The Hemispheres Tour (also referred to as The Tour of the Hemispheres) was a concert tour by Canadian rock band Rush in support of their sixth studio album, Hemispheres.

Hemispheres Tour
Tour by Rush
Location
  • Europe
  • North America
Associated albumHemispheres
Start dateOctober 14, 1978
End dateJune 4, 1979
Legs2
No. of shows137
Rush concert chronology
  • A Farewell to Kings Tour
    (1977–1978)
  • Hemispheres Tour
    (1978–1979)
  • Permanent Waves Tour
    (1979–1980)

Background

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The tour began on October 14, 1978 which began with arenas in Canada, extending out into the United States.[1] It was the first tour where the band was noted as a major headlining act, playing an hour and a half instead of a forty-five minute set, with hopes that the audience would appreciate the length of the set.[2] While keeping a good lighting system, the band began extending their PA system, as well as becoming more active on stage with the usage of backdrops, giving the audience something to look at - something that became a major part of their performances.[3] Rush toured Europe in April to May 1979, concluding their tour with a performance at the Pinkpop Festival in Holland, which had followed after Lifeson broke his finger, resulting in three shows being canceled, but however he had performed at the festival with no problems. The tour was accompanied by the release of the European compilation album, Rush Through Time, which was unauthorized at the time.[4]

Reception

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Reviewing the October 25, 1978 performance in Saskatoon, Star-Phoenix's Joe Rubin noted on the band's usage of special effects which he had stated held the audience 'spellbound' with balls of light, swirling spirals and spaceships depicted on the screen suspended behind the band as they performed. Regarding the audience, Rubin stated it was understandable as they were grogged on sound, later benumbed and ecstatic at the conclusion of the performance.[5]

The Spokesman-Review's Dave Reagan, reviewing the November 8, 1978 performance in Spokane, wrote that the band had proved its reputation to be loud but talented. He observed that the music was relatively clean and low enough to not compound the echoing effects of the coliseum where the show took place. Also noting on the special effects and the lighting accompanied by the use of the synthesizer, Reagan stated that it had brought the audience to both its feet and knees, with the visuals keeping the longer songs exciting and alive, with no interest lost from the audience.[6]

Set list

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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.[7] "Circumstances" was removed from the set during the band's shows in the United Kingdom, with "Something for Nothing" and "Cygnus X-1" being removed from the set during the rest of the shows in Europe.[8]

Main Setlist
  1. "Anthem"
  2. "A Passage to Bangkok"
  3. "By-Tor and the Snow Dog"
  4. "Xanadu"
  5. "Something for Nothing"
  6. "The Trees"
  7. "Cygnus X-1"
  8. "Hemispheres"
  9. "Closer to the Heart"
  10. "Circumstances"
  11. "A Farewell to Kings"
  12. "La Villa Strangiato"
  13. "2112" (Chapters I–IV, VI–VII)
    Encore
  14. "Working Man" / "Bastille Day" / "In the Mood" (medley, with drum solo)

