Well he topped off an incredible night with the price drop on Sunday, whoever, or whatever was behind it. For various reasons it's taken me 26 years to get to see him live again. So lucky to have made both the bush and the 2nd ballroom show. Got my arse straight on the train Sun, found out when there it was £70. Grabbed a quick coffee to mull it over, then said hey, 2 days total £80, tell myself it was £40 each. jumped in the queue, and never looked back. The perforformance crushed the ballrooms, in my opinion, probably due to better sound system etc. I certainly don't have a lot of spare cash, unlike a lot in the queue who seemed to want it to be £70!! May never get the chance again, with usual arena prices. I am just so grateful to him, whatever the real motives, for the prices. Realise it's very hard on those not in London, or with parenting responsibilities....that's why it took me 26 years!! Not quite the dirty, funky side I personally love, at least for the majority of show, but I wouldn't trade what I saw for the world. Cherish memory 4ever. Here's to a hopeful 3rd show ( no pun intended!)

andymacfunky said:

I think you've missed the point. This is not about old stuff, it's about Prince playing what he wants to those hardcore enough to go with him.

Bwahaha. Dude is playing the same shit he was playing a year ago on that disastrous club tour in the US (the one where they had to slash ticket prices in half and then still had to give tickets away). Once again we hear boasts of them having rehearsed 300 songs, once again it's the same dozen songs they play over and over and over.

jjam said:

I seriously doubt that he was going to charge more than £10 anyway for the Empire gig, the £70 charge was all a ruse.

I think we'll see the £10 charge for the smaller venues (excluding Ronnie's if he plays there which seems unlikely as he seems to have upset the management there), and places like the O2 towards the end of the month for a more typical charge and advance booking (of only a few days though).

The small gigs are where it's at for me.

Last night kinda shat all over that theory, now didn't it?

The £70 price was clearly the planned one, the reduction to £10 was clearly a desperate attempt at getting the room to be full instead of half-empty.

lol, always ace to have Bart around. Dude , you coming to Manchester?

artist76 said:

He's done a lot of concerts for very cheap or free or just donate a coat. In some interview, he talked of passing on the cost to advertisers instead of the concert goers - really appreciate that mentality! The 21 nights in L.A. were quite affordable (some $20 tickets)

IIRC: Ticket prices for those shows also came down after it became clear Prince was going to play for a largely empty arena.

I think this fits Prince and the audiance perfectly.

Prince can decide last minute what and where he's going. That's great, because I think he's at his best when he's spontaneous.

And when he gets tired or bored, he has the freedom to take a break.


Stadium concerts are not that much fun for the audiance, imo. In small venues, the atmosphere and the closeness to the band intesifies the experience and is just fantastic.


Only real fans will stand in line for hours and are willing to spend their last savings for a concert. So, this system weeds out the fams, fans and people who just want to look cool because they saw Prince in a small venue. Those superficialites will not stand in line for hours, and they can't get their way with buying front row for 300$.


In these venues there's no stress about whether you sell out or not. The costs and organisation of stadium concerts are massive. Hence, ticketsale is stressfull.

In these venues all that collateral stress and budget is out of the equition.

And I get the impression that Prince and the girls really enjoy playing these kind of veneus. And when they are in that kind of spirit, the concert will reflect their enthusiastic and postive energy.

Everybody wins.

dJJ said:

TheGhostlyNun said:

dJJ said:

I think this fits Prince and the audiance perfectly.

Prince can decide last minute what and where he's going. That's great, because I think he's at his best when he's spontaneous.

And when he gets tired or bored, he has the freedom to take a break.


Stadium concerts are not that much fun for the audiance, imo. In small venues, the atmosphere and the closeness to the band intesifies the experience and is just fantastic.


Only real fans will stand in line for hours and are willing to spend their last savings for a concert. So, this system weeds out the fams, fans and people who just want to look cool because they saw Prince in a small venue. Those superficialites will not stand in line for hours, and they can't get their way with buying front row for 300$.


In these venues there's no stress about whether you sell out or not. The costs and organisation of stadium concerts are massive. Hence, ticketsale is stressfull.

In these venues all that collateral stress and budget is out of the equition.

And I get the impression that Prince and the girls really enjoy playing these kind of veneus. And when they are in that kind of spirit, the concert will reflect their enthusiastic and postive energy.

Everybody wins.

Everybody wins? Except the fans with lives (like I have)who'd love to see Prince perform, but have to organise things in advance before dropping everything for a show. And only real fans will stand in line for hours for a show? You need a reality injection. If Prince carries on his UK tour in this fashion, he'll annoy way more UK fans than he will satisfy them. This way of doing things is wonderful for people who live minutes away, but annoying for those of us who can't just drop everything to queue on the off-chance that we might get into a show. Narrow-minded views like yours don't help.

