Moodring Tour

2003 concert tour by Mýa
  • Javier
Mýa concert chronology

The Moodring Tour was the second concert tour by American recording artist Mýa. Visiting venues across North America, the tour supported the singer's third studio album, Moodring (2003). A 24-day nationwide outing, the tour commenced on October 11, 2003 and concluded on November 10, 2003. It featured then up and coming R&B singer Javier Colon and Swedish DJ duo Snook as the tour's opening acts. An intimate affair, the tour received generally mixed to positive reviews.

Background and development

By 2001, Harrison had amassed nine Top 10 hits and sold six million albums worldwide.[1] After years of touring festivals and opening for other artists, she embarked on her first headlining concert tour the Fear of Flying Tour (2001).[2] In July 2003, she released Moodring, her third studio album to favorable reviews from music critics and garnered her biggest first week sales yet.[3][4] Less than two months after its release, Moodring was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. Upon the album's release, the singer was set to join either R.Kelly or Mariah Carey's tours — or both — for "a few, maybe 10 dates" in the coming weeks, due to tour overseas in September, and originally one of the first featured names mentioned for the Verizon Ladies First Tour, however nothing ever materialized. Mya did however, opened for Brian McKnight on a few select dates in September.[5] Along with those prior obligations, the singer planned ahead and began auditioning dancers and getting a band together for her own U.S. tour down the line — a House of Blues/small theater-sized trek which eventually resulted into the Moodring Tour.[6][7]

Concert synopsis

The concert in Atlantic City, the singer made her "casino debut" and performed a 55 minute set for her audience at Mixx, a dance club in Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa.[8] Backed by a five piece band — a drummer, a bassist, two keyboardists, and a guitarist, two backup singers, and six dancers to accompany her, she designed her show to spotlight songs from her first two albums Mya (1998) and Fear of Flying (2000) at the beginning and material from her third album Moodring a little later.[8] During her performance, the singer's hair was braided and long and she made only one costume change, going from black in the beginning to red and white by the middle of the concert.[8]

The concert began on an appropriate upbeat note with one of her biggest hits, "Case of the Ex."[8] Known as a dancer before she was a singer, Mya danced so hard early in the show that one of her big, gold earrings was missing by the third song.[8] When it came time for Mya to start singing songs from Moodring, staff writer Vincent Jackson of The Press of Atlantic City opined,"the band did a good job recreating her heavily produced album sounds" and expressed admiration for her concert rendition of "Fallen" with the remark, "it showed how well she sings live, better than some of her entertainment contemporaries."[8][9] Throughout the duration of her concert, Jackson took noticed of how the singer was "a little saucy" in keeping with the more sexual nature of her newer music.[9] While performing "It's All About Me," the singer took the opportunity to pluck a guy from the audience and onto the stage, danced all around him, sat on his lap, and fed him strawberries covered in whip cream.[9] She ended her show strongly with a funkier version of one of her earlier hits, "Free," than the recorded rendition.[9] The concert concluded with "My Love Is Like...Wo," which veered into a reggae groove and what sounded like a hip hop remix before coming to a close.[9]

Critical reception

For the most part, the tour received generally mixed to positive reviews. In a positive review, Jami Gordillo-Kerby of The Fresno Bee revered the singer's concert at The Big Fresno Fair.[10] A colorfully staged performance with elaborated choreography and the firepower of an arena rock sound system, right away the journalist took noticed of how "the singer kept the upper hand," commenting "She was cool, confident and totally in control."[10] On top of that, she applauded the singer's prowess as a performer to continuously to "engaged with her fans during her entire performance" and was in awe by how "the attention stayed on the confident diva who prowled the stage like she owned it," sharing — "She lit up the place with her exuberance and singing and dancing skills."[10] She concluded her review on this sentiment, "Mya proved repeatedly in her Fresno concert that she has the voice to be a major force in R&B for years to come."[10] Reviewing for The Press of Atlantic City, staff writer Vincent Jackson awarded her concert in Atlantic City a positive review as well. He was most impressed by "how well the singer sings live" and "better than some of her entertainment contemporaries." He concluded his review commenting, "She's clearly an entertainer whose star is on the rise."[9] In a mixed review of her concert at the House of Blues in New York, Kelefa Sanneh of the New York Times opined, “As a singer, Mýa is a great dancer, and that’s nothing to be ashamed.” Commenting on the singer's singing, Sanneh concur, "O.K., her sense of pitch sometimes wandered, and it's clear that vocal improvisation isn't her strong suit." However, she noted “the music sounded best when the beats were loudest" and "her vigorous, loose-limbed movements are reflected in her music, which is sprightly, sexy and theatrical."[11]

Opening acts

Setlist

The following setlist was obtained from the concert held on October 24, 2003, at Dream in Washington, D.C.. It does not represent all concerts for the duration of the tour.

