The power of network marketing combined with the perfect prodict, in the perfect time!
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Archive for the ‘Business’ Category
VIDEO: Silver and Gold home based business
Posted: December 27, 2011 in BusinessTags: Business, Gold, home, Investing, marketing, MLM, network, Silver
VIDEO: Currency vs Gold – Store of Value and Inflation
Posted: November 6, 2011 in BusinessTags: collapse, Debasing, dollar, Gold, Inflation, Sivler, Video
Video explaining the difference in money, and currency. In Gold and currency, store of value, and inflation.
http://www.denversings.com/silvergoldblog/2011/11/06/video-currency-vs-gold-store-of-value-and-inflation/
Is College a scam???
Posted: May 26, 2011 in Business, Economy, Entrepreneur, Government, Investing, News, Politics, VideoTags: @denversings, Assets. wealth, College, economy, Government, hyperinflation, Inflation, Investing, Scam, Student Loans, Video
MLSP – My Lead System Pro
Posted: May 25, 2011 in Business, MarketingTags: @denversings, Assets. wealth, Internet Marketing, MLM, MLSP, My Lead System Pro, Network marketing
If you have looked into home based business’, Direct Sales Business’, or MLM business’ for only a short time, you probably couldn’t not find links to MLSP. I got tired of the hype, so I checked it out.
Now, I see why the hype. It is a marketers dream. Lotsa training, lotsa web tools, lotsa support and lotsa connections to internet marketing gurus.
The whole system is a business in itself. Think about a system that gives you training and tools to market your business PLUS, it in itself is also a business. You can make money at MLSPPLUS expose your primary business to tons of people!
MLSP has made a lot of people, a lot of money. Digging into it, I see why. Now I am one of the 1000′s hyping it.
MLSP provides you with “Capture Pages”. These are pages that prompt the prospect to give their email address and other information so you can market to them. MLSP also provides marketing content to give away to entice the prospect to give you their email address. Then, through a series of well planned, well written educational content about marketing, MLSP sends out emails giving tips and tutorials about internet marketing. The content is very useful, and the automation distributing it to your prospects is amazing.
MLSP also sets you up to be an affiliate of many internet marketing tools, websites, and software, so you can get paid advertising them. This is yet another business in itself.
MLSP teaches you to setup popular social media sites such as, Facebook, Myspace, Linkedin and many more, to market your business, and MLSP itself.
Just about anyone who is a leader in Internet Marketing is subscribed to MLSP. It is so worth checking out. Give it a try!
CLICK HERE
Rare Library of Congress colour photographs of the Great Depression | Mail Online
Posted: May 18, 2011 in Business, Economy, Fashion, Gold, Government, Inspiration, Photography, Pics, Pictures, Politics, Silver, Silver and GoldTags: @denversings, Assets. wealth, Depression, economy, hyperinflation, Inflation, Inspiration, Photos, Pics, Pictures
Rare Library of Congress colour photographs of the Great Depression | Mail Online.
It was an era that defined a generation. The Great Depression marked the bitter and abrupt end to the post-World War 1 bubble that left America giddy with promise in the 1920s. Near the end of the 1930s the country was beginning to recover from the crash, but many in small towns and rural areas were still poverty-stricken. These rare photographs are some of the few documenting those iconic years in colour. The photographs and captions are the property of the Library of Congress and were included in a 2006 exhibit Bound for Glory: America in Color. The images, by photographers of the Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information, shed a bleak new light on a world now gone with the wind.
![What was he thinking as this picture was taken? A young boy in Cinncinnati, Ohio, in 1942 or 1943](https://i0.wp.com/i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/05/17/article-1388179-0C1EC7D300000578-215_964x665.jpg)
What was he thinking as this picture was taken? A young boy in Cinncinnati, Ohio, in 1942 or 1943
![Full plates: Homesteader and his children eating barbeque at the New Mexico Fair in Pie Town, New Mexico, October, 1940](https://i0.wp.com/i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/05/17/article-1388179-0C1EC78300000578-59_964x626.jpg)
Full plates: Homesteader and his children eating barbeque at the New Mexico Fair in Pie Town, New Mexico, October, 1940
![Peace: Boys fishing in a bayou in Schriever, Louisiana, June, 1940](https://i0.wp.com/i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/05/17/article-1388179-0C1EC83C00000578-698_964x565.jpg)
Peace: Boys fishing in a bayou in Schriever, Louisiana, June, 1940
![Welder making boilers for a ship, Combustion Engineering Company. Chattanooga, Tennessee, June 1942. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Alfred T. Palmer. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress](https://i0.wp.com/i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/05/17/article-1388179-0C1EC91300000578-491_470x582.jpg)
Left, a woman cradles a young child at the Bayou Bourbeau plantation, a Farm Security Administration cooperative in the vicinity of Natchitoches, Louisiana, August, 1940. Right, a welder making boilers for a ship at the Combustion Engineering Company in Chattanooga, Tennessee, June, 1942
![Mike Evans, a welder, at the rip tracks at Proviso yard of the Chicago and Northwest Railway Company. Chicago, Illinois, April 1943. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Jack Delano. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress](https://i0.wp.com/i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/05/18/article-1388179-0C1EC87C00000578-220_470x609.jpg)
![Shepherd with his horse and dog on Gravelly Range Madison County, Montana, August 1942. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Russell Lee. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress](https://i0.wp.com/i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/05/17/article-1388179-0C1EC8BB00000578-8_470x609.jpg)
Left, Mike Evans, a welder, at the rip tracks at Proviso yard of the Chicago and Northwest Railway Company, in Chicago, Illinois, April 1943. Right, a shepherd with his horse and dog on Gravelly Range Madison County, Montana, August 1942
![A woman's work is never done: Mrs Viola Sievers, one of the wipers at the roundhouse, giving a giant 'H' class locomotive a bath of live steam in Clinton, Iowa, April 1943](https://i0.wp.com/i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/05/17/article-1388179-0C1EC89F00000578-79_964x642.jpg)
A woman’s work is never done: Mrs Viola Sievers, one of the wipers at the roundhouse, giving a giant ‘H’ class locomotive a bath of live steam in Clinton, Iowa, April 1943
![Part of the South Water Street freight depot of the Illinois Central Railroad in Chicago, Illinois, May 1943](https://i0.wp.com/i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/05/18/article-1388179-0C1EC89300000578-176_964x606.jpg)
Part of the South Water Street freight depot of the Illinois Central Railroad in Chicago, Illinois, May 1943
![Having a chat: Women workers employed as wipers in the roundhouse having lunch in their rest room at the Chicago and Northwest Railway Company in Clinton, Iowa, April 1943](https://i0.wp.com/i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/05/18/article-1388179-0C1EC8A700000578-962_964x639.jpg)
