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.
Background The tour began on October 14, 1978 which began with arenas in Canada, extending out into the United States. 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. 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. 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 by the band at the time but was officially released through Mercury Records.
Reception 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.
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.
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. "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. Main Setlist "Anthem" "A Passage to Bangkok" "By-Tor and the Snow Dog" "Xanadu" "Something for Nothing" "The Trees" "Cygnus X-1" "Hemispheres" "Closer to the Heart" "Circumstances" "A Farewell to Kings" "La Villa Strangiato" "2112" (Chapters I–IV, VI–VII) Encore "Working Man" / "Bastille Day" / "In the Mood" (medley, with drum solo)
Tour dates + List of 1978 concertsNewspaper concert listings: Date City Country VenueOctober 14, 1978KingstonCanadaKingston Memorial CenterOctober 15, 1978GuelphGuelph Memorial GardensOctober 17, 1978North BayNorth Bay Memorial GardensOctober 18, 1978SudburySudbury Community ArenaOctober 20, 1978Thunder BayFort William GardensOctober 21, 1978WinnipegWinnipeg ArenaOctober 22, 1978BrandonKeystone CenterOctober 24, 1978ReginaRegina AgridomeOctober 25, 1978SaskatoonSaskatoon ArenaOctober 27, 1978EdmontonNorthlands ColiseumOctober 28, 1978CalgaryStampede CorralOctober 29, 1978LethbridgeLethbridge SportsplexOctober 31, 1978KamloopsKXA AuditoriumNovember 2, 1978VictoriaVictoria Memorial ArenaNovember 3, 1978NanaimoFrank Crane ArenaNovember 4, 1978VancouverPacific ColiseumNovember 6, 1978PortlandUnited StatesPortland Memorial ColiseumNovember 7, 1978SeattleSeattle Center ColiseumNovember 8, 1978SpokaneSpokane ColiseumNovember 10, 1978SacramentoSacramento Memorial AuditoriumNovember 11, 1978RenoCentennial ColiseumNovember 13, 1978San DiegoSan Diego Sports ArenaNovember 14, 1978Long BeachLong Beach ArenaNovember 15, 1978FresnoWarnors TheaterNovember 16, 1978Daly CityCow PalaceNovember 18, 1978San BernardinoSwing AuditoriumNovember 19, 1978PhoenixArizona Veterans Memorial ColiseumNovember 20, 1978TucsonTucson Community CenterNovember 21, 1978AlbuquerqueAlbuquerque Civic AuditoriumNovember 30, 1978IndianapolisMarket Square ArenaDecember 1, 1978DaytonHara ArenaDecember 2, 1978DetroitCobo ArenaDecember 3, 1978ToledoToledo Sports ArenaDecember 5, 1978DavenportPalmer AuditoriumDecember 7, 1978MilwaukeeMECCA ArenaDecember 8, 1978Green BayBrown County ArenaDecember 9, 1978Saint PaulSt. Paul Civic CenterDecember 10, 1978Des MoinesVeterans Memorial AuditoriumDecember 11, 1978Kansas CityKansas City Municipal AuditoriumDecember 13, 1978St. LouisThe CheckerdomeDecember 14, 1978ChicagoInternational AmphitheaterDecember 15, 1978December 16, 1978December 17, 1978MadisonDane County ColiseumDecember 19, 1978LondonCanadaLondon GardensDecember 20, 1978KitchenerKitchener Memorial AuditoriumDecember 21, 1978OttawaOttawa Civic CenterDecember 26, 1978MontrealMontreal ForumDecember 27, 1978December 28, 1978TorontoMaple Leaf GardensDecember 29, 1978December 31, 1978
+ List of 1979 concerts Date City Country VenueJanuary 11, 1979BostonUnited StatesBoston Music HallJanuary 12, 1979SpringfieldSpringfield Civic CenterJanuary 13, 1979New York CityThe PalladiumJanuary 14, 1979January 16, 1979AlbanyPalace TheaterJanuary 17, 1979PassaicCapitol TheaterJanuary 19, 1979PittsburghPittsburgh Civic ArenaJanuary 20, 1979BaltimoreBaltimore Civic CenterJanuary 21, 1979PhiladelphiaThe SpectrumJanuary 23, 1979SyracuseOnondaga War Memorial AuditoriumJanuary 24, 1979BuffaloBuffalo Memorial AuditoriumJanuary 26, 1979CincinnatiRiverfront ColiseumJanuary 27, 1979HuntsvilleVon Braun Civic CenterJanuary 28, 1979MemphisMid-South ColiseumJanuary 30, 1979LouisvilleLouisville GardensJanuary 31, 1979BloomingtonIU AuditoriumFebruary 1, 1979ColumbusSt. John ArenaFebruary 2, 1979SaginawSaginaw Civic CenterFebruary 3, 1979RichfieldRichfield ColiseumFebruary 10, 1979Oklahoma CityOklahoma State FairgroundsFebruary 15, 1979ColumbiaTownship AuditoriumFebruary 17, 1979FayettevilleCumberland County Memorial ArenaFebruary 19, 1979AshevilleAsheville Civic CenterFebruary 20, 1979KnoxvilleKnoxville Civic ColiseumFebruary 22, 1979Little RockBarton ColiseumFebruary 23, 1979ShreveportHirsch Memorial ColiseumFebruary 24, 1979TulsaTulsa Fairgrounds