# Prince - Welcome 2 Canada Tour 2011



## GuitarsCanada

I have been to a lot of concerts in my time. Prince rates up there in the top 5 all time, in my books. The man can play guitar as well

Toronto 11/25 and 26
Halifax 11/30
Montreal 12/2
Ottawa 12/3
London 12/5
Winnipeg 12/8
Saskatoon 12/11
Edmonton 12/13
Vancouver 12/16
Victoria 12/17


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## Sneaky

No Calgary. Damn.

Oh well. I've seen him three times now, and last time had front row seats. <My ears are still ringing>. He puts on a great show, that's for sure. Great player and always a great band.


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## Guest

Oh! Ottawa. I'm in!


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## mario

He's coming to London???!!! I'm in.


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## GuitarsCanada

Have not see any pricing yet, I assume it wont be cheap. We seen him at Massey Hall many years ago when he was doing a string of small venues. Tremendous show.


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## fretboard

Believe top ticket price in TO is around $265 - although I don't know what that gets you. $70 or so is the cheapest ticket into the ACC. $50 up to $140'ish in London.


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## Guest

GuitarsCanada said:


> Have not see any pricing yet, I assume it wont be cheap. We seen him at Massey Hall many years ago when he was doing a string of small venues. Tremendous show.


Massey Hall is the perfect place for a Prince show!

Scotiabank Place...meh. That alone might keep me away. Plus the ticket prices:



> Ticket prices are $49.50, $79.50, $99.50 and $129.50; Reserved Seating (plus CRF and service charges).


From this article.


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## faracaster

I'm with you Scott......one of the best shows I've ever seen.
I'll be going to that one !!!!


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## captainbrew

I'll be at the Ottawa show.


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## mario

Scored a couple of tickets for wifey and myself for the London show. Really looking forward to it!


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## GuitarsCanada

mario said:


> Scored a couple of tickets for wifey and myself for the London show. Really looking forward to it!


You will enjoy it. I just took a peek for the TO show on Saturday. About $530 for two tix in section 119... I will pass this time. Glad we got to see him at Massey Hall


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## mario

GuitarsCanada said:


> You will enjoy it. I just took a peek for the TO show on Saturday. About $530 for two tix in section 119... I will pass this time. Glad we got to see him at Massey Hall


That is a LOT of coin! LOL...I cheaped out a got a couple of $50 seats.


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## ronmac

GuitarsCanada said:


> You will enjoy it. I just took a peek for the TO show on Saturday. About $530 for two tix in section 119... I will pass this time. Glad we got to see him at Massey Hall


When I first went on line this morning I flipped at the ticket prices. $1239 for floor tickets in Halifax! Realized I was on resellers site (after I broke the news to my son that we weren't going) and got to the proper site. Top ticket price was $149. We're going...


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## Rideski

I just bought 4 for the Ottawa show in the 6th row. Cost me $664 but it's Prince and he is one of the few that I'll drop that kind of coin to see.


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## mhammer

I've been following the guy since about 1978, and probably have well over a dozen of his albums on vinyl, cassette, or CD. In over 30 years, never seen him though. Leaning towards going to see him in Ottawa, but I'm such a cheap S.O.B. that even $50 seems kinda pricey to me for "entertainment". Only reason I went to see Jeff Beck is because my wife bought me a ticket and made me go.

Last time Prince came through Ottawa, the cheapest tickets were $100. My attitude was "For $100, I expect a limo, catering, photo-op with the performer, glossy souvenir program booklet, drugs, AND an educational tax deduction receipt".

We'll see.


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## GuitarsCanada

mhammer said:


> I've been following the guy since about 1978, and probably have well over a dozen of his albums on vinyl, cassette, or CD. In over 30 years, never seen him though. Leaning towards going to see him in Ottawa, but I'm such a cheap S.O.B. that even $50 seems kinda pricey to me for "entertainment". Only reason I went to see Jeff Beck is because my wife bought me a ticket and made me go.
> 
> Last time Prince came through Ottawa, the cheapest tickets were $100. My attitude was "For $100, I expect a limo, catering, photo-op with the performer, glossy souvenir program booklet, drugs, AND an educational tax deduction receipt".
> 
> We'll see.