Having a chat: Women workers employed as wipers in the roundhouse having lunch in their rest room at the Chicago and Northwest Railway Company in Clinton, Iowa, April 1943
Left, farmers planting corn along a river in north-eastern Tennessee, May 1940. Right, boys hauling crates of peaches from the orchard to the shipping shed in Delta County, Colorado, September 1940
![Like a hobbit house: Garden adjacent to the dugout home of homesteader Jack Whinery, in Pie Town, New Mexico, September 1940](https://i0.wp.com/i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/05/18/article-1388179-0C1EC79400000578-699_964x567.jpg)
Like a hobbit house: Garden adjacent to the dugout home of homesteader Jack Whinery, in Pie Town, New Mexico, September 1940
Steal of a deal: Left, the Grand Grocery Company in Lincoln, Nebraska, 1942. Right, the Faro Caudill family eating dinner in their dugout in Pie Town, New Mexico, October 1940
![Distributing surplus commodities in St Johns, Arizona, October 1940](https://i0.wp.com/i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/05/18/article-1388179-0C1EC7AB00000578-968_964x549.jpg)
Distributing surplus commodities in St Johns, Arizona, October 1940
![Shasta dam under construction in California, June 1942](https://i0.wp.com/i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/05/18/article-1388179-0C1EC7C700000578-174_964x643.jpg)
Shasta dam under construction in California, June 1942
![An African American's tenant's home beside the Mississippi River levee near Lake Providence, Louisiana, June 1940](https://i0.wp.com/i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/05/18/article-1388179-0C1EC81600000578-385_964x595.jpg)
An African American’s tenant’s home beside the Mississippi River levee near Lake Providence, Louisiana, June 1940
![M-4 tank crews of the United States in Fort Knox, Kentucky, June 1942](https://i0.wp.com/i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/05/18/article-1388179-0C1EC90700000578-121_964x610.jpg)
Rough men stand ready: M-4 tank crews of the United States in Fort Knox, Kentucky, June 1942
![Woman is working on a](https://i0.wp.com/i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/05/18/article-1388179-0C1EC93300000578-313_470x349.jpg)
Faro and Doris Caudill, homesteaders, in Pie Town, New Mexico, October 1940. Right, a woman working on a ‘Vengeance’ dive bomber in Tennessee, February 1943
Flying away: A marine glider at Page Field in Parris Island, South Carolina, May 1942, left. Right, servicing an A-20 bomber. Langley Field, Virginia, July 1942
![Facing life head on: Jack Whinery, homesteader, and his family in Pie Town, New Mexico, October 1940](https://i0.wp.com/i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/05/18/article-1388179-0C1ECA2700000578-657_964x558.jpg)
Facing life head on: Jack Whinery, homesteader, and his family in Pie Town, New Mexico, October 1940
Controversial “Heart Attack Grill” Opens in Dallas
Posted: May 14, 2011 in Business, Economy, Entertainment, Entrepreneur, Humor, News, Pics, Pictures, Politics, WeirdTags: @denversings, Dallas, Entertainment, Food, Funny, Grill, Photos, Pics, Pictures, Politically correctness, Politics, Restaurant, Texas
Heart Attack Grill opened in Dallas on Friday, boasting the slogan “taste worth dying for,” along with suchmenu items as “the double bypass burger” and “flatliner fries” served by waitresses in nurses’ costumes.
The chain, started in Chandler, Ariz., caters to customers who want to defy the growing concern of eating healthy. In line with this theme, nutritioninformation is not disclosed at the restaurant or on their website.
The restaurant also offers free meals to people weighing over 350 pounds. And, if you manage to eat the 8,000-calorie Quadruple Bypass Burger by yourself, you receive a free wheelchair ride to your car.
Not all are pleased with the restaurant’s presence or its message, however. Dr. Marion Nestle of New York University told CBS News in an email that Heart Attack Grill is “aiding and abetting bad behavior.”
Similarly, weight loss advocate Laurel White carried a basked of apples to give away to potential customers at the restaurant’s opening.
Lady GaGa – The Monster Ball Tour
Posted: May 6, 2011 in Art, Audio, Business, Entertainment, Live performances, Music, News, Pics, Pictures, WeirdTags: @denversings, Artist, Artists, Columbus, Concert, Concerts, Entertainment, Florida, Fort Myers, Freak, Lady Gaga, Music, Ohio, Photos, Pics, Pictures, Song, Southwest Florida, SWFL, The Monster Ball, Tour
The Monster Ball Tour
The Monster Ball Tour | ||
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Promotional poster for the tour | ||
Tour by Lady Gaga | ||
Associated album | The Fame Monster | |
Start date | November 27, 2009 | |
End date | May 6, 2011 | |
Legs | 8 | |
Shows | 119 in North America 63 in Europe 15 in Oceania 4 in Asia 201 Total |
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Gross revenue | $227.4 million (at present) | |
Lady Gaga tour chronology | ||
The Fame Ball Tour (2009) |
The Monster Ball Tour (2009–11) |
The Monster Ball Tour is the ongoing second worldwide concert tour by American recording artist Lady Gaga, in support of her second EP The Fame Monster. Officially announced in October 2009 after an intended joint concert tour with rapper Kanye West was suddenly canceled, The Monster Ball Tour commenced four days after the release of The Fame Monster in November 2009. Rapper Kid Cudi and singer Jason Derülo were the supporting act for the first North American leg of the tour, while Danish band Alphabeat supported the UK stop of the tour. Other opening acts included Semi Precious Weapons, Far East Movement andScissor Sisters. Virgin Mobile USA and Virgin Mobile Canada were the official sponsors of the American and Canadian legs of the tour respectively.
The tour was described by Gaga as “the first-ever pop electro opera” and comprised a set list of songs from The Fame Monster and her debut album The Fame. Revised after only a few months of performing due to Gaga’s concern of the original version being constructed within a very short span of time, the original 2009 version had a stage alike a frame with forced perspectives with everything fitted within it: comparable to that of a hollowed-out television set. Since The Fame Monster dealt with the paranoias Gaga had faced, the main theme of the show became evolution with Gaga portraying her personal growth as the show progressed while elements of the cancelled tour with Kanye West still remained in some parts.
The 2009 shows began with Gaga appearing from behind an electric maze of lights; continued with acoustic piano playing, dancing in costumes made of guns, Egyptian style head gears and fairy-tale Rapunzel style hair. From 2010 and onwards, the revamped shows had a New York theme and portrayed a story set in New York where Gaga and her friends got lost and had to find their way to “the Monster Ball.” The show was divided into five segments; the last labelled the encore. Each segment featured Gaga in a new dress and was followed by a video interlude, portraying Gaga in Gothic and artsy poses, to the next one.
Contemporary critics praised the show; commending Gaga’s singing abilities and sense of style and fashion. They were also impressed by the pompousness and the theatricality of the show, comparing it to the tours of artists like Madonna. At the 2010 Billboard Touring Awards, Gaga won the Breakthrough Performer Award, as well as the Concert Marketing & Promotion Award, the latter being an acknowledgment of her partnership with Virgin Mobile.
Background
Gaga performing “Just Dance” while playing a keytar on the original show.
