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.
Background The band continued the trend of their usage of synthesizers, sequencers and onstage automation which continued from their Power Windows Tour, 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. Opening bands on the North American leg included Chalk Circle, the McAuley Schenker Group, and Tommy Shaw. Wishbone Ash was the support act for the band's performances in Europe. 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.
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". 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.
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. "The Big Money" "Subdivisions" "Limelight" "Marathon" "Turn the Page" "Prime Mover" "Manhattan Project" "Closer to the Heart" "Red Sector A" "Force Ten" "Time Stand Still" "Distant Early Warning" "Lock and Key" "Mission" "Territories" "YYZ" "The Rhythm Method" (drum solo) "Red Lenses" (abridged) "The Spirit of Radio" "Tom Sawyer" Encore "2112 Parts I & II: Overture/The Temples of Syrinx" "La Villa Strangiato" "In the Mood"
Tour dates + List of 1987 concertsDateCityCountryVenueAttendanceGrossOctober 29, 1987St. John'sCanadaMemorial Stadium8,607 / 11,000-October 30, 1987November 1, 1987SydneyCentre 200-November 2, 1987HalifaxHalifax Metro CentreNovember 4, 1987MonctonMoncton ColiseumNovember 6, 1987ProvidenceUnited StatesProvidence Civic Center15,082 / 20,200November 7, 1987November 9, 1987SpringfieldSpringfield Civic Center-November 10, 1987UticaUtica Memorial Auditorium3,698 / 6,000November 12, 1987TroyRPI Fieldhouse8,420 / 8,420November 13, 1987BinghamtonBroome County War Memorial Arena-November 14, 1987BuffaloBuffalo Memorial AuditoriumNovember 24, 1987Johnson CityFreedom Hall Civic CenterNovember 25, 1987AtlantaThe Omni10,353 / 13,700$169,208November 27, 1987CharlotteCharlotte Coliseum9,186 / 11,009$143,121November 30, 1987LandoverCapital Centre-December 2, 1987WorcesterThe Centrum17,173 / 20,286$288,672December 3, 1987December 5, 1987New HavenNew Haven Coliseum-December 7, 1987East RutherfordMeadowlands Arena14,483 / 17,963$272,503December 9, 1987UniondaleNassau Coliseum11,754 / 16,375$198,079December 11, 1987New York CityMadison Square Garden-December 13, 1987PhiladelphiaThe Spectrum22,029 / 28,412$331,413December 14, 1987December 16, 1987PittsburghCivic Arena6,945 / 13,539-December 17, 1987RichfieldRichfield Coliseum-
+ List of 1988 concertsDateCityCountryVenueAttendanceGrossJanuary 14, 1988HamptonUnited StatesHampton Coliseum--January 15, 1988RaleighReynolds ColiseumJanuary 17, 1988BirminghamBirmingham-Jefferson Civic Center Coliseum5,892 / 12,500January 18, 1988JacksonMississippi Coliseum-January 20, 1988DallasReunion ArenaJanuary 21, 1988San AntonioConvention Center ArenaJanuary 23, 1988Oklahoma CityMyriad ArenaJanuary 24, 1988ShreveportHirsch Memorial Coliseum5,289 / 10,000January 26, 1988Little RockBarton Coliseum-January 27, 1988New OrleansUNO Lakefront ArenaJanuary 29, 1988HoustonThe Summit12,765 / 17,064$206,907January 30, 1988AustinFrank Erwin Center10,567 / 12,494$160,848February 1, 1988PhoenixArizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum12,346 / 12,660$203,709February 3, 1988San DiegoSan Diego Sports Arena11,182 / 11,182$187,793February 4, 1988InglewoodThe Forum27,586 / 27,586$483,257February 5, 1988February 15, 1988LakelandLakeland Civic Center10,000 / 10,000$172,725February 16, 1988Pembroke PinesHollywood Sportatorium12,532 / 12,532$201,333February 18, 1988JacksonvilleVeterans Memorial Coliseum5,809 / 7,400$90,833February 19, 1988PensacolaPensacola Civic Center7,020 / 7,500$99,405February 21, 1988MemphisMid-South Coliseum5,691 / 12,065$91,056February 22, 1988NashvilleNashville Municipal Auditorium-February 23, 1988CincinnatiRiverfront ColiseumFebruary 25, 1988RosemontRosemont Horizon22,984 / 25,962$391,772February 26, 1988February 28, 1988PeoriaPeoria Civic Center-March 1, 1988St. LouisSt. Louis Arena10,971 / 11,500$175,032March 2, 1988IndianapolisMarket Square Arena7,456 / 13,500$115,568March 4, 1988DetroitJoe Louis Arena31,808 / 31,808-March 5, 1988March 7, 1988TorontoCanadaMaple Leaf Gardens20,490 / 32,000$458,181March 8, 1988March 10, 1988MontrealMontreal Forum11,379 / 12,500$221,891March 11, 1988Quebec CityColisee de Quebec9,580 / 11,800$186,810March 12, 1988OttawaOttawa Civic Centre--April 2, 1988OmahaUnited StatesOmaha Civic Auditorium7,609 / 12,000April 4, 1988BloomingtonMet Center8,664 / 10,500$151,620April 5, 1988MilwaukeeMECCA Arena9,605 / 9,605$164,133April 7, 1988Kansas CityKemper Arena9,524 / 11,200$152,609April 9, 1988LouisvilleLouisville Gardens3,965 / 5,000$62,668April 10, 1988DaytonHara Arena5,430 / 7,500$85,069April 21, 1988BirminghamEnglandNational Exhibition Centre Arena-April 23, 1988April 24, 1988April 26, 1988GlasgowScotlandScottish Exhibition and Conference CentreApril 28, 1988LondonEnglandWembley ArenaApril 29, 1988April 30, 1988May 2, 1988RotterdamNetherlandsAhoy Sportpaleis11,540 / 11,540May 4, 1988FrankfurtWest GermanyFesthalle-May 5, 1988StuttgartSchleyer-Halle
Box office score data +List of box office score data with date, city, venue, attendance, gross, referencesDateCityVenueAttendanceGrossDecember 7, 1987East Rutherford, United StatesMeadowlands Arena14,483 / 17,963$272,503
Personnel Geddy Lee – vocals, bass, keyboards Alex Lifeson – guitar, backing vocals Neil Peart – drums
References Citations
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