Counterparts Tour

Last updated
Counterparts Tour
Tour by Rush
LocationNorth America
Associated album Counterparts
Start dateJanuary 22, 1994
End dateMay 7, 1994
No. of shows54
Rush concert chronology

The Counterparts Tour was a concert tour by Canadian rock band Rush in support of their fifteenth studio album, Counterparts, and marked the members' 20th anniversary as a band. [1] [2]

Contents

Background

The tour kicked off January 22, 1994 at the Civic Center in Pensacola, Florida and culminated on May 7, 1994 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, [3] estimated to have performed to 589,137 fans. [2] Some recordings from the tour were featured on the 1998 live album Different Stages . [4]

This was the band's last tour to have any opening acts. These opening acts were Candlebox, The Melvins, Primus, The Doughboys, and I Mother Earth. [5]

Reception

The New York Times's John Pareles, reviewing one of the two Madison Square Garden shows in March, opened that the band performed for two hours amid film clips and special effects such as smoke, psychedelic patterned lights, and spark showers. He continued, stating that Rush flaunted music proficiency with "speeding guitar scales, hard-hitting drumming and earnest vocals" to "melodic hooks of pop tunes" similar to The Police. Noting on the audience, Pareles acknowledged that the band counted on many fans during the show to sing along to every song performed. The only criticism Pareles gave was the change in sound in songs when Lifeson went from acoustic to electric, proceeding the music at one "unvarying" volume, also noting that Rush lacked a rudimentary sense of dynamics. [6]

Reviewing the May 3, 1994 performance at Albany's Knickerbocker Arena, Michael Hochanadel from The Sunday Gazette, praised the band's sound, stating that it sounded like it had settled into a sound similar to Pink Floyd and The Police and had become a genre themselves "through sheer sound and style", adding that the special effects and fireworks have elevated the band's music. Commenting on the interaction with Rush and their fans, Hochanadel noted when Lee had advanced closer towards the audience during the song "Closer to the Heart", stating that he matched movement to words as well as adding that Peart's drum solo had a tip-off when his drum riser was used. [7]

Despite the positive reception from many critics and audiences, Ed Masley from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette who attended the April 20, 1994 performance in Pittsburgh, had opened that Rush did not know how to put on a 'real' rock show, stating that Peart did not know anything about that - calling him a "drag". He noted on the special effects the band used in their performance, stating that the band were still boring, noting on how the images on the screen behind the band had drawn more applause than the musicians performing. [8]

Kelley Crowley from the Observer-Reporter, whom also criticized the band's performance in a negative light claimed that Geddy Lee's vocals were possessed by the spirit of a mouse and in an "electronic frenzy", also criticizing the "muddy and distorted" sound the band had presented, and the mistakes Lifeson was making on his guitar solo in "The Spirit of Radio". Crowley also acknowledged the complaints of fans on their expectations of hearing the old material at the show. However though, Crowley stated that with the use of the video screen, special effects and lights, it was described as a "sensory experience". [9]

Set list

This is an example set list adapted from Rush: Wandering the Face of the Earth – The Official Touring History of what were performed during the tour, but may not represent the majority of the shows. [10] The Counterparts Tour was also the first and only Rush tour to not feature any portion(s) of 2112 in the set list since the song's release.

  1. "Dreamline"
  2. "The Spirit of Radio"
  3. "The Analog Kid"
  4. "Cold Fire"
  5. "Time Stand Still"
  6. "Nobody's Hero"
  7. "Roll the Bones"
  8. "Animate"
  9. "Stick It Out"
  10. "Double Agent"
  11. "Limelight"
  12. "Bravado"
  13. "Mystic Rhythms"
  14. "Closer to the Heart"
  15. "Show Don't Tell"
  16. "Leave That Thing Alone"
  17. "The Rhythm Method" (drum solo)
  18. "The Trees"
  19. "Xanadu"
  20. "Cygnus X-1 Book II: Hemispheres – Prelude"
  21. "Tom Sawyer"
    Encore
  22. "Force Ten"
  23. "YYZ"
  24. "Cygnus X-1 Book I: The Voyage" (teaser)

