Power Windows Tour Explained

Concert Tour Name:	Power Windows Tour
Location:	North America
Album:	Power Windows
Start Date:	December 4, 1985
End Date:	May 26, 1986
Number Of Legs:	2
Number Of Shows:	70
Last Tour:	Grace Under Pressure Tour (1984)
This Tour:	Power Windows Tour (1985–1986)
Next Tour:	Hold Your Fire Tour (1987–1988)

The Power Windows Tour was a concert tour by Canadian rock band Rush, in support of the band's eleventh studio album Power Windows.

Background

Prior to the tour's start, the band embarked on a short warm-up tour of four shows in Florida which the band called the "Spring Training" tour. The tour officially started on December 4, 1985, at the Cumberland County Civic Center in Portland, Maine, and concluded on May 26, 1986, at the Pacific Amphitheatre in Costa Mesa, California. Select songs at the two East Rutherford, New Jersey, shows were recorded for the 1989 live album A Show of Hands.^[1] Opening bands on the tour included Steve Morse, Marillion, FM, Blue Öyster Cult, The Fabulous Thunderbirds and Kick Axe.

Reception

Ethlie Ann Vare from Billboard opened their review of the band's performance in Inglewood, noting the band as an anomaly in arena rock, stating that the band drew the same crowd as Van Halen or Mötley Crüe and delivered a jazz-based, laid-back sophisticated performance, yet continued to excite the sold out audience of fans attending the show. The only criticisms that were given was Geddy Lee's vocals which were considered "cruel and unusual punishment to some", as well as stating the band can be boring. However Ann Vare stated that it was refreshing to see a band in the heavy rock genre that satisfies its fans without pandering to them.^[2]

Greg Barr from the Ottawa Citizen gave the Ottawa performance he attended a positive review. He opened his review, stating that the band had reached a pinnacle of technical and musical prowess, being compared to familiar acts like Van Halen and Bruce Springsteen. He praised the visuals and music, noting on the show as well-paced and choreographed, noting on the inclusion of lasers, a laser-holograph generator, a 35mm rear screen movie projector and a group of masked native dancers on the film screen behind the band. Regarding the effects and visuals, Barr stated that it would have the audience talking about it for some time. He praised Peart's drum solo which has praised as "spell-binding", noting on him using two different drum sets that swiveled around like gun-turrets on the deck of a battleship.^[3]

Set list

These 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.

Warm Up leg

1. "The Spirit of Radio"
2. "Subdivisions"
3. "The Body Electric"
4. "The Enemy Within"
5. "The Weapon"
6. "Witch Hunt"
7. "The Big Money"
8. "New World Man"
9. "Between the Wheels"
10. "Red Barchetta"
11. "Distant Early Warning"
12. "Red Sector A"
13. "Closer to the Heart"
14. "Middletown Dreams"
15. "YYZ"
16. "2112 Part II: The Temples of Syrinx"
17. "Tom Sawyer"

Encore

1. "Red Lenses" (with drum solo)
2. "Vital Signs"
3. "Finding My Way"
4. "In the Mood"

North American leg

1. "The Spirit of Radio"
2. "Limelight"
3. "The Big Money"
4. "New World Man"
5. "Subdivisions"
6. "Manhattan Project"
7. "Middletown Dreams"
8. "Witch Hunt"
9. "Red Sector A"
10. "Closer to the Heart"
11. "Marathon"
12. "The Trees"
13. "Mystic Rhythms"
14. "Distant Early Warning"
15. "Territories"
16. "YYZ" (with drum solo)
17. "Red Lenses"
18. "Tom Sawyer"

Encore

1. "2112 Parts I & II: Overture/The Temples of Syrinx"
2. "Grand Designs"
3. "In The Mood"

