I'm not one for going to see 'big' acts usually. but in the past 5 days or so i've seen two startlingly different arena shows


1st, Prince at the 02 Arena last Saturday. an amazing gig that couldn't have been much better if the beer had been free and i hadn't been sitting somewhere near the sky. it had everything a good gig should. raw, soulfull, rock n roll, funky from the gut etc etc. it was wonderful. probably, bar the Stones at Wembley 2003 the best arena show i've ever been to


2nd. The Police at NIA Birmingham tonight. as opposite as its possible to be. LAME doesn't even begin to tell half the story. from the opener it was flat. totally free of any sparkle or edge. it was dull dad rock by numbers. didn't see a single soul in the sold out (*) crowd dancing or moving. everyone was sat down looking like they were at the cinema not a rock gig. on an entertainment scale i'd have given it 3/10. pretty much how i'd expect something like Dire Straits or Chris Rea to be for example. musically it was ok but by numbers rather than with any sense of purpose


* apparently the two Police gigs have been sold out for months. well if you fancy going to tomorrow nights gig you wont have any trouble getting in. the amount of tickets available outside was staggering. not just touts but normal folks (like myself) who'd ended up with spares. front floor seats were going for less than £20. i sold my spare side ticket for £15 and was lucky to get that!

yeah , who wouldnt sell out with those prices .
people say prince is good , ill buy his records.
and people havent seen police since the 80s , of course theyd sell out
i think prince's better .
but the stones first .
sell outs with 300 usd tix!!

wipeacdc@hotmail.com
never too old or young to rocknroll!!!!!!

Woo woo woo wait;
>>1st, Prince at the 02 Arena last Saturday. an amazing gig that couldn't have been much better if the beer had been free and i hadn't been sitting somewhere near the sky.<<

That means - you didn't get a free beer?
...and youv'e been sitting with the pidgeons?
...and you wonder why doves cry?
...and think it was better than the Stones in 2003?

maybe you've been under police interrogation?

wow - i didn't care for the prince show at the 02 but am eternally bummed i missed the police (i was in rome for the stones when the police played in my hometown).

did anyone else see the police and agree with andy js?

andy js Wrote:
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> I'm not one for going to see 'big' acts usually.
> but in the past 5 days or so i've seen two
> startlingly different arena shows
>
>
> 1st, Prince at the 02 Arena last Saturday. an
> amazing gig that couldn't have been much better if
> the beer had been free and i hadn't been sitting
> somewhere near the sky. it had everything a good
> gig should. raw, soulfull, rock n roll, funky from
> the gut etc etc. it was wonderful. probably, bar
> the Stones at Wembley 2003 the best arena show
> i've ever been to
>
>
> 2nd. The Police at NIA Birmingham tonight. as
> opposite as its possible to be. LAME doesn't even
> begin to tell half the story. from the opener it
> was flat. totally free of any sparkle or edge. it
> was dull dad rock by numbers. didn't see a single
> soul in the sold out (*) crowd dancing or moving.
> everyone was sat down looking like they were at
> the cinema not a rock gig. on an entertainment
> scale i'd have given it 3/10. pretty much how i'd
> expect something like Dire Straits or Chris Rea to
> be for example. musically it was ok but by numbers
> rather than with any sense of purpose
>
>
<<< apparently the two Police gigs have been sold out for months. well if you fancy going to tomorrow nights gig you wont have any trouble getting in. the amount of tickets available outside was staggering. not just touts but normal folks (like myself) who'd ended up with spares. front floor seats were going for less than £20. i sold my spare side ticket for £15 and was lucky to get that! >>>

Now THAT'S what I like to hear. MOST encouraging, seeing as I was planning on sauntering down to the West Gate Car Park at Twickers this Saturday or Sunday (if it ain't piddling with rain) and seeing what I scoop up in the way of a decent ticket. I very much like the sound of front floor seats going for £20 or less, face value is £90. We'll see !!

i am seeing The Police, this coming saturday.
i WAS looking forward to it, lol

I've heard bad things about The Police shows from friends of mine who saw the tour in the US. They're big fans, but said it was just lacklustre, reunion by numbers.

Prince, on the other hand, is a master.

Will see them later this month at the Stade de France...Not that excited about it but I'll be there anyway.

Much more excited about the Zep roumors....

