Test for Echo Tour

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Test for Echo Tour
Tour by Rush
LocationNorth America
Associated albumTest for Echo
Start dateOctober 19, 1996
End dateJuly 4, 1997
Legs2
No. of shows68
Rush concert chronology

The Test for Echo Tour was a concert tour by Canadian rock band Rush in support of their sixteenth studio album Test for Echo.

Background[edit]

It was the band's first tour with no opening act, and was billed as "An Evening With Rush".[1] The tour kicked off on October 19, 1996, at the Knickerbocker Arena in Albany, New York and culminated on July 4, 1997, at the Corel Centre in Ottawa, Ontario.[2] This was the only concert tour in which Rush played the song "2112" in its entirety.[3] During the tour, the band had included live camera footage, video, lasers and strobes as part of their sets.[4] This marked the last tour until 2002 because of tragedies in Neil Peart's life.[5] Recordings from the tour were released on the 1998 live album Different Stages.[6]

Reception[edit]

On the opening night of the tour in Albany's Knickerbocker Arena, Michael Lisi from The Sunday Gazette wrote that the band had shown that practice makes perfect, when the band performed with a visual and aural attack which kept the audience on its feet and screaming the whole show, with other fans waving their hands during the performance of "2112" in its entirety, noting on the words of a fan after the band left the stage that it was "unbelievable". Lisi continued on the mix of old and new songs which he stated was superb, noting the new songs as "right on the mark". He stated that the band were able to breathe life into "Closer to the Heart" which was noted as a "powerful read". Commenting on the band, Lisi stated that they looked like they were having a blast, were right on the money when commenting positively on Lee's vocals being in perfect form, and that they sounded better than ever.[7]

Reviewing the Civic Arena performance in Pittsburgh on November 3, 1996, Kathy Sabol from the Observer-Reporter, stated that she had enjoyed the concert, noting on the melodic songs along the video backdrop in which she appreciated drummer Neil Peart's statements on greed, ambition, death and despair. Regarding the change in the band's sound, she said that it was no accident that it came from Rush's efforts in the last five years when the band evolved to a richer, clarified sound of its own. Other than taking note on how "2112" performed in its entirety is a big deal, she stated that the sampling, and multi-layering of the guitar and drum work is a credit to the band's history with how they manage.[3]

The Deseret News's Scott Iwasald, reviewing the May 20, 1997 show at Salt Lake City's Delta Center, mentioned that the band did not need elaborate stage props, stage sets or costumes unlike modern bands those days, in which the music spoke for itself. He wrote that the band were as hot as ever, playing well, tight and looked like they were having fun on stage - working together to put on a terrific live show. He noted when the video backdrop was not working during the first half of the evening, but said the band did not need it, as he stated before that the music spoke for itself. Regarding the audience, he wrote that the instrumental "Limbo" and the power chorus of "Force Ten" brought them to their feet, later concluding that the band held them in their palm, and when the show ended, none of the audience were disappointed.[8]

Set list[edit]

This is an example setlist 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.[9]

Set 1

  1. "Dreamline"
  2. "Limelight"
  3. "Stick It Out"
  4. "The Big Money" (with "Wipeout" outro)
  5. "Driven"
  6. "Half the World"
  7. "Red Barchetta"
  8. "Animate"
  9. "Limbo"
  10. "The Trees"
  11. "Red Sector A"
  12. "Virtuality"
  13. "Nobody's Hero"
  14. "Closer to the Heart"
  15. "2112" (all chapters)

Set 2

  2. "Test for Echo"
  3. "Subdivisions"
  4. "Freewill"
  5. "Roll the Bones"
  6. "Resist"
  7. "Leave That Thing Alone"
  8. "The Rhythm Method" (drum solo)
  9. "Natural Science"
  10. "Force Ten"
  11. "Time and Motion"
  12. "The Spirit of Radio"
  13. "Tom Sawyer"

Encore

  2. "YYZ"
  3. "Cygnus X-1" (teaser)

Tour dates[edit]