You are absolutely right.

I did not think about the parents and those who can't just drop everything in a second to go stand in a dreadfull long line in the cold.



I don't know how he could find a way to serve that group.

And I don't know if he can ever be able to make everybody happy. My guess is, that's not possible.

dJJ said:

You are absolutely right.

I did not think about the parents and those who can't just drop everything in a second to go stand in a dreadfull long line in the cold.



I don't know how he could find a way to serve that group.

And I don't know if he can ever be able to make everybody happy. My guess is, that's not possible.

Presale tickets would satisfy that group and everyone else really. A couple of days notice goes a long way.

TheEnglishGent said:

dJJ said:

You are absolutely right.

I did not think about the parents and those who can't just drop everything in a second to go stand in a dreadfull long line in the cold.



I don't know how he could find a way to serve that group.

And I don't know if he can ever be able to make everybody happy. My guess is, that's not possible.

Presale tickets would satisfy that group and everyone else really. A couple of days notice goes a long way.

Said it plenty of times across various threads but... The vast majority of Prince fans are aged 35-50 and got into him during the early 80s and have stayed the course. Yes there are younger (and older) fans but the core group is in this age group. AND THAT MEANS for most of these people that they have commitments and responsibilities, jobs, husbands/wives, kids etc and live too far away to just drop everything without some potential ramifications.

I am not against the concept of "Hit n Run" and if being honest am just highly jealous not to still be in my 20s with few cares in the world because I WOULD BE THERE IN THAT QUEUE. But I can't (today in particular due to no trains due to flooding).

These shows are without doubt generating a lot of hype and media coverage. That is surely the main aim and it is working (Prince needs some kind of publicity with a new album hopefully imminent). HOWEVER, there are plenty of very loyal (if arguably not total hardcore) fans who are simply being left out of all this. Which is very sad for them/me.

My hope realy is that Prince and his people realise this AND genuinely mean it when they say they intend to stay around and move up to bigger venues if the demand is there. Bigger venues would surely demand advance tix.

Well at least I can hope so!

jaypotton said:

TheEnglishGent said:

Presale tickets would satisfy that group and everyone else really. A couple of days notice goes a long way.

Said it plenty of times across various threads but... The vast majority of Prince fans are aged 35-50 and got into him during the early 80s and have stayed the course. Yes there are younger (and older) fans but the core group is in this age group. AND THAT MEANS for most of these people that they have commitments and responsibilities, jobs, husbands/wives, kids etc and live too far away to just drop everything without some potential ramifications.

I am not against the concept of "Hit n Run" and if being honest am just highly jealous not to still be in my 20s with few cares in the world because I WOULD BE THERE IN THAT QUEUE. But I can't (today in particular due to no trains due to flooding).

These shows are without doubt generating a lot of hype and media coverage. That is surely the main aim and it is working (Prince needs some kind of publicity with a new album hopefully imminent). HOWEVER, there are plenty of very loyal (if arguably not total hardcore) fans who are simply being left out of all this. Which is very sad for them/me.

My hope realy is that Prince and his people realise this AND genuinely mean it when they say they intend to stay around and move up to bigger venues if the demand is there. Bigger venues would surely demand advance tix.

Well at least I can hope so!

I am with you on this one.

I am gutted that I cant get to London and queue all day to see him.

If he just arranged 1 large venue gig or a couple at Brixton Academy with advance tickets online

I am hoping too

He is makng huge losses on this Hit & Run Tour and people will soon be fed up of it. Tonight doesnt look like that good a turn out to be honest for 3 shows. Perhaps fans have had enough of it

funkyhead said:

lol, always ace to have Bart around. Dude , you coming to Manchester?

I'd pay someone their £70 back if they give Bart a good slap.

Only kidding Bart.

[Edited 2/17/14 3:18am]

excited said:

egansmind said:

BartVanHemelen said:

artist76 said:

He's done a lot of concerts for very cheap or free or just donate a coat. In some interview, he talked of passing on the cost to advertisers instead of the concert goers - really appreciate that mentality! The 21 nights in L.A. were quite affordable (some $20 tickets)

IIRC: Ticket prices for those shows also came down after it became clear Prince was going to play for a largely empty arena.

How could the tickets for the L.A. shows go down lower than $20.00. Do realize he gets a million dollars a show?

BartVanHemelen said:

artist76 said:

He's done a lot of concerts for very cheap or free or just donate a coat. In some interview, he talked of passing on the cost to advertisers instead of the concert goers - really appreciate that mentality! The 21 nights in L.A. were quite affordable (some $20 tickets)

IIRC: Ticket prices for those shows also came down after it became clear Prince was going to play for a largely empty arena.

