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Heartfox/sandbox/Angels

Tour by Mariah Carey
Associated album	Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel
Start date	December 31, 2009 (2009-12-31)
End date	September 26, 2010 (2010-09-26)
Legs	4
No. of shows	26
Box office	$9.1 million (North American Leg)
Mariah Carey concert chronology

The Angels Advocate Tour was the seventh concert tour by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey. The tour supported her twelfth studio album, Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel (2009). The tour played 26 shows, primarily visiting the United States, eastern Canada and also Egypt, Brazil and Singapore. It began December 31, 2009 in New York City, New York and concluded on September 26, 2010 in Singapore. The tour grossed $9.1 million, selling 88,930 tickets.

Background

After performing a set of promotional shows at The Pearl Concert Theater, rumors circulated in the media of Carey's forthcoming arena tour. In December 2009, the tour was official announced by Carey's official website and Twitter page, under the title "Angels' Advocate Tour". The name is linked to a song from her recent album Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel, "Angels Cry" which has since been remixed to feature Ne-Yo and released while Carey was on tour. This was her first concert tour since her The Adventures of Mimi Tour in 2006. Dates were only slated for the U.S., Canada, and a private concert in Egypt.

Concert synopsis

Carey's showtime tardiness recurred throughout the tour. She arrived on stage 40 minutes late in Ottawa, 60 minutes in Montreal, Toronto, and Grand Prairie, and 95 minutes in Mashantucket, which resulted in boos. Carey acknowledged her propensity for lateness during the first Los Angeles show, which began on schedule, asking the crowd: "I'm usually much more late and people criticize me for that ... But tonight, in Los Angeles, was I on time?"

"Mariah Carey knows how to make a lasting first impression. Her entrance on Friday night at the Oracle Arena in Oakland was a diva-licious act of grandeur. It began as the house lights dimmed and the spotlights spelled out the star’s first name against three-story-tall curtains. Then the curtains parted, revealing a bare stage floor and a full band situated on an elevated platform in back. At that moment, the 39-year-old star descended into view, riding a swing as she was lowered from the rafters. The near-capacity crowd erupted at the site of the singer, who wore a sparkling gold formal gown that screamed “red carpet.” The dress stayed intact for but a few minutes before the lower portion was ripped away to allow Carey the legroom to properly work “Shake it Off.""

Critical reception

The tour has been generally positive, with most reviewers admiring Carey's live vocals. A review from The Palm Beach Post described Carey's vocals as being "strong, assured and, as usual, eerily effortless" a sentiment that was additionally reflected in Chris Azzopardi's review of the Detroit date for Pride Source that commented; "You attend a Mariah Carey concert to be in the dreamlike presence of a super-diva, not expecting to be wooed by artful razzle-dazzle or the singer's dexterous dance moves. Those aerobics are in her voice, a supreme many-octave instrument that worked for 95 minutes during her "Angels Advocate Tour" Monday at the Fox Theatre in Detroit." Lauren Carter of the Boston Herald also praised Carey's vocals, stating that "'My All,' the gospel-inspired 'Fly Like a Bird' and early career hit 'Emotions' were all powerhouse stunners, boasting the mix of smoky tones, soulful trills and high-octave whistles that have become her trademark." Critics praised Carey's ability to vocally deliver despite experiencing a cold on several dates with Jason Richards of Toronto Now's article aptly titled 'Mariah fights through cold for ACC performance' commenting that "Mariah Carey's cold was a running theme at the singer's Air Canada Centre show", before going on to say "It's a testament to her vocal talent, then, that Mariah still managed to flex her legendary five-octave range throughout the night."

The set design and set list have also been praised, in particular the mix of "Love Hangover"/"Heartbreaker" and her performances of "We Belong Together" and "Hero". Carey's between-song banter has also been the subject of much praise with an MTV review commenting that "Throughout the night, her between-song banter felt light, honest and steadfastly lucid, in stark contrast to recent well-publicized bouts of public babbling. Her intimate connection with her fans was palpable from start to finish." A review from the Los Angeles Times stated "her transparent blend of vocal talent and goofy charisma seems appealingly old-fashioned." Sarah Rodman from The Boston Globe commented that the show was "precisely that mix of diva and daffiness that endears Carey to her fans and that worked to make the hour-and-40-minute show a captivating mix of sparkle, silliness, and vocal pyrotechnics."

