II guarantee you that if you offer your "front row" seat to anyone on the side, they will take it.
Just go, enjoy the show, and if you don't like your seats, find somebody that will that you can trade with. With member seats it won't be hard I am sure!

...He also played the ride which I haven't seen on other set lists.

We went to the concert in Omaha last night and had ordered presale tix the very second they went on sale. in fact, my order was completed at 10:03 am. i was ecstatic when i picked up the tix and found out we were in the 1st row! however, our seats were in section e2, which turned out to be the side of the stage with the npg logo and keyboard setup which means we could not see 85% of the show. we would have been better off in the upper bowl! it was also frustrating becuz i'm tall (6' 4") and i could barely see prince's head most of the time, but my wife could see almost nothing, except on the rare occassions when prince ventured (very briefly) to our side of the stage. we feel ripped off and feel that the club tix being the best seats turned out to be a cruel joke. friends of ours that bought tix weeks after they went on sale had a better view. i even won tix on the radio for knowing wht song he did with madonna, but GAVE THEM AWAY to my sister, who couldn't afford to go, but now wish we would've sat wher they were! musically, it could have been a great show, but our seats were terrible and the sound at the quest center was awful. doesn't even compare to one nite alone. we want the npgmusicclub to contact us regarding this, as it was NOT what we expected in the slightest.

he pretty much ignored the section we were in. it isn't about feeling like i deserve anything for being a fan for so long and it isn't about being close to Prince, i do not idolize him or think that being close to him is the end all be all. i think his music and peformance are IT as far as music of our time goes, and wanted to once again enjoy that in a live setting. If members are suppossed to have dibs on the best seats, they should be able to see. I used to work in marketing for Opera Omaha when they first starting bringing Broadway shows to Omaha and we used the dreaded Ticketmaster to assign seating. The computer program picks the best seats based upon view, not just proximity to the stage, and tickets like ours, where the view is completely obstructed, are not assigned first and for some shows are not even sold. Friends of ours who ordered tickets 12 hours later than we did were in row 4, but around to the left, so they had awesome seats. being in row 1 isn't being in the "FRONT ROW" when for 85% of the show prince is the equivalent of a t least 12 rows away and if you're tall you're seeing the back of his head through metal poles and if you're short you see him from a distance and only briefly. Plain and simple, he virtually ignored by the npg logo and certaintly at no time did we feel like we had front row seats. My basic memory of the show is the back of his head obscured by the poles, etc, in front of my face. For an "in the round" show where "every seat is a good seat" I sure felt like I was sitting behind the stage at a regular concert. And I'm not being a "waa waa" baby as some contend. I just feel there should be more control over what seats that we are assigned. I long for the days when those who bought their tickets first got to select their seats BEFORE they handed over their hard earned money. and concerts were cheap back then! npgmc should really have more control over the seating assignments, and so should we as consumers. is there a direct phone number or email address or street address for npgmc?

You have my sympathy - obstructed view seats are definitely NOT the best seats in the house - not even close. My philosophy as a shortie is I don't have to be that close at a concert - but I do need to SEE the action to enjoy the show.

Something should be done about the seat/stage elevation and vantage points to guarantee at least a decent view of the show for these blocked seats OR these sections should not be sold. At the LoveSexy shows I sat in front row in the back section facing Sheila E. and had a wonderful vantage point all night -- so I know it is not impossible to design an "in the round" experience that all can be satisfied with. There are some very creative peeps on these boards who would love to help the NPGMC out on this issue.

This really has me worried for the future concerts - as does the alpha order by last name seating - how is that "random"? I bought tix to 3 diff. shows and was hoping for 3 diff. views/diff. experiences each time - but this looks like I'd be in pretty much the same place each time... If they are going to do seating by last name at least flip it from Z-A some nights and then split the alphabet to start with the middle letters and some other RANDOM letter up front other nights.

Putting myself in your shoes (which I may be really soon) I can definitely see why you'd be disappointed.

Let's not just vent - let's try to come up with some solutions to help improve everyone's future concert experiences.

Best,
- Kathy J.

It wasn't really, but in certain venues it has gone that way. The NPGMC did state that it is "up to the venue," which you know..it really shouldn't be up to the venue, you know? Oh well. I'm gonna think positive thoughts. I'm sure I could trade with someone who wants to get on stage if I get the (imo) shitty seats.

Plus, it seems that the stage is at different heights depending upon the venue as well....

JCingles,

Try as you might to avoid sounding like an ungrateful crybaby, that is precisely how you sound. I urge you to go to the Member Tickets subpage right now and look at any of the Presale events that are listed there. You'll notice that the words "Best Seats In The House" appear nowhere; instead, what you'll see is "Sections Closest 2 The Stage."