Years ago when we seen him at Massey Hall I think I paid $160 a seat. At the time it was the most I had ever paid for a concert. But back then I was making a lot more money too, so went for it. As mentioned here a few times, it is ranked up there in the top 5 shows I have ever seen. Now would I pay the same in a 15,000 seat venue to sit second tier and at the back, no way. But we were at Massey and I think we were about 10 or 15 rows back. He came down into the crowd a few times, very intimate show. You cant get that in arenas


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## Guest

mhammer said:


> Leaning towards going to see him in Ottawa, but I'm such a cheap S.O.B. that even $50 seems kinda pricey to me for "entertainment".


Honestly, the $50 seats in the Scotia Bank center suck balls for concerts. The sound is thin, the angle makes standing a life-risking venture. It's just not worth it IMO.


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## mhammer

I wouldn't pay $160 for a trip to Europe or China. Like I said, I'm cheap where it concerns entertainment. I think the most I ever spent on concert tickets was $20, for a reduced day pass to Bluesfest. Since the birth of our first kid in 1986, I've probably spent more on disposable diapers than I have on entertainment during that entire period. I dropped 5K driving my family across the entire country several years back so they would fall in love with every square inch of it. But spending money on "fun"? Nah. It's just not that important to me.


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## pickslide

Show in Calgary announced for Dec 14.


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## captainbrew

My wife and I got 2nd row seats for the Ottawa show. $150 each. Well worth it in my opinion since I've never seen Prince but I've always wanted too. I'm a big fan of his stuff and I've heard many great stories of how good his show is.
CAN'T WAIT!


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## snacker

3rd row for london - i've always wanted to see him live!


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## bzrkrage

Got a couple of "nosebleeds" in Calgary. I've been waiting to see this guy for ages. He never made it to Australia.
Then, I mentioned it to a few guys I play music with, now tickets!
Still $500 for tickets..........ummm.........including morning after cuddles or what?


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## fretboard

Not to pee on anyone's corn flakes who already bought tickets for the Toronto shows - but what whatever is left is being blown out for around $68 each with fees included (including $175 lower bowl seats a minute or two ago)...


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## fretboard

My bad - you probably need to use these links;

For Friday night http://www.ticketmaster.ca/event/1000475CDC90A361?did=specialoffer

For Saturday http://www.ticketmaster.ca/event/10004758BA70892C?did=specialoffer


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## GuitarsCanada

Thanks for the tip off man, I scored two for sat night, cant beat the price. Its a bizarre stage set-up. These appear to be behind the stage but it might be one of those ones like Metallica where they play all over the place.


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## fretboard

I do believe it's a variation on the "in the round" set-up - it certainly appears to be out of the ordinary. There are tables set up sort of "inside" the stage area for those die-hard fan types willing to pay the price.

I saw Elton John in Oshawa a couple months ago and the behind the stage seats wound up being the best ones in the joint - closer than the folks in the front row and he mingled and talked to the folks sitting there between tunes, etc.


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## GuitarsCanada

For the price I will take a chance. It did not have the usual "these seats are behind the stage" warning so I would assume he will be moving around a bit. Again, for the price it will be fine.


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## GuitarsCanada

Anyone at the show last night in TO ?


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## GuitarsCanada

Checked out the show last night in Toronto and I would say it was a good show. Nowhere close to that show we seen at Massey several years ago. The guitar work was sparse and not up to the levels in which Prince is known for. The stage show pretty good. From what I have heard of the Friday night show, we got short changed considerably in terms of songs played. There were two encores last night and reportedly 6 on Friday night. Although the encores were more a part of the show than your usual encore. Not your typical encore, more of a break and second half type of thing. 

The way the stage is designed there is really not a close seat in terms of what you would expect at a regular show. The shape of the stage is just too bizarre. It looks cool from a distance but not practical for seating IMO 

I was expecting much better and longer guitar solos based on the first time we had seen him. But who knows what will happen on future shows. The two set lists for Toronto were pretty different so might get a whole different show somewhere else.


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## GuitarsCanada

Here is a crude picture to show what I mean about the stage. The circle is where Prince is most of the night. The arrows are where these VIP tables are. None of them are close. In terms of "front row seating" if you look at the seating section at the very tip of the stage (closest) you are not close at all. He comes out to that area about 3-4 times. But from where he is most of the night they are not the greatest of seats for front row center. Based on this stage design the best seats in the house are center ice about 10 rows up on the sides.


