Here we go.....

As a fan ( to say the least ) and someone who has been buying his records and attending his concerts since 1986, I think I have earned the right to voice my opiinion, so here goes...

To cut a long story short, FINALLY concinved my wife to come down from Glasgow to see the show, kept telling her how amazing it was gonna be, rushed our pre-booked meal, and missed out on our last course to be there on time, waited for SO LONG for the wee man to come on, and then ONE AND A HALF HOURS!!??? you've got to be shitting me!!! - I mean for fuck sake - this is ridiculous!! - it was as if he couldn't be arsed.

Well - I never thought I'd say this - but I'm very disappointed in the man. And before all you lot start crying about 'he has 21 shows, not EVERY one can be fantastic'.....my answer to you is this - maybe he shouldn't do so much, and ensure the ones that he does do are amazing. Quality rather than quantity.

Well - there you have it. It had to be said.

Rock and Roll is dead (and it came from Minneapolis)

SwoniboyScotland said:

On the one hand you're moaning about the length, then on the other you say quality over quantity. I'm a little confused. Apart from the length, what was actually wrong with the show? I'm assuming you're talking about Saturday night? I was there and got very frustrated by the late start, I couldn't believe that he kept us waiting so long. On the other hand, once it got started it was a very good show.

Sorry you didn't have a good time though.

well that's a fair point - I didn't think the content was particularly great either - he would spend 10 mins playing some shit to the crowd, and thend spend 10 secs on Raspberry Beret, Erotic City etc etc

If I go to see Prince - I wanna see the stuff I fell in love with - not some crowd interaction that wasn't really going anywhere - know what I mean?

Put on an old Prince concert DVD, you'll see what I mean

I just expected more - that's all. I could see my wife's disappointment - and I felt responsible for the weeman - know what I mean???

I kind of see what you mean. My point of view will obviously be a bit different. I'm fortunate enought to live close by and while this was my first scheduled gig, I've been able to get last minute tickets for some others and had been to 3 before this one. I was delighted that the show was different again to the others I'd seen and especially delighted that 3 out of the first 4 songs were ones that I hadn't yet heard during this visit.

I'm trying to put myself in the position of this being my only gig and can see that if it was, I'd be really fed up about the length of the show. Especially after having been treated to a near 3 hour show on the ONA tour at Hammersmith. I don't think I'd have too many issues with content, although I'd like him to play more of the songs he's teasing us with. Who is he to tell us we're not ready for Sign Of The Times?

I'm guessing that you didn't get to the aftershow? That's something else that probably affected my feelings about Saturday night too. Amazing!

Sometimes it can be a problem having high expectations.

SwoniboyScotland said:

I can relate to that. The shows that I went to were both great ( main show and aftershow last Tuesday, Aug.7) but the whole crowd interaction stuff is getting a bit too much and doesn´t really suit him....bringing people up on the stage, letting the audience do a couple of chants, bragging about this and that, and playing only snippets and medleys and teasing his audience doesn´t really help him to gain a few new fans.
In the past, he would go up on stage, rock the house with his music, let the music speak for itself and wouldn´t bullshit like that. Even a medley-heavy show like Lovesexy was pretty tight back then because there was some concept behind it all.

That´s why I loved the show that I saw last Tuesday...no gimmicks, full lyrics, almost no coverversions of other peoples songs, tight show, lots of guitar, extremely good choice of songmaterial, no medleys, interesting arrangements, spectacular visuals, and an already legendary aftershow.

Guess you just had a bit of bad luck.

I went on saturday

my second visit !

and i LOVED it - i LOVED the opening !!!

yes a touch short i agree - however i think when you go and see and artist like PRINCE i.e a GENIUS there will always be a risk that some nights - some performances will be better / different to another !

he isnt a machine like performer who will just get wheeled on do the show that has been going round the world for the last year .. say all the same things between songs . same start ..same encores ... same finish etc etc

thats part of his make up and part of what makes him the genius he is !

* a fan i was chatting to had never seen him LIVE before next to me said it was AWESOME and one of the BEST nights of his life !!

bring on september 16th !

I thought Saturday was fantastic, and I travelled down from Dundee to see it. I'm not sure how you could be disappointed by it really, or what you could have been expecting... but I guess we all bring different expectations. Didn't you go to the aftershow?

KoolEaze said:

I didn't make it to the aftershow last Tuesday but that main show was awesome. Easily the best of the 4 I've seen so far.

Did I go to another show or something ?? I really loved it last saturday, I thought he was in really good shape and his guitar solo's were amazing. Man and then the aftershow, another 1,5 hrs of rocking music!!! Weekend of my life:-)!!

To answer your question - No, I DIDN'T go to the aftershow. To be honest - I thought the concert would be enough an I wanted to enjoy the rest of the weekend.

And you know what? - I don't think I SHOULD NEED to go to the aftershow! - I paid for the concert for god sake - I remember the days when that was enough!!!!

There seems to be a bit of a pattern.

A lot of people who loved the main show also when to the aftershow. Was it the icing on the cake that gives people the feeling of a great evening as a whole?

Were the people who only when to the main show having the sex with prince, while the people who went to the aftershow got the orgasm and cigerette as well?

