My guess to why the shows were cancelled (which may be right or may be way off) is that Prince had to do Super Bowl preparation. It is a month away now and if you have ever seen one of these things it is a huge production. He probablly realized he had to be working on that. Still, it does not excuse it happening and is a real bummer for those out airfare and hotel $.

sonicfreak said:

I agree that's a decent theory, but then why are the rest of january dates still posted? Why not cancel them all right now instead of just this weekend? I'm soooo frustrated- was about to book air/room for the weekend of the 19th last night, then saw the cancel for this weekend so now feel stuck AGAIN on what to do.
ugh....

paisley16 said:

sheesh, how do you guys or anyone else know that these shows were canceled just
on one of Prince's whims...or because he doesn't care about the fans and wanted
to screw you all. Maybe - just maybe - there was some sort of personal thing
that happened w/either him or someone in the band or whatever. All I'm saying
is you don't know the whole story and don't act like Prince owes you anything.
I feel really bad for the folks that made arrangements...bought tickets and all
that - I really do. But remember the last time shows were canceled on the
Musicology tour (or was it ONA?) - b/c of the Blackwell tragedy? Usually shows
are only outright canceled due to extreme circumstances...maybe this is one of
those times, maybe its not...but at any rate, don't pass judgement until you
know the whole story.

lovemachine said:

LOL.....anyways, I hear what you guys are saying but we are not gonna go. Even through this fiasco, we wanted to have the 3121 experience and if we go this weekend and blow through the rest of our $$$, we wouldnt be able to make it back. So, yeah it sucks that we eat some $$$ but I know I would be pretty dumbed going and knowing I wouldnt ever get to experience the whole thing.

jaynoonan said:

shockadelica777 said:

This is true but if you want the fans to understand and not jump the gun then SOMEONE'S GOT SOME EXPLAINING TO DO!

sonicfreak said:

Then the logical thing would be to announce that and cancel the rest of the shows through the Super Bowl if this were the case. It's not as if he doesn't have 5 days a week free though.

2elijah said:

My husband spoke with an employee of the RIO on 12/24 who told him the shows were cancelled. When he said people already bought tickets,the response was, "they haven't been told yet". I posted this in the "Are Jan tickets sold out" response #19.
Too bad the info wasn't passed on sooner.

well thats interesting because as of Dec 31st, the Twinz and Josh Dunham told me the show was still on.....sent me a myspace message

jaynoonan said:

Guess they weren't told, either.
Too bad my husband didn't get the fella's name. He could've been a great "go to " person for info.
[Edited 1/4/07 11:26am]

lovemachine said:

Well, with a production like the Super Bowl half-time show, it isn't only Prince's schedule that's important. You know that with whatever he's cooking up, that it's got to be PERFECT and that means tons of planning, coordination & rehearsing.

But, that still doesn't excuse the no explanation thing.

xplnyrslf said:

Which shows are you talking about, just the 5th & 6th or the following weekend also?

Nevermind, I found your post. If they were going to cancel the 12th & 13th, wonder why they didn't cancel them all at the same time?
[Edited 1/4/07 12:07pm]

Serena said:

If this employee knew on 12/24 that the shows on the 5+6th-Januari were cancelled why did the Rio Box Office wait all that time to let the buyers of the tickets know there weren't going to be any shows? Maybe these buyers wouldn't have lost the money they've lost now. And I wonder why the Rio didn't inform the buyers of the tickets of the shows on the next weekend (12+13th-Januari) that the shows have been cancelled unless these shows will still be on. Or will it be like the past torturing week all over again? I just don't get this
[Edited 1/4/07 12:24pm]
[Edited 1/4/07 14:35pm]

2elijah said:

You know it is so easy to pin the blame on someone else like Ticketmaster. Like some of you said before..This 3121 thing is Prince's house and it seems just like most of his other houses over the last decade is very disorganized.

Could be he was mourning James Brown but couldn't cancel NYE without having his legs broken.

Hi! Damn that is such a tough break. It really is a shocker having paid out sooo much money. Im in the UK and have been humming and harring about taking a flight over to see his highness, but since reading all the rumours on here Im glad i didnt. I feel for you and am sorry that you wont be seeing him. Hope u have fun in Vegas in any event.

Chin up.

