http://www.nytimes.com/20...?ref=music

LOS ANGELES, July 11 — This was how close Prince was: You could see the glitter on his sideburns.
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Prince with Maceo Parker at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.

And as he blithely strutted around the room (guarded by two burly guys in dark suits), disappearing into the standing-room section or weaving through leather couches and mahogany-wood tables to dance a step here or play a guitar solo there, Leigh-Ann Jackson grabbed a shoulder.

“To go from seeing him on a jumbotron to touching his shoulder pad, how many people can say that?” said Ms. Jackson, a 29-year-old mother and baby-T-shirt designer.

For a top-draw artist like Prince, an intimate concert took on new meaning when it came to his sold-out performances last month at the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood, where he played to euphoric audiences of 200 to 300 people. Such coziness with a music superstar is usually reserved for benefits, an impromptu club appearance or a tycoon’s private party. But Prince is among several performers this summer getting close and personal with fans for a premium price.

A Prince concert in the Roosevelt’s Blossom Room, followed by a jam session into the wee hours of the night in the hotel’s historic lobby, went for $3,121 per couple for reserved seats and dinner. No single tickets for the V.I.P. package were sold, but 70 standing-room tickets for the concert only went for $312.10 a person. (The prices were a nod to his 2006 album “3121.”) And Prince goes on to East Hampton, N.Y., on Saturday to play the first show of the Hamptons Social @ Ross, a five-show concert series on the grounds of the Ross School that will later feature Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds, Billy Joel, James Taylor and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

The price tag? $15,000 for all five shows, including food and drink, with only 1,000 tickets being sold for each concert, and those mostly by invitation, said Joe Meli, the concert’s promoter. (The total audience for each show would max out at 1,500, with press and other guests.)

The $3,000-per-show ticket is advertised as buying a 90- to 120-minute music set, parking, open bar, food by “famous chefs,” luxurious seating in lounge chairs, couches and ottomans, sidebar entertainment by performers like the magician David Blaine and the chance to hobnob with “world-class guests.” “This is about bringing a level of service to the live event business,” Mr. Meli said, declining to say how many tickets have been sold or how much the performers are earning. In May high ticket prices may have caused protests in Italy, where consumer groups deemed shameful the up-to-$1,200 tickets for a Barbra Streisand stadium concert. (Promoters later canceled the event, citing production delays.) But fans in the United States seem to have gotten over any sticker shock when it comes to live music, people in the concert industry say. These are times of the $1,000 V.I.P. packages in arenas, the $400-plus premier seat on Broadway and whatever-the-market-can-bear prices through ticket brokers.

So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that promoters are now offering the extremely expensive concert experience with V.I.P. treatment, although the market may be too small to make them more than occasional, said Gary Bongiovanni, editor in chief of the trade magazine Pollstar. “Certainly it’s a great experience to see a superstar in a small place, but again, how many people can afford that?” he said.

Prince’s concerts at the Roosevelt, fashioned after his after-hours parties at his Beverly Hills home, attracted a thoroughly mixed crowd of not only high rollers and celebrities but also doctors, teachers and purple-clad longtime fans willing to splurge this one time.

For Robert and Silvia Faris, a schoolteacher and a retired deputy sheriff from Orange County, the experience included Prince prancing into their booth, as if he were playing in their living room.

“He was dancing in front of us,” Mr. Faris, 52, said. “Ten years from now I won’t remember how much the tickets were, but I’ll remember the experience.”

For Ms. Jackson, the T-shirt designer, and her friend Martha Moore, a 38-year-old stay-at-home mother, it included being plucked from the standing-only section and brought to the front to dance at the foot of the stage, in the domain of Jessica Biel, Eve and Chris Rock.

“It was like some ’80s movie where the homely girls come out on top,” Ms. Jackson said.

Those left standing in the back, but still only about 40 feet away from the stage, said they didn’t miss out on much.

“You get to see facial expressions,” said Laura Gowen, 40, a consultant to nonprofit agencies who came with her husband. “You get a sense of the band as people. It seems less like corporate rock.”

Intimate is, of course, relative. If the performer usually plays to audiences of 20,000, some concert promoters noted, a concert for 2,000 or so would be downright chummy. Declines in attendance at stadiums and big halls and changes in the record industry, they said, are leading artists to look for options to reach fans and a trend toward smaller concerts.

The Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, for example, recently opened the Pearl, a 2,500-seat theater where music fans can see the likes of Gwen Stefani for up to $250 for reserved seats or from skyboxes with their own bars and bathrooms that seat 15 to 20 people and go for up to $5,000.

“Across the country people are looking for a unique experience,” said Andrew Hewitt, a concert promoter who is booking acts at the Pearl after introducing a similar concept at the Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

But such experiences take the right artist and a huge financial commitment, usually with a corporate sponsor. (Verizon Wireless presented Prince at the Roosevelt; Miller Lite is a sponsor at the Pearl.) Some shows may lose money, leaving the concert presenters mostly with the cachet of having their names associated with the star.

