vainandy said:

Why was Prince working with Live Nation to begin with? I think they may be one of Clear Channel's aliases and Clear Channel and folks like them are THE enemy.

LiveNation is a necessary evil at least,if you're an artist who wants to go on a major tour.

...

[Edited 5/11/11 3:49am]

IamFunkay7 said:

Thats not entirely true some of us love it all and we know more than just those songs.. as a matter of fact my fav song of the week is housequake, last week it was eye hate u, but ultimately the holy river is my fav Prince song. I was singing something in the water does not compute when I saw him perform it while other fans "older" than me.. kinda just looked like.. oh lol

I know there are some but you are definitely in the minority.

But I am proud of you.

TheFreakerFantastic said:

daPrettyman said:

ohYeeeeeah said:

Concert series flop????!!!!!!!!! What the fuck are you talking about?

$10 and $25 seats are a good sign that something's not right.

When you do a series of 21 gigs in such a crisis context, it seems right. Many tours and shows are cancelled over the world at the moment due to poor sales.

I think Prince did incredibly well for someone who is not signed with a major, who has no proper cd release in the stores lately, who is not following a promo marketing plan and who is announcing shows at the last minute.

I think it's a miracle he has filled in arenas in NYC, NS, SC and in California this way! In fact, it's quite an amazing achievement.

ohYeeeeeah said:

daPrettyman said:

$10 and $25 seats are a good sign that something's not right.

When you do a series of 21 gigs in such a crisis context, it seems right. Many tours and shows are cancelled over the world at the moment due to poor sales.

I think Prince did incredibly well for someone who is not signed with a major, who has no proper cd release in the stores lately, who is not following a promo marketing plan and who is announcing shows at the last minute.

I think it's a miracle he has filled in arenas in NYC, NS, SC and in California this way! In fact, it's quite an amazing achievement.

Yes, the shows were quite a success. And that with tickets on sale only days or 2 or 3 weeks ahead of a concert.

But a 21 concert marathon like that in L.A. would require more time ahead....well but that`s Prince;)

HatrinaHaterwitz said:

In looking at this picture, I can hear Billy Sparxx saying, "WHAT THE FUCK'S WRONG WITH YOU, KID????!!!!"

[Edited 5/12/11 9:02am]

Trickology said:

Here's the conversation he had with his band this week (Warning if you are very sensitive to Prince musings, then STOP immediately)

Prince: Could U Come Here for Sec

Band: What now? I don't know we betta go

Prince: Listen we need to talk......

Renato: We are going to another location,yes?

Prince: Nah Renato

Renato:

Prince: Dig, we have a slight complication

Renato: Listen, we don't need to play La Forum. We can do club gigs!

Bassist: Yea, let's hit the clubs!

Blackwell: I think we achieved what we set out to do here

Prince:Listen... it's not that

Hayes: What is it then?

Prince:Payment may be little slower than expected

Shelby: It's all about the music. We can wait a little while longer

Hayes: Shelby, could you please shut your bald kissing ass up?

Renato: That's it, I've had it. I've had it!! (slams keyboard on floor)

Prince: Wow...umm

Renato: Please continue... I wait for you to finish, eh?

Prince: Okay... we may have another problem

Renato: Dear dios do not say it ...

Prince: The visas may ....be held up & some may be going back

Ida: We...had..sorted this out I thought,no?

Renato: I am holding back not to hit you, you understand me? :shakes head:

Hayes: Uh, a word?

(Prince and Hayes go to huddle)

Hayes:Let me be blunt: Nigga, are you out of ya muthafuckin mind?

Prince: :Speechless: We don't use language...

Hayes: Nah nah nah...fuck that. If you don't pay, John is gonna fuck you up. He aint come all the way out here for this shit. Cora aint play that shit either. Where the fuck she go?

Prince: Money is tight,brother.

Hayes: Maybe you need to ditch a few hair stylists or get rid of that symbol stage. Nobody cares about that shit but a couple of delusional fans and you! You might want to cut back on your goddamn photo shoots. I don't know, do fuckin something

Prince: I'm running out of options

Hayes:You ever wonder why everyone cut you off?

Prince: :Sighs:

Hayes: Get your shit together if Live Nation is jerking you then you better.......

