The More Today Than Yesterday: The Greatest Hits Tour is a concert tour by American recording artist Diana Ross. Primarily visiting the United States and Canada, the tour showcases Ross' greatest hits that span her nearly 50 years in the music industry. The tour was well received by critics and fans. The first leg of the tour earned over four million dollars, finishing at 66th place on Pollstar's "Top 100 North American Tours".
Background The tour was announced in March 2010 as a summer tour, visiting over 17 cities in the United States. Due to public demand, the tour was expanded in the fall of 2010 to include additional dates in the U.S. and Canada. Further expansion came in 2011 with an additional 17 dates planned. To introduce the tour, Ross stated, "We work our way up: The ’60s — The Supremes — the 70's and the ’80s and 'I’m Coming Out' [...] The music is timeless, I must say, especially the Motown music; it's timeless and it's really special."
Set list
Tour dates Date City Country Venue North America—Leg 1May 15, 2010BostonUnited StatesWang TheatreMay 16, 2010MashantucketMGM Grand TheaterMay 18, 2010Red BankCount Basie TheatreMay 19, 2010New York CityRadio City Music HallMay 21, 2010Atlantic CityCircus Maximus TheaterMay 25, 2010North BethesdaMusic Center at StrathmoreMay 27, 2010ChicagoChicago TheatreMay 28, 2010ClevelandState TheatreMay 29, 2010DetroitFox TheatreMay 31, 2010TorontoCanadaRoy Thomson HallJune 2, 2010KnoxvilleUnited StatesTennessee TheatreJune 4, 2010AtlantaChastain Park AmphitheaterJune 5, 2010MemphisMemphis Botanic GardenJune 6, 2010St. LouisFox TheatreJune 9, 2010Los AngelesNokia Theatre L.A. LiveJune 11, 2010San DiegoHumphrey's Concerts by the BayJune 12, 2010SaratogaMountain Winery Amphitheater North America—Leg 2September 11, 2010CalgaryCanadaStampede CorralSeptember 14, 2010BrookvilleUnited StatesTilles Center for the Performing ArtsSeptember 15, 2010AlbanyPalace TheatreSeptember 17, 2010OrilliaCanadaCasino Rama Entertainment CentreSeptember 18, 2010September 21, 2010DaytonUnited StatesMead TheatreNovember 12, 2010ParadiseThe Colosseum at Caesars PalaceNovember 13, 2010November 16, 2010NaplesNaples Philharmonic Center for the ArtsNovember 17, 2010SarasotaVan Wezel Performing Arts HallNovember 19, 2010MelbourneKing Center for the Performing ArtsNovember 20, 2010ClearwaterRuth Eckerd HallNovember 21, 2010HollywoodHard Rock Live North America—Leg 3February 25, 2011ChoctawUnited StatesThe Arena at Golden MoonFebruary 26, 2011Bossier CityRiverdomeFebruary 27, 2011AustinMoody TheaterMarch 1, 2011HoustonVerizon Wireless TheaterMarch 2, 2011DallasMajestic TheatreMarch 4, 2011JacksonvilleMoran TheaterMarch 5, 2011GreenvillePeace Concert HallMarch 7, 2011CharlestonDock Street TheatreMarch 9, 2011CharlotteMcGlohon TheatreMarch 11, 2011DurhamDurham Performing Arts CenterMarch 12, 2011Washington, D.C.Washington Convention CenterMarch 13, 2011PoughkeepsieBardavon 1869 Opera HouseMarch 15, 2011EnglewoodBergen Performing Arts CenterMarch 16, 2011HartfordMortensen HallMarch 18, 2011StamfordPalace TheatreMarch 19, 2011Atlantic CityCircus Maximus TheaterMarch 20, 2011Staten IslandSt. George Theatre North America—Leg 4September 9, 2011IndioUnited StatesFantasy Springs Special Events CenterSeptember 11, 2011TemeculaPechanga Showroom TheaterSeptember 13, 2011San DiegoHumphrey's Concerts by the BaySeptember 14, 2011LivermoreWente Vineyards Outdoor TheatreSeptember 16, 2011San FranciscoGolden Gate TheatreSeptember 17, 2011San RafaelMarin Veterans' Memorial AuditoriumSeptember 19, 2011Salt Lake CityEnergySolutions ArenaSeptember 20, 2011DenverWells Fargo TheatreSeptember 22, 2011ConchoLucky Star Casino Events CenterSeptember 23, 2011ThackervilleGlobal Event CenterSeptember 27, 2011ColumbusOhio TheatreSeptember 28, 2011RochesterRochester AuditoriumSeptember 30, 2011Wilkes-BarreKirby Center for Performing ArtsOctober 1, 2011ReadingSovereign Performing Arts CenterOctober 2, 2011MorristownMayo Performing Arts CenterOctober 4, 2011WorcesterHanover Theatre for the Performing Arts North America—Leg 5Sources for dates in Spring 2012:February 23, 2012HollywoodUnited StatesHard Rock LiveFebruary 24, 2012St. PetersburgMahaffey TheaterFebruary 25, 2012OrlandoUniversal Music Plaza StageFebruary 27, 2012NaplesNaples Philharmonic Center for the ArtsFebruary 28, 2012Fort PierceSunrise TheatreMarch 1, 2012AtlantaFox TheatreMarch 