Tour dates

List of 1994 concerts [11] [12]
DateCityCountryVenueAttendance / Capacity / Gross
January 22, 1994 Pensacola United States Pensacola Civic Center 8,422 / 8,422 / $176,550
January 23, 1994 New Orleans Lakefront Arena 7,432 / 7,432 / $180,302
January 25, 1994 Austin Frank Erwin Center 8,338 / 11,781 / $208,414
January 26, 1994 Houston The Summit 12,529 / 17,055 / $321,661
January 28, 1994 Dallas Reunion Arena 14,619 / 14,619 / $400,920
January 29, 1994 San Antonio HemisFair Arena 11,210 / 12,273 / $256,822
January 31, 1994 Las Cruces Pan American Center 8,387 / 9,500 / $176,800
February 1, 1994 Phoenix Veterans Memorial Coliseum 13,970 / 13,970 / $328,026
February 3, 1994 Inglewood Great Western Forum 13,755 / 13,755 / $313,826
February 5, 1994 Anaheim Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim 13,460 / 13,460 / $333,646
February 7, 1994 San Diego San Diego Sports Arena 11,242 / 11,668 / $226,598
February 8, 1994 Fresno Selland Arena 6,248 / 9,011 / $127,674
February 10, 1994 Sacramento ARCO Arena 9,799 / 12,000 / $244,975
February 11, 1994 Daly City Cow Palace 9,214 / 12,000 / $230,350
February 12, 1994 San Jose San Jose Arena 13,274 / 15,000 / $331,850
February 23, 1994 Murfreesboro Murphy Center 6,632 / 8,500 / $149,442
February 24, 1994 Atlanta Omni Coliseum 11,495 / 12,500 / $281,906
February 25, 1994 Charlotte Charlotte Coliseum 9,675 / 14,000 / $217,688
February 27, 1994 Miami Miami Arena 10,696 / 13,000 / $275,242
March 1, 1994 Orlando Amway Arena 9,644 / 10,000 / $237,542
March 2, 1994 Jacksonville Jacksonville Coliseum 4,752 / 9,000 / $114,252
March 4, 1994 St. Petersburg Thunderdome 8,377 / 15,000 / $210,910
March 6, 1994 Chapel Hill Dean Smith Center 7,318 / 8,000 / $164,665
March 8, 1994 New York City Madison Square Garden 28,832 / 28,832 / $839,494
March 9, 1994
March 11, 1994 Worcester Worcester Centrum 22,127 / 25,008 / $535,570
March 12, 1994
March 22, 1994 Auburn Hills The Palace of Auburn Hills 14,848 / 14,848 / $367,117
March 23, 1994 Richfield Richfield Coliseum 14,717 / 14,717 / $360,270
March 25, 1994 Cincinnati Riverfront Coliseum 10,687 / 10,687 / $256,375
March 26, 1994 Indianapolis Market Square Arena 12,035 / 14,000 / $286,282
March 27, 1994Auburn HillsThe Palace of Auburn Hills14,848 / 14,848 / $367,117
March 29, 1994 Rosemont Rosemont Horizon 21,664 / 21,664 / $528,362
March 30, 1994
April 1, 1994 Peoria Peoria Civic Center 8,345 / 8,345 / $187,762
April 2, 1994 Madison Dane County Coliseum 8,013 / 9,000 / $197,680
April 4, 1994 St. Louis St. Louis Arena 13,570 / 13,570 / $322,505
April 5, 1994 Kansas City Kemper Arena 11,561 / 11,561 / $277,330
April 7, 1994 Milwaukee Bradley Center 9,809 / 15,000 / $245,490
April 8, 1994 Minneapolis Target Center 12,772 / 12,772 / $322,505
April 9, 1994 Moline MARK of the Quad Cities 7,053 / 7,053 / $177,350
April 18, 1994 Buffalo Buffalo Memorial Auditorium 10,608 / 13,700 / $263,334
April 20, 1994 Pittsburgh Civic Arena 11,062 / 12,000 / $267,991
April 22, 1994 East Rutherford Brendan Byrne Arena 14,083 / 14,679 / $365,829
April 23, 1994 Uniondale Nassau Coliseum 11,585 / 15,600 / $313,286
April 24, 1994 Hartford Hartford Civic Center 9,747 / 13,000 / $240,758
April 26, 1994 Landover USAir Arena 14,746 / 14,746 / $357,485
April 29, 1994 Philadelphia The Spectrum 23,979 / 27,090 / $586,134
April 30, 1994
May 1, 1994 Providence Providence Civic Center 7,234 / 9,200 / $184,415
May 3, 1994 Albany Knickerbocker Arena 10,001 / 12,250 / $245,728
May 4, 1994 Rochester War Memorial Arena 8,138 / 8,138 / $198,848
May 6, 1994 Montreal Canada Montreal Forum 12,913 / 12,913 / $289,945
May 7, 1994 Toronto Maple Leaf Gardens 13,671 / 13,671 / $300,227

