Prince will play three shows at Montreux Jazz Festival, on July 18th, 2009

Well, the rumours running for weeks have been confirmed, and this text has appeared at different places, coming from reliable sources:

"PRINCE IN MONTREUX FESTIVAL ARE OFFICIAL
JULY 18

20:30 AUDITORIUM STRAVINSKI main show 1st band
1st set 90mn only hits
Tarif 299chf- (199 euros) en balcon
and 209chf ( 139 euros) en fosse

23:00 JAZZ CAFE 2nd show at night - 2nd band
set d'environs 60 mn visiblement plus "raw" (selon le terme même de l'artiste). Sans doute une performance rock
Tarif unique 169.- chf ( 113 euros)

01:30 PIANO SESSION at Montreux Palace Bar - 3rd band
Un set au piano (maximum 60 mn)
for 250 peoples only
triés selon leurs porte monnaies. Tarif unique 399.chf (264 euros)
Billets en vente via Ticketcorner le samedi 4 juillet, 10h"

Even for those who can't understand French, the message is quite clear.

There are quite a few aspects to comment on this announcement:

First, professionally speaking, it's quite an accomplishment for Prince to play both in 2007 and in 2009 at such a prestigious festival as Montreux. The fact that this time he's doing it in three different gigs suggests that the organizers and also the public was happy after his previous appearance. Reports suggested, when this was first hinted, that he would receive the highest fee ever in Montreux. I don't see that as an accomplishment, but seemingly, Prince does see it in that way. Bizarre, for the guy who wrote the lyrics of "My name is Prince".

Second, looking strictly at the plans of three gigs with very different tracklists and vibe, this is another dream for hardcore fans, just like it was the Lotusflow3r.com introduction shows, with a similar idea: Prince doing three shows with three different bands. The recordings evidenced those shows as a must hear for any serious Prince fan. And I personally found the last gig, with a strong participation of Renato Neto, as the best of the bunch.

Third, the prices are plain madness. We all know about the Prince live legend, and he deserves all praise for his live performances. But from that, I can't infer how he is asking for a total of 576 € if you want to attend the three shows at good places. Legend or no legend, that is insane, and more insane if we take into account the very reasonable prices he did in London in 2007.

But possibly, in order to realize that those prices are crazy, one would need to get down the bubble and start living in this world, where economic recession and crisis rule. Yet, I guess that ivory towers are too far from real world.