As much as I got tired of hearing about Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton’s relationship (be it real or not so real), I do feel a little sorry for Gwen. Her This is What the Truth Feels Like Tour isn’t mustering up much excitement – or ticket sales.
Back in May, we reported that tickets for the tour, which kicked off Tuesday at Boston’s Xfinity Center, were not selling all that well. It seems Gwen’s constant promotion and social media oversharing didn’t to anything to help those lagging sales. Ticket prices were slashed for shows and offered on discount sites. Heck, I got my tickets for her show on Groupon #noshame #imbroke.
Perez Hilton reported that Live Nation reps were handing out tickets to Tuesday’s show at the door. Since the concert was also live streamed on Yahoo!, the concert promoters moved the audience members seated on the lawn and in the back section of the arena up to the front, presumably to give the illusion of a packed house. Perez posted a video of the show on his site and it does look kind of sad, with rows and rows of empty seats.
On the positive side, the smaller audience did enjoy a great show. A review in the LA Times called the show “fun” and complimented Gwen on her performance and enthusiasm, noting:
Stefani moved breezily through her catalog of solo and No Doubt hits, including a crunchy “Just a Girl”; “Hella Good,” which inspired a legitimately rowdy dance party in front of the stage; and “Wind It Up,” with a video backdrop of mountain scenes to complement the song’s daffy “Sound of Music” sample.
“All my homies showed up tonight?” she asked the crowd after that last tune. “You have to understand how starving — absolutely starving — I am for you guys.”
For two songs Stefani was joined by her old pal Eve, who’s also the tour’s opening act. “Let Me Blow Ya Mind,” their initial collaboration from 2001, had an infectious swagger, while a faux-posh “Rich Girl” showed Stefani still knows how to play with her image.
Gwen posted some pictures of the crowd on Instagram, along with one of a backstage meet and greet with a fan/doppelgänger. I tried to emulate Gwen’s style back in the day, but this gal makes me feel like I didn’t even try.
Oh, and case you were wondering, Blake was there. He tweeted a photo from backstage, calling the show “an epic thing to see.”
Wow… I am a terrible photographer but this is an epic thing to see!!! pic.twitter.com/up6bQC5NqS
— Blake Shelton (@blakeshelton) July 13, 2016
I feel bad for Gwen, but with concert tickets getting increasingly expensive, it’s harder and harder to justify going to live shows. Also, that venue is too big for Gwen. If she played smaller venues, I think this wouldn’t be a story right now. She still has a massive fan base, but I’m sure a lot of them got turned off by the constant lovey-dovey Gwake nonsense (guilty.) Gwen herself told the crowd on Tuesday “This is really fun! I didn’t know what to expect.” I’m sure she expected a bigger crowd, but I’m glad to hear she’s in good voice and it sounds like a fun show. Now I’m actually a little bit excited to see her, especially since it sounds like I’ll be getting an upgrade from my lawn seats!
Photo credit: Getty Images, WENN.com, Instagram/Gwen Stefani
She would have done much better if she booked the smaller Pavilion in the city on the waterfront, accessible by public transit, instead of the Xfinity Center. But hey, the audience probably didn’t have to deal with the usual Xfinity Center parking lot exit nightmares.
Local reviews were not kind. http://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/music/2016/07/13/bitten-technical-bugs-gwen-stefani-tour-opener-falls-flat-xfinity/IZ4QvVSc8QyruEAWjPrWmJ/story.html
Exactly! I loved going to concerts at the Pavillion over the Summer.
YES! I saw John Legend there a few summers ago and it was one of my all time favorites.
p.s. I am old and therefor I still call Xfinity…Great Woods 😉
And there are so many great restaurants and bars in the Seaport now. The Pavillion itself is such a great spot too.
Great Woods is a much nicer name than Xfinity.
I think the parking situation at Great Woods (it will always be great woods to me) alone keeps people away. I’m going on Sunday and dreading that part. I have been going there for at least 25 years and they have made it no easier to get out.
We never park in the lot and pay to park on the lawn of one of the houses and never have an issue leaving. We do however walk the fastest mile in our lives when leaving, but always seem to manage to be one of the first 20-25 cars out.
Also handing out free tickets there makes no sense, they needed to do it earlier in the day in Boston or Providence. Heck I would have gone if I had free tickets!
I’ve been here wondering where on Earth the Xfinity Center is. I looked at it on the map and realized it was Great Woods! Didn’t even know the name had changed.
I read the Boston Globe review first which made it seem like the worst concert ever held. But the youtube replay didn’t seem that bad. Even if they had to move everyone into the seats to make the place appear full, it did look full and the crowd seemed to be enjoying themselves (lots of crowd shots on youtube). I also heard they were handing out Duran Duran tickets before her show, not Gwen tickets…
I’m so glad it’s not just me 🙂 #GreatWoods4EvaEva
I’m north of the city so even once on 95, I still have an hour ride home. Gillette sometimes has trains from South Station into the parking lot but GreatWoodsTweeterComcastXfinity can’t be reached by public transit.
