Apocalypse City Live
| Apocalypse City Live | ||||
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| World tour by Alesha | ||||
| Location | Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, South America | |||
| Associated album | Bigger Than God | |||
| Start date | June 10, 2009 | |||
| End date | October 20, 2009 | |||
| Legs | 3 | |||
| Shows | 77 | |||
| Alesha tour chronology | ||||
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| ApocalypseCityLive | ||||
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| Video by Alesha | ||||
| Released | November 2009 | |||
| Recorded |
July 25, 2009 Moscow, Russia | |||
| Genre | Pop, electronic, alternative | |||
| Length | 90:03 | |||
| Label | Ensemble | |||
| Alesha video chronology | ||||
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Apocalypse City Live is the third world tour (and fifth overall) by British recording artist Alesha to promote her sixth studio album Bigger Than God (2009). It was announced in April 2009 alongside the album's release, with initial shows in the United Kingdom being announced. The set list was composed of mainly songs from the supporting studio album, as well as Alesha's biggest hits from her previous albums Alesha Is the Queen (2007) and The Second Coming (2008). The tour started on June 10 in Dublin, Ireland and concluded on October 20 in Calgary, Canada.
The concert tour was described as a "supermassive and cinematic" rock opera set in a futurustic dystopian city. The show is split into five parts: The Tragic Kingdom, City of Sin, Downtown Nowhere, Revoution and Tsunami of the Soul. The show's stage was designed to replicate a post-apocalyptic city, while costumes were designed by British fashion designer Gareth Pugh. After the first leg, it became the highest grossing tour by a solo artist, earning US $282 million, breaking the previous record Alesha herself held with her Jesus Christ Supertour. Overall, Alesha performed to over 3.5 million fans, grossing a total of US $408 million, making it the highest-grossing tour of all time.
The show was filmed in Moscow, Russia for its television broadcasts and home video release. The tour was broadcast on such channels as Epix in the United States and Sky1 in the United Kingdom. DVD and Blu-ray versions of the performance, titled Apocalypse City Live, were released in November 2009 alongside the re-issue of Bigger Than God.
Background and development[edit | edit source]
The world tour was announced in April 2009 shortly before the release of Alesha's sixth studio album Bigger Than God. The intial shows in the United Kingdom were announced by a tour poster on Alesha's and Live Nation's websites. The tour was produced globally by Live Nation. Billboard later confirmed performances in Europe until the end of July, arenas and stadiums in Asia and Australia throughout August, followed by stadiums of North and South America in late August, September and October. Alesha had two support acts for each leg of the tour: Ryan Dawson and Rouge in Europe, ??? and Venus Vegas in Australasia and South America, and Elice Claire and Helena Rossi in North America.
Alesha hired Michel Laprise as the show director with the intent of creating a theatrical spectacle. Alesha said, "What I love most about touring is taking the album and turning it into a visual show […] supermassive and cinematic." Gareth Pugh was hired to design Alesha's costumes. NME reported that the tour would comprise 250 travelling workers, 69 guitars, 12 trampolines and 100 pairs of kneepads. The tour is set in a futuristic dystopian city, "the Apocalypse City." The stage is a set-up of the post-apocalpyitc city featured in the show's backdrops – a large black tower in the back, three cooling towers along the side. There are two giant LCD video screens on each side of the stage and a smaller one above the stage, for audience members who can't see the stage well, as well as three screens on the stage that were only used for the video displays. The tour is split into five parts: "The Tragic Kingdom," introducing the audience to the "city of sin"; "Submission," which spotlights the greed and submission of the people; "Downtown Nowhere," a more somber, introspective moment which introduces a love story to the show; "Revolution," in which Alesha leads a revolt against the Big Brother figure in charge; and "Tsunami of the Soul."
Notabe performances include the opening number, "Apocalypse City," during which Alesha enters the stage on top of a rising skyscraper. During "Shoot to Kill," a sexually graphic, BDSM-inspired routine is performed with four dancers. Towards the end of the song, police officers intervene and simulate abuse. Ryan Dawson, a support act during the European leg of the tour, joined Alesha for a performance of their number one single "Original Sin" – the pair were depicted in adjecent prison cells, performing a racy dance routine with each other and the bars.
Broadcasts and recordings[edit | edit source]
Alesha's concerts in Moscow, Russia were filmed for the tour's television broadcast and home video release. Alesha chose to film the concert in Moscow due to Russia's history with dictatorial leaders. Apocalypse City: Live in Moscow was aired on Sky1 on August 15th, 2009 at 8pm. On August 30, 2009, the tour was made available to watch on the Epix television channel, video-on-demand and the website, for those that have a subscription. In October 2009, Alesha's official website confirmed the video release of the tour. Titled Apocalypse City Live, the live video was released by Live Nation in Novemer 2009 and distributed by Ensemble Entertainment. It was available on DVD and Blu-ray.
