# Hold Your Fire Tour

The Hold Your Fire Tour was a concert tour by Canadian rock band Rush, in support of the band's twelfth studio album Hold Your Fire.

## Background

The band continued the trend of their usage of synthesizers, sequencers and onstage automation which continued from their Power Windows Tour, also featuring a laser system with red and green beams as well as a video screen that had animated segments of the three red orbs from the cover of Hold Your Fire. Opening bands on the North American leg included Chalk Circle, the McAuley Schenker Group, and Tommy Shaw. Wishbone Ash was the support act for the band's performances in Europe. The first three European performances at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, England were recorded for the band's live album and video, A Show of Hands.

## Reception

Reviewing the Lakeland concert on February 15, 1988, Philip Booth of the Lakeland Ledger who had given the concert a 'poor' review, criticized the band's performance, stating that the band "defined itself by self absorption to the max", referring to their music as "hollow" despite the state-of-the-art equipment they had, as well as calling their music "numbingly loud" and "repetitive". He closed his review, stating that the visuals and music couldn't compensate for Rush's musical substance, concluding that they were "overcooked". Jane E. Stephenson, a reader who had attended the performance, later sent a response to Booth to criticize him, defending the band's performance with a rebuttal that there were "ten thousand screaming fans" who were moved from the concert.

## Set list

This is an example set list adapted from Rush: Wandering the Face of the Earth – The Official Touring History of what was performed during the tour, but may not represent the majority of the shows.
* "The Big Money"
* "Subdivisions"
* "Limelight"
* "Marathon"
* "Turn the Page"
* "Prime Mover"
* "Manhattan Project"
* "Closer to the Heart"
* "Red Sector A"
* "Force Ten"
* "Time Stand Still"
* "Distant Early Warning"
* "Lock and Key"
* "Mission"
* "Territories"
* "YYZ"
* "The Rhythm Method" (drum solo)
* "Red Lenses" (abridged)
* "The Spirit of Radio"
* "Tom Sawyer"

### Encore

* "2112 Parts I & II: Overture/The Temples of Syrinx"
* "La Villa Strangiato"
* "In the Mood"

