the typical pop subjects.

Possibly the album's most notable track -- for reasons fine and regrettable -- is the spirited romp "Ol' Skool Company." Here Prince, his voice doctored to sound like he's taking hits of helium, lets his curmudgeon rip for more than seven minutes, longing for an "old-school melody when God, his son and the love of family ruled in the community."

Valente, Prince's latest in a storied line of beautiful muses, has a lovely voice that matches his current tastes for the clean line. Her soundscapes, produced and arranged with Prince, are lighter than her mentor's, traipsing from velvet-chaise funk to street tales of girly crushes to dance-floor siren calls.

The problem is that not enough of "Elixer" sounds strong or fresh. Her single "Another Boy" is sweetly reminiscent of '80s freestyle icons Lisa Lisa and the Cult Jam, but it doesn't have that group's rhythmically inventive backbone. In "2Nite," Valente whispers "disco," a genre that needs at least one modifier to not sound mummified in polyester -- and then reports that there are "no drugs or guns up in this place," just "old-school jazz put a smile on your face."

It's one of the many times when Valente feels uncomfortably like the mouthpiece for Prince and his oldster agenda.

The biggest challenge of Prince's triptych is "LotusFlow3r," a guitar-steeped odyssey that bounces from Steely Dan jazz chords to James Brown-esque mandates for funk to the tattered-flag psychedelia of Jimi Hendrix. Though Prince has covered Radiohead's "Creep" on several occasions, he's not interested in mimicking Jonny Greenwood's articulated melancholy. Instead, Prince's guitar is a warm explosion, sometimes self-indulgent but always rendered with starry-eyed fascination for the instrument, endearing from a masterful musician who plays so many.

In an effort to align himself as a true rocker, Prince includes a reverb-soaked cover of Tommy James and the Shondells' "Crimson and Clover," but it doesn't improve on Joan Jett's definitive rendition. His own compositions are much more twisty and tasty. "Feel Good, Feel Better, Feel Wonderful" is a jaunty slice of party funk with Prince's most charismatic vocals this side of "Kiss" -- screechy, swaggering and caterwauling. "Love Like Jazz" swings the other way, a bewitching gem that wouldn't sound out of place as the intro to a '60s sitcom.

Prince geeks out on the whammy bar, drawing long, noodly jams on "Boom" and the songs that bookend the album. But it's more rewarding when he introduces control and structure, delivered by a crew of stars including Maceo Parker and keyboardist Morris Hayes. "MPLSound" might be comfortingly familiar, but "LotusFlow3r" is the work of a musician who's still curious after all these years.

-Margaret Wappler

Prince
"LotusFlow3r"
Three stars

Prince
"MPLSound"
Two and a half stars

Bria Valente
"Elixer"
Two stars

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/2009/03/album-reviews-p.html

Review: Prince's 3-CD set is wildly uneven

Review: Prince's 3-CD set is wildly uneven

By JOSH L. DICKEY, AP Entertainment Writer Josh L. Dickey, Ap Entertainment Writer

Prince, "LOtUSFLOW3R"

Of the 31 tracks on Prince's new three-CD fire sale, only a handful will glint in the eyes of loyal fans who still sift his newer material for rare gems. To those awaiting a free sample on the radio, sorry you aren't going to get one this time around, either.

It's been 15 years since a Prince single cracked the Top 10 ("The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" charted No. 3 in 1994), and nothing from these three discs sounds in danger of breaking that streak.

The rare die-hard who understood "The Rainbow Children," Prince's wildly conceptual Jehova's Witnesses manifesto from 2001, may be able to translate the shifting language of "LOtUSFLOW3R," the central record in this effort. It's heavy and esoteric at times, jaunty and jammy at times, and highly indulgent all the time.

Thing is, if you're going to listen to someone indulge themselves in genre-bending psychedelia, it may as well be this guy.