Support acts[edit | edit source]
Europe[edit | edit source]
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Australasia/South America[edit | edit source]
North America[edit | edit source]
Set list[edit | edit source]
- The Tragic Kingdom
- "Intro" / "Apocalypse City "
- "Shoot to Kill "
- "Original Sin"
- "Minutes to Midnight" / "Sly of the Fox "
- "Witching Hour "
- City of Sin
- "Diamonds & Dollars "
- "Fashion Kills" (Switch Remix)
- "Submission "
- "Superhuman "
- "Those Who Love Me Can Take the Train "
- Downtown Nowhere
- "Daniel" (Bat for Lashes cover)
- "The Velveteen Rabbit "
- "Downtown Nowhere "
- "Beat Heart Beat "
- "Give Up the Ghost "
- "Timebomb "
- Revolution
- "Guerrilla "
- "Brooklyn to Brixton "
- "Bang!" / "The OH in Ohio" (Ethiopian Ritual Chants MetroMix)
- "Bear Dance "
- "The Pretty Ones "
- "Crucify "
- Tsunami of the Soul
- Encore
* "Disciplinary"
Tour dates[edit | edit source]
European leg[edit | edit source]
- June 10 - Phoenix Park, Dublin, Ireland
- June 13, 14 - Old Trafford Cricket Ground, Manchester, England
- June 16 - Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland
- June 18 - Don Valley Stadium, Sheffield, England
- June 20, 21 - Wembley Stadium, London, England
- June 23, 24 - Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, Wales
- June 26 - Glastonbury Festival, Pilton, Somerset, England
- June 29, 30 - Stade de France, Paris, France
- July 2 - Goffertpark, Nijmegen, Holland
- July 3 - Rock Werchter Festival, Werchter, Belgium
- July 5 - Olympic Stadium, Berlin, Germany
- July 6 - Natural Amphitheatre, Chodov, Czech Republic
- July 8 - Ernst-Happel-Stadion, Vienna, Austria
- July 10 - Olympic Stadium, Athens, Greece
- July 11 - Olympic Stadium, Rome, Italy
- July 13 - Olympic Stadium, Barcelona, Spain
- July 15 - HSH Nordbank Arena, Hamburg, Germany
- July 16 - Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark
- July 18 - Valle Hovin, Oslo, Norway
- July 19 - Ullevi Stadium, Gothenberg, Sweden
- July 20 - West Harbour, Helsinki, Finland
- July 22 - Tallinn Song Festival Grounds, Tallinn, Estonia
- July 24 - Petrovsky Stadium, St. Petersburg, Russia
- July 25 - Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow, Russia
Australasian leg[edit | edit source]
- July 27 - Kyocera Dome, Osaka, Japan
- July 28 - Saitama Super Arena, Tokyo, Japan
- July 30 - Shanghai Indoor Stadium, Shanghai, China
- August 1 - AsiaWorld Arena, Hong Kong, China
- August 4 - Bangalore Palace, Bangalore, India
- August 6 - Indoor Stadium, Singapore, Singapore
- August 8 - Fort Bonifaco Global City, Manila, Philippines
- August 11 - Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne, Australia
- August 13 - Acer Arena, Sydney, Australia
- August 15 - Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland, New Zealand
- August 16 - Westpac Stadium, Wellington, New Zealand
South American leg[edit | edit source]
- August 19 - Estadio Nacional de Chile, Santiago, Chile
- August 20, 21 - River Plate Stadium, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- August 23 - Estádio do Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- August 24 - Estádio do Morumbi, São Paulo, Brazil
- August 26 - Simón Bolívar Park, Bogotá, Colombia
- August 28 - José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum, San Juan, Puerto Rico
North American leg[edit | edit source]
- August 30, 31 - Foro Sol, Mexico City, Mexico
- September 3 - Minute Maid Park, Houston, TX, U.S.A.
- September 5 - MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, NV, U.S.A.
- September 7-9 - Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, CA, U.S.A.
- September 11 - AT&T Park, San Francisco, CA, U.S.A.
- September 13 - The Gorge Ampitheatre, George, WA, U.S.A.
- September 14 - BC Place Stadium, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- September 16 - Pepsi Center, Denver, CO, U.S.A.
- September 17 - Delta Center, Salt Lake City, UT, U.S.A.
- September 19 - Superpages.com Center, Dallas, TX, U.S.A.
- September 21 - Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, LA, U.S.A.
- September 23 - Philips Arena, Atlanta, GA, U.S.A.
- September 25 - Dolphin Stadium, Miami, FL, U.S.A.
- September 27 - Verizon Wireless Ampitheatre, Charlotte, NC, U.S.A.
- September 29 - Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, NJ, U.S.A.
- October 1, 2 – Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY, U.S.A.
- October 4 - TD Banknorth Garden, Boston, MA, U.S.A.
- October 6, 7 - Air Canada Centre, Toronto, ON, Canada
- October 9 - Bell Centre, Montreal, QC, Canada
- October 11 - Wachovia Center, Philadelphia, PA, U.S.A.
- October 13 - Ford Field, Detroit, MI, U.S.A.
- October 15, 16 - United Center, Chicago, IL, U.S.A.
- October 18 - MTS Centre, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
- October 20 - Pengrowth Saddledome, Calgary, AB, Canada
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