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related to past tours

"The main difference between this entrance and the ones Carey has made at previous Bay Area concerts was that it was only one highlight of the set. Overall, Friday’s concert was the most completely satisfying performance that Carey has delivered for local fans in several years. What went right? It all boils down to having a stage show that plays to a performer’s strengths, and that’s exactly what we found with this Angels Advocate Tour stop. "

setlist

"the set list focused on the big ballads — Carey’s greatest strength — which allowed the singer to showcase her amazing five-octave range."

""Fly Like a Bird" was dedicated to her late bishop, "Angels Cry" to the people of Haiti"

stage

"The band and backup singers stood toward the back of the stage on high platforms, resembling a 1950s dance-show set, which kept the focus on Carey."

"Equally important, the show was smartly choreographed, with a tight focus on giving fans what they really wanted — as much Mariah as possible. Too often, these kind of big pop spectacles feature so many frills — from multiple video components to crowded dance routines — that the real star of the show gets lost. That didn’t happen Friday. There were some dance bits and other theatrical elements, but they rarely crowded Carey. Plus, placing the band members on the elevated platform was a stroke of genius that allowed the singer to work the entire stage and truly interact with a large portion of the audience."

"Backup dancers disappeared and returned in varying configurations throughout the show."

"Mariah took a gulp of champagne (and later shilled for her own upcoming brand) while lying seductively on a chaise"

"The production that accompanies her is also somewhat lower key; it’s a diva’s version of recession. It opens up with something out of the Ziegfeld Follies, with Carey lowered onto the stage on a swing, but for most of the night, she’s alone on the stage, her four-piece band, backup trio and dance troupe on raised platforms.Carey herself barely moves, except to scamper from one side of the stage to the other."

vocals

"Carey showed an uncommon degree of restraint in her vocal work. Gone are the days, seemingly, when the singer simply tries to bowl over her fans with pure power and melismatic tricks. Somewhere along the line, she’s learned the art of setting up a big moment. The result at Oracle was that when she hit one of those unbelievably high notes, or sailed off on some other type of vocal acrobatics, it truly meant something."

"Her vocals have also undergone a transformation, relying less on the almost athletic runs of her early, lachrymose ballads than on the staccato, hip-hop inflected phrasing (some of it buttressed by her trio of backup singers) that shows off her impressive breath control. If her voice isn’t what it once was — the stunning purity of her high end has eroded somewhat — she has learned how to make the best use of it. slight roughness, some strain"

audience interaction

"She alternated between the role of diva, such as when a hair and makeup crew came out to freshen her up onstage, and that of the goofy celeb known for saying things that make the tabloids. The silliest she got was in talking about making the video for “Obsessed,” the first single from Carey’s last album, 2009’s “Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel.” “We are playing Barbies in the video,” she said. “And that was a dream come true for me.” In all, Carey was funny, but didn’t provide the kind of YouTube moment some have come to expect from her. “I’m not making any speeches tonight,” remarked Carey, referring to a now-infamous rambling speech she gave earlier this year at the Palm Springs International Film Festival, where she won a Breakthrough Actress award for her role in the Oscar-nominated “Precious.” “So, I guess we should be cool.” Carey was beyond cool — she was downright well-mannered. She said she was watching her language out of consideration for the younger fans in attendance. And when she downed a glass of champagne in two gulps, she remarked it was “some nice apple juice that my auntie gave me."

""You sound very, very festive," she told the audience. She picked up a glass from a table full of beverages. "This is water -- don't get it twisted, please. Now that's not to say there aren't other things on the table. This is L.A. And I have been known to have a sip or two in L.A." It was one of several moments of feisty self-effacing humor from the chatty singer. Throughout the night, her between-song banter felt light, honest and steadfastly lucid, in stark contrast to recent well-publicized bouts of public babbling. Her intimate connection with her fans was palpable from start to finish."

"At one point she complained about a chair being placed too far from the fans -- the electric fans. "Don't you know that my hair naturally blows just like in all of the videos? That's real," she joked. She asked for hair and makeup people to come onstage and touch her up, saying, "I know it's a diva moment, but I don't care." But the vibe of all of the antics was coy and knowing, like a joke within a joke that all of the crowd is in on. "I went to beauty school, so I can do this, too. Five hundred hours! The teacher hated me.""

