Generation Laser Tour

The Generation Laser Tour was a headline concert tour by Lupe Fiasco across North America in support of his third studio album, Lasers. This came after his 2010 Steppin' Laser Tour, where he announced it was going international."Lupe Fiasco Kicked, Pushed and Coasted at USD". NBC San Diego. May 11, 2010. Generation Laser Tour began on September 1, 2011, at the University of Illinois in Chicago, Illinois, and concluded on November 18, 2011, in Trenton, New Jersey.Horowitz, Steven (August 28, 2011). "Lupe Fiasco Announces "Generation Laser" Tour Dates". HipHopDX. The first two dates were for festivals—Spark in the Park and Triad Music Festival. Nearly half of the performances were performed at school homecomings or events, including in Milwaukee, Miami, St. Louis, and Orlando.
== Description ==
Lupe Fiasco has announced plans for the "Generation LASER" tour, a full-scale North American trek that will see the Grammy Award-winning artist performing across the country through the fall, wrapping on October 11th at Fox Theater (see dates). The major tour will feature various opening artists including Big Sean, Girl Talk, Tinie Tempah, Sarah Green and Wale in select markets.
Meanwhile the third single "Out of My Head (feat. Trey Songz)" from Fiasco's third studio album, "LASERS," which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 earlier this year, is consistently blazing up the urban radio charts. The catchy club hit broke into the top 10 at urban radio, making it the first of Fiasco's singles to reach that mark. Additionally the companion video for the track has received over 4.6 million views on YouTube.
"LASERS," which marks the Chicago MC's highest selling and chart-ranking debut to date, also includes the RIAA double platinum certified hit single, "The Show Goes On." The companion video for the track recently received an MTV Video Music Awards nomination for "Best Hip Hop Video."
An extraordinarily gifted performer, Lupe heralded the release of "LASERS" with a long-sold-out show at New York City's Webster Hall on Monday, March 7th. Furthermore, he has been touring the country over the past several months including festival performances at the annual New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, the KahBang Festival in Bangor, ME, the Bass Nector's Bass Island Festival at Governors Island, NY, and the Sweetlife Festival in Columbia, MD.
Lupe's third full-length collection, "LASERS" has quickly received a bounty of glowing critical acclaim. Rolling Stone praised Fiasco by placing him "in a tradition that runs from Marley to M.I.A.: the soul rebel who refuses to believe righteous struggle has to be a grind," going on to applaud "his athletic, whiplash flow and rich imagination." The Chicago Tribune's Greg Kot praised such "layered, evocative tracks" as "the call-to-activism 'Words I Never Said,' the potent daydream 'All Black Everything,' the shattering 'Beautiful Lasers'" for "(blending) wrenching introspection and an undercurrent of anger with beautifully down-tempo music, perched somewhere between melancholy and despair." Perhaps Entertainment Weekly said it best in its "A-"-graded rave: "Simply put, 'LASERS' beams."
== Background ==
In March 2011, a list of Spring dates were announced, which included performances at the Sweetlife Festival and New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.Young, Alex (March 23, 2011). "Lupe Fiasco announces 2011 tour dates". Consequence. That same year it followed by the announcement of the tour 'Generation Laser' in August. Opening acts on select dates included Big Sean, Wale, Tinie Tempah, Girl Talk, Sarah Green, Iyaz, Chiddy Bang, Theophilus London, and Young Marqus. Several venues were not yet specified, including the one for Evanston, Illinois. The date was removed from the site just under a week after its announcement. A representative from A&O informed The Daily of this mishap, "(Performers) need to be approved by the University before people are confirmed and before that time we legally cannot comment on a show, whether true or false. Sometimes everyone is on the same page, sometimes they are not.""BREAKING: Lupe Fiasco to perform at Welsh-Ryan on Nov. 4". The Daily Northwestern. October 13, 2011.
The protest movement, Occupy Wall Street, coincided with his tour, and Fiasco would spread awareness at his shows, including at the Fox Theater and Hollywood Palladium concerts. At the Triad Music Festival in Greensboro, he experienced difficulties due to power outages, though pushed through his set. He said over Twitter, "NC...no power...Stage lit up by fan cell phones...crowd had 2 be quiet to hear...it was like telling a ghost story..Classic Moment In HipHop." During his show at the Tabernacle in Atlanta, Fiasco addressed the Troy Davis case in his song "Superstar," where he substituted lyrics in a verse. ('Like the governor called, and they told him to wait, un-strap Troy from the chair, and put him back in the A.')Shaw, A. R. (September 22, 2011). "Lupe Fiasco Shines With Generation Laser Tour: Addresses Troy Davis Case'. Rolling Out.
