Vote for Change

Last updated
Vote for Change Tour
Tour by MoveOn.org
VoteForChange.jpg
The tour poster, which shared characteristics with Captain America's shield.
LocationUnited States
Start dateSeptember 27, 2004
End dateOctober 13, 2004
Legs1
No. of shows40
Bruce Springsteen tour chronology
The Rising Tour
(2002–03)
Vote for Change
(2004)
Devils & Dust Tour
(2005)
Dixie Chicks tour chronology
Top of the World Tour
(2003)
Vote for Change
(2004)
Accidents & Accusations Tour
(2006)
Pearl Jam tour chronology
Riot Act Tour
(2003)
Vote for Change
(2004)
2005 North American/Latin American Tour
(2005)

The Vote for Change tour was a politically motivated American popular music concert tour that took place in October 2004. [1] The tour was presented by MoveOn.org to benefit America Coming Together. [2] The tour was held in swing states and was designed to encourage people to register and vote. Though the tour and the organization were officially non-partisan, many of the performers urged people to vote against then President George W. Bush and for John Kerry in the 2004 Presidential election campaign. [1] [3] [4] [5] Bush would defeat Kerry in November 2004.

Contents

Itinerary

Every region had a specific night during which the concerts would be held in that region. [6] When concerts were held in the same city, they were at different venues.

Results

The tour was generally successful in attracting audiences,[ according to whom? ] generating media attention and raising approximately $10 million for America Coming Together. [7] [ better source needed ]

In terms of the tour's effect on the 2004 election, none of the visited states went differently from what had been predicted in pre-election polls.[ according to whom? ] Four of the eight ended up voting in favor of Kerry (Pennsylvania, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin) while the other four went to Bush (Missouri, Iowa, Florida, and Ohio).[ citation needed ] The states that had the heaviest tour presence (five or six shows) also split evenly. The result in Ohio was the most critical, as it decided the election in Bush's favor[ citation needed ] (despite six shows there).

The shows

The Springsteen and E Street Band performances were compressed to two hours in length due to the multi-act nature of the concerts. [8] Especially at the beginning of his sets, Springsteen accomplished this by stripping down the songs, [8] removing elongated outros and false endings from the likes of "Born in the U.S.A." and "Badlands". In doing so, the style of the Vote for Change shows foreshadowed the next E Street outing,[ according to whom? ] the 2007 Magic Tour, when Springsteen adopted a similar approach.[ citation needed ]

Originals

Cover songs

Source: [8] [9]

Tour dates

DateCityCountryVenueTickets sold / AvailableRevenue
North America [10]
September 27, 2004 Seattle United States McCaw Hall
September 29, 2004 Phoenix Cricket Pavilion
October 1, 2004 Reading Sovereign Center
Philadelphia Wachovia Center 19,353 / 19,353$1,552,750
University Park Bryce Jordan Center 14,596 / 14,596$716,562
Pittsburgh Heinz Hall for the Performing Arts
Wilkes-Barre F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts
October 2, 2004 Cincinnati Taft Theatre
Toledo Toledo Sports Arena
Cleveland Gund Arena
State Theatre
Fairborn Nutter Center
Columbus Promowest Pavilion
October 3, 2004 East Lansing Wharton Center for Performing Arts
Walker DeltaPlex Arena
Detroit Cobo Arena
Fox Theatre
Auburn Hills The Palace of Auburn Hills 13,181 / 13,181$607,118
Kalamazoo Wings Stadium
October 5, 2004 Kansas City Midland Theatre
Saint Paul Xcel Energy Center
Madison Kohl Center
Iowa City Hancher Auditorium
Milwaukee Riverside Theater
St.Louis Fox Theatre
October 6, 2004
Des Moines Civic Center of Greater Des Moines
Asheville Asheville Civic Center
Ames Hilton Coliseum
October 8, 2004 Jacksonville Moran Theater
Kissimmee Silver Spurs Arena
Orlando TD Waterhouse Centre
Gainesville O'Connell Center
Clearwater Ruth Eckerd Hall
Miami Beach Jackie Gleason Theater
October 11, 2004Washington, D.C. MCI Center 16,769 / 16,769$1,714,865
October 13, 2004 East Rutherford Continental Airlines Arena 19,800 / 19,800$1,687,750