## Tour dates

List of 1987 concerts :
| Date | City | Country | Venue |
| October 29, 1987 | St. John's | Canada | Memorial Stadium |
| October 30, 1987 | St. John's | Canada | Memorial Stadium |
| November 1, 1987 | Sydney | Canada | Centre 200 |
| November 2, 1987 | Halifax | Canada | Metro Centre |
| November 4, 1987 | Moncton | Canada | Moncton Coliseum |
| November 6, 1987 | Providence | United States | Civic Center |
| November 7, 1987 | Providence | United States | Civic Center |
| November 9, 1987 | Springfield | United States | Civic Center |
| November 10, 1987 | Utica | United States | Memorial Auditorium |
| November 12, 1987 | Troy | United States | RPI Fieldhouse |
| November 13, 1987 | Binghamton | United States | Broome County War Memorial Arena |
| November 14, 1987 | Buffalo | United States | Memorial Auditorium |
| November 25, 1987 | Atlanta | United States | The Omni |
| November 27, 1987 | Charlotte | United States | Coliseum |
| November 28, 1987 | Hampton | United States | Coliseum |
| November 30, 1987 | Largo | United States | Capital Centre |
| December 2, 1987 | Worcester | United States | The Centrum |
| December 3, 1987 | Worcester | United States | The Centrum |
| December 5, 1987 | New Haven | United States | Veterans Memorial Coliseum |
| December 7, 1987 | East Rutherford | United States | Meadowlands Arena |
| December 9, 1987 | Uniondale | United States | Nassau County Veterans Memorial Coliseum |
| December 11, 1987 | New York City | United States | Madison Square Garden |
| December 13, 1987 | Philadelphia | United States | The Spectrum |
| December 14, 1987 | Philadelphia | United States | The Spectrum |
| December 16, 1987 | Pittsburgh | United States | Civic Arena |
| December 17, 1987 | Richfield | United States | Coliseum |
List of 1988 concerts :
| Date | City | Country | Venue |
| January 14, 1988 | Hampton | United States | Coliseum |
| January 15, 1988 | Raleigh | United States | Reynolds Coliseum |
| January 16, 1988 | Birmingham | United States | Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center Coliseum |
| January 18, 1988 | Jackson | United States | Mississippi Coliseum |
| January 20, 1988 | Dallas | United States | Reunion Arena |
| January 21, 1988 | San Antonio | United States | Convention Center Arena |
| January 23, 1988 | Oklahoma City | United States | Myriad Arena |
| January 24, 1988 | Shreveport | United States | Hirsch Memorial Coliseum |
| January 26, 1988 | Little Rock | United States | T.H. Barton Coliseum |
| January 27, 1988 | New Orleans | United States | Uno Lakefront Arena |
| January 29, 1988 | Houston | United States | The Summit |
| January 30, 1988 | Austin | United States | Frank Erwin Special Events Center |
| February 1, 1988 | Phoenix | United States | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum |
| February 3, 1988 | San Diego | United States | Sports Arena |
| February 4, 1988 | Inglewood | United States | The Forum |
| February 5, 1988 | Inglewood | United States | The Forum |
| February 15, 1988 | Lakeland | United States | Civic Center |
| February 16, 1988 | Pembroke Pines | United States | Hollywood Sportatorium |
| February 18, 1988 | Jacksonville | United States | Veterans Memorial Coliseum |
| February 19, 1988 | Pensacola | United States | Civic Center |
| February 21, 1988 | Memphis | United States | Mid-South Coliseum |
| February 22, 1988 | Nashville | United States | Municipal Auditorium |
| February 23, 1988 | Cincinnati | United States | Riverfront Coliseum |
| February 25, 1988 | Rosemont | United States | Rosemont Horizon |
| February 26, 1988 | Rosemont | United States | Rosemont Horizon |
| February 28, 1988 | Peoria | United States | Civic Center Arena |
| March 1, 1988 | St. Louis | United States | Arena |
| March 2, 1988 | Indianapolis | United States | Market Square Arena |
| March 4, 1988 | Detroit | United States | Joe Louis Arena |
| March 5, 1988 | Detroit | United States | Joe Louis Arena |
| March 7, 1988 | Toronto | Canada | Maple Leaf Gardens |
| March 8, 1988 | Toronto | Canada | Maple Leaf Gardens |
| March 10, 1988 | Montreal | Canada | Forum |
| March 11, 1988 | Quebec City | Canada | Colisee de Quebec |
| March 12, 1988 | Ottawa | Canada | Civic Centre |
| April 2, 1988 | Omaha | United States | Civic Auditorium |
| April 4, 1988 | Bloomington | United States | Met Center |
| April 5, 1988 | Milwaukee | United States | Mecca Arena |
| April 7, 1988 | Kansas City | United States | Kemper Arena |
| April 9, 1988 | Louisville | United States | Louisville Gardens |
| April 10, 1988 | Dayton | United States | Hara Arena |
| April 21, 1988 | Birmingham | England | National Exhibition Centre Arena |
| April 23, 1988 | Birmingham | England | National Exhibition Centre Arena |
| April 24, 1988 | Birmingham | England | National Exhibition Centre Arena |
| April 26, 1988 | Glasgow | Scotland | Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre |
| April 28, 1988 | London | England | Wembley Arena |
| April 30, 1988 | London | England | Wembley Arena |
| May 2, 1988 | Rotterdam | Netherlands | Ahoy Sportpaleis |
| May 4, 1988 | Frankfurt | West Germany | Festhalle |
| May 5, 1988 | Stuttgart | West Germany | Schleyer-Halle |

### Box office score data

List of box office score data with date, city, venue, attendance, gross, references :
| Date | City | Venue | Attendance | Gross | Ref(s) |
| December 7, 1987 | East Rutherford, United States | Meadowlands Arena | 14,483 / 17,963 | $272,503 | |

## Personnel

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