How could the tickets for the L.A. shows go down lower than $20.00. Do realize he gets a million dollars a show?

after Manchester I realised how utterly pointless it is to find fault in a set list for gig that you did not attend!!![Bart!] Case in point - Play that funky music' was played both nights, Friday he stripped it back & slowed it wayyyy down into a dirty little funk groove, Saturday it was played as normal BUT just added to the electricity of the night. 2nd case in point - the DJ medley - i have crtitcised this myself BUT this round of gigs NEEDS it otherwise it would be too much of a 1 dimensional gig - likewise on both these nights the DJ sets he did were off the scale - 4ever in my life with slick bass funk skills, When Doves cry = FULL VERSION etc!

So on paper you'd think 'meh' BUT if u were actually there then it's normally a whole different experience.

Loss?

You are looking at stuff without the right context.

First: did they have fun?

If so, that counts for the price he paid.

Second: did we have fun? (I wasn't there but I mean the fans)

If so: that counts for the price he paid.

Third: Did he raise interest? Turn heads? Make news? (AKA promotion)

If so: that counts for the price he paid.

This point also influences sales of the album he is going to release supposedly soon.

udo said:

Loss?

You are looking at stuff without the right context.

First: did they have fun?

If so, that counts for the price he paid.

Second: did we have fun? (I wasn't there but I mean the fans)

If so: that counts for the price he paid.

Third: Did he raise interest? Turn heads? Make news? (AKA promotion)

If so: that counts for the price he paid.

This point also influences sales of the album he is going to release supposedly soon.

Jesus , that's so negative!. they always have fun, we always have fun - these are bi-products!.

Just by being in the U.K. he raised interest!! - he always causes a storm - again a bi-product.

So yes from a promotional POV he succeeded BUT this is Prince - the chances are that he will change his mind totally & not release the album!!

To conclude, in terms of cold hard cash earned vs. overheads paid for each gig he must have lost a tonne of cash - plain simple maths!!

funkyhead said:

udo said:

Loss?

You are looking at stuff without the right context.

First: did they have fun?

If so, that counts for the price he paid.

Second: did we have fun? (I wasn't there but I mean the fans)

If so: that counts for the price he paid.

Third: Did he raise interest? Turn heads? Make news? (AKA promotion)

If so: that counts for the price he paid.

This point also influences sales of the album he is going to release supposedly soon.

Jesus , that's so negative!.

Negative?

Assuming he took a loss is negative.

I am trying to make people think about different perspectives.

That is positive as he migth make money in the slightly longer run.

To conclude, in terms of cold hard cash earned vs. overheads paid for each gig he must have lost a tonne of cash - plain simple maths!!

Sure, but the picture is bigger.

udo said:

funkyhead said:

Negative?

Assuming he took a loss is negative.

I am trying to make people think about different perspectives.

That is positive as he migth make money in the slightly longer run.

To conclude, in terms of cold hard cash earned vs. overheads paid for each gig he must have lost a tonne of cash - plain simple maths!!

Sure, but the picture is bigger.

saying he made a loss is a comment complimenting him in his generosity, thought that was made fairly obvious in my OP!

funkyhead said:

udo said:

Loss?

You are looking at stuff without the right context.

First: did they have fun?

If so, that counts for the price he paid.

Second: did we have fun? (I wasn't there but I mean the fans)

If so: that counts for the price he paid.

Third: Did he raise interest? Turn heads? Make news? (AKA promotion)

If so: that counts for the price he paid.

This point also influences sales of the album he is going to release supposedly soon.

Jesus , that's so negative!. they always have fun, we always have fun - these are bi-products!.

Just by being in the U.K. he raised interest!! - he always causes a storm - again a bi-product.

So yes from a promotional POV he succeeded BUT this is Prince - the chances are that he will change his mind totally & not release the album!!

To conclude, in terms of cold hard cash earned vs. overheads paid for each gig he must have lost a tonne of cash - plain simple maths!!

Why is that negative?

How do you know that Prince didn't perform a private concert for someone in UK \ Europe on his days "off" and made a few quid...you assume he made a loss...you don't know the facts for sure.

BTW: How did them tickets look?

See http://www.ticketprinters.co.uk/ for some options for the next leg of the Hits and Run tour.

I reckon he made an investment in time and money to showcase and land some UK festivals this or next summer. There will be the money.

And indeed he is open for commerce so maybe a Private Party in a highlands castle (which wil surface in a hint or title in an upcoming song BagPipes , like Lavaux earlier).