Initially, hip-hop artist Kanye West and Lady Gaga had plans to launch a joint tour together. “Fame Kills: Starring Lady Gaga and Kanye West”, as the tour was known, was confirmed in September 2009.[1] In the aftermath of the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, West made a public statement that he would take a break from the music industry following the media and public reaction to his outburst during Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech for winning the VMA for Best Female Video. Nevertheless, the complete schedule for Fame Kills was released, with the tour set to begin on November 10, 2009 in Phoenix, Arizona.[2] Shortly afterwards, the tour was officially cancelled without any explanation.[3] Gaga addressed the situation at Billboard‘s annual Women in Music luncheon where she cited creative differences as the reason for the tour’s cancellation. In an interview she stated, “[Kanye] is going to take a break, but the good news is, I am not.”[4]
After ensuring the public that she would be embarking on a solo tour in lieu of the defunct Fame Kills tour, Gaga officially announced The Monster Ball Tour on October 15, 2009. The tour had originally been planned to debut in London in early 2010, but ended up kicking off on November 27, 2009 in Montreal.[5][6] Rapper Kid Cudi and singer Jason Derülo were confirmed as the supporting acts for the tour. While Kid Cudi was confirmed to be supporting Gaga from the beginning of the tour, Derülo joined the tour beginning on December 28, 2009.[5][7] The official poster for the tour features Gaga in her signature Versace 676 sunglasses and what she has dubbed “The Orbit”, which she first wore on the October 3, 2009 edition of Saturday Night Live. The contraption was designed by Nasir Mazhar in collaboration with Gaga’s own creative production company, Haus of Gaga.[4][8] The tour’s sponsor of the American leg was Virgin Mobile USA, who introduced the “Free I.P.” program, offering fans who volunteer their time to homeless youth organizations access to free show tickets.[9]
Development
![](https://i0.wp.com/upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/Lady_gaga-alejandro4.jpg/200px-Lady_gaga-alejandro4.jpg)
Gaga performing “Alejandro” on the first leg of the tour
In an interview with Rolling Stone, Gaga explained that she wanted to put together an expensive looking, beautiful show which would be affordable by her fans.[6] She explained that the tour is a “pop-electro opera” because the theatrics and the story elements interwoven in the tour are played like an opera. According to her the design of the show is innovative and forward in terms of creativeness. Gaga wanted to change the shape of the stage and designed one with Haus of Gaga that is “essentially a frame with forced perspective, and the frame is put inside the stage.”[6] Gaga explained,
“It’s got kind of a triangular inset, like a diamond, and everywhere we’re playing, the dimensions fit this box that I’m bringing, so it’s this giant box that fits into every show. So no matter where I go, my fans get the same experience. So often you go into theaters and there’s ambient light flying in from all sorts of places, and the audience is in different spots, and the stage is in different shapes and lengths and widths and depths, so this is a way for me to control all the light and all of the different elements of the show.”[6]
The theme of the show is evolution.[10] According to Gaga, the songs on The Fame Monster represents the personal demons that she had faced. Hence while developing the record Gaga spoke about original sin and demons inside human beings. She said, “So we talked about growth, and that led us into this kind of scientific space, and we started talking about evolution and the evolution of humanity and how we begin as one thing, and we become another.”[6] This theme of monsters and evolution is supposed to play a part in the fashion for the tour, which according to Gaga is “another level from where we were with the Fame Ball. […] It’s going to be a truly artistic experience that is going to take the form of the greatest post-apocalyptic house party that you’ve ever been to.” Although Gaga stated that she was inspired by the things her and, Kanye were doing with the Fame Kills tour, she concluded, “…I made a decision based on integrity not to use any of the things that we had designed together.” Later, she agreed that it was “the great lost tour”.[6] Emphasizing further on the theme of evolution, Gaga said:
“I begin as a cell and I grow and change throughout the show, […] And it’s also done in what now is becoming my aesthetic, which is, you know, it’s part pop, part performance art, part fashion installation — so all of those things are present. [..] It’s a story, it’s me battling all my monsters along the way. I’m playing all the music from The Fame, all the music from The Fame Monster. And the stage that I designed with the Haus [of Gaga] is a giant cube that sits. Imagine you were to hollow out a TV and just break the fourth wall on a TV screen. It forces you to look at the center of the TV. It’s my way of saying, ‘My music is art.'”[11]
For the performance of “Paparazzi”, Gaga had collaborated with her Haus of Gaga creative partner Matthew “Matty Dada” Williams. She commented, “I had a different vision for it in the beginning. Dada thought it should be braided, and I said, ‘I never wear my hair braided.’ He said, ‘I know, but it’s so Rapunzel, and it’s something people deeply understand. And when you’re wearing sunglasses on a scaffolding piece with a giant alien dancing behind you, I promise you it’s not going to look like Rapunzel.'”[12]
2010 Revisions
In December 2009, Gaga revealed that for her 2010 concerts, she planned to cancel the whole concept of the show, and start fresh.[13] She felt that the revamp of the show was needed as the original tour was constructed in a very short span of time.
“It’s kind of funny because, after Kanye and I split up for this tour, I was really unsure if I could get a show together in time for my fans, […] But I didn’t want to disappoint them and not tour over Christmas, and I had a new record coming out, so … what’s exciting about this show is that I was able to put together something that, in truth, I never would have done if I had a longer amount of time. […] [F]or the next version of the Monster Ball, which is going to be in February when I begin in the UK with my arena tour, I’m throwing out the stage. My team thinks I’m completely psychotic. But I don’t fucking care what they think. […] Well, just to give you an idea, the stage is about four times the size of the one we’re on now and conceptually, it’s completely different. One thing that has been lost over the past 10-15 years, in pop music, is the idea of showbiz. And this is definitely going to bring that back”[13]
During an interview with London’s 95.8 Capital FM radio station, Gaga further elaborated on the changes in the show. She said that the show was constructed like a musical theater. It also incorporated a number of contemporary and old musical pieces, some of them being composed specifically for the show itself. A number of surprises were mentioned by her.[14] A new keytar was constructed for the show. Known as ‘Emma’, the keytar was played by her at the 2010 BRIT Awards on February 16, 2010. The instrument was created by Gaga’s production team Haus of Gaga and she said, “We have this new instrument that I brought to the Brits tonight, ‘Emma,’ which is what I was playing on the stage. She’s a hybrid from all these other instruments, which is quite funny to deal with.”[14] During an interview on KISS-FM with Ryan Seacrest, on his showOn Air with Ryan Seacrest, Gaga explained: “It’s still called Monster Ball, but it’s more of a musical and less of a concert. It has a New York theme, it’s a story, and the story is that me and my friends are in New York and we’re going to the Monster Ball, and we get lost.”[14]
Concert synopsis
![](https://i0.wp.com/upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/ca/Monster-ball-speechless1.jpg/200px-Monster-ball-speechless1.jpg)
Gaga performs “Speechless” during the piano segment of The Monster Ball Tour
The original show begins with Gaga appearing behind a giant, green, laser lit video screen featuring scrim lights, in a futuristic silver jewelled jumpsuit with bulbs on it,[15] with matching eye makeup and mask, singing the song “Dance in the Dark” from The Fame Monster, while dancers dressed in white balaclavas and white jumpsuits moved around her.[16][17] The scrim resembled an electric math grid which was lifted during the performance.[18] After the song she strapped on a portable silver jewelled keyboard and started performing “Just Dance” while inside a white cube from which she emerged from the top, and the video screen came up. She was raised on a platform with a keytar over her shoulder as eight dancers in white bodysuits locked into step below her.[16][17] This was followed by a brief video intermission and Gaga returned with an elaborate off-white costume that resembled an alien ecto-skeleton. She started performing “LoveGame” which ended with Gaga pointing towards her groin.[16][17] A digital background of flames was featured with the dancers wearing skeletal headgear.[19] As she got out of her ecto-skeleton outfit, she stripped down to a silver bodysuit for another The Fame Monster song, “Alejandro”, which saw her being carried by her crotch by one of her male dancers and lowered onto another male dancer.[16]