The best track is "Boom," with its melody that descends like a dazzling meteor shower, ponderous slabs of wet bass crashing all around and light saber-buzz guitar to slice through it all. The song embodies the dark yet delicate surrealism of the new fan site that Prince helped design, lotusflow3r.com, from which "members" can download all three albums as part of a $77 annual subscription fee beginning Tuesday.

The deal includes a T-shirt, dibs on concert tickets, access to a vast archive of concert video footage and other digital geek-out goodies. (The three-CD set is being sold in its physical form exclusively at Target for a much more earthly $11.98.)

On another guitar-heavy highlight, "Dreamer," Prince unabashedly echoes Jimi Hendrix's "Voodoo Child" in fact, the better part of "LOtUSFLOW3R" careens around the edges of the bluesy, spacey trail that Jimi blazed. But its unevenness is its undoing; weird mumbling, random atmospherics, dissonant touches and an unnecessary cover of "Crimson and Clover" punch gaping holes in the cosmic seriousness with which the record takes itself.

Thank goodness, then, for "MPLSoUND," much of which may be the artist's greatest gift to fans in many years.

The disc starts out as an old-school romp that sounds as if Prince rolled up the rusted door of a warehouse behind Paisley Park, surveyed the dusty, vintage synth gear, and said to the posse behind him: "Fellas, let's make a funky record today."

The first few tracks could almost be mistaken for "Controversy" outtakes: You'll recognize the dry, flat pop of primitive electronic drums, campy whirl of analog keyboards and wild-eyed vocal stylings that ground an edge on Prince's early stuff. But sure enough, even "MPLSoUND" gets bogged down in throwaway slow-jams and shuffles that suck nearly all the fun energy from a promisingly rowdy start.

A third CD, entirely sung by new protege Bria Valente, is so lifeless and irrelevant as to hardly merit mention here. "Elixer" is a wholly forgettable trudge through generic R&B plodders that would drag down the most dynamic of singers; and Valente is not one. Her breathy whispers and naughty good looks, for that matter are more reminiscent of Ashley Alexandra Dupre than Apollonia.

The good news is that at $11.98 for all three, you can afford to rip the good tracks from "LOtUSFLOW3R" and "MPLSoUND" to your iPod, then use "Elixer" as a mirror to work on your air-guitar face. Because you're going to need it.

New Details on Prince's Online Venture, Live Dates, Photos, and More!

EXCLUSIVE: New Details on Prince's Online Venture, Live Dates, Photos, and More!

Seth Colter Walls

Prince's new online venture, LOtUSFLOW3R.com, will debut on March 24. The site will offer digital downloads of the three new albums previously announced with a March 29 street date, in CD format, at Target stores. Two sources in Prince's camp also have confirmed that the rumored price of $77 for one year's subscription to the site has been formally settled upon. The picture above is an exclusive screengrab provided to us by Prince's web developer, Scott Addison Clay, who recently gave me an advance tour of the Web site. That main image, derived from the cover to the album of the same name, will be the user's portal into the online "world" of that album, complete with lyrics, artwork and new photos, in addition to the tunes. Two other "worlds," one for each of the other two Princely releases, also exist on an animated 3-D plane, in an arrangement that Clay compares to the popular game Myst. The album "MPLSoUND," as previously reported, is Prince's electronic counterpart to the guitar-heavy "LOtUSFLOW3R," while "Elixer" is the debut offering from Prince's latest protege, Bria Valente. Check out the covers for "MPLSoUND" and "Elixer" below, first on PopVox:

