The Helplessness Blues Tour was a world tour by Seattle folk band Fleet Foxes in support of their second album Helplessness Blues which was released on May 3, 2011. The tour visited North America, Europe, Oceania and Japan.
Background The Tour began in the band home town of Seattle, Washington before moving across the United States and Canada. A European leg was then announced which began in Berlin, Germany. This leg included three sold-out shows at London's Hammersmith Apollo. A second North American leg took place July 14 and July 24, 2011, with another European leg taking place from August 11–20. The Band performed at some of Europe's best known Festivals including the Glastonbury Festival and Rock Werchter. The fifth leg of the tour began with two shows at Seattle's Paramount Theatre, followed by a string of shows in the United States. A Third European leg took place in November–December 2011 before moving onto Australia for some festival shows. A short Japanese leg also took place in January 2012. Two New Zealand shows were announced on September 5. Australian headline shows were also announced for January 2012.
Example set list "The Cascades" "Grown Ocean" "Drops in the River" "Battery Kinzie" "Bedouin Dress" "Sim Sala Bim" "Mykonos" "Your Protector" "Tiger Mountain Peasant Song" "White Winter Hymnal" "Ragged Wood" "Lorelai" "Montezuma" "He Doesn't Know Why" "The Shrine/An Argument" "Blue Spotted Tail" "Blue Ridge Mountains" Encore "Oliver James" "Helplessness Blues" Source:
Support acts The Cave Singers (Leg 1, North America—select dates) The Bees (Leg 2 & 4, Europe—select dates) Owen Pallett (Leg 2, Europe—select dates) Alela Diane (Leg 3, North America) The Walkmen (Leg 5, North America—select dates) Bon Iver (Leg 5, North America—select dates) Van Dyke Parks (Leg 5, North America—select dates) Vetiver (Leg 6, Europe—select dates)
Tour dates DateCityCountryVenueLeg 1: North AmericaApril 15, 2011SeattleUnited StatesColumbia City TheatreApril 29, 2011VancouverCanadaVogue TheatreApril 30, 2011May 1, 2011PortlandUnited StatesCrystal BallroomMay 2, 2011SeattleMoore TheatreMay 3, 2011May 5, 2011OaklandFox Oakland TheatreMay 6, 2011San DiegoSpreckels TheaterMay 7, 2011Los AngelesHollywood PalladiumMay 8, 2011TucsonRialto TheatreMay 10, 2011AustinStubb's Bar-B-QMay 11, 2011DallasPalladium BallroomMay 13, 2011NashvilleRyman AuditoriumMay 14, 2011AtlantaThe TabernacleMay 15, 2011Washington, D.C.DAR Constitution HallMay 18, 2011New York CityUnited PalaceMay 19, 2011May 21, 2011Upper Darby TownshipTower TheaterLeg 2: EuropeMay 25, 2011BerlinGermanyC-HalleMay 26, 2011DachauRathausplatzMay 28, 2011BarcelonaSpainParc del Fòrum Leisure Site[A]May 30, 2011ParisFranceBataclanMay 31, 2011LondonEnglandHammersmith ApolloJune 1, 2011June 2, 2011June 23, 2011WolverhamptonWolverhampton Civic HallJune 24, 2011PiltonWorthy Farm[B]June 25, 2011BelfastNorthern IrelandCathedral Quarter[C]June 26, 2011CorkIrelandThe Docklands[D]June 28, 2011ManchesterEnglandApolloJune 29, 2011EdinburghScotlandCorn ExchangeJuly 1, 2011St BlazeyEnglandEden Project[E]July 3, 2011WerchterBelgiumWerchter Festival Grounds[F]July 4, 2011ParisFranceSalle PleyelJuly 6, 2011PoznańPolandLake Malta[G]July 8, 2011OeirasPortugalAlgés Riverside[H]July 10, 2011TurkuFinlandRuissalo Island[I]Leg 3: North AmericaJuly 14, 2011TorontoCanadaMassey HallJuly 16, 2011ChicagoUnited StatesUnion Park[J]July 17, 2011MinneapolisState TheatreJuly 18, 2011Kansas CityUptown TheaterJuly 19, 2011St. LouisThe PageantJuly 21, 2011DenverFillmore AuditoriumJuly 22, 2011Salt Lake CityRed Butte Garden and ArboretumJuly 23, 2011BoiseKnitting FactoryJuly 24, 2011TroutdaleMcMenamins Edgefield ManorLeg 4: EuropeAugust 11, 2011OsloNorwayMiddelalderparken[K]August 12, 2011GothenburgSwedenSlottsskogen[L]August 13, 2011Rees-HaldernGermanyFestival Grounds[M]August 14, 2011Saint-MaloFranceFestival Grounds[N]August 16, 2011BrightonEnglandBrighton DomeAugust 18, 2011HasseltBelgiumKiewit[O]August 19, 2011BiddinghuizenNetherlandsSpijk en Bremerberg[P]August 20, 2011Brecon BeaconsWalesGlanusk Park Estate[Q]Leg 5: North AmericaSeptember 6, 2011SeattleUnited StatesParamount TheatreSeptember 7, 2011September 9, 2011RenoGrand Sierra ResortSeptember 10, 2011BerkeleyHearst Greek TheatreSeptember 