Hemispheres Tour

Hemispheres Tour

Tour by Rush
Location	North America Europe
Associated album	Hemispheres
Start date	October 14, 1978
End date	June 4, 1979
Legs	2
No. of shows	137
Rush concert chronology
A Farewell to Kings Tour (1977–1978) Hemispheres Tour (1978–1979) Permanent Waves Tour (1979–1980)

The Hemispheres Tour (also referred to as The Tour of the Hemispheres) was a concert tour by Canadian rock band Rush in support of their sixth studio album, Hemispheres .

Background

The tour began on October 14, 1978 which began with arenas in Canada, extending out into the United States. ^[1] It was the first tour where the band was noted as a major headlining act, playing an hour and a half instead of a forty-five minute set, with hopes that the audience would appreciate the length of the set. ^[2] While keeping a good lighting system, the band began extending their PA system, as well as becoming more active on stage with the usage of backdrops, giving the audience something to look at - something that became a major part of their performances. ^[3] Rush toured Europe in April to May 1979, concluding their tour with a performance at the Pinkpop Festival in Holland, which had followed after Lifeson broke his finger, resulting in three shows being canceled, but however he had performed at the festival with no problems. The tour was accompanied by the release of the European compilation album, Rush Through Time, which was unauthorized at the time. ^[4]

Reception

Reviewing the October 25, 1978 performance in Saskatoon, Star-Phoenix's Joe Rubin noted on the band's usage of special effects which he had stated held the audience 'spellbound' with balls of light, swirling spirals and spaceships depicted on the screen suspended behind the band as they performed. Regarding the audience, Rubin stated it was understandable as they were grogged on sound, later benumbed and ecstatic at the conclusion of the performance. ^[5]

The Spokesman-Review's Dave Reagan, reviewing the November 8, 1978 performance in Spokane, wrote that the band had proved its reputation to be loud but talented. He observed that the music was relatively clean and low enough to not compound the echoing effects of the coliseum where the show took place. Also noting on the special effects and the lighting accompanied by the use of the synthesizer, Reagan stated that it had brought the audience to both its feet and knees, with the visuals keeping the longer songs exciting and alive, with no interest lost from the audience. ^[6]

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. ^[7] "Circumstances" was removed from the set during the band's shows in the United Kingdom, with "Something for Nothing" and "Cygnus X-1" being removed from the set during the rest of the shows in Europe. ^[8]

Main Setlist

1. "Anthem"
2. "A Passage to Bangkok"
3. "By-Tor and the Snow Dog"
4. "Xanadu"
5. "Something for Nothing"
6. "The Trees"
7. "Cygnus X-1"
8. "Hemispheres"
9. "Closer to the Heart"
10. "Circumstances"
11. "A Farewell to Kings"
12. "La Villa Strangiato"
13. "2112" (Chapters I–IV, VI–VII)

    Encore

14. "Working Man" / "Bastille Day" / "In the Mood" (medley, with drum solo)

Tour dates

List of 1978 concerts ^{[9] [10] [11]}

Date	City	Country	Venue
October 14, 1978	Kingston	Canada	Kingston Memorial Center
October 15, 1978	Guelph		Guelph Memorial Gardens
October 17, 1978	North Bay		North Bay Memorial Gardens
October 18, 1978	Sudbury		Sudbury Community Arena
October 20, 1978	Thunder Bay		Fort William Gardens
October 21, 1978	Winnipeg		Winnipeg Arena
October 22, 1978	Brandon		Keystone Center
October 24, 1978	Regina		Regina Agridome
October 25, 1978	Saskatoon		Saskatoon Arena
October 27, 1978	Edmonton		Northlands Coliseum
October 28, 1978	Calgary		Stampede Corral
October 29, 1978	Lethbridge		Lethbridge Sportsplex
October 31, 1978	Kamloops		KXA Auditorium
November 2, 1978	Victoria		Victoria Memorial Arena
November 3, 1978	Nanaimo		Frank Crane Arena
November 4, 1978	Vancouver		Pacific Coliseum
November 6, 1978	Portland	United States	Portland Memorial Coliseum
November 7, 1978	Seattle		Seattle Center Coliseum
November 8, 1978	Spokane		Spokane Coliseum
November 10, 1978	Sacramento		Sacramento Memorial Auditorium
November 11, 1978	Reno		Centennial Coliseum
November 13, 1978	San Diego		San Diego Sports Arena
November 14, 1978	Long Beach		Long Beach Arena
November 15, 1978	Fresno		Warnors Theater
November 16, 1978	Daly City		Cow Palace
November 18, 1978	San Bernardino		Swing Auditorium
November 19, 1978	Phoenix		Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum
November 20, 1978	Tucson		Tucson Community Center
November 21, 1978	Albuquerque		Albuquerque Civic Auditorium
November 30, 1978	Indianapolis		Market Square Arena
December 1, 1978	Dayton		Hara Arena
December 2, 1978	Detroit		Cobo Arena
December 3, 1978	Toledo		Toledo Sports Arena
December 5, 1978	Davenport		Palmer Auditorium
December 7, 1978	Milwaukee		MECCA Arena
December 8, 1978	Green Bay		Brown County Arena
December 9, 1978	Saint Paul		St. Paul Civic Center
December 10, 1978	Des Moines		Veterans Memorial Auditorium
December 11, 1978	Kansas City		Kansas City Municipal Auditorium
December 13, 1978	St. Louis		The Checkerdome
December 14, 1978	Chicago		International Amphitheater
December 15, 1978
December 16, 1978
December 17, 1978	Madison		Dane County Coliseum
December 19, 1978	London	Canada	London Gardens
December 20, 1978	Kitchener		Kitchener Memorial Auditorium
December 21, 1978	Ottawa		Ottawa Civic Center
December 26, 1978	Montreal		Montreal Forum
December 27, 1978
December 28, 1978	Toronto		Maple Leaf Gardens
December 29, 1978
December 31, 1978

