Wife & I flew out to paisley on a whim from SF to see prince play at paisley park on sept. 9 2000.There was no guarantee he was going to play but I bet all the house $$ since I heard he wanted badly to play the previous week but couldn't due to a band member emergency. Sure enough he rocked out in the Love 4 one another room. We were dead center in front of the mic & it was Blackwells 1st public gig with the band. He started out with a long amazing egyptian tinged instrumental leading the band on guitar. He also played keys that night & ended the gig with he & Kip singing "The Light" . Great intimate show that at the time was well worth the plane fare.

2nd extreme case of the purple jones was being at work & finding out he was playing the Troubador in LA. Keep in mind I'm here in the bay area & it's 2 in the afternoon the day of the show. I went on the Troubador website & decided to go for it for the 2nd show. The server at work timed out & it appeared I missed my opportunity but I decided to give it one last try & sure enough a ticket appeared in my cart. I closed my eyes & hit purchase all the while knowing I had a 7 hour drive ahead of me & hadn't told the wife yet. She was understandably liike wtf but quikly remembered who she married & was behind me after I explained how small the venue was. Needless to say I was rewarded with one of the best guitar sets I've ever witnissed by him.

Anyone else want to share their tale of extreme measures taken for the man?

[Edited 11/30/11 11:24am]

[Edited 11/30/11 11:25am]

[Edited 12/2/11 16:09pm]

AWESOME!!!

Farfunknugin said:

Wife & I flew out to paisley on a whim from SF to see prince play at paisley park in sept 2000 or 2001? There was no guarantee he was going to play but I bet all the house $$ since I heard he wanted badly to play the previous week but couldn't due to a band member emergency. Sure enough he rocked out in the Love 4 one another room. We were dead center in front of the mic & it was Blackwells 1st public gig with the band. He started out with a long amazing egyptian tinged instrumental leading the band on guitar. He also played keys that night & ended the gig with he & Kip singing "The Light" . Great intimate show that at the time was well worth the plane fare.

2nd extreme case of the purple jones was being at work & finding out he was playing the Troubador in LA. Keep in mind I'm here in the bay area & it's 2 in the afternoon the day of the show. I went on the Troubador website & decided to go for it for the 2nd show. The server at work timed out & it appeared I missed my opportunity but I decided to give it one last try & sure enough a ticket appeared in my cart. I closed my eyes & hit purchase all the while knowing I had a 7 hour drive ahead of me & hadn't told the wife yet. She was understandably liike wtf but quikly remembered who she married & was behind me after I explained how small the venue was. Needless to say I was rewarded with one of the best guitar sets I've ever witnissed by him.

Anyone else want to share their tale of extreme measures taken for the man?

[Edited 11/30/11 11:24am]

[Edited 11/30/11 11:25am]

I flew out to Las Vegas on my birthday, during the run of a play I was doing (I had a performance Saturday night and was on a plane Sunday morning) and stood in line for about 8 hours to get a decent spot near the stage for one of the Empire shows. I was back on a plane the next day (I had to get back for the final week of the play's run). I was in Vegas for a total of 30 hours.

In October of 2009, I was in Minneapolis with my Sweetie from Sunday until Wednesday. When we got home, I found out he was going to be playing at Paisley Park that Saturday night. So I drove back up the following weekend (ten hours round trip).

[Edited 11/30/11 13:39pm]

Financial.

I braved the cold weather to see Prince. In the nineties before you could buy tix online, I waited in line outside of Tower Records- Boston for many hrs in the cold for 20th row tix. Later, I found out I could've probably gotten tickets a little easier and closer up since I worked at Tower Records at the time (I saw a couple employees in the front row at the concert ). The venue was changed last minute during a snowstorm to central Massachusetts. Luckily my college boyfriend got a hold of someone's truck & we traveled 2 hrs in the snow to the new venue.

A friend and I drove from downtown Minneapolis (Glam Slam) out to Paisley Park in a blizzard and I did a 360 on highway 5 for an after party on Nov 25, 1993. I heard the Most Beautiful Girl In the World that night, so it was all worth it.

I was a fat kid in junior high, and my parents wanted me to lose weight. I asked if they would take me to a Prince concert if I lost a certain amount of weight (I forget how much). They agreed, and I lost the weight over a period of a few months, so my dad flew me several hundred miles to see the Lovesexy tour in Denver. Of course when I got back I started eating too much candy again and had gained all the weight back within a year.

It was almost last minute but it was the march 23, 2011 show in raleigh, NC. I skipped school (and my finals) to see it

I was congested with a cold and a barking dog cough that would not stop. I had 3 20 page reports due to court that needed to be completed in two days or else Id be in contemp of court possibly, but decided to go to that LF invite thing I wrote about instead of working on the reports knowing full well Id miss a next day to finish the reports etc. Again, I was sick..that includes stomach issues and you know what that leads to.

