Cyra said:

Ya'll trippin. When have you ever been to a Prince show and walked away dissatisfied?...

The aftershow in Chicago at the House of Blues in 2004. The crowd booed him because his band played "No Diggity" while he played keyboards in the back (not solos, just keyboards) with sunglasses on. Very underwhelming.

That is definitely the exception in my experience, but it has happened.

That being said, I would love to go see one of the 3rdeyegirl shows.

I'm going to all four shows in Vancouver! There is joy in repetition!

lwr001 said:

xhalation69 said:

Had an interesting conversation with a friend of mine who is a musician and will be going to one of the shows. In his opinion, the market is volatile right now unless you are are really huge with a big fan base. Gas is up, insurance is up, trucker unions pay is up, plus his Royal Badness has pissed off all the big promoters. Based on his caluculations, he will make damn near $10 mil in one month by skipping the big arenas and going this route. He's well known in the industry as being difficult and demanding. Makes perfect sense to do a smaller venue (absolute control) and charge enough to cover what he would have made in a larger arena.

I've seen him twice now in smaller venues and it's a completely different concert experience than in the larger arenas. My friends have been bagging on me all week, "If he's not playing '1999' or 'Purple Rain' then why even bother going?" I just shake my head. It's almost like he's a different person when he's on the smaller stage. His musicianship radiates!

I gotta agree with Candace and Azviolet. He's not getting any younger and his fan base is shrinking. I've accepted that if I have the money I'll cough it up for a ticket because he is the ONLY artist I will and have shelled out over $200 for and will keep doing it until he stops performing. After he's long gone, I want to be that old lady in the nursing home with the Prince tattoo telling my concert stories to the nursing home staff!

Question for you, what evidence do you have that you present that backs up your claim that "he has pissdd off all the big promoters"; Any at all or are you just want to sound as if you know what are talking about?. He has toured constantly for the last 3 years in large and small venues...

Retract your claws lwr001 and re-read my post. I think I made it clear that I was sharing the OPINION of a friend. No CLAIMS of anything. I just thought it was an interesting observation and I'm always open to discussion about the mysteries that make him who he is.

xhalation69 said:

lwr001 said:

Question for you, what evidence do you have that you present that backs up your claim that "he has pissdd off all the big promoters"; Any at all or are you just want to sound as if you know what are talking about?. He has toured constantly for the last 3 years in large and small venues...

Retract your claws lwr001 and re-read my post. I think I made it clear that I was sharing the OPINION of a friend. No CLAIMS of anything. I just thought it was an interesting observation and I'm always open to discussion about the mysteries that make him who he is.

That sound you just heard was my "claws being retracted"...Good one...

pueroda said:

Well....I'm not trying to convince anyone of anything about these shows. I wouldn't care if no one shows up but Prince, the band, and myself.....very selfish and mean spirited of me..but true!!!

[Edited 4/5/13 17:28pm]

Here, here! I feel ya!

If he left the band behind and showed up with just a piano and/or guitar, I'd be down for that too.

dsapp said:

I'm doing the four shows in Vegas.

I'll be at the early show on the 27th.

MadamGoodnight said:

Here, here! I feel ya!

If he left the band behind and showed up with just a piano and/or guitar, I'd be down for that too.

The acoustic section of the Musicology show (just Prince, a mic, and an acoustic guitar) was fantastic.

I hope he adds some more dates

azviolet said:

Candace- agreed. However, Prince as we all know has ALWAYS had his hand in his shows, including ticket prices and sales processes. It appears he may have what I call "Oprah syndrome". He has been in his own world for so long that he has apparently forgotten about "reality" and where he came from (where WE his fans all still are).

You're talking about the same Prince who charged $21 a ticket for his LA residency and £31 a ticket for his London residency (which included a free CD)?

It's economics. Prince has a big band, who have to be paid, as well as tour manager, crew etc. On top of that, he has venue hire costs, accommodation for his band etc everywhere they go, and the expense of carting his equipment all around the country. None of that comes cheap. He can't play tiny venues, charge really cheap ticket prices and still make money.

Prince's tickets are priced on a sliding scale which is directly proportionate to the venue size and the intimacy of the experience. You can pay $21 to see him in a 20,000 seat arena, or $300 to see him in a tiny club. You're paying an intimacy premium. It's a rare opportunity and the price reflects that. That's why the Vegas shows are cheaper - bigger venue. If he wanted to rip the fans off, he could have charged just as much for the Vegas shows as he is for the smaller ones. Still would have sold out. It's Vegas.

Here in the UK, Barbra Streisand has just announced two gigs at the O2 - the same venue where Prince charged £31 per ticket - and she is charging over £400 for tickets. The Rolling Stones are charging £300 each to watch them in an enormous, festival sized field. By comparison, Prince's $300 (£195) to see him up close and intimately in a tiny club seems pretty reasonable. It's not ideal, of course, and many fans will not be able to afford it, but the prices do make sense.

[Edited 4/13/13 14:41pm]

TwistedV said:

azviolet said:

You're talking about the same Prince who charged $21 a ticket for his LA residency and £31 a ticket for his London residency (which included a free CD)?

It's economics. Prince has a big band, who have to be paid, as well as tour manager, crew etc. On top of that, he has venue hire costs, accommodation for his band etc everywhere they go, and the expense of carting his equipment all around the country. None of that comes cheap. He can't play tiny venues, charge really cheap ticket prices and still make money.

Prince's tickets are priced on a sliding scale which is directly proportionate to the venue size and the intimacy of the experience. You can pay $21 to see him in a 20,000 seat arena, or $300 to see him in a tiny club. You're paying an intimacy premium. It's a rare opportunity and the price reflects that. That's why the Vegas shows are cheaper - bigger venue. If he wanted to rip the fans off, he could have charged just as much for the Vegas shows as he is for the smaller ones. Still would have sold out. It's Vegas.

