Prince finished his first four dates of his “Welcome 2 America Live: 21-Nite Stand” series of concerts at the Forum without exactly letting people know when the next shows were going to be.
A few days ago, he announced that the upcoming concerts are set for today, tomorrow and Saturday, still in Inglewood.
Because Prince decreed that 80 percent of the tickets would cost $25 with no
additional fees, the shows have been vastly popular. The ticket prices are going to cost the same (other seating options are available for up to
$179, plus $30.70 in fees),but VIP options will be cheaper. Instead of a $755 VIP price tags, this weekend's VIP tickets will cost only $325.
We caught one of last week's shows at the Forum, and realized that even as a casual Prince fan, you cannot afford to miss this series of shows for $25. Here's what can you expect when you go.
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1. The Prince love symbol for a stage: Even though it's been 11 years since “the artist formerly known as Prince” used the glyph that melded the male and female symbol together as his official name, it's still an arresting visual image when you see it as a large concert stage. Yup, that's where Prince struts his stuff.
2. Monster musicians: Drummer Sheila E looks like Catherine Zeta-Jones but is 100,000,000 times more badass, hitting the skins with an intensity that's insane when you consider that she's on 4-inch stilettos. Keyboardist Morris Hayes, singer Shelby Johnson and the rest of the New Power Generation are a marvel on stage–many multi-instrumentalists like Prince–and can follow Prince toward any direction he wants to bring a song without missing a beat.
3. Terrible bathrooms: You know you're watching greatness when bathrooms are your only complaint about a show. The Forum's bathrooms are underground, and there aren't enough stalls (for the women, at least), so the lines are long and take forever. And once you're in, you feel claustrophobic and out of breath because, well, it's underground. Do yourself a favor and pee at home.
4. No bad seating in the house: The Forum is a small stadium, so for $25 your seating options are still fantastic–no matter where you are, you have a great view.
5. Prince's hits are awesome live: Dig if you will, that footage we posted. The whole show is a relentless performance of songs you grew up with, dripping with a sexy energy and charisma that you can't believe can be sustained for two hours–but it is. He usually saves the biggest hits for the final encore, so stay the whole show, even if you want to leave early.
