Roll the Bones Tour

Roll the Bones Tour

Tour by Rush
Location	North America Europe
Associated album	Roll the Bones
Start date	October 25, 1991
End date	June 28, 1992
Legs	3
No. of shows	101
Rush concert chronology
Presto Tour (1990) Roll the Bones Tour (1991–1992) Counterparts Tour (1994)

The Roll the Bones Tour was a concert tour by Canadian rock band Rush in support of their fourteenth studio album Roll the Bones .

Background

The tour kicked off October 25, 1991 at Copps Coliseum in Hamilton, Ontario and culminated on June 28, 1992 at the World Music Theater in Tinley Park, Illinois, estimated to have performed to more than 960,000 fans. ^[1] Guitarist Eric Johnson was the initial opening act in the autumn of 1991, ^[2] following the band losing a Grammy nomination for "Where's My Thing?" to Johnson's "Cliffs of Dover". ^[3] American rock band Primus were the opening act for Rush later on this tour when Johnson canceled his last two weeks on the first leg as an opening act, ^{[4] [5]} as well as Vinnie Moore and Mr. Big. ^{[6] [7]} Opening for the band's hometown show in Toronto, Ontario on December 16 was The Tragically Hip, ^[6] which was set up as a benefit for United Way, alongside the Daily Bread Food Bank - in which the audience had donated fifty thousand pounds of food. ^[8] The band included super-sized screens, laser lights and moving pictures throughout their performances. ^[7]

In Sacramento on January 27, 1992, the band performed what they had considered their worst show, as they performed to an unruly audience who threw objects at the band throughout the performance. Prior to the show, Rush refused to perform "general admission" performances due to rowdiness, ^[9] potential injury and death in the crowd, but was booked to perform the show and was unexpectedly general admission. ^[6]

Reception

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's John Hayes, reviewing the Pittsburgh performance on October 28, 1991, opined that Rush had found an effective formula that held the attention of rock fans after the release of twenty albums and a long history of successful concert tours, later stating that the shows are kept alive by the "sheer talent" of the band members. Notifying the Roll the Bones Tour as one of the biggest productions on the road, he acknowledged the stage's usage of lasers, lighting, special effects, a rotating drum platform during Peart's solo and inflatable rabbits throughout the show. ^[10]

Reviewing the Burgettstown concert on June 21, 1992, Kurt Bruner of the Observer-Reporter opened that the trio pulled no punches and was a knockout, sending the audience who was predominantly late 20s to middle aged reeling. He expressed on the usage of special effects and lighting, praising its usage in highlighting the songs performed, as well as the choreographed lasers and lights during Peart's drum solo, which he also noted as "outstanding", "superb" and as one of the memorable aspects of the show. He acknowledged the band, stating that they looked to be enjoying themselves without exerting much effort - as well as praising the stage design as simple, with only a ramp featured around the band. ^[11]

The Toledo Blade's Ralph Kisiel, reviewing the Toledo performance, stated that Rush still showed that they could do their performances with "intensity" and "imagination". Noting on the audience, Kisiel commented that the overwhelming responses and emotions of the audience were whipped up quickly when the band performed crowd favorites, and when the show was over, had left fans satisfied. Kisiel continued, saying the band "clearly illustatrated that they can rock and rattle your bones for more than two hours". ^[12]

Set list

This is an example setlist 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. ^[13] For the encore, the band performed a medley of older material, which would feature a minute of each song for the medley. ^[1]

1. "Force Ten"
2. "Limelight"
3. "Freewill"
4. "Distant Early Warning"
5. "Time Stand Still"
6. "Dreamline"
7. "Bravado"
8. "Roll the Bones"
9. "Show Don't Tell"
10. "The Big Money"
11. "Ghost of a Chance"
12. "Subdivisions"
13. "The Pass"
14. "The Trees"
15. "Where's My Thing?"
16. "The Rhythm Method" (drum solo)
17. "Closer to the Heart"
18. "Xanadu"
19. "Superconductor"
20. "Tom Sawyer"

Encore

21. "The Spirit of Radio"
22. Medley: "2112" (Overture) / "Finding My Way" / "La Villa Strangiato" / "Anthem" / "Red Barchetta" / "The Spirit of Radio" (reprise)
23. "Cygnus X-1" (teaser)