Box office score data

List of box office score data with date, city, venue, attendance, gross, references
Date
(1994)		CityVenueAttendanceGrossRef(s)
January 22Pensacola, United StatesCivic Center8,422 / 8,422$176,550 [13]
January 23New Orleans, United StatesLakefront Arena7,432 / 7,432$180,302
February 5Anaheim, United StatesArrowhead Pond13,460 / 13,460$333,647 [14]
February 7San Diego, United StatesSports Arena11,242 / 11,668$226,598 [15]
March 11–12Worcester, United StatesCentrum22,127 / 25,008$535,570 [16]
March 23Richfield, United StatesColiseum14,717 / 14,717$360,270 [17]
March 29–30Rosemont, United StatesRosemont Horizon21,665 / 21,665$528,363
April 4St. Louis, United StatesArena13,570 / 13,570$322,305
April 20Pittsburgh, United StatesCivic Arena11,062 / 12,000$267,991 [18]
April 22East Rutherford, United StatesMeadowlands Arena14,083 / 14,083$365,829 [19]
April 23Uniondale, United StatesNassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum11,585 / 11,585$313,287
April 29–30Philadelphia, United StatesSpectrum23,979 / 27,090$586,134
May 6Montreal, CanadaForum12,913 / 12,913$291,306 [20]

Personnel

References

Citations

  1. ↑ Shuster, Fred (April 21, 1994). "Rush celebrates 20 years in music industry". No. 293. Gadsden, Alabama: Gadsden Times. p. C2. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  2. 1 2 Daly & Hansen 2019, p. 320.
  3. ↑ Daly & Hansen 2019, p. 322.
  4. ↑ Morse, Steve (November 19, 1998). "Rush's new live CD best one yet". Observer-Reporter. p. B6. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
  5. ↑ Popoff 2017, p. 148.
  6. ↑ Pareles, John (April 17, 1994). "Rush delivery: a breakneck set in NYC". New York City, New York: Observer-Reporter. p. F3. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
  7. ↑ Hochanadel, Michael (May 4, 1994). "Special effects lift Rush's music from familiar to classic-looking". Schenectady, New York: The Sunday Gazette. p. B10. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
  8. ↑ Masley, Ed (April 21, 1994). "After two decades, Rush still doesn't know rock". No. 264. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. C-4. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  9. ↑ Crowley, Kelley (April 19, 1994). "Don't hurry to see Rush". Observer-Reporter. p. B2. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  10. ↑ Daly & Hansen 2019, p. 324.
  11. ↑ Daly & Hansen 2019, pp. 324–331.
  12. ↑ "Counterparts Tour". Rush.com. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
  13. ↑ "Amusement Business Boxscore". Billboard. Vol. 106, no. 6. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. February 5, 1994. p. 14. ISSN   0006-2510 . Retrieved February 22, 2023.
  14. ↑ "Amusement Business Boxscore". Billboard. Vol. 106, no. 8. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. February 19, 1994. p. 14. ISSN   0006-2510 . Retrieved February 22, 2023.
  15. ↑ "Amusement Business Boxscore". Billboard. Vol. 106, no. 10. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. March 5, 1994. p. 20. ISSN   0006-2510 . Retrieved February 22, 2023.
  16. ↑ "Amusement Business Boxscore". Billboard. Vol. 106, no. 13. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. March 26, 1994. p. 24. ISSN   0006-2510 . Retrieved February 22, 2023.
  17. ↑ "Amusement Business Boxscore". Billboard. Vol. 106, no. 16. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. April 16, 1994. p. 19. ISSN   0006-2510 . Retrieved February 22, 2023.
  18. ↑ "Amusement Business Boxscore". Billboard. Vol. 106, no. 19. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. May 7, 1994. p. 16. ISSN   0006-2510 . Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  19. ↑ "Amusement Business Boxscore". Billboard. Vol. 106, no. 20. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. May 14, 1994. p. 24. ISSN   0006-2510 . Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  20. ↑ "Amusement Business Boxscore". Billboard. Vol. 106, no. 22. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. May 28, 1994. p. 13. ISSN   0006-2510 . Retrieved February 23, 2023.

Sources

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