:Loud Crash:

Well...hick well look who it is? Welcome 2 :hick: America

Hayes: Oh shit, the bitch is back.

Bria Valente: Listen....you need to :hick: pay your band. Because...we are going to work on our second project together...

Hayes: Bitch You can't sing! We tried to tell you that. No one was checking for you on fucking myspace. You wasted his money!

Bria: LISTEN.....I have something to say to you Maury

Hayes: It's Morris.

Bria: Maury...I never liked you...or your accordion

Hayes: Organ

Bria: What... the.... fuck..ever. Oh no (hick) ..I ...swore. Where is...... that.... stupid jar? Where's Prince?

Hayes: Turn around Heffer!

:Bria turns around:

Bria: Hey.... it's time we (stumbling).....record :hick: again

Prince: Yea... now isn't a good time.

Bria: Listen!! (Stomps feet)

Prince: ::looks away and whispers to security:

Bria: :Security Drags her away: I know you made my project...fail on purpose, Mr Nelson!! ::points accusing finger: You packaged your shitty albums with my :hick: amazing debut. I listened...to my baby :hick: last night! Lotus Flower is a pile of crap compared to Elixir. And you were sending your yes men to Prince org to sabotage me! Missster Nelssson, I am on to u! The new project isss... gonna be called Tweelixir. It's a combo...of twitter and elixir... My idea! MRRRR NELSON & I want full attention or....media take out here I........ :falls flat on her face & passes out on floor:

:Band & Hayes walks away muttering " Wasting his time distracted trying to chase hits with tonedeaf bitches. Can you believe this shit? Maxwell wouldn't do that shit to us."

That literally made me laugh out loud.

cbarnes3121 said:

this just goes to show how americans cant stand behind nothing good prince goes to london plays 21 nights with no cancels or no problems cuz here and its all kinds of crap do we blame prince or the american viewing audience?? i think its our people i bet he can go out of the us again and do 21 more shows and sell out

It isn't about the fans, it's about terrible planning and promotion. He sold out four shows at full price in NYC and two more almost sell-outs in NJ at full price because they were announced with plenty of time for people to plan and buy tickets. The LA shows have been a joke from that regard. Tickets on sale only a few days in advance for multiple shows. It is about planning and marketing as much as it is the music. He could have toured the entire country and sold out all over with proper promotion and planning just like the Musicology tour, but someone messed up yet again-be it Prince or those around him.

Not really true, there were very few tickets on stubhub the day of the shows in NYC and they were sold out. The place was packed every night including the upper tiers.

LayDownMisty said:

Prince thought he sold out the NY shows, but there were so many tickets on stubhub and ebay......like THOUSANDS!!

So he got fooled into thinking they sold out.

Tried the same mess in NC, and you see what happened. Tons of ticket upgrades.

Now before that could happen in L.A. he did that bit on Lopez where he was "saving everyone some money in the Latino community, etc." thanks to the nice folks at Live Nation.

Ha!!

Then, same fucking thing happened in L.A. even with the lower prices.

Meanwhile, does anyone care except for the few people on the org?

Nope!

He will just move on and continue being a free artist with no business sense.

ficktyt said:

cbarnes3121 said:

this just goes to show how americans cant stand behind nothing good prince goes to london plays 21 nights with no cancels or no problems cuz here and its all kinds of crap do we blame prince or the american viewing audience?? i think its our people i bet he can go out of the us again and do 21 more shows and sell out

It isn't about the fans, it's about terrible planning and promotion. He sold out four shows at full price in NYC and two more almost sell-outs in NJ at full price because they were announced with plenty of time for people to plan and buy tickets. The LA shows have been a joke from that regard. Tickets on sale only a few days in advance for multiple shows. It is about planning and marketing as much as it is the music. He could have toured the entire country and sold out all over with proper promotion and planning just like the Musicology tour, but someone messed up yet again-be it Prince or those around him.

