oldphilly Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 Ok,so I guess ever since Hemispheres Rush has been an arena band capable of selling out 10,000+ seats.Depending on the region.I know that the MP tour was huge.That was the first tour were they could sell out 2 shows at The Spectrum in Philly.They did the same during GUP and PW tours.The HYF tour was considerably less popular.The second Philly show only sold about 8,000 tickets.It was strange seeing a half empty arena for a Rush show.Presto tour seemed only slighly better in terms of ticket sales.I was on the westcoast for Roll The Bones and in the midwest for Counterparts.The crowd in Kansas City was phenominal. Anyway,I haven't seen Rush since the Counterparts tour.So I have no idea what the demand for tickets is like these days.Does anyone have any data on ticket sales?Just curious. Seems they are more popular worldwide these days.What do you think? What region would you say has the most hardcore Rush fans? Is in Canada? Midwest U.S.? Philadelphia? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cygnus_thegodofbalance Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 S&A Tour was their most successful. And I would say Brazil has the biggest fan base Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReflectedLight Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 I'll say MP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldphilly Posted October 9, 2009 Author Share Posted October 9, 2009 Yeah,the Brazilians are crazy for Rush.When I first saw Rush in Rio I figured there was a big turnout only because a lot of rock bands don't play Brazil.I figured everyone was there just for a big party.Boy was I wrong.Those were real fans.Seems everyone there knew every lyric and every lick.Even the female fans were singing along.Crazy. Quite a contrast to the R30 show in Germany.That crowd was flaccid at best.Just dead. S&A was the most succesful huh? Interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeaveMyThingAlone Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 I think from around the time of Moving Pictures to Power Windows (81-86?), Rush was one of the biggest live acts going. I have no idea if they did as well financially as the S&A tour, but I do know they were probably on top of their game in that early-mid 80's period... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonatine Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 As for as the UK is concerned, I would say the S&A of 2007/8 was their most successful. But then again they only did one night at the Birmingham NEC, compared to 2 nights for their Roll The Bones and Hold Your Fire gigs. From what I remember of the RTB in England, it wasn't quite so successful or arena-populated as HYF in 88. Those are the only three tours I ever got round to seeing, so I can't comment about anything before that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 Caress of Steel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rushgoober Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 I would say their most successful tour was the mini-tour they did in support of the Not Fade Away / You Can't Fight It single in 1973 that preceded their debut album. True, they only played 86 shows on that tour, but they played to over 3.5 million people and made about $35 million (Canadidan). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Score Out Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 Certainly S&A was their most successful tour from a gross revenue standpoint b/c ticket prices are much higher than they used to be. Average attendance for the 2007 leg of the S&A tour is probably comparable as well - but this is primarily a function of fewer tour dates as well as playing sheds with tons of cheap lawn seats. As far as drawing power, Rush lost the ability to fill multiple nights in the same city around the time of Roll The Bones/Counterparts. At the time of Roll The Bones they could pretty much fill arenas anywhere. Counterparts included 2 nights at Madison Square Garden and most shows sold out. From Test For Echo onward, they sold out fewer shows and suffered serious dropoffs if they attempted to hit a market twice in a short period of time (let alone consecutive nights). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mulletst0rm Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 Also consider that since Test for Echo, they've also eschewed having an opening act. Offhand, I can only speak to the market I reside in, But there has been no dropoff in number of shows played in the Midwest, nor in the size of venues since the early 90s. Rush tours are as healthy as they've ever been imo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldphilly Posted October 9, 2009 Author Share Posted October 9, 2009 Makes me wonder if the profit margin for recent tours is much greater because of the uber expensive tickets.I know touring is incredibly expensive but I wonder if the rise in ticket prices reflects the costs of touring. 20 yrs ago,concert tickets averaged about $20 each(for Rush that is) These days they're $100+ I know the cost of living and wages has not increased by 5x since then.So why are concert tickets so damn these days? They must be making a damn killing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Score Out Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 QUOTE (mulletst0rm @ Oct 9 2009, 03:30 PM) Also consider that since Test for Echo, they've also eschewed having an opening act. Offhand, I can only speak to the market I reside in, But there has been no dropoff in number of shows played in the Midwest, nor in the size of venues since the early 90s. Rush tours are as healthy as they've ever been imo. Difference is though that in the old days they could play 2 nights in LA, 2 nights at MSG, 2 nights in Philly etc and sell out both nights. Now, if they hit those markets for a 2nd show even several months later the curtains are going up over the upper levels. Roll The Bones was like 9 months long with no dropoff and almost every date on the Counterparts tour sold out. Now, by the 3rd or 4th month of a tour they've saturated the US market and the sellouts are extremely rare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeaveMyThingAlone Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 QUOTE (Score Out @ Oct 9 2009, 04:05 PM) QUOTE (mulletst0rm @ Oct 9 2009, 03:30 PM) Also consider that since Test for Echo, they've also eschewed having an opening act. Offhand, I can only speak to the market I reside in, But there has been no dropoff in number of shows played in the Midwest, nor in the size of venues since the early 90s. Rush tours are as healthy as they've ever been imo. Difference is though that in the old days they could play 2 nights in LA, 2 nights at MSG, 2 nights in Philly etc and sell out both nights. Now, if they hit those markets for a 2nd show even several months later the curtains are going up over the upper levels. Roll The Bones was like 9 months long with no dropoff and almost every date on the Counterparts tour sold out. Now, by the 3rd or 4th month of a tour they've saturated the US market and the sellouts are extremely