Hooligans in Wondaland Tour


The Hooligans in Wondaland Tour was a concert tour that was headlined by American singer-songwriter Bruno Mars and Janelle Monáe, respectively, 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, coinciding with their performances at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards. In April 2011, a promotional trailer was released through Mars' official YouTube channel and a dedicated website that was designed to further promote the tour. The concerts took place in North America in May and June 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' 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 , and two covers. The Hooligans in Wondaland Tour received a positive reception from most critics, who praised Mars' and Monnáe's performances, and said they, along with Mayer Hawthorne, are "purveyors of perfect pop music". The co-headlined tour was judged by NME to be among the best 25.

Background and development

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 titled "Hooligans in Wondaland" was announced. The concert tour was performed in North America in May and June 2011. Pre-sales tickets were made available two days after the announcement of the tour; they were available as bundles with a meet-and-greet with one of the artists, a signed poster, a digital EP and a commemorative laminate. On February 26, tickets were made available to the general public. A promotional trailer was released through Mars' official YouTube channel, as well as a dedicated website to promote the tour.
The tour was named "Hooligans in Wondaland Tour", after both Mars' album Doo-Wops & Hooligans, Monáe's Atlanta crew Wondaland Arts Society, and a track included on her album The ArchAndroid. The tour's promotional poster was inspired by the artwork of "James Brown-era all-star shows at the Apollo Theater". 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. This strategy meant lower earnings in the short term but allowed Mars to build a fan base by performing shows at small, intimate venues. After the first show of the tour, Mars said he was nervous about the "production values" of the lights and other equipment.

Sound

During the Hooligans in Wondaland concerts, Mars' and Monáe's engineers shared the consoles, and technician Ben Rothstein handled the sound gear. In addition, Derek Brener, Mars' front of house engineer controlled several inputs and outputs, including the Stereo Auxiliary Output for the subwoofers. Brener also controlled the distressors on Mars' vocals and bass. Hall Verb was employed for drums and horns, delay and R-Verb for vocals, and compression of guitar's sound. Mars had two pairs of speaker wedges downstage center; the inner pair was mixed with Mars' voice and two background vocals while the outer pair had the band mix along with his guitar on top, according to Mars' monitor engineer Mike Graham. Alex McCloud, Monáe's monitor engineer, said the 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.

Concert synopsis

The concerts were supported by Mayer Hawthorne & The County, American musician Patrick Stump and English rapper Plan B. Hawthorne used his opening spot to play a range of material, including some of his famous covers. Monáe performed the concerts in a "The Cotton Club" set, along with her 13-piece orchestra, ArchOrchestra. She was dressed in a white shirt, black tie, tuxedo pants and a cloak covering it; and 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. Mars, who used a Gibson guitar during the concerts, performed with his band The Hooligans. During the 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. The stage had square screens projecting images, lights, flashing graphic colors and video. Mars' set lasted around an hour.

Monáe

The show started with an MC wearing a top hat and coat-tails. Monáe was taken to stage by several dancers wearing hooded black cloaks, which were later removed and the dancers 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. Once on stage, Monáe performed "Dance or Die" and "Faster", alternating between rapping and gospel chanting. She also sang "Locked Inside". Monáe created a "theatrical flair", fending off masked dancers. Then, she put on sunglasses and performed "Sincerely, Jane" and a cover of Jackson 5's "I Want You Back" while moonwalking.
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". Under dimmed lights, Monáe, accompanied by a guitarist, performed Charlie Chaplin's ballad "Smile", after which she started a "pouding", "toe-tapping" performance of "Cold War" and the "funk jam" "Tightrope". She closed her set with a rock gospel version of "Come Alive ", before diving into the crowd, getting a "piggy-back ride" over fans or taking a "victory lap". Both songs were sung in a "crescendo". As Monáe talked and wailed, her hair released itself from its pompadour, and her performance reached a climax.

Mars

Before Mars started his show, he asked the crowd to put away their mobile phones. He began by performing the "feel-good" theme "Top of The World", which was inspired by Michael Jackson's song "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'". The third song on the setlist was a rock cover of "Money " by Barrett Strong, which served as an interlude before the reggae influences on "Billionaire", a song with which the audience joined in at many performances. Mars performed "Our First Time" in a sensual way with reggae vibes. It was followed by the uptempo "Runaway Baby", which was filled with "retro rock 'n' roll". 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". He then sang the romantic, The Beach Boys-influenced anthem "Marry You".
"Marry You" was followed by "The Lazy Song", one of the highlights of the tour; Mars' performance included a comedic moment in which his backup singer shouted, "Oh my God, that feels great!" and the band stopped to "goof". It also included a repetition of the verse "have some nice sex". "Count on Me", an "ode to buddydom", was performed as a singalong in which Mars played a ukulele. "Liquor Store Blues" was included in the set. Mars would serenade a woman in the audience with a chorus of "Nothin' on You". He returned to the stage and sang "Grenade" as a powerful rock song that was inspired by the Cure's "Just Like Heaven". 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. In some concerts, the encore was "Somewhere in Brooklyn", which had the word "Brooklyn" was replaced with the name of the city in which he was performing, along with "Talking to the Moon".

Critical response

The Hooligans in Wondaland concerts received mostly positive reviews from critics. Chris Gray writing for Houston Press praised Mars' 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". Jordan Levin from Miami Herald complimented the show, saying Mars and Monáe are "moving musical formulas forward, not with technology and spectacle, but with invention and talent". 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' guitar skills and dubbed Monáe's performance "exhilarating". LA Weeklys 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". 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". Shawn White writing for Westword said the tour "might look like a strange bill" but "all three featured acts are purveyors of perfect pop music". Seattle Gay Newss Shaun Knittel commended the live show, saying, "Bruno Mars and Janelle Monáe are as good as critics say they are".
In a mixed review, Emily Barker of The Globe and Mail called Mars' set "obvious and pedestrian; so cynical and exploitative" but praised Monáe's performance, saying, "she proved herself miraculous, an unabashedly theatrical musical polyglot". 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".
NMEs Emily Barker complied a list of the 25 best co-headlined shows, ranking the Hooligans in Wondaland Tour at number 20. Barker said the show "took its cues from the old-school".

Set list

Bruno Mars Janelle Monáe's set lists for the May 18, 2011, show, respectively.
  1. "The Other Side"
  2. "Top of The World"
  3. "Money " / "Billionaire"
  4. "Our First Time"
  5. "Runaway Baby"
  6. Doo Wop
  7. "Marry You"
  8. "The Lazy Song"
  9. "Count on Me"
  10. "Liquor Store Blues"
  11. "Nothin' on You"
  12. "Grenade"
;Encore
  2. "Just the Way You Are"
  3. "Dance or Die"
  4. "Faster"
  5. "Locked Inside"
  6. "Smile"
  7. "Sincerely, Jane"
  8. "I Want You Back"
  9. "Mushrooms & Roses"
  10. "Cold War"
  11. "Tightrope"
  12. "Come Alive "
Notes

Box office score data

Personnel

Credits adapted from several sources:
The Hooligans
Management
Production