The section was followed by a video interlude featuring snarling dogs and brooding ravens.[20] The performance of “Monster” began with Gaga emerging in a black feathered jacket and performing dance moves reminiscent of Michael Jackson. The backdrop featured a black bird’s wings.[18] It continued with two songs from The Fame Monster: “So Happy I Could Die” and “Teeth”, where she removed the feathered dress. She then started performing the song “Speechless” and continued at the piano with the acoustic version of “Poker Face“; she played the piano while balancing on her piano stool and holding one leg up in the air.[16] Rapper Kid Cudi joined her then to perform his song “Make Her Say” which contains a sample of “Poker Face”. This segment was followed by the performance of “Fashion” and “The Fame”, during these performances Gaga wore a gold Egyptian styled crown and matching body suit.[16] The dress was compared to the garment of a viking.[21] Gaga crawled atop her piano during the follow-up songs “The Fame” and “Money Honey”.[17] Upholstered in black vinyl and nearly nude in a red patent leather bikini, she followed “Money Honey” with “Boys Boys Boys,” backed by a squadron of skinny, shirtless, snake-hipped leather boys.[22] Bondage inspired black leather dress with guns hanging from it and a hat made of muzzles,[23] were worn during “Poker Face” and Gaga pumped her hands in the air while performing the song.[17] This was followed by Gaga sitting on a dentist’s chair and spreading her legs during “Paper Gangsta”.[16] Another video interlude followed displaying arty poses of Gaga in gothic looks.[18]
She returned on the stage while wearing multiple donned braided extensions for “Paparazzi“. Gaga was perched atop a railing and from each of her braids, a dancer was attached on the stage. A backdrop of stars were shown during the performance.[12] The performance ended with Gaga faking her death. This was followed by “Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)” which signified her rebirth as she descended from the top amidst white lights and mechanical fog.[20] She wore a giant human sized gyroscope around her, which was developed by the Haus of Gaga and was named “The Orbit”.[23] The last song of the show was “Bad Romance” which she performed in an ’80s-inspired white power suit with exaggerated high shoulders and highwaisted pants.[16] The show ended with a video of Gaga getting a heart-shaped tattoo on her shoulder with the word “Dad” in the center of it.[18]
Critical response
Jane Stevenson from Toronto Sun gave the concert four out of five stars and said that “Lady Gaga” came across as a confident, colourful, and campy performer. […] Gaga’s success was evident with slick-looking videos, lights, elaborate costumes, dancers, and yes, a band, even if her stage was sometimes left dark as she left to make numerous changes.”[16] T’Cha Dunlevy for The Gazette noted that the performance was lacking—adding that the show never reached its peak until the end, when Gaga performed the “real rendition” of “Poker Face” and “Bad Romance.” “Better late than never,” Dunlevy concluded.[17] Aedan Helmer from Jam! magazine said that “At first blush, it might seem the real driving force behind Gaga’s meteoric rise to fame is her hand-picked cadre of costume and set designers—dubbed Haus of Gaga—who seemingly know no bounds when it comes to pushing the envelope of haute couture and the theatre of the absurd. […] But what really sets Gaga apart from the middling masses of lip-synching Britney clones and Idol wannabes is her pure, unadulterated musical talent. […] The Lady can sing.”[24] Theatre critic Kelly Nestruck, while writing for The Guardian, said “While The Monster Ball has nothing on the great operas or the golden age of musical theatre, Lady Gaga’s ‘electro-pop opera’ is at least twice as entertaining and infinitely fresher than any stage musical written over the last decade.”[23] Lauren Carter from Boston Herald praised the show saying “[Gaga] only has two albums under her belt but who cares? Every song feels like a hit, and Gaga-as-star is already taking on Madonna-like proportions. […] After [the show] at the Wang Theater, fans could justifiably walk away thinking Lady Gaga is crazy, brilliant or both.”[19] Jeremy Adams from Rolling Stone reviewed the performance at Wang Center in Boston and said that “Throughout the evening, Gaga [..] aimed for a kind of pop theatricality that might potentially cement her burgeoning status as performance artist.”[18]
![A blond woman in white pants and black bustier stands inside a number of metallic circular rings. She holds a microphone to her mouth with her left hand and her right hand makes a claw like gesture. The woman is flanked by men and women in white dress and fierce expressions with their eyes being white in color.](https://i0.wp.com/upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7b/Monster-ball-bad_romance.jpg/200px-Monster-ball-bad_romance.jpg)
Gaga, surrounded by her dancers, performing the final song “Bad Romance” while standing inside a gyroscope during the first leg of the tour.
Chris Johnson from Daily Mail complimented the costumes worn in the tour.[21] Aidin Vaziri of San Francisco Chronicle said that “During her 90-minute performance—not so much a live concert as a meticulously choreographed spectacle—Lady Gaga also evoked Kanye West with the futuristic set, Britney Spears in her heavy-lidded stage movements, Courtney Love with her interminable between-song monologues highlighted by four-letter squelches and—who else?—Madonna for, oh, just about everything else.”[25] Jim Harrington from San Jose Mercury News felt that the show would have been better technically if around thirty minutes were lessened from it.[15]James Montogomery from MTV reviewed the concert at San Diego and said that “[Gaga] powered through and turned the San Diego Sports Arena into a raucous, delightfully raw discotheque.”[20] Joe Brown from Las Vegas Sun said that “Lady Gaga out-Cher-ed Cher, made Cirque du Soleil and Britney’s ‘Circus Tour‘ look like county fair carnivals, and made New Year’s Eve in Las Vegas anticlimactic.”[22] Ann Powers from Los Angeles Times commented that the tour was “an invigoratingly ambitious show, executed with vigor by its star and her expressive dancers.”[26] Jon Pareles from The New York Times said that the tour always provided “something worth a snapshot: a sci-fi tableau, perhaps, or a skimpy, glittery costume. The more her image gets around, the better Lady Gaga does.”[27] Alexis Petridis from The Guardian reviewed the opening show of the European leg, and commented that “it takes a certain je ne sais quoi to open your show doing something that looks suspiciously like mime on a rickety metal staircase while wearing an outfit with shoulderpads the size of the deck on a small aircraft carrier.”[28] Mariel Conception fromBillboard reviewed the show at Madison Square Garden in New York, and said “Lady Gaga may be best known for her gaudy outfits and over-the-top stage shows, but at her hometown headlining debut at Madison Square Garden, the pop phenomenon proved she’s a regular girl at heart. Although extravagant attires, fake blood and sparks-shooting bras were still front and center, Gaga also made it a priority to show her gratitude by dedicating songs to her father, her fans, her native New York City and her friends.”[29]
Commercial reception
As soon as the dates for the show were announced, there was high demand for tickets. As sponsor of the North American Monster Ball Tour, Virgin Mobile customers had access to presale tickets. Bob Stohrer, VP of Marketing for Virgin Mobile USA said “We are excited to take our partnership with Lady Gaga and The Monster Ball Tour to another level. […] We’ll also build on our partnership around combating youth homelessness and continue to enhance the tour experience for fans and our customers.”[30] Shows in the first leg of the tour were sold-out completely, prompting Live Nation Inc. to announce that Gaga will return to the U.S. in February 2011 for another run of U.S. dates. The 2011 dates for the North American Monster Ball Tour were announced as starting from February 19 in Atlantic City, with ten arena dates confirmed through April 18.[31] Additional shows were announced, and Semi Precious Weapons will continue on the road with Gaga until the Monster Ball ends. Live Nation Entertainment‘s global touring division, headed by chairman Arthur Fogel, held the reins as promoter/producer of the Monster Ball tour.[31]
![](https://i0.wp.com/upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e3/Lady_Gaga_BTW_01.jpg/220px-Lady_Gaga_BTW_01.jpg)
Lady Gaga and her dancers performing “Born This Way” for the first time, in February 2011, Atlantic City.
