While we skulked around Hollywood Boulevard just as Prince's first show at the Hollywood Roosevelt was about to start, the LA Times was inside, walking the purple carpet amongst "200 beautiful people" and sitting three feet away from Prince as he jammed throughout the night. And it was a long night.

The paper reports that Prince didn't show up for the later, more intimate jazz session until 4am. But despite some sound problems (the LA Times blames that on the hotel's Blossom Room which was "expected in a room that's also been used for bar mitzvahs"), the night went off without a hitch.

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The parking lot was full and only people with concert tix or hotel reservations were allowed in.

Prince lived up to the "intimate" concerts promise by venturing into the crowd constantly. And speaking of the crowd, guess who was there?:


Only one awkward moment emerged during Prince's forays into the crowd. He approached the daunting bunch on what could have been dubbed the "hip-hop power couch" -- it included Diddy, Death Row Records founder Suge Knight, Erykah Badu and Nas, among others -- and tried to hand the microphone to Nas.


The rapper declined to ad-lib, however, simply muttering, "I love Prince," and handing back the hot potato. Prince then tried to work his charm on Ms. Badu; she gave up a half-hearted rhyme about sisterhood, but it fizzled out. About half of those seated on the couch then abruptly departed (though Nas and Badu both stayed).




Other people in the crowd included former LA Laker Rick Fox, Penelope Cruz, and Nikka Costa (who joined Prince on stage.)

Guess who was not there? Our friend who still has not heard back from the hotel about tickets. Also, another unhappy Prince fan emailed us their frustrations about trying to get tickets:

Worst run, unorganized way to get overpriced tickets. Also the later emails said for standing room tickets $321.00 you dont get the after show--only for $3210.00. I also heard as of 5 pm Friday they still had tickets for this weekend but is just impossible to get an answer. The worst run event.


We hate to break it to you but this is Prince we're talking about. Do you think he would perform in the crowds of the hoi polloi? And we're talking about the Hollywood Roosevelt, who pride themselves on being a place where celebrities can hang out and feel normal. So they aren't exactly racing out to get the general public into these concerts.

You can, however, try your luck on Craigslist where someone is selling 2 standing room only tix for $620 for the June 30th concert. Buyer beware.

Related Stories:
· The Incredibly True Adventures of Emailing Hollywood Roosevelt for Prince Tickets [HotelChatter]