Left my pad 80 miles away form Tower Records in Hollywood to try and go to that Towere Records Sunset Blvd 3121 in store mini concert during a thunderstorm. Got their at 10:30 or so and the rain finally stopped but the line was outfuckin rageous. Knew I wouldn't get in but did. How everyone fit in the place Ill never know. How I got in was a miracle because I think I pissed his then bodyguard, Trevor, off.

I drove 2 hours to see him 5 times, and the last two times I went all by myself, my mom was not happy about it but I didn't care lol. I even took a risk of driving to the forum without tickets and purchasing them there... good times

The worst part is when you arrange a whole trip around him--including air flights and hotels--and then he cancels a date at the last minute. I lost hundreds of dollars just to reschedule plane flights. :lol

Waiting for two consecutive days from 9AM to 9PM to be on the first raw at the two 1993 Paris shows. I was 16 and I had that rage u got when u're a teenager, didn't even do it again the next time I saw Prince in 1998.

The question I keep asking myself because, honestly, I CAN'T remember is... considering I got there at 9 AM and left the place around maybe midnight, after the show... WHERE AND HOW ON EARTH DID I PEE during these two 15 hours marathons???

Oh, and I know a French dude who spent several thousand dollars to fly to the US and attend the whole Celebration in 2001 (or was it 2000?). The guy had a decent salary but he was everything but rich, and it was kinda the expense of his life lol!

I think we need Udo on this thread. I don't want to write his story for him but I randomly encountered him in the airport this year the day after the Poland show where he told me he had been to the Paris gig, the Poland gig (naturally) and was heading to the UK to see the Hop farm show and many others this summer and this was not a first...That is extreme dedication, which if I had the funds I'd do the same so here's hoping we can have some stories told by the man himself.

For myself I went from the UK to see him in the North sea jazz festival on the third night a week after Poland on my own to hook up with Organgrinder, which was a daunting prospect of meeting someone i'd never met and must say had an absolutely awesome awesome time with him and his mates in Amsterdam before venturing down to Rotterdam absolutely bollocksed. Definitely the best random 24 hours I've had this year courtesy of Nath (who himself had some insanely awesome stories to share with me)

Ya'll some crazy mothaphuckas

I waited in line for 2 hours in January, in Detroit....My hands were so frozen, I couldn't even pay for my drink when I finally got in...I just threw my wallet at the bartender.

Monday, I'm driving 2.5 hrs to the London show....

A friend and I drove 15 hours to see the Paisley Park gig in 2009. My first time, and definitely worth the drive.

What about those folks who stood in the ice storm outside of PP to be in the Rave Unto 2000 dvd?

Llanishenlad said:

I think we need Udo on this thread. I don't want to write his story for him but I randomly encountered him in the airport this year the day after the Poland show where he told me he had been to the Paris gig, the Poland gig (naturally) and was heading to the UK to see the Hop farm show and many others this summer and this was not a first...That is extreme dedication, which if I had the funds I'd do the same so here's hoping we can have some stories told by the man himself.

Well, he was also up on the stage, front stage, dancing on this summer's Copenhagen concert.

irreverence said:

Llanishenlad said:

I think we need Udo on this thread. I don't want to write his story for him but I randomly encountered him in the airport this year the day after the Poland show where he told me he had been to the Paris gig, the Poland gig (naturally) and was heading to the UK to see the Hop farm show and many others this summer and this was not a first...That is extreme dedication, which if I had the funds I'd do the same so here's hoping we can have some stories told by the man himself.

Well, he was also up on the stage, front stage, dancing on this summer's Copenhagen concert.

I never did understand the need for people to get up on stage and dance. More times than not they make fools of themselves and Prince has been known to call them out on it...making jokes and such about certain people who are on stage. I guess it's just a need to be acknowledged by him that drives it.

I happened to find out about a private show for certain credit card holders in San Francisco. I had the credit card needed to buy the ticket and already had time off from work that week. That along with a companion pass made for a good weekend trip for me and my kid! (I'm fron NYC btw.)

motherfunka said:

Catch a flight from Germany to Toronto for the first show and return on Sunday after the 2nd show and afterjam party back to Germany. Learned how rowdyished some Torontonier could be - still feeling the hit on may face.

had to steal, cheat, lie, kill, fuck

JoeTyler said:

had to steal, cheat, lie, kill, fuck

In that order?

langebleu said:

JoeTyler said:

had to steal, cheat, lie, kill, fuck

In that order?

luckily, I just had to kill a couple of pitbulls...

HonestMan13 said:

I happened to find out about a private show for certain credit card holders in San Francisco. I had the credit card needed to buy the ticket and already had time off from work that week. That along with a companion pass made for a good weekend trip for me and my kid! (I'm fron NYC btw.)

Yeah I was at that show. It was at the Orpheum & it was billed as an exclusive Citicard holder gig but I was able to walk up to the box office & buy a ticket day of. Probably my least favorite show by him. Very by the numbers..

Paying almost $200 to see him perform. Totally worth it.