Fogel commented on Gaga’s lack of experience in a tour and said that it was an opportunity for her. “As an artist with that kind of talent and vision emerges, it creates a lot of excitement, and ticket sales worldwide demonstrate that people are really excited to see the show. Over the course of the next many months we’re trying to play to as many people in as many places as possible,” Fogel added. “It’s an across the board home run.”[31] Demands increased and another additional six dates were added to the announced itinerary.[30] The Monster Ball sold out shows in Toronto, Vancouver and San Jose who were compelled to add second dates in each city. In Los Angeles, to ensure that concert goers had the best possible access to tickets, a second performance was announced prior to the onsale of the first shows, and both Staples Center concerts were completely sold out.[30] Billboard estimated that by the time the tour wraps up in 2011, it would have grossed close to $200 million worldwide.[31]
The ticket money from the final performance at Radio City, was donated for the Haiti earthquake relief. Gaga announced on the re-scheduled show at Elliott Hall of Music on January 26, 2010, that about $500,000 was collected for the relief.[32] At the 2010 Billboard Touring Awards, Gaga won the Breakthrough Performer Award, as well as the Concert Marketing & Promotion Award, the latter being an acknowledgement of her partnership with Virgin Mobile.[33] Billboard also placed The Monster Ball Tour at position four on their Year-end Top 25 Tours of 2010. They reported that the tour had grossed $116 million from 122 shows, with an audience of 1.3 million.[34] By the end of the year, Pollstar announced that the tour had earned a total of $133.6 million from 138 shows, making her the only woman to be placed in their list of the Top 10 Tours of 2010.[35] In April 2011, the tour grossed a further $5.5 million in ticket sales reported from four performances. The top grosser was Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey with over $1.5 million from 14,809 sold seats at an April 22, 2011, performance. The largest crowd, however, came from the Nashville market with 14,925 in the house on April 19, 2011, at Bridgestone Arena. The tour played the Atlanta market on April 18, 2011, with 10,864 tickets sold at the Arena at Gwinnett Center and closed out the week in New York’s Long Island area with a sellout crowd of 13,195 at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale on April 23, 2011.[36] By May 2011, the tour had grossed a total of $227.4 million, from the 200 reported shows, drawing an audience of 2.5 million. It became the highest-grossing tour ever by a debut headlining artist.[37]
Broadcast and recordings
On February 14, 2011, Lady Gaga announced on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno that HBO will tape a special of The Monster Ball Tour. The program was filmed during Gaga’s February 21-22 shows at Madison Square Garden and will be titled “Lady Gaga Presents the Monster Ball Tour at Madison Square Garden.” HBO confirmed that the special will air on May 7, 2011. [38]
Opening acts
- Semi Precious Weapons (all dates except February & March 2011)[39]
- Kid Cudi (North America: Leg 1) (select dates)[7]
- Jason Derülo (North America: Leg 1) (select dates)[7]
- Alphabeat (Europe: Leg 1)[40]
- Far East Movement (Asia)[41]
- Scissor Sisters (North America: Leg 3)[42]
Setlist
Tour dates
Date | City | Country | Venue | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
North America[50] | |||||||
November 27, 2009 | Montreal | Canada | Bell Centre | ||||
November 28, 2009 | Toronto | Air Canada Centre | |||||
November 29, 2009 | Ottawa | Scotiabank Place | |||||
December 1, 2009 | Boston | United States | Wang Theatre | ||||
December 2, 2009 | |||||||
December 3, 2009 | Camden | Susquehanna Bank Center | |||||
December 9, 2009 | Vancouver | Canada | Queen Elizabeth Theatre | ||||
December 10, 2009 | |||||||
December 11, 2009 | |||||||
December 13, 2009 | San Francisco | United States | Bill Graham Civic Auditorium | ||||
December 14, 2009 | |||||||
December 17, 2009 | Las Vegas | Pearl Concert Theater | |||||
December 18, 2009 | |||||||
December 19, 2009 | San Diego | San Diego Sports Arena | |||||
December 21, 2009 | Los Angeles | Nokia Theatre L.A. Live | |||||
December 22, 2009 | |||||||
December 23, 2009 | |||||||
December 27, 2009 | New Orleans | UNO Lakefront Arena | |||||
December 28, 2009 | Atlanta | Fox Theatre | |||||
December 29, 2009 | |||||||
December 31, 2009 | Miami | Knight Center | |||||
January 2, 2010 | |||||||
January 3, 2010 | Orlando | UCF Arena | |||||
January 7, 2010 | St. Louis | Fox Theatre | |||||
January 8, 2010 | Chicago | Rosemont Theatre | |||||
January 9, 2010 | |||||||
January 10, 2010 | |||||||
January 12, 2010 | Detroit | Joe Louis Arena | |||||
January 13, 2010 | |||||||
January 20, 2010 | New York City | Radio City Music Hall | |||||
January 21, 2010 | |||||||
January 23, 2010 | |||||||
January 24, 2010 | |||||||
January 26, 2010 | West Lafayette | Elliott Hall of Music | |||||
Europe[50] | |||||||
February 18, 2010 | Manchester | England | Manchester Evening News Arena | ||||
February 20, 2010 | Dublin | Ireland | The O2 | ||||
February 21, 2010 | |||||||
February 22, 2010 | Belfast | Northern Ireland | Odyssey Arena | ||||
February 24, 2010 | Liverpool | England | Echo Arena Liverpool | ||||
February 26, 2010 | London | The O2 Arena | |||||
February 27, 2010 | |||||||
March 1, 2010 | Glasgow | Scotland | Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre | ||||
March 3, 2010 | Cardiff | Wales | Cardiff International Arena | ||||
March 4, 2010 | Newcastle | England | Metro Radio Arena | ||||
March 5, 2010 | Birmingham | LG Arena | |||||
Oceania[50][51] | |||||||
March 13, 2010 | Auckland | New Zealand | Vector Arena | ||||
March 14, 2010 | |||||||
March 17, 2010 | Sydney | Australia | Sydney Entertainment Centre | ||||
March 18, 2010 | |||||||
March 20, 2010 | Newcastle | Newcastle Entertainment Centre | |||||
March 23, 2010 | Melbourne | Rod Laver Arena | |||||
March 24, 2010 | |||||||
March 26, 2010 | Brisbane | Brisbane Entertainment Centre | |||||
March 27, 2010 | |||||||
March 29, 2010 | Canberra | AIS Arena | |||||
April 1, 2010 | Perth | Burswood Dome | |||||
April 3, 2010 | Adelaide | Adelaide Entertainment Centre | |||||
