My December Tour
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
My December Tour | ||
---|---|---|
Promotional poster for first incarnation of tour. | ||
Concert tour by Kelly Clarkson | ||
Locations | North America Australia Europe |
|
Supporting album | My December | |
Start date | September 28th, 2007 | |
End date | April 13th, 2008 | |
Legs | 4 | |
Shows | 27 in North America 8 in Australia 16 in Europe 50 in total |
|
Kelly Clarkson tour chronology | ||
Addicted Tour (2006) |
My December Tour (2007-2008) |
2 Worlds, 2 Voices Tour 2008 (2008) |
The My December Tour was a concert tour by pop rock singer-songwriter Kelly Clarkson, and follows the release Clarkson's third studio album, My December. Originally a large-scale summer tour timed to coincide with the June 2007 availability of the album, public career battles and poor ticket sales led Clarkson to cancel it before it began. A considerably smaller-scale tour commenced in October 2007, and extended into 2008, with the international legs remaining at arena venues.
Contents |
[edit] History
[edit] First incarnation
The tour was initially announced by both Billboard.com and Clarkson's official website on April 26, 2007. [1] It was scheduled for almost 40 dates in North America, running from July 7 to September 28, 2007,[2] beginning in Portland, Oregon's Rose Garden Arena, including such venues as the TD BankNorth Garden in Boston and Continental Airlines Arena in New Jersey, and concluding at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas. For the first time, Clarkson would be playing in arenas instead of the smaller amphitheatres that her previous tours were staged in. Clarkson commented on the anticipated tour by saying, “This will be the biggest tour I’ve ever done. It’s all about the music - we’re bringing extra musicians and we’ll be making an arena environment intimate because I want the fans to be part of the show! And you’ll hear all your favorite hits too!!”[2] The show would feature a 36-row catwalk and b-stage, in order to make the large arenas more intimate for fans. Clarkson had also confirmed, through MySpace, that Mat Kearney would be her support act for the tour.
The tour was to be sponsored by Vitamin Water. The company set up an exclusive website, kellyallaccess.com, which offered a pre-sale through Ticketmaster. Fans who purchased tickets through this pre-sale would be sitting in the exclusive 'Pink Focus' section at each arena, which would feature Vitamin Water Swag Bags, gobo lights, pink cushions and optimal view of the concert, including the catwalk.
The original Fan Club pre-sale created uproar from fans on May 10, 2007. The Fan Club tickets sold out within 3 minutes of going on sale and many fans could not access the Ticketmaster website. The event echoed that of Clarkson's previous Addicted Tour in 2006, when some Fan Club shows sold out in under a minute. Fans bombarded the Fan Club message boards with angry messages over the pre-sale. EchoMusic, Clarkson's Fan-Club maintainers, cited 'unexpected demand' as the cause for the fiasco and promised a second pre-sale on May 11, 2007. Minutes after the first pre-sale had sold out, tickets appeared on eBay for $500, over $400 above the original face value of the tickets.
Tickets to the general public went on sale on May 12 and unlike the Fan Club experience, prospects for the tour got caught up in Clarkson's very public career drama concerning the contents and commercial potential of My December, her relations with record company boss Clive Davis, and her falling out with her own management.[3] Clarkson stated:[4][5]
On Thursday, June 14, the tour was cancelled per Clarkson's official website, with her statement saying:
“ | I can't tell you how much I've been looking forward to getting out there to perform for y'all. In the craziness of the music business, performing is what I look forward to doing the most, so it really is disappointing for me to have to tell you that I won't be coming out to tour this summer. The fact is that touring is just too much too soon. But I promise you that we're going to get back out there as soon as is humanly possible to give you a show that will be even better. Thanks for all of your love and continued support."[6] | ” |
However, low ticket sales were acknowledged by promoters and her representatives as the reason for the cancellation. LiveNation CEO Michael Rapino said: "Ticket sales have not been what we anticipated and we came to the realization that we had bit off more than we could chew. In the end, we are in the Kelly Clarkson business and for that reason we believe that this decision will only benefit her and her fans in the long run."[7]
The My December album itself was finally released on June 26, 2007, and within a few weeks it was clear that its sales would be considerably less than those of her previous two albums. The only public performances to survive the tour cancellation were her five-song set at the Live Earth concert at Giants Stadium on July 7, 2007, and various promotional appearances on morning and late-night television programs in conjunction with the album's release.