I go to lots of concerts at the Pavillion, Orpheum, Fenway, Garden but Mansfield is off my list
Agree 100 percent! I’m going to Janes Addiction next week at the pavilion. I haven’t been this excited for a show in years!
Poor Gwen but yea she doesn’t have enough new good music that I would go to a concert for her. I’m already pretty stingy on shows I go to…the person must be amazing live for me to justify the cost. Or it’s Broadway which is always worth it (just put down extra money for another ticket to Hamilton to see the other leads that are departing). So it does suck but honestly I’m not sure what she expected? She doesn’t have much positive music related buzz around her now
Right? I think maybe it was based on No Doubt crowds and her Voice exposure. Should have been based more on her recent cd sales.
Her latest album is pretty crappy, and without No Doubt she only has 3-4 big hits. She should be playing much smaller venues for her solo tour (or honestly, given how this album sold, cancelling might have been the better option).
The whole thing with Blake gave her way too much exposure, I am sick of them to the point where I had no interest in listening to her music.
Out of curiosity I just checked ticket prices for her – not that expensive. $25-99. That’s nothing, so if she’s not selling at those prices, it’s not good.
Exactly. The tickets were also included in the list of free tickets from Ticketmaster, so it was clear the show was not selling. People are tired of her right now.
Well, it’s not just her. Rihanna played 40 North America dates and only 3 sold out. And even though she kept saying they sold out, Billboard Boxscores came through with receipts and shut down the lies on Instagram. The only person selling out her shows right not is Beyoncé. I think Adele and Coldplay are slaying too but Beyoncé has the most expensive tickets out there right now. Heck that chick made over $7m from her Atlanta, GA show.
If Gwen puts up a good show which I know she will, the critics will be kind and she will end up selling more tickets.
Perez Hilton needs to chill out
The Boston Globe critics were not kind.
Yikes. She shoulda put out a good performance. Nothing sells tickets like word of mouth
As is Guns N’ Roses and AC/DC. 🙂
Guns and Roses is not selling out either, there was just a review of the small crowd at Heinz Field
Well, I can only speak for my neck of the woods (NY/NJ). Their first show, which I have tickets to, with Lenny Kravitz opening, sold out. As a result, they added another date.
Also, they are playing football stadiums. Even if they only filled half the seats, they are selling better than most acts out there.
They’re doing two shows here at Gillette, which seats close to 70,000, next week. The first show, most of the cheap tickets are sold out but plenty of those are available through the resale marketplace and there are huge sections of the floor and lower levels that are still available. The second show seems to have more than half the tickets in all areas still available.
I actually really liked the new album, but yeah, tours aren’t really my jam these days. Trying to fit them into my schedule and dealing with traffic just doesn’t seem worth it. I agree that a smaller venue would be better – most artists don’t have the selling power to fill out massive stadiums.
I’m a huge fan, but I was turned off by the crazy fee for the meet and greet, and the fact that the xfinity center is horrible to get in and out of… I opted out of this concert.
I love her. Tours are expensive ao I can’t afford live music anymore. The one percent can afford concert tickets and Hamilton. Entertainers should do pay per view. One concert; cheap prices.
Who is Gwen’s audience, though? TBH, I’ve always assumed her fans are the people who grew up with her — who were in their late teens/early 20s when No Doubt came on the scene, and have stuck by her ever since. So now they’re in their late 30s/early 40s, with kids and jobs and not enough time or money to go see a concert. I know my 13-year-old daughter has no interest in Gwen Stefani, but maybe people in their 20s do. I’m legitimately curious here…
I would think the same. I’m in that age bracket and I just don’t see the point of spending that kind of money for a massive arena snow where you have to look at the screen to see the performer anyway. I will still go to concerts in smaller venues.
Or late 40’s, I am the same age as Gwen and a big fan from her early days. Which is why I wish she’d stop wearing some of the clothes she does and find things that are edgy but more age appropriate. We have all grown up and her look has not. But.. I am still a fan and probably always will be.
I definitely wouldn’t wear what she wears, but I don’t think her outfits are necessarily inappropriate for someone in her profession. And let’s face it, she’s in an industry that demands she maintains a certain level of fitness/thinness, and she dresses to show off all her hard work.
What I do find weird is all the make-up she wears, ALL THE TIME, not just in concert. She’s always so pancaked, I wonder what her actual face looks like.
Yeah, I would probably agree that her fans are the people who grew up with her from back in the 90s. I’m 26 and while I remember when she went solo back in the early 00s, I have no interest in her.
I just turned 30 and No Doubt was actually my first concert. I idolised Gwen when I was a kid, butt by the time she released her solo stuff I had moved on to other types of music. I’d probably go see her for the nostalgia factor if the tickets were free or very cheap.