Another astute member pointed this out to you after your first post, but you ignored that comment. Nevertheless, that same description, i.e., "Sections Closest 2 The Stage," was given when you bought your tickets, as well as when all of us bought our tickets. It has also been widely publicized that this tour is "in the round." If you interpreted, "Sections Closest 2 The Stage" and "in the round" to mean "I will be front row center and Prince will stand within 15 feet of and stare directly at me for the entire perfromance," that is on YOU. You should not blame Prince, the NPG Music Club, or anyone else for YOUR misinterpretation. You definitely should not denigrate the NPGMC or frighten other members in to thinking that their member tickets will be obstructed view.

In other words, and as yet another astute member pointed out, you got exactly what you paid for: Sections Closest 2 The Stage. You may have chosen to use the shorthand "Best Seats," but that is not what you were promised. You hold yourself out as a true, long-term fan, then, because you didn't like your seats, you demand that someone from NPGMC get in contact with you.

For what?

YOU made a mistake. YOU misinterpreted (or altogether disregarded) the ACCURATE description of the seats you purchased. YOU came on the message board complaining about getting exactly what you paid for.

Suddenly, I am reminded of that old adage, "Be careful what...."

You know the rest.

Huey

i went to the ames show, also had front row seats and right in front of the keyboards and could not see 90% of the show i rather would have been in the balcony

I just returned from the Champaign concert. Great concert. However, the original poster was right. I, too, had seats behing the "NPG" sign and it blocked Prince for much of the concert. He sang a large portion of the concert sitting center stage and when he did, we couldn't see him. Truth is, I don't know why they even have the sign there unless they don't want Candy Dulfer to accidentally fall off the stage. Not only was the view blocked, but these seats cannot see the video screens. If the center of the stage could only be raised about six inches, this would have helped incredibly. The concert was incredible, Prince was in top form, and I wouldn't trade the experience for anything. I did go away feeling as though I watched the show from seats behind the stage. Still, when he made a trip to our side of the stage, I forgot all about the times I couldn't see him. Maybe I'll have more luck in the seat lottery at another stop in the tour.

By the way, the section behind the "NPG" sign is probably only about a tenth of the floor seating - maybe even less. Odds are you will NOT be in this section so don't spend too much time worrying. Also, they only had five rows in the section behind the sign. There were two rows behind this that were marked OD and those seats obviously weren't sold. Again, odds are you'll have a great seat - I just don't think they should sell the seats behind the sign unless they are designated "Obstructed View".

An idea that would help - an LCD panel showing the concert video placed beneath the NPG sign. The panel would have to be at stage level or lower so that it would not furthe block the view of those in the first row or two.

I'm sure I'll be labeled a whiner. I understand that an In The Round setup means some blocked views some of the time. Having a blocked view for well over half the concert was a bit much. My biggest consolation - I got to watch a LOT of Candy Dulfer. She's gorgeous and talented, but I really came to see Prince. Does anyone remember this being a problem in Lovesexy? That was an extremely well-staged in-the-round show.

OK!!!



It's 6:45 a.m. on Easter Sunday and I just walked in the door after driving all night after the Champaign concert.

Oh.

My.

God.

We had front row seats, right next to the catwalk, near Johnny B. and I swear they were the best fucking seats in the house. SassyAss and I went fucking NUTS and I'm still high. Okay physically I'm starting to crash, but mentally I'm still jumping up and down.

People call me rude...I wish we all were nude...I wish there was no black and white, I wish there were no rules...

Maybe they've listened and lowered the stage, and/or removed onstage obstructions...plus we got damn lucky. GotDAMN!!

I keep seeing people that went to the concert say it was really good but it definitely isn't their favorite Prince show. I beg to differ - last night was the best concert experience I've ever had - and I'm a whore for rock stars. (Okay, I'm a whore for truckers too, but let's not get into that on THIS forum.)

Thank you Ivy and Chris for being part of the magic. I will NEVER forget it. And Jason, we WERE the magic, man. DON'T HOLD BACK!!!!

OK!!!



It's 6:45 a.m. on Easter Sunday and I just walked in the door after driving all night after the Champaign concert.

Oh.

My.

God.

We had front row seats, right next to the catwalk, near Johnny B. and I swear they were the best fucking seats in the house. SassyAss and I went fucking NUTS and I'm still high. Okay physically I'm starting to crash, but mentally I'm still jumping up and down.

People call me rude...I wish we all were nude...I wish there was no black and white, I wish there were no rules...

Maybe they've listened and lowered the stage, and/or removed onstage obstructions...plus we got damn lucky. GotDAMN!!

I keep seeing people that went to the concert say it was really good but it definitely isn't their favorite Prince show. I beg to differ - last night was the best concert experience I've ever had - and I'm a whore for rock stars. (Okay, I'm a whore for truckers too, but let's not get into that on THIS forum.)

Thank you Ivy and Chris for being part of the magic. I will NEVER forget it. And Jason, we WERE the magic, man. DON'T HOLD BACK!!!!