The Moving Pictures Tour was a concert tour by Canadian rock band Rush in support of their eighth studio album, Moving Pictures.
| Tour by Rush | |
| Location | North America |
|---|---|
| Associated album | Moving Pictures |
| Start date | September 11, 1980 |
| End date | July 5, 1981 |
| Legs | 2 |
| No. of shows | 95 |
| Rush concert chronology | |
Background
editPrior to the tour stating in February 1981 and preparing to enter the studio to record Moving Pictures, the band performed an isolated number of shows from September 11 to October 1, 1980 with Saxon as a support act. The tour began in Kalamazoo on February 20, 1981 and concluded on July 5 in East Troy. Max Webster, FM, Goddo and The Joe Perry Project were also opening acts for Rush on the tour.[1] The March 27, 1981 performance in Montreal was recorded for the band's live album, Exit... Stage Left and its accompanying video.[2][3] Each show was estimated to have costed $40,000 which featured back-projected film, pyro and dry ice. 905,000 fans had attended the shows overall on tour, with the band making an estimate of $4 million by the end of the tour.[4]
Reception
editJohn Griffin from the Montreal Gazette who attended the performance in Montreal, noted that Geddy Lee's vocals sounded like a guinea pig with an amphetamine habit, but praised both Lifeson, referring to his guitar playing as ordinary at best, and Peart, acknowledging his drumming as an interesting aspect that he made so little of the massive drum kit.[5]
Don Adair, a reporter from the Spokesman-Review opened his review of the band's show in Spokane, stating that the band gave the nearly full coliseum their money's worth, stating that it was heavy metal all the way complete with flash pot and thunderous decibels. Adair praised the band as a healthy rock and roll band, stating that it wouldn't bait the kids with pandering Van Halenesque sex and booze references, and healthy to do a two hour show with minimum posturing and carry the show with their orchestrated music. He also praised the lighting and effects that contributed to the dynamics of the performance which were designed by Howard Ungerlieder. He however, criticized that the music took it far too seriously, calling it pretentious.[6]
Roman Cooney from the Calgary Herald opened his review of the Edmonton performance, comparing Geddy Lee's vocals to a cat, but continued by stating that the band continued to push the heavy metal tide a little farther from imbecility. He claimed that if the band continued to spoil the heavy metal image and making their concerts more musically arresting than before, the group would be taken more seriously. Cooney commented on Peart's drum solo, noting it as "startlingly innovative". He later commented on the rest of the show with the band switching back and forth between "creative, exciting rock" and "insipid, banal exercises in needless noise and commotion". He concluded his review, stating that the band is becoming more adventurous on stage, being able to recreate the excitement their music had on vinyl.[7]
Set list
editThese are example set lists 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.[8]
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|
Tour dates
edit| Date | City | Country | Venue | Opening Act(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 11, 1980 | Hampton | United States | Hampton Coliseum | Saxon |
| September 12, 1980 | Charlotte | Charlotte Coliseum | ||
| September 13, 1980 | Charleston | Charleston Civic Center | ||
| September 14, 1980 | Nashville | Nashville Municipal Auditorium | ||
| September 16, 1980 | Baton Rouge | Riverside Centroplex | ||
| September 18, 1980 | North Fort Myers | Lee County Civic Center | ||
| September 19, 1980 | Pembroke Pines | Hollywood Sportatorium | ||
| September 20, 1980 | Lakeland | Lakeland Civic Center | ||
| September 21, 1980 | Jacksonville | Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Coliseum | ||
| September 23, 1980 | Cincinnati | Riverfront Coliseum | ||
| September 25, 1980 | Philadelphia | The Spectrum | ||
| September 26, 1980 | Landover | Capital Centre | ||
| September 27, 1980 | South Yarmouth | Cape Cod Coliseum | ||