  1. "Case of the Ex"
  2. "Ghetto Supastar (That Is What You Are)"
  3. "Movin' On"
  4. "Late"
  5. "Ayo!"
  6. "Lady Marmalade"
  7. "The Best of Me"
  8. "You"
  9. "Fallen"
  10. "All Night Long"
  11. "No Sleep Tonight"
  12. "It's All About Me"
  13. "Free"
  14. "Sophisticated Lady"
  15. "My Love Is Like...Wo"

Tour dates

Date City Country Venue
North America[13]
October 11, 2003[A] Fresno United States Paul Paul Theatre
October 12, 2003 San Diego 4th & B
October 13, 2003[B] Perris Coors Arena
October 14, 2003 Tempe Marquee Theatre
October 16, 2003 Dallas Gypsy Tea Room
October 17, 2003 Austin La Zona Rosa
October 18, 2003[C] Houston Health and Physical Education Arena
October 19, 2003 New Orleans House of Blues
October 21, 2003[a][14] Atlanta Variety Playhouse
October 22, 2003[b][15] Lake Buena Vista House of Blues
October 23, 2003 North Myrtle Beach
October 24, 2003 Washington, D.C. Dream
October 25, 2003[D] Columbia Mays Arena
October 26, 2003 Atlantic City Borgata Event Center
October 27, 2003 New York City B.B. King Blues Club
October 28, 2003 Boston Wilbur Theatre
October 29, 2003[c][16] Ledyard B.B. King Nite Club
October 31, 2003 Pittsburgh Club Laga
November 1, 2003 Chicago House of Blues
November 2, 2003[d][17] St. Louis The Pageant
November 3, 2003 Minneapolis First Avenue
November 6, 2003 Seattle Showbox Comedy and Supper Club
November 9, 2003 San Francisco Bimbo's 365 Club
November 10, 2003 West Hollywood House of Blues
Festivals and other miscellaneous performances
A This concert was a part of "The Big Fresno Fair"[18]
B This concert was a part of the "Southern California Fair"[19]
C This concert was a part of the "TSU Homecoming Concert"[20]
D This concert was a part of "Benedict College Homecoming."[21]

Notes

  1. ^ Cancelled
  2. ^ Cancelled
  3. ^ Cancelled — a scheduling conflict.
  4. ^ Cancelled

References

  1. ^ "A&M/Interscope Recording Artist Mya Records "Where the Dream Takes You" for "Atlantis: The Lost Empire" Soundtrack On Walt Disney Records" (Press release). Burbank, California: Walt Disney Records. Business Wire. May 18, 2001. Retrieved May 24, 2016 – via The Free Library.
  2. ^ "Mya's In The House". Pollstar. March 7, 2001. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved April 11, 2024.
  3. ^ "Moodring by Mya". Metacritic. CBS Digital Media Group. July 22, 2003. Retrieved June 26, 2011.
  4. ^ Wiederhorn, Jon (July 30, 2003). "'Bad Boys' Ward Off All Comers On Albums Chart". VH1 News. MTV Networks. Archived from the original on June 5, 2011. Retrieved April 11, 2009.
  5. ^ Evans, Rob (August 14, 2003). "R&B; crooner Brian McKnight takes 'U Turn' on the road". LiveDaily. Ticketmaster Entertainment, Inc. Archived from the original on February 27, 2004. Retrieved April 11, 2024.
  6. ^ Beck, Marilyn (July 16, 2003). "Mya has big plans about career path". Poughkeepsie Journal. p. 3D. Retrieved April 11, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Throwback Thursday: My Conversation With Beyonce Knowles". Always A List. Retrieved 2024-04-11.
  8. ^ a b c d e f Jackson, Vincent (October 28, 2003). "Keep your eyes and ears on Mya". The Press of Atlantic City. p. 11. Retrieved April 5, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ a b c d e f Jackson, Vincent (October 28, 2003). "Keep your eyes and ears on Mya". The Press of Atlantic City. p. 11. Retrieved April 5, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ a b c d Gordillo-Kerby, Jami (October 19, 2003). "Teen Scene". The Fresno Bee. p. H8. Retrieved April 5, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ Sanneh, Kelefa (October 31, 2003). "POP REVIEW; A Singer Who Revels in Being All Over the Place". The New York Times. Retrieved December 6, 2015.
  12. ^ "For The Record: Quick News On Lil' Kim, Snoop, Josh Homme, Radiohead, Christina Aguilera, White Stripes & More". MTV News. MTV Networks. October 3, 2003. Archived from the original on April 28, 2004. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
  13. ^ Zahlaway, Jon (September 24, 2003). "Mya assembles fall headlining tour to back new album". LiveDaily. Ticketmaster Entertainment, Inc. Archived from the original on January 13, 2004. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
  14. ^ "Concerts". The Atlanta Constitution. October 16, 2003. p. JD10. Retrieved April 9, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "News". The Orlando Sentinel. October 17, 2003. p. X6. Retrieved April 9, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ Hohman, Ralph (October 23, 2003). "In Concerts". Record Journal. p. A5. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
  17. ^ "Ticket Tracker". St. Louis Post Dispatch. October 16, 2003. p. 74. Retrieved April 9, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ "Entertainment". Fresno Fiar. October 2003. Archived from the original on December 7, 2003. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
  19. ^ "Southern California Concert Series". Lake Perris Fairgrounds. October 2003. Archived from the original on December 9, 2003. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
  20. ^ Lindsay, Craig D. (October 16, 2003). "TSU Homecoming Concert, featuring Tyrese, Mya and Murphy Lee". Houston Press. Voice Media Group. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
  21. ^ "Five days of food, music and fun". The State. October 23, 2003. p. 8. Retrieved April 9, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
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