HHMMMmmhnnvndvgndndnd!!!

I thought the Org was supposed to vet cruel and harmful messages!!

This is tortuous!

Surely these dates are too short notice, they are probably the first of a long line of cryptic teasers to get us hyped and generate interest. Do I need to cancel my life for October on the off chance they are true? Have E-mailed NPGMC to see if they can shed any light...stupid I know!

I sure I read somewhere that NPGMC said that the tour would start in small halls and move to larger arenas later in the year when they announced the 2002 package???

rafael said:

"non american"? What does that have to do with anything? It seems like someone has a complex.

And as far as the obvious eluding you, I think the obvious point is that yes, there are "more important things to worry about". But maybe...just maybe people post messages on the .org as entertainment and as something fun to do. Maybe they actually enjoy speculating on Prince's upcoming concert dates. So that is the obvious reason why people actually spend time posting here, rather than spending 24 hours a day worring about the "more important things" as you so wisely do.

MichaelHogberg said:

I think sometimes the availability of venues dictates the schedule more than geography. When he tours the States, he jumps around geographically a good bit. So don't necessarily assume that the dates are fake if they don't form a logical course through Europe.

I feel good for Europeans that he is touring there again. It was tough to be in the USA during the late 80s/early 90s when he toured Europe every year, but ignored the US. So I'm sure you will be happy to see him again, especially for a really good show like the ONA tour.

SpcMs said:

did anyone checked PSK or AB (i.e. smaller venues)??

or even Elisabeth or Bourla in AWP (Eric Clapton and Joe Satriani played there -small concert halls- a long time ago for a decent sound)

udo said:

It isn't just what Prince wants (well, not 100%), but also what the promotors want. They have to put up the money to organise these concerts, and I'm pretty sure Prince won't come unless he's guaranteed a certain amount of money. If you then consider that he won't cross the Atlantic for some pocket change, we're talking about big sums here. Which means that promotors either have to charge a hell of a lot if he's playing small venues of only a few 1,000 places.

And quite frankly I doubt many promotors are willing to promise huge sums of money to Prince when they know that it's doubtful that people are gonna be willing to pay a lot to see him. 50 euro is already a pretty high amount, and I doubt the "casual fan" is gonna want to pay that. These promotors aren't running charities, but businesses -- and concerts are already not a stable business.

I know for instance that the biggest promotor in Belgium wants to do a Tom Waits concert. The problem is that the demands Tom Waits has for a show (basically, he has to like the theatre, which usually means that regular concert halls are off-limits) limit him to only one major hall in Belgium. Problem is that Tom Waits also wants a substantial sum to perform (he rather stays at home, you see), which means that ticket prices will be through the roof. Compare: Tom Waits perfomed in 2000 in Paris in this theatre http://php.iupui.edu/~jwa..._seats.jpg and ticket prices were 300 to 500 French Francs, that's approx 50 to 90 euro, ticket prices for the Belgian show would have been even higher. And that's the main reason this Belgian promotor won't do a show: because peopel will be angry at him and call him a moneygrabbing bastard because of the high ticket prices.

IMHO if Prince were to tour Europe now, I think most promotors would object to ticket prices being higher than 50 euro, simply based on audience potential. I doubt Prince could fill the big halls, and if he's doing a ONA-type tour that would exclude those halls because quite simply too many people would be pissed off: the show simply can't work on such large audiences.

I doubt many European fans will be willing to pay 100 euro, let alone 150, and certainly not enough to fill decent sized halls.

I fear we're in a Catch 22 type situation, and it's all Prince's fault for having unrealistic high expectations when it comes to money -- and it doesn't help that so many US fans think paying $150 to see Prince in concert is "worth it". I doubt they will be happy if Prince tours Europe and fans have to pay far less than this.

disdain4theunfunky said:

Hey! You have to pay $100 for the 2002 membership that lasts till february i think. But you still get all the CD's for the whole year. So i think it's a good deal I'll join as soon as the dates are confirmed.

dolphin said:

PSK: doubtful (unfortunately, their website is outdated and there's no current info there)
AB: Ozark Henry

And the list clearly says Brussels, so looking at Antwerp is irrelevant. (Then why not also check Ghent, Hasselt, Charleroi, Liège etc. ?)

Useful links:

concert listings:
http://www.sherpa.be/
http://www.goformusic.be/ (also sells tickets)

venues:
Brussels - Halles de Schaerbeek - http://www.halles.be/
Brussels - Ancienne Belgique - http://www.abconcerts.be/
Brussels - Vorst Nationaal - http://www.vorstnationaal.be/
a.k.a. Forest National - http://www.forestnational.be/

organisers:
Clear Channel Entertainment - Belgium : http://www.ccinfo.be/

Where would he play in Cardiff ? I can't quite imagine him selling out the new stadium. What are the other venues ?

I hope he'll play alot of middle sized venues.
Brixton Academy or, better still, The Astoria would be good for the London dates, rather than Wembley Arena.

rafael - If you don't like it, don't read it !!

rafael said:

If you don't believe that Prince is Jesus get the fuck off the org.