PavilionFebruary 25, 1979AustinAustin Municipal AuditoriumFebruary 27, 1979Corpus ChristiCorpus Christi Memorial ColiseumMarch 1, 1979HoustonSam Houston ColiseumMarch 2, 1979DallasDallas Convention CenterMarch 3, 1979San AntonioHemisFair ArenaMarch 4, 1979BeaumontBeaumont Civic CenterMarch 6, 1979New OrleansNew Orleans Municipal AuditoriumMarch 8, 1979MobileMobile Expo HallMarch 9, 1979JacksonvilleJacksonville Civic AuditoriumMarch 10, 1979HollywoodHollywood SportatoriumMarch 11, 1979TampaCurtis Hixon Convention HallMarch 13, 1979BirminghamBoutwell AuditoriumMarch 15, 1979ChattanoogaSoldiers & Sailors Memorial AuditoriumMarch 16, 1979NashvilleNashville Municipal AuditoriumMarch 17, 1979Johnson CityFreedom HallMarch 18, 1979WheelingWheeling Civic CenterMarch 27, 1979Salt Lake CitySalt PalaceMarch 28, 1979DenverDenver AuditoriumMarch 29, 1979LincolnPershing CenterMarch 30, 1979TopekaTopeka Municipal AuditoriumApril 2, 1979SyracuseOnondaga War Memorial AuditoriumApril 3, 1979PoughkeepsieMid-Hudson Civic CenterApril 4, 1979RochesterWar Memorial AuditoriumApril 6, 1979HempsteadNassau ColiseumApril 7, 1979New HavenNew Haven ColiseumApril 10, 1979SalemRoanoke Valley Civic CenterApril 11, 1979HamptonHampton ColiseumApril 13, 1979AtlantaFox TheaterApril 14, 1979GreensboroGreensboro ColiseumApril 15, 1979ProvidenceProvidence Civic CenterApril 23, 1979NewcastleEnglandNewcastle City HallApril 24, 1979April 25, 1979GlasgowScotlandGlasgow ApolloApril 26, 1979April 27, 1979April 28, 1979EdinburghEdinburgh OdeonApril 29, 1979ManchesterEnglandManchester ApolloApril 30, 1979May 1, 1979LiverpoolEmpire TheaterMay 2, 1979May 4, 1979LondonHammersmith OdeonMay 5, 1979May 6, 1979May 7, 1979May 9, 1979CoventryCoventry TheaterMay 10, 1979BirminghamBirmingham OdeonMay 11, 1979May 13, 1979SouthamptonGaumont TheaterMay 14, 1979BristolColston HallMay 15, 1979May 17, 1979ParisFranceLe StadiumMay 18, 1979PoperingeBelgiumMaeke Blyde HallMay 22, 1979OsloNorwayChateau NeufMay 23, 1979GothenburgSwedenGothenburg Concert HouseMay 25, 1979StockholmGrona LundMay 27, 1979ErlangenWest GermanyStadthalleMay 28, 1979OffenbachStadthalleMay 29, 1979HamburgHamburg Music HallMay 31, 1979MannheimRose GardenJune 1, 1979ZurichSwitzerlandVolkshausJune 2, 1979MunichWest GermanyCircus KroneJune 4, 1979GeleenNetherlandsDamen Sports Park
Box office score data +List of box office score data with date, city, venue, attendance, gross, referencesDateCityVenueAttendanceGrossDecember 11, 1978Kansas City, United StatesMunicipal Auditorium9,250$72,029January 11, 1979Boston, United StatesMusic Hall3,800$31,750January 13–14, 1979New York City, United StatesPalladium6,300 / 6,300$52,000January 17, 1979Passaic, United StatesCapitol Theatre3,456 / 3,456$28,172January 19, 1979Pittsburgh, United StatesCivic Arena14,032 / 14,032$110,421January 20, 1979Baltimore, United StatesCivic Center8,676$60,578January 21, 1979Philadelphia, United StatesSpectrum13,064$94,467January 27, 1979Huntsville, United StatesCivic Center6,850$46,891January 28, 1979Memphis, United StatesColiseum7,263$50,833January 30, 1979Louisville, United StatesGardens7,201 / 7,201$48,612January 31, 1979Bloomington, United StatesIU Auditorium1,968$14,498February 1, 1979Columbus, United StatesSt. John's Arena7,355$57,950February 2, 1979Saginaw, United StatesCivic Center7,104 / 7,104$60,384February 20, 1979Knoxville, United StatesColiseum3,901$28,265March 9, 1979Jacksonville, United StatesCivic Auditorium3,125$20,875March 10, 1979Hollywood, United StatesSportatorium9,937$60,757March 11, 1979Tampa, United StatesHixon Hall7,600 / 7,600$45,077March 15, 1979Chattanooga, United StatesSoldiers & Sailors Memorial Auditorium3,130$21,868March 16, 1979Nashville, United StatesMunicipal Auditorium8,468$43,844March 18, 1979Wheeling, United StatesCivic Center6,233$46,812March 29, 1979Lincoln, United StatesPershing Auditorium4,275$30,800March 30, 1979Topeka, United StatesMunicipal Auditorium4,200 / 4,200$29,400April 3, 1979Poughkeepsie, United StatesCivic Center3,372 / 3,372$28,263April 4, 1979Rochester, United StatesWar Memorial Auditorium10,500 / 10,500$89,253April 6, 1979Uniondale, United StatesNassau Coliseum10,400$85,160April 7, 1979New Haven, United StatesColiseum5,800$47,597April 11, 1979Hampton, United StatesColiseum6,165$45,029April 15, 1979Providence, United StatesCivic Center6,684$48,370
Personnel Geddy Lee – vocals, bass, keyboards Alex Lifeson – guitar, backing vocals Neil Peart – drums
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