On the technical tip, Clay's creation is clearly a step up from some of Prince's past online homes, some of which were subject to unfortunate outages at peak times of Prince interest. And, by the way, the new music sounds pretty exciting, too. "Boom," the proper kickoff to LOtUSFLOW3R following a 30-second instrumental interlude, mixes psychedelia with funk rhythms and orgiastic guitar wailing. The song "Chocolate Box," on the electro-influenced album titled "MPLSoUND," features one of the all-time great Prince boudoir boasts: "I got a box a chocolates / that'll rock the socks of / any girl that wanna come my way." It also features one of Prince's best collaborations with a rapper to date, in the person of Q-Tip. During the 90's, Prince's revolving door MC's-for-hire were generally far less distinct than his music. And even when Prince used name-brand rhymers like Chuck D, their styles did not always mesh. Q-Tip's jazzy delivery, however, is the perfect fit for Prince's endearingly askew electronic sound-world. Here's to more of that kind of collaboration. (You can read my January profile of Q-Tip here.)

There are other new details, as well. Prince will perform "multiple times," in different locations around Los Angeles, on March 24, though those performances will not be streamed or recorded for the site. As Billboard previously reported, Prince will then be a guest on the Jay Leno show from March 25-27 (and again during Leno's last week in May). A representative for the Purple One says, however, that ticketing information for the three non-Leno events on March 24th will be posted on the beta version of LOtUSFLOW3R.com in the coming days. "The site is going to be your key to figure out how to get access," Prince's representative told NEWSWEEK.

Three new videos, one for each single off the new albums, are also in the can. "Crimson and Clover," Prince's cover of the Tommy James and the Shondells classic (with a little bit of Hendrix's "Wild Thing" thrown in for good measure) is the first single from "LOtUSFLOW3R." The aforementioned "Chocolate Box" is the nominee from "MPLSoUND," while the Bria Valente song "Everytime" will be the first multimedia from that disc. All three videos will debut on the site upon its March 24 launch.

And for the curious, here's another, exclusive new shot of Bria, taken by Prince himself:

During the tour, LOtUSFLOW3R.com appeared to be a multimedia powerhouse capable of playing videos and live clips (including Prince's cover of Radiohead's "Creep" from last year's Coachella) while also handling advanced 3-D modeling and Flash-based photo galleries. Clay gave us some more details about future plans for the site. Check out next week's print edition of NEWSWEEK for more details.


http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/popvox/archive/2009/03/13/exclusive-new-details-on-prince-s-online-venture-live-dates-photos-and-more.aspx

Dr.Funkenberry: Prince to play tonight show

3 nights in a row!

The one and only PRINCE will be on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno for 3 STRAIGHT nights.

It will be March 25th, 26th, and 27th.

We also received this note from a no-name reporter:

NEWSFLASH –

Purpleheadz, r u listening?

Prince will b per4ming an unprecedented 3 nites in a row on The Tonight Show March 25, 26 and 27. B part of audience history when Leno’s studio gets a purplemusic makeover! R u ready?

I had a feeling this might be part of the fun stuff starting March 24th and put in a call to the Tonight Show. Hopefully, we can have some tickets to give away. Will let you know.-Dr.FB

First lotusflow3r mail-out

Talking about events in LA (like they would occur anywhere else)..

Americans: Pre-order lotusflow3r now

While we wait to hear on where it will be available in Australia, follow this link to pre-order in the USA.

I'll post updates once ive found pre-orders available in Australia.

Tracklistings leak...

Keen eye'd Prince fans on .org spotted this on Amazon.com before the purple police took it down...:

Disc 1—Lotus Flow3r: From the Lotus. . . Boom; Crimson and Clover; 4EVER; Colonized Mind; Feel Good, Feel Better, Feel Wonderful; Love Like Jazz; 77 Beverly Park; Wall of Berlin; $ Dreamer; . . . Back to the Lotus

Disc 2—MPLSound: (There’ll Never B) Another Like Me; Chocolate Box; Dance 4 Me; U’re Gonna C Me; Valentina; Better with Time; Ol’ Skool Company; No More Candy 4 U;

Disc 3—Elixir: Here Eye Come; All This Love; Home; Something U Already Know; Everytime; 2Nite; Another Boy; Kept Woman; Immersion; Elixir

Prince commercial for Target :/

Prince Films Commerical For Target; Will Release 3 CD Set With Retailer

Prince shot a commercial for Target on Friday in Los Angeles. Prince is due to release 3 CD’s thru Target and his web site , Lotusflow3r.com on March 29th, 2009.

