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Hooligans in Wondaland Tour
Tour by Bruno Mars and Janelle Monáe
Promotional poster for the tour
LocationNorth America
Associated albums
Start dateMay 1, 2011 (2011-05-01)
End dateJune 16, 2011 (2011-06-16)
Legs1
No. of shows29
Bruno Mars Tour chronology
The Doo-Wops & Hooligans Tour
(2011–12)
Hooligans in Wondaland Tour
(2011)
The Moonshine Jungle Tour
(2013–14)
Janelle Monáe Tour chronology
The ArchAndroid Tour
(2010)
Hooligans in Wondaland Tour
(2011)
California Dreams Tour
(2011–12)

The Hooligans in Wondaland Tour was a concert tour that was headlined by American singer-songwriter Bruno Mars and Janelle Monáe to support Mars' and Monáe's 2010 debut studio albums, Doo-Wops & Hooligans and The ArchAndroid, respectively. The co-headlining concerts were announced in February 2011; it coincided with their performances at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards. In April 2011, a promotional trailer was released through Mars's YouTube channel and a dedicated website, which was designed to further promote the tour. The concerts took place in North America in May and June of that year.

Mars declined several invitations to open shows for other artists because performing in small, intimate venues, would allow him to build a fan base. Mars's set list for the tour included songs from Doo-Wops & Hooligans, and some covers while Monáe's set list included songs from The ArchAndroid, one song from her debut EP Metropolis: The Chase Suite (2007), and two covers. The Hooligans in Wondaland Tour received positive reviews from most critics, who praised Mars's and Monáe's performances, and said they, along with Mayer Hawthorne, are providers "of perfect pop music". The co-headlined tour was named by NME as one of the best 25.

Background and development

[edit]

On February 15, 2011, after Bruno Mars and Janelle Monáe performed at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards, a joint co-headlining tour for both artists entitled "Hooligans in Wondaland" was announced. The concert tour was performed in North America in throughout May and June 2011.[1][2] Pre-sales tickets were made available two days after the announcement of the tour; they were sold as bundles that included a meet-and-greet with one of the artists, a signed poster, a digital EP, and a commemorative laminate. On February 26, 2011, tickets were made available to the general public.[3] A promotional trailer was released through Mars's YouTube channel, as well as a dedicated website to promote the tour.[4]

The tour was named Hooligans in Wondaland Tour, after both Mars's debut studio album Doo-Wops & Hooligans (2010), Monáe's Atlanta crew Wondaland Arts Society, and a track included on her debut studio album The ArchAndroid (2010).[5] The tour's promotional poster was inspired by the artwork of "James Brown-era all-star shows at the Apollo Theater".[6] In 2011, Mars rejected several requests to open shows for other artists and instead decided to co-headline a tour with Monáe. The show was produced by AEG.[7] This strategy meant lower earnings in the short term but allowed Mars to build a fan base by performing shows at small, intimate venues.[8] After the first show of the Hooligans in Wondaland Tour, Mars said he was nervous about the "production values" of the lights and other equipment.[9]

Sound

[edit]

During the Hooligans in Wondaland concerts, Mars's and Monáe's engineers shared the consoles, and technician Ben Rothstein handled the sound gear. In addition, Derek Brener, Mars's front of house (FOH) engineer, controlled several inputs and outputs, including the Stereo Auxiliary Output for the subwoofers. Brener also controlled the distressors on Mars's vocals and bass. Hall Verb was employed for drums and horns, delay and R-Verb for vocals, and compression of the guitar's sound. Mars had two pairs of speaker wedges downstage center; the inner pair was mixed with his voice and two background vocals while the outer pair had the band mix along with his guitar on top, according to Mars's monitor engineer Mike Graham. Alex McCloud, Monáe's monitor engineer, said her setup was very close to that used by Mars but Monáe had a wedge mix and sidefill speakers in front. Reggie Griffith, Monáe's FOH assistant, was in charge of the singer's vocals, removing some of the pitch when she leaned into the microphone. Griffith and Nate "Rocket" Wonder were responsible for mixing Monáe's tracks.[10]

Concert synopsis

[edit]

