The Cars North American Tour Spring 2011 is a set of eleven concerts in the United States and Canada featuring the newly reunited American band

The Cars The Cars were an American rock band formed in Boston in 1976. Emerging from the new wave scene in the late 1970s, they consisted of Ric Ocasek ( rhythm guitar), Benjamin Orr (bass guitar), Elliot Easton (lead guitar), Greg Hawkes (keyboards), ...

. Announced in April 2011 prior to the release of the band's album ''

Move Like This ''Move Like This'' is the seventh and final studio album by American rock band the Cars, released on May 10, 2011. The album was their first since 1987's '' Door to Door'', and the only one without bassist and vocalist Benjamin Orr, who died of ...

'', the concerts feature material from ''Move Like This'' and from the band's 1970s and 1980s albums. Singer/guitarist Ric Ocasek, keyboardist

Greg Hawkes Gregory A. Hawkes (born October 22, 1952) is an American musician best known as the keyboardist for the rock band The Cars. Hawkes, a native of Fulton, Maryland, United States, attended Atholton High School where he played in a band called Teeth ...

, guitarist Elliot Easton and drummer David Robinson performed as a quartet, as original Cars singer and bassist

Benjamin Orr Benjamin Orzechowski (September 8, 1947 – October 3, 2000), known professionally as Benjamin Orr, was an American musician best known as the bassist, co-lead vocalist, and co-founder of the rock band The Cars. He sang lead vocals on sever ...

died in 2000. Orr's bass parts were performed by Hawkes on keyboard and bass, while the vocals on songs originally sung by Orr ("

Just What I Needed "Just What I Needed" is a song by American Rock music, rock band The Cars from their The Cars (album), self-titled debut album (1978). The song, which first achieved radio success as a demo, took inspiration from the Ohio Express and the Velvet ...

", " Let's Go" and "

Moving in Stereo "Moving in Stereo" is a song by the American rock band the Cars. It appeared on their first album, ''The Cars'', released in 1978. It was co-written by Ric Ocasek and the band's keyboard player Greg Hawkes, and sung by bassist Benjamin Orr. Recep ...

") were performed by Ocasek. As Ocasek died on September 15, 2019, this is the final tour from the band.

Tour dates

Reception

The performances and set lists were met with mixed reviews: ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' reviewer Erik Pedersen found ''Move Like This'' to be a "surprisingly good" album but described the Hollywood Palladium show as "icy" and unenthusiastic. '' San Jose Mercury News'' reviewer Jim Harrington described the band's performance at

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...

's Fox Theater as "incredibly flat and dispassionate", but praised the band's "solid" musicianship.

Band members

* Ric Ocasek –

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

* Elliot Easton –

guitars The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...

–

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

* David Robinson –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

References

External links

The Cars - Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cars North American Tour The Cars concert tours 2011 concert tours 2011 in American music Concert tours of North America May 2011 events in North America Farewell concert tours