Stevie Wonder concert in Berlin/ Germany

[tabloidburn]

i just wanna share this with you all:

i was at stevie wonder's only german concert last nite, together with my 17-year old daughter, who will remember and cherish this great concert for the rest of her life! i am so happy that i could make it  possible for her to see this legend live. not even her dad, who is also a black musician, has seen stevie wonder live concert, so this is really something special...anyway...naturally, they play music over the p.a. while you wait on the main act. so we hear some music while walking towards the stage, couldn't really hear what it was for still being too far away. as we get closer to the stage, practically the second we enter the standing area in front of the stage, they start playing mj's 'butterflies'!!! my daughter and me looked at each other like  :shock: ...of course she knows every michael jackson song by now, thanx to her mom   , but this particular one is extremely rare to be played before a concert! we were in a group and when i said this was a michael jackson song, everybody went like 'what? naaw..'. (i told everybody to buy 'invincible' and look for it! )  nobody around us knew that song and usually pre-concert reels play hits only, so the ppl can practice the 'sing along'-part.

and now this:
i swear by my red hair it was NOT the same version we all know from the invincible cd! this one had some phrasings in there that are definitely not on the studio version! it could just be another take from that session, but why is it in a pre-concert reel and why 'butterflies', of all mj-songs? this song wasn't even a single, we all know that only 'you rock my world' came off this album as a single, so to most ppl, this one wouldn't even be known as a michael jackson song, unless they have the cd or know it. so the question to me is: where does this version come from, why is it being played before stevie wonder's gig? and does stevie wonder always have this same reel before his gigs?  
does anyone here know of another 'butterflies' version than the one from 'invincible'? i don't, and i've been listening to pretty much all versions of all of mike's songs i could get my hands on.
one other song in the reel was 'i want you back' and stevie played an instrumental of 'human nature' on his chromatic harp (i almost cried, so beautiful!). the rest of the songs in the reel was all eighties, from toto to dire straits, steve miller, stuff like that. the security was too tight, so there was no way to find out whether this was a reel stevie always plays before the gi or if it was a random thing. still, it struck me the most to hear this rare song over the p.a..  

has any of you been to a stevie wonder concert lately and heard the same reel or did i catch a soundman with an extraordinary good taste in creating pre-concert song reels?

other than that: perfect gig on a perfect day, stevie played all his hits, the band was supertight and we had the time of our lives! if you ever have the chance to go see stevie wonder, do it! if you have to sell your house, car, whatever. just go!  :mrgreen:

[RK]

Did Stevie do "I Wish"? I LLOOOVVVEE that song so much.

[Solid121]

It's my understanding that Pre-concert songs are usually comprised of songs selected by the Artist themselves and not by a soundman.
I saw Stevie in 2008 and although I can't remember "butterflies" a lot of the other songs you mentioned were deffinately included the pre-show songs

[tabloidburn]

It's my understanding that Pre-concert songs are usually comprised of songs selected by the Artist themselves and not by a soundman.
I saw Stevie in 2008 and although I can't remember "butterflies" a lot of the other songs you mentioned were deffinately included the pre-show songs

that was exactly what i was asking myself, if in this case, the soundreel came from stevie or from the venue. i worked in a club and i've been to tons of concerts in my life, and in most of the cases the venue decides on the pre-concert reel. when i was working at a club, the soundguys had their soundfiles to play and it was their decision or the club manager's which music would be played. they just pick something that fits the main act musically.

other reel music: sultans of swing/ dire straits, toto/ rosanna, at least two police songs (don't remember the titles, but it was def police, not sting solo), steve miller, jimi hendrix/ all along the watchtower...i can't recall the whole 1 1/2 hrs we heard while waiting for stevie to come out...too hot...but except for 'butterflies', most of it was straight 80s rock music. stuff you would hear back then when you turned the radio on.

so the question remains: how come stevie wonder has a version of 'butterflies' that is different from the official one? i swear it was different, i was a musician in my 20s and i have very good ears. maybe something to investigate?

 :mrgreen:

[tabloidburn]

Did Stevie do "I Wish"? I LLOOOVVVEE that song so much.

he played them all: i wish, cherie amour, isn't she lovely, superstition, whammer jammer, higher ground, sir duke...even happy birthday cuz it was his daughter sophia's b-day and she was there with him, too (what a stunning beauty she is!). you name it, he played it, including a 'little stevie wonder'-medley with the motown stuff. it was the greatest concert of all i've ever seen. and i've seen a lot of legends perform. other than michael jackson himself (unfortunately not on my list...), this was probably the closest you could get to that. stevie's voice is as strong as ever, one great performer! 61 yrs old and jams on stage with a 'hang around the neck' keyboard, goes down on his knees and off into it like a youngster. 2 hr straight funk show without a break! i'm still bowing...

 :mrgreen:

[lisap27]

don't know if you've seen this but check it on here its stevie doing human nature at glastonbury  

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[looking4truth]

According to Michael, Butterflies was his second single. He said it on a radio interview. And I think the artist is the one who picks the songs for the pre-show. Unfortunately, I didn't see Stevie so I can't help you. I don't know if this helps at all or mean anything but I know Chris Brown had all MJ songs for his pre-show and I hear that Lady Gaga has all his songs during her pre-show.

[tabloidburn]

According to Michael, Butterflies was his second single. He said it on a radio interview. And I think the artist is the one who picks the songs for the pre-show. Unfortunately, I didn't see Stevie so I can't help you. I don't know if this helps at all or mean anything but I know Chris Brown had all MJ songs for his pre-show and I hear that Lady Gaga has all his songs during her pre-show.

i also remember that from somewhere, but i think it was planned to be the next after you rock my world and i don't ever recall that it was actually released. here in germany, the single wasn't available, at least not promoted in any way.

ok, so i guess considering a certain level of the artist, they pick the soundreel. although i've seen ppl like eric clapton in different venues and with other artists at the same venue, the soundreel stayed the same. i would consider ec and stevie on the same level, though, legendwise...

 :mrgreen:

[Doctor Death]

@ tabloidburn

"I swear on my red hair...."

 :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:

I love it..the red hair...Funny thing is that everytime I swear, I swear on my demented bum.  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:

Anyway, yeah its quite strange for Stevie to be playing Butterflies, because Invincible as we all know didnt really succeed as an album. So I dunno why he would be playing an unknown song...you know...a song that people dont even remember.  :shock:

[Solid121]

It's not so much "play it because everyone knows it and it's a big hit", more "play it as a personal favourite".

[tabloidburn]

It's not so much "play it because everyone knows it and it's a big hit", more "play it as a personal favourite".

good one! that's one thought that creeped in my mind, too. or it is one of stevie's favorites from mike? still, there is the different versions...only way stevie could have that is from mike himself, right?  

 :mrgreen:

[tabloidburn]

@doctordeath:

not only 'don't remember', most ppl over here don't even know this song, let go that it's by mj. i don't remember ever hearing 'butterflies' on the radio back in 2001 or anywhere public, not even now. except for last nite. it was really a goosebumps moment for me.

 :mrgreen: