Dressed to Kill Tour (Cher)

The Dressed to Kill Tour was the sixth solo concert tour by American singer-actress Cher. Launched in support of her twenty-fifth studio album, Closer to the Truth, it started in Phoenix, Arizona on March 22, 2014 and continued across North America before coming to a close in San Diego on July 11, 2014. The tour has received mostly positive reception from critics, who praised Cher's vocal performance as well as the several costumes and show elements.

Dressed to Kill Tour
Tour by Cher
Promotional poster for the tour
Associated albumCloser to the Truth
Start dateMarch 22, 2014 (2014-03-22)
End dateJuly 11, 2014 (2014-07-11)
Legs1
No. of shows49 in North America
Box office$55 million
Cher concert chronology

Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo were listed as "special guests" for the first 13 dates from March 22, 2014 to April 12, 2014 and Cyndi Lauper for the further 36 shows from April 23, 2014 through July 11, 2014.[1] On November 21, 2014, after numerous delays in the planned launch of the second leg of the tour, Cher announced that she had prematurely aborted the tour due to health problems. Even with the cancellation of the 2nd leg, the tour made its way onto the Pollstar's Top 20 Worldwide Tours of 2014 list, ranking at number 19 with the gross of $55 million and more than 600,000 tickets sold.[2]

Background and development

On September 23, 2013, Cher visited The Today Show aired on NBC where she performed "Woman's World", "I Hope You Find It" and "Believe".[3] While on the show, Cher announced that she would tour with her twenty-fifth album, Closer to the Truth. When speaking about the tour, Cher stated:

"Being on the road is horrible but the concerts are great. I can understand why bands tear up hotel rooms – it can be a very lonely place – but the only time you have fun is at the concerts."[4]

After the appearance, it was announced through Cher's website that American Express cardmembers would have the first chance to purchase the tickets during the tour pre-sale from September 30, 2013 to October 3, 2013.[5] Tickets that were purchased online included a physical copy of Closer to the Truth.[6]

On May 14, 2014, Cher revealed on The Today Show that the tour would be extended with 27 additional dates across North America, beginning on September 11, 2014.[7] For that second leg, fashion designer and long-time collaborator Bob Mackie had provided a string of new costumes for Cher. He was unable to make a commitment in the first place, and was thus replaced by Hugh Durrant for the first leg.[8]

After several postponements starting shortly before the originally planned launch in September, the second leg of the tour ultimately got cancelled on November 21, 2014; due to Cher recovering from an acute viral infection which affected her kidney function.[9] In an official statement, she indicated to be "devastated," adding she "sincerely hope[s] that we can come back again next year and finish what we started."[10]

Concert synopsis
Cher performing during the tour.

The show began with Cher atop a pedestal in a glittering gown and feathered headdress singing "Woman's World" surrounded by dancers and backing vocalists; a gladiator-themed performance of "Strong Enough" followed. After she welcomes the audience to the show, a vampire-themed performance of "Dressed to Kill" came next, ending with Cher biting dancer Joe Slaughter's neck.[8] An interlude plays and Cher returns to sing "The Beat Goes On" and "I Got You Babe", the latter with footage of her late-husband Sonny Bono appearing on the video screens behind her.

The third segment saw Cher's dancers paraded around the main floor as she sang "Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves" and "Dark Lady" before donning an floor-length Native American headdress to sing "Half-Breed." After a brief interlude featuring clips from Cher's films, the singer then paid tribute to her appearance in Burlesque with "Welcome to Burlesque" and "You Haven't Seen the Last of Me."[11][12]

The fifth act began with a performance of "Take It Like a Man", where Cher emerged from atop a gilded Trojan horse wearing a Helen of Troy-inspired gladiator outfit alongside her dancers. She then dedicated her cover of Marc Cohn's "Walking in Memphis" to the moment when she and her mother saw Elvis Presley live in concert. Cher followed the performance with the hits "Just Like Jesse James", "Heart of Stone" and "The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss)".

The final act had Cher changing into her famous black see-through bodysuit to perform "I Found Someone" and "If I Could Turn Back Time". She closed the main set with "Believe", after changing in a jeweled bodysuit, like the one from her Vegas residency show. She then exited for a final costume change, and returned to close the concert with "I Hope You Find It" as she was raised up on a platform and flown above the audience amid sparkling lights.[11][12]

Critical reception
Cher opening the show with "Woman's World" during the tour.

