Adele Live
Adele Live was the second concert tour by English singer-songwriter Adele. Visiting Europe and North America, the tour supported her second studio album, 21. Adele was backed by a five-piece band and backing singers, whilst for some songs she was accompanied by piano only. The setlist comprised all songs from 21, except for "He Won't Go", as well as selected songs from 19. The shows garnered positive critical reviews, many of which emphasised the show's understated nature, as well as the singer's vocal performance and accessible persona.
Recurring health and vocal problems led to numerous alterations to the tour itinerary. The first European leg of the tour was uninterrupted. However, for the first North American leg, which was originally scheduled from 12 May 2011 in Washington, D.C. to 22 June in Minneapolis, Adele canceled the last nine dates of her tour after she was diagnosed with acute laryngitis.
These dates were rescheduled with some additional dates and some larger venues. The tour was sold out quickly across North America and Europe, and received positive reviews.
In September 2011, "continuing problems with a serious cold and chest infection" prompted the postponement of seven additional dates on the second leg of the European stop. However, the tour was resumed on 13 September, and new dates for the missed shows were rescheduled. In October 2011, the singer again cancelled the remaining dates of the second leg of her North American tour due to a vocal hemorrhage that caused internal bleeding near her vocal cords. Adele was forced to cancel the remaining dates of her tour to undergo throat surgery for her hemorrhaging.
Background
Production designer Rob Sinclair wanted the stage to be sparse so the audience would focus on Adele and her voice. The back wall of the stage featured a "distinctive" wall of 96 cone-shaped lampshades using 60-watt household lightbulbs to illuminate them. Each lamp was individually dimmed and the bulbs of each lamp were dipped in a special rubber solution so they wouldn't break. The rest of the show featured moving lights and much white light to focus on Adele at the center of the stage. The moving lights were designed so that they didn't appear to move from the audience's point-of-view and were powered by Jands Vista's next-generation Vista v2 software. The decision to focus on sculpted white light for the stage won "considerable acclaim."The tour was minimalist in every aspect, from stage design to using each venue's own sound system rather than transporting a tour-specific system. The front-of-house engineer for the tour was Dave McDonald. McDonald carried an Allen & Heath iLive-112 with him during the tour and hooked it up to each venue's sound system with a Cat 5 connector. This allowed the tour to travel light and allowed McDonald to control the mix for each show using each venue's systems. McDonald used plug-ins to replicate the sound of vintage ENT plates for the sound. The tour chose to only use Sennheiser microphones. McDonald chose to have Adele use a wireless Sennheiser SKM 2000 system with an SKM 500–965 G3 transmitter. For the back-up singers, McDonald chose hardwired Sennheiser e 935s. The guitarists used Avalon DIs and the piano was a "gag piano", lacquered upright to look traditional but actually housed a Yamaha MO. McDonald's goal for the tour was, "I want the audience to forget who they are for a moment and be able to project themselves solely onto what's occurring onstage. That is, after all, why we go to shows."
The tour featured a 12-piece string section that backed Adele up, consisting of eight violins, two violas, and two cellos. During some performances, a 20-ft mirrorball descended from the ceiling during the encore. A screen lifted up at the beginning of the concert to reveal Adele and occasionally descended behind her with images projected upon it. During "Hometown Glory", an image of St. Paul's Cathedral was projected onto the screen.
Opening acts
- "Hometown Glory"
- "I'll Be Waiting"
- "Don't You Remember"
- "Turning Tables"
- "Set Fire to the Rain"
- "Daydreamer"
- "If It Hadn't Been for Love"
- "My Same"
- "Take It All"
- "Rumour Has It"
- "Right as Rain"
- "One and Only"
- "Lovesong"
- "Chasing Pavements"
- "Make You Feel My Love"
- "Someone like You"
- "Rolling in the Deep"
Notes
- "Daydreamer" was not performed in North American leg or at Royal Albert Hall
- Starting July 2011, "I Can't Make You Love Me" was added to the setlist.
- On the second North American leg, "Someone like You" followed "Rolling in the Deep".