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## pickslide

any other concert reviews? Still trying to decide if it is worth the high ticket price.


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## ronmac

Saw the show Wed. night in Halifax. 3.5 out of 5 is my score.

The show had a good vibe as the Metro Center was packed with a high energy, but respectful, crowd. Not the best sounding venue, but on the plus side the music mix was not too loud. The band and backup singers were first rate. Prince played some guitar, but nothing he did wowed me. This was a surprise.

The big downer for me was the amount of backing tracks that were used. Prince did a fairly long solo set where he used what looked like a grand piano (it wasn't) to trigger beats and whole song backing tracks, sans band. 

It was a good show, and I was glad that I went, but the performance wouldn't inspire me to jump through hoops to get tickets to another show any time soon.


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## GuitarsCanada

ronmac said:


> Saw the show Wed. night in Halifax. 3.5 out of 5 is my score.
> 
> The show had a good vibe as the Metro Center was packed with a high energy, but respectful, crowd. Not the best sounding venue, but on the plus side the music mix was not too loud. The band and backup singers were first rate. Prince played some guitar, but nothing he did wowed me. This was a surprise.
> 
> The big downer for me was the amount of backing tracks that were used. Prince did a fairly long solo set where he used what looked like a grand piano (it wasn't) to trigger beats and whole song backing tracks, sans band.
> 
> It was a good show, and I was glad that I went, but the performance wouldn't inspire me to jump through hoops to get tickets to another show any time soon.


Yes, I have never been a fan of medley's. Either play the song or not. That medley section did nothing for me. Again, I thought it was a good show but I am comparing it to that Massey show and that was a 5 out 5 so was a little disappointed. The man can really play guitar but this tour is not showcasing that talent


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## mario

GuitarsCanada said:


> Yes, I have never been a fan of medley's. Either play the song or not. That medley section did nothing for me. Again, I thought it was a good show but I am comparing it to that Massey show and that was a 5 out 5 so was a little disappointed. The man can really play guitar but this tour is not showcasing that talent


I was at the show in London last night. My wife and myself really did not care for the medley part either. But the rest of the concert was fantastic. I suppose he could of played more guitar but the show IMHO had more of a old time R&B show ala James Brown. The band was super tight and talented. Nice surprise to see James Brown's longtime sax player Maceo Parker in the band. Great show!


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## mhammer

There are medleys and there are medleys. If it's a medley with the subtext of "Here! I played the damn song so stop buggin' me!", then I'm not a fan either.

Sometimes, medleys can be more like mash-ups, and I kind of like those. I went looking for Prince Youtubes a few days ago, and found a performance from the Rosie O'Donnell Show earlier this year where he does a "medley"/mash-up of _Wild Thing_ and _Crimson and Clover_. It went on a little long for my tastes (and that's coming from a guy who actually likes the long version of the tune on my Tommy James & The Shondells Greatest Hits double album), but gave ample "proof of concept", and was artfully pulled off. And of course, who could NOT love Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels' _Jenny Take a Ride_, a medley itself, which Bruce Springsteen hiked up a notch and made part of a Mitch Ryder medley?


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## rearviewmirror2

So, my wife and I got to the MTS Centre in Winnipeg last night and had our tickets upgraded to the primo section due to a camera being in front of our other seats. Yeah baby! Best seats in the house about 8 rows up from the boards by the "grand" piano. Didn't play enough guitar but the show was so much fun we were too wired to sleep until about 4AM after a 2 hour drive home. Great performer. Great night.


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## GuitarsCanada

rearviewmirror2 said:


> So, my wife and I got to the MTS Centre in Winnipeg last night and had our tickets upgraded to the primo section due to a camera being in front of our other seats. Yeah baby! Best seats in the house about 8 rows up from the boards by the "grand" piano. Didn't play enough guitar but the show was so much fun we were too wired to sleep until about 4AM after a 2 hour drive home. Great performer. Great night.


Those seats. in my opinion are the best seats in the house for this particular stage set-up


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## rearviewmirror2

I couldn't imagine a better view as he kept his mic/stand and pedalboard generally dead center of the stage, spent a lot of time there and a lot of time right over by us and the piano. Also had a great view of the band as well. Yeah fabulous vantage point.


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