"She fluttered her eyes and bragged about making it to the stage on time, stopped the show at one point and beckoned her hair and makeup people onstage for some mid-concert primping, then draped herself over a chaise lounge for a glass of champagne (a plug for her “Angel’s Rose” bottling) — pouting over the delay in having a mic stand brought to her and complaining about her shoes (the latter was met with a chair and a robe for the star to relax). These are, of course, diva prerogatives, and as the most successful female vocalist of the last two decades, Carey certainly had earned them. But they were performed with a dose of winking humor and surprising self-knowledge."

outfits

"all of which were designed to show ample cleavage"

" She stayed dressed in a form-fitting short dress with a flared, tutu-like bottom for the first portion of the night, occasionally using a white mic stand. There were a couple of wardrobe changes into other form-fitting attire."

Set list

The following set list is from the February 13, 2010, concert in Chicago. It is not intended to represent all dates throughout the tour.

1. "Butterfly" Intro / "Daydream Interlude (Fantasy Sweet Dub Mix)"
2. "Shake It Off"
3. "Touch My Body"
4. "Fly Like a Bird"
5. "Make It Happen"
6. "Angels Cry"
7. "Always Be My Baby"
8. "It's Like That"
9. "The Impossible"
10. "Love Hangover" / "Heartbreaker"
11. "Honey"
12. "My All"
13. "Emotions"
14. "Obsessed"
15. "We Belong Together"
16. "Hero" (Encore)

Shows

List of concerts, showing date, city, country, venue, opening act, tickets sold, number of available tickets and amount of gross revenue

Date	City	Country	Venue	Opening act	Attendance / Tickets	Revenue (US$)
December 31, 2009	New York, New York	United States	Madison Square Garden	Trey Songz	11,534 / 11,831	$1,224,734
January 2, 2010	Atlantic City, New Jersey		Borgata Events Center	RydazNrtisT	—	—
January 15, 2010	Mashantucket, Connecticut		MGM Grand Theater
January 16, 2010
January 19, 2010	Atlanta, Georgia		Fox Theatre		2,833 / 3,719	$305,940
January 21, 2010	Hollywood, Florida		Hard Rock Live		—	—
January 25, 2010	Detroit, Michigan		Fox Theatre
January 27, 2010	Washington, D.C.		DAR Constitution Hall
January 30, 2010	Boston, Massachusetts		Wang Theatre
February 1, 2010	Upper Darby, Pennsylvania		Tower Theater
February 4, 2010	Montreal, Quebec	Canada	Bell Centre		3,806 / 4,750	$400,275
February 6, 2010	Ottawa, Ontario		Scotiabank Place		—	—
February 9, 2010	Toronto, Ontario		Air Canada Centre		6,250 / 8,000	$658,074
February 10, 2010	Columbus, Ohio	United States	Value City Arena		—	—
February 13, 2010	Chicago, Illinois		Chicago Theatre		7,034 / 7,034	$726,591
February 14, 2010
February 17, 2010	Houston, Texas		Verizon Wireless Theater		—	—
February 18, 2010	Grand Prairie, Texas		Nokia Live at Grand Prairie
February 20, 2010	Phoenix, Arizona		Dodge Theatre
February 23, 2010	Los Angeles, California		Gibson Amphitheatre		10,741 / 11,882	$1,107,515
February 24, 2010
February 26, 2010	Oakland, California		Oracle Arena		7,532 / 7,788	$702,953
February 27, 2010	Las Vegas, Nevada		The Colosseum at Caesars Palace		4,053 / 4,053	$552,188

Cancelled shows

List of cancelled concerts, showing date, city, country, venue and reason for cancellation

Date	City	Country	Venue	Reason
February 16, 2010	Minneapolis	United States	Northrop Auditorium	Un­known

Personnel

• Eric Daniels – musical director, keyboards
• Peter Dyer – keyboards
• Lance Tolbert - bass
• Bennie Rodgers – drums
• Trey Lorenz – background vocals
• Mary Ann Tatum – background vocals
• Sherry Tatum - background vocals
• Takeytha Johnson – background vocals