# Presto tour > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Presto_tour > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Presto_tour.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presto_tour > Source revision: 1356432402 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) 1990 concert tour by Rush Presto Tour Tour by Rush Poster to the concerts in Toronto, Canada Location North America Associated album Presto Start date February 17, 1990 End date June 29, 1990 No. of shows 63 Rush concert chronology Hold Your Fire Tour (1987–1988) Presto Tour (1990) Roll the Bones Tour (1991–1992) The **Presto Tour** was a concert tour by Canadian rock band [Rush](/source/Rush_(band)) in support of their thirteenth studio album *[Presto](/source/Presto_(album))*. ## Background The tour started on February 17, 1990 at [Greenville Memorial Auditorium](/source/Greenville_Memorial_Auditorium) in [Greenville, South Carolina](/source/Greenville%2C_South_Carolina)[1] and concluded on June 29, 1990 at [Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre](/source/Irvine_Meadows_Amphitheatre) in [Irvine, California](/source/Irvine%2C_California),[2] having performed to more than 650,000 fans.[3] Opening bands that premiered in the tour included [Mr. Big](/source/Mr._Big_(American_band)), [Chalk Circle](/source/Chalk_Circle_(American_band)) and [Voivod](/source/Voivod_(band)).[4] The stage production for each of the shows were presented with elements of the *Presto* cover art, which had featured lasers and Vari-Lites that were dropped from trusses on extensions as well as two giant inflatable rabbits, two sets of rear PA speakers on the back end of the stage floor to represent a quadrophonic effect on the sound which was engineered by Robert Scoville,[5] and a projection screen that displayed video sequences and retro films throughout the performance.[3] When the band performed in Toronto for two shows in May 1990, both shows had raised $200,000 for United Way for the demands on the band for complimentary tickets.[6] ## Reception Michael Hochanadel from the *Daily Gazette* opened his review stating that the visuals made the Rush concert at the Knickerbocker Arena on June 2, 1990, one of the biggest, brightest and overwhelming rock spectacles - with effects representing a 1970s arena rock throwback with the usage of lasers and haze. While criticizing the music's lyrics as being sometimes preachy, he stated that they were at the same time, anthemic and tackled subjects in a fairly obvious way, but added that they needed something to keep their songs from sounding too alike. Praising Lee's vocals, Hochanadel affirmed that his voice gave the songs emotion that the lyrics did not always earn.[5] Reviewing the Pittsburgh performance on June 7, 1990, Janice Haidet of *The Vindicator* stated that the band put a huge reliance on talent from the instruments they were using, treating a crowded arena of fans to a "searing rock and roll feast". Haidet noted that the band kept the audience standing on their seats with fists raised in time with the music, and Geddy Lee delivering extraordinary vocals that were presented by a balanced and clear sound mix - also noting the show as one of the best light shows in rock music, although outdone by [Genesis](/source/Genesis_(band)) and [Pink Floyd](/source/Pink_Floyd).[7] Peter B. King from the *Pittsburgh Press* who was in attendance at the same show that night, stated that the band had offered some of the best visuals seen at a rock concert, and expressed that Rush had delivered an intelligent, distinctive brand of "art rock".[8] ## 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.