[edit] Second incarnation
Time passed. Finally on September 4, 2007, a new My December Tour for Fall 2007 in North America was announced in Billboard.com and elsewhere,[8] scheduled to play 26 dates in 3,000-to-6,000 seat theatres rather than the previous arenas.[8] Ticket sales, when they happened, were now more fitting to the venue; her three shows at New York City's Beacon Theatre were all sold out,[9] while her performance at the Tower Theater outside Philadelphia was virtually so.
It was confirmed when the second incarnation of the tour appeared on Ticketmaster, that Jon McLaughlin would be opening for Kelly for the Majority, if not all of her North America dates.[10]
A further six shows have been confirmed for an Australian tour starting March 2008; the singles from My December had fared a somewhat better reception there than in the U.S., and Clarkson was following the strategy of scheduling Australian dates that the Dixie Chicks had following for their similarly sales-challenged Accidents & Accusations Tour of 2006. Tickets for the Australian tour went on sale October 8th.[11][12]
Though it is speculated that Latin America tour will be added either before or after the Australia shows, no dates have been confirmed yet.
On Tuesday, October 23rd 2007, the full European lineup was announced and tickets went on sale immediately. German, Swedish and Dutch tickets went on sale for fans through a number of different ticketing websites and stores across the continent. Although Sony BMG UK set up an official pre-sale for fans through Live Nation, Ents24.com and Seetickets, Orange UK set up a "reserve ticket" system through WAP on their website, for registered Orange users within the UK.
Unlikely that other venues through the UK are to under-sell, there was a high demand for Glasgow and Manchester fans and a further date was added for each within a week. Gigsandtours.com/Seetickets.com and Ticketmaster UK have yet to sell out each other but it is speculated that this is due to the high demand of Seating Tickets that are not on sale this tour, as all of the shows are for the majority of the audience General Admission 3 of the UK dates of the tour have already sold out. Kelly will appear on the UK TV show "This Morning" on December the 12th to promote the UK leg of the tour [13]
The second Manchester date was postponed due to Kelly straining her voice the night before as the band were being too loud. The show was rescheduled for 8th April.
[edit] Tour dates
These are the tour dates for the second incarnation of the tour.
The first two shows were added to Australian Ticketmaster secretly at the beginning of September for subscribers only and sold out within a matter of hours. They were small, intimate shows to kick-off the My December Tour and were part of the week's promotion Clarkson spent in Australia at the end of September.
Date | Location | Country | Venue |
---|---|---|---|
September 28, 2007 | Melbourne | Australia | Palais Showcase |
September 30, 2007 | Sydney | Australia | The Forum |
Date | Location | Country | Venue |
October 10, 2007 | Verona, NY | United States | Turning Stone Casino |
October 12, 2007 | Atlantic City, NJ | United States | Borgata Event Center |
October 14, 2007 | New York City, NY | United States | Beacon Theatre |
October 15, 2007 | New York City, NY | United States | Beacon Theatre |
October 16, 2007 | New York City, NY | United States | Beacon Theatre |
October 18, 2007 | Philadelphia | United States | Tower Theater |
October 21, 2007 | Uncasville, CONN | United States | Mohegan Sun |
October 23, 2007 | Boston, MS | United States | Orpheum Theatre |
October 24, 2007 | Washington, D.C | United States | DAR Constitution Hall |
October 26, 2007 | Niagara Falls, N.Y | United States | Seneca Niagara Casino & Hotel |
October 28, 2007 | Detroit | United States | The Fillmore Detroit |
October 30, 2007 | Toronto | Canada | Massey Hall |
November 1, 2007 | Chicago, IL | United States | Chicago Theatre |
