Can we talk about the aggression at Friday's aftershow.

This was my first aftershow ever (what a fucking shambles, but that's a different story). I was 3 peeps from the front.

I was amazed and purplexed about how much agression there seemed to be. Everyone (around me) were pushing and shoving. My husband had a full blown argument with a woman (hand in face Jerry Springer style). I had to shout a couple of times back behind me to ask people to stop pushing.

After speaking to a few 'regulars' it seems this isn't a regular atmosphere at a Prince aftershow, so why was it so different here? My thought is that alchohol has a lot to do with it...and also the fact that these tickets were made availble to 'casual fans'.

I hate this whole 'pushing to the front despite the fact you weren't prepared to queue up like the rest of us' attitude.

It put me off so much I decided to hang at the back on the Saturday night.

Was it just me? Am I being to idealistic?

Despite this I met a friendly Orger from Germany...hello to onesong99 (1song99?) I owe you a drink.

col said:

I went on opening night and found a similar thing happening and I agree with you! I have been to aftershows in the past and this one was the worst for crowd behaviour. I think it was irresponsible of the management to allow people to take drinks through to the area near the stage - there was almost two fights when I was there. I had to tell some guy to be careful not to spill his drink on my shirt or we "would 'ave words" it spoiled it for me and the fact that we had to stand and listen to that jazz dross didnt help either!!

It wasn't just the aftershow...I also had a run in with a bouncer from one of the bars!

at the sat aftershow, there was alot of aggression, but a lot of it stems from alcohol, and standing around for so long waiting for the band to perform, my sis had problems with another girl, who accused my sis of pushing her out of the way! considering we couldnt move,it was imposible to push any one! i also had a major problem with the bouncers at the sat concert! they nearly ruined the concert for me

As I've already written twice, the aftershow crowd standing in the front on the opening night was full of drunk idiots who completely ruined it for me ! Sober fans such as me had to almost fight off this fucked up crowd and protect ourselves from the violent shoving ,pushing,insults and occasional collapsing of drunk women ( SO CLASSY! ).Not to mention that 4 full glasses of beer were spilt on my clothes and shoes during the performances.What can I say? It was enough to watch Prince's facial expression, you couldn't have missed the disgust. It's well-known that British love beer, but come on! They paid 25 pounds to watch Prince perform amd they get drunk instead?? FUCKING MORONS!
BTW, for all of those who haven't got a clue and didn't notice any drunks (or maybe YOU were TOO drunk to even notice...)go to the HQ forums and read :fans are equally disgusted and disappointed.

yael72 said:

It seems like P may be aware of this and this could be why he failed to perform on Friday & Saturday?

Very plausible,as a bodyguard was actualy grabbing one of those idiots by his collar Prince was looking at the scene and looked....annoyed.

yael72 said:

P was certainly watching from the side on the Friday night,which seemed a much worse crowd than the Saturday from where I was. Seemed that Saturday night's crowd (near the front anyway) was largely European fans who shared our respect for being able to get near the front.

Friday night, this really tall woman got agressive with me for dancing to Chelsea Rodgers...she actually turned to me in my 3 square inches of space, with a look of disgust and said "what the hell do you think you're doing?" to which I replied "Dancing, it's a club, and I love this song" Later she was pushing anyone and everyone, and I was amazed that at least 3 fights didn't break out given the Jerry Springer like yelling going on behind us.

Thank you to those who were able to pull the women apart and prevent the punching from starting.

Pathetic is not the word. And my brand new white trousers got red wine spilt all over the bottom of them I personally think if you wanna drink, you should have to be at the bar.

On the Saturday, A lot of people again jumping the queue. Not good.

Drink is definately the player. Some young lad kept jumping over the barrier to get themselves beer. Did not appreciate him using my shoulder whilst my back was turned to help himself in. Then hearing them asking each other "Is Prince Gay?" and was rude to my girlfriend, OMG I had to be stopped from doing something that could have got me ejected from the venue! Fortunately one lad in the group apologised for his mates actions and cheek!

When inside we found it wasn't as bad as the night before. And Prince played!!!! (for 10 minutes)

On the Friday 1 lad tried to get past me, (I was 3 people away from the stage) carrying drinks and saying that he had his mobile stolen. I explained that I didn't have it and pointed in the direction I wanted him to walk. Saying "Go that way" cheeky git!

Got another 4 aftershows to attend. Let's hope we see more of Prince at the coming shows and a better, more friendly atmosphere in the
audience.

Peace!

Oh wow...After reading all these stories about the aftershows I'm beginning to wonder if I should just pass them even though I already have tickets.

I'm looking forward to travelling across the Europe for my first two Prince concerts in less than four weeks time, but I'm afraid that going to their aftershows would ruin the experience for me.

yael72 said:

Seems 2 be happening most nights, as stated a lot of it seems 2 stem from the long wait until the performance and some ppl using that as a excuse 2 get totally out it, though it's not an excuse. Plus the fact that a lot of ppl there who aren't even fans just acting stupid. On the opening night we had 2 literally push a woman back who kept bumping into us trying 2 get 2 the front, not once but several times, an idiot who climbed up hiding near the stage! And these weren't teenagers, grown 'adults', pretty embrassing! No wonder Prince is standing in the back checking out the place, this behaviour & the camera situation must be determining whether or not he decides 2 perform...

