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.
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, estimated to have performed to 589,137 fans. Some recordings from the tour were featured on the 1998 live album Different Stages.
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.
Reception The New York Timess 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.
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.
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.
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".
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. 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. "Dreamline" "The Spirit of Radio" "The Analog Kid" "Cold Fire" "Time Stand Still" "Nobody's Hero" "Roll the Bones" "Animate" "Stick It Out" "Double Agent" "Limelight" "Bravado" "Mystic Rhythms" "Closer to the Heart" "Show Don't Tell" "Leave That Thing Alone" "The Rhythm Method" (drum solo) "The Trees" "Xanadu" "Cygnus X-1 Book II: Hemispheres – Prelude" "Tom Sawyer" Encore "Force Ten" "YYZ" "Cygnus X-1 Book I: The Voyage" (teaser)
Tour dates + List of 1994 concertsDateCityCountryVenueOpening Act(s)AttendanceGrossJanuary 22, 1994PensacolaUnited StatesPensacola Civic CenterCandlebox8,422 / 8,422$176,550January 23, 1994New OrleansLakefront Arena7,432 / 7,432$180,302January 25, 1994AustinFrank Erwin Center8,338 / 11,781$208,414January 26, 1994HoustonThe Summit12,529 / 17,055$321,661January 28, 1994DallasReunion Arena14,619 / 14,619$400,920January 29, 1994San AntonioHemisFair Arena11,210 / 12,273$256,822January 31, 1994Las CrucesPan American Center8,387 / 9,500$176,800February 1, 1994PhoenixVeterans Memorial Coliseum13,970 / 13,970$328,026February 3, 1994InglewoodGreat Western Forum13,755 / 13,755$313,826February 5, 1994AnaheimArrowhead Pond of Anaheim13,460 / 13,460$333,646February 7, 1994San DiegoSan Diego Sports Arena 11,242 / 11,668$226,598February 8, 1994FresnoSelland ArenaMelvins6,249 / 9,011$127,647February 10, 1994SacramentoARCO Arena9,799 / 12,000-February 11, 1994Daly CityCow Palace9,214 / 12,000February 12, 1994San JoseSan Jose Arena13,274 / 15,000February 23, 1994MurfreesboroMurphy CenterCandlebox6,632 / 8,500$149,442February 24, 1994AtlantaOmni Coliseum11,495 / 12,500$281,906February 25, 1994CharlotteCharlotte Coliseum9,675 / 14,000$217,688February 27, 1994MiamiMiami Arena10,696 / 13,000-March 1, 1994OrlandoAmway Arena9,644 / 10,000$237,542March 2, 1994JacksonvilleJacksonville Coliseum4,752 / 9,000-March 4, 1994St. PetersburgThunderdome8,377 / 15,000March 6, 1994Chapel HillDean Smith Center7,318 / 8,000$164,665March 8, 1994New York CityMadison Square Garden28,832 / 28,832$839,494March 9, 1994March 11, 1994WorcesterWorcester Centrum22,127 / 25,008$535,570March 12, 1994March 22, 1994Auburn HillsThe Palace of Auburn HillsPrimus14,848 / 14,848$367,117March 23, 1994RichfieldRichfield Coliseum14,717 / 14,717$360,270March 25, 1994CincinnatiRiverfront Coliseum10,687 / 10,687$256,375March 26, 1994IndianapolisMarket Square Arena12,035 / 14,000$286,282March 27, 1994Auburn HillsThe Palace of Auburn Hills14,848 / 14,848$367,117March 29, 1994RosemontRosemont Horizon21,664 / 21,664$528,362March 30, 1994April 1, 1994PeoriaPeoria Civic Center8,345 / 8,345$187,762April 2, 1994MadisonDane County Coliseum8,013 / 9,000$197,680April 4, 1994St. LouisSt. Louis Arena13,570 / 13,570$322,505April 5, 1994Kansas CityKemper Arena11,561 / 11,561$277,330April 7, 1994MilwaukeeBradley Center9,809 / 15,000-April 8, 1994MinneapolisTarget Center12,722 / 12,722$307,600April 9, 1994MolineMARK of the Quad Cities7,053 / 7,053$177,350April 18, 1994BuffaloBuffalo Memorial AuditoriumCandlebox10,608 / 13,700$263,334April 20, 1994PittsburghCivic Arena11,062 / 12,000$267,991April 22, 1994East RutherfordBrendan Byrne Arena14,083 / 14,679$365,829April 23, 1994UniondaleNassau Coliseum11,585 / 15,600$313,286April 24, 1994HartfordHartford Civic Center9,747 / 13,000$240,758April 26, 1994LandoverUSAir Arena14,746 / 14,746$357,485April 27, 1994HamptonHampton Coliseum-April 29, 1994PhiladelphiaThe Spectrum23,979 / 27,090$586,134April 30, 1994May 1, 1994ProvidenceProvidence Civic Center7,234 / 9,200$184,415May 3, 1994AlbanyKnickerbocker Arena10,001 / 12,250$245,728May 4, 1994RochesterWar Memorial Arena8,138 / 8,138$198,848May 6, 1994MontrealCanadaMontreal ForumThe Doughboys12,913 / 12,913$402,701May 7, 1994TorontoMaple Leaf GardensI Mother Earth13,671 / 13,671$416,982
Box office score data +List of box office score data with date, city, venue, attendance, gross, referencesDate(1994)CityVenueAttendanceGrossJanuary 22Pensacola, United StatesCivic Center8,422 / 8,422$176,550January 23New Orleans, United StatesLakefront Arena7,432 / 7,432$180,302February 5Anaheim, United StatesArrowhead Pond13,460 / 13,460$333,647February 7San Diego, United StatesSports Arena11,242 / 11,668$226,598March 11–12Worcester, United StatesCentrum22,127 / 25,008$535,570March 23Richfield, United StatesColiseum14,717 / 14,717$360,270March 29–30Rosemont, United StatesRosemont Horizon21,665 / 21,665$528,363April 4St. Louis, United StatesArena13,570 / 13,570$322,305April 20Pittsburgh, United StatesCivic Arena11,062 / 12,000$267,991April 22East Rutherford, United StatesMeadowlands Arena14,083 / 14,083$365,829April 23Uniondale, United StatesNassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum11,585 / 11,585$313,287April 29–30Philadelphia, United StatesSpectrum23,979 / 27,090$586,134May 6Montreal, CanadaForum12,913 / 12,913$291,306
Personnel Geddy Lee – vocals, bass, keyboards Alex Lifeson – guitar, backing vocals Neil Peart – drums
References Citations
Sources