Act I and II

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Act I was a concert tour by Prince promoting his Love Symbol album, released the previous year. This was Prince's first tour of the United States since 1988's Lovesexy World Tour). Act II was the second leg of the tour. After Act I's tour of the U.S., Act II was Prince's return to Europe.

History

The first half of the concert focused on Love Symbol material and sometimes included a few tracks from The New Power Generation's recently released Goldnigga album. The second half was a greatest hits selection, as well as some rarely played B-sides such as "Irresistible Bitch" and "She's always In My Hair". This would be Prince's final tour before he would change his stage name to his unpronounceable symbol. The shows were usually given in rooms of medium size, mostly with a capacity of 4 000 to 6,000 people. Prince wanted the rooms are sold out, and did not want to take risks for his first real U.S. tour in five years. The show has two parts, exactly as for the tour "Lovesexy". In the first part are played the songs on the album "Symbol", with a very elaborate staging. The second part is the one where the main hits are played. The show has basically the story found in the video "3 Chains O'Gold", but in a much more theatrical. The decor is a little Arabian Nights, with the curtain of stars of the tour "Diamonds And Pearls", which will be reused on several laps later. The musicians are relegated to the sides of the stage, leaving Prince, Mayte and Game Boyz ample space to dance and express themselves on stage.

Following up on Act I's heavy promotion of the Love Symbol album, Act II minimized the album promotion and instead focused on Prince's greatest hits. The songs which required rap were dropped from the set or handled by Prince alone. The encore section premiered many newly written songs that would end up on future albums like Come and The Gold Experience. Of course the tour incorporates many elements of the U.S. tour, but it is however quite different as it was announced as the last tour under the name Prince and the promotional campaign for this tour even indicated that it was hearing for the last time live hits like Raspberry Beret which of course was only a technical yet to pocket as much money. The show always starts with My Name Is Prince , but Prince is not on stage: it is Mayte, wearing a long coat and a cap with strings, which mimics the song into a gullible public until she lets her appear pink bikini ... The tour was an opportunity for Prince to showcase its new name as the symbol that accompanied it until 2000. Most concerts have been decorated with long speeches on the record, and willingness to distribute music without any intermediary. These speeches do not at all amused the audience already almost weary. Indeed, it is the sixth European tour Prince in less than seven years, and it shows the beginning of his decline in popularity: Prince will play fewer dates in each city, and often in smaller venues.

Typical set lists

Tour dates

References