# Power Windows Tour

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. 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.
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.

## 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.

## Tour dates

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

### Box office score data

List of box office score data with date, city, venue, attendance, gross, references :
| Date | City | Venue | Attendance | Gross |
| March 11–12, 1985 | Lakeland, United States | Civic Center | 16,875 / 20,000 | $232,890 |
| 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 |
| December 10, 1985 | Rochester, United States | War Memorial | 10,200 | $135,716 |
| January 9, 1986 | Pensacola, United States | Civic Center | 5,813 / 7,000 | $78,677 |
| January 15–16, 1986 | Houston, United States | The Summit | 18,803 / 20,000 | $284,382 |
| January 18, 1986 | Austin, Texas | Frank Erwin Center | 14,055 | $199,154 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| May 15, 1986 | Calgary, Canada | Olympic Saddledome | 8,036 / 14,000 | $107,931 |
| 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