Should Prince have borrowed the Stones' tarp they used on the Fall '05 tour for all the empty seats?

Prince
The Forum
4/14/11

Wait now, has the show even started when this picture was taken? Or were you just goofing around?

Nope..original picture can be found at the LA Times review:

[latimesblogs.latimes.com]


Well, I'd assume the show has definitely started...isn't that Prince on stage?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011-04-16 03:05 by Justin.

I can't tell if it's home or not. Could be a garden gnome in high heels. Not much difference, save for the guitar skills (something gnomes aren't famous for)

Did he play here? Something has gone terribly wrong with his publicity machine. I went to see a couple nights when he was here for a week in 2005. He was brilliant.

Oh, I see he's playing at the Forum instead of Staples Center. That could explain it. Crappy, dangerous neighborhood in a decrepit structure with shitty sound.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011-04-16 04:03 by 24FPS.

He's playing 21 nights there and some tickets are priced as low as $25.

That doesnt sound like a flop to me.

[www.thedawnexperience.co.uk]

I'm guessing this photo is taken at a soundcheck and maybe they let some fans in as part of some kind of 'package' deal.

That photo must have been taken during the hour-long encore, which apparently half the crowd missed:

"So when Prince declared victory and the house lights went up, over half of the crowd headed for the parking lot, sated. The fans who stuck around? After waiting 15 minutes, they got four additional encores: 11 songs that took the show way past midnight."


Full review here, sounds like an awesome show ("Make You Feel My Love"?!):

[www.rollingstone.com]

Holy Christ!

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Glam Descendant
That photo must have been taken during the hour-long encore, which apparently half the crowd missed:

"So when Prince declared victory and the house lights went up, over half of the crowd headed for the parking lot, sated. The fans who stuck around? After waiting 15 minutes, they got four additional encores: 11 songs that took the show way past midnight."


Full review here, sounds like an awesome show ("Make You Feel My Love"?!):

[www.rollingstone.com]

yeah someone stated that picture was towards the very end of the night when half of the audience left. it was 85% sold out with no promotion

VERY interesting.... from article from April 12 [latimesblogs.latimes.com]

Prince offering about 85% of the house at $25 a pop -- a figure that includes service fees -- a hearty well-done is in order.

Three of Prince's 21 Los Angeles dates went on sale this morning, and if anyone was curious as to how a superstar such as Prince could price more than half the Forum at $25, the answer looked to be apparent as soon as one went to make a purchase. There were, of course, the $25 all-in tickets, but the next tier was a drastic hike. Those who wanted to guarantee a seat outside the Forum's upper deck (the colonnade section) would have to spring for a $205 ticket.

What's more, those $205 tickets were running deep into the Forum's loge section. If one wanted to ensure one of the absolute best seats in the Forum, Ticketmaster directed you to its Platinum Ticket section, which offered premium loge seats for as high as $450.

But again, there is good news in all this, as Pop & Hiss is not interested here in criticizing an artist for pricing more than 80% of the house at $25. A spokeswoman for promoter Live Nation confirms that there are in fact loge seats available for $25, and those are, no doubt, among the first to go. So those who are gambling on snaring better seats for one of Prince's forthcoming 18 gigs, there is hope, although what percentage of the loge is selling for $25 is unknown.

On the other extreme, however, Prince die hards who perhaps wanted to sit near the floor or close to it could surely forget about anything under a few hundred bucks. Any searches lower than the loge were turning up packages that started at $526 and ran to $781.

So yes, the majority of Prince seats come at the low cost of $25, and hopefully more artists are watching and will follow suit. Yet the excitement that a superstar would be selling $25 tickets is tempered a bit by the fact that the best seats are drastically higher, and there's seemingly no middle ground.

Or perhaps it's simply an honest reflection of the American economy, with studies showing that the gap between the rich and the poor continues to widen. In that case, Prince can quote John Lennon at the gigs, as the Beatle once famously asked those in the cheap seats to clap their hands while instructing the rest to "rattle your jewelry."

Wow, I've seen Prince several times, always to packed houses (and always amazing performances.) I think there's something fishy about this photo. Any church band could attract this many people to a show...