The concerts were supported by Mayer Hawthorne & The County, American musician Patrick Stump and English rapper Plan B.[3][11] Hawthorne used his opening spot to play a range of material, including some of his famous covers.[12] Monáe performed the concerts in a "The Cotton Club" set, along with her 13-piece orchestra, the ArchOrchestra.[13][14] She was dressed in a white shirt, black tie, tuxedo pants and a cloak covering it, while her hair was arranged in a pompadour. The ArchOrchestra included three violinists, a cellist, and two horn players; the musicians wore white and black 1960's modernist-style clothing.[14][15][16] Mars, who used a Gibson guitar during the concerts, performed with his band the Hooligans.[A][12][17] During the Hooligans in Wondaland Tour, Mars usually wore a fedora hat, a "plaid flannel-turned-vest" or a sleeveless denim jacket over a tee-shirt—sometimes with a Harley-Davidson design—and black jeans.[13][15][18] The stage had square screens projecting images, lights, and flashing graphic colors and video.[12][15][18] Mars's set lasted around an hour.[18]

Monáe

[edit]

The show started with an MC wearing a top hat and coat-tails.[12] Monáe was taken to stage by several dancers wearing hooded black cloaks,[12][13][14] which were later removed and the dancers instead wore "skintight bodysuits with glittering cuffs". At the same time, the ArchOrchestra played "space-funk" as a James Bond and Fantasia fusion appeared on the screens.[12] Monáe usually opened with the instrumental of "Suite II Overture".[12][19][20] Once on stage, she performed "Dance or Die" and "Faster", alternating between rapping and gospel chanting.[12][14] Monáe also sang "Locked Inside".[19] She created a "theatrical flair", fending off masked dancers.[13] Afterwards, Monáe put on sunglasses and performed "Sincerely, Jane" as well as a cover of The Jackson 5's "I Want You Back" while moonwalking.[12][14][19]

Monáe then turned her back to the audience, and painted on a canvas the word "love" in yellow letters and a female figure as she sang "Mushrooms & Roses".[13][16][21] Under dimmed lights, Monáe, accompanied by a guitarist, performed Charlie Chaplin's ballad "Smile",[14][15][19] after which she started a "pouding", "toe-tapping" performance of "Cold War" and the "funk jam" "Tightrope".[12][15][16] During the performance of "Cold War", images of Mohammed Ali "bobbing and weaving", and Darth Vader with Luke Skywalker battling using lightsabers were displayed.[20] She closed her set with a rock gospel version of "Come Alive (The War of the Roses)", before diving into the crowd, getting a "piggy-back ride" over fans or taking a "victory lap".[12][15][19] While Monáe performed "Tightrope", strobe lights flashed and the discordant mixture of sounds was turned "to a whisper". Monáe and her band laid down on the floor and then emerged from it "back to a full-blooded finish".[20] Both songs were sung in a crescendo.[21] As Monáe talked and wailed, her hair released itself from its pompadour, and her performance reached a climax.[14]

Mars

[edit]

Before Mars started his show, he asked the crowd to put away their mobile phones.[12] He began by performing the "feel-good" theme "Top of The World", which was inspired by Michael Jackson's song "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'".[12][14] The third song on the setlist was a rock cover of "Money (That's What I Want)" by Barrett Strong, which served as an interlude before the reggae influences on Travie McCoy and Mars's featured single, "Billionaire", a song with which the audience joined in at many performances.[13][14][15] The performance of "Billionaire", which was shorter than the original song, had Mars singing the verses "I'll freak you right, I will" to the sound of Aaliyah's "Are You That Somebody."[20][22] He performed "Our First Time" in a sensual way with reggae vibes influenced by jazz.[14][15][20] The song was followed by the uptempo "Runaway Baby", which was filled with "retro rock 'n' roll".[14][16] Before Mars sang a doo-wop harmony with three members of his band, he told the audience, "This is the kind of music I love".[13][15] He then sang the romantic, the Beach Boys-influenced anthem "Marry You".[15][19]

"Marry You" was followed by "The Lazy Song", one of the highlights of the tour; Mars's performance included a comedic moment in which his backup singer shouted, "Oh my God, that feels great!" and the band stopped to "goof". The performance also included a repetition of the verse "have some nice sex".[13][15][16] "Count on Me", an "ode to buddydom", was performed as a singalong in which Mars played a ukulele.[14][18] An extended version of "Liquor Store Blues" was included in the set.[22] Mars would serenade a woman in the audience with his chorus on B.o.B's "Nothin' on You", as a portion of "Have You Seen Her" by the Chi-Lites "emerged".[21][18][20] He returned to the stage and sang "Grenade" as a powerful rock song that was inspired by the Cure's "Just Like Heaven".[13][14][19] The show's closing number "Just the Way You Are" was performed with a different melody; Mars asked the "men in the audience to give their ladies attention", sometimes choosing a woman from the crowd and singing to her.[14][18][23] For some concerts, the encore was "Somewhere in Brooklyn", which had the word "Brooklyn" replaced with the name of the city in which he was performing.[21][20] Mars closed the show with the emotional ballad "Talking to the Moon", which was inspired by the "70s soft-rock" of the Carpenters and Chicago.[19][21][22]

