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. Guitarist Eric Johnson was the initial opening act in the autumn of 1991, following the band losing a Grammy nomination for "Where's My Thing?" to Johnson's "Cliffs of Dover". 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, as well as Vinnie Moore and Mr. Big. Opening for the band's hometown show in Toronto, Ontario on December 16 was The Tragically Hip, 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. The band included super-sized screens, laser lights and moving pictures throughout their performances.
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, potential injury and death in the crowd, but was booked to perform the show and was unexpectedly general admission.
Reception The Pittsburgh Post-Gazettes 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.
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.
The Toledo Blades 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".
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. For the encore, the band performed a medley of older material, which would feature a minute of each song for the medley. This was also the first and only Rush tour to not feature "YYZ" in the setlist since the song's release.
"Force Ten" "Limelight" "Freewill" "Distant Early Warning" "Time Stand Still" "Dreamline" "Bravado" "Roll the Bones" "Show Don't Tell" "The Big Money" "Ghost of a Chance" "Subdivisions" "The Pass" "The Trees" "Where's My Thing?" "The Rhythm Method" (drum solo) "Closer to the Heart" "Xanadu" "Superconductor" "Tom Sawyer" Encore "The Spirit of Radio" Medley: "2112" (Overture) / "Finding My Way" / "La Villa Strangiato" / "Anthem" / "Red Barchetta" / "The Spirit of Radio" (reprise) "Cygnus X-1" (teaser)
Tour dates + List of 1991 concertsDateCityCountryVenueAttendanceGrossOctober 25, 1991HamiltonCanadaCopps Coliseum12,315 / 12,315$301,718October 26, 1991RochesterUnited StatesRochester Community War Memorial8,404 / 8,404$168,060October 28, 1991PittsburghCivic Arena11,956 / 12,479$239,597October 29, 1991CincinnatiRiverfront Coliseum10,601 / 12,904$206,720October 31, 1991IndianapolisMarket Square Arena9,243 / 12,000$180,238November 1, 1991RosemontRosemont Horizon14,815 / 14,815$343,478November 3, 1991MinneapolisTarget Center10,435 / 12,500$219,135November 4, 1991OmahaOmaha Civic Auditorium5,995 / 6,700$116,903November 6, 1991TopekaLandon Arena6,436 / 7,000$125,502November 7, 1991St. LouisSt. Louis Arena11,492 / 13,000$224,094November 9, 1991NormalRedbird Arena8,666 / 8,666$168,987November 10, 1991MilwaukeeBradley Center12,813 / 15,500$247,248November 13, 1991Auburn HillsThe Palace of Auburn Hills22,454 / 26,000$521,955November 14, 1991November 16, 1991 ToledoJohn F. Savage Hall5,647 / 7,000$119,510November 17, 1991RichfieldRichfield Coliseum21,367 / 25,000$430,443November 18, 1991November 26, 1991OttawaCanadaOttawa Civic Centre-November 28, 1991MontrealMontreal ForumNovember 29, 1991Quebec CityColisée de QuébecDecember 1, 1991PhiladelphiaUnited StatesSpectrum24,397 / 28,058$491,422December 3, 1991December 4, 1991LandoverCapital Centre14,070 / 15,565$321,543December 6, 1991New York CityMadison Square Garden31,000 / 31,000$776,190December 7, 1991December 9, 1991ProvidenceProvidence Civic Center9,431 / 11,500$183,904December 10, 1991WorcesterWorcester Centrum12,266 / 12,266$249,347December 12, 1991AlbanyKnickerbocker Arena10,614 / 13,690$210,794December 13, 1991HartfordHartford Civic Center12,263 / 13,805$256,934December 15, 1991BuffaloBuffalo Memorial Auditorium12,703 / 14,605$278,905December 16, 1991TorontoCanadaMaple Leaf Gardens11,906 / 11,906$337,767