rare. On the 2008 Leg, they did play 2 successive nights in Los Angeles at the new Nokia Theater, and I believe both sold out, but I think they only hold 5-6000 people Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Score Out Posted October 10, 2009 Share Posted October 10, 2009 QUOTE (LeaveMyThingAlone @ Oct 9 2009, 04:59 PM) QUOTE (Score Out @ Oct 9 2009, 04:05 PM) QUOTE (mulletst0rm @ Oct 9 2009, 03:30 PM) Also consider that since Test for Echo, they've also eschewed having an opening act. Offhand, I can only speak to the market I reside in, But there has been no dropoff in number of shows played in the Midwest, nor in the size of venues since the early 90s. Rush tours are as healthy as they've ever been imo. Difference is though that in the old days they could play 2 nights in LA, 2 nights at MSG, 2 nights in Philly etc and sell out both nights. Now, if they hit those markets for a 2nd show even several months later the curtains are going up over the upper levels. Roll The Bones was like 9 months long with no dropoff and almost every date on the Counterparts tour sold out. Now, by the 3rd or 4th month of a tour they've saturated the US market and the sellouts are extremely rare. On the 2008 Leg, they did play 2 successive nights in Los Angeles at the new Nokia Theater, and I believe both sold out, but I think they only hold 5-6000 people 2nd night wasn't a sellout. Looks like they drew about 10k out of a possible 12.6 for the 2 nights combined. That's the difference - through the early 90s they could have sold out 2 nights at an arena in LA. Now they can't sell out 2 nights at a place that holds half that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rushgoober Posted October 10, 2009 Share Posted October 10, 2009 QUOTE (Score Out @ Oct 9 2009, 09:41 PM) QUOTE (LeaveMyThingAlone @ Oct 9 2009, 04:59 PM) QUOTE (Score Out @ Oct 9 2009, 04:05 PM) QUOTE (mulletst0rm @ Oct 9 2009, 03:30 PM) Also consider that since Test for Echo, they've also eschewed having an opening act. Offhand, I can only speak to the market I reside in, But there has been no dropoff in number of shows played in the Midwest, nor in the size of venues since the early 90s. Rush tours are as healthy as they've ever been imo. Difference is though that in the old days they could play 2 nights in LA, 2 nights at MSG, 2 nights in Philly etc and sell out both nights. Now, if they hit those markets for a 2nd show even several months later the curtains are going up over the upper levels. Roll The Bones was like 9 months long with no dropoff and almost every date on the Counterparts tour sold out. Now, by the 3rd or 4th month of a tour they've saturated the US market and the sellouts are extremely rare. On the 2008 Leg, they did play 2 successive nights in Los Angeles at the new Nokia Theater, and I believe both sold out, but I think they only hold 5-6000 people 2nd night wasn't a sellout. Looks like they drew about 10k out of a possible 12.6 for the 2 nights combined. That's the difference - through the early 90s they could have sold out 2 nights at an arena in LA. Now they can't sell out 2 nights at a place that holds half that. Could it maybe have something to do with the 2008 leg being a virtual duplicate of the 2007 leg? I really never got this second leg as anything other than a big cash grab. We just finished a tour, let's do it again without a new album! No wonder they're not filling up arenas... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robertrobyn Posted October 10, 2009 Share Posted October 10, 2009 If you go to RIAB at this link it tells you attendence and dollars made. Some great info. http://www.rushisaband.com/tour.php Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeminiRising79 Posted October 10, 2009 Share Posted October 10, 2009 MP, no doubt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metaldad Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 Ticket sale wise i gotta say 1981/82. They played all the arena's in the N.Y/N.J./C.T. area more than one night and it was almost impossible to get tix Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xanadu93 Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 QUOTE (rushgoober @ Oct 10 2009, 07:24 AM)Could it maybe have something to do with the 2008 leg being a virtual duplicate of the 2007 leg? I really never got this second leg as anything other than a big cash grab. We just finished a tour, let's do it again without a new album! No wonder they're not filling up arenas... Couldn't you say the same about the Exit... Stage Left tour? It's the same as the S&A Live tour; both tours came directly after world tours for a studio album, and both tours were in support of a live album. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rushgoober Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 QUOTE (Xanadu93 @ Oct 11 2009, 10:34 AM) QUOTE (rushgoober @ Oct 10 2009, 07:24 AM)Could it maybe have something to do with the 2008 leg being a virtual duplicate of the 2007 leg? I really never got this second leg as anything other than a big cash grab. We just finished a tour, let's do it again without a new album! No wonder they're not filling up arenas... Couldn't you say the same about the Exit... Stage Left tour? It's the same as the S&A Live tour; both tours came directly after world tours for a studio album, and both tours were in support of a live album. I just looked it up, and the ESL tour had half the dates that MP had, and half of THOSE dates were Europe, so it wasn't anything really close to a duplication of the previous tour. And besides, they were still very actively making albums in those days. They were also coming off of an ENORMOUSLY success album in MP, and the demand was likely enormous for them to tour more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lerxt1990 Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 QUOTE (metaldad @ Oct 11 2009, 11:59 AM) Ticket sale wise i gotta say 1981/82. They played all the arena's in the N.Y/N.J./C.T. area more than one night and it was almost impossible to get tix Correct. Neil said in one of his books that it was the time when being a fan of theirs was considered cool, so they sold a lot more tickets. They routinely played two sold out or nearly so nights at the hockey arenas in many big cities then. It depends on your metrics, but clearly this was their most successful time touring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the masked drummer Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 QUOTE (mulletst0rm @ Oct 9 2009, 03:30 PM) Also consider that since Test for Echo, they've also eschewed having an opening act. Offhand, I can only speak to the market I reside in, But there has been no dropoff in number of shows played in the Midwest, nor in the size of venues since the early 90s. Rush tours are as healthy as they've ever been imo. Moving Pictures Tour was the biggest for detroit (3 nights) and they usually have played 2 nights every tour since except in recent years. I don't think they are losing their audience, just probably don't want to play that many dates at their age. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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