| Concert Tour Name: | An Evening with The Monkees: The 45th Anniversary Tour |
| Landscape: | no |
| Artist: | the Monkees |
| Number Of Legs: | 2 |
| Number Of Shows: | 10 in Europe 36 in North America 46 Total |
| Last Tour: | Monkeemania (2001–02) |
| This Tour: | 45th Anniversary Tour (2011) |
| Next Tour: | An Evening with The Monkees (2012) |
An Evening with The Monkees: The 45th Anniversary Tour,[1] also called Here They Come!: 45th Anniversary Tour, was the fourth and final reunion tour by American pop rock group the Monkees, including Davy Jones, Micky Dolenz, and Peter Tork. Jones died of a heart attack on February 29, 2012.[2] It was the group's first tour in a decade following Monkeemania, which ran from 2001 to 2002. The tour visited the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada. Due to the success of the first North American leg, a second leg was planned for the fall of 2011; however, dates were suddenly cancelled without explanation.[3]
In October 2010, Davy Jones stated the group (minus Michael Nesmith) were reuniting in 2011, hinting at the possibility of the tour.[4] The three members of the group announced the tour on the BBC's The One Show.[5] The group stated the initial run was predominately in the UK, however, they hoped the success of the tour could be expanded to the U.S. The first ten dates of the tour were released on February 21, 2011. Shortly afterwards, dates in the U.S. and Canada were revealed as well. It was later reported that, if successful, the group will earn nearly 1 million each. Jones remarked that the tour was not about money but reconnecting with fans.
The tour came as a surprise to fans, following the backstage drama of the previous reunion tour. Group member Peter Tork stated that he had a meltdown on the last tour, causing tension between the other members of the tour. Tork further commented that he considered quitting towards the end of the tour but eventually chose to stay until the end of the trek.[6]
The tour was described as a "full multimedia experience." With visual design by Rachel Lichtman, it displayed clips from the group's popular TV series, rare and unseen adverts and footage from the cult film, Head.[7] It continues to state the group will play their greatest hits alongside rarities and album cuts from their nearly half-century career.[8] To introduce the tour, group member Micky Dolenz stated:
"We need to share this music once again as people want to hear music from times that made them happy. The records are being played all the time. And, the fans are still there. So, we're going to do it." "I'm looking forward to getting back together with my old buddies for some good ol' rock and roll."[9]
Making the tour unique from previous tours was the performers' choice to depart from simply doing their greatest hits, and choosing instead to include many rare songs. "Saturday's Child", a song from the Monkees' first album that had been featured on the TV show, had never been performed live. Other choices included "I Don't Think You Know Me" and "All of Your Toys", songs that were not released until 1987 on the rarities compilation Missing Links. "Hard to Believe", a song featured on their album Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. but never used on the TV show, and "Someday Man", a 1969 single that never appeared on an album, were also included.
| Date | City | Country | Venue | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom[14] [15] [16] | ||||
| May 12, 2011 | Liverpool | England | Echo Arena Liverpool | |
| May 14, 2011 | Manchester | O2 Apollo Manchester | ||
| May 15, 2011 | Newcastle | Newcastle City Hall | ||
| May 16, 2011 | Glasgow | Scotland | Clyde Auditorium | |
| May 19, 2011 | London | England | Royal Albert Hall | |
| May 20, 2011 | Sheffield | Irwin Mitchell Oval Hall | ||
| May 21, 2011 | Birmingham | NIA Academy | ||
| May 23, 2011 | Plymouth | Plymouth Pavilions | ||
| May 24, 2011 | Cardiff | Wales | Motorpoint Arena Cardiff | |
| May 25, 2011 | Nottingham | England | Royal Concert Hall | |
| North America | ||||
| June 3, 2011 | Atlanta | United States | Chastain Park Amphitheater | |
| June 4, 2011 | Clearwater | |||
| June 5, 2011 | Pompano Beach | Pompano Beach Amphitheater | ||
| June 6, 2011 | Jacksonville | Florida Theatre | ||
| June 8, 2011 | Glen Allen | Innsbrook Snagajob Pavilion | ||
| June 9, 2011 | Morristown | Mayo Performing Arts Center | ||
| June 10, 2011 | Uncasville | Mohegan Sun Arena | ||
| June 11, 2011 | Niagara Falls | Canada | Avalon Ballroom Theatre | |
| June 12, 2011 | ||||
| June 15, 2011 | Lowell | United States | Lowell Memorial Auditorium | |
| June 16, 2011 | New York City | Beacon Theatre | ||
| June 17, 2011 | Westbury | NYCB Theatre at Westbury | ||