List of 1979 concerts ^{[9] [10] [12]}

Date	City	Country	Venue
January 11, 1979	Boston	United States	Boston Music Hall
January 12, 1979	Springfield		Springfield Civic Center
January 13, 1979	New York City		The Palladium
January 14, 1979
January 16, 1979	Albany		Palace Theater
January 17, 1979	Passaic		Capitol Theater
January 19, 1979	Pittsburgh		Pittsburgh Civic Arena
January 20, 1979	Baltimore		Baltimore Civic Center
January 21, 1979	Philadelphia		The Spectrum
January 23, 1979	Syracuse		Onondaga War Memorial Auditorium
January 24, 1979	Buffalo		Buffalo Memorial Auditorium
January 26, 1979	Cincinnati		Riverfront Coliseum
January 27, 1979	Huntsville		Von Braun Civic Center
January 28, 1979	Memphis		Mid-South Coliseum
January 30, 1979	Louisville		Louisville Gardens
January 31, 1979	Bloomington		IU Auditorium
February 1, 1979	Columbus		St. John Arena
February 2, 1979	Saginaw		Saginaw Civic Center
February 3, 1979	Richfield		Richfield Coliseum
February 10, 1979	Oklahoma City		Oklahoma State Fairgrounds
February 15, 1979	Columbia		Township Auditorium
February 17, 1979	Fayetteville		Cumberland County Memorial Arena
February 19, 1979	Asheville		Asheville Civic Center
February 20, 1979	Knoxville		Knoxville Civic Coliseum
February 22, 1979	Little Rock		Barton Coliseum
February 23, 1979	Shreveport		Hirsch Memorial Coliseum
February 24, 1979	Tulsa		Tulsa Fairgrounds Pavilion
February 25, 1979	Austin		Austin Municipal Auditorium
February 27, 1979	Corpus Christi		Corpus Christi Memorial Coliseum
March 1, 1979	Houston		Sam Houston Coliseum
March 2, 1979	Dallas		Dallas Convention Center
March 3, 1979	San Antonio		HemisFair Arena
March 4, 1979	Beaumont		Beaumont Civic Center
March 6, 1979	New Orleans		New Orleans Municipal Auditorium
March 8, 1979	Mobile		Mobile Expo Hall
March 9, 1979	Jacksonville		Jacksonville Civic Auditorium
March 10, 1979	Hollywood		Hollywood Sportatorium
March 11, 1979	Tampa		Curtis Hixon Convention Hall
March 13, 1979	Birmingham		Boutwell Auditorium
March 15, 1979	Chattanooga		Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Auditorium
March 16, 1979	Nashville		Nashville Municipal Auditorium
March 17, 1979	Johnson City		Freedom Hall
March 18, 1979	Wheeling		Wheeling Civic Center
March 27, 1979	Salt Lake City		Salt Palace
March 28, 1979	Denver		Denver Auditorium
March 29, 1979	Lincoln		Pershing Center
March 30, 1979	Topeka		Topeka Municipal Auditorium
April 2, 1979	Syracuse		Onondaga War Memorial Auditorium
April 3, 1979	Poughkeepsie		Mid-Hudson Civic Center
April 4, 1979	Rochester		War Memorial Auditorium
April 6, 1979	Hempstead		Nassau Coliseum
April 7, 1979	New Haven		New Haven Coliseum
April 10, 1979	Salem		Roanoke Valley Civic Center
April 11, 1979	Hampton		Hampton Coliseum
April 13, 1979	Atlanta		Fox Theater
April 14, 1979	Greensboro		Greensboro Coliseum
April 15, 1979	Providence		Providence Civic Center
April 23, 1979	Newcastle	England	Newcastle City Hall
April 24, 1979
April 25, 1979	Glasgow	Scotland	Glasgow Apollo
April 26, 1979
April 27, 1979
April 28, 1979	Edinburgh		Edinburgh Odeon
April 29, 1979	Manchester	England	Manchester Apollo
April 30, 1979
May 1, 1979	Liverpool		Empire Theater
May 2, 1979
May 4, 1979	London		Hammersmith Odeon
May 5, 1979
May 6, 1979
May 7, 1979
May 9, 1979	Coventry		Coventry Theater
May 10, 1979	Birmingham		Birmingham Odeon
May 11, 1979
May 13, 1979	Southampton		Gaumont Theater
May 14, 1979	Bristol		Colston Hall
May 15, 1979
May 17, 1979 [lower-alpha 1]	Paris	France	Le Stadium
May 18, 1979	Poperinge	Belgium	Maeke Blyde Hall
May 22, 1979	Oslo	Norway	Chateau Neuf
May 23, 1979	Gothenburg	Sweden	Gothenburg Concert House
May 25, 1979	Stockholm		Grona Lund
May 27, 1979	Erlangen	West Germany	Stadthalle
May 28, 1979	Offenbach		Stadthalle
May 29, 1979	Hamburg		Hamburg Music Hall
May 31, 1979 [lower-alpha 2]	Mannheim		Rose Garden
June 1, 1979 [lower-alpha 2]	Zurich	Switzerland	Volkshaus
June 2, 1979 [lower-alpha 2]	Munich	West Germany	Circus Krone
June 4, 1979	Geleen	Netherlands	Damen Sports Park

