Wikipedia

Lovers Rock Tour

The Lovers Rock Tour was the fifth concert tour by English band Sade. Predominately visiting amphitheaters in North America, the tour supported the band's fifth studio album, Lovers Rock. Taking place in 2001, it was deemed by many critics as a comeback tour because it marks the band's first performances since 1994. Although many believed the trek would expand to other countries, this did not come to fruition. With over 40 shows, it became the 13th biggest tour in North America, earning over 26 million.[1][2][3]

Lovers Rock Tour
Tour by Sade
Promotional poster
Associated albumLovers Rock
Start date14 July 2001 (2001-07-14)
End date21 September 2001 (2001-09-21)
Legs1
No. of shows42 in North America
Sade concert chronology
  • Love Deluxe World Tour
    (1993)
  • Lovers Rock Tour
    (2001)
  • Sade Live
    (2011)

Background

edit

The tour was announced via Sade's website in April 2001.[4] The announcement stated the tour would begin in the summer of 2001 with 30 shows. Initial dates were rescheduled due to extended rehearsal time. The shows sold well, with many stops adding additional shows. In August 2001, the tour was extended by eight weeks, due to ticket demand.[5] The tour was produced by SFX Entertainment and was the band's first tour in seven years, following the Love Deluxe World Tour.[6] The tour also marks the band's final performances until 2011's tour, Sade Live.

Opening acts

edit

Setlist

edit
  1. "Cherish the Day"
  2. "Your Love Is King"
  3. "Somebody Already Broke My Heart" (includes excerpt of "Never as Good as the First Time")
  4. "Cherry Pie"
  5. "Pearls"
  6. "Every Word"
  7. "Smooth Operator"
  8. "Redeye"
  9. "Jezebel"
  10. "Kiss of Life"
  11. "Slave Song"
  12. "The Sweetest Gift"
  13. "The Sweetest Taboo"
  14. "Lovers Rock"
  15. "Immigrant"
  16. "Paradise"
  17. "King of Sorrow"
  18. "No Ordinary Love"
  19. "By Your Side"
Encore
  2. "Flow"
  4. "Is It a Crime"
  6. "It's Only Love That Gets You Through"

Source:[8]

Tour dates

edit
Date City Country Venue
14 July 2001 Vancouver Canada General Motors Place
15 July 2001 Seattle United States KeyArena
17 July 2001 Concord Chronicle Pavilion
18 July 2001 Mountain View Shoreline Amphitheatre
20 July 2001 Irvine Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
22 July 2001 Los Angeles Hollywood Bowl
23 July 2001
26 July 2001 Chula Vista Coors Amphitheatre
27 July 2001 Las Vegas MGM Grand Garden Arena
29 July 2001 Selma Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
30 July 2001 Dallas American Airlines Center
1 August 2001 The Woodlands Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
4 August 2001 Minneapolis Target Center
5 August 2001 Rosemont Allstate Arena
7 August 2001
8 August 2001 Toronto Canada Air Canada Centre
10 August 2001 Holmdel United States PNC Bank Arts Center
11 August 2001 Camden Tweeter Center at the Waterfront
13 August 2001 New York City Madison Square Garden
15 August 2001
16 August 2001 Wantagh Jones Beach Theater
18 August 2001 Cleveland CSU Convocation Center
19 August 2001 Auburn Hills The Palace of Auburn Hills
21 August 2001 Baltimore Baltimore Arena
22 August 2001 Boston FleetCenter
24 August 2001 Bristow Nissan Pavilion at Stone Ridge
25 August 2001 Raleigh Alltel Pavilion at Walnut Creek
27 August 2001 Atlanta Philips Arena
29 August 2001 Sunrise National Car Rental Center
30 August 2001 Tampa Ice Palace
1 September 2001 New Orleans New Orleans Arena
3 September 2001 Bonner Springs Sandstone Amphitheater
5 September 2001 St. Louis Savvis Center
7 September 2001 Noblesville Verizon Wireless Music Center
8 September 2001 Cincinnati Riverbend Music Center
10 September 2001 Columbus Polaris Amphitheater
13 September 2001 Denver Pepsi Center
15 September 2001 Las Vegas MGM Grand Garden Arena
16 September 2001 Phoenix Desert Pavilions
18 September 2001 Concord Chronicle Pavilion
20 September 2001 Anaheim Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim
21 September 2001 Inglewood Great Western Forum
Cancellations and rescheduled shows
17 July 2001 Mountain View, California Shoreline Amphitheatre Rescheduled to 18 July 2001[2]
18 July 2001 Concord, California Chronicle Pavilion Rescheduled to 17 July 2001[2]
21 July 2001 Las Vegas, Nevada MGM Grand Garden Arena Rescheduled to 27 July 2001[2]