Performers

PerformerSeattlePhoenixReadingPhiladelphiaUniversity ParkPittsburghWilkes-BarreCincinnatiToledoCleveland
Babyface Yes check.svg
Ben Harper Yes check.svg
Bonnie Raitt Yes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svg
Bright Eyes Yes check.svgYes check.svg
Bruce Springsteen Yes check.svgYes check.svg
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young Yes check.svg
Dave Matthews Band Yes check.svg
Death Cab for Cutie Yes check.svgYes check.svg
Dixie Chicks Yes check.svg
Gob Roberts Yes check.svgYes check.svg
Jack Johnson Yes check.svg
Jackson Browne Yes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svg
James Taylor Yes check.svg
John Fogerty Yes check.svgYes check.svg
John Mellencamp Yes check.svg
Jurassic 5 Yes check.svg
Keb' Mo' Yes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svg
My Morning Jacket Yes check.svg
Neil Young Yes check.svg
Pearl Jam Yes check.svgYes check.svg
Peter Frampton Yes check.svg
R.E.M. Yes check.svgYes check.svg
PerformerFairbornCleveland (Theater)ColumbusEast LansingWalkerDetroit (Cobo)Detroit (Fox)Auburn HillsKalamazooKansas City
BabyfaceYes check.svgYes check.svg
Ben HarperYes check.svgYes check.svg
Bonnie RaittYes check.svgYes check.svg
Bright EyesYes check.svg
Bruce SpringsteenYes check.svg
Dave Matthews BandYes check.svgYes check.svg
Death Cab for CutieYes check.svg
Dixie ChicksYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svg
Gob RobertsYes check.svg
Jackson BrowneYes check.svgYes check.svg
James TaylorYes check.svgYes check.svg
John FogertyYes check.svg
John MellencampYes check.svgYes check.svg
Jurassic 5Yes check.svgYes check.svg
Keb' Mo'Yes check.svgYes check.svg
My Morning JacketYes check.svgYes check.svg
Neil YoungYes check.svg
Pearl JamYes check.svg
R.E.M.Yes check.svg
PerformerSt. Louis (October 5)St. Louis (October 6)Saint PaulMadisonIowa CityMilwaukeeDes MoinesAshevilleAmesJacksonville
BabyfaceYes check.svg
Ben HarperYes check.svgYes check.svg
Bonnie RaittYes check.svgYes check.svg
Bright EyesYes check.svg
Bruce SpringsteenYes check.svg
Dave Matthews BandYes check.svgYes check.svg
Death Cab for CutieYes check.svgYes check.svg
Dixie ChicksYes check.svgYes check.svg
Gob RobertsYes check.svgYes check.svg
James TaylorYes check.svgYes check.svg
John FogertyYes check.svg
John MellencampYes check.svg
John Prine Yes check.svg
Jurassic 5Yes check.svgYes check.svg
Keb' Mo'Yes check.svgYes check.svg
My Morning JacketYes check.svgYes check.svg
Neil YoungYes check.svgYes check.svg
Pearl JamYes check.svgYes check.svg
R.E.M.Yes check.svg
Sheryl Crow Yes check.svg
PerformerKissimmeeOrlandoGainesvilleClearwaterMiami BeachWashington, D.C.East Rutherford
BabyfaceYes check.svgYes check.svg
Ben HarperYes check.svg
Bonnie RaittYes check.svg
Bruce SpringsteenYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svg
Dave Matthews BandYes check.svgYes check.svg
Death Cab for CutieYes check.svg
Dixie ChicksYes check.svgYes check.svg
Eddie Vedder Yes check.svg
Gob RobertsYes check.svg
Jackson BrowneYes check.svgYes check.svg
James TaylorYes check.svgYes check.svg
John FogertyYes check.svgYes check.svgYes check.svg
John MellencampYes check.svgYes check.svg
Jurassic 5Yes check.svgYes check.svg
Keb' Mo'Yes check.svg
Neil YoungYes check.svg
Patti Scialfa Yes check.svg
Pearl JamYes check.svgYes check.svg
Peter FramptonYes check.svg
R.E.M.Yes check.svgYes check.svg
Tracy Chapman Yes check.svg

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bruce Springsteen</span> American singer (born 1949)

The goat

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clarence Clemons</span> American musician and actor (1942–2011)