Box office score data

List of box office score data with date, city, venue, attendance, gross, references

Date	City	Venue	Attendance	Gross	Ref(s)
December 11, 1978	Kansas City, United States	Municipal Auditorium	9,250	$72,029	[13]
January 11, 1979	Boston, United States	Music Hall	3,800	$31,750	[14]
January 13–14, 1979	New York City, United States	Palladium	6,300 / 6,300	$52,000
January 17, 1979	Passaic, United States	Capitol Theatre	3,456 / 3,456	$28,172	[15]
January 19, 1979	Pittsburgh, United States	Civic Arena	14,032 / 14,032	$110,421
January 20, 1979	Baltimore, United States	Civic Center	8,676	$60,578
January 21, 1979	Philadelphia, United States	Spectrum	13,064	$94,467
January 27, 1979	Huntsville, United States	Civic Center	6,850	$46,891	[16]
January 28, 1979	Memphis, United States	Coliseum	7,263	$50,833
January 30, 1979	Louisville, United States	Gardens	7,201 / 7,201	$48,612	[17]
January 31, 1979	Bloomington, United States	IU Auditorium	1,968	$14,498
February 1, 1979	Columbus, United States	St. John's Arena	7,355	$57,950
February 2, 1979	Saginaw, United States	Civic Center	7,104 / 7,104	$60,384
February 20, 1979	Knoxville, United States	Coliseum	3,901	$28,265	[18]
March 9, 1979	Jacksonville, United States	Civic Auditorium	3,125	$20,875	[19]
March 10, 1979	Hollywood, United States	Sportatorium	9,937	$60,757
March 11, 1979	Tampa, United States	Hixon Hall	7,600 / 7,600	$45,077
March 15, 1979	Chattanooga, United States	Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Auditorium	3,130	$21,868	[20]
March 16, 1979	Nashville, United States	Municipal Auditorium	8,468	$43,844	[21]
March 18, 1979	Wheeling, United States	Civic Center	6,233	$46,812
March 29, 1979	Lincoln, United States	Pershing Auditorium	4,275	$30,800	[22]
March 30, 1979	Topeka, United States	Municipal Auditorium	4,200 / 4,200	$29,400
April 3, 1979	Poughkeepsie, United States	Civic Center	3,372 / 3,372	$28,263	[23]
April 4, 1979	Rochester, United States	War Memorial Auditorium	10,500 / 10,500	$89,253
April 6, 1979	Uniondale, United States	Nassau Coliseum	10,400	$85,160
April 7, 1979	New Haven, United States	Coliseum	5,800	$47,597
April 11, 1979	Hampton, United States	Coliseum	6,165	$45,029	[24]
April 15, 1979	Providence, United States	Civic Center	6,684	$48,370

Personnel

• Geddy Lee – vocals, bass, keyboards
• Alex Lifeson – guitar, backing vocals
• Neil Peart – drums

References

Notes

1. The performance on May 17, 1979 was canceled due to a fire burning down the venue.
2. The performances on May 31, June 1 and 2, 1979 were canceled due to Lifeson breaking a finger.

