But casual fans really annoy me. I went to Manchester on the 8th and thought he was amazing from beginning to end. I've never seen him so relaxed and so embracing of his catalogue, with songs like Money Don't Matter 2 Nite, Pop Life and Sign O The Times he obviously had a message to pass on to us.

However, not being in the Club this year I was in the front row of the balcony and was surrounded by "casual fans".The people next to me never stood up once and had their coats ready 20 minuted before the end. One of these actually shouted "I can't see for him in front always dancing". I thought thats what one did at a concert. You guys in the Club were really going for it, but the rest of the place seemed dead, so naturally it inhibits you to a slight degree. With comments outside I heard ranging from "bored shitless" to "I can't believe he didn't do Purple Rain".

And so I ask, am I being unreasonable to ask these casual idiot fans to sod off? Should I expect everyone else to know his entire catalogue and enjoy it? Am I showing signs of being a fam?

thank goodness yes you are, i heard the same comments at the london 3rd gig.

However not there were not so bad. Lets all get in the club I joined a month ago.

Which remonds me doe anyone know when teh ona cd is to be sent out to the club members..


slm4m

Ummm, maybe a tad unreasonable. I don't think you should dictate how people enjoy music or who they should go and see in concert. I was at the gig on the 3rd and whilst I am a "dancing in the aisles" kinda gal there were a few couples who looked like they were in their fifties - sixties near to me and I totally understand if they don't wanna get their groove on for three hours. In fact, at one point Prince told us to sit our asses down whilst he sang for us at the piano. Leave them alone - they were enjoying the great music just the same as you.

Yes, I'm deffinately joining. I know there is problems with communication and distribution, but I was so jealous of those guys down the front. Don't get me wrong, I had a great time, its just that I was surrounded by people who weren't, and this rubs off on you until I felt like telling them to F*** off.
To not appreciate that show is to show your stupidity, in my opinion.

I was also in Manchester on the 8th sat in stalls right at the back..i was singing along to all the songs P was playimg..ppl were looking at me strange..me thinks i gotta join NPGMC also..those around me left the theatre 15 mins b4 P finished his set..i heard comments ranging from "i didnt hear purple rain" to "god hes crap" !..to all the casual concert goers that were there i say "GET A LIFE"
i was very envious of the NPGMC crowd down at the front i felt i missed out on a crucial part of the atmosphere.and being amongst "knowledgeable" fams..So im gonna join NPGMC so next time (if there is one) i'll b down the front with TRUE fans...
love4oneanother
Crucial

also in london i saw people going away after one hour of concerts. those casual fans remaining became alive only from "take me with u" on...sad sad
I hope he won't put too many hits in the setlist...

crucial said:

That my opinon exactly.
I'm positive it affected Prince. From all accounts, he wasn't exactly his usual self that night, cutting short and no afterparty. As I say, it didn't stop me loving every second, but I can't help thinking that his mindset was
"Well these guys aren't enjoying it as much as the last lot, so Funk them, I'm off"
As I say though, I'm joining the club to be with the true fans

I know what you mean. One part of me understands the casual fan who's dumb enough to have fallen off after a certain point & is praying for Purple Rain. But the other parts of me wonder, "Why can't you just enjoy this kickass show??? Are you nuts???"

Some people are just stuck on certain things. We know he's got much more to offer than Purple Rain & LRC, I just wish more "casual fans" knew it. But if they did, they wouldn't be casual fans anymore, would they? They'd be as hooked as we are! Damn, what they're missing...

Why are there always people who want to GRADE fandom?

Yer not a fan cuz you do not dance.

Yer a wanker cuz you do sumthing about all the hassle and do sumthing with raffle tix.

You are so sad cuz you came all the way from another country and started queing hours ago and I had to work, so you suck.

I got more bootlegs than you.

My polkadot suit is hipper than your jeans.

Your polkadot suit looks ridiculous.

LALA

I honestly can't believe that anyone who saw the same show I did could describe it as crap or boring! Whether you know the songs or not surely the atmosphere in the place would be enough to have a good time...?

Did anyone hear any comments like that on the London/Saturday gig?

i was at the concert on the 8th oct in manchester and i must say considering the mixture of people young and old i thought he did us proud it must be hard for him after so long worrying about the responce he would get but i was a bit peeved that he only let the npg members on stage and did not let us fans of his come up to dance to but to tell you the truth guys and girls i still shook my booty anyway
and boy did we shake.

gooeythehamster said:

I wasn't grading Fandom. I am only saying that being in a whole section that doesn't seem to be enjoying it makes you feel uncomfortable standing up and dancing. That is a natural consequence to all except the seriously self confident. It would have been better in the Club section as they were ALL clearly enjoying it, whilst people behind me said "I can't see when he stands up" and people at the side who wanted to be off 20 mins before it finished.