That is it - exactly IMO too! Prince (or is it LiveNation?) is purposefully not announcing more than a few days in advance when he will be performing his next LA show. It forces people to jump through hoops or scramble to make last minute plans just to see him. People have their own lives and are busy dammit! We may want to see Prince, but if we don't know when he is performing and then make arrangements to do other things, then it makes it an incovenience to us (instead of a pleasure) to rearrange our lives when he finally decides to tell us that he will be playing in a couple days. Just look at last night. We get a teaser from Dr FB that he will be playing somewhere. Don't know where though. What a pain in the ass just to see my favorite musician!

ficktyt said:

Not really true, there were very few tickets on stubhub the day of the shows in NYC and they were sold out. The place was packed every night including the upper tiers.

LayDownMisty said:

Prince thought he sold out the NY shows, but there were so many tickets on stubhub and ebay......like THOUSANDS!!

So he got fooled into thinking they sold out.

Tried the same mess in NC, and you see what happened. Tons of ticket upgrades.

Now before that could happen in L.A. he did that bit on Lopez where he was "saving everyone some money in the Latino community, etc." thanks to the nice folks at Live Nation.

Ha!!

Then, same fucking thing happened in L.A. even with the lower prices.

Meanwhile, does anyone care except for the few people on the org?

Nope!

He will just move on and continue being a free artist with no business sense.

Exactly, fickyt, not true at all, he did good selling out the NYC shows at MSG, and no there were not that many tickets left on stubhub. I bought mine on stubhub for the 12/29 show and there were very few left on stubhub that day. Those NYC shows sold well, and every show for the nights at MSG I attended were jam packed at MSG.

[Edited 5/11/11 6:55am]

Shelby J and John Blackwell are both from the carolinas.. I am also from NC and we have some of the most gorgeous mountains (they arent the rockies.. dumbass)... and coastlines. thats why NC has so many movies filmed here because its so beautiful!! so if you have anything else to say about NC or the people who live here being racist, then why dont you meet me in the Walmart parking lot and say it to my face !!

psychodelicide said:

Trickology said:

Here's the conversation he had with his band this week (Warning if you are very sensitive to Prince musings, then STOP immediately)

That literally made me laugh out loud.

oh please prince fire your band .. they suck .. especially renato .. same lite jazz solo on EVERYTHING .. and shelby .. ugh she sucks too .. fire them all .. get a real band .. play real songs .. record a good record .. thats all he really needs is a good record .. its been like 20 years ..

saorosco said:

SagsWay2low said:

No, it's not silly.

I wouldn't live in Aphganistan either you know.

Look, there is nothing wrong with living in a place I dispise.

You obviously like it.

I lived in the deep South (Alabama), and whenever somebody knocks it, I just say, "yup. You got that right."

I think moving away and living in a real place gives you perspective.

North Carolina is pretty. Newburn is nice. But I'd kill myself if I had to live there.

And yeah--the "never saw a black person" comment is a bit much, but my branding places in the South racsist doesn't bother me. I'm ok with thinking that about those states.

Why do people get so offended when I tell them where they live sucks?

I mean, folks have told me they think Florida sucks--I just think, "good on you. I love this place and would rather not share it with you anyways, "

Dammn.. The show at the Greensboro Coliseum was packed imo... NC is a nice place to live it has its downsides and it has its treasures... most people are migrating south so we have to be doing something right down here.. and yeah the black comment was a bit much ehh. interesting comments you made about the south but I respect your opinions!

Shelby J and John Blackwell are both from the carolinas.. I am also from NC and we have some of the most gorgeous mountains (they arent the rockies.. dumbass)... and coastlines. thats why NC has so many movies filmed here because its so beautiful!! so if you have anything else to say about NC or the people who live here being racist, then why dont you meet me in the Walmart parking lot and say it to my face !!

CallMeCarrie said:

ficktyt said:

It isn't about the fans, it's about terrible planning and promotion. He sold out four shows at full price in NYC and two more almost sell-outs in NJ at full price because they were announced with plenty of time for people to plan and buy tickets. The LA shows have been a joke from that regard. Tickets on sale only a few days in advance for multiple shows. It is about planning and marketing as much as it is the music. He could have toured the entire country and sold out all over with proper promotion and planning just like the Musicology tour, but someone messed up yet again-be it Prince or those around him.