Joey Guerra from the Houston Chronicle gave a positive review from her performance in Houston, writing: "There's no one quite like Cher. And there's nothing quite as spectacular as a Cher show."[12] Tiney Ricciardi from the Dallas Morning News praised her performance in Dallas, writing that the singer "wowed the audience with exact vocal execution" and "looked fabulous doing it."[13] Eva Raggio from the Dallas Observer also acclaimed the show in Dallas, writing Cher "brought Vegas to Dallas and delivered the greatest spectacle of the year."[14] Jerry Wofford from the Tulsa World was impressed with the show, commenting on the singer's humor and vocal power, writing: "She was carefree and irreverent and hilarious."[15] Dave McKenna from the Washington Post called the performance in Washington D.C. "outrageous" and "gutsy", while noting there were "plenty of nods to the old days."[16] Ben Rayer writing for The Star gave the singer's performance in Toronto three out of four stars, writing that "the 67-year old's performance sent tidal waves of elation through the arena."[17] James Reed from The Boston Globe praised her performance at the TD Garden, writing the singer was "in exceptional form, as a singer and entertainer."[18] Chris Azzopardi writing for Between the Lines gave a positive review at the performance in Detroit, calling the show "jaw-dropping, frilly, and elaborately produced."[19] Jeff Miers from The Buffalo News wrote her performance in Buffalo offered a "visceral thrill, one that everyone appeared to be willing to indulge in."[20] Tony Lofaro from the Ottawa Citizen praised the concert in Ottawa writing Cher is "a pop diva supreme with timeless quality and an over-worked Vegas patter with just enough titillating sexiness to send everybody home giddy."[21]

Cher performing during the tour.

A.D. Amorosi from Philly.com wrote that the singer's voice in Philadelphia was "delicious, filled with deep, long vowels, even when iced-over by Auto-Tune robotics."[22] Laura DeMarco writing for The Plain Dealer commented on her performance in Cleveland, writing Cher "did not disappoint on her aptly dubbed tour" and the show was "full-on entertainment, from the fashion to the sounds of the set."[23] Jim Farber from the New York Daily News wrote her joyful performance in New York City "came from its mission to defy common notions of taste, age and even self-parody."[24] Melissa Ruggieri from Access Atlanta gave a positive review of the performance in Atlanta calling the singer "irreplaceable" and writing Cher's shows are "spectacles that are embellished to the point of excess."[25] Jim Abbott from the Orlando Sentinel noted there was "plenty of heart in Cher’s spectacle" and "enough humor and shoot-from-the-hip candor to humanize the flashy excesses."[26] Timothy Finn from the Kansas City Star wrote the singer "justified her eminence" with a performance "that showcased her career in music, television and film and showed off her physical endurance, which is still impressive, especially for a 68-year-old."[27] Francois Marchand from the Vancouver Sun wrote the show was "an elaborate display that took fans on an aural and visual trip down memory lane," and adding it "was eye candy and glitter galore throughout."[28] Mikael Wood writing for the LA Times praised the performance at Staples Center writing the concert felt "reassuringly human, even low-key at points."[29]

Commercial performance

On May 29, 2014 it was reported by Billboard that the Dressed to Kill Tour had claimed the No. 1 spot on their weekly ranking of Hot Tours with more than $15.5 million in revenue. From April 23 through May 17, 2014, Cher sold 177,239 tickets, each show during that period being a sell-out. Since the tour's launch on March 22, 2014, a total of 340,000 tickets with a gross of over $30 million had been sold through the show on May 17. The Izod Center in New Jersey had drawn the largest crowd with 14,893 people in attendance. Toronto's Air Canada Centre held the record of highest sales total since the beginning of the tour, with $1.7 million in revenue from an April 7, 2014 performance.[30]

The first leg of the tour, which spanned 49 dates across North America, grossed a total of $55.1 Million, as reported by Billboard on July 15, 2014. One of the most lucrative concert tours of 2014, it has been attended by 610,413 people so far. The MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas produced the largest gross of the first leg, earning $1.75 Million via a concert on May 25.[8]

On Pollstar's Mid Year Top 100 Worldwide Tours list, released in July 2014 and ranking tours up until that date, the "Dressed to Kill" tour was ranked at number 9 with $48.5 million in grosses and 538,707 tickets sold.[31] On Pollstar's Top 20 Worldwide Tours of 2014 list, the "Dressed to Kill" tour was ranked at number 19 with $54.8 million in grosses and 608,435 tickets sold.[32]

Set list

This set list is representative of the performance in Kansas City. It does not represent all concerts for the duration of the tour.[27]

