Posted: 03 May 2009 10:05 PM PDT
JACKO SHOWS MAY NOT START ON TIME
No, it’s not bad as you think. But yes, there may be a little rejiggering in Jackoville.
The word from the West Coast is that Michael Jackson’s London shows, set to start on July 8th, may not begin exactly on that day.
No, it’s not that Michael has a spider bite or is exhausted or wearing pajamas. Not yet.
The situation is more concrete than that: July 8th is just two months away, and some of the sets needed for the shows at the O2 Arena may not be ready in time.
Two months isn’t much time, when you think about it. Consider that Jackson has not performed a full length show since September 10, 2001. That’s almost eight years ago. Right now, Michael Bearden—Jackson’s musical director—and Kenny Ortega—are playing “beat the clock” to get the show ready for any launch in July. Putting off the official start is the least of their problems.
What I’m told, and what is being banded about, is that July 13th or 14th will be the actual start date. Shows set for earlier than that would have to be rescheduled.
It’s not so hard to do: AEGLive has booked the O2 Arena for Jackson on even numbered dates through July. An extra blank day is scheduled between every show for “insurance” purposes—just in case Jackson needs to put off a performance for a day.
Of course, ticketing is already something of a sore subject regarding these Michael Jackson shows. If you try to buy tickets through Jackson’s website, fans are no longer sent to purchase face value tickets through Ticketmaster.com. Instead, Jackson’s website links directly to a “Secondary” ticket selling service called viagogo.com, owned by the guy who started and sold the legal scalping service, Stub Hub.
This means that Jackson tickets are only refundable at face value. But they’re sold at a huge mark up. Some people have already started questioning who gets the difference in price.
A March 12th story in the Times of London already concluded that some kind of “secret deal” had occurred concerning Jackson tickets. You can read it at
http://entertainment.timesonline.co....cle5891378.ece.Things haven’t really improved since the article ran. Viagogo is selling Jackson tickets for ten times their face value for all the dates scheduled so far.
One person who shouldn’t have too much trouble getting good seats: Michelle Obama. According to Michael Bearden’s official bio, he and the First Lady have been friends for thirty years or more. Expect to see her on opening night, whenever that is.
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Selon Roger Friedman, le premier concert devrait avoir lieu vers le 13-14 juillet au lieu du 08.
En gros, Michael et son équipe travaillent dur pour boucler le show en temps et en heure... On verra bien.
Côté VIP, Michelle Obama sera surement là le premier soir : c'est une amie de longue date de Michael.
Source : MJDatabank a posté la news sur le MJJLegacy