Vote for Change

Vote for Change Tour
Tour by MoveOn.org
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.

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

Date City Country Venue Attendance Revenue
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, 2004 Washington, 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

Performer Seattle Phoenix Reading Philadelphia University Park Pittsburgh Wilkes-Barre Cincinnati Toledo Cleveland
Babyface Yes
Ben Harper Yes
Bonnie Raitt Yes Yes Yes
Bright Eyes Yes Yes
Bruce Springsteen Yes Yes
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young Yes
Dave Matthews Band Yes
Death Cab for Cutie Yes Yes
Dixie Chicks Yes
Gob Roberts Yes Yes
Jack Johnson Yes
Jackson Browne Yes Yes Yes
James Taylor Yes
John Fogerty Yes Yes
John Mellencamp Yes
Jurassic 5 Yes
Keb' Mo' Yes Yes Yes
My Morning Jacket Yes
Neil Young Yes
Pearl Jam Yes Yes
Peter Frampton Yes
R.E.M. Yes Yes
Performer Fairborn Cleveland (Theater) Columbus East Lansing Walker Detroit (Cobo) Detroit (Fox) Auburn Hills Kalamazoo Kansas City
Babyface Yes Yes
Ben Harper Yes Yes
Bonnie Raitt Yes Yes
Bright Eyes Yes
Bruce Springsteen Yes
Dave Matthews Band Yes Yes
Death Cab for Cutie Yes
Dixie Chicks Yes Yes Yes
Gob Roberts Yes
Jackson Browne Yes Yes
James Taylor Yes Yes
John Fogerty Yes
John Mellencamp Yes Yes
Jurassic 5 Yes Yes
Keb' Mo' Yes Yes
My Morning Jacket Yes Yes
Neil Young Yes
Pearl Jam Yes
R.E.M. Yes
Performer St. Louis (October 5) St. Louis (October 6) Saint Paul Madison Iowa City Milwaukee Des Moines Asheville Ames Jacksonville
Babyface Yes
Ben Harper Yes Yes
Bonnie Raitt Yes Yes
Bright Eyes Yes
Bruce Springsteen Yes
Dave Matthews Band Yes Yes
Death Cab for Cutie Yes Yes
Dixie Chicks Yes Yes
Gob Roberts Yes Yes
James Taylor Yes Yes
John Fogerty Yes
John Mellencamp Yes
John Prine Yes
Jurassic 5 Yes Yes
Keb' Mo' Yes Yes
My Morning Jacket Yes Yes
Neil Young Yes Yes
Pearl Jam Yes Yes
R.E.M. Yes
Sheryl Crow Yes
Performer Kissimmee Orlando Gainesville Clearwater Miami Beach Washington, D.C. East Rutherford
Babyface Yes Yes
Ben Harper Yes
Bonnie Raitt Yes
Bruce Springsteen Yes Yes Yes
Dave Matthews Band Yes Yes
Death Cab for Cutie Yes
Dixie Chicks Yes Yes
Eddie Vedder Yes
Gob Roberts Yes
Jackson Browne Yes Yes
James Taylor Yes Yes
John Fogerty Yes Yes Yes
John Mellencamp Yes Yes
Jurassic 5 Yes Yes
Keb' Mo' Yes
Neil Young Yes
Patti Scialfa Yes
Pearl Jam Yes Yes
Peter Frampton Yes
R.E.M. Yes Yes
Tracy Chapman Yes

References

  1. ^ a b "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. ^ a b c "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.