Tour dates

Date^[4] ^[5] ^[6]	City	Country	Venue
Warm Up
March 11, 1985^[7]	Lakeland	United States	Lakeland Civic Center
March 12, 1985
March 14, 1985^[8]	Fort Myers		Lee County Civic Center
March 15, 1985	Pembroke Pines		Hollywood Sportatorium
North America
December 4, 1985	Portland	United States	Cumberland County Civic Center
December 5, 1985	Providence		Providence Civic Center
December 7, 1985	New Haven		New Haven Coliseum
December 8, 1985	Hartford		Hartford Civic Center
December 10, 1985	Rochester		Rochester Community War Memorial
December 12, 1985	Worcester		Centrum in Worcester
December 13, 1985
December 15, 1985	Richmond		Richmond Coliseum
December 16, 1985	Landover		Capital Centre
December 18, 1985	Pittsburgh		Pittsburgh Civic Arena
December 19, 1985	Richfield		Richfield Coliseum
January 9, 1986	Pensacola		Pensacola Civic Center
January 10, 1986	Lafayette		Cajundome
January 12, 1986	Dallas		Reunion Arena
January 13, 1986
January 15, 1986	Houston		The Summit
January 16, 1986
January 18, 1986	Austin		Frank Erwin Center
January 19, 1986	San Antonio		Hemisfair Arena
January 30, 1986	Daly City		Cow Palace
January 31, 1986	Oakland		Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena
February 2, 1986	Las Vegas		Thomas & Mack Center
February 3, 1986	San Diego		San Diego Sports Arena
February 6, 1986	Inglewood		The Forum
February 7, 1986
February 8, 1986	Phoenix		Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum
February 10, 1986	Tucson		Tucson Community Center
February 12, 1986	Albuquerque		Tingley Coliseum
February 14, 1986	Denver		McNichols Sports Arena
February 27, 1986	Buffalo		Buffalo Memorial Auditorium
February 28, 1986	Hamilton	Canada	Copps Coliseum
March 1, 1986	Ottawa		Ottawa Civic Centre
March 3, 1986	Quebec City		Colisee de Quebec
March 4, 1986	Montreal		Montreal Forum
March 6, 1986	Toronto		Maple Leaf Gardens
March 7, 1986
March 20, 1986	Indianapolis	United States	Market Square Arena
March 21, 1986	Rosemont		Rosemont Horizon
March 22, 1986
March 24, 1986	Milwaukee		MECCA Arena
March 25, 1986	St. Paul		St. Paul Civic Center
March 28, 1986	Detroit		Joe Louis Arena
March 29, 1986	Cincinnati		Riverfront Coliseum
March 31, 1986	East Rutherford		Brendan Byrne Arena
April 1, 1986
April 3, 1986	Springfield		Springfield Civic Center
April 4, 1986	Uniondale		Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
April 13, 1986	Binghamton		Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena
April 14, 1986	Philadelphia		The Spectrum
April 16, 1986
April 17, 1986	Baltimore		Baltimore Civic Center
April 19, 1986	Hampton		Hampton Coliseum
April 20, 1986	Charlotte		Charlotte Coliseum
April 22, 1986	Greensboro		Greensboro Coliseum
April 23, 1986	Augusta		Augusta-Richmond County Civic Center
April 25, 1986	Atlanta		The Omni Coliseum
April 26, 1986	Birmingham		BJCC Coliseum
April 28, 1986	St. Louis		St. Louis Arena
April 29, 1986	Kansas City		Kemper Arena
May 1, 1986	Oklahoma City		Myriad Convention Center
May 2, 1986	Valley Center		Britt Brown Arena
May 11, 1986	Winnipeg	Canada	Winnipeg Arena
May 12, 1986	Salt Lake City	United States	Salt Palace
May 15, 1986	Calgary	Canada	Olympic Saddledome
May 17, 1986	Vancouver		Pacific Coliseum
May 19, 1986	Portland	United States	Portland Memorial Coliseum
May 21, 1986	Seattle		Seattle Center Coliseum
May 24, 1986	Sacramento		Cal Expo Amphitheatre
May 25, 1986	Costa Mesa		Pacific Amphitheatre
May 26, 1986

Box office score data

Date! scope="col" style="width:13em;"

City	Venue	Attendance	Gross
March 11–12, 1985	Lakeland, United States	Civic Center	16,875 / 20,000	$232,890	^[9]
March 14, 1985	Fort Myers, United States	Lee County Arena	4,375 / 4,500	$56,875
March 15, 1985	Pembroke Pines, United States	Hollywood Sportatorium	11,211 / 11,500	$144,885	^[10]
December 10, 1985	Rochester, United States	War Memorial	10,200	$135,716	^[11]
January 9, 1986	Pensacola, United States	Civic Center	5,813 / 7,000	$78,677	^[12]
January 15–16, 1986	Houston, United States	The Summit	18,803 / 20,000	$284,382	^[13]
January 18, 1986	Austin, Texas	Frank Erwin Center	14,055	$199,154	^[14]
January 19, 1986	San Antonio, United States	Convention Center	9,331 / 10,500	$135,486
January 30, 1986	San Francisco, United States	Cow Palace	11,034	$165,510
January 31, 1986	Oakland, United States	Alameda County Coliseum Arena	13,711	$219,376
February 3, 1986	San Diego, United States	Sports Arena	11,121	$154,344
February 5–6, 1986	Inglewood, United States	The Forum	30,005	$425,789
March 1, 1986	Ottawa, Canada	Civic Center	7,421 / 8,000	$103,893	^[15]
March 6–7, 1986	Toronto, Canada	Maple Leaf Gardens	22,145 / 24,000	$345,461
April 4, 1986	Uniondale, United States	Nassau Coliseum	15,931	$254,211	^[16]
May 15, 1986	Calgary, Canada	Olympic Saddledome	8,036 / 14,000	$107,931	^[17]
May 24, 1986	Sacramento, United States	Cal Expo Amphitheatre	12,200	$201,300