Tour dates

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List of 1978 concerts[9][10][11]
Date City Country Venue
October 14, 1978 Kingston Canada Kingston Memorial Center
October 15, 1978 Guelph Guelph Memorial Gardens
October 17, 1978 North Bay North Bay Memorial Gardens
October 18, 1978 Sudbury Sudbury Community Arena
October 20, 1978 Thunder Bay Fort William Gardens
October 21, 1978 Winnipeg Winnipeg Arena
October 22, 1978 Brandon Keystone Center
October 24, 1978 Regina Regina Agridome
October 25, 1978 Saskatoon Saskatoon Arena
October 27, 1978 Edmonton Northlands Coliseum
October 28, 1978 Calgary Stampede Corral
October 29, 1978 Lethbridge Lethbridge Sportsplex
October 31, 1978 Kamloops KXA Auditorium
November 2, 1978 Victoria Victoria Memorial Arena
November 3, 1978 Nanaimo Frank Crane Arena
November 4, 1978 Vancouver Pacific Coliseum
November 6, 1978 Portland United States Portland Memorial Coliseum
November 7, 1978 Seattle Seattle Center Coliseum
November 8, 1978 Spokane Spokane Coliseum
November 10, 1978 Sacramento Sacramento Memorial Auditorium
November 11, 1978 Reno Centennial Coliseum
November 13, 1978 San Diego San Diego Sports Arena
November 14, 1978 Long Beach Long Beach Arena
November 15, 1978 Fresno Warnors Theater
November 16, 1978 Daly City Cow Palace
November 18, 1978 San Bernardino Swing Auditorium
November 19, 1978 Phoenix Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum
November 20, 1978 Tucson Tucson Community Center
November 21, 1978 Albuquerque Albuquerque Civic Auditorium
November 30, 1978 Indianapolis Market Square Arena
December 1, 1978 Dayton Hara Arena
December 2, 1978 Detroit Cobo Arena
December 3, 1978 Toledo Toledo Sports Arena
December 5, 1978 Davenport Palmer Auditorium
December 7, 1978 Milwaukee MECCA Arena
December 8, 1978 Green Bay Brown County Arena
December 9, 1978 Saint Paul St. Paul Civic Center
December 10, 1978 Des Moines Veterans Memorial Auditorium
December 11, 1978 Kansas City Kansas City Municipal Auditorium
December 13, 1978 St. Louis The Checkerdome
December 14, 1978 Chicago International Amphitheater
December 15, 1978
December 16, 1978
December 17, 1978 Madison Dane County Coliseum
December 19, 1978 London Canada London Gardens
December 20, 1978 Kitchener Kitchener Memorial Auditorium
December 21, 1978 Ottawa Ottawa Civic Center
December 26, 1978 Montreal Montreal Forum
December 27, 1978
December 28, 1978 Toronto Maple Leaf Gardens
December 29, 1978
December 31, 1978
List of 1979 concerts[9][10][12]
Date City Country Venue
January 11, 1979 Boston United States Boston Music Hall
January 12, 1979 Springfield Springfield Civic Center
January 13, 1979 New York City The Palladium
January 14, 1979
January 16, 1979 Albany Palace Theater
January 17, 1979 Passaic Capitol Theater
January 19, 1979 Pittsburgh Pittsburgh Civic Arena
January 20, 1979 Baltimore Baltimore Civic Center
January 21, 1979 Philadelphia The Spectrum
January 23, 1979 Syracuse Onondaga War Memorial Auditorium
January 24, 1979 Buffalo Buffalo Memorial Auditorium
January 26, 1979 Cincinnati Riverfront Coliseum
January 27, 1979 Huntsville Von Braun Civic Center
January 28, 1979 Memphis Mid-South Coliseum
January 30, 1979 Louisville Louisville Gardens
January 31, 1979 Bloomington IU Auditorium
February 1, 1979 Columbus St. John Arena
February 2, 1979 Saginaw Saginaw Civic Center
February 3, 1979 Richfield Richfield Coliseum
February 10, 1979 Oklahoma City Oklahoma State Fairgrounds
February 15, 1979 Columbia Township Auditorium
February 17, 1979 Fayetteville Cumberland County Memorial Arena
February 19, 1979 Asheville Asheville Civic Center
February 20, 1979 Knoxville Knoxville Civic Coliseum
February 22, 1979 Little Rock Barton Coliseum
February 23, 1979 Shreveport Hirsch Memorial Coliseum
February 24, 1979 Tulsa Tulsa Fairgrounds Pavilion
February 25, 1979 Austin Austin Municipal Auditorium
February 27, 1979 Corpus Christi Corpus Christi Memorial Coliseum
March 1, 1979 Houston Sam Houston Coliseum
March 2, 1979 Dallas Dallas Convention Center
March 3, 1979 San Antonio HemisFair Arena
March 4, 1979 Beaumont Beaumont Civic Center
March 6, 1979 New Orleans New Orleans Municipal Auditorium
March 8, 1979 Mobile Mobile Expo Hall
March 9, 1979 Jacksonville Jacksonville Civic Auditorium
March 10, 1979 Hollywood Hollywood Sportatorium
March 11, 1979 Tampa Curtis Hixon Convention Hall
March 13, 1979 Birmingham Boutwell Auditorium
March 15, 1979 Chattanooga Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Auditorium
March 16, 1979 Nashville Nashville Municipal Auditorium
March 17, 1979 Johnson City Freedom Hall
March 18, 1979 Wheeling Wheeling Civic Center
March 27, 1979 Salt Lake City Salt Palace
March 28, 1979 Denver Denver Auditorium
March 29, 1979 Lincoln Pershing Center
March 30, 1979 Topeka Topeka Municipal Auditorium
April 2, 1979 Syracuse Onondaga War Memorial Auditorium
April 3, 1979 Poughkeepsie Mid-Hudson Civic Center
April 4, 1979 Rochester War Memorial Auditorium
April 6, 1979 Hempstead Nassau Coliseum
April 7, 1979 New Haven New Haven Coliseum
April 10, 1979 Salem Roanoke Valley Civic Center
April 11, 1979 Hampton Hampton Coliseum
April 13, 1979 Atlanta Fox Theater
April 14, 1979 Greensboro Greensboro Coliseum
April 15, 1979 Providence Providence Civic Center
April 23, 1979 Newcastle England Newcastle City Hall
April 24, 1979
April 25, 1979 Glasgow Scotland Glasgow Apollo
April 26, 1979
April 27, 1979
April 28, 1979 Edinburgh Edinburgh Odeon
April 29, 1979 Manchester England Manchester Apollo
April 30, 1979
May 1, 1979 Liverpool Empire Theater
May 2, 1979
May 4, 1979 London Hammersmith Odeon
May 5, 1979
May 6, 1979
May 7, 1979
May 9, 1979 Coventry Coventry Theater
May 10, 1979 Birmingham Birmingham Odeon
May 11, 1979
May 13, 1979 Southampton Gaumont Theater
May 14, 1979 Bristol Colston Hall
May 15, 1979
May 17, 1979[a] Paris France Le Stadium
May 18, 1979 Poperinge Belgium Maeke Blyde Hall
May 22, 1979 Oslo Norway Chateau Neuf
May 23, 1979 Gothenburg Sweden Gothenburg Concert House
May 25, 1979 Stockholm Grona Lund
May 27, 1979 Erlangen West Germany Stadthalle
May 28, 1979 Offenbach Stadthalle
May 29, 1979 Hamburg Hamburg Music Hall
May 31, 1979[b] Mannheim Rose Garden
June 1, 1979[b] Zurich Switzerland Volkshaus
June 2, 1979[b] Munich West Germany Circus Krone
June 4, 1979 Geleen Netherlands Damen Sports Park