Citations

1. Popoff 2020, p. 333.
2. Popoff 2020, p. 334.
3. Popoff 2020, pp. 334–335.
4. Popoff 2020, p. 336.
5. Rubin, Joe (October 26, 1978). "Entertainment: Rush". Saskatoon, Saskatchewan: The Phoenix. p. 20. Retrieved January 16, 2023.
6. Reagan, Dave (November 9, 1978). "Rush's reputation remains first-rate". Spokane, Washington: The Spokesman-Review. p. 14. Retrieved January 16, 2023.
7. Daly & Hansen 2019, p. 160.
8. Daly & Hansen 2019, p. 157.
9. Daly & Hansen 2019, pp. 160–175.
10. "Hemispheres Tour". Rush.com. Retrieved January 16, 2023.
11. Newspaper concert listings:
    • Palmer, Vaughn (October 2, 1978). "Bands battle again at the Commodore". Vancouver, British Columbia: The Vancouver Sun. p. C3. Retrieved January 16, 2023. Rush, Nov. 4, Coliseum Concert Bowl
    • "Sights and Sounds of the Month: Performances". Spokane, Washington: Spokane Daily Chronicle. October 27, 1978. Retrieved January 16, 2023. Rush, a rock concert, Nov. 8 at 8 p.m. in the Coliseum.
    • East, Jon (March 1, 1979). "This Week - Southern Rock, Smooth Jazz". No. 33. Ocala, Florida: Ocala Star-Banner. p. 11A. Retrieved January 16, 2023.
12. East, Jon (March 1, 1979). "This Week - Southern Rock, Smooth Jazz". No. 33. Ocala, Florida: Ocala Star-Banner. p. 11A. Retrieved January 16, 2023.
13. "Top Box Office". Billboard. Vol. 91, no. 1. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. January 6, 1979. p. 57. ISSN   0006-2510 . Retrieved January 14, 2023.
14. "Top Box Office". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. January 27, 1979. p. 54. ISSN   0006-2510 . Retrieved January 14, 2023.
15. "Top Box Office". Billboard. Vol. 91, no. 5. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. February 3, 1979. p. 64. ISSN   0006-2510 . Retrieved January 15, 2023.
16. "Top Box Office". Billboard. Vol. 91, no. 6. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. February 10, 1979. p. 42. ISSN   0006-2510 . Retrieved January 15, 2023.
17. "Top Box Office". Billboard. Vol. 91, no. 7. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. February 17, 1979. p. 54. ISSN   0006-2510 . Retrieved January 15, 2023.
18. "Top Box Office". Billboard. Vol. 91, no. 10. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. March 10, 1979. p. 46. ISSN   0006-2510 . Retrieved January 15, 2023.
19. "Top Box Office". Billboard. Vol. 91, no. 12. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. March 24, 1979. p. 84. ISSN   0006-2510 . Retrieved January 15, 2023.
20. "Top Box Office". Billboard. Vol. 91, no. 14. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. April 7, 1979. p. 44. ISSN   0006-2510 . Retrieved January 15, 2023.
21. "Top Box Office". Billboard. Vol. 91, no. 13. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. March 31, 1979. p. 72. ISSN   0006-2510 . Retrieved January 15, 2023.
22. "Top Box Office". Billboard. Vol. 91, no. 15. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. April 14, 1979. p. 43. ISSN   0006-2510 . Retrieved January 15, 2023.
23. "Top Box Office". Billboard. Vol. 91, no. 16. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. April 21, 1979. p. 36. ISSN   0006-2510 . Retrieved January 15, 2023.
24. "Top Box Office". Billboard. Vol. 91, no. 17. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. April 28, 1979. p. 46. ISSN   0006-2510 . Retrieved January 15, 2023.

Sources

• Daly, Skip; Hansen, Eric (2019). Rush: Wandering the Face of the Earth – The Official Touring History. Insight Editions. ISBN   978-1-68383-450-2.
• Popoff, Martin (2020). Anthem: Rush in the '70s. Toronto: ECW Press. ISBN   978-1-77041-520-1.