Clarence Anicholas Clemons Jr., also known as The Big Man, was an American musician and actor. From 1972 until his death in 2011, he was the saxophonist for Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steven Van Zandt</span> American musician and actor (born 1950)

Steven Van Zandt, also known as Little Steven or Miami Steve, is an American musician and actor. He is a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, in which he plays guitar and mandolin. He has appeared in several television drama series, including as Silvio Dante in The Sopranos (1999–2007) and as Frank Tagliano in Lilyhammer (2012–2014). Van Zandt has his own solo band called Little Steven and The Disciples of Soul, intermittently active since the 1980s. In 2014, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the E Street Band. Van Zandt has produced music, written songs, and had his own songs covered by Bruce Springsteen, Meat Loaf, Nancy Sinatra, Pearl Jam, Artists United Against Apartheid, and the Iron City Houserockers, among others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Danny Federici</span> American musician

Daniel Paul Federici was an American musician, best known as the organ, glockenspiel, and accordion player and a founding member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band. In 2014, Federici was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the E Street Band.

Vincent Lopez, nicknamed Mad Dog, is an American drummer. Between 1968 and 1974 Lopez backed Bruce Springsteen in several bands, including Steel Mill and the E Street Band. He also played on Springsteen's first two albums, Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. and The Wild, the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle. Both during and after his time with the E Street Band, Lopez played drums with numerous Jersey Shore bands.

"Jungleland" is the closing song on Bruce Springsteen's 1975 album Born to Run. It contains one of E Street Band saxophonist Clarence Clemons' most recognizable solos. It also features short-time E Streeter Suki Lahav, who performs the delicate 23-note violin introduction to the song, accompanied by Roy Bittan on piano in the opening.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bruce Springsteen with the Seeger Sessions Band Tour</span> 2006 concert tour by Bruce Springsteen and the Sessions Band

The Bruce Springsteen with the Seeger Sessions Band Tour, afterward sometimes referred to simply as the Sessions Band Tour, was a 2006 concert tour featuring Bruce Springsteen and the Sessions Band playing what was billed as "An all-new evening of gospel, folk, and blues", otherwise seen as a form of big band folk music. The tour was an outgrowth of the approach taken on Springsteen's We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions album, which featured folk music songs written or made popular by activist folk musician Pete Seeger, but taken to an even greater extent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Devils & Dust Tour</span> 2005 concert tour by Bruce Springsteen

The Devils & Dust Tour was a 2005 concert tour featuring Bruce Springsteen performing alone on stage on a variety of instruments. It followed the release of his 2005 album Devils & Dust. The tour was named the Top Small Venue Tour of 2005 by the Billboard Touring Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Rising Tour</span> 2002–03 concert tour by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band

The Rising Tour was a lengthy, worldwide, top-grossing concert tour featuring Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band that took place in arenas and stadiums over 2002 and 2003. It followed the release of their 2002 album The Rising.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ghost of Tom Joad Tour</span> 1995–97 concert tour by Bruce Springsteen

The Ghost of Tom Joad Tour was a worldwide concert tour featuring Bruce Springsteen performing alone on stage in small halls and theatres, that ran off and on from late 1995 through the middle of 1997. It followed the release of his 1995 album The Ghost of Tom Joad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bruce Springsteen 1992–1993 World Tour</span> 1992–93 concert tour by Bruce Springsteen

The Bruce Springsteen 1992–1993 World Tour was a concert tour featuring Bruce Springsteen and a new backing band, that took place from mid-1992 to mid-1993. It followed the simultaneous release of his albums Human Touch and Lucky Town earlier in 1992. It was his first of four non-E Street Band tours. Later, Springsteen had more non-E Street Band tours, the Ghost of Tom Joad Tour, the Seeger Sessions Tour, and the Devils & Dust Tour. The tour was not as commercially or critically successful as past tours, due to poor reception of Human Touch and Lucky Town as well as changes from previous tours. According to Springsteen biographer Dave Marsh, die-hard fans have informally referred to the backing band as "the Other Band".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Darkness Tour</span> 1978–79 concert tour by Bruce Springsteen

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band's Darkness Tour was a concert tour of North America that ran from May 1978 through the rest of the year, in conjunction with the release of Springsteen's album Darkness on the Edge of Town.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Born in the U.S.A. Tour</span> 1984–85 concert tour by Bruce Springsteen