[9] 1. "[Force Ten](/source/Force_Ten_(song))" 1. "[Freewill](/source/Freewill_(Rush_song))" 1. "Distant Early Warning" 1. "[Time Stand Still](/source/Time_Stand_Still_(song))" 1. "[Subdivisions](/source/Subdivisions_(song))" 1. "[Marathon](/source/Marathon_(Rush_song))" 1. "[Red Barchetta](/source/Red_Barchetta)" 1. "Superconductor" 1. "[Show Don't Tell](/source/Show_Don't_Tell)" 1. "[The Pass](/source/The_Pass_(song))" 1. "[Closer to the Heart](/source/Closer_to_the_Heart)" 1. "[Manhattan Project](/source/Manhattan_Project_(song))" 1. "[Xanadu](/source/Xanadu_(Rush_song))" 1. "[YYZ](/source/YYZ_(instrumental))" 1. "[The Rhythm Method](/source/List_of_Rush_instrumentals)" (Neil Peart drum solo) 1. "Scars" 1. "War Paint" 1. "[Mission](/source/Mission_(song))" 1. "[Tom Sawyer](/source/Tom_Sawyer_(song))" **Encore** 1. "[The Big Money](/source/The_Big_Money)" 1. "[2112: Overture](/source/2112_(song))" 1. "[La Villa Strangiato](/source/La_Villa_Strangiato)" 1. "[In the Mood](/source/In_the_Mood_(Rush_song))" 1. "[Wipeout!](/source/Wipe_Out_(instrumental))" ## Tour dates List of 1990 concerts[10][11] Date City Country Venue Attendance Revenue February 17, 1990 Greenville United States Greenville Memorial Auditorium 7,230 / 7,230 $137,370 February 19, 1990 Jacksonville Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum 7,254 / 7,500 $128,279 February 20, 1990 St. Petersburg Bayfront Center 7,094 / 8,400 $124,838 February 22, 1990 Miami Miami Arena 13,541 / 13,541 $245,662 February 23, 1990 Orlando Orlando Arena 12,156 / 12,156 $220,650 February 25, 1990 New Orleans Lakefront Arena 9,204 / 9,204 $165,113 February 26, 1990 Houston The Summit 13,153 / 13,153 $240,119 February 28, 1990 San Antonio Convention Center Arena 9,656 / 11,468 $158,698 March 1, 1990 Dallas Reunion Arena 15,666 / 15,666 $239,509 March 3, 1990 Kansas City Kemper Arena 12,145 / 16,000 $224,682 March 5, 1990 St. Louis St. Louis Arena 12,750 / 12,750 $228,309 March 6, 1990 Cincinnati Riverfront Coliseum 13,032 / 13,032 $235,968 March 8, 1990 Auburn Hills The Palace of Auburn Hills 27,622 / 28,000 $572,440 March 9, 1990 March 20, 1990 Edmonton Canada Northlands Coliseum 7,500 / 13,049 $132,900 March 21, 1990 Calgary Olympic Saddledome 8,107 / 11,754 $109,720 March 23, 1990 Vancouver Pacific Coliseum 12,701 / 12,701 $185,993 March 24, 1990 Portland United States Veterans Memorial Coliseum 8,931 / 9,300 $169,689 March 26, 1990 Seattle Seattle Center Coliseum 12,299 / 12,299 $219,410 March 28, 1990 Sacramento ARCO Arena 12,236 / 12,236 $232,602 March 30, 1990 Oakland Oakland Coliseum 26,124 / 26,124 $509,436 March 31, 1990 April 2, 1990 Inglewood Great Western Forum 28,000 / 28,000 $535,300 April 3, 1990 April 5, 1990 San Diego San Diego Sports Arena 12,000 / 12,000 $218,300 April 7, 1990 Costa Mesa Pacific Amphitheatre 13,856 / 18,861 $298,250 April 8, 1990 Phoenix Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 13,669 / 13,669 $243,040 April 20, 1990 East Rutherford Brendan Byrne Arena 18,717 / 18,717 $350,944 April 22, 1990 Uniondale Nassau Coliseum 15,546 / 15,546 $302,391 April 24, 1990 Philadelphia The Spectrum 14,130 / 14,130 $256,937 April 25, 1990 East Rutherford Brendan Byrne Arena 13,138 / 14,953 $241,334 April 27, 1990 Philadelphia The Spectrum 14,130 / 14,130 $256,937 April 28, 1990 Rochester War Memorial Auditorium 8,418 / 8,418 $158,866 May 1, 1990 Atlanta The Omni 12,186 / 12,186 $221,384 May 2, 1990 Charlotte Charlotte Coliseum 7,985 / 16,003 $155,708 May 4, 1990 Richmond Richmond Coliseum 6,819 / 9,543 $126,152 May 5, 1990 Largo Capital Centre —N/a —N/a May 7, 1990 Providence Civic Center 11,888 / 12,100 $231,816 May 8, 1990 Hartford Hartford Civic Center 11,991 / 12,513 $229,535 May 10, 1990 Worcester The Centrum 21,897 / 23,344 $413,870 May 11, 1990 May 13, 1990 Quebec City Canada Colisée Quebec City 10,540 / 11,500 $181,500 May 14, 1990 Montreal Montreal Forum 12,128 / 12,800 $208,301 May 16, 1990 Toronto Maple Leaf Gardens —N/a —N/a May 17, 1990 June 2, 1990 Albany United States Knickerbocker