April 5, 2010 | Wollongong | WIN Entertainment Centre | |||||
April 7, 2010 | Sydney | Sydney Entertainment Centre | |||||
April 9, 2010 | Melbourne | Rod Laver Arena | |||||
Asia[50] | |||||||
April 14, 2010 | Kobe | Japan | Kobe World Kinen Hall | ||||
April 15, 2010 | |||||||
April 17, 2010 | Yokohama | Yokohama Arena | |||||
April 18, 2010 | |||||||
Europe[50] | |||||||
May 7, 2010 | Stockholm | Sweden | Ericsson Globe | ||||
May 8, 2010 | |||||||
May 10, 2010 | Hamburg | Germany | O2 World Hamburg | ||||
May 11, 2010 | Berlin | O2 World | |||||
May 15, 2010 | Arnhem | Netherlands | GelreDome XS | ||||
May 17, 2010 | Antwerp | Belgium | Sportpaleis | ||||
May 18, 2010 | |||||||
May 21, 2010 | Paris | France | Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy | ||||
May 22, 2010 | |||||||
May 24, 2010 | Oberhausen | Germany | König Pilsener Arena | ||||
May 25, 2010 | Strasbourg | France | Zénith de Strasbourg | ||||
May 27, 2010 | Nottingham | England | Trent FM Arena Nottingham | ||||
May 28, 2010 | Birmingham | LG Arena | |||||
May 30, 2010 | London | The O2 Arena | |||||
May 31, 2010 | |||||||
June 2, 2010 | Manchester | Manchester Evening News Arena | |||||
June 3, 2010 | |||||||
June 4, 2010 | Sheffield | Sheffield Arena | |||||
North America[50] | |||||||
June 28, 2010 | Montreal | Canada | Bell Centre | ||||
July 1, 2010 | Boston | United States | TD Garden | ||||
July 2, 2010 | |||||||
July 4, 2010 | Atlantic City | Boardwalk Hall | |||||
July 6, 2010 | New York City | Madison Square Garden | |||||
July 7, 2010 | |||||||
July 9, 2010 | |||||||
July 11, 2010 | Toronto | Canada | Air Canada Centre | ||||
July 12, 2010 | |||||||
July 14, 2010 | Cleveland | United States | Quicken Loans Arena | ||||
July 15, 2010 | Indianapolis | Conseco Fieldhouse | |||||
July 17, 2010 | St. Louis | Scottrade Center | |||||
July 20, 2010 | Oklahoma City | Ford Center | |||||
July 22, 2010 | Dallas | American Airlines Center | |||||
July 23, 2010 | |||||||
July 25, 2010 | Houston | Toyota Center | |||||
July 26, 2010 | |||||||
July 28, 2010 | Denver | Pepsi Center | |||||
July 31, 2010 | Phoenix | US Airways Center | |||||
August 3, 2010 | Kansas City | Sprint Center | |||||
August 6, 2010[A] | Chicago | Grant Park | |||||
August 11, 2010 | Los Angeles | Staples Center | |||||
August 12, 2010 | |||||||
August 13, 2010 | Las Vegas | MGM Grand Garden Arena | |||||
August 16, 2010 | San Jose | HP Pavilion at San Jose | |||||
August 17, 2010 | |||||||
August 19, 2010 | Portland | Rose Garden | |||||
August 21, 2010 | Tacoma | Tacoma Dome | |||||
August 23, 2010 | Vancouver | Canada | Rogers Arena | ||||
August 24, 2010 | |||||||
August 26, 2010 | Edmonton | Rexall Place | |||||
August 27, 2010 | |||||||
August 30, 2010 | Saint Paul | United States | Xcel Energy Center | ||||
August 31, 2010 | |||||||
September 2, 2010 | Milwaukee | Bradley Center | |||||
September 4, 2010 | Detroit | The Palace of Auburn Hills | |||||
September 5, 2010 | Pittsburgh | Consol Energy Center | |||||
September 7, 2010 | Washington, D.C. | Verizon Center | |||||
September 8, 2010 | Charlottesville | John Paul Jones Arena | |||||
September 14, 2010 | Philadelphia | Wells Fargo Center | |||||
September 15, 2010 | |||||||
September 16, 2010 | Hartford | XL Center | |||||
September 18, 2010 | Charlotte | Time Warner Cable Arena | |||||
September 19, 2010 | Raleigh | RBC Center | |||||
Europe[50] | |||||||
October 13, 2010 | Helsinki | Finland | Hartwall Areena | ||||
October 14, 2010 | |||||||
October 16, 2010 | Oslo | Norway | Oslo Spektrum | ||||
October 17, 2010 | |||||||
October 20, 2010 | Herning | Denmark | Jyske Bank Boxen | ||||
October 26, 2010 | Dublin | Ireland | The O2 | ||||
October 27, 2010 | |||||||
October 29, 2010 | |||||||
October 30, 2010 | Belfast | Northern Ireland | Odyssey Arena | ||||
November 1, 2010 | |||||||
November 2, 2010 | |||||||
November 5, 2010 | Zagreb | Croatia | Arena Zagreb | ||||
November 7, 2010 | Budapest | Hungary | Budapest Sports Arena | ||||
November 9, 2010 | Turin | Italy | Torino Palasport Olimpico | ||||
November 11, 2010 | Vienna | Austria | Wiener Stadthalle | ||||
November 14, 2010 | Zurich | Switzerland | Hallenstadion | ||||
November 15, 2010 | |||||||
November 17, 2010 | Prague | Czech Republic | O2 Arena | ||||
November 19, 2010 | Malmö | Sweden | Malmö Arena | ||||
November 22, 2010 | Antwerp | Belgium | Sportpaleis | ||||
November 23, 2010 | |||||||
November 26, 2010 | Gdańsk | Poland | Ergo Arena | ||||
November 29, 2010 | Rotterdam | Netherlands | Ahoy Rotterdam | ||||
November 30, 2010 | |||||||
December 2, 2010 | Lyon | France | Halle Tony Garnier | ||||
December 4, 2010 | Milan | Italy | Mediolanum Forum | ||||
December 5, 2010 | |||||||
December 7, 2010 | Barcelona | Spain | Palau Sant Jordi | ||||
December 10, 2010 | Lisbon | Portugal | Pavilhão Atlântico | ||||
December 12, 2010 | Madrid | Spain | Palacio de Deportes | ||||
December 16, 2010 | London | England | The O2 Arena | ||||
December 17, 2010 | |||||||
December 20, 2010 | Paris | France | Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy | ||||
December 21, 2010 | |||||||
North America[50] | |||||||
February 19, 2011 | Atlantic City | United States | Boardwalk Hall | ||||
February 21, 2011 | New York City | Madison Square Garden | |||||
February 22, 2011 | |||||||
February 24, 2011 | Washington, D.C. | Verizon Center | |||||
February 26, 2011 | Pittsburgh | Consol Energy Center | |||||
February 28, 2011 | Chicago | United Center | |||||
March 1, 2011 | Grand Rapids | Van Andel Arena | |||||
March 3, 2011 | Toronto | Canada | Air Canada Centre | ||||
March 4, 2011 | Buffalo | United States | HSBC Arena | ||||
March 6, 2011 | Ottawa | Canada | Scotiabank Place | ||||
March 8, 2011 | Boston | United States | TD Garden | ||||
March 10, 2011 | Columbus | Jerome Schottenstein Center | |||||
March 12, 2011 | Louisville | KFC Yum! Center | |||||
March 14, 2011 | Dallas | American Airlines Center | |||||
March 15, 2011 | San Antonio | AT&T Center | |||||
March 17, 2011 | Omaha | Qwest Center Omaha | |||||
March 19, 2011 | Salt Lake City | EnergySolutions Arena | |||||
March 22, 2011 | Oakland | Oracle Arena | |||||
March 23, 2011 | Sacramento | ARCO Arena | |||||
March 25, 2011 | Las Vegas | MGM Grand Garden Arena | |||||
March 26, 2011 | Phoenix | US Airways Center | |||||
March 28, 2011 | Los Angeles | Staples Center | |||||
