UPDATE - 5/29@10:49AM: Billboard Boxscores has officially reported the show as SOLD OUT with a capacity crowd of 11,434 and gross sales of $1,046,297.
UPDATE - 5/21@9:16PM: Here's a review from the Houston Press.
Date/Time: Wednesday, May 20th @ 7:30PM (doors open at 6PM)
Show Number: 7
Venue: Toyota Center
Place: Houston, TX
Twitter: #R40HOU | #R40Live
Instagram: #R40HOU
YouTube: Houston Rush R40 Live Tour
Setlist: Version A
Photos: Houston Chronicle | Cygnus-X1.net | KshipMedia.com
Reviews: Houston Chronicle | Houston Press
UPDATE - 5/21@10:50AM: Here are some great front row center shots from KshipMedia.com.
UPDATE - 5/21@9:41AM: Here's a growing gallery of photos from Cygnus-X1.net.
UPDATE - 5/21@8:38AM: Here's a review and photo gallery from the Houston Chronicle.
UPDATE - 5/20@11:28PM: Set 2 is about complete and also followed the Version A setlist. I'm assuming the encore won't be any different than the past 6 shows, so I'll go with this as the final setlist for now. If anything changes I will update things in the AM. A BIG thanks to Bob K and Chris B for texting in with the updates. Good night!
UPDATE - 5/20@9:49PM: It's intermission. Up until this point they have played the Version A set as expected with no surprises. Full setlist so far here.
UPDATE - 5/20@8:41PM: The show should start any minute now. A RIAB reader who is at the show got a look at the setlist posted by the soundboard, which confirms the Version A setlist - at least for set 1. If there's any deviation from that I will post an update here. Otherwise I'll update the setlist at intermission time at this location (or sooner if I am able).
UPDATE - 5/20@7:36PM: The venue is filling up and the show should get underway in a little over an hour from now. You can follow along as the setlist gets updated here.
Rush wraps up their 3-date stint across the state of Texas tonight where they'll play the Toyota Center in Houston for show #7 of the R40 Live tour. After tonight's show they will make their way across the Southeastern US for 5 more dates to finish off the first leg of the tour. In his recent Classic Rock interview Alex Lifeson confirmed that the band has "three sets - A, B, C - which we'll be rotating throughout the tour". The band has already gone through 2 rotations of these three setlists, so for tonight's show we are expecting to see the Version A set that was played in Tulsa and in St. Louis. That said, Rush could always still surprise us with something new. For more discussion on that, check out my pre-show SPOILER review below the fold. I'll post any deviations from the expected Version A setlist to this post. Otherwise, you can just follow along as I update the setlist here. The Toyota Center site says the doors to tonight's show will open at 6PM, with a 7:30PM show start time, which means the band will likely hit the stage 7:45-ish. For everybody going to the show tonight, have fun, stay safe and be sure to share your reports, reviews, photos and video with us. Rush on!!!!
*** WARNING ***
*** SPOILERS BELOW ***
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*** pre-show SPOILER review *** As I'd mentioned above, Rush is expected to play their Version A setlist tonight - the same that was played in Tulsa and St. Louis. There's always that outside possibility that they will throw something new into the mix though. The most likely candidate is Losing It which the band has played in soundcheck a few times now as seen in this video from the band's Austin soundcheck:
The band will seldom play a song in soundcheck that they aren't at least considering playing live. From the rumors I've been hearing they definitely do plan on playing it at some point, but rather than inserting into the set as a regular addition with recorded/triggered violin parts, they will only be playing it at a few select shows centered around the inclusion of a guest violinist (Ben Mink? Clockwork Angels stringer?). Rumors currently floating around point to the song being played in Toronto (where the DVD will be filmed), NYC, Vancouver and Los Angeles so we will likely not see it played tonight (you never know though!). The only other question is whether it would replace Subdivisions in the set or be added in before or after it. In his recent Classic Rock interview Alex had this to say about the setlist and tour:
"... We've dug deep. We've pulled out some songs that we haven't played in a very long time. We've pulled out some real fan favourites. And we're enjoying playing them. We've revisited every era except maybe the mid-eighties era, which we covered in a good portion of the set on the last tour. We've not included anything from Power Windows or Hold Your Fire, but there's something from just about every other record. ... We're bringing the Hemispheres Prelude and Jacob's Ladder and Cygnus X-1. It's fun and exciting to play these old songs. Jacob's Ladder sounds amazing! For years we've discounted it, although it was always a fans' favourite. We've got three sets - A, B, C - which we'll be rotating throughout the tour. ... Ged and I have gone crazy on bringing out all of our old instruments and buying up vintage gear all over the place. His goal is to play a different bass for every song in the show. ..."
He specifically confirms the A-B-C rotations and also says that nothing from Power Windows will be played - which counts out The Big Money. So despite it being listed in the tourbook credits it looks like The Big Money probably was dropped from the setlist at some point during rehearsals, and we likely won't see it.
Photos from Instagram using hashtag #R40HOU:
