{{{http://www.canada.com/ott...9DEB118D2} Prayers for purple rain finally pay off
Prince is to make his first concert appearance in Ottawa
Lynn Saxberg
The Ottawa Citizen
Thursday, May 23, 2002 (The Associated Press)

Tickets to see Prince at the NAC go on sale Monday. Tickets cost $99 and $150, plus surcharges.

Neil Diamond is also coming. He'll play at the Corel Centre.

Prince is coming to town. At least, that's the plan. Sometimes, with a character as enigmatic and elusive as the artist known (again) as Prince, you never really know what he's up to.

As it stands, his Purpleness is booked at the National Arts Centre's Southam Hall on June 16. And as far as anyone in the business can remember, it will be his first time performing in the nation's capital.}}}

There are encouraging signs that it will happen. It's not just a one-off show; it's a cross-Canada excursion -- of theatres, not arenas -- that's been booked by one of the country's major promoters, Clear Channel Entertainment. And with dates starting next week, it's happening quickly -- maybe before Prince can change his mind.

Prince is notorious for doing things on a whim and then changing his mind. Take his name. He was born with a perfectly good handle, Prince Rogers Nelson, and dropped the surname when he started performing in the 1970s. In 1993, he dropped the whole thing, informing the world that he wished to be known as an unpronounceable symbol. He became referred to as the artist formerly known as Prince. He eventually went back to Prince.

Through his career, his musical output has been creative, varied and challenging. The highs were his mid-80s albums such as 1999 and Purple Rain, the stuff that sold millions and made him a superstar. The lows came with commercial duds like Lovesexy and Graffiti Bridge.

A contractual spat with his record company made him an independent artist by 1996. Cloistered in his Minneapolis studio, he was free to record whatever his heart desired, whether it was the triple-disc set Emancipation or his most recent, One Night Alone.

He also became a Jehovah's Witness.

Evidently, Prince still gets the urge to tour. He recently completed a string of solo shows, and last summer booked a full-band tour, but cancelled most of it. One of the few surviving dates was a Montreal Jazz Festival appearance that mystified audiences for its interminable jamming through the first half.

The next day, Montreal Gazette reviewer T'cha Dunlevy wondered: "Had he gone off the deep end? Was this the new Prince? Was it good? Were we having fun? Did you like it? I don't know, did you?"

Despite the uncertainty of what -- if anything -- to expect, Prince is commanding a hefty ticket price. Tickets to the Ottawa show are $99 and $150, plus applicable surcharges, on sale at 11 a.m. Monday at the NAC box office and through TicketMaster at 755-111. To order online, go to http://www.ticketmaster.ca or http://www.cc.com .

The 10-date tour starts in Vancouver on May 28, travels across the Prairies and into Ontario, and wraps up in Montreal on June 18. No U.S. dates have been announced.

In other concert news, the concert-connection Web site Pollstar is reporting an Ottawa date as part of the newly announced leg of Neil Diamond's Three Chord Opera tour. Mr. Diamond will be at the Corel Centre on Sept. 25, backed by a nine-piece band with horn and string sections.

Unlike Prince, we know exactly what to expect from the veteran crooner. Ticket details will be announced soon.

© Copyright 2002 The Ottawa Citizen

somebody help these media people please!

Yeah thats funny...I was just thinking the samething...