Itinerary
The tour was the most highly publicized of Springsteen's career. Tour preparations began in late July and early August 2002 with closed and then semi-open rehearsals, and then several public rehearsal shows, at Asbury Park, New Jersey's Convention Hall, as well as a highly-advertised early morning promotional appearance there on NBC's The Today Show. He also appeared on Late Night with David Letterman on CBS, NBC's Saturday Night Live, and Nightline on ABC. His Nightline interview was one of the most revealing of his career. Usually a very private person, Springsteen agreed to all of these appearances as part of the biggest promotional effort of his career for the tour and its album.
The first leg of the tour formally began on August 7, 2002 with an opening show in Springsteen's home floor of Continental Airlines Arena in New Jersey. This commenced what Springsteen's management called their "Barnstorming", playing 46 arena shows in 46 different cities in North America (39) and Western Europe (7) through the end of the year, ending on December 17 at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The idea was to maximize the publicity effect of the tour for aiding sales of the already heavily-promoted new album by visiting as many markets as possible. The attendant publicity would only be increased if tickets were hard to come by, which was the case in Springsteen hot spots which were accustomed to multiple-night stands. The strategy appeared to succeed, as The Rising did well commercially and became Springsteen's best-selling album of new material in 15 years.
After a break of more than two months in winter, the second leg of the tour began on February 28, 2003 with 7 more one-night stands in the United States. The band then travelled to Australia and New Zealand in March for five shows down under. They then quickly returned to North America for 6 more barnstorming shows in April, mostly in Canada.
After a three-week break, barnstorming was over and the promised third leg of multiple-show stands was on. The tour went back to Western Europe, this time satisfying much pent-up demand by playing 24 shows in May and June, all in stadiums, with multiple dates in cities where necessary. These dates began in Feyenoord Stadion in Rotterdam and ended in Stadio San Siro in Milan. Shows in Europe were hugely successful, and for example in Scandinavia, shows in Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark sold out in a record two hours. Now it was time for North America to get the same treatment. From mid-July through early October, the band played 33 dates in stadiums (with an intentional emphasis on baseball fields), mostly composed of multiple-night stands along the Eastern Seaboard where Springsteen was most popular, starting with what would become 10 shows in New Jersey's Giants Stadium. These were Springsteen's first appearances in U.S. stadiums since the 1985 portion of his Born in the U.S.A. Tour, and included visits to icons such as Fenway Park and Dodger Stadium. The Rising Tour finally concluded on October 4, 2003 at Shea Stadium in New York.
In all, the tour played 120 shows in 82 cities over a span of 14 months.
Read more about this topic: The Rising Tour