I have to agree. This is one thing that I really don't understand about Prince - why he rather loses out on something that could be huge, than going by some rules ... like planning ahead and giving people enough time to buy tickets, and more promotion. Lots more! It is too bad, because I would love to see him doing a hugely successful tour in the US with sold out shows all over the country. And I am sure he could do that, based on what we have seen on this tour. Even in his unusual way he has had large audiences everywhere he went!

Prince irrational behavior is a big part of what most of us love with Prince. That from the beginning of his career insist on playing all the instruments himself. Stick to the demo mix of "Dirty Mind,", dropping "1999" as a double album, releasing ARTWIAD tightly on Purple Rain, changing its name in 1994, touring with songs no one heard in 1995 ... and so on...

Even so, he better now do a reality check. You do not sell out 21 gigs in LA without proper promotion. Or Without a new album, his last album that was available was Planet Earth (Lotus and 20Ten requires too much of a non-fan to find). He does not even have his own website! (and robbed most of us at tremendous money for nothing via lotusflow3r.com).

And finally, in fact his shows has since "Musicality" in 2004 came to be more and more similar. Even if he throws on a bit in the setlists, its still pretty predictable and not very innovative. Apart from a handful of after-show-gigs and the jazz-gigs in 2009 Montreux, there is more to desire/expect from an artist with Prince capacity.

[Edited 5/11/11 8:01am]

ficktyt said:

cbarnes3121 said:

this just goes to show how americans cant stand behind nothing good prince goes to london plays 21 nights with no cancels or no problems cuz here and its all kinds of crap do we blame prince or the american viewing audience?? i think its our people i bet he can go out of the us again and do 21 more shows and sell out

It isn't about the fans, it's about terrible planning and promotion. He sold out four shows at full price in NYC and two more almost sell-outs in NJ at full price because they were announced with plenty of time for people to plan and buy tickets. The LA shows have been a joke from that regard. Tickets on sale only a few days in advance for multiple shows. It is about planning and marketing as much as it is the music. He could have toured the entire country and sold out all over with proper promotion and planning just like the Musicology tour, but someone messed up yet again-be it Prince or those around him.

I didnt mean to sound like its the fans fault im just giving you a true perspective of how p is viewed here as opposed to europe... i totally agree that the promotion is haphazard and it is unbeleivable for a person of his stature to be so fucken cheap with everything he does i believe its him trying to nickel and dime everybody he deals with and he just doesnt want to pay for proper promotion of this tour .. if it were like the musicology tour promotion everything would be smooth but he just reverts to being his fucked up self... i love the guy as much as anyone but thats just the way it is in my opinion

[Edited 5/11/11 8:30am]

[Edited 5/11/11 8:31am]

So, in some ways it's good to know that the guy who wears eyeliner, heels, sparkly shirts and eyeshadow isn't a typical person with typical ways of doing business, LOL It's really bizarre how he's so random and yet has been around this long. A true Gemini, lol...

jokocur said:

I didnt mean to sound like its the fans fault im just giving you a true perspective of how p is viewed here as opposed to europe... i totally agree that the promotion is haphazard and it is unbeleivable for a person of his stature to be so fucken cheap with everything he does i believe its him trying to nickel and dime everybody he deals with and he just doesnt want to pay for proper promotion of this tour .. if it were like the musicology tour promotion everything would be smooth but he just reverts to being his fucked up self... i love the guy as much as anyone but thats just the way it is in my opinion

[Edited 5/11/11 8:30am]

[Edited 5/11/11 8:31am]

I understand what you're saying!! It's not just with P... I never quite understood why the mainstrean American public is so fickle with it's music artists. It's always about who's young and current. In some parts of the world, once you're a superstar...you're always a superstar. I guess this is why lots of classic artists spend most of their time touring Europe and Asia.

BartVanHemelen said:

Translation: Prince is pissed off that his shows ain't selling out, blames LN and fires them.

