First of all, I first visited the org just after the 07/07/07 concert announcement. I wanted to find some great info about the, possibilities of an after party etc. and let me tell you, I definitely found everything I was looking for here (and more!).

So, to give back to all of you in the org, here's a little, ok long, photographic tour of what it was like to wait in line for the first ave tickets. Enjoy!

(ps. please check out http://www.flickr.com/pho...illsergio/ for more of my photos!)




I first arrived in line at about 12:45 pm. This got us a spot in line in front of the borders bookstore entrance in Block E. Even though it was 95F outside, we were lucky to have a spot in the shade with a great breeze! You could actually say it was pleasant. The staff at borders was fantastic and even brought out samples of a smoothie and an ice cream coffee for all of the pepople that were waiting in line in front of the store. It was basically like a nice picnic in Minneapolis. We even meet a couple of great prince fans from DC who were great people to share the line with. (Hopefully you're reading this and if so, thanks again!) This beautiful afternoon lasted until 2:15 pm...at which point everyone in the front of the line decided to pick up their chairs and start crowding together. A first ave employee came around with a bullhorn and announced that the line was compressing and pretty soon the entire line was running ahead, everyone frantically grabbing there chairs/blankets etc. We ended up running all the way up 6th Street and then around the corner and onto 1st Ave.Now here's where the real "fun" started in earnest.



"The crush begins"

At this point we were in full sun and stayed there for the next 1.5 hours or so as we slowly made our way down 1st Ave N.



"Prince banner on Target Center"

The line itself continued to further compress until around 3:00 pm when the tickets went on sale. Unfortunately, the entire time we had no idea where we stood in line. As we were sitting in front of borders earlier, what looked liked a first ave employee was walking around the block counting people and I was number 840 in line. But really there was no way to be sure.



"Waiting alongside First Ave."

Finally at about 3:15, we had our second official announcement from First Ave. The same guy with the bullhorn came around the corner and announced that there were more tickets available than there were people in line. This prompted a pretty big cheer from the crowd but I guarantee you that no one actually felt comfortable about there position where we stood.



"Prince's star on First Ave."



"The line stretching the corner of 1st ave and 8th street"

At this point we were not only hitting the hottest point of the day, but we also were standing in direct sun, behind a building blocking the breeze AND next to giant brick wall that was painted black, but the ticket line was moving at a glacial pace (to put it kindly). More or less we would move about 20 feet every 4 minutes. This works out to 100 yards an hour. Thus, the corner looked impossibly far away.



"Not since the '20's have we seen so many umbrellas used to block the sun"



"The line stretching back along First Ave."



"The back of First Ave. with some of the Minneapolis Skyline. The atrium in the building on the far right is where Prince and Apollonia see his symbol guitar in Purple Rain."

Fortunately, at some point the employees at First Ave started to find a groove and then line began to move a lot faster. This only mattered because we could see shade around the corner. However, we still had a long way (about 3 blocks) to go.



"Around the first corner! Shade just ahead!"

At this point, we were definitely reaching our breaking point with the heat, sun, exhaustion and dehydration. I know that I was starting to feel just a little bit less than 100% at this point. However, someone behind us in line was nice enough to go and buy water for a number of us at a store up the street. We all pitched in a couple of bucks and even though she ended up with a small tip, everyone was EXTREMELY grateful for the water that she brought back. A little further up the block a parking lot attend pointed out a small water spigot on the side of his booth to us and a number people used it to cool off their feet. It was little things like person in line and the parking lot attendant that made waiting in line bearable. Everyone in line was extremely friendly and it was great to talk with so many cool prince fans. The amazing thing is that with the heat and the long wait, there were no incidents that I saw in line. No one passed out and no one got into fights. I guess we still have a little bit of "Minnesota Nice" left!



"Around the second corner and into the shade!"



"Looking back to First Ave with the Target Center looming behind."



"Still a long road ahead."

At this point we still had a lot of ground to cover. Earlier, our now favorite First Ave employee made the announcement that they were going to hold the doors at the Macy's show until the line here thinned out a bit. I'm sure that was good news to all the people with the purple 3121 wristbands that I saw in line. Hopefully, nobody had the make the choice between getting First Ave tickets and seeing the Macy's show. That's definitely not a decision that I would want to have to make.



"Whenever I got frustrated with the wait, I would just look back at all of the people waiting in line behind me. That definitely cheered me up!"



"Can you spot the 'personality' on the street?"