| June 18, 2011 | Atlantic City | Borgata Music Box | ||
| June 19, 2011 | Vienna | Filene Center | ||
| June 20, 2011 | Hershey | Hershey Theatre | ||
| June 22, 2011 | Pittsburgh | Stage AE | ||
| June 23, 2011 | Detroit | Fox Theatre | ||
| June 24, 2011 | Columbus | Lifestyle Communities Pavilion | ||
| June 25, 2011 | Cincinnati | Procter & Gamble Hall | ||
| June 26, 2011 | Indianapolis | Murat Theatre | ||
| June 28, 2011 | South Bend | Morris Performing Arts Center | ||
| June 29, 2011 | Waukegan | Genesee Theatre | ||
| June 30, 2011 | Merrillville | Star Plaza Theatre | ||
| July 1, 2011 | Apple Valley | Weesner Amphitheater | ||
| July 2, 2011 | ||||
| July 3, 2011 | Council Bluffs | |||
| July 5, 2011 | Denver | Paramount Theatre | ||
| July 8, 2011 | Tacoma | Pantages Theater | ||
| July 9, 2011 | Ridgefield | Sleep Country Amphitheater | ||
| July 10, 2011 | Saratoga | Mountain Winery Amphitheater | ||
| July 13, 2011 | Bakersfield | Fox Theater | ||
| July 14, 2011 | Santa Ynez | Samala Showroom | ||
| July 15, 2011 | Cabazon | Morongo Events Center | ||
| July 16, 2011 | Los Angeles | Greek Theatre | ||
| July 21, 2011 | New York City (Free concert) | Coney Island | ||
| July 23, 2011 | Milwaukee | Marcus Amphitheater | ||
| < | --Date--> | < | --City, (State or Country)--> | < | --Venue--> | < | --Reason/Additional Info--> |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 26, 2011 | Westbury, New York | NYCB Theater at Westbury | Cancelled | ||||
| August 27, 2011 | Hyannis, Massachusetts | Cape Cod Melody Tent | Cancelled | ||||
| August 28, 2011 | Hampton Beach, New Hampshire | Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom | Cancelled | ||||
| August 31, 2011 | Upper Darby Township, Pennsylvania | Tower Theater | Cancelled | ||||
| September 1, 2011 | Durham, North Carolina | Durham Performing Arts Center | Cancelled | ||||
| September 2, 2011 | Huntington, West Virginia | Big Sandy Superstore Arena | Cancelled | ||||
| September 4, 2011 | Cleveland, Ohio | Jacobs Pavilion at Nautica | Cancelled | ||||
| September 7, 2011 | Englewood, New Jersey | Bergen Performing Arts Center | Cancelled | ||||
| September 8, 2011 | New Brunswick, New Jersey | State Theatre | Cancelled | ||||
| September 9, 2011 | Albany, New York | Times Union Center | Cancelled | ||||
| September 10, 2011 | Bushkill, Pennsylvania | Pocono Mountains Performing Arts Center | Cancelled | ||||
| September 12, 2011 | Saint Charles, Missouri | Family Arena | Cancelled | ||||
| September 23, 2011 | Coquitlam, Canada | Red Robinson Show Theatre | Cancelled | ||||
| Venue | City | Tickets sold / available | Gross revenue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ruth Eckerd Hall | Clearwater | 2,094/ 2,094 (100%) | $114,688[22] |
| Mohegan Sun Arena | Uncasville | 3,212 / 4,172 (77%) | $96,360[23] |
| Beacon Theatre | New York City | 2,745 / 2,745 (100%) | $194,275[24] |
| Hershey Theatre | Hershey | 1,944 / 1,944 (100%) | $123,960[25] |
| Lifestyle Communities Pavilion | Columbus | 1,540 / 3,500 (44%) | $66,348 |
| Morris Performing Arts Center | South Bend | 1,924 / 2,564 (75%) | $110,488 |
| Stir Concert Cove | Council Bluffs | 2,913 / 3,500 (83%) | $111,410[26] |
| Greek Theatre | Los Angeles | 5,076 / 5,826 (87%) | $228,983[27] |
| TOTAL | 21,448 / 26,345 (81%) | $1,046,492 | |
Shows on the European leg of the tour received high praise from most music critics. Jade Wright (Liverpool Echo) gave the performance at the Echo Arena Liverpool an eight out of ten. She wrote: "Showing a refreshing lack of vanity, they chose to perform against a screen showing clips from their TV show - they may be older now but the energy and enthusiasm they put into the show meant the comparison was not an unkind one".[28]
The concert at the historic Royal Albert Hall in London received four out of five stars. Caroline Sullivan (The Guardian) felt the trio indulged the crowd with a throwback to the 60s. She writes, "With the Albert Hall full to capacity with old fans (and one or two young ones, possibly lured by their anomalous 1968 psychedelic movie Head), the Monkees are free to indulge themselves. They play 40 songs, including vaudeville numbers that involve zany voices and walks".[29]
Further praise came from Simon Price (The Independent). He thought the concert at the Royal Concert Hall was a "crowd-pleasing performance". He explains, "Almost apologetically, they run through the reassuring hits to happy-clappy acclaim. As Jones, Dolenz and Tork lap up the applause, most of the hall is relieved they finally played "Daydream Believer". Me, I'm thinking I need to buy Head immediately. Either way, everyone's happy. And yes, they do walk the walk. As, in many senses, they always did".[30]