BTW - My polkadot suit is indeed hipper than your jeans...

I have 2 say I did not see any of this. I went 2 2 shows in London on Friday 4th and Saturday 5th. I kept looking round at the balcony and it looked as though every1 was up on there feet!

I took 2 different friends each night who had not seen him B4 and only new the early hits. Both of them had a sublime time and said it did not matter that they didn't know the songs, they were funky as hell and r now asking me 2 borrow the latest albums.

dewmass said:

Once I was at a gig in a small venue, and when the band came out and started playing my friend and I (who were right at the front) started jumping up and down like lunatics, pogoing all over the place. Everyone else just stood there with their arms folded! Very awkward, but we just kept on going. The singer commented on how weird the place was - I hope it was directed at the boring people and not me and my pal, who were just trying to enjoy ourselves.

Saxjedi said:

I know this feeling. Never go to showcases by new bands where the room is filled with all this pathetic record co. bozo types that just show up for the free beer...

butterflie said:

As a NPGMC member that was in the 2nd row - Just like to say that they didn't only allow members on stage. There were non members that got on stage but not that many - the reason was that security were sending people back to their seats so when Prince said come up on stage the first to the stage edge were the members - but it wasn't Prince's choice that only members were invited up.

I went to the show on Sat 5th and was up in the circle. Looking around a few times I could see that most people were really enjoying themselves; singing and dancing!! Except for a few that were standing there emotionless...as if they were too frightened to let loose!
I went along with a friend who only knew Purple Rain and Lovesexy stuff and he said that he had a brilliant time,the energy was incredible! One of the best concerts he had ever been to, very impressed...Well, P was on top form that night!

Boring? Crap?

I can imagine cooking up a few (really, very few) critisisms of this tour, but boring crap would not be in there anywhere.

Take this opportunity to feel superior to all of the people in the world who have NO FUCKING TASTE.



Doves,
Mel!ssa

tackam said:

Here here!!!

tackam said:

I couldn't agree more. The only possible explanation can be a lack of taste.
Fuck 'em

I thought the atmosphere was better on the 8th than the 7th, but it was a bit disappointing it ended so soon.

It was so good being in the club seats up the front, hearing everyone inhale when he started playing Empty Room say rather than going "what's this crap? Play Purple Rain!"

I did enjoy it better being with fans who knew their stuff, definitely.

They'll always be the odd few, but everyone in both the bottom and the second (balcony) floor seemed to be on their feet.

The crowd response was very high on all 3 nights and Prince responded with a much longer set.

The audience participation was much, much higher that 'The Gold Experience' Tour where Prince had to struggle (at the show I saw) to get the audience to respond to the new material. In the London shows when Prince played a 'TRC' or 'ONA' song there was overwhelming applause.

The show obviously enthused a great deal of 'casual' fans as well over 100 of them left their back-row seats and rushes the aisles and stage.

Just because one is not a club member does not mean they are not a true fan. I am not a club member, but have been a true fan for 20 years. I always get up and dance, sing and enjoy myself at concerts, but some do not. It's not just the club members that enjoy themselves though.

kisscamille said:

Thank you! Exactly my thoughts. I don't have access to a powerful enough computer otherwise I would have joined long ago - but I have still be a fan since I was fifteen years old. My friend and I had back row seats and still had a fantastic night. Everyone around us really seemed into it as well. As the gig wasn't really advertised in the press and tickets were hard to get hold of I assumed that everyone in there was a fan. The London gigs were great.

Mr7 said:

I think the idea of having the NPGMC members up front really adds to the atmosphere. During the Gold tour not only was it a venue where atmostphere is really difficult (Wembley Arena) but the Controversy members were dotted all over the place.

I'm all for smaller venues over multiple nights rather than one night in an arena. Prince knows full well also that his fans are prepared to shell out for multiple shows and therefore he can get greater revenues this way.

How many people had people remark "why are you going more than once to the Prince concerts" and then had to explain how its different each night ?

No you are not being unreasonable - me & Tommy were in the 2nd row in the circle upstairs on the 7th and we danced our butts off - at one point Prince pointed to us and got the trombone player (forget his name) to point his trombone at us when he was playin.

We thought we were special anyway

There was no aggravation from any of the casual fans - more aggro from the security who thought someone was taking pictures - she had a reflective 'T' shirt on you muppetts !!

Cheers,

Richard.