When the london gigs were happening and all this talk about queuing for hours I just didnt get it. I wanted the security of ticket in my hand. It didnt same fair to those who couldnt drop everything and run.

When Manchester gigs seemed to change to online sales I was gutted the approach had then changed and that I'd 'missed out'

But manchester could not have coped with only door sales in Manchester as the queue would have been way too long back into town.

However there were tickets on the door for those prepared to wait and I did get to see him twice with face value tickets.

Overall it feels like the tickets went (mainly) to dedicated fans who were prepared to give time rather than money?

Is this the right way afterall?!?

I can't say if it's the right or wrong way but it's ok with me. I rolled with it and had a great time at the two gigs I went to. And for only £20.

I like the spontaneity of it...in a media controlled world where everything has to be in neat boxes, this sort of semi-chaotic, go with the flow attitude is a breath of fresh air!

However...

From a purely selfish point of view, Hit 'n' Run didn't work for me. If I could log on, buy a guaranteed ticket, then get on with my week safe in the knowledge I had a spot at the gig, that would have been perfect. If I wanted to enjoy the queuing thing and get down the front I could get to the gig early...if not, turn up whenever, so best of both worlds. And the thing that really spoils a gig for me is rude members of the public, and with all the pushing and shoving in chaotic queues, the Hit 'n' Run tour seemed to attract a bigger number of a*seholes than normal, and that's a massive downer for me

Not for me (selfishly) as I want tickets. HOWEVER, what *I* want is a return of the NPGMC type thing to provide REAL fans with chance for advance ticket sale (happy to be restricted to just 1 or 2 tix per person to stop touts/scalpers becoming members - can also restrict by credit card number and dellivery address - or have "collect on door with ID").

Been said loads but only the really really hardcore were prepared to drop everything and spend the day queueing (most loyal fans are in lates 30s/40s and have responsibilities preventing this).

That also meant there were plenty of casual observers at the gigs (maybe that was intentional and there is nothing wrong with trying to get new fans).

jaypotton said:

when the npgmc was there people were complaining about whatever and that was a reason to stop it all...so i guess we did it ourselves...i only joined that club for presale tickets and that went perfect. I didnt and still do not care about any new releases.....

Queued once, couldn't be arsed to do it again, maybe in the summer.

Kudra23 said:

Is this the right way afterall?!?

Weird logic.

It's 2014. Not 1994 or 1984.

If he cannot think of something different to fix the scalping issue, if he has to do shows on a whim, and then stop doing shows on a whim, then yes.

But if people have lives, if at least people do other stuff in their time, if there are different ways of shutting out scalpers, then he needs to think ahead a tiny bit more.

He appears to have no release date for his album.

The one he celebrated the release of with the shows in London.

This means he doesn't even plan for his core business. (not the core money maker perhaps, but the making of records is the core of the process)

Nope. Not at all. It's great for building excitement, hype and media coverage, but completely impractical for almost everyone for all the reasons already said.

If he did every single tour like this, a huge majority of his fanbase would never get to go to a show due to commitments. It's okay as a 'one off' or a special run of promotional shows, but I wouldn't say it's the 'right way' to do it.

No. Found it stressful and unsatisfying. Looked back on 21 Nights as a blissful Valhalla compared with this exhausting, irritating and frustrating circus.

And yes - all those column inches in UK papers, and where's the album this was meant to promote? I can sense P pulling defeat from the jaws of triumph yet again.

I was going to say I am too old to stand in line any more, but I just got screwed by LiveNation out of Springsteen tickets, so maybe I would stand in line for Prince, LOL.

It was an UTTER FARCE !!!

great shows but if you can extract the excitement and enjoyment of the show itself, the whole guerilla thing was/is completely farcical !!

People travelling from all over at no notice....just on the hope that a gig would be announced for that day;

queueing for hours upon hours in cold and rain....not knowing for sure if you'd get in or not;

2nd shows announced in the evening so less queuing for those who might attend the 2nd show and pssibly a truncated 1st show for those who have queued for 8+hrs;

Manchester tickets on sale with no notice....whilst P was appearing at the Brits so many put down their phones & laptops for 30 mins to see him...too late;

limited tickets available on the door at Manchester leading many to believe that unless you could be there to queue early in the morning they'd all be gone;

2nd show farce at Manchester - leading to £35 for an encore and negative "fails to sell out" press. No good (for those "£35 encore fans" if you can't make it the following night's gig !

