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Neil's Mind In DC?


Sgt.D
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Just got back from Bristow, great show, my second of the first leg. Couldn't help but wonder if Neil already had half his mind home with his family tonight? He dropped the ball on two pretty serious parts. First, during the middle break through the solo until the last chorus o Distant Early Warning he pretty much played straight through it all as if he was in a whole different part of the song, only switching it back during the chorus. Also, during Natural Science he again played straight through the drum break after the second verse. His overall vibe was fairly normal Neil, but noticing the miscues my thought was he was thinking about home.
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My first show this tour but loved it, sounded better than any youtube video I've seen. How did this compare to the other show you saw? And yeah as far as DEW it happens I guess, I was so confused at that part. I'm thinking is he doing something different for this song? Gotta see the video on that one wanna take another look at what exactly went wrong.
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I gave up trying to read people's minds long ago. I just couldn't get the hang of it.
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Comparing the shows is hard because I had no spoilers for the show and was not prepared for how amazing the setlist and layout of the show was. I didn't think the sound was all that spectacular in Bristow, they should let an outdoor theatre be outdoors and not with some ugly metal roof, my other show was inside.

 

I will assure that what Neil played on DEW was not a new part, he was lost.

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It's pretty clear that neil is not into performing. I would rather they spend their energy recording music than dragging a miserable neil around North America.
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Or maybe he just got confused.

 

So far on this tour, Geddy has told a crowd they were performing "Jacob's Ladder" live for the first time ever (even though it has actually been played live and is even on ESL) and told Dallas it was great to be back in Houston. Does this mean Geddy has his mind on the Blue Jays? His wine collection? His apparent attempt to rule the world as the director of the NSA [another thread]?

 

Sure, there's a difference between a verbal and a musical miscue. But having seen the band play live literally dozens of times, I have seen all three of them have "moments". These guys are incredible musicians, but they are still human.

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Yes the other thing is they are not the hardcore fans of their own music that we are as they have acknowledged. So Ged not remembering Jacobs Ladder and Neil forgetting Camera Eye is understandable I guess.

 

I see it differently. They are absolutely fans of their own music, but they also keep level heads about it. All those songs on all those albums......we treat them as Biblical verses; they do not. They're just songs. Most they like, but some they think, "Mehh...."

 

I clearly remember reading an interview with Neil (from long ago) about the weird fan mail he would get. Fans were interpreting his lyrics as if they were the hand of God writing out the Ten Commandments, as if the lyrics were intentionally written to instruct them how to live.

 

Neil then said, "They're just SONGS....."

Edited by Principled Man
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Yes the other thing is they are not the hardcore fans of their own music that we are as they have acknowledged. So Ged not remembering Jacobs Ladder and Neil forgetting Camera Eye is understandable I guess.

 

I see it differently. They are absolutely fans of their own music, but they also keep level heads about it. All those songs on all those albums......we treat them as Biblical verses; they do not. They're just songs. Most they like, but some they think, "Mehh...."

 

I clearly remember reading an interview with Neil (from long ago) about the weird fan mail he would get. Fans were interpreting his lyrics as if they were the hand of God writing out the Ten Commandments, as if the lyrics were intentionally written to instruct them how to live.

 

Neil then said, "They're just SONGS....."

 

True- this is why they spend a matter of months rehearsing for a tour. Aside from the fact that they are perfectionists (and personally, I thank them for putting that much care and effort into what they do), they are also playing some songs that they haven't played in not just years, but decades. And I don't think they spend hours upon hours listening over and over again to their '70s catalog, the way many of us here do. They hadn't played Distant Early Warning before this tour since about 2004, right? And Jacob's Ladder? Thirty-five years ago. So whatever the reason for playing something different, and confusing people, maybe, to some degree...let's give 'em a bit of a break on that front.

 

Geddy is doing this tour for us. Alex and Neil are doing it for Geddy, I suspect, more than anyone else.

 

I don't really like making a statement like that, but I think it's the truth. And that's okay. I still look forward to seeing them (and that's an understatement).

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We've listened to their songs more than they have :)

 

As it was admitted by Ged when he stated "The fans probably know our music better than we do" In Beyond the Lighted Stage

 

To a fault, we do. :doh: We expect the Band to come on stage and hit every note, every drum beat, every sound to perfection. We got it all memorized......