Whilst i understand your frustration after trekking down from Scotland and trying to convince your wife of P's genius (i was in the same boat after 15 years of trying!) you did not think the quality or length of the show was enough i think `Absolutely Fucking Crap' is a bit extreme. Whilst I was lucky enough to be at the aftershow and my wife is now convinced of P's ability she did come out of the mainshow not overly impressed with the long wait and the hour and half show. As for the aftershow her mind was blown.
I know it is not the point but if you are going again try for aftershow tickets when P has not got a show the next day it will blow her socks off.

allthatglitters said:

Does he play all the aftershows though? I thought there were some questions over a no show?

i've been travelling back and forth between edinburgh and london each week, and i can tell you that saturday past was one of the best shows, and that weekend in total was definately the best. each show is different in it's own way

i didn't expect saturdays show to be great as i had nosebleeds and last saturday bored me a bit, but i got a great show, great view, and amazing aftershow, and friday was also great too

Listen, don't get me wrong - maybe my header was a bit harsh ( but I wanted to get everyone's attention )

OK - it was a good show. no, hang on - it was an OK show.

I just expected more - that's all. I left with the impression that he really couldn't give a damn wether he entertained or not.

and on another note...if we are SUPPOSED to go to the aftershow - that kind of rubbishes his "£31.21" price so everyone can afford it!! - shouldn't that be "£56.21" ????

SquirrelMeat said:

i was talking to people in the aftershow line about how good the saturdays show was, so it wasn't a case of rose tinted glasses

motr said:

You are right about the no shows but it seems to be a pattern although not 100% correct that when there is no show the next day he appears at the aftershow.Might be worth looking through the schedule and trying to second guess. I know i will i want to try and repeat Saturdays experience it has left this fan of 23 years talking about it like a big kid who had all his xmas presents in one day !

SwoniboyScotland said:

it was about expectations. Sorry that the show didn't live up to yours but I don't think anyone can help that. I've learned that, in live, we never receive what we expect but that what we are offered. I'll pay 31.21 for a seat in an arena where one of the greatest performers and artists of all time gives all that he has.

well i dont think seeing prince live could ever be a letdown.....although i agree that the main shows getting shorter and shorter IS a worry....the first night he was on at 8.40 til 10.55.....now its what .....9.20 til 10.50...????...come on prince....give us at least 2 hour shows and ditch the 20 second snippets and at least play a proper melody if you want to batter through the hits....i am going down again on friday so it better be good or else

For God Sake!!

why are some of you guys s TERRIFIED to criticize??? it always amazes me how many people on here just so fucking blinded.

You know something?? - if you surround yourself with 'yes men' - you never get any better. You never get challenged and you never improve

Saturday was my 3rd time of seeing Prince at the O2 & was by far the best set as far as I was concerned (my previous nights were 1st/ 4th) although it did 'only' last 1 hour 30 It rocked from beginning to end no real lull in the middle & no long gaps between the encores. But maybe my view is tainted by the fact that I also went to the aftershow, so as a whole it turned out to be my best concert experience EVER - the previous owner of that title was Lovesexy in Paris.
On the subject of the show 'only' being 1 hour 30, I've seen Morrissey on many occasions & he's rarely on stage for more than 1 hour & there is never any complaints there. Could it be that Prince has just been too generous in the past & we take that for granted?Also just a thought; Price per minute, Prince - 34.7p, Barbara Streisand - £5.00.
Just a thought!

Don't know what happened there, I made a big long post about the people I spoke to prior to the aftershow and they had all enjoyed it. Funny thing is, it won't let me edit the blank message as it says there's no message there!! Oh well.

Swoniboy, I agree that you shouldn't have to go to the aftershow to make the evening worthwhile. Everyone I spoke to had enjoyed the main show, although they all thought, as did I, that it was a little short. We should really be getting two hour shows. I think a big problem is that he has support acts. It seems to take so long between the support act finishing and the main show starting. On the opening night with no support, he came on about 8:30, which was just about the perfect start time.

It's a shame that you didn't get what you wanted from the night and I'm not going to tell you that you are wrong to be disapointed.

unique said:

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed myself Saturday night, it just felt....incomplete!

Englishgent - I respect your comments and fully understand where you're coming from.

But it wasn't just about the time. If he had squeezed in an amazing concert of great songs - I wouldn't be complaining.

He needs to remember that it might just be another night for him, but the only night for many.

If he can't produce 21 fantastic shows, then he shouldn't be doing it.

Listen - you don't know how hard it is for me to criticize him - I have been a fan all my life, I mean absolutely mental fan!! - loved him when no one else did, brought my friends round into liking him etc, and got slagged off wearing Paisley pattern shirts, trousers eith buttons up each side, and my permed hair on 'one side'!! - what a sight - I can tell you!!!! so I think I've earned a great concert from him.

Had a fab weekend in London by the way - the people were great ( not what I expected at all!! he he he he )

TheEnglishGent said:

I think the aftershow affected my feelings on Saturday night too, I went along with some friends that had never seen him before and they were very disappointed until they saw the aftershow, I did really enjoy both shows but if that had been the only one of the year I would have been annoyed on how short it was.

SwoniboyScotland said:

I know what you mean. I enjoyed it, but felt a bit cheated as a customer. I went to see Wet Wet Wet the other day (don't laugh, they were great) and I got a two hour + show with all the hits, plus new stuff. Bare in mind, they've had over double the amount of top ten hits that Prince has had. Everyone felt they were entertained and got value for money.

I'm not expecting wall the wall hits from Prince, but a 1 h 22m performance with the half the big hits playing out on a sampler for 10 seconds doesn't hit the spot.

5 of the 7 people I took felt the show was ok, but didn't see what all the hype was about Prince. The number one complaint was why did he waste ages on Musicology and Le Freak, but leave some of the mega hits on the shelf. They couldn't understand.

And I couldn't really explain it!