Date[10][11] City Country Venue
Leg 1
October 19, 1996 Albany United States Knickerbocker Arena
October 20, 1996 Buffalo Marine Midland Arena
October 22, 1996 Fairborn Nutter Center
October 23, 1996 Grand Rapids Van Andel Arena
October 25, 1996 Auburn Hills The Palace of Auburn Hills
October 26, 1996 Rockford Rockford MetroCentre
October 28, 1996 Chicago United Center
October 29, 1996 Minneapolis Target Center
October 31, 1996 St. Louis Kiel Center
November 1, 1996 Milwaukee Bradley Center
November 3, 1996 Pittsburgh Civic Arena
November 4, 1996 Cleveland Gund Arena
November 6, 1996 Philadelphia CoreStates Center
November 7, 1996 Landover USAir Arena
November 9, 1996 Boston FleetCenter
November 10, 1996 Hartford Hartford Civic Center
November 20, 1996 San Jose San Jose Arena
November 21, 1996 Sacramento ARCO Arena
November 23, 1996 San Diego San Diego Sports Arena
November 24, 1996 Paradise Thomas & Mack Center
November 26, 1996 Inglewood Great Western Forum
November 27, 1996
November 29, 1996 Phoenix America West Arena
November 30, 1996 El Paso Special Events Center
December 2, 1996 San Antonio Alamodome
December 3, 1996 Dallas Reunion Arena
December 5, 1996 Houston The Summit
December 6, 1996 New Orleans UNO Lakefront Arena
December 8, 1996 West Palm Beach Coral Sky Amphitheater
December 9, 1996 Tampa Ice Palace
December 11, 1996 Atlanta The Omni
December 12, 1996 Charlotte Charlotte Coliseum
December 14, 1996 Uniondale Nassau Coliseum
December 15, 1996 East Rutherford Continental Airlines Arena
December 18, 1996 Toronto Canada Phoenix Concert Theatre
Leg 2
May 7, 1997 San Diego United States Hospitality Point
May 8, 1997 Phoenix Desert Sky Pavilion
May 10, 1997 Devore Glen Helen Blockbuster Pavilion
May 11, 1997 Mountain View Shoreline Amphitheatre
May 14, 1997 Portland Rose Garden Arena
May 16, 1997 Vancouver Canada General Motors Place
May 17, 1997 George United States The Gorge Amphitheatre
May 19, 1997 Boise BSU Pavilion
May 20, 1997 Salt Lake City Delta Center
May 22, 1997 Greenwood Village Fiddler's Green Amphitheater
May 24, 1997 Dallas Starplex Amphitheater
May 25, 1997 The Woodlands Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
June 4, 1997 Cincinnati Riverbend Music Center
June 5, 1997 Nashville Starwood Amphitheatre
June 7, 1997 Bonner Springs Sandstone Amphitheater
June 8, 1997 Maryland Heights Riverport Amphitheater
June 10, 1997 Noblesville Deer Creek Music Center
June 11, 1997 Burgettstown Star Lake Amphitheater
June 13, 1997 Milwaukee Marcus Amphitheater
June 14, 1997 Tinley Park New World Music Theater
June 16, 1997 Columbus Polaris Amphitheater
June 17, 1997 Clarkston Pine Knob Music Theater
June 19, 1997 Holmdel PNC Bank Arts Center
June 20, 1997 Bristow Nissan Pavilion
June 22, 1997 Camden Blockbuster-Sony E-Centre
June 23, 1997 Mansfield Great Woods Performing Arts Center
June 25, 1997 Wantagh Jones Beach Amphitheater
June 26, 1997 Corfu Darien Lake
June 28, 1997 Montreal Canada Molson Centre
June 30, 1997 Toronto Molson Amphitheatre
July 2, 1997
July 3, 1997 Quebec City Quebec Coliseum
July 4, 1997 Ottawa Corel Centre

Box office score data[edit]

List of box office score data with date, city, venue, attendance, gross, references
Date City Venue Attendance Gross Ref(s)
October 25, 1996 Auburn Hills, United States Palace 15,197 / 15,197 $467,308 [12]
November 6, 1996 Philadelphia, United States CoreStates Center 14,759 / 15,147 $444,805 [13]
November 10, 1996 Hartford, United States Civic Center 9,642 / 10,500 $276,260 [14]
November 26–27, 1996 Inglewood, United States Great Western Forum 19,319 / 25,000 $596,855 [15]
November 29, 1996 Phoenix, United States America West Arena 10,858 / 12,000 $320,540
May 8, 1997 Phoenix, United States Blockbuster Desert Sky Pavilion 9,856 / 20,144 $267,785 [16]
May 25, 1997 The Woodlands, United States Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion 13,024 / 13,024 $382,245 [17]
June 17, 1997 Clarkston, United States Pine Knob Music Theatre 13,409 / 14,500 $348,743 [18]

Personnel[edit]

References[edit]

Citations[edit]

  1. ^ Popoff 2021.
  2. ^ Popoff 2004, p. 181.
  3. ^ a b Sabol, Kathy (November 5, 1996). "Civic Arena echoes with Rush's rock". Observer-Reporter. p. B4. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  4. ^ Popoff 2004, p. 183.
  5. ^ Peart 2002.
  6. ^ Bowman 2014, p. 129.
  7. ^ Lisi, Michael (October 20, 1996). "Rush delivers splendid Knick show with old, new songs - plus visuals". The Sunday Gazette. p. B8. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  8. ^ Iwasald, Scott (May 21, 1997). "Band holds audience in its palm and gives it a Rush". No. 341. Salt Lake City: The Deseret News. p. C7. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  9. ^ Daly & Hansen 2019, p. 336.
  10. ^ Daly & Hansen 2019, pp. 336–345.
  11. ^ "Test for Echo Tour". Rush.com. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  12. ^ "Amusement Business Boxscore". Billboard. Vol. 108, no. 46. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. November 16, 1996. p. 16. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  13. ^ "Amusement Business Boxscore". Billboard. Vol. 108, no. 47. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. November 23, 1996. p. 18. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  14. ^ "Amusement Business Boxscore". Billboard. Vol. 108, no. 49. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. December 7, 1996. p. 12. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  15. ^ "Amusement Business Boxscore". Billboard. Vol. 108, no. 50. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. December 14, 1996. p. 12. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  16. ^ "Amusement Business Boxscore". Billboard. Vol. 109, no. 21. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 24 May 1997. p. 18. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  17. ^ "Amusement Business Boxscore". Billboard. Vol. 109, no. 24. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. June 14, 1997. p. 12. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
  18. ^ "Amusement Business Boxscore". Billboard. Vol. 109, no. 27. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. July 5, 1997. p. 12. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved February 21, 2023.

Sources[edit]

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