| September 28, 1980 | Springfield | Springfield Civic Center | ||
| September 30, 1980 | Allentown | Allentown Fairgrounds | ||
| October 1, 1980 | Portland | Cumberland County Civic Center |
Box office score data
edit| Date | City | Venue | Attendance | Gross | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 11, 1980 | Hampton, United States | Coliseum | 4,287 | $34,820 | [13] |
| September 13, 1980 | Charleston, United States | Civic Center Coliseum | 3,198 | $25,894 | |
| September 20, 1980 | Lakeland, United States | Civic Center | 10,000 / 10,000 | $84,600 | [14] |
| September 25, 1980 | Philadelphia, United States | The Spectrum | 14,500 | $120,483 | [15] |
| September 27, 1980 | South Yarmouth, United States | Coliseum | 7,200 / 7,200 | $61,637 | |
| June 18–19, 1981 | Seattle, United States | Coliseum | 24,641 | $237,325 | [16] |
| June 20, 1981 | Portland, United States | Coliseum | 9,780 | $98,944 | |
| June 21, 1981 | Spokane, United States | Coliseum | 6,172 | $53,930 | |
| June 23, 1981 | Vancouver, Canada | Pacific Coliseum | 11,408 / 11,408 | $121,668 | [17] |
| June 25, 1981 | Edmonton, Canada | Northlands Coliseum | 11,285 | $129,661 | |
| July 2, 1981 | Minneapolis, United States | Met Center | 23,691 | $249,390 | [18] |
| July 4–5, 1981 | East Troy, United States | Alpine Valley Music Theatre | 40,000 / 40,000 | $394,900 |
Personnel
edit- Geddy Lee – vocals, bass, keyboards
- Alex Lifeson – guitar, backing vocals
- Neil Peart – drums
References
editCitations
edit- ^ Popoff 2021, pp. 90–92.
- ^ Mobley 2014.
- ^ Body 2019.
- ^ Popoff 2021, p. 93.
- ^ Griffin, John (March 28, 1981). "Rush: Pomp-rock trio hot on tedium". The Montreal Gazette. Montreal, Quebec. p. 117. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
- ^ Adair, Don (June 22, 1981). "No one accused Rush of subtlety". No. 35. Spokane, Washington: The Spokesman-Review. p. 13. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
- ^ Cooney, Roman (June 26, 1981). "Canning heavy metal moves Rush towards sanity". Calgary, Alberta: The Calgary Herald. p. D1. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
- ^ Daly & Hansen 2019, pp. 199, 205.
- ^ a b Daly & Hansen 2019, pp. 197–213.
- ^ a b "Moving Pictures Tour". Rush.com. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
- ^ "Friday: Evening". No. 336. Rome, Georgia: Rome News-Tribune. May 30, 1986. p. 6. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
This concert filmed in 1981 at the Montreal Forum
- ^ "Day by Day: Today". No. 34. Spokane, Washington: The Spokesman-Review. June 21, 1981. p. D10. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
Concert - Rush, 7:30 p.m., Spokane Coliseum
- ^ "Top Box Office". Billboard. Vol. 92, no. 39. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. September 27, 1980. p. 37. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
- ^ "Top Box Office". Billboard. Vol. 92, no. 40. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. October 4, 1980. p. 37. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
- ^ "Top Box Office". Billboard. Vol. 92, no. 41. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. October 11, 1980. p. 41. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
- ^ "Top Box Office". Billboard. Vol. 93, no. 26. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. July 4, 1981. p. 53. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
- ^ "Top Box Office". Billboard. Vol. 93, no. 27. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. July 11, 1981. p. 48. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
- ^ "Top Box Office". Billboard. Vol. 93, no. 28. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. July 18, 1981. p. 51. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
Sources
edit- Mobley, Max (2014). Rush FAQ: All That's Left to Know About Rock's Greatest Power Trio. Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 978-1-61713-604-7.
- Body, Alex (2019). Rush: Song by Song. Fonthill Media. ISBN 978-1-78155-729-7.
- 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 (2021). Limelight: Rush in the '80s. Toronto, Canada: ECW Press. ISBN 978-1-77041-569-0.