man what a way to start off on these forums with a post that sucks ;0)

I went on Saturday and it was UNbelievable..been a while and was amazing. Got 4 more gigs @ O2 to see the man but 2nite the whole show 4 me was ruined by the fact i couldn't hear a damn thing..!

Was up in the upper tier (thankfully lower tier for next Sat) and it was like the minute he came on i was expecting them to ramp up the volume...never happened. I've never heard worse sound quality at a gig period - couldn't hear him ripping up that guitar, no sound from the horns, the drums were echoing and out of sync, couldn't make out any vocals - in block 417 and it sucked. Was gutted as i took my sis who joined me at Brixton, Hammersmith and Wembley back during Gold and was really looking 4ward 2 it - instead she left deflated...her mate had been waiting 10 years to see Prince, came 2nite and had a great setlist but the worst acoustics EVER!

I have to say, 2nite's setlist was amazing! That's why i feel so upset about it, he played for the real fans more than the mainstream heading to a heavily promoted gig(think he's been cool trying to please all pretty well), but i had to point out which songs were playing to my sister and mates half the time - cuz i knew them but they couldn't hear it over the swirling din... real shame.

Wasn't like this last Saturday - sound was cool. 2nite i felt like O2 ruined my night hearing Prince play a better set than Sat!

I hope they get it sorted or they r gonna spoil the man's great work. You CANNOT have bad sound when he rips up Controversy or plays I wanna be your lover. Awesome.

Love you Prince - hate you O2... how could you not hear that??

Had similar problems on Friday 3rd

Although it was generally a poor show in my opinion anyway, the stage was far too dark (only during Kiss & Cream could you really get a sense of what was going on thanks to the stage lighting up) and the sound at teh start was appaulingly muffled .

It generally capped off a half-arsed performance nicely

I was there saturday, and totally agree with you re the acoustics (I was in Block 415), BUT I went last night, and was downstairs by the stage (E1) and the sound (though not perfect) was much better. In general, its a totally different experience downstairs.

Ticket issues have been much discussd here, but my 2 main moans are: The Seating plan does not include the large corporate section, which is a whole tier. If I had seen that you would have known that the "upper ier" is in fact the balcony, very high up and removed from the action. By neglecting to acknowledge the whole corporate tier, the promoters are seriously misleading the ticket-buying public re locations...

Secondly, I bought my so-called best available seats on the day before public sale, and ended up in the balcony (thanks to "priority" booking courtesy of O2). On Monday 6th Aug (6pm) I bought tickets for the following day - 8 rows from the stage in Block E1. I hope watchdog, or another consumer body take some action. we all accept some control of ticketing by promoters, and limited choice depending on that mysterious word "availability", but i've been seeing prince live in the UK since 1986 and they really took the piss this time!

Block 106, the sound was perfect.

purpledoveuk said:

I was there on Friday & totally agree. I was in block 110 & found it very difficult to hear any lyrics ( I know them anyway, but that's not the point!). Poor wee man sounded like he had his head in a bucket. Very muddled (& muffled) set. The only real high point for me was 'Guitar'. Hopefully he'll release a DVD of the gigs, then maybe we'll hear what we paid for....

it seems very dependant on where you are. There appear to be some sound "deaf spots" and areas where particular instruments drown out the sound. it's hard to avoid, if you've ever set up even a simple home surround system with test tones you'll find that moving a few inches either way can result in silence where sounds cancel each other out or it being way to muddy.

I was in 106GG last night, and it was the best so far just about perfect. previous nights in 103 were good enough, but on the floor E1 by the drums on opening night was absolulely abysmal.

The sound board engineer is seated around the back of 106/107 so that probably explains why the sound seems best in that block.

I was in block 413 last night and thought it sounded great.

I actually said to my wife that I thought it was louder than any other gig I have been too....and I've been to many (although that was only my 2nd Prince gig).

Maybe it's my age (I'm 30) but I almost wanted them to turn it down a wee bit

I jest of course.
[Edited 8/8/07 3:36am]

Yes, got to agree with others - I think it's where you are. I was in A1 the first night and couldn't understand a word P said - was in 117 last night and it sounded fantastic.

ditto - Friday 3rd upper teir - sound awful... very disapointed... stagfe very dark alot of the time... I read that the O2 was designed for its acoustics... obviously not dersigned by an acoustical engineer... perhaps a pot holer.

Friday block A3 = ropey sound
last night block C2 = excellent sound

westv said:

yep C2 in front of stage and in line with sound engineer's desk...that area along with block 106/107 is going to have the best sound.

purpledoveuk said:

You must have been in a really bad seat then as the sound was the best I have heard from a venue of that size. I do agreee it was a tad dark at times!


[Edited 8/9/07 15:32pm]

jarvis76 said:

Interesting, I was in 415, so only a couple of blocks away, and I also the sound was great.