Hold Your Fire Tour

Last updated
Hold Your Fire Tour
Tour by Rush
Location
  • Europe
  • North America
Associated album Hold Your Fire
Start dateOctober 29, 1987
End dateMay 5, 1988
Legs2
No. of shows78
Rush concert chronology

The Hold Your Fire Tour was a concert tour by Canadian rock band Rush, in support of the band's twelfth studio album Hold Your Fire .

Contents

Background

The band continued the trend of their usage of synthesizers, sequencers and onstage automation which continued from their Power Windows Tour, [1] also featuring a laser system with red and green beams as well as a video screen that had animated segments of the three red orbs from the cover of Hold Your Fire. [2] Opening bands on the North American leg included Chalk Circle, [3] the McAuley Schenker Group, and Tommy Shaw. [4] Wishbone Ash was the support act for the band's performances in Europe. [5] The first three European performances at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, England were recorded for the band's live album and video, A Show of Hands . [4]

Reception

Reviewing the Lakeland concert on February 15, 1988, Philip Booth of the Lakeland Ledger who had given the concert a 'poor' review, criticized the band's performance, stating that the band "defined itself by self absorption to the max", referring to their music as "hollow" despite the state-of-the-art equipment they had, as well as calling their music "numbingly loud" and "repetitive". He closed his review, stating that the visuals and music couldn't compensate for Rush's musical substance, concluding that they were "overcooked". [2] Jane E. Stephenson, a reader who had attended the performance, later sent a response to Booth to criticize him, defending the band's performance with a rebuttal that there were "ten thousand screaming fans" who were moved from the concert. [6]

Set list

This is an example set list adapted from Rush: Wandering the Face of the Earth – The Official Touring History of what was performed during the tour, but may not represent the majority of the shows. [7]

  1. "The Big Money"
  2. "Subdivisions"
  3. "Limelight"
  4. "Marathon"
  5. "Turn the Page"
  6. "Prime Mover"
  7. "Manhattan Project"
  8. "Closer to the Heart"
  9. "Red Sector A"
  10. "Force Ten"
  11. "Time Stand Still"
  12. "Distant Early Warning"
  13. "Lock and Key"
  14. "Mission"
  15. "Territories"
  16. "YYZ"
  17. "The Rhythm Method" (drum solo)
  18. "Red Lenses" (abridged)
  19. "The Spirit of Radio"
  20. "Tom Sawyer"
    Encore
  21. "2112 Parts I & II: Overture/The Temples of Syrinx"
  22. "La Villa Strangiato"
  23. "In the Mood"