I was in junior high when No Doubt came out with Tragic Kingdom. I’ve never liked the band or her to be honest. But I was talking to a friend the other day who is only a few years old than me and she questioned everything Gwen was doing, especially with her relationship with Blake. She feels Gwen has been fake the whole time. I was a little shocked by that statement because she loves her but like you said her target audience is now older and may not have time for this.
I’m sick of her. I think the constant focus on her fake relationship with. Blake did me in. If she portrayed a strong, independent woman who comes out of a cheating partner situation stronger, I’d have a totally different opinion.
Not a huge fan of the relationship, but after almost a year together, together on an almost daily basis as followed by fans, i think we can drop that its a fake relationship. Gavin, Gavin’s girlfriend Nicole and Miranda don’t seem to think the relationship is fake, and they would know better than me. I am not sure of stronger, but I definitely think she came out happier.
Oh get over urself!
Sorry but these pics of here in these absurd outfits and the dancers is making me DIE laughing
I was ROFL when I saw those leopard print suits!
There’s this venue on Long Island – the Space at Westbury – that is awesome. It’s a small venue, great seating plans, and more artists, especially those like Gwen, should book there. Patti Smith sold out there and it was the most awesome show ever. I think a lot of artists due themselves a disservice by booking big venues.
It’s their management that works out this kind of thing, And her manager is Irving Azoff, who is a big name in the industry. Blame him. He also did something similar with Christina Aguilera back years ago and there were really lagging sales and she cancelled the tour. Gwen should have been booked in smaller venues, like 5,000, not these really large arenas. except in California where she sells, etc..
I think Azoff went off of her last solo tour many years ago in her 30s which was huge. And her tickets were too expensive starting out this time. It’s a different ballgame now. I’m going to see her. She’s an energetic performer, and I admire the fact that she’s almost 47 and rocking out on stage. She is from a band background. She isn’t a pop dancer with heavy backing vocals. I will be there to support Gwen, because few females her age from a band background are going out there touring. She’s giving it her all on stage. That’s all you can ask. They may have ended up giving away tickets. I don’t know. But I read 7,000 were there, so it wasn’t to an empty audience.
I loved her costumes. She’s Gwen Stefani. She has her own quirky look. She has an amazing figure. I thought she looked beautiful. I also think it is sweet how Blake was there supporting her on her first night and sticking up for her on twitter.
And Boston Globe gave her a bad review, but LA Times gave her a great review for opening night.
One of my favorite songs of Gwen’s in concert opening night..
Cool
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vktBN_stVh4
7,000 were there. The venue holds over 19,000.
@Lilacflowers, then I was wrong. I read it was two-thirds full in the LA Times review. So more like a little over 12,000 were there.
Still, Irving Azoff booked her in venues WAY too large. I’m going to one a similar capacity, and I don’t think it’s selling all that great either. But it’s a girls’ night out for about seven of us and one husband who loves Gwen Stefani and wants to come. So we’ll have a blast.
@Jayna, the venue is an amphitheater with different levels of seating under the roof. the level closest to the stage holds about 7,000, and then lawn seating. They moved the people from the lawn down into the seats under the roof so that the lowest section might have been full with the second level mostly full but the lawn totally empty.
Has she had new chiclet teeth?
New teeth are just the beginning..She seems to have a whole new face, which she keeps tweaking with fillers and Botox…Looking like Cat Woman seems to be her next goal. Maybe she could still attract fans if she could actually sing, but never could, never will.
I feel wretched saying this, but I saw her on Chelsea Handler’s show recently and….sweet cracker sandwiches what kind of doctor is she going to?! My best guess would be one who doesn’t have the words “no” or “enough” in his/her vocabulary. Such a shame, because she seems like a lovely person.
With so many celeb couple break ups this year, unfortunately, Gwen’s drama wasn’t very interesting. The album isn’t great, and people want to go to concerts to have fun, not listen to someone sing about ‘whoa is me’. Unless it’s Adele or Beyonce. Then by all means, sing that shit girl!
I really like Gwen and she was cool back in the day…..it now looks like she is trying way too hard to be cool. And the outfits? huge fail The backup dancers’ lepoard suits…oh my. Second-hand embarassment here.
I thought the same thing about her outfits….not doing her any favors.
She’s not a big house act anymore, and she and her people should know better.
That fan/doppelganger is my niece. She’s been Gwen’s fan for twenty years.
Awwwww, your niece is cute smc! Must have been an awesome experience for her to pose in a close up with Gwen
I’m definitely a No Doubt fan. Not really a solo Gwen fan. Gwen with Tony, Tom, Adrian, Gabriel, Stephen… All of them together is magic.
But I’d still go see her if I got a good groupon deal…better go check!!!
Oh well, not even coming to Colorado.
I remember seeing No Doubt at Red Rocks and she complained about the thin air…
The show was packed what are you talking about?
Ive been To both no doubt and her solo shows, but just cant stand her new music. Her constant over sharing with whatever her and blake are is tio much. I guess when ppl say leqve some mystery -it’s true.