November 2, 2007 | Minneapolis | United States | State Theatre |
November 5, 2007 | Denver, CO | United States | Paramount Theatre |
November 10, 2007 | San Jose, CA | United States | Events Center |
November 12, 2007 | Seattle, WA | United States | Paramount Theatre |
November 14, 2007 | Sacramento, CA | United States | Memorial Auditorium |
November 16, 2007 | San Diego, CA | United States | Civic Auditorium |
November 18, 2007 | Los Angeles, CA | United States | Gibson Amphitheatre |
November 20, 2007 | Phoenix, AZ | United States | Gammage Theatre |
November 23, 2007 | Dallas, TX | United States | Nokia Theatre |
November 25, 2007 | Houston, TX | United States | Verizon Wireless Theatre |
November 27, 2007 | Atlanta | United States | Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre |
November 29, 2007 | Miami, FL | United States | Mizner Park |
December 1, 2007 | Clearwater, FL | United States | Ruth Eckerd Hall |
December 3, 2007 | Nashville | United States | Ryman Auditorium |
Date (2008) | Location | Country | Venue |
March 1, 2008 | Perth | Australia | Challenge Stadium |
March 3, 2008 | Adelaide | Australia | Adelaide Entertainment Centre |
March 4, 2008 | Melbourne | Australia | Rod Laver Arena |
March 6, 2008 | Sydney | Australia | Sydney Entertainment Centre |
March 8, 2008 | Newcastle | Australia | Newcastle Entertainment Centre |
March 9, 2008 | Brisbane | Australia | Brisbane Entertainment Centre |
Date | Location | Country | Venue |
March 14, 2008 | Manchester | United Kingdom | Manchester Apollo |
March 17, 2008 | Glasgow | United Kingdom | Carling Academy Glasgow |
March 18, 2008 | Glasgow | United Kingdom | Carling Academy Glasgow |
March 20, 2008 | Wolverhampton | United Kingdom | Wolverhampton Civic Hall |
March 22, 2008 | Plymouth | United Kingdom | Plymouth Pavilions |
March 23, 2008 | Bournemouth | United Kingdom | Bournemouth International Centre |
March 26, 2008 | London | United Kingdom | Hammersmith Apollo |
March 27, 2008 | London | United Kingdom | Hammersmith Apollo |
March 29, 2008 | Cardiff | United Kingdom | Cardiff International Arena |
March 31, 2008 | Brighton | United Kingdom | Brighton Centre |
April 2, 2008 | Manheim | Germany | Mozartsaal Hall |
April 3, 2008 | Köln | Germany | Palladium |
April 5, 2008 | Antwerp | Belgium | Lotto Arena |
April 6, 2008 | Amsterdam | Holland | Heineken Music Hall |
April 8, 2008 | Manchester* | United Kingdom | Manchester Apollo |
April 9, 2008 | Kobenhavn | Denmark | KB Hallen |
April 11, 2008 | Stockholm | Sweden | Annexet |
April 13, 2008 | Helsinki | Finland | Icehall |
- Rescheduled from March 15th to April 8th
[edit] Support Acts
United States:
- Support act: Jon McLaughlin
Australia:
- Support act: Sean Kingston
- March 3, 4, 6, 8, 9 shows co-headline with Mandy Moore [14]
UK: (support act: Jamie Scott and the Town)
[edit] The show
As in the past, Clarkson's concerts held more in common with traditional rock concerts than with pop- or R&B-oriented "diva" productions. The show began with a stage tableau of the cover of the My December album, complete with staircase laced with gnarly tree branches and Clarkson sitting in the big red dress. Clarkson immediately shed the bulky red dress, however, and performed in an understated black pants and back top outfit. Halfway through the show the main curtain closed, and Clarkson and selected band members performed a quieter mini-set of “Because of You”, “Up to the Mountain”, and “Be Still” in front of the curtain. A mash-up of “Miss Independent” and Led Zeppelin's “Whole Lotta Love” AC-DC's "Back In Black" then played for a while over the sound system; when the curtain opened the set had been stripped to a techo-modern look, while Clarkson had undergone the minimal costume change of adding a black sleeveless vest. The single encores segment began with a respectfully delivered “Sober” followed by the informal “Chivas” and then her biggest hit, “Since U Been Gone”. In all she typically performed for about 80 minutes.