Shows
Cancellations and rescheduled shows
21 March 2011 | Oslo, Norway | John Dee | This concert has been moved to the Rockefeller Music Hall |
26 March 2011 | Hamburg, Germany | Cafe Keese | This concert has been moved to the Docks Club |
29 March 2011 | Munich, Germany | Theaterfabrik München | This concert has been moved to Kesselhaus |
2 April 2011 | Madrid, Spain | Sala Caracol | This concert has been moved to Sala La Riviera |
17 April 2011 | Manchester, England | The Ritz | This concert has been moved to the Manchester Academy |
18 May 2011 | Toronto, Ontario | Kool Haus | This concert has been moved to the Air Canada Centre |
26 May 2011 | Minneapolis, Minnesota | First Avenue | This concert has been rescheduled due to 22 June 2011. |
29 May 2011 | Salt Lake City, Utah | The Depot | Postponed. The show was rescheduled to 21 August 2011 and moved to the Gallivan Center. |
31 May 2011 | Vancouver, British Columbia | Commodore Ballroom | This concert has been moved to the Orpheum Theatre |
31 May 2011 | Vancouver, British Columbia | Orpheum Theatre | Postponed. The show was rescheduled to 9 August 2011. |
1 June 2011 | Seattle, Washington | Showbox at the Market | This concert has been moved to the Paramount Theatre |
1 June 2011 | Seattle, Washington | Paramount Theatre | Postponed. This show was reschedule to 12 August 2011. |
3 June 2011 | Portland, Oregon | McMenamins Crystal Ballroom | Postponed. This show was reschedule to 11 August 2011 and moved to McMenamins Edgefield in Troutdale, Oregon. |
4 June 2011 | San Francisco, California | Warfield Theatre | This concert has been moved to the Hearst Greek Theatre |
4 June 2011 | Berkeley, California | Hearst Greek Theatre | Postponed. This show was reschedule to 14 August 2011. |
6 June 2011 | Los Angeles, California | Greek Theatre | Postponed. This show was reschedule to 15 August 2011. |
8 June 2011 | San Diego, California | Humphrey's Concerts by the Bay | Postponed. This show was reschedule to 18 August 2011 and moved to the Open Air Theatre. |
9 June 2011 | Los Angeles, California | Wiltern Theatre | This concert has been moved to the Hollywood Palladium |
9 June 2011 | Los Angeles, California | Hollywood Palladium | Postponed. This show was reschedule to 16 August 2011. |
12 June 2011 | Austin, Texas | Waller Creek Amphitheatre | Postponed. This show was reschedule to 19 October 2011 and moved to the Frank Erwin Center. |
15 June 2011 | Dallas, Texas | House of Blues | Postponed. This show was reschedule to 21 October 2011 and moved to the Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie in Grand Prairie, Texas. |
17 June 2011 | Atlanta, Georgia | The Tabernacle | Postponed. This show was reschedule to 16 October 2011 and moved to the Fox Theatre. |
18 June 2011 | Asheville, North Carolina | Orange Peel | This concert has been moved to the Wolfe Auditorium |
18 June 2011 | Asheville, North Carolina | Wolfe Auditorium | Postponed. This show was reschedule to 11 October 2011. |
20 June 2011 | Nashville, Tennessee | Ryman Auditorium | Postponed. This show was reschedule to 10 October 2011. |
22 June 2011 | Minneapolis, Minnesota | First Avenue | Postponed. This show was reschedule to 24 August 2011 and moved to the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota. |
4 September 2011 | Plymouth, England | Plymouth Pavilions | Postponed Rescheduled to 15 November 2011 |
5 September 2011 | Bournemouth, England | Windsor Hall | Postponed Rescheduled to 12 November 2011 |
7 September 2011 | Cardiff, Wales | Motorpoint Arena Cardiff | Postponed Rescheduled to 14 November 2011 |
8 September 2011 | Blackpool, England | Empress Ballroom | Postponed Rescheduled to 10 November 2011 |
9 September 2011 | Wolverhampton, England | Wolverhampton Civic Hall | Postponed Rescheduled to 7 November 2011 |
10 September 2011 | Wolverhampton, England | Wolverhampton Civic Hall | Postponed Rescheduled to 8 November 2011 |
7 October 2011 | Atlantic City, New Jersey | Borgata Events Center | Cancelled due to strained vocal cords |
8 October 2011 | Durham, North Carolina | Durham Performing Arts Center | Cancelled due to strained vocal cords |
10 October 2011 | Nashville, Tennessee | Ryman Auditorium | Cancelled due to strained vocal cords |
11 October 2011 | Asheville, North Carolina | Wolfe Auditorium | Cancelled due to strained vocal cords |
13 October 2011 | Orlando, Florida | Hard Rock Live | Cancelled due to strained vocal cords |
14 October 2011 | Miami | Waterfront Theatre | Cancelled due to strained vocal cords |
16 October 2011 | Atlanta | Fox Theatre | Cancelled due to strained vocal cords |
18 October 2011 | The Woodlands | Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion | Cancelled due to strained vocal cords |
19 October 2011 | Austin | Frank Erwin Center | Cancelled due to strained vocal cords |
21 October 2011 | Grand Prairie | Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie | Cancelled due to strained vocal cords |
7 November 2011 | Wolverhampton, England | Wolverhampton Civic Hall | Cancelled due to strained vocal cords |
8 November 2011 | Wolverhampton, England | Wolverhampton Civic Hall | Cancelled due to strained vocal cords |
10 November 2011 | Blackpool, England | Empress Ballroom | Cancelled due to strained vocal cords |
12 November 2011 | Bournemouth, England | Windsor Hall | Cancelled due to strained vocal cords |
14 November 2011 | Cardiff, Wales | Motorpoint Arena Cardiff | Cancelled due to strained vocal cords |
15 November 2011 | Plymouth, England | Plymouth Pavilions | Cancelled due to strained vocal cords |
Box office score data
Broadcasts and recordings
The concert at The Roundhouse was streamed live on iTunes. The event was followed with an EP release entitled . The album showcases an abbreviated concert with the songs; "One and Only", "Don't You Remember", "Rumour Has It", "Take It All", "I Can't Make You Love Me" and "Rolling in the Deep". The album is an iTunes exclusive and was made available for download on 14 July 2011. A DVD/Blu-ray/CD entitled Live at the Royal Albert Hall was released on 28 November 2011. It features the entire concert along with behind the scenes footage.Personnel
- Adele: Vocals, guitar on "Daydreamer" and occasionally "My Same"
- Ben Thomas: Guitar
- Tim Van Der Kuil: Guitar
- Miles Robertson: Keyboards
- Sam Dixon: Bass guitar
- Derrick Wright: Drums
- Kelli-Leigh Henry-Davila, Sharleen Linton: Background vocals
- David "Zop" Yard: Tour manager
- Pat Baker: Production manager
- Rob Sinclair: Production designer
- George Sinclair: Associate designer
- Dave McDonald: Front-of-house engineer
- Joe Campbell: Monitor engineer
- Adam Newman & Adam Carr: Stage techs