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Who here saw Rush on the AFTK and/or Signals tour(s)?


Lorraine
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Neither. My first tour was p/g.

BTW San Antonio is beautiful country. I have spent much much time in the great state of Texas in my lifetime. Was just there (Lufkin) for 3 weeks last month.... :)

 

Agreed! But my first shows were in the Midwest. I grew up in St. Louis and used to see them in my hometown, Chicago, and KC, among a few others. In recent years I see them mainly in Texas, but am blessed to be able to travel to see them elsewhere from time-to-time. If they do tour in 2015 and they add some dates in Europe, I have promised myself I will be making a trip across the pond for a show somewhere over there. Where is not really a big deal.

 

PS If you come back this way, give me a holler. I always have some cold Shiner, a well used barbeque pit, and a fantastic view from the porch.

You are most fortunate to be able to go where you want when you want. :)

Indeed....
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Neither. My first tour was p/g.

BTW San Antonio is beautiful country. I have spent much much time in the great state of Texas in my lifetime. Was just there (Lufkin) for 3 weeks last month.... :)

 

Agreed! But my first shows were in the Midwest. I grew up in St. Louis and used to see them in my hometown, Chicago, and KC, among a few others. In recent years I see them mainly in Texas, but am blessed to be able to travel to see them elsewhere from time-to-time. If they do tour in 2015 and they add some dates in Europe, I have promised myself I will be making a trip across the pond for a show somewhere over there. Where is not really a big deal.

 

PS If you come back this way, give me a holler. I always have some cold Shiner, a well used barbeque pit, and a fantastic view from the porch.

Great to hear. I can barely afford to go a few hours up the road to Charlotte to see them... :LOL: :cheers:

 

Yeah, well my choice will be paying for the kids' college tuition or seeing them in Europe. I figure the college ain't going anywhere, but I have limited time to see them overseas. Priorities... :ebert:

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Neither. My first tour was p/g.

BTW San Antonio is beautiful country. I have spent much much time in the great state of Texas in my lifetime. Was just there (Lufkin) for 3 weeks last month.... :)

 

Agreed! But my first shows were in the Midwest. I grew up in St. Louis and used to see them in my hometown, Chicago, and KC, among a few others. In recent years I see them mainly in Texas, but am blessed to be able to travel to see them elsewhere from time-to-time. If they do tour in 2015 and they add some dates in Europe, I have promised myself I will be making a trip across the pond for a show somewhere over there. Where is not really a big deal.

 

PS If you come back this way, give me a holler. I always have some cold Shiner, a well used barbeque pit, and a fantastic view from the porch.

You are most fortunate to be able to go where you want when you want. :)

 

That I am. I have a job that gives me the flexibility and resources to travel. I know it is a blessing and don't take it for granted.

 

At the same time, I am sometimes perplexed by my friends who use their resources on material toys. Sure, I get the initial draw of such things, but I would rather spend my time and money on experiences.

 

If I have a little extra coin and a couple of days to play with, I would much rather take a roadie to go hiking somewhere in Big Bend than get a fancier TV. Watching the sun set behind El Capitan, or spending the afternoon in Santa Elena Canyon, or crossing over to Boquillas for some culture and lunch are totally worth my time... plus, I get a nice 6 hour drive to listen to my favorite band!

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Neither. My first tour was p/g.

BTW San Antonio is beautiful country. I have spent much much time in the great state of Texas in my lifetime. Was just there (Lufkin) for 3 weeks last month.... :)

 

Agreed! But my first shows were in the Midwest. I grew up in St. Louis and used to see them in my hometown, Chicago, and KC, among a few others. In recent years I see them mainly in Texas, but am blessed to be able to travel to see them elsewhere from time-to-time. If they do tour in 2015 and they add some dates in Europe, I have promised myself I will be making a trip across the pond for a show somewhere over there. Where is not really a big deal.

 

PS If you come back this way, give me a holler. I always have some cold Shiner, a well used barbeque pit, and a fantastic view from the porch.

You are most fortunate to be able to go where you want when you want. :)

 

That I am. I have a job that gives me the flexibility and resources to travel. I know it is a blessing and don't take it for granted.