One of the other great things about waiting on the streets of Minneapolis for such a long time was the number of, lets say, "interesting" people that you got to see walk by. In the picture above you can only spot one of these characters if you were there, but lets just say, he had a great time talking with everyone in line. In his own words, "I love everybody in this world." This confirmed that it was officially Prince day in Minnesota as even the most eccentric of people were loving like the Fam! My favorite quote of the day however, was not quite as much in the same spirit. When one woman asked how much tickets were and was told $31.21, she responded with, "31 dollars? Dang, I should have sold some pot this morning." See as how bad the acoustics were in my $77, upper level Target Center seat, I probably should have done the same and gotten a better ticket! (Yeah I know, lame disclaimer, but, I am not condoning selling/using pot in any way.)




"Getting closer."



"These feet were hurting!"



"Now we know what kept the people going who were in line the night before. Monster Energy Drink and PBR tall boys."



"Trying to stay cool."

The other constant besides feeling exhausted and hot while standing in line, was the constant presence of any number of entrepreneurs selling bottles of water or pop. My favorite was the two guys selling water out of a giant 40 gallon trash bin on wheels. Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of them, so I settled for the guy with the great beard that you can see by the lamp post in the picture above.



"My favorite way that I saw to stay entertained was to pour water on yourself. Sharing an iPod was close second."

Finally at just about 5:00 pm and 4.5 hours of waiting, we reached the last turn of the line. However, at this point we still pretty about whether or not we would get tickets. Nobody from First Ave had come around for a while and they had been selling for 2 hours now. This is where I threw on my own iPod and listened to a little Purple Rain for inspiration. I can't tell you how excited that made me. Overall, I think that was what kept everyone going. Just the thought that you realistically had a chance to see Prince at Fist Ave was incredible and provided more than enough energy to keep going and not get discouraged.



"I've never been so happy to see a corner in my entire life."



"Everyone was pretty excited to finally see the end of the line!"



"Looking back around the corner for more inspiration."



"The debris from a long night for a lot of people out on the streets."



"More trash from a long night."



"So close yet so far. At least you could see the Target Center again."





"The chair and water bottle, essential tools of the line waiting trade."

Thankfully, being from the Twin Cities, I could come pretty well prepared for the wait. I was certainly not the only one who came prepared either. It was pretty interesting though to see some of the choices that people had for chairs.

You had the classic camp chair in the drawstring bag with shoulder strap...



"Small, compact and comfortable. This is the professional line waiter's choice."

You had the small fold up wooden chair garden chair...



"Definitely ready for a garden party should one break out."

But I think my vote for most awkward seating choice goes to the cheap, white, large plastic chair.



"I'm just going out on a limb here, but I think she's sick of carrying that chair."

Although discussing the merits of which chair to choose took our minds off of the fact that we had been waiting in line for nearly 5 hours, it never completely got rid of the fear that we might not get tickets. The last hundred yards or so were really nerve racking for all of us. Things definitely got worse when people who had just gotten their wristbands walked by us and announced that 1000+ tickets had already been sold. We were so close but suddenly the door looked really far way. Things looked even down when our First Ave buddy started to ask people when they had started to wait in line.



"Prince watching over the line."



"Looking back at this picture you can see a lot of nervous faces."



"Nothing to do but wait and count the number of people in Prince t-shirts that walked by."



"Almost there."

The closer that we got to the door, the more nervous and excited I got. Logically, there was no way that they would let us get this close and then tell us that tickets were sold out, that would have been a recipe for a riot. But when you're waiting for a ticket to see Prince at First Ave, there isn't a lot of logic present in your mind.



"Our first good view of the door."



"The door was so close, but we still weren't sure we would get in!"

At this point we found out why the line was taking so long. They were only letting in groups of 10 people at a time. Needless to say, being person 15 in line felt pretty great, but I still wasn't quite inside of 10 yet and assured of getting a ticket.



"15 away..."

Also, just in case you felt like running in this door...



"The door's wide open."

This guy was there to stop you...



"One of the many reasons that the line stayed in check."

Finally, the last group of 10 went in ahead of us. It took all I could to keep myself in check and to hope that they were going to call in 10 more. Then thankfully at about 5:20 pm and 5 hours of waiting, we made it into the 10 that were let inside of First Ave. For the first time all day, I could legitimately get excited for the night ahead. We were on our way in and nothing was going to stop me from seeing that show. Suddenly, the 95F heat, the lack of water, the achy joints, the nervousness, were all worth it. I was going to see Prince at First Ave. Let me repeat that because I still can't believe that it happened. I was going to see Prince, that night, perform at First Ave for the first time in 20 years. Walking down that dark hallway was an incredible feeling. Absolutely indescribable.



"Looking back to the light from inside of First Ave."

