slimeyc said:

strawberrybubblegum said:

slimeyc said:

Ppenguin said:

djfine said:

Totally agree.

seems that the difference between the 2 Sunday was £60 and the difference between the 2 gigs THIS Sunday was 15 Songs; first gig of 11 hour Queuers were treated to 19 songs, 2 of which they had to refuse to leave for until Prince had no choice but to come back...and the second show got 34 tracks

My moan! Well I was always planning to go to show 3 and during the day kept an eye on twitter to make sure it wasnt cancelled. And it was reconfirmed late in the evening. I drove down from Chester to see it and arrived at 2315.

As you all know now for the last few encores we were ushered into the venue and not charged. You may think we are exceptionally lucky but we were pretty much thrown down the stairs to the back where we couldnt see a damn thing and had a few songs either side of the encore break.

KOKO looked like it was too full from my perspective - squeezing another 200 people in was uncomfortable.

Of course we can say its unpredictable and there are no guarantees but I guess this is the problem with this type of tour. YOu can cancel anything at a whim, no refunds, no hassle.

I am usually very positive about Prince and normally defend these things but this was just not a nice solution. Several people I was with had travelled long distances to hear 10mins.....

It was over capacity and i have to say i moaned to the manager afterwards. If there was a fire or anything there would be a problem... He said yeah he could see but it was what Prince wanted

ConsciousContact said:

Ppenguin said:

strawberrybubblegum said:

It was over capacity and i have to say i moaned to the manager afterwards. If there was a fire or anything there would be a problem... He said yeah he could see but it was what Prince wanted

I don't think there's any mystery about it - it's straight forward $$$. They saw the queue was big, planned to out on 3 shows and charge the biggest price (coincidence they knew they fill the venue more than twice AND it was the most expensive so far). Prince rushed the first gig to get us out quick and the 2nd lot in for the next lit of $. The 2nd show was longer because it had celebs and they knew a 3rd wasn't going to happen. The doorman said, as I went in -'better hurry up, you're only getting an hour'...so they fully intended to do 3 shows. It's been an exercise in inconsistency from start to finish

It wasn't over capacity because of $$$, it became over crowded when the people waiting for show 3 were let in for free, a total of $0.

Ppenguin said:

strawberrybubblegum said:

It was over capacity and i have to say i moaned to the manager afterwards. If there was a fire or anything there would be a problem... He said yeah he could see but it was what Prince wanted

I don't think there's any mystery about it - it's straight forward $$$. They saw the queue was big, planned to out on 3 shows and charge the biggest price (coincidence they knew they fill the venue more than twice AND it was the most expensive so far). Prince rushed the first gig to get us out quick and the 2nd lot in for the next lit of $. The 2nd show was longer because it had celebs and they knew a 3rd wasn't going to happen. The doorman said, as I went in -'better hurry up, you're only getting an hour'...so they fully intended to do 3 shows. It's been an exercise in inconsistency from start to finish

he didn't rush the 1st gig at all

he played 1hr and 3/4s

powersoul99 said:

egansmind said:

Oh Dear, it just gets worse

Cant see your problem, you had a choice, pay £70 and see the best musician in the world or dont pay and walk away.

agreed

mattosgood said:

Ppenguin said:

want another kick in the teeth...£70 for a KOKO 1st show rush job for 1500 fans Ronnie Scotts is £35 for a 3hr slot....absolutely disgraceful exploitation

you seem to have missed that he let the people in who camped out over night for free - basically the 1st 10 people, chatted with them and then see the soundcheck

I was No.11 and missed out but I'm not griping. as much as I would have loved that, i didn't camp out

he also played 1hr 30 mins to 1 hr 45 mins for the 1st show - so didn't seem rushed to me - just shorter than the 2nd show - which was extended when it became apparant the 3rd show wasn't happening

I paid £140 in total and had to queue all day

it was more than worth it - i basically got nearly 5 hours of Prince live rocking out and not just going through the motions

also re: different prices at different venues - it will depend upon what he is getting charged for the venue hire

[Edited 2/18/14 4:24am]

TheEnglishGent said:

mattosgood said:

Fact... Got into Q at KOKO at 8am was greeted by Chap from Scotland, you know who he is, with a magic marker. Got my number, 22 and waited with a great group of people till 6pm open. We all knew the score £70, either pay or go. We payed, ran down to the front, I was a front row virgin, and got so close to Prince I could touch him. Witnessed something I find very difficult to put into words. I was astounished by the energy and ease of him. Constantly ramping it up and creating in front of us. I was in heaven. I left feeling fulfilled and Thrilled so much so I ran to the cash point got my money out and got back in line at the back. We lined up for less than 40 minutes and were straight back in. I went upstairs this time as the floor was full and figured a different experince will be had. It was, I was no less astounded and entertained bthan being at the front. It was amazing. Another great set, different and beautiful. I had an absoulte ball. I am a married man with kids and lots of responsibilities and I dropped everything to gain a great experience. It made my life better, simple. I have been buzzing since KOKO. BTW, lots of people in the second q didnt go ina nd opted to wait outside till the planned 3rd set and get to the front, they actually passed us through the q and was waiting by the door and bypassed the 2nd set. Thats the gamble they took. Props to the Jock with the pen and the amazing prince stories he gave us all day, he and the young asian lad (16) worked the q with the pen and numbered everyone for the first show. Now that is passion. love to all...I have a spring in my step and I dont want it to stop!!! Ronnies was tempting, and i now regret not trying. But I LOVED KOKO.