Box office score data

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List of box office score data with date, city, venue, attendance, gross, references
Date City Venue Attendance Gross Ref(s)
December 11, 1978 Kansas City, United States Municipal Auditorium 9,250 $72,029 [13]
January 11, 1979 Boston, United States Music Hall 3,800 $31,750 [14]
January 13–14, 1979 New York City, United States Palladium 6,300 / 6,300 $52,000
January 17, 1979 Passaic, United States Capitol Theatre 3,456 / 3,456 $28,172 [15]
January 19, 1979 Pittsburgh, United States Civic Arena 14,032 / 14,032 $110,421
January 20, 1979 Baltimore, United States Civic Center 8,676 $60,578
January 21, 1979 Philadelphia, United States Spectrum 13,064 $94,467
January 27, 1979 Huntsville, United States Civic Center 6,850 $46,891 [16]
January 28, 1979 Memphis, United States Coliseum 7,263 $50,833
January 30, 1979 Louisville, United States Gardens 7,201 / 7,201 $48,612 [17]
January 31, 1979 Bloomington, United States IU Auditorium 1,968 $14,498
February 1, 1979 Columbus, United States St. John's Arena 7,355 $57,950
February 2, 1979 Saginaw, United States Civic Center 7,104 / 7,104 $60,384
February 20, 1979 Knoxville, United States Coliseum 3,901 $28,265 [18]
March 9, 1979 Jacksonville, United States Civic Auditorium 3,125 $20,875 [19]
March 10, 1979 Hollywood, United States Sportatorium 9,937 $60,757
March 11, 1979 Tampa, United States Hixon Hall 7,600 / 7,600 $45,077
March 15, 1979 Chattanooga, United States Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Auditorium 3,130 $21,868 [20]
March 16, 1979 Nashville, United States Municipal Auditorium 8,468 $43,844 [21]
March 18, 1979 Wheeling, United States Civic Center 6,233 $46,812
March 29, 1979 Lincoln, United States Pershing Auditorium 4,275 $30,800 [22]
March 30, 1979 Topeka, United States Municipal Auditorium 4,200 / 4,200 $29,400
April 3, 1979 Poughkeepsie, United States Civic Center 3,372 / 3,372 $28,263 [23]
April 4, 1979 Rochester, United States War Memorial Auditorium 10,500 / 10,500 $89,253
April 6, 1979 Uniondale, United States Nassau Coliseum 10,400 $85,160
April 7, 1979 New Haven, United States Coliseum 5,800 $47,597
April 11, 1979 Hampton, United States Coliseum 6,165 $45,029 [24]
April 15, 1979 Providence, United States Civic Center 6,684 $48,370