Once inside, we walked down a dark hall and into the ticketing area. There were only four cash registers so we were further shown why the line was proceeding so
slowly. Both during and after our time in line, a lot of us talked about how they could have handled to sale better. Ultimately I think that they ran the sale in the best way possible. If they would have gone around with bracelets or numbers, it would have been a mad free-for-all and a dash to be the first to get one. The way they did it, the staff were able to control the line and limit the chance for a mass stampede. However, I do think that they could have started the sale a little earlier.



"Working the registers."



"Prince, $31.21, the best deal in a LONG time."



"In the background: The First Ave staff put everyone's wristband on their right wrist."



"The wristband!"



"Exiting First Ave."

Finally leaving the building with our wristbands on, the ordeal was over. I say ordeal because it was a long, hot day with a TON of uncertainty. But most certainly it was a great experience. I know that this is something that I will remember for the rest of my life. Every time I look back on that day, there will be zero regrets for taking on the experience. If any of you ever have the opportunity do something like this, DO IT! It really is the days like Saturday that make life interesting.



"The line that I was no longer a part of!"



"A few more lucky people making it into First Ave."

So, hopefully this was an enjoyable read and gave all of those who couldn't be there a taste of the experience. The great thing about the entire day was that everything going on around Minneapolis was centered on the Prince. Between the line, Macys decked out in purple, chandeliers and 3121, plus all of the Prince fans it really was a special day.

Thanks again for reading this and remember...

http://www.youtube.com/wa...qkTLKizHkw
[Edited 7/9/07 3:11am]
[Edited 7/9/07 3:27am]

Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou!! That review was awesome, you made me feel a part of that long hot wait. I so wish I could have been there.

amazing.. hot dang...

thank you for this great report and photographs, your report made me feel like i'm there and living the experience myself.

your photos of the long que and 'First Avenue' reminds me of the 'Brixton Academy' venue in London during the 'Jam of the Year' tour.

wow
that was awesome!

thx 4 sharing

thanks for the awesome pics! they totally bring back memories of saturday. we spent most of our time waiting in line right under the First Avenue entrance...we were approximately at the 400 people mark.

by the way, all the debris we passed on the street was SURREAL to me. it inspired us to coin a new term:


me: look at all the fam damage!

eleven: FAMAGE!

famage

Great photos! Even though I spent twice as long waiting in line as I did at experiencing shows that day, it was a fantastic day. It was hot, but we were in the shade almost the entire time. We had a good time talking to the people around us in line. I was hoping there'd be more purple people eaters to give me a giggle, but I ain't complaining (nor judging, cuz my stupid ass did spend all day waiting in line to begin with!). It was great fun watching the security at First Ave shoving people off the stairs, reminding them that it was a fire code violation. Kept my view unobstructed almost the entire show!

Wow, GG Allin and Prince performing on the same stage

Thanks for the pics!!
[Edited 7/9/07 7:09am]

Great documentary of the whole experience!!
But I have couple questions...

1. How did people take bathroom breaks and got back in line?
2. Being Live Earth day, did the city clean up the trash?

ZsaZsaZsu said:

1. if people were waiting in groups, a couple of people could leave and the rest of the group would just hold their spots. the trick was to make peace with the people in front and behind you...the people in our area didn't really care, since we were at the 400 people mark and we knew we were gonna get in.

2. the city did a really good clean-up job by saturday night, though there were still tell-tale signs of famage here and there.

Anxiety said:

I was really impressed. There was a hell of a lot of garbage. Really nasty. I was picking some of it up at first, but all the trash bins were full. By the time we were in line for the show that evening, it was all gone! Amazing.

Ok so all and all, on a scale from 1-10 how do you rate everything? Seems like it was kinda a cluster fuck from reading these reports. On a side note, P's gigs are always pretty much a cluster fuck so it's shouldn't be surprising.

At first I was a bit jealous that I wasn't able to attend these shows, but knowing myself I would have been really irritated by all the waiting especially in that heat!

As my friend Joe called it, this was the "long, hot wait tour".




Our party got in line at 10am and we were a sizable group. As Anxy pointed out, we were elated to discover our spot in line would be directly under the Frist Avenue star, at the front entrance under the awning, giving us complete shade for our long wait in line. I don't think I'd have survived otherwise.

Within minutes of spreading our blankets and opening our chairs, a breakfast cart came by. I'm being served breakfast on the street! A couple of people from Bella Notte (fancy restaurant down the street) were wheeling by french toast and a typical breakfast of eggs, potatoes, sausage, bacon and half a crossaint. Each were only $5. We'll have to post pics, cause eating fancy french toast while sitting on the sidewalk of First Avenue was a fairly surreal experience for me.

I can't tell you how much fun I had in line. In LINE! Since we were a huge group, we took turns in pairs or 3s to wander around, check out the Macy's display early, go get lunch, fam out with the other fams, even make a Target run. My friend Joe decided to go get a deck of cards from Target and came back with a cooler full of ice, water and bomb pops! It was a party.