(Happy New Year)

Why doesn't prince get his fucking ass out here to talk about his danm plans? where fuck is he? is there any jan dates for this month? No one doesn't even know that! Full of shit!

shockadelica777 said:

That still doesn't explain why not cancel all the January shows instead of leaving them up on Ticketmaster like a teaser to encourage people to book flights/rooms and possibly wind up with no show. Nor does it explain why these dates posted so late in the first place, and all the other confusion with the Rio. I've never believed Prince owes me anything other than respect. This trip is going to cost me a lot of money. Not to mention time off work, child care arrangements, etc. I'm only planning to go to Vegas now to see HIM.
Thank God I have patient friends who are willing to tolerate my Prince agenda. At this point, they are ready to go to Vegas without me since he is not their motivation.

Sue Prince!!

pkidwell said:

Actually, we purchased airline tix AFTER purchasing tickets from Ticketmaster as the tickets WERE on sale and our CC was sure charged.

mrbobgeorge said:

me 2

I just wish they would post a cancel notice on Ticketmaster for the rest of January's dates and put me (and plenty of others) out of my/our misery.
I haven't spent this much time on the computer since b4 my 3 year old was born!

Very strange weekend to cancel.

One of the biggest (if not the biggest) convention happens there this coming week. (Jan.8-11)
(C.E.S. - http://www.cesweb.org/default.asp)
Starting this weekend, Vegas is going to be overrun with techy/audio/music types looking for something to do.
I was actually considering catching the show for a second time Saturday night.


C'est la vie


tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431

booty said:

I hate to sound this angry but would have to agree with this.

Any respectful artist would be posting some info on their own webpage by now. as I've said already, he must realize it's his long time fans who are going to these shows. This felt like a once in a lifetime thing for me. God, I'm 38 years old and have been dreaming about this shit for weeks. My first (and probably only) trip to Vegas, a chance to see Prince somewhere reasonably "intimate". I was ready to suck up the cost of a VIP package for me and a friend. And once you're within 2 weeks, airfare etc goes up- and from the East Coast, the flight's not cheap. I've been supporting Prince since the early 80's, I'm used to much of this shit-and never complain- but this is out of control. Planning a trip to Vegas is a big deal- period. (Especially if you gamble, which I do ) I feel like I've just been teased, fooled into thinking I was about to have the best Prince experience of my life and then told, "psych"! With no explanation or apology.
Without meaning to sound "parental", I'm really disappointed in him. I thought he was finally a bit beyond treating his fans this way.

(and btw, if the rest of january dates go on sale and actually happen, I will apologize for this rant. maybe just reserve some bitching for the late notice and increased cost of airfare )

paisley16 said:

This is one of the most rational posts I have ever seen on the Org. Thank you.

If the theory that he's preparing for the SuperBowl is true, he only performs at 3121 two nights a week. 5 days a week for over a month is plenty of time to prepare for SuperBowl without cancelling 3121.

Stymie said:

Paisley16, please know that you are not alone in feeling this way. Speaking for myself, the way all of this has been handled and the fact that this is basically the norm for Prince, is one of the few things in him that I do find disappointing.

Nothinbutjoy said:

Jan. 12th and 13th confirmed!

I am sooooo sorry to hear that the shows were cancelled and so many people are being inconvenienced, disappointed and taking a financial hit because of this error, whoever's it was. I'm also VERY disappointed that there hasn't been any formal acknowledgment/explanation about this craziness. I went to Vegas to see Prince in May and this past weekend for NYE and had a great time. I hope those of you that were planning to go this weekend won't be completely turned off by the situation and get a chance to see him soon. I think it's still worth it.

sonicfreak said:

However, regarding the possibility that it's Superbowl related I SERIOUSLY doubt it. I performed in a Superbowl when I was in high school drill team and have attended a few since. Although these ARE huge productions, they plan them all year long and don't bring the performers in for rehearsals until the week before the game. So I doubt that was the cause of the cancellation.

Also, for clarification was it a "cancelled" show or were tickets never supposed to be sold in the first place????? That's an important distinction that determines who is REALLY at fault, Prince or TM. One more thing, regarding this comment:

shockadelica777 said:

This is TOTALLY different than what happened during the Blackwell tragedy because the majority of people were not travelling to Chicago to attend whereas, for Vegas virtually EVERYBODY is coming in from out of town and making flight/hotel arrangements so they are out of a lot of money. Plus those shows were rescheduled and people had the choice for a refund or to see the rescheduled show. Which is why this absurd situation definitely calls for some official explanation, at least. At any rate, I wish you all the best and hope you can stay positive even though I'd be mad as hell.

Stymie said:

thank you