+ List of 1992 concertsConcert announcements:DateCityCountryVenueAttendanceGrossJanuary 18, 1992Las CrucesUnited StatesPan American Center9,803 / 9,803$196,060January 20, 1992San DiegoSan Diego Sports Arena11,607 / 12,068$241,317January 22, 1992InglewoodGreat Western Forum29,316 / 29,316$653,664January 23, 1992January 25, 1992FresnoSelland Arena9,011 / 9,011$156,640January 27, 1992SacramentoARCO Arena11,067 / 12,000$250,710January 29, 1992OaklandOakland Arena25,254 / 25,254$571,940January 30, 1992February 2, 1992VancouverCanadaPacific Coliseum-February 4, 1992SeattleUnited StatesSeattle Center Coliseum12,453 / 12,453$274,610February 5, 1992PortlandMemorial Coliseum8,826 / 9,500$203,429February 15, 1992San AntonioHemisFair Arena11,491 / 14,518$212,438February 16, 1992DallasReunion Arena14,690 / 14,690$317,466February 18, 1992HoustonThe Summit11,784 / 13,608$274,431February 20, 1992AustinFrank Erwin Center9,222 / 12,589$190,314February 22, 1992ShreveportHirsch Memorial Coliseum-February 23, 1992New OrleansLakefront Arena7,495 / 7,495$160,904February 25, 1992PensacolaPensacola Civic Center6,190 / 7,500$129,990February 26, 1992JacksonvilleJacksonville Coliseum5,166 / 6,000$116,235February 28, 1992MiamiMiami Arena12,364 / 12,364$295,428February 29, 1992St. PetersburgFlorida Suncoast Dome12,075 / 12,500$271,688March 2, 1992OrlandoOrlando Arena10,859 / 10,859$244,328March 4, 1992AtlantaOmni Coliseum13,966 / 13,966$309,569March 5, 1992ColumbiaCarolina Coliseum5,616 / 8,712$115,128March 7, 1992Chapel HillDean Smith Center11,039 / 13,114$226,300March 10, 1992RichmondRichmond Coliseum7,653 / 9,880$149,234March 12, 1992BinghamtonBroome County Veterans Memorial Arena5,627 / 5,800$139,112March 14, 1992New HavenNew Haven Coliseum8,881 / 9,500$197,850March 15, 1992UniondaleNassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum15,290 / 15,503$347,855April 10, 1992SheffieldEnglandSheffield Arena-April 12, 1992BirminghamNational Exhibition CentreApril 13, 1992April 15, 1992GlasgowScotlandScottish Exhibition and Conference CentreApril 17, 1992LondonEnglandWembley ArenaApril 18, 1992April 21, 1992HanoverGermanyMusic HallApril 23, 1992CologneSporthalleApril 24, 1992FrankfurtFesthalle FrankfurtApril 27, 1992BerlinEissporthalle an der JafféstraßeApril 28, 1992NurembergFrankenhalleApril 29, 1992StuttgartHanns-Martin-Schleyer-HalleMay 1, 1992ParisFranceLe ZénithMay 3, 1992RotterdamNetherlandsRotterdam AhoyMay 21, 1992MemphisUnited StatesMid-South Coliseum6,503 / 8,500$120,306May 23, 1992Kansas CityKemper Arena9,544 / 16,871$194,682May 24, 1992Valley CenterKansas Coliseum5,541 / 9,237$110,820May 25, 1992Oklahoma CityMyriad Convention Center6,796 / 10,500$140,843May 27, 1992Greenwood VillageFiddler's Green Amphitheatre16,212 / 17,990$277,806May 29, 1992Salt Lake CityDelta Center11,046 / 14,000$221,998May 31, 1992Mountain ViewShoreline Amphitheatre15,691 / 20,000$306,356June 1, 1992RenoLawlor Events Center4,236 / 8,500$95,310June 3, 1992IrvineIrvine Meadows Amphitheatre28,492 / 30,000$724,294June 4, 1992June 6, 1992Las VegasThomas & Mack Center8,993 / 10,500$206,198June 7, 1992PhoenixDesert Sky Pavilion14,523 / 19,945$294,957June 9, 1992AlbuquerqueTingley Coliseum5,916 / 7,500$115,974June 10, 1992LubbockLubbock Municipal Coliseum7,199 / 7,199$140,746June 12, 1992Maryland HeightsRiverport Amphitheatre13,955 / 19,861$254,910June 13, 1992NashvilleStarwood Amphitheatre8,426 / 17,128$122,247June 14, 1992CharlotteBlockbuster Pavilion6,440 / 18,728$129,839June 16, 1992ColumbiaMerriweather Post Pavilion11,600 / 15,772$239,770June 17, 1992MansfieldGreat Woods PAC14,978 / 14,978$299,997June 19, 1992East RutherfordBrendan Byrne Arena15,634 / 18,650$335,081June 20, 1992WantaghJones Beach Amphitheater10,700 / 10,700$279,365June 21, 1992BurgettstownStar Lake Amphitheater13,129 / 20,131$184,752June 23, 1992FairbornNutter Center9,026 / 9,324$180,520June 24, 1992NoblesvilleDeer Creek Music Center9,120 / 12,000$168,230June 26, 1992ClarkstonPine Knob Music Theater14,977 / 14,977$325,965June 27, 1992East TroyAlpine Valley Music Theatre21,474 / 35,000$359,932June 28, 1992Tinley ParkNew World Music Theater11,944 / 15,000$288,410
Box office score data +List of box office score data with date, city, venue, attendance, gross, referencesDate(1992)CityVenueAttendanceGrossJune 3–4Irvine, United StatesIrvine Meadows Amphitheatre28,492 / 30,000$724,295June 6Las Vegas, United StatesThomas & Mack Center8,993 / 10,500$206,198June 26Clarkston, United StatesPine Knob Music Theatre14,977 / 14,977$325,965June 27East Troy, United StatesAlpine Valley Music Theatre21,474 / 35,000$359,932
Personnel Geddy Lee – vocals, bass, keyboards Alex Lifeson – guitar, backing vocals Neil Peart – drums
References Citations
Sources