Arena 14,335 / 14,335 $267,232 June 4, 1990 Baltimore Baltimore Arena 5,671 / 14,000 $110,585 June 5, 1990 Hampton Hampton Coliseum 7,227 / 9,124 $133,699 June 7, 1990 Pittsburgh Civic Arena 11,049 / 12,500 $209,462 June 8, 1990 Richfield Richfield Coliseum 15,539 / 15,539 $310,780 June 10, 1990 Cuyahoga Falls Blossom Music Center —N/a —N/a June 11, 1990 Cincinnati Riverbend Music Center 8,089 / 8,089 $163,802 June 13, 1990 Columbus Cooper Stadium 9,654 / 15,000 $207,515 June 14, 1990 Noblesville Deer Creek Music Center 7,904 / 18,062 $135,198 June 16, 1990 East Troy Alpine Valley Music Theatre 40,269 / 60,000 $886,384 June 17, 1990 June 19, 1990 Bloomington Met Center 10,725 / 10,725 $201,864 June 20, 1990 Omaha Omaha Civic Auditorium 5,349 / 8,000 $105,643 June 22, 1990 Englewood Fiddler's Green Amphitheatre —N/a —N/a June 24, 1990 Salt Lake City Salt Palace June 26, 1990 Sacramento Cal Expo Amphitheatre 14,355 / 14,355 $327,218 June 27, 1990 Mountain View Shoreline Amphitheatre 15,400 / 20,000 $287,931 June 29, 1990 Irvine Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre 15,000 / 15,000 $337,203 ## Personnel - [Geddy Lee](/source/Geddy_Lee) – vocals, bass, keyboards - [Alex Lifeson](/source/Alex_Lifeson) – guitar, backing vocals - [Neil Peart](/source/Neil_Peart) – drums ## References ### Citations 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Little, Michelle (February 16, 1990). ["Rush starts jamming and presto: A concert"](https://books.google.com/books?id=L1MgAAAAIBAJ&dq=rush+concert&pg=PA51&article_id=4915,432996). Spartanburg, South Carolina: Herald-Journal. p. B11. Retrieved May 11, 2023. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEPopoff2021299_2-0)** [Popoff 2021](#CITEREFPopoff2021), p. 299. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEDalyHansen2019290_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEDalyHansen2019290_3-1) [Daly & Hansen 2019](#CITEREFDalyHansen2019), p. 290. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEPopoff2021292_4-0)** [Popoff 2021](#CITEREFPopoff2021), p. 292. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-rushknickerbockerreview_5-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-rushknickerbockerreview_5-1) Hochanadel, Michael (June 4, 1990). ["Rush Serves Up Spectacular Show"](https://books.google.com/books?id=DHMhAAAAIBAJ&dq=rush+concert&pg=PA12&article_id=2659,890623). Albany, New York: The Daily Gazette. p. B8. Retrieved May 11, 2023. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEPopoff2021291–292_6-0)** [Popoff 2021](#CITEREFPopoff2021), pp. 291–292. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** Haidat, Janice (June 8, 1990). ["Rush uses its talent to electrify concert"](https://books.google.com/books?id=E7ZRAAAAIBAJ&dq=rush+concert+presto&pg=PA20&article_id=1118,3966095). Youngstown, Ohio: The Vindicator. p. 24. Retrieved May 6, 2023. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** King, Peter B. (June 8, 1990). ["Rush lights up Civic Arena with art-rock display, visual explosion"](https://books.google.com/books?id=1XUcAAAAIBAJ&dq=rush+concert&pg=PA14&article_id=4871,4114522). No. 345. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: The Pittsburgh Press. p. C3. Retrieved May 11, 2023. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEDalyHansen2019293_9-0)** [Daly & Hansen 2019](#CITEREFDalyHansen2019), p. 293. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEDalyHansen2019293–301_10-0)** [Daly & Hansen 2019](#CITEREFDalyHansen2019), pp. 293–301. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** ["Presto Tour"](https://www.rush.com/tour/presto/). *Rush.com*. Retrieved 6 April 2023. ### Sources - Daly, Skip; Hansen, Eric (2019). *Rush: Wandering the Face of the Earth – The Official Touring History*. Insight Editions. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-68383-450-2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-68383-450-2). - Popoff, Martin (2021). *Limelight: Rush in the '80s*. Toronto, Canada: ECW Press. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-77041-569-0](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-77041-569-0). v t e Rush Alex Lifeson Geddy Lee Jeff Jones John Rutsey Neil Peart Studio albums Rush (1974) Fly by Night (1975) Caress of Steel (1975) 2112 (1976) A Farewell to Kings (1977) Hemispheres (1978) Permanent Waves (1980) Moving Pictures (1981) Signals (1982) Grace Under Pressure (1984) Power Windows (1985) Hold Your Fire (1987) Presto (1989) Roll the Bones (1991) Counterparts (1993) Test for Echo (1996) Vapor Trails (2002) Snakes & Arrows (2007) Clockwork Angels (2012) Live albums All the World's a Stage (1976) Exit... Stage Left (1981) A Show of Hands (1989) Different Stages (1998) Rush in Rio (2003) R30: 30th Anniversary World Tour (2005) Snakes & Arrows Live (2008) Grace Under Pressure Tour (2009) Time Machine 2011: Live in Cleveland (2011) Clockwork Angels Tour (2013) R40 Live (2015) Live videos Exit... Stage Left (1982) Grace Under Pressure Tour (1986) A Show of Hands (1989) Rush in Rio (2003) R30: 30th Anniversary World Tour (2005) Rush Replay X 3 (2006) Snakes & Arrows Live (2008) Time Machine 2011: Live in Cleveland (2011) Clockwork Angels Tour (2013) R40 Live (2015) Compilations Rush Through Time (1979) Chronicles (1990) Retrospective I (1997) Retrospective II (1997) The Spirit of Radio: Greatest Hits 1974–1987 (2003) Gold (2006) Retrospective III: 1989–2008 (2009) Working Men (2009) Video compilations Through the Camera Eye (1985) Chronicles (1990) Box sets The Studio Albums 1989–2007 (2013) Extended plays Feedback (2004) Cygnus X-1 (2017) Singles "In the Mood" "Fly by Night" "Lakeside Park" "The Twilight Zone" "Making Memories" "Closer to the Heart" "Circumstances" "The Trees" "The Spirit of Radio" "Entre Nous" "Limelight" "Tom Sawyer" "Vital Signs" "New World Man" "Subdivisions" "Countdown" "Red Sector A" "Afterimage" "The Big Money" "Mystic Rhythms" "Time Stand Still" "Show Don't Tell" "The Pass" "Dreamline" "Roll the Bones" "Ghost of a Chance" "Stick It Out" "Nobody's Hero" "Test for Echo" "Half the World" "Driven" "One Little Victory" "Secret Touch" "Summertime Blues" "Far Cry" "Caravan" "Headlong Flight" Other songs "Working Man" "Before" and "After" I. "Into the Darkness" "Didacts and Narpets" "2112" "A Passage to Bangkok" "Tears" "Xanadu" "Cygnus X-1 Book II: Hemispheres" (II. "Apollo Bringer of Wisdom" and III. "Dionysus Bringer of Love" IV. "Armageddon The Battle of Heart and Mind" VI. "The Sphere A Kind of Dream") "Freewill" "Red Barchetta" "YYZ" "Witch Hunt" "The Analog Kid" "Between the Wheels" "Marathon" "Manhattan Project" "Force Ten" "Mission" "Lock and Key" "Second Nature" "Heresy" "Animate" "Cold Fire" "The Larger Bowl (A Pantoum)" Tours Hemispheres Tour (1978–1979) Moving Pictures Tour (1980–1981) Exit... Stage Left Tour (1981) Power Windows Tour (1985–1986) Hold Your Fire Tour (1987–1988) Presto Tour (1990) Roll the Bones Tour (1991–1992) Counterparts Tour (1994) Test for Echo Tour (1996–1997) Snakes & Arrows Tour (2007–2008) Time Machine Tour (2010–2011) Clockwork Angels Tour (2012–2013) R40 Live Tour (2015) Fifty Something Tour (2026–2027) Related articles Discography Songs Awards Instrumentals Victor My Favourite Headache A Work in Progress Anatomy of a Drum Solo Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road Hugh Syme Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage Working Man – A Tribute to Rush Category --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Presto tour](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presto_tour) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presto_tour?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.