 

At the same time, I am sometimes perplexed by my friends who use their resources on material toys. Sure, I get the initial draw of such things, but I would rather spend my time and money on experiences.

 

If I have a little extra coin and a couple of days to play with, I would much rather take a roadie to go hiking somewhere in Big Bend than get a fancier TV. Watching the sun set behind El Capitan, or spending the afternoon in Santa Elena Canyon, or crossing over to Boquillas for some culture and lunch are totally worth my time... plus, I get a nice 6 hour drive to listen to my favorite band!

I like toys.

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Neither. My first tour was p/g.

BTW San Antonio is beautiful country. I have spent much much time in the great state of Texas in my lifetime. Was just there (Lufkin) for 3 weeks last month.... :)

 

Agreed! But my first shows were in the Midwest. I grew up in St. Louis and used to see them in my hometown, Chicago, and KC, among a few others. In recent years I see them mainly in Texas, but am blessed to be able to travel to see them elsewhere from time-to-time. If they do tour in 2015 and they add some dates in Europe, I have promised myself I will be making a trip across the pond for a show somewhere over there. Where is not really a big deal.

 

PS If you come back this way, give me a holler. I always have some cold Shiner, a well used barbeque pit, and a fantastic view from the porch.

You are most fortunate to be able to go where you want when you want. :)

 

That I am. I have a job that gives me the flexibility and resources to travel. I know it is a blessing and don't take it for granted.

 

At the same time, I am sometimes perplexed by my friends who use their resources on material toys. Sure, I get the initial draw of such things, but I would rather spend my time and money on experiences.

 

If I have a little extra coin and a couple of days to play with, I would much rather take a roadie to go hiking somewhere in Big Bend than get a fancier TV. Watching the sun set behind El Capitan, or spending the afternoon in Santa Elena Canyon, or crossing over to Boquillas for some culture and lunch are totally worth my time... plus, I get a nice 6 hour drive to listen to my favorite band!

 

I get this. I would rather spend the money to travel to Europe or around the US to see the boys in concert than to buy a bunch of DVDs or something. You can't replace the experience of the concerts, especially now when in all likelihood we will be lucky to get one more tour.

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I would like to hear what you remember about the concert(s) and the songs they did, especially Xanadu and The Weapon. :)

 

:popcorn:

I was too young in 1977 to see Rush in concert, but in 1982 I saw Rush in concert a couple of time. I LOVED hearing "The Weapon". I'm a huge SCTV fan and when Count Floyd introduced "The Weapon" I was blown away. I also liked the lyric change - "One likes to believe in the spirit of baseball." Great concert overall, as usual.

 

Here's the setlist:

 

The Spirit of Radio (with "Three Stooges theme" intro)

Tom Sawyer

Freewill

Digital Man

Subdivisions

Vital Signs

The Camera Eye (abbreviated; dropped from Germany dates)

Closer To The Heart

Chemistry (dropped beginning 5/6/83)

The Analog Kid

Broon's Bane

The Trees

Red Barchetta

The Weapon (Count Floyd intro)

New World Man

Limelight

Countdown

Encore: 2112 (Overture/Temples of Syrinx)

Xanadu

La Villa Strangiato

In The Mood

YYZ

Drum Solo

YYZ

 

Check out: http://www.2112.net/powerwindows/main/Home.htm - It's a wonderful resource for Rush fans.

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Here is one I had transposed at one point in time. I did forget to bring the scrap book with the reviews, but this will do in the meantime:

 

 

Rush at the CNE Grandstand – August 23, 1977

 

Review #1 by Peter Goddard – The Toronto Star

 

The exercise of power is never more menacing than when it’s done without humour. It seems so monstrously banal, so lacking in human qualities.

 

There’s nothing menacing about Rush’s three members, bassist-singer Geddy Lee, drummer Neil Peart or guitarist Alex Lifeson. Nothing personally menacing, that is, and certainly nothing particularly banal.

 

BIG NIGHT

 

But the moment they become a unit on stage, as was the case at the Canadian National Exhibition’s Grandstand last night, they seem thoroughly depersonalized.

 

It was the Toronto band’s most important concert yet. With 20,800 people jammed into the stadium, it was the biggest crowd the group had played to as a headline act.

