I was another mug who fell for the Friday aftershow scam! I attended the o2 concert with 5 other friends & relatives, of which I was the only real Prince fan so to speak.
I managed to persuade my companions that Prince aftershows were the stuff of legend & at £25 a ticket this was an opportunity not to be missed. So I bought 6 tickets from the Indigo2 box office before the main gig. I was not told in any way by the young chap that took my £150 there was a chance that Prince wouldn't perform.
Well, after the gig ( my 8th & most disappointing Prince gig ever, not a patch on seeing him in Washington DC in 2004 ) we took our upstairs seats in indigo2.

I remember Dr. John saying Prince would be on the stage soon, then a hell of a long wait! My girlfriend went to ask a member of staff what was going on & she was told that Prince wouldn't be performing as his drummer hadn't turned up(?)
We were told that we had to go back to the box office the following day, where we would receive a full refund. It later became apparent that this was just a way of removing people from the venue with a minimum of fuss.

The following day we returned to the box office & were flatly told "we're not giving any refunds". The girl I spoke to said " You should have been told when you bought your tickets that you're not guaranteed a performance by Prince". When I pointed out that I'd been served by the chap sat next to her and he definitely hadn't told me this, they simply resorted to " well, it says aftershow, it doesn't say "concert"
The only thing I got from them the promoters email address & that I should send a complaint to.

Now I've spent a few years attending Prince gigs & I've been unfortunate before (Birmingham HMV 1993 anyone? How about the Tressino's nightclub aftershow disappointment?) but my friends & relatives haven't, & now I feel like my hero has let them down, a substandard gig & an afterNOshow. A refund would get me off the hook & maybe make them think about attending another Prince gig one day....

evonomis said:

I - try to get a refund, I understand but -threading (how's that for an official name) has to STOP

sorry i dont understand you!

Aftershows are no longer guarantee that there will BE an aftershow. Prince may or may not show up and even if he does, it doesn't guarantee he'll be playing. Nor is there any guarantee that Prince music will be played either. This has been going on since Musicology all the way through to Vegas.

evonomis said:

Hey im totally with you i to was upstairs and am still raggin! i cant believe the way we were treated when i bought my ticket the guy at the box office told me yeah prince would definetly be there he would be playing for approx an hour! i was well pleased well til i got there and he didnt show.. i had a flight the next morning at 8am so couldnt go to the box office but since returning home have been on the phone to them.. and yeah it says aftershow it doesnt say PARTY and you know what if i was going to a party i certainly wouldnt want to be sitting down through the whole thing! and i certainly wouldnt be paying £25 a ticket to do so and having to stay up all night then catching a flight the next morning .... i am a huge fan of prince and it was my first trip away to see him and to be honest the aftershow thing has spoiled all my memories of it...i think its a shameful way to treat your fans or fams as the more important ones like to be called!

superspaceboy said:

I am well aware of Prince's fickle nature as a performer. However, from a legal point of view, the customer has to be told that there is a chance that the person named on the ticket will not be performing. I am not angry with Prince. I am angry with the attitude & lack of customer care of the concert promoter.

evonomis said:

It's not even "fickle nature". He simply doesn't "do" aftershows that much anymore. I'd NEVER buy an aftershow ticket these days, simply because I know it may or may not happen and by the time you figure it out, it's 3 am and you're in a small sweaty club with a bunch of others going WTF? I'll never forget the last show of Musicology and the "aftershow". Tons of people ended up at Pete escavito's new bar. Not only did most get turned away after being out there for a few hours, but those that DID get in, said nothing was happening inside.