Prince Names Venues For Los Angeles

All three venues are in the L.A. Live entertainment and sports district – Conga Room, Nokia Theatre L.A. Live and Club Nokia. Doesn’t look like formerly-a-symbol’s chauffer is gonna rack up a lot of mileage that night.

It all goes down March 28 in this order – Nokia Theatre, Conga Room, Club Nokia. Doors open at 5:30 pm, 8:00 pm and 11:30 pm, respectively.

Tickets for each of the performances are $77 per, plus the usual “applicable fees and service charges.” You’ll need separate tickets for each show and there is a two-ticket limit per purchase for the Conga Room and Club Nokia, while the Nokia Theatre has a four person per purchase ceiling.

Tickets go on sale at high noon this Sunday, March 22, via Ticketmaster. Members of Prince’s new subscription Web site – LotusFlow3r.com – can get select premium seats beginning March 24.

Prince is doing the shows to promote the launch of the Web site as well as push his three new albums – LOtUSFLOW3R, MPLSoUND, and Elixer, his collaboration with new protégé Bria Valente.

And how do those albums stack up against past Prince endeavors?

We haven’t heard the albums yet, but Associated Press entertainment writer Josh L. Dickey has given each a spin and has plenty of good things to say about two of the three releases.

Of LOtUSFLOW3R, Dickey wrote:

“The best track is ‘Boom,’ with its melody that descends like a dazzling meteor shower, ponderous slabs of wet bass crashing all around and light saber-buzz guitar to slice through it all.”

Dickey also liked MPLSoUND, saying the new album “may be the artist’s greatest gift to fans in many years.”

“The disc starts out as an old-school romp that sounds as if Prince rolled up the rusted door of a warehouse behind Paisley Park, surveyed the dusty, vintage synth gear, and said to the posse behind him: ‘Fellas, let’s make a funky record today.’”

So far Prince is batting two-for-two with Dickey. Too bad he couldn’t make it a clean sweep.

Of Elixer, Dickey said:

“ … is a wholly forgettable trudge through generic R&B plodders that would drag down the most dynamic of singers; and Valente is not one. Her breathy whispers — and naughty good looks, for that matter — are more reminiscent of Ashley Alexandra Dupre than Apollonia.”

But then, this is Prince, an artist known for following his own heart. Sometimes when it comes to review, you just gotta ask yourself if the artist in question has ever steered you wrong.

Click here for Prince’s new Web site, LotusFlow3r.com.

Click here for the L.A. Live Web site.

Click here for the Associated Press review of LOtUSFLOW3R, MPLSoUND and Elixer.