The Born in the U.S.A. Tour was the supporting concert tour of Bruce Springsteen's Born in the U.S.A. album. It was his longest and most successful tour to date. It featured a physically transformed Springsteen; after two years of bodybuilding, the singer had bulked up considerably. The tour was the first since the 1974 portions of the Born to Run tours without guitarist Steven Van Zandt, who decided to go solo after recording the album with the group. Van Zandt, who was replaced by Nils Lofgren, would appear a few times throughout the tour and in some of the music videos to promote the album. It was also the first tour to feature Springsteen's future wife, Patti Scialfa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Magic Tour (Bruce Springsteen)</span> 2007–08 concert tour by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band

The Magic Tour was Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band's 2007–08 concert tour of North America and Western Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waitin' on a Sunny Day</span> 2003 single by Bruce Springsteen

"Waitin' on a Sunny Day" is a song by Bruce Springsteen that was first released in a recording with the E Street Band on his 2002 album The Rising. Although the song was not released as a single in the United States, it was released as a single in Europe, and was a hit in Sweden.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wrecking Ball World Tour</span> 2012–13 concert tour by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band

The Wrecking Ball World Tour was a concert tour by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band to promote Springsteen's seventeenth studio album, Wrecking Ball, which was released on March 5, 2012. It was the first tour for the E Street Band without founding member Clarence Clemons, who died on June 18, 2011. The worldwide tour in support of the album, which ended in September 2013, reached 26 countries, the most ever for one of Springsteen's tours. The tour resumed in January 2014 to promote Springsteen's new album, High Hopes, and went under that album's name.

"Land of Hope and Dreams" is a 1999 song written by Bruce Springsteen and performed by Springsteen and the E Street Band. After being performed on tour and released on multiple live albums, a studio recording was released for the first time on Wrecking Ball in 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">High Hopes Tour</span> 2014 concert tour by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band

The High Hopes Tour was a concert tour by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band with special guest guitarist Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine. The tour was seen as a continuation of his previous tour and was in support of eighteenth studio album, High Hopes, which was released in January 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The River Tour (2016)</span> 2016–17 concert tour by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band

The River Tour was a concert tour by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band in support of Springsteen's 2015 The Ties That Bind: The River Collection box set and in celebration of the 35th anniversary of Springsteen's 1980 album, The River. The River Tour 2016 ended in September 2016. Subsequently, the Summer '17 tour in Australia and New Zealand continued the tour using the same promotional image from the original legs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Springsteen and E Street Band 2023 Tour</span> 2023 tour by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band

The Springsteen and E Street Band2023 Tour is an ongoing concert tour by American singer Bruce Springsteen and his backing band the E Street Band. The tour began on February 1, 2023, in Tampa, and marks the first time since 2017 that Springsteen and the E Street Band have toured together. The tour is scheduled to conclude on December 12, 2023, in San Francisco.

References

  1. 1 2 "Voices for Change". Rolling Stone . 2004-10-14. Archived from the original on March 16, 2006. Retrieved 2007-09-03.
  2. Tyrangiel, Josh (2004-10-11). "Born to Stump". Time . Archived from the original on October 29, 2010. Retrieved 2009-09-09.
  3. Gardner, Elysa. "Springsteen, R.E.M., Other Big Acts Embark on Tour". USA Today . August 4, 2004.
  4. Springsteen, Bruce. "Chords for Change". The New York Times . August 5, 2004.
  5. Kay, Jennifer. "Springsteen, R.E.M. Kick off "Vote for Change" Concerts Across Swing States" Archived 2007-08-24 at the Wayback Machine . Common Dreams NewsCenter. October 2, 2004.
  6. Evans, Rob. "Bruce Springsteen takes Vote for Change Tour home" Archived 2004-10-10 at the Wayback Machine . LiveDaily. October 4, 2004.
  7. Fricke, David. "Taking It to the Streets" [ dead link ]. Rolling Stone . August 11, 2004.
  8. 1 2 3 "2004 Setlists". Backstreets.com. October 2004. Retrieved 2007-12-12.
  9. "Bruce Springsteen Setlists | Greasy Lake". Archived from the original on 2012-10-26. Retrieved 2013-12-15.
  10. Evans, Rob (October 4, 2004). "Bruce Springsteen takes Vote for Change Tour home". LiveDaily . Archived from the original on October 10, 2004. Retrieved November 18, 2013.