Funny how it is never his fault. His album flops? The record company's fault. His concert series flops? The promoter's fault.

gemari77 said:

jokocur said:

I didnt mean to sound like its the fans fault im just giving you a true perspective of how p is viewed here as opposed to europe... i totally agree that the promotion is haphazard and it is unbeleivable for a person of his stature to be so fucken cheap with everything he does i believe its him trying to nickel and dime everybody he deals with and he just doesnt want to pay for proper promotion of this tour .. if it were like the musicology tour promotion everything would be smooth but he just reverts to being his fucked up self... i love the guy as much as anyone but thats just the way it is in my opinion

[Edited 5/11/11 8:30am]

[Edited 5/11/11 8:31am]

I understand what you're saying!! It's not just with P... I never quite understood why the mainstrean American public is so fickle with it's music artists. It's always about who's young and current. In some parts of the world, once you're a superstar...you're always a superstar. I guess this is why lots of classic artists spend most of their time touring Europe and Asia.

true that----

SoulAlive said:

SagsWay2low said:

I have to agree with this. I even posted about it when I first heard about the 21 nights in LA.

LA is not a good location for these types of shows. Not everybody can #1) buy a plane ticket and #2) book hotel rooms, just to see him perform.

If he had done a traveling tour and aggressively promoted himself along with a new CD, we'd be looking at Musicology level success potentially.

But dude is probably just trying to pay off debts and stuff.

Every video clip I've seen of the concert looked like the place was half-empty. Despite great performances, that zaps the vibe.

The venue should have been smaller and this should have been a travelling show.

The O2 is a in a great location in Europe, Prince's support is better. LA is a dreadful spot to center an American run. Had it been the East Coast, he would have at least saw a few Europeans hop over. But there isn't one Asian alive that even knows who Prince is nor would traverse the Pacific to come see him.

I'm not sure what the real story is here, but BartVanTemperTantrum is absolutely correct me thinks.

He really knows how to burn bridges.

I think that,if you're gonna do a lengthy residency (performing 21 nights at the same venue),you really need to give people advance notice like 2 or 3 months.Give people more time to buy tickets,make travel plans,request days off from work (lol),etc.

I agree. I was planning on flying out to L.A. from NY to see a block of the shows but I refuse to book anything until I have show tickets. A few days is not enough time to get things together and last minute plane tix are expensive. I'm glad that I decided not to do the trip but all of this drama is sad. I am sure there are many people who wanted to attend the shows but many cannot drop everything and go to a show. Good economy or bad, people have lives that they have to plan around.

I do not think that U.S. fans are lazy or unappreciative. I think that this "tour" is not being planned very well.

6 NEW DATES up at Ticketmaster now! http://www.ticketmaster.c...ist/735895

MichaelHogberg said:

Prince irrational behavior is a big part of what most of us love with Prince. That from the beginning of his career insist on playing all the instruments himself. Stick to the demo mix of "Dirty Mind,", dropping "1999" as a double album, releasing ARTWIAD tightly on Purple Rain, changing its name in 1994, touring with songs no one heard in 1995 ... and so on...

Even so, he better now do a reality check. You do not sell out 21 gigs in LA without proper promotion. Or Without a new album, his last album that was available was Planet Earth (Lotus and 20Ten requires too much of a non-fan to find). He does not even have his own website! (and robbed most of us at tremendous money for nothing via lotusflow3r.com).

And finally, in fact his shows has since "Musicality" in 2004 came to be more and more similar. Even if he throws on a bit in the setlists, its still pretty predictable and not very innovative. Apart from a handful of after-show-gigs and the jazz-gigs in 2009 Montreux, there is more to desire/expect from an artist with Prince capacity.

[Edited 5/11/11 8:01am]

One, the tour was called "Musicology".

Two, Prince's irrational behavior is NOT a big part of what we love about Prince. The events you mentioned almost all came during times where he had competent team members around to minimize any HUGE fallout from "weird" decisions (and they weren't even really weird, per se...just different). So, we all loved what was going on because the music was out of this world. His music and performances were on fuckin' fire for most of these events.

Nowadays, he has no real, qualified people in his corner for the business aspect, and his music just STINKS now. Add on top of that that his performances are now fit for Vegas! So now, he doesn't have that same leeway with us to be making all of these out-of-left field decisions. We could always say, "Yeah, he might be crazy, but everything about his music is the shit!!". Now, we can only say, "He's crazy, often unprofessional, and his music IS shit!" Oh how far the mighty have fallen....

HonEMan said:

6 NEW DATES up at Ticketmaster now! http://www.ticketmaster.c...ist/735895

Figures he's playing on my birthday.