Critical reception

[edit]

The Hooligans in Wondaland concerts were met with mostly positive reviews. Chris Gray, writing for Houston Press, praised Mars's and Monáe's performances, saying the show was "assembled so perfectly, delivered so charismatically and received so warmly". Gray concluded, "finding fault ... would be like throwing rocks at the Easter Bunny".[14] Jordan Levin from the Miami Herald complimented the show, saying Mars and Monáe are "moving musical formulas forward, not with technology and spectacle, but with invention and talent".[15] Robert Ham of The Oregonian said Mars had the spectators' attention throughout the concert and that he sang every note himself; Ham also praised Mars's guitar skills and dubbed Monáe's performance "exhilarating".[13] LA Weekly's Lainna Fader lauded the performances and commented, "With the addition of Mayer Hawthorne, you've got three of the truest purveyors of perfect pop music on stage together.""[12]

Matthew Kivel of Variety praised Mars and Monáe's performance by saying that "Mars is impressive, his vocal gifts allowing him to infuse heavy doses of emotion and subtle improvisations into his song's", while Monáe "brought a refreshingly unpredictable approach to her stage show", showing "the up-and-comer as a talent with seemingly unlimited potential."[22] Angel Cheung and Alexis Greskiw from The Vancouver Observer praised the show, saying, "Monáe and Mars were the perfect combination, filled with vivacity and soul.""[21] Shawn White, for Westword said the Hooligans in Wondaland Tour "might look like a strange bill" but "all three featured acts are purveyors of perfect pop music".[19] Seattle Gay News's Shaun Knittel commended the live show, saying, "Bruno Mars and Janelle Monáe are as good as critics say they are."[23] Reed Fischer, for New Times Broward-Palm Beach, affirmed that Mars's show "exceeded" his "expectations immensely".[20]

In a mixed review, Billboard's Leila Cobo affirmed that Mars "comes across like the real thing, like few acts today do." Cobo dubbed Monáe's show as "impressive", but that she was missing "some of Mars' nuance".[24] Emily Barker of The Globe and Mail called Mars's set "obvious and pedestrian; so cynical and exploitative" but praised Monáe's performance, saying, "she proved herself miraculous, an unabashedly theatrical musical polyglot".[16] The Hollywood Reporter's Lauren Schutte criticized the high cost of the ticket due to the "short running time" but noted everyone "looked more than satisfied".[18]

NME's Emily Barker compiled a list of the 25 best co-headlined shows as of 2013, on which she ranked the Hooligans in Wondaland Tour at number 20. Barker said the show "took its cues from the old-school".[6]

Set lists

[edit]

Mars and Monáe's set lists given below were performed on May 18, 2011, respectively.[14] The list evolved over the course of the tour, and sometimes included other numbers. Mars included "Please Say You Want Me" by The Schoolboys, the Cleftones' "You Belong to Me" and a portion of "Somewhere in Brooklyn" along with "Talking to the Moon" as an encore, with the word "Brooklyn" replaced with the name of the city in which he was performing.[18][21][20] Monáe included "America the Beautiful", "Say You'll Go" and "Wondaland".[19][20]

Shows

[edit]
List of concerts, showing date, city, country, venue and opening act North America concerts (Hooligans in Wondaland)[3][11]
Date
(2011)
City Country Venue Opening act
May 1[a] East Rutherford United States New Meadowlands Stadium N/A
May 4 New York City Roseland Ballroom Plan B
May 6 Stony Brook Stony Brook University Arena
May 7 Camden Susquehanna Bank Center
May 8 Boston Agganis Arena
May 10 Atlanta Fox Theatre Atlanta
May 11 Miami Beach Miami Beach Convention Center
May 17 Grand Prairie Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie
May 18 Houston Reliant Arena Plan B & Patrick Stump
May 20[b] Montgomery Montgomery Riverfront Amphitheatre
May 21[c] Baltimore Pimlico Race Course N/A
May 22 Windsor Canada Caesars Windsor Plan B & Patrick Stump
May 24 Milwaukee United States Eagles Ballroom Plan B
May 25 Saint Paul Roy Wilkins Auditorium
May 27 Chicago Aragon Ballroom
May 28 Kansas City Uptown Theatre Mayer Hawthorne & the County
May 29 Broomfield 1stBank Center
May 30 Orem UCCU Center
June 2 Seattle WaMu Theater
June 3 Vancouver Canada Rogers Arena
June 4 Portland United States Theater of the Clouds
June 7 Reno Grand Sierra Resort
June 8 San Francisco Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
June 10 Coachella Spotlight 29 Casino
June 11[d] Del Mar Del Mar Fairgrounds
June 12 Universal City Gibson Amphitheatre
June 14 N/A
June 15 Phoenix Comerica Theatre Mayer Hawthorne & the County
June 16 Las Vegas Pearl Concert Theater N/A