Personnel

• Geddy Lee – vocals, bass, keyboards
• Alex Lifeson – guitar, backing vocals
• Neil Peart – drums

References

Sources

• Book: Daly. Skip. Hansen. Eric. Rush: Wandering the Face of the Earth – The Official Touring History. 2019. Insight Editions. 978-1-68383-450-2.
• Book: Popoff . Martin . Limelight: Rush in the '80s . 2021 . ECW Press . Toronto, Canada . 978-1-77041-569-0 . en.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Giles . Jeff . Why 'A Show of Hands' Found Rush at an '80s-era Crossroads . Ultimate Classic Rock . June 4, 2022 . en . January 9, 2016.
2. Amusement Business Boxscore: Top Concert Grosses . Billboard . February 22, 1986 . 98 . 8 . 46 . June 8, 2022 . Nielsen Business Media, Inc. . en . 0006-2510.
3. News: Barr . Greg . Rush powers to pyrotechnical peak in long-awaited show . June 4, 2022 . Ottawa Citizen . March 3, 1986 . Ottawa, Ontario . A18 . en.
4. Web site: Rush Concert Tour Dates Listing .
5. Web site: TRC .
6. Web site: Power Windows Tour . Rush.com . June 4, 2022 . en-CA.
7. News: This Ledger's March Calendar of Events . June 4, 2022 . 130 . Lakeland Ledger . March 1, 1985 . Lakeland, Florida . 1C . en.
8. News: Weekend Billboard: Coming Up . June 4, 2022 . 148 . Sarasota Herald-Tribune . March 1, 1985 . 2D . en . Rush, Lee Civic Center, Fort Myers, 8 p.m., March 14.
9. Amusement Business Boxscore: Top Concert Grosses . Billboard . March 30, 1985 . 97 . 13 . 50 . June 4, 2022 . Nielsen Business Media, Inc. . en . 0006-2510.
10. Amusement Business Boxscore: Top Concert Grosses . Billboard . April 6, 1985 . 97 . 14 . 43 . June 4, 2022 . Nielsen Business Media, Inc. . en . 0006-2510.
11. Amusement Business Boxscore: Top Concert Grosses . Billboard . December 28, 1985 . 97 . 52 . 50 . June 7, 2022 . Nielsen Business Media, Inc. . en . 0006-2510.
12. Amusement Business Boxscore: Top Concert Grosses . Billboard . January 25, 1986 . 98 . 4 . 39 . June 7, 2022 . Nielsen Business Media, Inc. . en . 0006-2510.
13. Amusement Business Boxscore: Top Concert Grosses . Billboard . February 8, 1986 . 98 . 6 . 37 . June 7, 2022 . Nielsen Business Media, Inc. . en . 0006-2510.
14. Amusement Business Boxscore: Top Concert Grosses . Billboard . February 15, 1986 . 98 . 7 . 48 . June 7, 2022 . Nielsen Business Media, Inc. . en . 0006-2510.
15. Amusement Business Boxscore: Top Concert Grosses . Billboard . March 22, 1986 . 98 . 12 . 51 . June 8, 2022 . Nielsen Business Media, Inc. . en . 0006-2510.
16. Amusement Business Boxscore: Top Concert Grosses . Billboard . April 19, 1986 . 98 . 16 . 25 . June 8, 2022 . Nielsen Business Media, Inc. . en . 0006-2510.
17. Amusement Business Boxscore: Top Concert Grosses . Billboard . April 19, 1986 . 98 . 23 . 23 . June 8, 2022 . Nielsen Business Media, Inc. . en . 0006-2510.