  1. "Woman's World"
  2. "Strong Enough"
  3. "Dressed to Kill"
  4. "The Beat Goes On"
  5. "I Got You Babe"
  6. "Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves"
  7. "Dark Lady"
  8. "Half-Breed"
  9. "Welcome to Burlesque"
  10. "You Haven't Seen the Last of Me"
  11. "Take It Like a Man"
  12. "Walking in Memphis"
  13. "Just Like Jesse James"
  14. "I Found Someone"
  15. "If I Could Turn Back Time"
  16. "Believe"
Encore
  1. "I Hope You Find It"
Notes

Shows
List of concerts, showing date, city, country, venue, opening act, tickets sold, amount of available tickets and gross revenue
Date City Country Venue Opening act Attendance Revenue
North America[33]
March 22, 2014 Phoenix United States US Airways Center Pat Benatar
Neil Giraldo		 13,297 / 13,297 $1,054,324
March 24, 2014 Houston Toyota Center 11,641 / 11,641 $1,271,089
March 26, 2014 Dallas American Airlines Center 12,682 / 12,682 $1,326,801
March 28, 2014 North Little Rock Verizon Arena 12,119 / 12,119 $762,902
March 29, 2014 Tulsa BOK Center 11,900 / 11,900 $862,905
March 31, 2014 Nashville Bridgestone Arena 12,977 / 12,977 $1,220,667
April 2, 2014 Pittsburgh Consol Energy Center 13,386 / 13,386 $1,227,856
April 4, 2014 Washington, D.C. Verizon Center 12,922 / 12,922 $1,474,099
April 5, 2014 Uncasville Mohegan Sun Arena 7,022 / 7,022 $1,043,005
April 7, 2014 Toronto Canada Scotiabank Arena 14,825 / 14,825 $1,708,070
April 9, 2014 Boston United States TD Garden 12,792 / 12,792 $1,341,828
April 11, 2014 Indianapolis Bankers Life Fieldhouse 12,629 / 12,629 $931,481
April 12, 2014 Detroit Joe Louis Arena 14,294 / 14,294 $1,015,326
April 23, 2014 Buffalo First Niagara Center Cyndi Lauper 13,459 / 13,459 $1,028,751
April 25, 2014 Montreal Canada Bell Centre 10,814 / 10,814 $926,775
April 26, 2014 Ottawa Canadian Tire Centre 12,059 / 12,059 $946,354
April 28, 2014 Philadelphia United States Wells Fargo Center 13,249 / 13,249 $1,570,731
April 30, 2014 Columbus Nationwide Arena 13,358 / 13,358 $1,097,955
May 2, 2014 Cleveland Quicken Loans Arena 14,527 / 14,527 $1,029,947
May 5, 2014 Charlotte Time Warner Cable Arena 11,477 / 11,477 $776,786
May 7, 2014 Raleigh PNC Arena 11,870 / 11,870 $772,703
May 9, 2014[lower-alpha 1] Brooklyn Barclays Center 14,309 / 14,309 $1,421,594
May 10, 2014 East Rutherford Izod Center 14,893 / 14,893 $1,553,260
May 12, 2014 Atlanta Philips Arena 11,337 / 11,337 $1,088,627
May 14, 2014 Jacksonville Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena 10,794 / 10,794 $868,169
May 16, 2014 Orlando Amway Center 12,915 / 12,915 $1,069,734
May 17, 2014 Sunrise BB&T Center 12,178 / 12,178 $1,348,709
May 25, 2014 Las Vegas MGM Grand Garden Arena 13,027 / 13,027 $1,747,641
May 28, 2014 Denver Pepsi Center 11,176 / 11,176 $986,794
May 30, 2014 Lincoln Pinnacle Bank Arena 13,165 / 13,165 $1,189,462
May 31, 2014 Kansas City Sprint Center 12,904 / 12,904 $1,076,528
June 2, 2014 Louisville KFC Yum! Center 13,838 / 13,838 $1,171,984
June 4, 2014 St. Louis Scottrade Center 13,463 / 13,463 $1,009,214
June 6, 2014 Milwaukee BMO Harris Bradley Center 12,689 / 12,689 $880,575
June 7, 2014 Rosemont Allstate Arena 13,375 / 13,375 $1,453,390
June 9, 2014 Des Moines Wells Fargo Arena 12,801 / 12,801 $1,016,530
June 11, 2014 Minneapolis Target Center 12,196 / 12,196 $1,049,258
June 20, 2014 Winnipeg Canada MTS Centre 11,919 / 11,919 $1,037,570
June 21, 2014 Saskatoon Credit Union Centre 12,874 / 12,874 $931,947
June 23, 2014 Edmonton Rexall Place 13,512 / 13,512 $1,049,770
June 25, 2014 Calgary Scotiabank Saddledome 12,795 / 12,795 $1,141,010
June 27, 2014 Vancouver Rogers Arena 13,575 / 13,575 $1,355,470
June 28, 2014 Seattle United States KeyArena 11,644 / 11,644 $1,160,019
June 30, 2014 Portland Moda Center 11,962 / 11,962 $767,846
July 2, 2014 San Jose SAP Center at San Jose 12,662 / 12,662 $1,298,251
July 5, 2014 Ontario Citizens Business Bank Arena 8,676 / 8,676 $855,212
July 7, 2014 Los Angeles Staples Center 12,418 / 12,418 $1,362,733
July 9, 2014 Anaheim Honda Center 9,790 / 9,790 $1,021,385
July 11, 2014 San Diego Valley View Casino Center 10,227 / 10,227 $809,019
Total 610,413 / 610,413 (100%) $55,112,056

