# Test for Echo Tour

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

It was the band's first tour with no opening act, and was billed as "An Evening With Rush". 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. This was the only concert tour in which Rush played the song "2112" in its entirety. During the tour, the band had included live camera footage, video, lasers and strobes as part of their sets. This marked the last tour until 2002 because of tragedies in Neil Peart's life. Recordings from the tour were released on the 1998 live album Different Stages.

## Reception

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.
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.
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.

## 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.
Set 1
* "Dreamline"
* "Limelight"
* "Stick It Out"
* "The Big Money" (with "Wipeout" outro)
* "Driven"
* "Half the World"
* "Red Barchetta"
* "Animate"
* "Limbo"
* "The Trees"
* "Red Sector A"
* "Virtuality"
* "Nobody's Hero"
* "Closer to the Heart"
* "2112" (all chapters)
Set 2
* "Test for Echo"
* "Subdivisions"
* "Freewill"
* "Roll the Bones"
* "Resist"
* "Leave That Thing Alone"
* "The Rhythm Method" (drum solo)
* "Natural Science"
* "Force Ten"
* "Time and Motion"
* "The Spirit of Radio"
* "Tom Sawyer"

### Encore

* "YYZ"
* "Cygnus X-1" (teaser)

## Tour dates

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

### Box office score data

List of box office score data with date, city, venue, attendance, gross, references :
| Date | City | Venue | Attendance | Gross |
| October 25, 1996 | Auburn Hills, United States | Palace | 15,197 / 15,197 | $467,308 |
| November 6, 1996 | Philadelphia, United States | CoreStates Center | 14,759 / 15,147 | $444,805 |
| November 10, 1996 | Hartford, United States | Civic Center | 9,642 / 10,500 | $276,260 |
| November 26–27, 1996 | Inglewood, United States | Great Western Forum | 19,319 / 25,000 | $596,855 |
| 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 |
| May 25, 1997 | The Woodlands, United States | Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion | 13,024 / 13,024 | $382,245 |
| June 17, 1997 | Clarkston, United States | Pine Knob Music Theatre | 13,409 / 14,500 | $348,743 |

## Personnel

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