The show's set list was dominated by My December and Breakaway material, with only “Miss Independent” appearing from her first album Thankful and the only indicator of her American Idol heritage her introduction to the Idol Gives Back showstopper “Up to the Mountain”. Clarkson's concert audience in the U.S. was typically composed of high school and younger college age people, predominantly female, and preteen girls accompanied by one or both parents. This constituted something of a disconnect with her radio audience, which includes widespread play on adult contemporary stations, and with the music presented in the show, which is more conventionally rock-oriented than her concert audience profile might indicate. Clarkson's between-songs stage patter typically made only a few allusions to her career adventures with the My December album. At the start of the tour, she introduced My December material carefully. Near the close of shows, she thanked the audience for giving this chance to her to perform her songs, saying that all the other facets of the music industry paled in importance. She gave more extensive introductions for “Hole” and “Up to the Mountain”, which she said did not fit her normal sound.
[edit] Set list
- “One Minute”
- “Behind These Hazel Eyes”
- “Don't Waste Your Time”
- “Never Again”
- “Maybe”
- “Gone”
- “Hole” [1]
- “Addicted”
- “Because of You”
- “Up to the Mountain”
- "Beautiful Disaster" [2]
- “Be Still”
- “Miss Independent”
- “How I Feel”
- “Breakaway”
- “Walk Away”
- “Sober”
- “Chivas”
- “Since U Been Gone"
The intro sound system song varied between her own “Irvine” and AC/DC's "You Shook Me All Night Long".
Variations in the set list were uncommon, although “Thankful” was added because of requests from fans at the Boston show, while at the Toronto show, Clarkson played "Home" because a fan had requested it on a poster. She also performed "Home" at the Detroit show. She also performed "Can I Have A Kiss" at the Los Angeles show. Near the end of her Nashville performance, Kelly sang Patty Griffin's "No Bad News".
There was no change in the first concert (Perth) she did in Australia on her "My December Tour." "Hole" was not included in the Melbourne show, but was including in the Sydney show. Beautiful Disaster was also included in the Sydney Show as well as at the brisbane concert which replaced hole on the original set list.
[1]not featured in the European leg, except the Manchester show on 14th March [replaced by Beautiful Disaster] [2]replaced Hole during the European leg, not featured in Manchester on 14th March
[edit] Band members
- Keyboards: Jason Halbert, formally of Sonicflood. Halbert was co-producer for several tracks on My December and had also contributed to Breakaway.
- Lead Guitar: Aben Eubanks, formally of Graham Colton Band (opener for Clarkson's Breakaway and Hazel Eyes Tours), and also former guitarist for Matt Nathanson. Aben was co-writer and co-producer for several tracks on My December.
- Rhythm Guitar/Backup Vocals: Cory Churko, Band member of Shania Twain for several years.
- Bass: Einar Pedersen
- Drums: Chris Deaner, on leave from the band +/-. Deaner has contributed home-made videos of Clarkson and other band members from recent travels for her online fanbase.
- Backup Vocals: Jill Pickering & Kate Rapier of Jill & Kate. Pickering also plays acoustic guitar on some songs.
[edit] References
- ^ My December Tour!!!. kellyclarkson.com (2007-04-26). Retrieved on 2007-10-28.
- ^ a b "Kelly Clarkson sets summer tour dates", Associated Press for China Daily, 2007-04-26. Retrieved on 2007-10-28.
- ^ "Kelly in Control", EW.com.
- ^ Elle Cover Story: Kelly Clarkson pg. 6
- ^ "Kelly Clarkson Fires Manager", Usmagazine.com, June 12, 2007.
- ^ Emily Fromm, "Kelly Clarkson Tour Shelved – For Now", People.com, June 14, 2007.
- ^ Mike Bruno, "Clarkson Postpones Summer Tour", EW.com, June 14, 2007.
- ^ a b Jonathan Cohen. "Kelly Clarkson Unveils Fall Tour Plans", Billboard.com, 2007-09-04. Retrieved on 2007-10-28.
- ^ "Kelly Clarkson", Pop and Rock Listings, The New York Times, 2007-10-12. Retrieved on 2007-10-28.
- ^ Jon McLaughlin gears up for solo tour and guest spot with Kelly Clarkson - Music
- ^ Ticketek Australia
- ^ SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT :: Australia :: News
- ^ Official Ticketmaster site. Kelly Clarkson tickets, concerts and tour dates
- ^ Mandy Moore
[edit] External links
|