BillieBalloon said:

Koko 2007 hope this one got banned from koko for life. [img:$uid]http://www.stereogum.com/img/prince_attacked.jpg[/img:$uid]

Is that the same hat Prince wore at Ronnie Scott's last night?

TheEnglishGent said:

ADAMSKI123 said:

Fact... Got into Q at KOKO at 8am was greeted by Chap from Scotland, you know who he is, with a magic marker. Got my number, 22 and waited with a great group of people till 6pm open. We all knew the score £70, either pay or go. We payed, ran down to the front, I was a front row virgin, and got so close to Prince I could touch him. Witnessed something I find very difficult to put into words. I was astounished by the energy and ease of him. Constantly ramping it up and creating in front of us. I was in heaven. I left feeling fulfilled and Thrilled so much so I ran to the cash point got my money out and got back in line at the back. We lined up for less than 40 minutes and were straight back in. I went upstairs this time as the floor was full and figured a different experince will be had. It was, I was no less astounded and entertained bthan being at the front. It was amazing. Another great set, different and beautiful. I had an absoulte ball. I am a married man with kids and lots of responsibilities and I dropped everything to gain a great experience. It made my life better, simple. I have been buzzing since KOKO. BTW, lots of people in the second q didnt go ina nd opted to wait outside till the planned 3rd set and get to the front, they actually passed us through the q and was waiting by the door and bypassed the 2nd set. Thats the gamble they took. Props to the Jock with the pen and the amazing prince stories he gave us all day, he and the young asian lad (16) worked the q with the pen and numbered everyone for the first show. Now that is passion. love to all...I have a spring in my step and I dont want it to stop!!! Ronnies was tempting, and i now regret not trying. But I LOVED KOKO.

And that ladies and gentlemen is what is called going along for the ride and not letting your petty little upsets spoil your enjoyment ( idiots pushing in the queue, notwithstanding ).

Excellent read and review from someone at their first Prince concert.

http://jemcooke.com/news.php

Whitnail said:

Excellent read and review from someone at their first Prince concert.

http://jemcooke.com/news.php

Great write-up! I think I saw her as we tried to duck out of the fire exit and then didn't want to risk setting off the alarm....

tecstar said:

Whitnail said:

Excellent read and review from someone at their first Prince concert.

http://jemcooke.com/news.php

Great write-up! I think I saw her as we tried to duck out of the fire exit and then didn't want to risk setting off the alarm....

Yeah me too! I saw her near the fire exit during the encores, she'd climbed up the wall a little bit.

She pushed in!

Great review. Comes very close to describing my experience at Shepherd's Bush. Particularly appreciated this:

'That’s the power of his writing and his performance because he’s giving absolutely everything he is right then, just for you and everything he’s ever been before is being offered up for inspection. You felt every story he’d ever lived through, every good time, bad time and everything in between. That’s the fucking genius of him but more than that it’s the genius of seeing anybody half decent in a LIVE PERFOMANCE.

When I thought of the people I had seen leave the queue in disgust, horror or “out of principle” when they found out that the tickets were £70 I just started to feel angry. Fair enough if you simply can’t afford it – I get that – it was a massive wallop for us when we took out the last £140 on our credit card making us fucked for for the rest of the month – but to leave out of principle??? Fuck off with your fucking principles! Are these the same principles that allow you to listen to his – or anybody else’s - music for free on Spotify or dial up any of his tunes on YouTube whenever you like? You have no fucking idea how hard it is to earn a living from music these days – this isn’t a complaint, it’s an observation; a fact.

The ONLY way to even attempt it as a living is to get out on the road and go do it live. What do you do for a living? Does anyone ask you to do it for free? Or have it capped once you’ve reached a certain point in your career? Is there an “obligatory charity clause” built into your contract once you’ve earned an accumulative amount? No – of course there isn’t. Don’t be fucking silly. '

http://jemcooke.com/news.php

i think the ambiguity about tix prices created this problem. if it said from the start it was £70 and stuck to it, then you wouldn't have people expecting it to be cheaper. simples.

Dandroppedadime said:

TheEnglishGent said:

She pushed in!

.

Burn her!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SquirrelMeat said:

Ppenguin said:

SquirrelMeat said:

.

Burn her!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm pretty sure flava flave pushed in to...right at the front of the a Queue in a yellow hat in front of me . Incidently want a new sport - see if you can spot yourself in the queue of the video below...don't forget, keep an eye out for Flave at the front (yellow hat) http://youtu.be/hZVuLWXckoE

I'm behind the trucks with Prince's gear in.

Our first gig for this hit and run tour (Ist show Koko).