Tour dates

List of 1987 concerts [8] [9]
DateCityCountryVenue
October 29, 1987St. John'sCanadaMemorial Stadium
October 30, 1987
November 1, 1987SydneyCentre 200
November 2, 1987HalifaxMetro Centre
November 4, 1987MonctonMoncton Coliseum
November 6, 1987ProvidenceUnited StatesCivic Center
November 7, 1987
November 9, 1987SpringfieldCivic Center
November 10, 1987UticaMemorial Auditorium
November 12, 1987TroyRPI Fieldhouse
November 13, 1987BinghamtonBroome County War Memorial Arena
November 14, 1987BuffaloMemorial Auditorium
November 25, 1987AtlantaThe Omni
November 27, 1987CharlotteColiseum
November 28, 1987HamptonColiseum
November 30, 1987LargoCapital Centre
December 2, 1987WorcesterThe Centrum
December 3, 1987
December 5, 1987New HavenVeterans Memorial Coliseum
December 7, 1987East RutherfordMeadowlands Arena
December 9, 1987UniondaleNassau County Veterans Memorial Coliseum
December 11, 1987New York CityMadison Square Garden
December 13, 1987PhiladelphiaThe Spectrum
December 14, 1987
December 16, 1987PittsburghCivic Arena
December 17, 1987RichfieldColiseum
List of 1988 concerts [9] [10]
DateCityCountryVenue
January 14, 1988HamptonUnited StatesColiseum
January 15, 1988RaleighReynolds Coliseum
January 16, 1988BirminghamBirmingham-Jefferson Civic Center Coliseum
January 18, 1988JacksonMississippi Coliseum
January 20, 1988DallasReunion Arena
January 21, 1988San AntonioConvention Center Arena
January 23, 1988Oklahoma CityMyriad Arena
January 24, 1988ShreveportHirsch Memorial Coliseum
January 26, 1988Little RockT.H. Barton Coliseum
January 27, 1988New OrleansUno Lakefront Arena
January 29, 1988HoustonThe Summit
January 30, 1988AustinFrank Erwin Special Events Center
February 1, 1988PhoenixArizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum
February 3, 1988San DiegoSports Arena
February 4, 1988InglewoodThe Forum
February 5, 1988
February 15, 1988LakelandCivic Center
February 16, 1988Pembroke PinesHollywood Sportatorium
February 18, 1988JacksonvilleVeterans Memorial Coliseum
February 19, 1988PensacolaCivic Center
February 21, 1988MemphisMid-South Coliseum
February 22, 1988NashvilleMunicipal Auditorium
February 23, 1988CincinnatiRiverfront Coliseum
February 25, 1988RosemontRosemont Horizon
February 26, 1988
February 28, 1988PeoriaCivic Center Arena
March 1, 1988St. LouisArena
March 2, 1988IndianapolisMarket Square Arena
March 4, 1988DetroitJoe Louis Arena
March 5, 1988
March 7, 1988TorontoCanadaMaple Leaf Gardens
March 8, 1988
March 10, 1988MontrealForum
March 11, 1988Quebec CityColisee de Quebec
March 12, 1988OttawaCivic Centre
April 2, 1988OmahaUnited StatesCivic Auditorium
April 4, 1988BloomingtonMet Center
April 5, 1988MilwaukeeMecca Arena
April 7, 1988Kansas CityKemper Arena
April 9, 1988LouisvilleLouisville Gardens
April 10, 1988DaytonHara Arena
April 21, 1988BirminghamEnglandNational Exhibition Centre Arena
April 23, 1988
April 24, 1988
April 26, 1988GlasgowScotlandScottish Exhibition and Conference Centre
April 28, 1988LondonEnglandWembley Arena
April 30, 1988
May 2, 1988RotterdamNetherlandsAhoy Sportpaleis
May 4, 1988FrankfurtWest GermanyFesthalle
May 5, 1988StuttgartSchleyer-Halle

Box office score data

List of box office score data with date, city, venue, attendance, gross, references
DateCityVenueAttendanceGrossRef(s)
December 7, 1987East Rutherford, United StatesMeadowlands Arena14,483 / 17,963$272,503 [11]

Personnel

References

Citations

  1. Daly & Hansen 2019, p. 278.
  2. 1 2 Booth, Philip (17 February 1988). "Rock loses its way with Rush: Laser show offsets general monotomy of Rush concert". No. 118. Lakeland, Florida: Lakeland Ledger. pp. 1C, 6C. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  3. Popoff 2021, pp. 241–242.
  4. 1 2 Daly & Hansen 2019, p. 280.
  5. Popoff 2021, p. 242.
  6. Stephenson, Jane E. (February 28, 1988). "Letters to the Editor: Bummed Rush". No. 129. Lakeland, Florida: Lakeland Ledger. p. 10A. Retrieved January 16, 2025.
  7. Daly & Hansen 2019, p. 281.
  8. Daly & Hansen 2019, pp. 281–284.
  9. 1 2 "Hold Your Fire Tour". Rush.com. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  10. Daly & Hansen 2019, pp. 284–289.
  11. "Amusement Business Boxscore: Top Concert Grosses". Billboard. Vol. 99, no. 52. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. December 26, 1987. p. 42. ISSN   0006-2510 . Retrieved January 14, 2025.

Sources