Cancelled shows
List of cancelled concerts, showing date, city, country, venue and reason for cancellation
Date City Country Venue Reason
November 9, 2014 Lubbock United States United Supermarkets Arena Viral infection[34]
November 11, 2014 Austin Frank Erwin Center
November 13, 2014 Corpus Christi American Bank Center
November 15, 2014 Bossier City CenturyLink Center
November 17, 2014 Pensacola Pensacola Civic Center
November 19, 2014 Charleston North Charleston Coliseum
November 21, 2014 Richmond Richmond Coliseum
November 23, 2014 Detroit The Palace of Auburn Hills
December 2, 2014 Allentown PPL Center
December 4, 2014 Albany Times Union Center
December 6, 2014 Washington D.C. Verizon Center
December 8, 2014 Uniondale Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
December 10, 2014 New York City Madison Square Garden
December 12, 2014 Newark Prudential Center
December 13, 2014 Hartford XL Center
December 15, 2014 New York City Madison Square Garden
January 5, 2015 Manchester Verizon Wireless Arena
January 7, 2015 Boston TD Garden
January 9, 2015 University Park Bryce Jordan Center
January 11, 2015 Grand Rapids Van Andel Arena
January 13, 2015 Toronto Canada Air Canada Centre
January 15, 2015 Fort Wayne United States Allen County War Memorial Coliseum
January 17, 2015 Green Bay Resch Center
January 19, 2015 Moline iWireless Center
January 21, 2015 Chicago United Center
January 23, 2015 Cincinnati U.S. Bank Arena
January 25, 2015 Sioux Falls Denny Sanford PREMIER Center
January 27, 2015 Omaha CenturyLink Center Omaha
January 29, 2015 Wichita Intrust Bank Arena
February 4, 2015 Fargo Fargodome

Personnel
Band
  • Musical Directors: Ollie Marland and Paul Mirkovich
  • Guitar: David Barry
  • Bass Guitar: Eva Gardner
  • Keyboards: Ollie Marland and Darrell Smith
  • Drums: Mark Schulman
  • Backing Vocalists: Stacy Campbell and Nikki Tillman
  • Dancers: Jackie Dowsett Ballinger, Sagiv Ben Binyamin, Suzanne Easter, Emilie Livingston, Tyne Stecklein, Sumayah McRae, Marlon Pelayo, Ryan Ramirez, Joe Slaughter, Jamal Story, Maximiliano Torandell, Jaymz Tuaileva and Kevin Wilson

Notes
  1. During Cyndi Lauper's performance at Barclays Center on May 9, 2014 she was joined onstage by Liza Minnelli and Rosie O'Donnell.[24]