Box office score data

[edit]
List of concerts, showing date, city, venue, tickets sold, number of available tickets and amount of gross revenue
Date
(2011)
City Venue Attendance Revenue
May 8 Boston Agganis Arena 5,973 / 6,215 (96%) $197,109[29]
May 10 Atlanta Atlanta Fox Theatre 4,251 / 4,251 (100%) $148,785[30]
May 18 Grand Prairie Verizon Theatre 4,905 / 6,317 (78%) $168,945[31]
May 22 Windsor Caesars Windsor 4,541 / 4,934 (92%) $198,024[32]
May 25 Saint Paul Roy Wilkins Auditorium 4,654 / 4,654 (100%) $153,582[33]
May 27 Chicago Aragon Ballroom 4,873 / 4,873 (100%) $157,154[33]
June 4 Portland Theatre of the Clouds 3,750 / 4,004 (94%) $131,250[33]
June 8 San Francisco Bill Graham Civic Auditorium 8,211 / 8,211 (100%) $307,913[29]
Total 41,158 / 43,729 $1,462,762

Personnel

[edit]

Credits adapted from several sources.[10][34][35]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Mars's band references can be seen in the Personnel section under The Hooligans
  1. ^ The May 1, 2011 concert in East Rutherford at the New Meadowlands Stadium was a part of "The Bamboozle", but Monáe was not part of the show.[25]
  2. ^ The May 20, 2011 concert in Montgomery at the Montgomery Riverfront Amphitheatre was a part of the "Jubilee CityFest".[26]
  3. ^ The May 21, 2011 concert in Baltimore at the Pimlico Race Course was a part of the "Preakness InfieldFest".[27]
  4. ^ The June 11, 2011 concert in Del Mar at the Del Mar Fairgrounds was a part of the "San Diego County Fair".[28]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Lipshutz, Jason (February 15, 2011). "Bruno Mars and Janelle Monae Announce Joint Tour". Billboard. Archived from the original on March 28, 2013. Retrieved February 15, 2011.
  2. ^ Wete, Brad (February 15, 2011). "Bruno Mars and Janelle Monae announce 'Hooligans in Wondaland' tour". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on February 16, 2011. Retrieved February 15, 2011.
  3. ^ a b c Reevers, China (February 16, 2011). "Janelle Monáe, Bruno Mars, Mayer Hawthorne Announce Tour". Paste. Archived from the original on February 20, 2018. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
  4. ^ "Bruno Mars: Hooligans In Wondaland Tour Commercial". YouTube. April 28, 2011. Archived from the original on November 10, 2019. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
  5. ^ Goodman, William (February 16, 2011). "Bruno Mars, Janelle Monae Announce Tour Dates". Spin. Archived from the original on February 5, 2020. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
  6. ^ a b Barker, Emily (July 13, 2013). "Double Header – 25 Blistering Co-Headlined Tours". NME. Archived from the original on August 10, 2020. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
  7. ^ a b Greenburg, Zack O'Malley (May 18, 2011). "Mars Attacks!". Forbes. Archived from the original on September 28, 2013. Retrieved July 18, 2013.
  8. ^ Greenburg, Zack O'Malley (January 6, 2014). "From Cereal To Super Bowl: The Evolution of Bruno Mars". Forbes. Archived from the original on February 9, 2014. Retrieved March 1, 2014.
  9. ^ Weingarten, Christopher R. (May 11, 2011). "Bruno Mars & Janelle Monae Chat Backstage". Spin. Archived from the original on August 1, 2020. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  10. ^ a b "Bruno Mars, Janelle Monae Tour with DiGiCo SD8s". Front of House. August 1, 2011. Archived from the original on February 20, 2018. Retrieved February 25, 2018.
  11. ^ a b Doo-Wops & Hooligans Tour in North America:
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Fader, Lainna (June 13, 2011). "Janelle Monáe, Bruno Mars, Mayer Hawthorne Announce Tour". LA Weekly. Archived from the original on August 10, 2020. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Ham, Robert (June 6, 2011). "Bruno Mars oozes confidence and charm in 'Hooligans' tour (review)". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on July 7, 2018. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
  14. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Gray, Chris (May 19, 2011). "Last Night: Bruno Mars & Janelle Monae At Reliant Arena". Houston Press. Archived from the original on October 29, 2020. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
  15. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Levin, Jordan (May 31, 2011). "Review: Bruno Mars". Miami Herald. Archived from the original on October 13, 2016. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
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  18. ^ a b c d e f g h i Schutte, Lauren (June 15, 2011). "Bruno Mars: Concert Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on February 16, 2018. Retrieved February 12, 2018.