Box office box score

edit
Venue City Tickets Sold / Available Gross Revenue
Hollywood Bowl Los Angeles 32,138 / 35,086 (92%) $1,977,007[9]
MGM Grand Garden Arena Las Vegas 12,225 / 12,846 (95%) $897,361[9]
American Airlines Center Dallas 11,840 / 13,446 (88%) $743,730[9]
Jones Beach Theater Wantagh 14,063 / 14,108 (~100%) $912,919[10]
Baltimore Arena Baltimore 10,349 / 11,390 (91%) $678,192[9]
New Orleans Arena New Orleans 10,540 / 12,251 (86%) $648,700[11]
TOTAL 91,155 / 99,127 (92%) $5,857,909

Broadcasts and recordings

edit
Main article: Lovers Live

The concerts in Anaheim and Inglewood were chronicled for the band's first live CD/DVD recording respectively titled, Lovers Live. The live recordings were released in February 2002 and topped the charts in the United States, Belgium and Italy.[12][13] The album sold over 500,000 copies in the U.S., adding a gold record to the band's repertoire.[14]

Critical reception

edit

The tour received high praise from music critics in the U.S. and Canada. Steve Baltin (Rolling Stone) found Adu's vocal performance effortless, during the show at the KeyArena. He says, "Musically, some of the other peak moments were a stunning 'No Ordinary Love'; a moving 'By Your Side'; a buoyant 'Paradise,' and 'King of Sorrow'. After closing with 'By Your Side,' Sade and her band left to a deafening ovation. The three-song encore was highlighted by a vocally powerful 'Is It a Crime,' in which Sade let loose with great success".[15]

Jason Reynolds (NME) writes the band left the crowd at the Hollywood Bowl "beaming". He continues, "As Sade steps out on to the stage, she instantly captures the hearts of the crowd. Still looking stunning, she exudes a magnetism that draws them into her spell. It's very simple – no choreographed dance routines, no pyrotechnics – just Sade herself. The voice".[16] For the concert at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Selma; Rauol Hernandez stated despite the heatwave in the CenTex area, Sade was the "storm" the area needed. He further states, "The thunder and lightning video was especially apropos. Sade's quiet storm really is 'The Sweetest Taboo'".[17]

Adu's vocals were deemed smooth as silk for the concert in Rosemont. Corey Moss (MTV News) writes, "Unlike Madonna and Janet Jackson, the other pop divas on tour this summer, Sade doesn't overly decorate her tunes with costumes and choreography".[18] Jane Stevenson (Toronto Sun) gave the performance at the Air Canada Centre 4 out of 5 stars. She explains, "What else would you expect from a singer who was the epitome of cool way back in 1984 with the release of her debut album and has barely changed her trademark laid-back, jazz-inflected R&B grooves or classic ponytail and hoop earrings look since then"?[8]