I looked for a single seat on the 13th (for the 14th) for $25 and all ticketbastard had available was the upper part of the colonnade what appeared to be behind the stage. I passed.

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rocker1
Wow, I've seen Prince several times, always to packed houses (and always amazing performances.) I think there's something fishy about this photo. Any church band could attract this many people to a show...

If you read the associated articles linked all over this page,
like this one [www.rollingstone.com] , you will discover....

""So when Prince declared victory and the house lights went up,
over half of the crowd headed for the parking lot,
sated. The fans who stuck around? After waiting 15 minutes, they got four additional
encores: 11 songs that took the show way past midnight.""

Thus... explaining the picture of an empty looking arena.

Hello,

I got a loge seat for $25 so the Wee Man can do no wrong by me. £17 for Goodness' sake...there are tributes out there that charge more!

Cheers,

Simon.

Prince and the New Power Generation at the Forum in Inglewood, CA, April 14, 2011:

DMSR
Pop Life
Prince and the Band / Musicology
Extraordinary
Uptown
Raspberry Beret
Cream
Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough / Cool
Let's Work
U Got the Look
Make You Feel My Love
Purple Rain
Let's Go Crazy / Delirious / Let's Go Crazy
1999
The Beautiful Ones
Little Red Corvette
Kiss
When Doves Cry / Nasty Girl / Sign O The Times / Darling Nikki / Single Ladies
If I Was Your Girlfriend
Insatiable
Scandalous
Adore

First encore:
A Love Bizarre (with Sheila E.)
Play That Funky Music
Controversy

Second encore:
The Glamorous Life (with Sheila E.)
Peach

Third encore:
Dance (Disco Heat)
Baby I'm a Star

Fourth encore:
Stratus
Sometimes It Snows in April

Fifth encore:
Laydown
Endorphinmachine
She's Always in My Hair
Dreamer
Welcome 2 America

and a video link here :
[www.wat.tv]



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2011-04-16 12:42 by dcba.

Just seen this on yahoo news.Don't sound like the concerts have failed to sell or will be a flop.....................


Prince stuns Los Angeles with three-hour show
Prince stunned fans in Los Angeles on the first of his four Welcome 2 America shows at the Forum on Thursday night with a hit-filled three hour set. The Purple Rain singer only announced the shows last week but most of the tickets for the residency are sold out - and he wowed devotees on Thursday with five encores at the end of a musical spectacular.

The show featured a 15-minute version of Purple Rain and celebrity friends like Eva Longoria and Javier Bardem joined the pop superstar onstage.

He tested fans two hours into his marathon gig by bidding them farewell and leaving the stage. The house lights were turned up and thousands of fans left the venue content they had seen an amazing show.

But those who stayed 15 minutes were treated to another hour of music when Prince returned to the stage with his band the New Power Generation.

Among the highlights of the set were a funked-up version of his hit Kiss, Little Red Corvette and Peach.

He also bashed out a handful of covers, including Sylvester's Dance (Disco Heat), Bob Dylan's Make You Feel My Love and a mash-up of Michael Jackson's Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough and the Time's Cool.

...the Stones at Madison Square Garden for $25 a pop for 2 weeks would be something sort of epic.

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Gazza
Holy Christ!

ditto!

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sweet neo con

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Gazza
Holy Christ!

ditto!

The man is unbelievable. I once saw him do an after-show gig at the Astoria in London, which must have started around 3.30 a.m. - a good four hours after he'd come offstage after a 150-minute marathon at Wembley Arena.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011-04-16 18:42 by Thricenay.

Prince never stays long in one spot. I mean artistically.
I like that for these shows he has no guitars; except for the one he plays. And he plays his a lot less than he used to. Going for keyboard synth sound. Like it or not, success or not - Prince keeps moving, exploring, discovering. He is an artist.

I was at the show. It was a packed house, the photo u see was like the review said 15 mins after the majority of the crowd thought he finished. yes he kept on playing and playing. which is unheard of in arena size show.

the bonehead who posted the photo i guess doesn't know how to read that well, because in the review it says that.