11, 2011Big SurHenry Miller LibrarySeptember 13, 2011Santa BarbaraSanta Barbara BowlSeptember 14, 2011Los AngelesGreek TheatreSeptember 15, 2011PhoenixComerica TheatreSeptember 17, 2011TulsaCain's BallroomSeptember 18, 2011AustinZilker Park[R]September 20, 2011JacksonvilleFlorida TheatreSeptember 21, 2011RaleighRaleigh AmphitheatreSeptember 23, 2011ColumbiaMerriweather Post PavilionSeptember 24, 2011New York CityWilliamsburg WaterfrontSeptember 25, 2011HolyoakeMountain ParkSeptember 28, 2011ClevelandMasonic AuditoriumSeptember 29, 2011Ann ArborHill AuditoriumSeptember 30, 2011ChicagoChicago TheatreOctober 1, 2011October 3, 2011BirminghamAlabama TheatreOctober 4, 2011AshevilleThomas Wolfe AuditoriumOctober 5, 2011LouisvilleThe Louisville PalaceLeg 6: EuropeNovember 5, 2011BergenNorwayGrieg HallNovember 6, 2011OsloSentrum SceneNovember 8, 2011StockholmSwedenAnnexetNovember 9, 2011MalmöK.B. HallenNovember 10, 2011CopenhagenDenmarkFalconer TheatreNovember 11, 2011Weissenhäuser StrandGermanyRolling Stone WeekenderNovember 13, 2011KatowicePolandKozrywki TheatreNovember 14, 2011ZagrebCroatiaTvornicaNovember 15, 2011ViennaAustriaMuseumsquartierNovember 17, 2011RomeItalyAtlánticoNovember 19, 2011BolognaEstragonNovember 20, 2011MilanTeatro SmeraldoNovember 21, 2011ZürichSwitzerlandKomplex 457November 22, 2011FribourgFri-SonNovember 24, 2011BilbaoSpainSantana 27November 25, 2011MadridLa RivieraNovember 26, 2011CartagenaJazz FestivalNovember 27, 2011BarcelonaL'AuditoriNovember 29, 2011AmsterdamNetherlandsHeineken Music HallNovember 30, 2011BrusselsBelgiumForest NationalDecember 1, 2011LeedsEnglandO2 Academy LeedsDecember 2, 2011MineheadButlin's MineheadLeg 7: OceaniaDecember 29, 2011LorneAustraliaFestival Grounds[S]December 30, 2011Marion BayJanuary 2, 2012SydneySydney Opera HouseJanuary 3, 2012January 4, 2012January 6, 2012MelbournePalais TheatreJanuary 7, 2012BusseltonSir Stewart Bovell Park[T]January 8, 2012January 10, 2012BrisbaneTivoliJanuary 11, 2012January 13, 2012WellingtonNew ZealandHunter LodgeJanuary 14, 2012AucklandAuckland Town HallLeg 8: AsiaJanuary 17, 2012OsakaJapanBig catJanuary 18, 2012NagoyaClub QuattroJanuary 20, 2012TokyoStudio Coast
Festivals and other miscellaneous performances
A^This show was part of the Primavera Festival. B^This show was part of the Glastonbury Festival. C^This show was part of the Coors Light Open House Festival. D^This show was part of the Live at the Marquee (festival). E^This show was part of the Eden Sessions. F^This show was part of the Rock Werchter Festival. G^This show was part of the Malta Festival. H^This show was part of the Optimus Alive! Festival. I^This show was part of the Ruisrock Festival. J^This show was part of the Pitchfork Music Festival.
K^This show is part of the Øyafestivalen. L^This show is part of the Way Out West Festival. M^This show is part of the Haldern Pop Festival. N^This show is part of the La Route du Rock Festival. O^This show is part of the Pukkelpop Festival. P^This show is part of the Lowlands Festival. Q^This show is part of the Green Man Festival. R^This show is part of the Austin City Limits Music Festival. S^These shows are part of the Falls Festival. T^These shows are part of the Southbound Festival.
Box office score data
Venue City No. of Shows Tickets sold / available Gross revenueStubb's Bar-B-QAustin12,200 / 2,200 (100%)$61,680DAR Constitution HallWashington, D.C.13,500 / 3,500 (100%)$117,619ColumbiahalleBerlin13,167 / 3,500 (90%)$97,826State TheatreMinneapolis12,054 / 2,054 (100%)$60,593Knitting FactoryBoise1994 / 994 (100%)$27,366Hearst Greek TheatreBerkeley16,694 / 7000 (96%)$264,207Santa Barbara BowlSanta Barbara12,250 / 4,059 (55%)$68,725Greek TheatreLos Angeles14,979 / 5,849 (85%)$176,395Williamsburg WaterfrontBrooklyn17,000 / 7,000 (100%)$276,500Hill AuditoriumAnn Arbor13,356 / 3,356 (100%)$114,104Chicago TheatreChicago26,878 / 6,878 (100%)$240,730Alabama TheatreBirmingham11,723 / 2,062 (84%)$55,958
Fleet Foxes Robin Pecknold: lead vocals, guitar Skyler Skjelset: lead guitar, mandolin Christian Wargo: bass guitar, vocals Casey Wescott: Keyboard, mandolin, vocals Joshua Tillman: drums, vocals, arrangements Morgan Henderson: multi-instrumentalist, arrangements
References
External links Official Tour Page