Tour dates

Date [14] [15]	City	Country	Venue
North America [16]
October 25, 1991	Hamilton	Canada	Copps Coliseum
October 26, 1991	Rochester	United States	Rochester Community War Memorial
October 28, 1991	Pittsburgh		Civic Arena
October 29, 1991	Cincinnati		Riverfront Coliseum
October 31, 1991	Indianapolis		Market Square Arena
November 1, 1991	Rosemont		Rosemont Horizon
November 3, 1991	Minneapolis		Target Center
November 4, 1991	Omaha		Omaha Civic Auditorium
November 6, 1991	Topeka		Landon Arena
November 7, 1991	St. Louis		St. Louis Arena
November 9, 1991	Normal		Redbird Arena
November 10, 1991	Milwaukee		Bradley Center
November 13, 1991	Auburn Hills		The Palace of Auburn Hills
November 14, 1991
November 16, 1991	Toledo		John F. Savage Hall
November 17, 1991	Richfield		Richfield Coliseum
November 18, 1991
November 26, 1991	Ottawa	Canada	Ottawa Civic Centre
November 28, 1991	Montreal		Montreal Forum
November 29, 1991	Quebec City		Colisée de Québec
December 1, 1991	Philadelphia	United States	Spectrum
December 3, 1991
December 4, 1991	Landover		Capital Centre
December 6, 1991	New York City		Madison Square Garden
December 7, 1991
December 9, 1991	Providence		Providence Civic Center
December 10, 1991	Worcester		Worcester Centrum
December 12, 1991	Albany		Knickerbocker Arena
December 13, 1991	Hartford		Hartford Civic Center
December 15, 1991	Buffalo		Buffalo Memorial Auditorium
December 16, 1991	Toronto	Canada	Maple Leaf Gardens
January 18, 1992	Las Cruces	United States	Pan American Center
January 20, 1992	San Diego		San Diego Sports Arena
January 22, 1992	Inglewood		Great Western Forum
January 23, 1992
January 25, 1992	Fresno		Selland Arena
January 27, 1992	Sacramento		ARCO Arena
January 29, 1992	Oakland		Oakland Arena
January 30, 1992
February 2, 1992	Vancouver	Canada	Pacific Coliseum
February 4, 1992	Seattle	United States	Seattle Center Coliseum
February 5, 1992	Portland		Memorial Coliseum
February 15, 1992	San Antonio		HemisFair Arena
February 16, 1992	Dallas		Reunion Arena
February 18, 1992	Houston		The Summit
February 20, 1992	Austin		Frank Erwin Center
February 22, 1992	Shreveport		Hirsch Memorial Coliseum
February 23, 1992	New Orleans		Lakefront Arena
February 25, 1992	Pensacola		Pensacola Civic Center
February 26, 1992	Jacksonville		Jacksonville Coliseum
February 28, 1992	Miami		Miami Arena
February 29, 1992	St. Petersburg		Florida Suncoast Dome
March 2, 1992	Orlando		Orlando Arena
March 4, 1992	Atlanta		Omni Coliseum
March 5, 1992	Columbia		Carolina Coliseum
March 7, 1992	Chapel Hill		Dean Smith Center
March 10, 1992	Richmond		Richmond Coliseum
March 12, 1992	Binghamton		Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena
March 14, 1992	New Haven		New Haven Coliseum
March 15, 1992	Uniondale		Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Europe
April 10, 1992	Sheffield	England	Sheffield Arena
April 12, 1992	Birmingham		National Exhibition Centre
April 13, 1992
April 15, 1992	Glasgow	Scotland	Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre
April 17, 1992	London	England	Wembley Arena
April 18, 1992
April 21, 1992	Hanover	Germany	Music Hall
April 23, 1992	Cologne		Sporthalle
April 24, 1992	Frankfurt		Festhalle Frankfurt
April 27, 1992	Berlin		Eissporthalle an der Jafféstraße
April 28, 1992	Nuremberg		Frankenhalle
April 29, 1992	Stuttgart		Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle
May 1, 1992	Paris	France	Le Zénith
May 3, 1992	Rotterdam	Netherlands	Rotterdam Ahoy
North America
May 21, 1992	Memphis	United States	Mid-South Coliseum
May 23, 1992	Kansas City		Kemper Arena
May 24, 1992	Valley Center		Kansas Coliseum
May 25, 1992	Oklahoma City		Myriad Convention Center
May 27, 1992	Greenwood Village		Fiddler's Green Amphitheatre
May 29, 1992	Salt Lake City		Delta Center
May 31, 1992	Mountain View		Shoreline Amphitheatre
June 1, 1992	Reno		Lawlor Events Center
June 3, 1992	Irvine		Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre
June 4, 1992
June 6, 1992	Las Vegas		Thomas & Mack Center
June 7, 1992	Phoenix		Desert Sky Pavilion
June 9, 1992	Albuquerque		Tingley Coliseum
June 10, 1992	Lubbock		Lubbock Municipal Coliseum
June 12, 1992	Maryland Heights		Riverport Amphitheatre
June 13, 1992	Nashville		Starwood Amphitheatre
June 14, 1992	Charlotte		Blockbuster Pavilion
June 16, 1992	Columbia		Merriweather Post Pavilion
June 17, 1992	Mansfield		Great Woods PAC
June 19, 1992	East Rutherford		Brendan Byrne Arena
June 20, 1992	Wantagh		Jones Beach Amphitheater
June 21, 1992	Burgettstown		Star Lake Amphitheater
June 23, 1992	Fairborn		Nutter Center
June 24, 1992	Noblesville		Deer Creek Music Center
June 26, 1992	Clarkston		Pine Knob Music Theater
June 27, 1992	East Troy		Alpine Valley Music Theatre
June 28, 1992	Tinley Park		New World Music Theater