Our only scare was getting into Macy's and not missing that show. We were thinking positive all day for the most part, but when 3:45 rolled around and we were still over a block away from the door we got nervous. Once the blow-horn guy came out and told us they were in contact with Macy's and that they wouldn't be starting the show till a sizable group of us were through the line, all was well again. I had kinda hoped they'd have come out earlier to assure us, but since they didn't, something else wonderful happened, so I guess it all works out the way it should. But that's not my story to tell... Supa will have to fill you in on that one.

We didn't bother to stand in line at target center when the doors weren't open yet. Heck, we got down late as it was, kinda assuming it would be running late, what with Macy's late and all. We hung back and chatted with folks across the street till we saw the line moving fast, then snuck in through the skyway in block E to avoid the massive lines out front.

The line at First Ave after, all I can remember was sitting on the sidewlak cause I was sooooo tired. Tired but excited. And at that point, waiting was all I'd done all day.

And that's my line review.

Frankly, I think everything was handled smashingly. The only thing that could have made this all go better was starting the ticket sales earlier. They held the show at Macy's cause there were tons of us with writstbands not getting through that line.

That was AWESOME.

But had they started selling even an hour earlier (as me and Anxy even wrote to First Avenue to request!) it wouldn't have thrown the schedule off all day. The afterhow truly started as soon as it could, they still didn't even have all the equipment on stage when the band started playing, roadies were still hurrying up the last pieces.

Minasodaboy,

All I can say is thank you! What an amazing recount of your experience. Thank you so much for taking the time to take the pictures and recall all of that for those of us who could not attend. It TRULY felt like being there.

I'm so excited for all of you that got to go to the shows!



CarrieMpls- the "long, hot wait tour" With friends like that no wonder the wait wasn't completely miserable!

That was Truly AWESOME!
Thanks!

by the way...since we were waiting under the First Avenue awning most of the day and since i was in such geeky fam mode all day, i really didn't notice that it was 101 degrees. there were a couple of patches when our line moved into some shadeless territory when i might have suffered a titch, but as far as i was concerned, it was all just hot fun in the summertime.

GREAT REVIEW! I loved the mini-stories and the discourse about proper porta-chair selection. Glad to hear you survived! The pics were awesome and very telling...

Thank you so much for all of the great feedback everyone! I'm glad that a few of you actually read the whole thing and thought it was funny! (RenHoek, glad you like the asides!)

On a scale of 1 to 10, I have to give it a 10. Sure some things were difficult, but in the end I walked away having one of the best memories of my entire life. If thats not a 10 then what is?

Also, if anyone wants to snag some of theses pictures, go to http://www.flickr.com/pho...asodaboy2/. If for some reason you want the full resolution version, orgnote me!

7

Nothinbutjoy said:

Ditto! I could not have said it better

Great review!! I felt like I was back in that line....waiting...waiting...waiting...Glad to hear we weren't the only ones that had a great appreciation for that Last Corner! I get all warm and fuzzy feeling just reliving the day through your post.

Prince has the greatest fans in the world. On a hot day that would have turned most people a little grumpy everyone stayed cool (pun intended). We came all the way from TN just for the concert and to top it off with the after party at First Ave was icing on the cake. Thanks Minneapolis for a FANTASTIC weekend!

Dude, this post kicks ass.

Thanks!

CarrieMpls said:













I love it when a plan comes together.

After reading this I wonder if I should feel guilty for scoring First Avenue tickets without waiting in line I don't

CarrieMpls said:

Unless of course Prince had started the Target Center show on time.

lovemachine said:

nah, you shouldn't feel guilty. if you really WANT to feel bad about something, i can go on about how much fun we had in that stupid line...i almost have more fond memories of the line than i do of the shows!

Anxiety said:

Not me. I have spent too much time in lines for Prince to do it anymore so I was going to skip it if I couldn't get tickets through other means. The line to get into First Avenue was bad enough.
[Edited 7/9/07 19:02pm]

Thanks for the picture tour. I got on line about 10:30pm Friday night. We were a little bit around the first corner. I could not believe how the line kept growing and growing!! Although it was not a part of my plans (I wanted to go to the Prince 80's party then get some sleep before getting in line for the Macy's show in the morning), hanging out with fellow Prince fans all night then all morning was pretty fun. I met a lot of very nice people from all over the world. Loved all of the shows. The weekend was a wonderful experience!

Thanks. That was fantastic. I saw Prince back at the Paisley Park New Years PPV show(1999), so I know this was all worth it! Thanks again!
[Edited 7/10/07 8:47am]