Issac Guzman (New York Daily News) mentioned the band displayed a passion for music and their fans. He says, "When she sang the title song of last year's 'Lovers Rock' album, she was referring not so much to rock music, but to a solid foundation on which one might build a relationship. This relationship, of course, is best constructed in a vaguely exotic milieu where people rendezvous in small cafes on the French Riviera or dance on the veranda of a private villa stocked with Champagne".[19] Jon Pareles (The New York Times) writes the band displayed various emotions throughout the show at the famous Madison Square Garden. He continues, "Sade still sang with the pauses and hesitations she learned from [Billie] Holiday, but every so often when she reached a confession of great pain or joy, she dispelled the smoke in her voice to reveal a pure, indelible ache. Even when she sang more demurely, it was clear that her composure was anything but nonchalant".[20]

Personnel

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ Peters, Mitchell (19 August 2011). "Sade: The Billboard Cover Story". Billboard. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  2. ^ a b c d Zahlaway, Jon (14 May 2001). "Sade beefs up tour route, taps India.Arie for opening slot". LiveDaily. Ticketmaster Entertainment, Inc. Archived from the original on 22 May 2001. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  3. ^ "Goes Gold, Tapped By Sade As Opening Act". Yahoo! Music. 17 May 2001. Archived from the original on 16 September 2012. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  4. ^ a b "Top Picks – The Washington Post". The Washington Post. 18 April 2001.
  5. ^ Zahlaway, Jon (7 August 2001). "Sade adds more dates to U.S. tour". LiveDaily. Ticketmaster Entertainment, Inc. Archived from the original on 27 November 2001. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  6. ^ Year End Top 200 North American Tours 2001. Pollstar. December 17, 2001. p 26.
  7. ^ a b c Hellis, Melanie (19 March 2003). "Pavilion to host first Battle of the Bands competition". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  8. ^ a b Stevenson, Jane (9 August 2001). "Air Canada Centre, Toronto – August 8, 2001". Toronto Sun. Archived from the original on 16 September 2012. Retrieved 15 September 2012.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  9. ^ a b c d "Boxscore Top 10 Concert Grosses". Amusement Business/Billboard. 113 (37). New York City: Billboard Music Group: 22. 15 September 2001. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
  10. ^ "Boxscore Top 10 Concert Grosses". Amusement Business/Billboard. 113 (36). New York City: Billboard Music Group: 16. 8 September 2001. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
  11. ^ "Boxscore Top 10 Concert Grosses". Amusement Business/Billboard. 113 (39). New York City: Billboard Music Group: 14. 29 September 2001. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
  12. ^ "Lovers Live – Sade – Billboard Albums". Allmusic. Archived from the original on 17 September 2012. Retrieved 5 June 2008.
  13. ^ "Sade – Lovers Live". Ultratop. Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 17 September 2012. Retrieved 1 November 2010.
  14. ^ Caulfield, Keith (22 February 2006). "Ask Billboard – Class Acts". Billboard. Retrieved 9 February 2009.
  15. ^ Baltin, Steve (15 July 2001). "Sade Smooth in Opener". Rolling Stone LLC. Archived from the original on 16 September 2012. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  16. ^ Reynolds, Jason (25 July 2001). "Sade : Los Angeles Hollywood Bowl". NME. Archived from the original on 16 September 2012. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  17. ^ Hernandez, Raoul (10 August 2001). "Sade, India Arie, Verizon Wireless Amphitheater, Selma, Texas, July 29". The Austin Chronicle. Archived from the original on 16 September 2012. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  18. ^ Moss, Corey (8 August 2001). "Sade Operates Smoothly During Midwest Stop". MTV News. Archived from the original on 16 September 2012. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  19. ^ Guzman, Issac (13 August 2001). "Sade's A Cool Singer with a Sultry Passion". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on 16 September 2012. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  20. ^ Pareles, Jon (15 August 2001). "POP REVIEW; A Peek Behind Sade's Veil of Heartbreak". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 16 September 2012. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lovers_Rock_Tour&oldid=1237682849"