Adrian-L Wrote:
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> i am seeing The Police, this coming saturday.
> i WAS looking forward to it, lol

Come on, a few negative vibes/comments on here won't spoil your enjoyment of the show, or it "shouldn't" do shall we say ? I'm surprised though to hear that it's not sold as well as we might have been originally led to believe, but it does strike me that TWO consecutive shows at Twickers (that's +/- 100,000 people I'd guess) is a bit optimistic, so I'm fully expecting the immediate landscape out there to be awash with spare tix at less than face.

I've seen Prince several times, he's a great act.
Too bad I couldn't make it this year in London

The Police only reunited for $$$$$
Sting doesen't make any money with his solo career anymore, so they all had a good reason to organize a common tour.
No new album, just a come back

I DLed a bootleg DVD of one of their shows, what a bore...
I just couldn't watch it to the end

Police......boring.....saw the Stinger and crew here in NYC....weak....sorry

little queenie Wrote:
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> wow - i didn't care for the prince show at the 02
> but am eternally bummed i missed the police (i was
> in rome for the stones when the police played in
> my hometown).

Talking about Rome, I just had an apology from Milanoconcerti for the mess. They offered me two tickets the next time I'd go to a concert in Italy. No refund ( I didn't expect that anyway). Maybe I'll go to Vasco Rossi

open-g Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Woo woo woo wait;
> >>1st, Prince at the 02 Arena last Saturday. an
> amazing gig that couldn't have been much better if
> the beer had been free and i hadn't been sitting
> somewhere near the sky.<<
>
> That means - you didn't get a free beer?
> ...and youv'e been sitting with the pidgeons?
> ...and you wonder why doves cry?
> ...and think it was better than the Stones in
> 2003?
>
> maybe you've been under police interrogation?


I also attend the saturday show. One of the best shows I've
seen so far!

I listened to the Friday show: Prince: "Welcome to my party" and then he played
some bars Honky Tonk Women and Brown Sugar. On Saturday he played Honky Tonk in the main program. Nice welcome for the Stones fans!

monkeyman07 Wrote:
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> yeah , who wouldnt sell out with those prices .
> people say prince is good , ill buy his records.
> and people havent seen police since the 80s , of
> course theyd sell out

Well, they did not sell out in Denmark - only 38.000 out of 45.000 (the promotor took a beating on that one) and mostly got pretty rotten reviews. Well, not rotten exactly, more that it had seemed like a concert by numbers by a totally indifferent Sting

i couldn't give two figs how much they charge, and whether they sell out or not. my only interest as a punter is the performance. and i don't mean from a musician point of view - i mean from an entertainment perspective. if i want perfect, i'll sit at home with my dvds and cds. at a gig i want excitement, i want to feel the music and see that the band mean it

the Police didn't. mind you i thought the same about the stones at Twickenham last summer too

its far too easy for bands to count their fees and play on auto pilot. i want to feel the vibe!

and Prince had it in spades

After I heard a couple boots from the tour, I was glad I was not going to see them.

They are playing good, but no spark.

Just returned from the Police in the Echodrome Arena in Amsterdam

I didn't stay till the end. I was in section 406 (2nd ring) the sound was horrible but besides that I was not imressed by Andy summers.

Stoings voice was still ok!.

I'm not sure to what extend the horrrible sound was caused by the venue, the sound engineers or Andy's playing.

Bit disapointing

I would only see these acts for free, however, Prince is a excellent musician.

no one will ever come close to the stones , thats what i say

wipeacdc@hotmail.com
never too old or young to rocknroll!!!!!!

paulywaul Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> andy js Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> >
> >
> <<< apparently the two Police gigs have been sold
> out for months. well if you fancy going to
> tomorrow nights gig you wont have any trouble
> getting in. the amount of tickets available
> outside was staggering. not just touts but normal
> folks (like myself) who'd ended up with spares.
> front floor seats were going for less than £20. i
> sold my spare side ticket for £15 and was lucky to
> get that! >>>
>
> Now THAT'S what I like to hear. MOST encouraging,
> seeing as I was planning on sauntering down to the
> West Gate Car Park at Twickers this Saturday or
> Sunday (if it ain't piddling with rain) and seeing
> what I scoop up in the way of a decent ticket. I
> very much like the sound of front floor seats
> going for £20 or less, face value is £90. We'll
> see !!

Well, I DID saunter down there and as andy js said, I did indeed have no problem getting in. I got a £120 ticket for £50 (I f***ed up because I was carrying only a £50 note, should've had tens/twenties), it was 4th row in block A4 - the central block FOS. I agree about the performance though, thoroughly lacklustre. Won't be busting a gut to see the Police again, once was fine thanks.