Presto tour

Last updated
Presto Tour
Tour by Rush
LocationNorth America
Associated album Presto
Start dateFebruary 17, 1990
End dateJune 29, 1990
No. of shows63
Rush concert chronology

The Presto Tour was a concert tour by Canadian rock band Rush in support of their thirteenth studio album Presto .

Contents

Background

The tour started on February 17, 1990 at Greenville Memorial Auditorium in Greenville, South Carolina [1] and concluded on June 29, 1990 at Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre in Irvine, California, [2] having performed to more than 650,000 fans. [3] Opening bands that premiered in the tour included Mr. Big, Chalk Circle and Voivod. [4] The stage production for each of the shows were presented with elements of the Presto cover art, which had featured lasers and Vari-Lites that were dropped from trusses on extensions as well as two giant inflatable rabbits, two sets of rear PA speakers on the back end of the stage floor to represent a quadrophonic effect on the sound which was engineered by Robert Scoville, [5] and a projection screen that displayed video sequences and retro films throughout the performance. [3] When the band performed in Toronto for two shows in May 1990, both shows had raised $200,000 for United Way for the demands on the band for complimentary tickets. [6]

Reception

Michael Hochanadel from the Daily Gazette opened his review stating that the visuals made the Rush concert at the Knickerbocker Arena on June 2, 1990, one of the biggest, brightest and overwhelming rock spectacles - with effects representing a 1970s arena rock throwback with the usage of lasers and haze. While criticizing the music's lyrics as being sometimes preachy, he stated that they were at the same time, anthemic and tackled subjects in a fairly obvious way, but added that they needed something to keep their songs from sounding too alike. Praising Lee's vocals, Hochanadel affirmed that his voice gave the songs emotion that the lyrics did not always earn. [5]

Reviewing the Pittsburgh performance on June 7, 1990, Janice Haidet of The Vindicator stated that the band put a huge reliance on talent from the instruments they were using, treating a crowded arena of fans to a "searing rock and roll feast". Haidet noted that the band kept the audience standing on their seats with fists raised in time with the music, and Geddy Lee delivering extraordinary vocals that were presented by a balanced and clear sound mix - also noting the show as one of the best light shows in rock music, although outdone by Genesis and Pink Floyd. [7] Peter B. King from the Pittsburgh Press who was in attendance at the same show that night, stated that the band had offered some of the best visuals seen at a rock concert, and expressed that Rush had delivered an intelligent, distinctive brand of "art rock". [8]

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. [9]

  1. "Force Ten"
  2. "Freewill"
  3. "Distant Early Warning"
  4. "Time Stand Still"
  5. "Subdivisions"
  6. "Marathon"
  7. "Red Barchetta"
  8. "Superconductor"
  9. "Show Don't Tell"
  10. "The Pass"
  11. "Closer to the Heart"
  12. "Manhattan Project"
  13. "Xanadu"
  14. "YYZ"
  15. "The Rhythm Method" (Neil Peart drum solo)
  16. "Scars"
  17. "War Paint"
  18. "Mission"
  19. "Tom Sawyer"
    Encore
  20. "The Big Money"
  21. "2112: Overture"
  22. "La Villa Strangiato"
  23. "In the Mood"
  24. "Wipeout!"