Great post - thanks Justin. I'm sure things will change night by night, but he doesn't see, to be playing anything for the post-WB years. This was the case with the run of New York shows. He's probably tailoring his setlist to suit the audience.

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Thricenay

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sweet neo con

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Gazza
Holy Christ!

ditto!

The man is unbelievable. I once saw him do an after-show gig at the Astoria in London, which must have started around 3.30 a.m. - a good four hours after he'd come offstage after a 150-minute marathon at Wembley Arena.

I saw that one too. Blinding. Did you ever catch any of the 1998 UK tour? I saw him at Brixton Academy and it was another jaw-dropper. I've never seen a bad Prince gig, let alone a mediocre one.

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Nikolai

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Thricenay

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sweet neo con

Quote
Gazza
Holy Christ!

ditto!

The man is unbelievable. I once saw him do an after-show gig at the Astoria in London, which must have started around 3.30 a.m. - a good four hours after he'd come offstage after a 150-minute marathon at Wembley Arena.

I saw that one too. Blinding. Did you ever catch any of the 1998 UK tour? I saw him at Brixton Academy and it was another jaw-dropper. I've never seen a bad Prince gig, let alone a mediocre one.

No, I'm afraid I missed those. Was he doing 'the hits'? In '95 at Wembley there was a lot of muttering in the audience (and a fair few walkouts) because the set was so funk-heavy. It seemed like a make-or-break tour at the time, what with all the 'SLAVE' stuff. Funny to think back on it now...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011-04-16 20:51 by Thricenay.

double post...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011-04-16 20:51 by Thricenay.

I would like to take this moment to apologize to the IORR community for the misleading post. I did not see the blurb about the encores. I am sorry.

My advisers have advised me to seek counseling. For now, I will be secluded in an undisclosed location to think about what I've done.

And a tape of the concert has just been posted at Trader's Den.

Taper's comment :

"Show #1 of a 21 night stand.
A truly spectacular show. As good as any I have seen by anyone ever. After the first encore, the show appeared to be over - at least 2/3 of the crowd left - but the lights never came on. After 10 minutes, the lights came on just enough for roadies to set up Sheila E.'s drum stand. Show lasted another 65 minutes.
Encore 5 is the . . . Best. Encore. Ever."





Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011-04-17 01:31 by dcba.

Quote
Thricenay

Quote
Nikolai

Quote
Thricenay

Quote
sweet neo con

Quote
Gazza
Holy Christ!

ditto!

The man is unbelievable. I once saw him do an after-show gig at the Astoria in London, which must have started around 3.30 a.m. - a good four hours after he'd come offstage after a 150-minute marathon at Wembley Arena.

I saw that one too. Blinding. Did you ever catch any of the 1998 UK tour? I saw him at Brixton Academy and it was another jaw-dropper. I've never seen a bad Prince gig, let alone a mediocre one.

No, I'm afraid I missed those. Was he doing 'the hits'? In '95 at Wembley there was a lot of muttering in the audience (and a fair few walkouts) because the set was so funk-heavy. It seemed like a make-or-break tour at the time, what with all the 'SLAVE' stuff. Funny to think back on it now...

He was doing the hits, but mixing in covers and stuff from Emancipation and New Power Soul. More half n half.

The '95 shows were in the 'slave' era, where he was playing the whole of The Gold Experience, plus Days of Wild, because WB wouldn't release the album. Angry shows, with some blistering performances. The trouble was, the bulk of the material was unreleased. I got hold of a tape of the first show and so I was on nodding terms with the songs the next time I saw him. He got the women in the audience to sing the chorus to 'pussy control'. The aftershow was a far warmer performance, but they're always completely different to the main gigs.

Good on Prince for again doing the unexpected and wowing the fans. No one in their right mind is now going to be leaving any of his shows in a hurry. But he probably will only do this kind of encore on certain nights - just like he only turned up at some of the aftershows at O2 Indigo. The four I was lucky to catch were AMAZING and every one different. Waaaaaaay better than any of the main shows I saw.

There were floor seats for $25 too.