Box office score data

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

Date (1992)	City	Venue	Attendance	Gross	Ref(s)
June 3–4	Irvine, United States	Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre	28,492 / 30,000	$724,295	[17]
June 6	Las Vegas, United States	Thomas & Mack Center	8,993 / 10,500	$206,198	[18]
June 26	Clarkston, United States	Pine Knob Music Theatre	14,977 / 14,977	$325,965	[17]
June 27	East Troy, United States	Alpine Valley Music Theatre	21,474 / 35,000	$359,932

Personnel

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

References

Citations

1. Daly & Hansen 2019, pp. 302, 304.
2. Popoff 2013, p. 120.
3. Rubin 2015.
4. Popoff 2017, p. 148.
5. Romano 2023, p. 257.
6. Popoff 2004, p. 160.
7. "This Weekend: Rush and Mr. Big". The Times-News. Hendersonville, North Carolina. June 12, 1992. p. 6B. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
8. Popoff 2022, p. 49.
9. Popoff 2022, p. 48.
10. Hayes, John (October 29, 1991). "Rush extravaganza throws fans a bone". No. 77. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 28. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
11. Bruner, Kurt (June 23, 1992). "Rush 'Rolls the Bones' for fans at Star Lake". Washington, Pennsylvania: Observer-Reporter. p. B-4. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
12. Kiesiel, Ralph (November 18, 1991). "Veteran rockers Rush still have imagination". Toledo, Ohio: Toledo Blade. p. P-3. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
13. Daly & Hansen 2019, p. 306.
14. Daly & Hansen 2019, pp. 306–319.
15. "Roll the Bones Tour". Rush.com. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
16. Concert announcements:
    • "Rush plays concert March 7". Wilmington, North Carolina: Star-News. January 31, 1992. p. 5D. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
    • Richard, Alan (February 28, 1992). "Rock trio Rush to hold concert". Spartanburg, South Carolina: Herald-Journal. p. B4. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
17. "Amusement Business Boxscore". Billboard. Vol. 104, no. 29. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. July 18, 1992. p. 13. ISSN   0006-2510 . Retrieved March 9, 2023.
18. "Amusement Business Boxscore". Billboard. Vol. 104, no. 25. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. June 20, 1992. p. 14. ISSN   0006-2510 . Retrieved March 4, 2023.

Sources

• Popoff, Martin (2004). Contents Under Pressure: 30 Years of Rush at Home and Away. ECW Press. ISBN   978-1-55022-678-2.
• Popoff, Martin (2013). Rush: The Illustrated History. Voyageur Press. ISBN   978-0-7603-4364-7.
• Rubin, Dave (2015). Inside Rock Guitar: Four Decades of the Greatest Electric Rock Guitarists. Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN   978-1-4950-5639-0.
• Popoff, Martin (2017). Rush: Album by Album. Minneapolis: Voyageur Press. ISBN   978-0-7603-5220-5.
• Daly, Skip; Hansen, Eric (2019). Rush: Wandering the Face of the Earth – The Official Touring History. Insight Editions. ISBN   978-1-68383-450-2.
• Romano, Will (2023). Moving Pictures: How Rush Created Progressive Hard Rock's Greatest Record. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN   978-1-4930-6236-2.
• Popoff, Martin (2022). Driven: Rush in the '90s and "In the End". Toronto, Canada: ECW Press. ISBN   978-1-77041-570-6.