Brilliant shows for those who managed to attend and great to see P in such happy and fine form!

So many fans (and none of us have a "right" to a ticket no matter how long we've been a fan nor how many concerts we've been to over the decades) just had NO chance of seeing him...and that's a BIG shame and I don't think it's a good system primarily for that reason. People should have a chance to get a ticket - this hit n run "philosophy" took that chance away from many loyal, hardcore fans. He's 55 and not performed (other than 1 off Hop Farm) in the UK for 7yrs before these shows....how many more (non) chances are fans gonna get to see him ???

I queued for hours and was lucky enough to get in and the memories of the gig remain foremost. There was some banter in the queue too. But, take away the buzz of seeing Prince live, the system itself ? Really ? Is this really they way it should be done ? NO - UTTER FARCE !

FunkDr said:

I really enjoyed these gigs, and the last minute aspect too. It reminded of running around London after a main show looking for the aftershow back in the day. It created a buzz, which made you feel even more fortunate if you made it in

On the pricing and last minute changes, I get that people wanted all gigs to be £10, but is that really likely? What major act of Prince's stature and heritage charges less that £70 for a ticket...and in such small and intimate settings?

Ticket presales would have been great, but look at what happened with seatwave and the rest, tickets going for between £200 and £1000! There has to be a better way, maybe selling the tickets earlier to people in the queue and policing that queue properly??

The last minute changes with second shows announced must have been hard to take if you went to the earlier gig which was shorter. But did you not enjoy the show you saw??

I missed SBE and was gutted because the playlist was so good. I queued (too late) and missed both shows at Kings Place, despite being in the queue for about 3 hours! Prince acoustic...argh!

It's easy to feel you missed the 'better' show, but I haven't heard or read anyone say that Prince and the band weren't on form at the shorter shows? So surely it's better to reflect on the show that you did get in to see?

The real letdowns were the complete lack of security to stop people pushing in, getting drunk, high and/or aggressive. Some people really needed sorting out, and leaving that to the crowd was a recipie for disaster. I almost left at Ronnie Scotts after hours in the queue, it was depressing. Very glad I stayed, but really could have done with out the unnecessary agro.

What made up for it was the great atmosphere in anticipation and some really great fans, having a chat about Prince and everything in between, sharing in the madness of being blown all over the place and rained on...mental, but fun. I said it loads of times, but I wouldn't do that for any other act, Prince is more than worth it, and these performances whatever the duration were to me, some of his best. Great raw energy, delivery and being so close...just great

Am really hoping he's back soon, in whatever format

i loved it but probably wouldn't be saying that if i hadn't got in i think it was an interesting social experiment at least & a big fuck you to the touts & the middle men

unkleg said:

no.

It's ultimately dissapointing and frustrating for the majority of fans.

Great gigs (mostly) for the small number of fans who get in. But that's not good business sense unless its just a PR media tour, like this one in London.

It was just about newspapers and media. It won't sell many albums though I'm afraid.

Large gigs and venues ensure that a lot of albums are bought, everyone clambering to hear the new material before hearing it live.

Personally I thought the H&R "tour" of london was shit. I wasn't terribly enamoured with the performces either from the boots I've heard. Not sure the 3EG band sound is one I like for more than a few tracks.

no I hate it myself and aas much as I want to see the 3rd eye girl show I cant do the 24-48 hour notice thing. Its just not possible for me. I have a family and run my own business and I just cant leave on the drop of a dime so I hope he does a more planned conventional dates tour. I can't complain though as I have seen him 23 times now so if I don't see him again I am ok as I have seen him enough(but I REALLY want to see this show!!) I have not been this excited about one of his tours since the Rainbow Children tour!! These 3rdeyegirl setlists are pretty good overall!!. Still has some filler material in there like the sampler set but there is some good stuff in the rest. It seems like since 2004 hes been playing the same show for 10 years(minus a show here and there like Montreaux, Coachella, etc). This is an exiciting tour for once but he is making it impossible for us to see it!! By the time we even find out about it the show is announced and tickets are gone. C'mon Prince!! Play some bigger venues and gives us more time, and BLOW US AWAY with an incredible rock show!! Liv should open also. It just makes too much sense so I know it won't happen. Prince likes to do what makes no sense.