 

 

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Geddy is doing this tour for us. Alex and Neil are doing it for Geddy, I suspect, more than anyone else.

 

I don't really like making a statement like that, but I think it's the truth. And that's okay. I still look forward to seeing them (and that's an understatement).

 

Interesting point, I think before the tour started most people assumed Neil hated touring which is pretty accurate. It seems though Alex is also ready to call it a day with his health issues (he did sound great yesterday I thought). You would have assumed Ged would have been the one to be ready to end things with all the physicality he needs to put in for vocals. He really seemed into it last night, I wonder what his plans are after this is all over. Will he work with other musicians and form some type of super band if he wants to keep going? Before this if I am not mistaken he only really used two types of basses - the one fender black one and I guess another one for like 2112 in different tunings. With all these collections he's making and practically switching a bass on every song he seems more into touring and performing now than ever.

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I am not a fan obsessed with perfection at all. The first time I saw Rush Neil played the solo break on Limelight after the first verse, I love the human element of performing. The idea they wrote all these great complex songs and its just the pesky fans that care? If Neil played straight through the break in Tom Sawyer you might notice? I love this band and the show was awesome, just had a couple of raised eyebrows, and thought maybe he was distracted. I will say, I kind of felt the weight of the tour last night, they are going all out on this one. My feeling after my first show was a sense they really cared about us. I read the tour book last night and after crying like a baby in response to Neil's conclusion, I know they do.
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Yes the other thing is they are not the hardcore fans of their own music that we are as they have acknowledged. So Ged not remembering Jacobs Ladder and Neil forgetting Camera Eye is understandable I guess.

Exactly. Most of the guys on this forum fondle themselves over this music tens of thousands of times. These guys really haven't played and heard their own stuff that much. No artist has. That's been a big beef of mine with fan sites for a long time. Musicians don't generally sit around listening to their own music like fans do.

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We've listened to their songs more than they have :)

 

As it was admitted by Ged when he stated "The fans probably know our music better than we do" In Beyond the Lighted Stage

 

To a fault, we do. :doh: We expect the Band to come on stage and hit every note, every drum beat, every sound to perfection. We got it all memorized......

 

I remember Rick Wakeman saying as he gathered with the rest of Yes ot get together and touring again, sometime in 90s or 2000s "Well we got together, and I remembered about 3 parts of a few songs and they were all Steve's guitar parts." Funny guy.

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Not sure what he did during Natural Science...he just played time through the drum break..odd... but he was lost in DeW! He skipped a section and went right to the end part...took him a while to get it back, too...
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Yes! thats what it was I was confused he was starting hitting those china symbols way too early where the buildup towards the end happen I was so confused thats why I was wondering if he was doing something different. I couldn't see their facial expressions that well because I was in the lawn section but looked like they just played right through it without really looking at one another.
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What was also interesting...during the opening tune, he did a stick toss...and missed it...then a little later he threw one up as to say F**K IT! (Possibly a broken stick?)

 

Other than the DeW and NS glitches, he seemed to have a decent night....

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I'm beginning to wonder how much actual rehearsing they got done before the tour. Maybe it was more coffee drinking than playing. ;)
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I'm beginning to wonder how much actual rehearsing they got done before the tour. Maybe it was more coffee drinking than playing. ;)

 

Yeah...a LOT of obscure stuff they haven't played in a while...not like an "auto-tour" kind of setlist...

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To think they played that Time Machine set every night exactly for over 80 shows. Here they are with a huge repertoire of rehearsed songs and multiple swaps I really have no issue with a little flub here or there it kind of makes it fun in a way. The NS was really minor I just watched it again and he just played time during the drum break so it felt like 10 seconds at most. DEW sounded really messed up in one part but other than that I thought all three of them were as tight as can be. Only other thing was something happened to Alex's guitars during 2112, not sure exactly what but he had to change it twice. I wonder if he gets pissed at his tech guy easily, theres another video on youtube of similar thing happening on same song during CA tour.
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A guy we were talking to at breakfast this morning said that he was on Alex's side during the show, and he thought it was a tuning issue with the guitar, he said he saw him yelling at the tech when he was doing the exchange....
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