His Royal Highness PRINCE

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today, to get through this thing called life!..."

Was the opening intro to the show.

When tickets went on sale for the Prince Tacoma Dome show we considered the VIP seats but now that I finally attended my first Prince show at that venue - Thanks to an early Christmas present from my wonderful son. - I am glad my seat was on the floor instead of so close-up to such a high stage in that cramped area which seemed to be reserved for people who wanted to 'be seen' and not get down and funky like the rest of us - I mean, who sits during a Prince show? Not me! I guess the only good thing about those seats was the goody bag that came with it.

VIP section before it filled up.

My ticket said 'row 3' but there was no first row, Im assuming to leave that space open between vip seats and our seats so my row turned out to be 'row 2' instead. I was thrilled.

I loved every minute of the show, including the variation on Lil Red Corvette as I love unpredictability or I am easily bored.

Prince has always been on my Bucket List and I'm thrilled to be able to finally cross that off. I hope Prince returns to the Seattle area sooner than the 7 years of drought. Canadians got a 3 hour show, but I am willing to bet because American artists rarely venture out of their 'comfort zones' that it was a well deserved special royal treatment.

When Prince performed 1999 I had a flash-back of a New Year's Eve 1999 Widespread Panic show at the Fox Theater in Atlanta where the band and crew came out to wish us all a Happy New Year to the tune of Prince's 1999.

I was hoping Sheila E would show up, specially since she lives on the West Coast but was happy when Prince introduced Maceo Parker who I've had the pleasure of seeing perform since his days with James Brown at the Apollo in Harlem.

I dont know if Prince performed for 90 minutes because someone was taking photos or a fan sneaked under the stage as is the rumor but from the looks of traffic after the show Id say I didnt blame him for bolting as he had an after show jam going on in Seattle.

You could tell how much he loves his fans when several times throughout the show, he asked for the house lights to be turned up so that he could see the audience. During "Nothing Compares To You" I had my fan in my hand and arms raised as we all had because he had asked us to and he pointed at me at the word "YOU!" *swoon*

Loved the sequined gold pants he wore during Purple Rain and the gold mylar and purple paper confetti that rained down on us was incredible. One of my neighbors at the show, who'd seen her fair share of Prince shows told me that was a first for her.

Seattle Times Photo

I only wish he'd done Diamonds & Pearls but all in all, it being my first Live Prince show Id say that I certainly wouldn't have complained had he played longer but it left me me wanting more, definitely not unsatisfied. A grand affair.

Tacoma Dome setlist:

Lets Go Crazy, Delirious, 1999, Little Red Corvette, Take me With U, Raspberry Beret, Cream, Dont Stop Till You Get Enough, Nothing Compares 2 U, Cool, When Doves Cry, Nasty Girl/The Most Beautiful Girl In the World/Forever In My Life/Alphabet Street., I Would Die 4 U, Hot Thing, Kiss. Encore: Purple Rain, Controversy.

I also made it to the after show in Seattle in SODO at Club Republiq which was a funk fest. My only complain is the address on the ticket receipt was wrong, it directed people to Belltown but I lived downtown Seattle for some time and I knew something was off, asked a cab driver who directed me to the correct 1st Ave.

I didn't arrive till after 1 AM but was told Prince had not played yet. When he came out he was wearing shades, a red blazer with pink shirt and fedora. Maceo joined him on stage and we got down for another four hours of funk.

This is part of the set list I've been able to gather so far...- corrections are welcome.

Stratus, Pass the Peas, Calhoun Square, Dreamer, She's Always in My Hair, Which Way is Up, Everyday People, wanna Take U Higher, Better Way, Lets Go, Waiting In Vain/Crimson & Clover, Lets Get it On, Empty Room, Peach. You're My Everything.

I stepped out into the cold night basking in Prince After Glow, I dont even think my feet were touching the ground.