March 29, 2011 | San Diego | Viejas Arena | |||||
March 31, 2011 | Anaheim | Honda Center | |||||
April 4, 2011 | Tulsa | BOK Center | |||||
April 6, 2011 | Austin | Frank Erwin Center | |||||
April 8, 2011 | Houston | Toyota Center | |||||
April 9, 2011 | New Orleans | New Orleans Arena | |||||
April 12, 2011 | Fort Lauderdale | BankAtlantic Center | |||||
April 13, 2011 | Miami | American Airlines Arena | |||||
April 15, 2011 | Orlando | Amway Center | |||||
April 16, 2011 | Tampa | St. Pete Times Forum | |||||
April 18, 2011 | Atlanta | Arena at Gwinnett Center | |||||
April 19, 2011 | Nashville | Bridgestone Arena | |||||
April 22, 2011 | Newark | Prudential Center | |||||
April 23, 2011 | Uniondale | Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum | |||||
April 25, 2011 | Montreal | Canada | Bell Centre | ||||
April 27, 2011 | Cleveland | United States | Quicken Loans Arena | ||||
May 3, 2011 | Guadalajara | Mexico | Estadio Tres de Marzo | ||||
May 5, 2011 | Mexico City | Foro Sol | |||||
May 6, 2011 |
Box Office Score Data
Venue | City | Tickets sold / available | Gross revenue |
---|---|---|---|
Bell Centre | Montreal | 23,868 / 28,049 (85%) | $8,250,870[52][53] |
Air Canada Centre | Toronto | 28,753 / 28,753 (100%) | $2,506,582[54][55] |
Scotiabank Place | Ottawa | 21,895 / 21,895 (100%) | $1,891,532[54][55] |
Wang Theatre | Boston | 7,056 / 7,056 (100%) | $4,385,924[56] |
Susquehanna Bank Center | Camden | 7,143 / 7,143 (100%) | $4,891,295[56] |
Queen Elizabeth Theatre | Vancouver | 8,220 / 8,220 (100%) | $479,149[57] |
Bill Graham Civic Auditorium | San Francisco | 17,000 / 17,000 (100%) | $9,840,960[58] |
Nokia Theatre | Los Angeles | 20,559 / 20,559 (100%) | $944,680[59] |
Fox Theatre | Atlanta | 8,897 / 8,897 (100%) | $489,849[59] |
James L. Knight Center | Miami | 9,365 / 9,365 (100%) | $445,933[60] |
UCF Arena | Orlando | 6,753 / 6,785 (99%) | $283,886[61] |
Rosemont Theatre | Rosemont | 12,712 / 13,032 (97%) | $610,177[62] |
Joe Louis Arena | Detroit | 16,084 / 16,648 (97%) | $750,090[63] |
Radio City Music Hall | New York City | 23,684 / 23,684 (100%) | $1,360,515[64] |
Edward C. Elliott Hall of Music | West Lafayette | 5,765 / 5,765 (100%) | $198,893[65] |
Manchester Evening News Arena | Manchester | 40,327 / 40,472 (~100%) | $3,007,033[66] |
The O2 | Dublin | 62,985 / 62,985 (100%) | $1,225,970[67] |
Odyssey Arena | Belfast | 10,038 / 10,038 (100%) | $426,986[67] |
The O2 Arena | London | 67,795 / 67,812 (99%) | $4,618,330[68][69] |
Vector Arena | Auckland | 23,084 / 23,936 (96%) | $1,056,840[66] |
Sydney Entertainment Centre | Sydney | 35,460 / 35,460 (100%) | $2,533,140[70] |
Newcastle Entertainment Centre | Newcastle | 7,182 / 7,225 (99%) | $527,770[63] |
Rod Laver Arena | Melbourne | 39,299 / 39,299 (100%) | $2,679,010[71] |
AIS Arena | Canberra | 4,990 / 5,058 (99%) | $328,569[66] |
Burswood Dome | Perth | 18,383 / 22,891 (80%) | $1,746,560[66] |
Adelaide Entertainment Centre | Adelaide | 9,186 / 9,791 (94%) | $629,515[66] |
WIN Entertainment Centre | Wollongong | 5,183 / 5,746 (90%) | $349,420[66] |
Brisbane Entertainment Centre | Brisbane | 25,222 / 25,476 (99%) | $2,065,210[70] |
O2 World Hamburg | Hamburg | 7,010 / 10,500 (67%) | $600,688[69] |
Sportpaleis | Antwerp | 63,759 / 63,759 (100%) | $5,255,380[72][73] |
Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy | Paris | 31,474 / 31,552 (~100%) | $2,763,340[74] |
Boardwalk Hall | Atlantic City | 26,827 / 26,837 (100%) | $3,434,715[75][76] |
Madison Square Garden | New York City | 74,410 / 74,410 (100%) | $8,295,034[66][76] |
American Airlines Center | Dallas | 39,501 / 41,619 (95%) | $4,334,491[77][78] |
Staples Center | Los Angeles | 44,094 / 44,476 (99%) | $5,091,571[79][80] |
Rose Garden | Portland | 13,149 / 13,149 (100%) | $1,386,255[66] |
Rexall Place | Edmonton | 28,282 / 28,282 (100%) | $2,794,870[81] |
Verizon Center | Washington, D.C. | 29,608 / 29,608 (100%) | $3,235,156[72][76] |
Consol Energy Center | Pittsburgh | 14,713 / 14,713 (100%) | $1,554,415[76] |
United Center | Chicago | 15,845 / 15,845 (100%) | $1,801,457[76] |
Van Andel Arena | Grand Rapids | 11,992 / 11,992 (100%) | $1,227,096[55] |
HSBC Arena | Buffalo | 15,512 / 15,512 (100%) | $1,580,602[55] |
TD Garden | Boston | 14,361 / 14,361 (100%) | $1,525,663[55] |
Jerome Schottenstein Center | Columbus | 13,229 / 13,229 (100%) | $1,369,378[55] |
KFC Yum! Center | Louisville | 17,270 / 17,270 (100%) | $1,678,962[78] |
AT&T Center | San Antonio | 14,257 / 14,257 (100%) | $1,462,754[78] |
Qwest Center Arena | Omaha | 15,313 / 15,313 (100%) | $1,606,232[78] |
EnergySolutions Arena | Salt Lake City | 14,385 / 14,385 (100%) | $1,313,005[78] |
Oracle Arena | Oakland | 15,913 / 15,913 (100%) | $1,563,797[80] |
Power Balance Pavilion | Sacramento | 14,285 / 14,285 (100%) | $1,302,951[80] |
MGM Grand Garden Arena | Las Vegas | 14,119 / 14,119 (100%) | $1,712,826[80] |
US Airways Center | Phoenix | 14,166 / 14,166 (100%) | $1,386,115[80] |
Viejas Arena | San Diego | 9,655 / 9,655 (100%) | $1,147,055[80] |
Honda Center | Anaheim | 13,026 / 13,026 (100%) | $1,380,353[80] |
BOK Center | Tulsa | 13,710 / 13,710 (100%) | $1,322,897[82] |
Frank Erwin Center | Austin | 12,904 / 12,904 (100%) | $1,295,938[82] |
Toyota Center | Houston | 13,412 / 13,412 (100%) | $1,401,330[82] |
New Orleans Arena | New Orleans | 13,513 / 13,513 (100%) | $1,392,998[82] |
Arena at Gwinnett Center | Duluth | 10,864 / 10,864 (100%) | $1,173,392[83] |
Bridgestone Arena | Nashville | 14,925 / 14,925 (100%) | $1,485,607[83] |
Prudential Center | Newark | 14,809 / 14,809 (100%) | $1,500,885[83] |
Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum | Uniondale | 13,195 / 13,195 (100%) | $1,393,404[83] |
TOTAL | 1,226,765 / 1,241,623(99%) | $106,695,330 |
See Also
15 Small Business Lessons from Richard Branson
Posted: April 27, 2011 in Business, Companies, Economy, Entrepreneur, Inspiration, Investing, PassionTags: Business, Entrepreneur, Virgin
15 Small Business Lessons from Richard Branson : Managing :: American… –
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Sep 23, 2010 –
On paper, global entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson is larger than life: entrepreneur with over 360 companies, chairman of the Virgin Group, author, adventurer, knight, patron, kajillionaire, would-be space traveler with a ballsy mantra, “Screw it, let’s do it.”