The 3 cd’s will be two by Prince entitled Lotusflow3r, and the other familiar to Drfunkenberry.com members, MPLSOUND. The 3rd will be by Bria Valente entitled “Elixer” which is produced by a certain someone to have that Minneapolis Groove.

The Cd’s look like they will be sold as a pack, the artwork and lyrics available online. I did not have a chance to ask one of the web designers if it will down-loadable. A doctor likes to print out his lyrics man.

As for the video shoot, it went well and was shot at Universal Studios and it was a closed set. How did we hear about it then? We have our ways.

The commercial features Prince and Bria Valente and should be airing within the next couple of weeks. We hear they may have some footage of it up sooner or his own web site.

Also, for that thing we thought was a cell phone at the Avalon show, is actually a Lotus Flow3r branded flip video camcorder and can be checked out HERE http://darkhavenstudios.c...tusflow3r/

To answer a ? that is on that link, I want a poster. wink

March should be a fun month for fans of the purple one.-Dr.FB

More on Target, as well as some info on lotusflow3r site

Prince's Big-Box Deal: Minneapolis Represent

'Prince has signed an exclusive deal with Target to release a three-CD set at the end of this month; the package will contain two new albums by The Purple One called LotusFlow3r and MPLSound, as well as a disc by his protege Bria Valente. The Minneapolis-based chain (!) will sell the package for $11.98. But that's not all—his career-spanning multimedia site lotusflow3r, which launched in beta earlier this year, is apparently getting ready to go live. When I visit it, all I get is some burbling music and a black screen, but lucky for all of us, someone at AOL's Spinner got to check out the goodies within. And by "goodies," I mean "an extensive live archive of Prince concerts." I bet at least a few of you out there are drooling!

But the real treasure for Prince devotees is in the archive. According to Clay, Prince has filmed almost every one of his concerts since the 'Purple Rain' days, and to prove it, he had Spinner click on a video link inside Prince's virtual head, where we discovered a performance of 'Break It Down' from last year's Coachella show.

LotusFlow3r, which will launch sometime this month, will be a paid subscription site (Clay is speculating that the initial cost for a year will be $77), and to give fans their money's worth, Prince will continue to roll out content on a regular basis, including live video clips and possible full-length concerts, as well as unreleased music. According to Clay, Prince has copious amounts of never-issued material, which Clay and his team are in the process now of cataloging.

But do subscribers get discounted admission to his parties? Because that is a value-add.'

http://idolator.com/5163091/princes-big+box-deal-minneapolis-represent

Prince to release new CD set through Target

NEW YORK – Prince is coming to a Target near you.

The superstar is releasing a three-disc CD set through the retailer at the end of this month. The set will include two new albums — "LOtUSFLOW3R" and "MPLSoUND" — as well as a third by his new artist, Bria Valente, for the price of $11.98.

Prince is just the latest music legend to release new music exclusively through a major retailer. AC/DC and the Eagles were among the acts who sold millions of CDs through their partnership with Wal-Mart.

Prince has released his recent CDs through major labels, but they were one-album deals that gave him the flexibility to go elsewhere when the project was done. Last fall, he released a coffee table book of photos titled "21 Nights" documenting his record-breaking, 21-night run at London's 02 Arena in 2007. The book also included a CD of live performances.

"Prince has long been renowned as one of the world's most original and iconic musical artists," said Mark Schindele, Target's senior vice president of merchandising. "We are thrilled to have the opportunity to share his most recent work with our Target guests."

The CD set will be on sale at Target and its Web site on March 29.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090302/ap_en_ce/music_prince;_ylt=At0r09PdxBpdWafVeLlcF3FxFb8C