Personnel

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References

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Notes

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  1. ^ The performance on May 17, 1979 was canceled due to a fire burning down the venue.
  2. ^ a b c The performances on May 31, June 1 and 2, 1979 were canceled due to Lifeson breaking a finger.

Citations

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  1. ^ Popoff 2020, p. 333.
  2. ^ Popoff 2020, p. 334.
  3. ^ Popoff 2020, pp. 334–335.
  4. ^ Popoff 2020, p. 336.
  5. ^ Rubin, Joe (October 26, 1978). "Entertainment: Rush". Saskatoon, Saskatchewan: The Phoenix. p. 20. Retrieved January 16, 2023.
  6. ^ Reagan, Dave (November 9, 1978). "Rush's reputation remains first-rate". Spokane, Washington: The Spokesman-Review. p. 14. Retrieved January 16, 2023.
  7. ^ Daly & Hansen 2019, p. 160.
  8. ^ Daly & Hansen 2019, p. 157.
  9. ^ a b Daly & Hansen 2019, pp. 160–175.
  10. ^ a b "Hemispheres Tour". Rush.com. Retrieved January 16, 2023.
  11. ^ Newspaper concert listings:
  12. ^ East, Jon (March 1, 1979). "This Week - Southern Rock, Smooth Jazz". No. 33. Ocala, Florida: Ocala Star-Banner. p. 11A. Retrieved January 16, 2023.
  13. ^ "Top Box Office". Billboard. Vol. 91, no. 1. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. January 6, 1979. p. 57. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
  14. ^ "Top Box Office". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. January 27, 1979. p. 54. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
  15. ^ "Top Box Office". Billboard. Vol. 91, no. 5. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. February 3, 1979. p. 64. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
  16. ^ "Top Box Office". Billboard. Vol. 91, no. 6. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. February 10, 1979. p. 42. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
  17. ^ "Top Box Office". Billboard. Vol. 91, no. 7. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. February 17, 1979. p. 54. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
  18. ^ "Top Box Office". Billboard. Vol. 91, no. 10. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. March 10, 1979. p. 46. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
  19. ^ "Top Box Office". Billboard. Vol. 91, no. 12. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. March 24, 1979. p. 84. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
  20. ^ "Top Box Office". Billboard. Vol. 91, no. 14. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. April 7, 1979. p. 44. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
  21. ^ "Top Box Office". Billboard. Vol. 91, no. 13. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. March 31, 1979. p. 72. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
  22. ^ "Top Box Office". Billboard. Vol. 91, no. 15. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. April 14, 1979. p. 43. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
  23. ^ "Top Box Office". Billboard. Vol. 91, no. 16. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. April 21, 1979. p. 36. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
  24. ^ "Top Box Office". Billboard. Vol. 91, no. 17. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. April 28, 1979. p. 46. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved January 15, 2023.

Sources

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  • Daly, Skip; Hansen, Eric (2019). Rush: Wandering the Face of the Earth – The Official Touring History. Insight Editions. ISBN 978-1-68383-450-2.
  • Popoff, Martin (2020). Anthem: Rush in the '70s. Toronto: ECW Press. ISBN 978-1-77041-520-1.