2, 2012NashvilleRyman AuditoriumMarch 3, 2012CherokeeHarrah's Cherokee Event CenterMarch 22, 2012Los AngelesNokia Theatre L.A. LiveApril 21, 2012BiloxiBeau Rivage TheatreApril 22, 2012MemphisOrpheum TheatreApril 24, 2012IndianapolisMurat TheatreApril 26, 2012LouisvilleLouisville PalaceApril 27, 2012HammondThe Venue at Horseshoe CasinoApril 28, 2012St. LouisPeabody Opera House Festivals and other miscellaneous appearances This concert was a part of the "Live at the Garden" concert series This concert was a part of the "25th Annual Leukemia Ball" This concert was a part of "Universal Studios Mardi Gras" This concert is a part of the "Young Variety Night of the Rising Stars"
Cancellations and rescheduled shows September 15, 2011Yountville, CaliforniaLincoln TheatreCancelled
Box office score data Venue City Tickets sold / available Gross revenueRadio City Music HallNew York City5,974 / 5,974 (100%)$519,335Circus Maximus TheaterAtlantic City3,155 / 3,169 (99%)$253,323Chicago TheatreChicago3,517 / 3,517 (100%)$277,071Fox TheatreDetroit3,232 / 4,493 (72%)$209,501Nokia Theatre L.A. LiveLos Angeles5,397 / 5,728 (94%)$351,196The Colosseum at Caesars PalaceParadise6,439 / 8,069 (80%)$480,680Ruth Eckerd HallClearwater1,965 / 1,965 (100%)$167,106RiverdomeBossier City1,338 / 1,338 (100%)$143,462Durham Performing Arts CenterDurham2,642 / 2,642 (100%)$192,347Sovereign Performing Arts Center Reading 1,328 / 1,774 (75%) $130,850Fox Theatre Atlanta 3,793 / 4,412 (86%) $260,975Ryman Auditorium Nashville 2,263 / 2,263 (100%) $233,311Harrah's Cherokee Event Center Cherokee 2,671 / 3,000 (89%) $256,045The Venue at Horseshoe Casino Hammond 2,350 / 2,516 (93%) $187,640TOTAL46,064 / 50,860 (90%)$3,662,842
Critical reception The first leg of the tour received positive feedback from music critics. Jim Farber (New York Daily News) praised the performance at the Radio City Music Hall noting, "In fact, the show found her quite engaged, banishing the cynicism so many well-seasoned stars betray on their nine millionth run through the hits. (If you want to see that sort of cynicism, buy a ticket to the next Aretha Franklin concert). By contrast, Ross seemed entirely present, delivering full versions of the hits instead of the usual bum's rush of medleys. Then again, most of these songs last no more than 3 minutes, so that wasn't exactly a Herculean feat." Emily Stokes (Financial Times) gave the same concert four out of five stars. She wrote, "A final rendition of "You Are Not Alone" secured her place as the fairy godmother of Motown. "If you need me, call me", she advised the audience, before leaving the stage to change out of her final, silver dress."
Jane Stevenson (Toronto Sun) gave the performance at the Roy Thomson Hall four out of five stars writing, "Even her eyes were big as she stared out into the audience and took them through her impressive 50-year career of Motown soul, blues, gospel, disco, and pop starting with the ho-hum late ‘70s hit The Boss and before quickly moving into Supremes era-gold like "More Today Than Yesterday", Reflections, You Can’t Hurry Love, Stop In The Name of Love, You Keep Me Hanging On, and the granddaddy of them all – Love Child." Mark Jordan (Go Memphis) described Ross' performance at the Memphis Botanic Garden "regal". He further commented, "And at the center of it all was Ross — commanding the stage, pulling off quick costume changes, and keeping the show's breakneck pace on time — setting a pace that would have left even her younger, modern-day successors like Beyoncé winded."
Greg Haymes (Times Union) stated Ross throw out her "diva" attitude for the concert at the Palace Theatre. He wrote, "Ross was in fine voice throughout the evening, and she got sensuous and sultry with Bert Bacharach's classic 'The Look of Love' and a pair of Billie Holiday gems -- the bluesy 'Fine and Mellow' and 'Don't Explain'—but she didn't really make them her own the way she did with 'Touch Me in the Morning.' Those who attended the show at Hard Rock Live agreed with Veda Jo Jenkins (The Palm Beach Post). She stated, "From the club classic to the love ballads like "Touch Me in the Morning", Ross’ performance was old school. No fanfare, no big video screens with hi-def graphics, just her solo with an outrageous horn section that truly accentuated her voice and the mood."
References
External links Ross' Official Facebook Page