Interactive Tour

Interactive Tour is a semi-tour of the singer Prince, which took place in the year 1994. The tour was a "semi-tour" because the concerts took place very irregularly, however all of them were held to promote the albums Come and Exodus. The tour was termed "interactive" as Prince considered his material around this time an "experience", with various songs (namely those on The Gold Experience) containing technological beeps, other assorted sounds and an assertive feminine voice reminiscent of those heard on computers at the time. This "interactive experience" would manifest itself more strongly in the following years, as Prince was one of the first musicians to utilise the internet in various ways.

History

The first conflicts between Prince and Warner Bros. made their appearances in 1994. Prince did not wish to follow the typical wishes of the company by releasing one studio album, promoting it with singles, and then touring, as he felt it was too restrictive, thus he rebelled against this and claimed his freedom to write, produce and leave if he so chose. This explains the reason why the tour was an irregular one, as every concert was exceptional and held on Prince's own accord. Several months earlier, Prince had decided to change his name to an unpronounceable symbol (often called "Love Symbol", an insignia which adorns much of his work of this time), and spoke of the "death" of his old persona (the cover of Come contains one such reference in the form of "Prince: 1958[–]1993"). It was also announced that Prince would no longer play any of his old equipment, a personal policy that lasted for over two years.

The content of most of the concerts came from the albums Come and The Gold Experience, and from June '94 onwards, excerpts from the album Exodus. Many of these pieces were not commercially available at the time of the concerts, which greatly interested fans and collectors. However, by starting an exclusive concert tour primarily consisting of no previously known songs, Prince disregarded much of his audience and only the most dedicated fans continued to follow him.

The band

• Prince – lead vocals and guitar
• Levi Seacer, Jr. – vocals and guitar
• Sonny T. – vocals, Guitar and bass
• Morris Hayes – vocals, keyboard and organ
• Tommy Barbarella – keyboards
• Michael Bland – vocals, drums and percussion
• The NPG Hornz – dance
• Mayte – song and dance

Set lists

Set list of July 8, 1994, at the Glam Slam, Miami, United States

1. "Billy Jack Bitch"
2. "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World"
3. "Loose!"
4. "Shoop"
5. "Sexy MF"
6. "Gett Off"
7. "Acknowledge Me"
8. "It's Alright"
9. "I Believe in You"
10. "Maybe Your Baby"
11. "Peach"
12. "I'm in the Mood"

Set list of July 14, 1994, at the Palladium, New York City, United States

1. "The Ride"
2. "The Jam"
3. "Shhh"
4. "Days of Wild"
5. "Hair"
6. "Now"
7. "Babies Makin Babies"
8. "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World"
9. "Race"
10. "Johnny"
11. "Acknowledge Me"
12. "Dark"
13. "Instrumental"
14. "Love Sign"
15. "Get Wild"
16. "Peach"

References