Here in the UK, Barbra Streisand has just announced two gigs at the O2 - the same venue where Prince charged £31 per ticket - and she is charging over £400 for tickets. The Rolling Stones are charging £300 each to watch them in an enormous, festival sized field. By comparison, Prince's $300 (£195) to see him up close and intimately in a tiny club seems pretty reasonable. It's not ideal, of course, and many fans will not be able to afford it, but the prices do make sense.

[Edited 4/13/13 14:41pm]

Prince just charged $25 per ticket (lowest price) when he did his residency at the Forum in LA.

I got an email from The Joint (Las Vegas) with their concert schedule...note they show a pic of 3rd Eye Girl but don't mention their name, only Prince:

TwistedV said:

If he wanted to rip the fans off, he could have charged just as much for the Vegas shows as he is for the smaller ones. Still would have sold out. It's Vegas.

None of the Vegas shows are sold out. You can still get $95 tickets from the "box office" for all four shows. Not to mention the hundreds of tickets listed on Stubhub, Ebay, Craigslist, etc. Unless there's a big rush for tickets at the last minute, a lot of scalpers are going to get stuck.

Today on Stubhub:

serpan99 said:

Pretty cool the dates have been announced officially now. Tix won't come cheap but it'll b worth it 2 see them play great venues like this!

It's already a cool list and perhaps other cities get added as well...like Portland still isn't officially confirmed

04/15 – Vancouver, BC @ The Vogue (Early Show)
04/15 – Vancouver, BC @ The Vogue (Late Show)
04/16 – Vancouver, BC @ The Vogue (Early Show)
04/16 – Vancouver, BC @ The Vogue (Late Show)

04/18 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox (Early Show)
04/18 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox (Late Show)
04/19 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox (Early Show)
04/19 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox (Late Show)

04/23 – San Francisco, DNA Lounge (Early Show)
04/23 – San Francisco, DNA Lounge (Late Show)
04/24 – San Francisco, DNA Lounge (Early Show)
04/24 – San Francisco, DNA Lounge (Late Show)

04/26 – Las Vegas, NV @ The Joint (Early Show)
04/26 – Las Vegas, NV @ The Joint (Late Show)
04/27 – Las Vegas, NV @ The Joint (Early Show)
04/27 – Las Vegas, NV @ The Joint (Late Show)

04/30 – Tempe, AZ @ The Marquee (Early Show)
04/30 – Tempe, AZ @ The Marquee (Late Show)
05/01 – Tempe, AZ @ The Marquee (Early Show)
05/01 – Tempe, AZ @ The Marquee (Late Show)

05/03 – San Diego, CA @ Hard Rock Hotel (Early Show)
05/03 – San Diego, CA @ Hard Rock Hotel (Late Show)
05/04 – San Diego, CA @ Hard Rock Hotel (Early Show)
05/04 – San Diego, CA @ Hard Rock Hotel (Late Show)

05/07 – Anaheim, CA @ The Grove (Early Show)
05/07 – Anaheim, CA @ The Grove (Late Show)
05/08 – Anaheim, CA @ The Grove (Early Show)
05/08 – Anaheim, CA @ The Grove (Late Show)

[Edited 3/21/13 7:20am]

purplethunder3121 said:

TwistedV said:

You're talking about the same Prince who charged $21 a ticket for his LA residency and £31 a ticket for his London residency (which included a free CD)?

It's economics. Prince has a big band, who have to be paid, as well as tour manager, crew etc. On top of that, he has venue hire costs, accommodation for his band etc everywhere they go, and the expense of carting his equipment all around the country. None of that comes cheap. He can't play tiny venues, charge really cheap ticket prices and still make money.

Prince's tickets are priced on a sliding scale which is directly proportionate to the venue size and the intimacy of the experience. You can pay $21 to see him in a 20,000 seat arena, or $300 to see him in a tiny club. You're paying an intimacy premium. It's a rare opportunity and the price reflects that. That's why the Vegas shows are cheaper - bigger venue. If he wanted to rip the fans off, he could have charged just as much for the Vegas shows as he is for the smaller ones. Still would have sold out. It's Vegas.

Here in the UK, Barbra Streisand has just announced two gigs at the O2 - the same venue where Prince charged £31 per ticket - and she is charging over £400 for tickets. The Rolling Stones are charging £300 each to watch them in an enormous, festival sized field. By comparison, Prince's $300 (£195) to see him up close and intimately in a tiny club seems pretty reasonable. It's not ideal, of course, and many fans will not be able to afford it, but the prices do make sense.

[Edited 4/13/13 14:41pm]

Prince just charged $25 per ticket (lowest price) when he did his residency at the Forum in LA.

I know because I went on one of those tickets, lol. I paid more for other tickets during the W2LA run, but I did snag a $25 seat and so did my friends.

Also, he performed for the Jimmy Kimmel show in Hollywood, and that was free. A lot of fans got to see that, including myself. It's a give and take here. You get some cheapies, free stuff, and other times ya got to pay

Chad Queirolo ‏@ChadShowbox

All 4 Prince shows @showboxsea R indeed sold out this week but keep an eye out as we will definitely B releasing a few tickets here & there.

Anybody wants to trade/buy tickets for Las Vegas 27th early show?

The tickets are 2 GA (up front standing). Sell for face value or trade for seatings (my wife has bad hips and I bought these by mistake. We're going to the late show too - those are not for trade or sale btw...)

7 more days!