Tour dates

List of 1990 concerts [10] [11]
DateCityCountryVenueAttendance / Capacity / Gross
February 17, 1990 Greenville United States Greenville Memorial Auditorium 7,230 / 7,230 / $137,370
February 19, 1990 Jacksonville Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum 7,254 / 7,500 / $128,279
February 20, 1990 St. Petersburg Bayfront Center 7,094 / 8,400 / $124,838
February 22, 1990 Miami Miami Arena 13,541 / 13,541 / $245,662
February 23, 1990 Orlando Orlando Arena 12,156 / 12,156 / $220,650
February 25, 1990 New Orleans Lakefront Arena 9,204 / 9,204 / $165,113
February 26, 1990 Houston The Summit 13,153 / 13,153 / $240,119
February 28, 1990 San Antonio Convention Center Arena 9,656 / 11,468 / $158,698
March 1, 1990 Dallas Reunion Arena 15,666 / 15,666 / $239,509
March 3, 1990 Kansas City Kemper Arena 12,145 / 16,000 / $224,682
March 5, 1990 St. Louis St. Louis Arena 12,750 / 12,750 / $228,309
March 6, 1990 Cincinnati Riverfront Coliseum 13,032 / 13,032 / $235,968
March 8, 1990 Auburn Hills The Palace of Auburn Hills 27,622 / 28,000 / $572,440
March 9, 1990
March 20, 1990 Edmonton Canada Northlands Coliseum 7,500 / 13,049 / $132,900
March 21, 1990 Calgary Olympic Saddledome 8,107 / 11,754 / $109,720
March 23, 1990 Vancouver Pacific Coliseum 12,701 / 12,701 / $185,993
March 24, 1990 Portland United States Veterans Memorial Coliseum 8,931 / 9,300 / $169,689
March 26, 1990 Seattle Seattle Center Coliseum 12,299 / 12,299 / $219,410
March 28, 1990 Sacramento ARCO Arena 12,236 / 12,236 / $232,602
March 30, 1990 Oakland Oakland Coliseum 26,124 / 26,124 / $509,436
March 31, 1990
April 2, 1990 Inglewood Great Western Forum 28,000 / 28,000 / $535,300
April 3, 1990
April 5, 1990 San Diego San Diego Sports Arena 12,000 / 12,000 / $218,300
April 7, 1990 Costa Mesa Pacific Amphitheatre 13,856 / 18,861 / $298,250
April 8, 1990 Phoenix Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 13,669 / 13,669 / $243,040
April 20, 1990 East Rutherford Brendan Byrne Arena 18,717 / 18,717 / $350,944
April 22, 1990 Uniondale Nassau Coliseum 15,546 / 15,546 / $302,391
April 24, 1990 Philadelphia The Spectrum 14,130 / 14,130 / $256,937
April 25, 1990 East Rutherford Brendan Byrne Arena 13,138 / 14,953 / $241,334
April 27, 1990 Philadelphia The Spectrum 14,130 / 14,130 / $256,937
April 28, 1990 Rochester War Memorial Auditorium 8,418 / 8,418 / $158,866
May 1, 1990 Atlanta The Omni 12,186 / 12,186 / $221,384
May 2, 1990 Charlotte Charlotte Coliseum 7,985 / 16,003 / $155,708
May 4, 1990 Richmond Richmond Coliseum 6,819 / 9,543 / $126,152
May 5, 1990 Largo Capital Centre ??? / ??? / ???
May 7, 1990 Providence Civic Center 11,888 / 12,100 / $231,816
May 8, 1990 Hartford Hartford Civic Center 11,991 / 12,513 / $229,535
May 10, 1990 Worcester The Centrum 21,897 / 23,344 / $413,870
May 11, 1990
May 13, 1990 Quebec City Canada Colisée Quebec City 10,540 / 11,500 / $181,500
May 14, 1990 Montreal Montreal Forum 12,128 / 12,800 / $208,301
May 16, 1990 Toronto Maple Leaf Gardens ??? / ??? / ???
May 17, 1990
June 2, 1990 Albany United States Knickerbocker Arena 14,335 / 14,335 / $267,232
June 4, 1990 Baltimore Baltimore Arena 5,671 / 14,000 / $110,585
June 5, 1990 Hampton Hampton Coliseum 7,227 / 9,124 / $133,699
June 7, 1990 Pittsburgh Civic Arena 11,049 / 12,500 / $209,462
June 8, 1990 Richfield Richfield Coliseum 15,539 / 15,539 / $310,780
June 10, 1990 Cuyahoga Falls Blossom Music Center ??? / ??? / ???
June 11, 1990 Cincinnati Riverbend Music Center 8,089 / 8,089 / $163,802
June 13, 1990 Columbus Cooper Stadium 9,654 / 15,000 / $207,515
June 14, 1990 Noblesville Deer Creek Music Center 7,904 / 18,062 / $135,198
June 16, 1990 East Troy Alpine Valley Music Theatre 40,269 / 60,000 / $886,384
June 17, 1990
June 19, 1990 Bloomington Met Center 10,725 / 10,725 / $201,864
June 20, 1990 Omaha Omaha Civic Auditorium 5,349 / 8,000 / $105,643
June 22, 1990 Englewood Fiddler's Green Amphitheatre ??? / ??? / ???
June 24, 1990 Salt Lake City Salt Palace
June 26, 1990 Sacramento Cal Expo Amphitheatre 14,355 / 14,355 / $327,218
June 27, 1990 Mountain View Shoreline Amphitheatre 15,400 / 20,000 / $287,931
June 29, 1990 Irvine Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre 15,000 / 15,000 / $337,203

Personnel

References

Citations

  1. ↑ Little, Michelle (February 16, 1990). "Rush starts jamming and presto: A concert". Spartanburg, South Carolina: Herald-Journal. p. B11. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  2. ↑ Popoff 2021, p. 299.
  3. 1 2 Daly & Hansen 2019, p. 290.
  4. ↑ Popoff 2021, p. 292.
  5. 1 2 Hochanadel, Michael (June 4, 1990). "Rush Serves Up Spectacular Show". Albany, New York: The Daily Gazette. p. B8. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  6. ↑ Popoff 2021, pp. 291–292.
  7. ↑ Haidat, Janice (June 8, 1990). "Rush uses its talent to electrify concert". Youngstown, Ohio: The Vindicator. p. 24. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  8. ↑ King, Peter B. (June 8, 1990). "Rush lights up Civic Arena with art-rock display, visual explosion". No. 345. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: The Pittsburgh Press. p. C3. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  9. ↑ Daly & Hansen 2019, p. 293.
  10. ↑ Daly & Hansen 2019, pp. 293–301.
  11. ↑ "Presto Tour". Rush.com. Retrieved 6 April 2023.

Sources

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