As my friend Kyle Lacy commented after we both watched Branson keynote a marketing conference in Indianapolis last week, “You think you’re doing pretty well, and then you meet that guy.”
On stage, Branson projects approachability and humility, which is especially surprising as he has every reason to be anything but. In other words, if a colossal ego were ever justified, it would be Branson’s.
As Chairman of the Virgin Group, he has become a global icon challenging convention and succeeding against the odds. But much of what Branson said has special resonance for small business owners struggling to differentiate themselves in their markets.
1. On big companies vs. small companies
“Small is beautiful,” Branson said. “This may seem like a peculiar boast,” he added, but he doesn’t see size as a competitive advantage.
His Virgin Records label is not the biggest in the music industry, but in 1992 it attracted the Rolling Stones. Virgin Airlines has a mere 37 airplanes versus the 700+ maintained by its competitors. It’s better to spin off a company into a second smaller company (as Virgin Atlantic spun off Virgin America) than grow larger, Branson believes, because smaller companies can stay both more nimble and more customer-focused. They can also maintain the style and “cheekiness” of their early trailblazing if they stay relatively compact.
2. On the foundation of a brand
Branson believes that “outstanding brands are built around great people who deliver consistently great customer service every day.”
Ultimately, a brand is only as good as the products behind it. A business’s top priority is to get its products right, and then wrap a great brand around it. “You can’t kid people,” Branson said.
3. On his inspiration in nature
Virgin has a “lot in common with bumblebees,” Branson says. The aerodynamics of the bee’s biology suggest that it shouldn’t be able to fly. “But it just goes out and does it.”
4. On seeing things through your customer’s eyes
His inspiration for Virgin Airlines grew out of his own miserable experience as a passenger on commercial airlines replete with “dreadful service.” Virgin went head-to-head against the “well-oiled marketing machines” of the “big, boring competition,” Branson said.
“We didn’t know how much we didn’t know,” he added. “We had no idea how serious airlines were supposed to be run—so we looked at it entirely from the passenger’s perspective.”
5. On positioning
Virgin decided to compete on service—rather than price—as a way to set itself apart from other air carriers. Virgin also “focused on what we knew best—entertainment,” Branson said, positioning his airline as a “well-priced product [that would] make flying fun again” via perks like onboard bars, massages, power plugs at every seat, the flexibility to order food in your seat when you want it, and so on.
“We weren’t out to be the biggest, but definitely to be the best,” he said.
6. On hiring
More companies look for employees with relevant experience first. But from its outset, Virgin “hired friendly over experienced,” Branson said. It sought out employees who had fresh perspectives, great attitudes, and were eager to have fun, and then trained them to do their jobs. Those who arrived with experience from other air carriers were those who essentially “had learned how to not do their jobs,” he said.
Branson also believes in promoting from within. “We try to take people on from within,” he said, because “we know their weakness and strengths.” What’s more, he said, he often promotes people above the position they expect. “We take a risk. You can start off as a cleaning lady and go to the top.” Also, hiring from within “doesn’t demoralize people in company,” Branson added.
7. On listening to customers and employees
Branson is well known for his personable management style. Early on, he wrote monthly letters to all Virgin Group employees, and every employee was given his home telephone number. He extends that openness to customers, too, at times randomly calling select customers to inquire about their experience on his airline, for example.
Have a “fearlessness of engaging with people,” Branson said, because “conversations can change the world.”
“We like to listen to our customers, because it’s an opportunity to be creative,” Branson said.
8. On social media
For businesses, social media offers both challenges and opportunities, Branson said. For example, an unhappy Virgin passenger might use the megaphone of a social media platform to complain, when a push of an onboard call button would resolve the issue, Branson said. But at the same time, social channels can help your customers find one another and allow them a change to interact, which makes an onboard community on an airplane, for example, a “smaller, warmer, friendlier” place.
Branson believes that when businesses carefully monitor and respond, social media helps businesses anticipate needs. For example, when a Virgin passenger expressed his concern on Twitter about whether he might make his connecting flight, Virgin staffers made sure he made it.
Social channels can also offer immediate feedback on what your customers will respond to: When Virgin America announced a fare sale on Twitter, it became the fourth highest sale day in the airline’s history.
9. On having a sense of humor
Approaching business playfully, and with a healthy sense of humor and fun, is critical. Virgin “built its business on free advertising, and largely with a sense of humor,” Branson said. A “cheeky” approach to business and “fun, gentle digs at competitors help put your name on the map,” he added.
10. On failure
Entrepreneurs take risks, Branson said, and as such “mustn’t be afraid of failure.” Failure doesn’t damage a reputation as much as some fear, he said. And anyways, it’s more fun to challenge yourself to succeed than to not act out of fear of failing, especially as success begets success: “If you can run one business well, you should be able to run any business well.”
True entrepreneurs “love challenging themselves, and love challenging the people around us,” especially when it comes to succeeding in otherwise established markets, where most businesses are “diabolically run.”
11. On his fascination with space travel
Branson founded Virgin Galactic in 1990 with a goal of making commercial space travel viable, but the idea grew out of a longtime passion for an idea that he worked hard to make a reality. (Which is, by the way, exactly what entrepreneurs do more generally, in other industries.)
His fascination with space travel took root when he (along with the rest of the world) watched the first manned spacecraft land on the moon in 1969. After seeing Apollo 11, he said, “I assumed I’d be going into space.” And decades later he worked to develop a reusable, safe spaceship that could make suborbital spaceflight a reality. Now, he says, commercial space travel is only a year or so away.
12. On the importance of company culture
Everything comes down to the people you hire to run your company, Branson said. Those running the company have to love it, and they also have to believe in the products you sell. The CEO must care as much about the cleaning ladies and switchboard operators as well as the company’s other directors.
The Virgin Group tries to maintain an equal number of men and women on its boards and in it’s staffing. Too often corporate boards are overwhelmingly male, Branson said, but he believes companies benefit from a more equal split.
13. On partying with employees
It’s important for higher-ups to get to know people on a personal level, outside of work. “We encourage as much partying as possible,” he said.
For executives, that means staying at the same hotel where your staff stays, and hanging out at the bar with them, after hours. “You’ll get the honest feedback at a bar,” Branson said.
14. On success
With success comes wealth and fame, but also enormous responsibility to help other people and improve the world we live in, Branson said. He now spends most of his time on humanitarian and social issues.
15. On which business is his favorite
Branson doesn’t run any business daily, as he’s become expert at the “art of delegation,” he said. But those businesses that interest him most tend to be the ones that are struggling.
“The businesses I become closest to as those that are like a child getting bullied; I tend to spend more time with them than with other businesses” to help steer them onto the right track.
Image credit: Charles Nicholls
Ann Handley is the Chief Content Officer of
MarketingProfs and the co-author of the upcoming Content Rules (Wiley, 2010). Follow her on Twitter @marketingprofs.
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Posted: April 26, 2011 in Business, Government, PoliticsTags: 2012, President, Trump