References
  1. "Cher confirms Cyndi Lauper as special guest on her upcoming Dressed to Kill tor on WWHL with Andy Cohen". Cher.com. January 29, 2014. Archived from the original on February 9, 2014. Retrieved February 11, 2014.
  2. "Mid Year Top 100 Worldwide Tours" (PDF). Pollstar. Pollstar Inc. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 21, 2014. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
  3. Carter, Caitlin (September 24, 2013). "Cher Announces 'Dressed to Kill' Tour In Support of New Album, 'Closer To The Truth' On NBC's Today Show". Music Times. Retrieved September 29, 2013.
  4. "Cher still sensational at 67 as she announces new tour". Express. September 23, 2013. Retrieved September 29, 2013.
  5. "Cher Announces The "Dressed To Kill" Tour". Cher. September 23, 2013. Archived from the original on September 27, 2013. Retrieved September 29, 2013.
  6. Test, Irene (September 23, 2013). "Cher Announces 'Dressed to Kill' Tour on 'Today'". KoVideo. Archived from the original on September 29, 2013. Retrieved September 29, 2013.
  7. "Cher reveals on TODAY she's adding 27 more dates to 'farewell' tour". Today. May 14, 2014. Retrieved May 14, 2014.
  8. Keith Caulfield (July 15, 2014). "Cher Tour Grosses $55 Million (So Far)". Billboard. Retrieved July 16, 2014.
  9. "Cher cancels rest of 'Dressed to Kill' tour dates". EW.com. Retrieved 2019-12-13.
  10. "Cher cancels remaining tour dates". BBC. 2014-11-21. Retrieved 2019-12-13.
  11. Christina Fuoco-Karasinski (March 23, 2014). "Cher Delivers Classic Hits, Outrageous Costumes, at Dazzling 'Dressed to Kill' Tour Opener". Billboard. Retrieved March 23, 2014.
  12. Joey Guerra (March 25, 2014). "Cher dazzles on Dressed To Kill Tour". Chron.com. Retrieved March 25, 2014.
  13. Tiney Ricciardi (March 27, 2014). "Concert review: Cher gives gaudy, glamorous farewell at American Airlines Center". Guide Live. Archived from the original on March 27, 2014. Retrieved March 27, 2014.
  14. Eva Raggio (March 28, 2014). "Concert review: Cher at American Airlines Center, 03/26/14". Dallas Observer. Retrieved March 28, 2014.
  15. Jerry Wofford (March 30, 2014). "Review: Cher's impressive range, sense of humor in full force at Tulsa show". Tulsa World. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
  16. Dave McKenna (April 6, 2014). "Cher, on 'farewell farewell tour,' revives hits and shows she's ready to move on". Washington Post. Retrieved April 6, 2014.
  17. Ben Rayer (April 8, 2014). "Cher sends tidal waves of elation through the ACC on her final (?) tour: Review". The Star. Retrieved April 8, 2014.
  18. James Reed (April 10, 2014). "Cher turns 'farewell' tease into an entertainment ride". The Boston Globe. Retrieved April 13, 2014.
  19. Chris Azzopardi (April 15, 2014). "Cher Is God On 'Dressed To Kill Tour'". Between the Lines. Retrieved April 15, 2014.
  20. Jeff Miers (April 23, 2014). "Cher delights Buffalo crowd with glib gab and a hit-filled show". The Buffalo News. Retrieved April 25, 2014.
  21. Tony Lofaro (April 27, 2014). "Concert: Cher and Cyndi Lauper both not ready to leave, just yet". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved April 27, 2014.
  22. A.D. Amorosi (April 28, 2014). "Concert review: Cher in fine voice and costume at Wells Fargo". Philly.com. Retrieved May 1, 2014.
  23. Laura DeMarco (May 3, 2014). "Cher wows 15,000 at The Q with burlesque, circus, Trojan horses – and, yes, music (Review)". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved May 9, 2014.
  24. Jim Farber (May 10, 2014). "Cher flips through chapters of her past, shows unmatched style in 'Dressed to Kill' tour: concert review". New York Daily News. Retrieved May 10, 2014.
  25. Melissa Ruggieri (May 13, 2014). "Concert review: Cher says goodbye to Atlanta with a sequined spectacle". Access Atlanta. Archived from the original on May 17, 2014. Retrieved May 15, 2014.
  26. Jim Abbott (May 16, 2014). "Concert review: Cher at Amway Center". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved May 17, 2014.
  27. Timothy Finn (June 1, 2014). "Cher pulls out all the stops at Sprint Center concert". Kansas City Star. Retrieved June 7, 2014.
  28. Francois Marchand (June 28, 2014). "Review: Cher fares well in another farewell". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved June 29, 2014.
  29. Mikael Wood (July 8, 2014). "Review — Cher is still a survivor at Staples Center". LA Times. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  30. Bob Allen (May 29, 2014). "Cher Claims Top Spot on Hot Tours with $15.5M in Revenue". Billboard. Retrieved May 31, 2014.
  31. "Mid Year Top 100 Worldwide Tours" (PDF). Pollstar. Pollstar Inc. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 21, 2014. Retrieved July 21, 2014.
  32. "Mid Year Top 100 Worldwide Tours" (PDF). Pollstar. Pollstar Inc. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 21, 2014. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
  33. North American box score:
  34. Elysa Gardner (November 20, 2014). "Cher cancels remaining tour dates". USA Today. Retrieved January 15, 2015.
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