“The goal is to make money, or come as close to breaking even as possible, but it’s not a perfect science at all,” said George Maloof, owner of the Palm, adding that the artists usually charge their arena rates.

Even among the most thrilled to pay the top prices, there can be some disappointments. Some in the back at the Prince show thought they should have gotten free water. And Mrs. Faris said a goodie bag would have been nice. “I thought for the price you’d get a CD or a sample of his perfume,” she said.

No matter. They were among the more than 100 faithful hanging on until early in the morning, when Prince came back for a jazzy, all-instrumental jam session. At 3:39 a.m. he made his exit, and his band said good night shortly after. But some fans were not ready to call it a night.

“Is it over?” the actor Michael Rapaport, 37, asked as the crowd dispersed at 4 a.m. “It was like watching Picasso paint a painting.”

Well written piece. I haven't seen him live in a bit but all accounts seem to point towards him not having lost a step but even having gotten better and better.

I wasn't overly impressed with the Satisfied they had on 3121.com from his First Ave show but Down By The Riverside sounded inspired, even if it was just by the numbers, that was some great Louisiana jazz. I'd love to hear Prince and his band do a whole album or show of this material.

And I'd also love to hear Controversy and 3121 from the First Ave. show to see if it was really as good as so many are saying. Come on Prince, release this show through itunes or something.

Thank you.

wlcm2thdwn said:

You can have an intimate moment anywhere/anytime at a Prince show. One does not need to pay over 3,000 for that.

something about this rubs me totally the wrong way. Its one step away from doing Sweet Sixteen parties. If this was about raising money for a cause or hell a political candidate it wouldnt be as bad.

emesem said:

My perspective is this:

I am 48. I have been going to concerts for 30 years. Until last year, NO ONE ever played shows like these. Not regularly, anyway (the Stones would usually take over a small club just before going on tour, but that was about it).

To be able to see a world-class rock act in a small club would have been the coolest thing ever. Would it be expensive? Sure, but like the guy in the article said, 10 years from now all you'll remember is the experience.

Maybe I could afford a small-venue ticket, maybe not. But the point is that nowadays, there ARE small-venue shows. There didn't used to be.

I am with you, however, on the private party thing. First of all, it makes me jealous because I didn't get invited. Secondly, I agree there's something schmaltzy about playing for some fatcats. If Prince does it, I really don't want to hear about it. It lessens the rockstar persona.

I dont think there is anything wrong with chargin all this money for ppl who r willing to pay it! plus there r tix for $312 for a crowd so small that is a bargian to be so up close and personal! There r plenty of times his tix r resonably priced! This has led me to beleive that hotel Rio was runnin his show at a loss so they could get more gamers in the house!

The small shows cant be done by everyone but only ppl who r musically talented and this will not work for lip syncers! or ppl who need huge number of backing dancers to hide thier own short comings!

Small club shows, fine.

Small club shows just for the rich, not fine.

Prince used to be poor; you'd think he'd get this.

Stuff like that should be for real fans, not just rich fans.

Why aren't they given away in competitions, or on a first-come, first served basis, like any other concert, so that everybody has a fair chance?

i was front and center at one of the fillmore shows in san francisco
after the npgmc discount, it only cost like $20-30 bucks at the most
i still treasure that night...
rosie, j blackwell, najee, larry, rhonda, m scott, prince & sheila reunited!
thank God i didn't have to pay $3,000 for that experience
i wouldn't have
and i'd be

I saw him for 25 cents, as well as all the other NPGMC people, when he did the Musicology special on MTV.

Prince is no stranger to doing the small shows at any price.

Let's let him earn a livin'!

What sucks about this is that most hardcore fans since his first album dropped cannot afford these prices now. I use to see him every time he came to New York regardless of the price when tickets were reasonable. Now you have to plan ahead like going on a vacation. The money for tickets are ridiculous some places he plays. Oh Yeah! I know he does have a right to charge whatever he wants & there are still some fans who will travel to see him regardless of the price. I think it's cool to be able to say what an experience seeing him at these shows. Is it really worth it though? If you saw Prince in concert anytime it was an experience too me.

wat a great article. i'd kill to go to a Prince concert, especially in such an intimate venue.

Why should you get anything for free or for a lower price? Why do you deserve anything for free or at a lower price? I would never pay that much money and, yes, i think its elitist, but I don't think a "fan" deserves it for free or for cheap just because their a "fan." If you are such a fan, you should value and appreciate the work enough to pay for it, or go without. The sacrifice should be yours and not the creator's.

It's so funny these days. Artists are sell outs if they make a bunch of money. Artists are greedy if they utilize supply and demand type methods. Yet, nobody talks about the selfishness of "fans" who expect something for free just because they happen to like the work. "Fans" don't want to pay for the music and they want the concerts to be cheap. They don't want to part with money yet they expect the artist to do just that.

Fair chance? Why do you deserve what you call a fair chance? Why does Prince (or anyone else) have to accept less money so you can feel you have a fair chance? When did somebody else's work and career become about you?