Just my 2p worth so dont come down on me like a ton of bricks if you think differently to me.

Were 1031 in the queue when we got there at 1430 ish. Met some nice people and tbh the time did go quite quickly with chat and the weather was good too.

Nobody knew whether the price would be £10 or £70 at this stage. Or whether there would be 2 shows or three. I was quite spoke in my opinion that there would be 2 only. Time wouldnt allow for a third show was my reason. Also fatigue for the P man himself. Simply put, too much for one evenning..

Anyway we soon heard it was to be £70 and we (wife and I) were happy to stay, given that we had 2 hours to go before doors opened. Having said that, at this stage (4pm) we thought a ticketed gig would have been better for many reasons, including value for money as you can choose your area of seating/standing AND do away with the 5 hours of queing.

Got in, paid, somehow ended up on the top floor and tried to find a good spot. Did just manage this. Drunken trio of women to our right were screaming, falling around and being a nuisance. Gig started, and intantly realalised the sound on the top floor was awful. Very very sub standard for a venue of Kokos calibre....

Togther with the drunken girls who were now drinking more and being louder we decided to move and went to a floor lower. Sound was better as we were now able to hear sound from the aain set of speakers on either side of the stage but it was rammed. Far far too many people crammed in. Lots of pushing. Im lucky as I could see (just) but my poor wife couldnt see a thing and felt for her. We asked the security who were guarding the side balconies if there was a chance if we could go ther but obvious answer given back to us (too go down and pay more..). Kind of gutted as the balconies on the left of us were empty...

I love Prince and loved the performance. Ive read on here people saying it was short, rushed etc etc. To me it wasnt, he sounded amazing as ive always remembered him. Yes he had to finish at some point but I think 1 hr45 is acceptable!!

Left the gig after 2 or 3 encores and was tired but content I had just heard the baddest artist on the planet! Sadly my wife wasnt.

Would i do it again? no

More reasons not too. Disorganised. Far too many people squeezed into a venue that couldnt cope. For a tenner you would offset that against the venue and the level of expected people and the inconvenience of queing and all the rest,but for £70 I think i expect a bit more choice in where in the venue i would be sitting or standing, having more time in the day before I get to the venue as a pre-payed customer.

If this hit and run tour (clue is in the title i hear you say) continues in this manner, then its pot luck and fair play to those that made the unbelievable effort of queuing for 12 hours or so. Many of us cant do that! But I salute you all.

The Kings cross shows are the ones i'd have loved to have gone to but I needed time to organise around work and the wife etc. Probably never get the chance again to see such an intimate set with the man.

I reckon the man himself reads this forum, after all why wouldnt he.. So if you are chilling in your suite in the Dorchester, Mr Prince, do an organised/ticketed gig at the Brixton academy! It'll be epic

Cheers

Went to see him on Sunday- got to queue at Koko at about midday about 430 in line. After much dithering the week before decided this was my one and only chance. I have to say my heart sank a bit when it was announced that there would be 2 shows at least- I was hoping for a repeat of Shepherd's Bush. But I wouldn't have it any other way ! Knew the first show would probably be shorter and yes there was a lot of pushing and some 'unsavoury ' peeps there to say the least! but that's what you get at standing gigs! Gorgeous venue though and yes I think they let too many in.

I was just happy to see him again -I've been really spoilt with my Prince gigs and was lucky to experience 2 of the best gigs ever in 2007 (aftershows). As usual he blew me away when he came on stage with the funky version of Let's go Crazy ( i always cry!) . He looks and sounds amazing and it was brilliant to see his new band- a change from Shelby!.

I's the roll of the dice with Prince , you take a chance. It wasn't the best gig ever - and it was the first time my bf had seen him so it wasnt the mind blowing gig I had hoped for.But it took me 20 odd years since Lovesexy in 1988 to see him that close so those people seeing him for the first time were very lucky!! He still has it and to me he is the consummate rock star. The good thing is is that everyone is talking about him!!! He is getting the recognition he deserves. He said on Sunday that music is like medicine- and his has always been the sweetest to me!! .

Glad I queued for hours- physically I don't think I could do it again and well done to those who got in to Ronnie Scotts- dream gig!! However if it's tickets for Brixton...yes I'll be back!

Ppenguin said:

SquirrelMeat said:

.

Burn her!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm pretty sure flava flave pushed in to...right at the front of the a Queue in a yellow hat in front of me . Incidently want a new sport - see if you can spot yourself in the queue of the video below...don't forget, keep an eye out for Flave at the front (yellow hat) http://youtu.be/hZVuLWXckoE

"Flava Flav" as you say... he actually in essence did 'push in' as he was about 100 or so back but he was a really nice chap, who is very passionate abpout prince and in fact he walked up stairs in no rush at all and went up on the top balcony. so in effect didnt take anyones precious floor space and only wandered down to chat to us at the front, he knew a few people at the front, and stayed with us. A bit naughty but no hidden agenda. He was there very early 9am ish and would have got in with the first 100 any how...I was 22 in line and spotted looking rather wrapped up on the video posted.

ADAMSKI123 said:

ADAMSKI123 said: