Publication: The Kansas City Star [US]
Date: December 10, 1997
Section: FYI
Page Number(s): F1
Length: 706 Words
Title: "Are We Gonna Party Like It's 1998?"
Written By: Timothy Finn

He has always moved in mysterious ways, so the evidence at this point is sketchy. Nonetheless, it appears that the Artist (the former Prince) will bring his self-promoted tour to Kemper Arena the evening of Jan. 4, a Sunday.

The Kemper show has been listed on the Artist's Web site, www.love4oneanother.com, for more than a week now. Unlike other tours, which are typically handled by regional promoters (such as Contemporary Productions in Kansas City), the Jam of the Year Tour is being promoted by the Artist and his record label/production company, the New Power Generation, a division of EMI.

Frances Pennington, a publicist for the Artist, told The Star on Monday, "I've heard no confirmation on that. I know he's doing a Houston show on New Year's Eve, but that's the latest show I know about."

A spokesperson at Kemper Arena said Monday that nothing definite had been scheduled for Jan. 4, but that things were "tentative" and "could change at any time. " No other show has been booked at Kemper on Jan. 4.

If the show goes on as scheduled, here's what fans can expect.

Tickets for the tour have typically gone on sale 10 days to two weeks before the show. For example, tickets for the Dec. 27 show at the Palace of Auburn Hills, a suburb of Detroit, go on sale Saturday.

That will be the Artist's third show in metropolitan Detroit this year.

For his show today at the Target Center in his hometown of Minneapolis, tickets went on sale Nov. 29. After that concert sold out within hours, a second show was added on Thursday.

For a Jan. 4 show at Kemper, then, tickets probably would go on sale immediately before the Christmas holiday - or in about 12 days.

Pennington said, however, that with the holidays on the horizon, the show could be announced earlier than usual - meaning, perhaps, as early as next week. The tour Web site recommends that fans check the site or listen to radio stations for the latest news on ticket sales.

Tickets typically are sold through the largest ticket vendor in the area - most likely Ticketmaster in Kansas City.

A spokesperson for Ticketmaster said Monday that the ticket vendor had no information on a possible show by the Artist at Kemper Arena.

Greg Hagglund, senior vice president of Contemporary in St. Louis, said Monday that his company had heard nothing about a possible Kemper Arena show. Contemporary manages Sandstone Amphitheatre and owns Ticket Central, a ticket vendor with dozens of outlets in Kansas City. Ticket Central sold tickets to the Artist's show in St. Louis earlier this year.

Ticket prices have varied widely.

Prices for the Dec. 27 show in Auburn Hills are as low as $ 20 and as high as $ 85. For the Minneapolis shows, the range was from $ 21.25 to $ 46.25 plus service charges.

Prices for a recent show at the Thompson Building Arena in Knoxville, Tenn., ranged from the low 20s up to $ 60, plus service charges.

At some sites, there has been a limit of four tickets per person for the most expensive tickets, reportedly because at select cities on the tour, the Artist has either showed up or performed at a smaller venue after his concert. At some sites, a ticket stub for one of the premium seats entitled the bearer to admission to the after-show performance.

In Knoxville, according to Wayne Bledsoe, music writer for The Knoxville News-Sentinel, the Artist made an appearance, but did not perform, at a downtown club.

Expect a long and dandy show. Bledsoe said the Knoxville performance, which exceeded 2 hours and 45 minutes (without an opening act), was "absolutely great" and was full of hits, old and new.

Brian McCollum, pop music writer for the Detroit Free Press, said the show at Detroit's State Theatre last January was "one of the best show I've seen this year. It was an electric night."