  19. ^ a b c d e f g h i j White, Shawn (May 31, 2011). "Review: Bruno Mars and Janelle Monáe at 1stBank Center, 5/31/11". Westword. Archived from the original on October 29, 2020. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
  20. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Fischer, Reed (May 12, 2011). "Live: Bruno Mars and Janelle Monáe at Fillmore Miami, May 11". New Times Broward-Palm Beach. Archived from the original on September 18, 2020. Retrieved October 24, 2020.
  21. ^ a b c d e f g Cheung, Angel; Greskiw, Alexis (June 5, 2011). "Bruno Mars and Janelle Monae take audiences on jazzy '50s-inspired journey". The Vancouver Observer. Archived from the original on January 12, 2018. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
  22. ^ a b c d Kivel, Matthew (June 13, 2011). "Bruno Mars". Variety. Archived from the original on October 29, 2020. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  23. ^ a b Knittel, Shaun (June 17, 2011). "Bruno Mars leads the Hooligans in a night of unforgettable talent". Seattle Gay News. Vol. 39, no. 24. Archived from the original on July 13, 2017. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
  24. ^ Cobo, Leila (May 13, 2011). "Bruno Mars Channels Elvis, Chuck Berry at Miami 'Hooligans' Show". Billboard. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  25. ^ Lipshutz, Jason (December 17, 2010). "Lil Wayne, Bruno Mars to Headline 2011 Bamboozle". Billboard. Archived from the original on May 25, 2018. Retrieved May 5, 2018.
  26. ^ Flanagan, Ben (February 16, 2011). "Bruno Mars, Janelle Monae to headline Jubilee CityFest in Montgomery". The Birmingham News. Archived from the original on May 6, 2018. Retrieved May 5, 2018.
  27. ^ Bernstein, Rachel (March 14, 2011). "Bruno Mars, Train to headline Preakness InfieldFest". Daily Record. Archived from the original on May 16, 2018. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
  28. ^ Varga, George (June 9, 2011). "Bruno Mars speaks: Up to the stars". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Archived from the original on May 16, 2018. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
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  30. ^ "Billboard Boxscore: Current Scores". Billboard. May 19, 2011. Archived from the original on May 25, 2024. Retrieved July 3, 2018.
  31. ^ "Billboard Boxscore: Current Scores". Billboard. May 28, 2011. Archived from the original on May 25, 2024. Retrieved November 2, 2012.
  32. ^ "Billboard Boxscore: Current Scores". Billboard. June 15, 2011. Archived from the original on May 25, 2024. Retrieved November 2, 2012.
  33. ^ a b c "Billboard Boxscore: Current Scores". Billboard. June 15, 2011. Archived from the original on May 25, 2024. Retrieved November 2, 2012.
  34. ^ "Billboard Magazine Cover: Jill Scott". Billboard. July 2–9, 2011. p. 22. Archived from the original on February 15, 2018. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
  35. ^ "Cory Fitzgerald Pilots impression X4 to Mars". Lightsoundjournal. August 28, 2013. Archived from the original on February 3, 2018. Retrieved February 5, 2018.
  36. ^ D'Auria, Jon (September 1, 2016). "Jamareo Artis: From Bruno Mars to Solo Orbit". Bass Player. Archived from the original on September 4, 2016. Retrieved September 5, 2016.
  37. ^ Frere-Jones, Sasha (February 14, 2011). "Mars Attacks!". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on February 15, 2018. Retrieved February 17, 2018.
  38. ^ Bailey, Hannah (February 10, 2014). "Member of Bruno Mars' band debuts solo performance". The Daily Helmsman. Archived from the original on October 29, 2020. Retrieved April 1, 2018.
  39. ^ Inge, Brittany (November 18, 2016). "Artist Highlight – Dwayne Dugger II". The (Non)Starving Artists. Archived from the original on June 11, 2018. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
  40. ^ Wick, Denis. "On Tour With Bruno Mars and Trumpet Life Lessons". DANSR. Archived from the original on February 15, 2018. Retrieved February 17, 2018.
  41. ^ Scordilis, Dean (July 15, 2015). "Interview with letlive.: Patience, Character, And Strength". The Aquarian Weekly. Archived from the original on March 20, 2020. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
  42. ^ Price, Mary Ann (February 20, 2014). "CHS grad lands dream job working for Bruno Mars". Canton Citizen. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
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