BartVanHemelen said:

Have to agree with Bart here.

I think this is the reason that Prince may have thought about the accoustic tour. This would sure cut down on costs as he wouldn't have the band, the extra equipment, or the extra roadies if he were to play accoustically.

I think if Prince does Europe it will turn into something along the lines of the hit and run tour with the greatest hits format.

Thanks for the info Bart. I think your comments can very well be true, but I nonetheless hope that he will play small venues.
Lot more fun, IMHO.

james said:

I would like to know where in Cardiff too, I think that is only one I could make it to. If he plays Brixton as one of the London gigs I might have to cut my Holiday short! Jam of the year was awsome there (except for Doug E Fresh of course and a few special effects problems).

For the Paris gig, as Bercy, Le Zénith and l'Olympia are not avaible on oct 29, the only possible venue would be l'Elysée Montmartre but it's very very small ( capacity is 1200 people ) .
If Prince plays here, there will be a riot !

james said:

those are both standing venues so I suspect in order to comply with the NPGMC seating plans he'll play somewhere mid-sized like Hammermith Odeon (or whatever sponsored name it is this week)

rafael said:

Nah, Prince is regarded on here as a God rather than his son, get it right !

some people should really get a social life

Soapstone said:

The place in cardiff could be the CIA - cardiff international arena - not too big but big enough, with close viewing of the stage, apparently holds about 5,000

please if there is a god, let it be

My heart jumped in my mouth when i read the news

Decía ayer, y si el moderador me permite seguir exponiendo mis mensajes en español, que el dia 4 y 5 de Octubre vamos a ir unos cuantos a Londres para el concierto que se celebrará allí.

Quien esté interesado en contactar con nosotros para encontrarnos allí y hacer una kedada, y si acaso visitar la ciudad etc...que contacten conmigo en este mail voyager-3@terra.es que les mantendremos informados de los pormenores de este viajecito. Un besooo.

summer said:

About time the lil git came to Wales, it is the land of song after all!! i have serious reservations about the possibility tho
theres a few venues in cardiff, bands have played the CIA, the ice rink and St Davids Hall as well as the Millenium stadium altho he wouldnt get anywhere near filling that. CIA would be a good venue tho, very similar to Brixton Academy in set-up with an upper balcony. I saw Jamiroquay there a few months back and thought the venue was great

Upon reading this thread I don't believe that these dates are accurate. Does anyone remember the schedule that Prince actually posted on his website for the American version of the "ONA Tour". IT WAS COMPLETELY WRONG.

So I really have to doubt the validity of something that is not even posted on his site with so much contradictory information being presented.

Wherever Prince decide to play in Paris I'll be there. I only wish the dates will be published as soon as possible so that I can ask for holidays to my boss

lovemachine said:

But then you'd get the problem that this wouldn't be financially viable, unless ticket prices would be astronomical (because there's no way an acoustic concert is gonna be apreciated in a large hall). And lots of people will feel cheated out of their money if they're paying 150 euro to see Prince and an acoustic guitar for 1,5 hours. Promotors won't touch it (well, sane ones won't).

It's not surprising that Prince will take ONA to Europe. He's played there a zillion times and it's natural for this tour to go there. So, everyone jump for joy and cynics, take a pill.

When Prince says accoustic does he really just mean him and no-one else?

Surely he would nead a drummer and probably a bass player.

That would be my guess. He could do all the guitar and keys but he'd need some back-up.

If he just played guitar he might as well stick to playing just the clubs.

bkw said:

I don't see why he couldn't play the piano or the guitar with any sort of back up. It would be absolutely fantastic. Numerous artists have done it before him like Jeff Beck or Springsteen.

rainbow said:

According to the dates above (if they become official) you will need just one day off mate hehe.

sup fam...

whateva dates comes out offical or not P will wow Europe to rave reviews...and sell-out every venue...I dont care if he interviews or promo's this tour because industry insiders(US/Europe)(Europe might sho a lil mo luve)(seeming to be alternative to US views of appreciation of Prince's music) will be looking/listen'n however not commentin/writing about P.(blow'n him up)

P is marginalized by industry and will no doubt be isolated all tha while wit his head up and hmm'n tha lyrics to "i will", which fans/fam need to listen to...hence tha line "...remember what I came for"...

holla back fam

Voyager said:

Hola Voyager,

No es nada seguro si Prince y su banda de verdad tocaran en Londres el dia 4 y 5 de Octubre. Ademas quizas pasaran por Madrid o Barcelona luego despues. Yo creo que es mejor esperar un mensaje offical del npgmc. Si no puedes esperarlo, te aviso mandar un email al npgmc para preguntarlos si de verdad tocaran en Londres el dia 4 y5 de octubre, o si tienes que esperar hasta las fechas officales estaran publicadas.

i see the 3719 capacity, all seated, hammersmith apollo is free on oct 4/5