== Critical reception ==
For the House of Blues show, Boston Globe said, "But more memorable than any song was Lupe's brief political ramble toward the end of the show, in which he asked for a moment of silence for victims of Sept. 11, then subsequently offered condolences to fallen "insurgents" in the Middle East and branded President Obama a "terrorist" as a bemused crowd looked on."Caballero, Martín (September 13, 2011). "Lupe Fiasco speaks his mind". Boston Globe.
LA Weekly wrote, "[The] show last night at the Palladium did not seem like it was going to go well. A couple hours after the doors opened, the venue was still half-empty, and the crowd didn't seem particularly interested in the night's first two openers." They continued, "Lupe Fiasco finally came on stage. [...] His moves and charisma were more fitting of a rock star playing a stadium show, rather than the 4,000-capacity Palladium. Wearing a leather jacket over an "OCCUPY" shirt, skinny jeans, and skull and bones cuffs, he thrashed around the stage, bringing a foot-stomping, head-banging energy rarely seen at hip-hop shows. He spit water all over the audience, struck a few Jim Morrison-like poses, and watched as fights erupted in the photo pit." They added, "And he got political in between numbers too, as we all knew he would. First he called for a moment of silence–'If you know why, I'd like you to join me'–then he made a public service announcement–'Support your local homeless shelters, the food pantries, plant a tree, support local charities, and occupy Wall Street all day all week'–and finally, he brought a Palestinian flag on stage during 'Show Goes On.'"Fader, Lainna (October 11, 2011). "Lupe Fiasco - Hollywood Palladium - October 10, 2011". LA Weekly. RUKUS Magazine said of the same performance, "Lupe was a fantastic performer with high energy and sharp movements and has wonderful usage of musical dynamics in his songs. His rapping style was the only thing that didn't fluctuate between highs and low." They praised his stage presence, and described him as "a one of a kind act."Norris, Katie (October 10, 2011). "Lupe Fiasco, Concert Review". RUKUS Magazine.
Writing for Bella Beau Marketing and Publicity, they expressed amazement at the diverse crowd, "The race demographic was stunning. [...] it is an awesome accomplishment when your product is received by the masses.""Bella Beau Out and About: Lupe Fiasco Laser Tour ATL!!!!!". Wordpress. September 23, 2011. Jim Harrington of The Mercury News named the rapper's strengths of "lyrical flow," "stage charisma," and "energy level." He added of the Oakland show, "He then gave shout outs to some Bay Area hip-hop royalty, including Too Short and the late-great Mac Dre. And, most impressively, he didn't overlook Spice 1, freestyling his way through the Hayward gangsta-rap icon's '187 Proof.'"Harrington, Jim (October 11, 2011). "Review: Lupe Fiasco is fantastic in Oakland". The Mercury News.
== Set list ==
# "Words I Never Said"
# "State Run Radio"
# "I Don't Wanna Care Right Now"
# "Everyone Nose (All the Girls Standing in the Line for the Bathroom) (Remix)"
# "Go Go Gadget Flow"
# "Coming Up"
# "Till I Get There"
# "Touch the Sky"
# "I Gotcha"
# "Kick, Push"
# "Hip-Hop Saved My Life"
# "The Coolest"
# "All Black Everything"
# "Out of My Head"
# "Break the Chain"
# "Beautiful Lasers (2 Ways)"
# "Never Forget You"
# "Superstar"
# "Daydreamin'"
# "The Show Goes On"
== Dates ==
 Key
	Indicates festival date
Spring Tour — North America	Spring Tour — North America	Spring Tour — North America	Spring Tour — North America 	Spring Tour — North America
Date 	City 	Country 	Venue 	
March 6, 2011 	Chicago 	United States 	House of Blues 	
March 27, 2011 	Los Angeles 	United States 	Los Angeles Convention Center	
March 31, 2011 	Durham 	United States 	Duke University 	
April 1, 2011 	Ann Arbor 	United States 	University of Michigan 	
April 13, 2011 	Albany 	United States 	Washington Avenue Armory 	
April 16, 2011 	Keene 	United States 	Keene State College 	
April 19, 2011 	Oxford 	United States 	Miami University 	
April 21, 2011 	Phoenix 	United States 	Mesa Amphitheater 	
April 24, 2011 	New York City 	United States 	Roseland Ballroom 	
April 25, 2011 	New York City 	United States 	Roseland Ballroom 	
April 26, 2011 	New Haven 	United States 	Yale University 	
April 28, 2011 	Bristol 	United States 	Rec Center 	