Wow I was at the first aftershow and I was not on the dance floor. I stood on the step up in front of the railing. This was my first aftershow. People were obviously drunk but fortunately I didn't witness any of the fighting that has been described. I just danced and enjoyed a fantastic evening (without alcohol). I enjoy live music and listening to talented musicians. Thanks to Prince and NPG I had a beautiful night.

nemesis2099 said:

Oh yeah ! Remember that woman oh too well ! We must have stood in the same place, she was something else...

yael72 said:

She (the blonde one) was well out of it before the performance even started the security should've picked up on this a bit quicker. Anyone whose getting pissed & generally causing problems should be kicked out ASAP, its just not the place 2 do that stuff.

Booze Britain.

I think they should ban booze being taken on the dancefloor. If you wanna drink then stay back at the bar!

That should help resolve some problems.

You are either there to watch and enjoy or booze and act a tit!

Water should be the only drink allowed on the floor!

AMEN TO THAT !

Wow...this all sounds like a nightmare and one big headache when it's suppose to be about appreciating and enjoying the experience. The security people just need to enforce the rules by going up and down the lines, before letting people into the aftershow warning anyone starting trouble with other fans, jumping the line or snapping pictures of the show, will be thrown out immediately, point blank, no questions asked, no second chances.

It's a shame that some adults at a concert act worse than a spoiled 10-year old throwing a tantrum and ruining the experience for others. If you see anyone misbehaving just give them that Austin Powers look and tell them to "Behave!" j/k...leave that for the security people. Anyway, I hope you London fans going to the remainder of the scheduled shows get to enjoy the aftershows without more issues like these arising
[Edited 8/5/07 15:22pm]

nemesis2099 said:

Did she have long fake blonde hair? If so she was in front of me in the queue and when we said to someone (not in her crowd) that we had VIP tickets for the main show and she thought we said aftershow she made me clarify and then said 'thank f*ck for that I was about to jump on your back - I thought you had VIP for here'

NICE lady!!

I have to say though we stayed by the railing too and didnt see any of the other stuff. I had a great time too. My only show this tour so I'm glad I didn't end up fighting!!

Lisa

newpowerhippies said:

No, she had short blonde hair and around the right speakers, she was dancing like a madwoman b4 the performance started, if u call it dancing

This is all a bit of a double edged sword in some respects, I was there Friday and after the long wait could not wait to get in and quench my thirst with a couple of cheeky beers and indeed once inside with the good lady did enjoy a couple of drinks before during and after the no show performance!

I managed to stand by one of the pillars by the step where it drops onto the main dance floor and was happy with the position and me and my wife got chatting to a lovely couple from just outside Glasgow!

I was aware of some very bizarre dancing going down on the dance floor in particular a long haired gentlemen in his 40's with some very flashy cowboy boots, along with a lot of what looked like pushing and shoving at the front near the stage during the evening!

Suffice to say I kept my distance and let the hard core get on with it!
My point is regarding alcohol is the longer we are kept waiting the more we are more likely to drink its simple, if they had announced at the beginning that the prick was not going to show then like most true fans I would have left and gone home and spared my poor feet anymore pain, the remaining would have been there for the booze!

Bye the way cowboy boot man was ejected later on by the door staff much to my amusement!

AWJ

Just actually posted on another thread about this, it was f**king shocking. The aggression at last nights aftershow was appalling, and (luckily) although it didn't ruin my experience as a whole, it was totally unnecessary. I agree that a lot of people were drinking during the long wait for the band and that might explain why they were THAT DRUNK. It doesn't justify behaviour that is very rude. I didn't see the blonde woman (thank god) but there was one guy in particular who was being very annoying, hassling my boyfriend and I. I can't remember much about him but he had a pale pink top and jeans on and he was WASTED, annoying everyone in sight. He obviously thought he was hillarious, but I was seriously worried in case his friends were gonna join in. .

I found it very intimdating to be at this aftershow, amongst so many aggressive and drunk people AND I'M FROM GLASGOW (where aggressive and drunk is what the people are known for). We left at 2.15. Just booked tickets for next weeks gig (tuesday 14th), and I'm so happy but no more aftershows for me.

I dont know if I was switched off to it, but I never noticed any agression at Saturday's aftershow. Some woman dancing with a glass full of beer next to me, leaving me guessing when, not if, I will be wearing that beer down my whole left side later.

I am dissapointed with a few people, the huge lack of respect for the "no pictures" thing, so what if they dont agree with it, but I recall Prince walking off the stage at one of the Vegas shows because of that.

I do find a lot of the so called fans who go to the aftershows so spiteful that he turns ups for 5 minutes because he didnt entertain them enough. The aftershow on Saturday was fantastic, I am delighted I went there, EVERYONE was jumping, singling, clapping, now this morning they say they were all pissed off because Prince showed for 5 minutes, after Friday's non-appearance, they should be happy he even showed his face.

I think the aftershows should play the video films like Love4oneanother, The Beautful Experience, 3 Chains of Gold, the Undertaker, Sacrifice of Victor, instead of the lacklustre compile recorded mix of the obvious tunes, or get Unique to DJ
[Edited 8/5/07 16:04pm]

london1 said:

And everyone just having to stare at a black curtain.

london1 said:

"Get On The Boat - June 2008

GoldiesParade said:

There are screens in there and the prince tunes on Love4oneanother, The Beautful Experience are funky offering some diversity.
[Edited 8/5/07 16:02pm]
[Edited 8/5/07 16:02pm]