April 29, 2011 	Centre County 	United States 	University Park 	
May 1, 2011 	Columbia 	United States 	Meriweather Post 	
May 6, 2011 	New Orleans 	United States 	Congo Square 	
May 7, 2011 	Boise 	United States 	Boise State University 	
May 11, 2011 	Lewiston 	United States 	Bates College 	
North America 	North America 	North America	North America 	North America
Date 	City 	Country 	Venue 	
September 1, 2011 	Chicago 	United States	University of Illinois 	
September 3, 2011 	Greensboro 	United States	NewBridge Bank Park 	
September 9, 2011 	Milwaukee 	United States	Marcus Amphitheater 	
September 10, 2011	Toronto 	Canada 	KoolHaus 	
September 12, 2011	Boston 	United States	House of Blues 	
September 16, 2011	Columbia 	United States	Merriweather Post Pavilion 	
September 17, 2011	Philadelphia 	United States	The Mann 	
September 18, 2011	Raleigh 	United States	Raleigh Amphitheater 	
September 20, 2011	Atlanta 	United States	The Tabernacle 	
September 22, 2011	Auburn 	United States	Auburn Arena 	
September 23, 2011	Charlotte 	United States	Time Warner Cable Uptown Amphitheater	
September 24, 2011	St. Augustine 	United States	St. Augustine Amphitheatre 	
September 25, 2011	Miami 	United States	Football Stadium 	
September 28, 2011	Columbus 	United States	Le Pavilion 	
September 29, 2011	St. Louis 	United States	Chaifetz Arena 	
September 30, 2011	West Lafayette	United States	Purdue University 	
October 2, 2011 	Champaign 	United States	University of Illinois 	
October 4, 2011 	Dekalb 	United States	NIU Convocation Center 	
October 5, 2011 	Ames 	United States	Hilton Coliseum 	
October 6, 2011 	Kansas City 	United States	The Midland by AMC 	
October 7, 2011 	Denver 	United States	Fillmore Auditorium 	
October 9, 2011 	Las Vegas 	United States	The Palms 	
October 10, 2011 	Los Angeles 	United States	Hollywood Palladium 	
October 11, 2011 	Oakland 	United States	Fox Theater 	
October 22, 2011 	Orlando 	United States	Addition Financial Arena 	
November 4, 2011 	Evanston 	United States	Welsh-Ryan Arena 	
November 5, 2011 	Ypsilanti 	United States	EMU Convocation Center 	
November 7, 2011 	New York City 	United States	Terminal 5 	
November 17, 2011 	Kingston 	United States	Ryan Center 	
November 18, 2011 	Trenton 	United States	Rider University 	
 	 	United States	 	
== Cancelled shows ==
North America 	North America 	North America	North America 	North America
Date 	City 	Country 	Venue 	
September 15, 2011	West Long Branch	United States	MAC at Monmouth University	McCall, Tris (September 9, 2011). "Lupe Fiasco cancels Monmouth University show". NJ.
== Gallery ==
File:Lupe Fiasco - New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.jpg|Photo by Scott LegatoNew Orleans, Louisiana
File:Lupe Fiasco - Generation Laser Tour.jpg|Photo by David BeckerOakland, California
File:Lupe Fiasco - Generation Laser Tour (2).jpg|Photo by Tim MosenfelderOakland, California
File:Lupe Fiasco - Generation Laser Tour (3).jpg|Photo by Tim MosenfelderOakland, California
File:Lupe Fiasco - Generation Laser Tour (4).jpg|Photo by David BeckerOakland, California
File:Lupe Fiasco - Generation Laser Tour (5).jpg|Photo by David BeckerOakland, California
File:Lupe Fiasco - Generation Laser Tour (6).jpg|Photo by David BeckerOakland, California
File:Lupe Fiasco - Generation Laser Tour (7).jpg|Photo by C FlaniganOakland, California
File:Lupe Fiasco - Generation Laser Tour (8).jpg|Photo by C FlaniganOakland, California
File:Lupe Fiasco - Generation Laser Tour (9).jpg|Photo by C FlaniganOakland, California
File:Lupe Fiasco - Generation Laser Tour (10).jpg|Photo by C FlaniganOakland, California
File:Lupe Fiasco - Generation Laser Tour (11).jpg|Photo by C FlaniganOakland, California
File:Lupe Fiasco - Generation Laser Tour (12).jpg|Photo by C FlaniganOakland, California
File:Lupe Fiasco - Generation Laser Tour (13).jpg|Photo by C FlaniganOakland, California
File:Lupe Fiasco - Generation Laser Tour (14).jpg|Photo by C FlaniganOakland, California
File:Lupe Fiasco - Generation Laser Tour (15).jpg|Photo by C FlaniganOakland, California
File:Lupe Fiasco - Generation Laser Tour (16).jpg|Photo by C FlaniganOakland, California
File:Lupe Fiasco - Generation Laser Tour (17).jpg|Photo by Jerritt ClarkTrenton, New Jersey
File:Lupe Fiasco - Generation Laser Tour (18).jpg|Photo by Jerritt ClarkTrenton, New Jersey
== References ==
Category:Headlining tours
Category:Lasers
Category:Tours