 

It also gave Rush a chance to premier material from its sixth album, A Farewell to Kings, the most adventurous album in its career.

 

Yet it all left this reviewer numb.

 

RESTLESS CROWD

 

The crowd cheered everything and then fought or threw sparklers when the blunt, almost brutal excitement waned ever so slightly.

 

And the vast sound system – which seemed better tuned for the opening act, Max Webster, than for Rush – made every piece flutter like a flag to be saluted, even good songs like A Farewell to Kings.

 

There was no style, no grace, no touch of humor to leven this colossal display.

 

Like Peart’s mystical lyrics, there was little to respond to.

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3 reviews of the infamous Varsity Stadium show in 1979:

 

 

Rush at Varsity Stadium – Sunday, September 2, 1979

 

Concert review by Alan Niester – Globe and Mail

 

When it was conceived a few months ago, last night’s pairing of Rush and FM at Varsity Stadium probably seemed like a good idea. After all, Rush members are favourite sons here, and their appearances traditionally draw good crowds. It was the Labor Day weekend, the last slice of summer freedom, and presumably the city’s students would have been dying for one last chance at a summer blow-out. And putting the concert in a nice outdoor setting should only have increased the pleasure two-fold.

 

But somehow, it didn’t quite turn out that way. Only 8,000 fans turned out for the concert, apathetically sitting through conditions which seemed more suited to a late autumn football game than a summer concert. Between enduring the cool breeze and facing the realization that summer had run its course, the audience hardly seemed in a festive mood. And the music provided by the artists both reflected and increased the general audience apathy.

 

FM started it off with what may have been the most ignored set I’ve ever seen in this city. The three-man band, featuring Cameron Hawkins on synthesizer and Ben Mink on electronic violin, plus drummer Martin Dellar, ran through 50 minutes of its own brand of electro-jamming. Although the music tended to be a bit ragged, the trio generally acquitted itself well. Considering the similarities between this type of music (progressive, thought-provoking, rambling) and the headline act, it was quite surprising that almost no one noticed when they left the stage.

 

Of course, Rush fans are an intensely loyal lot, primed for their heroes and having little regard for anyone else. Simply because the band only drew half the number of fans it usually draws, I’m not yet prepared to write it off. The weather was less than inviting for an outdoor concert, and I suspect the CNE has gleaned most of the greens from teen jeans.

 

Rush ran through a lengthy set which revolved around material from its Hemispheres and 2112 albums. Personally, I find the idea of a power trio with a singer who sounds like Lucy Ricardo rather trying after an hour or so. But the Rush fans who hung in through the seemingly endless (often as long as 20 minutes – which in the hands of Rush seems endless) songs seemed to be satisfied, even if they did spend most of the evening hunkered dozily on the stadium infield.

 

For their perseverance, the fans were treated to some new material from the band, including a song called The Spirit of Radio. The new material sounded much like the old material – pretentious and bombastic. But it sells, so why knock it.

 

When all was said and done, however, Labor Day weekend with Rush was certainly not the triumph it should have been. The concert was a “so what” affair, and ended the listless Toronto concert summer with a whimper, not a bang.

 

 

Rush at Varsity Stadium Review #2 – The Toronto Sun

 

What a bummer for Rush!

 

When last Toronto’s hometown heavies played at home, they sold nearly 50,000 tickets to three nights at the Gardens.

 

This year they had reportedly been booked to play the CNE but were lured back into the arms of Concert Productions International with a fat guarantee. CPI hired Varsity Stadium for them on Sunday and sought to raise the crowd limit by 10,000.

 

But by showtime the attendance was less than 10,000 in all.

 

Was the problem the recession that is scaring many American acts off the road?

 

Was it the length of time since the last album? (Rush will begin to record again next month at Quebec’s Le Studio.)

 

Was it promotion that took for granted that the Rush show was the big event of Labor Day weekend and failed to make it seem so?

 

Was it a ticket price half again as much as the CNE concert by Triumph and Doucette (who drew half again as many people)?

 

Was it the threatening weather that also prevented Rush from using its movies and turned its clouds of smoke into wisps of mist?

 

Aside from bruised feelings, though, Rush was alright. (It was the scalpers hustling passers-by with slashed-price tickets who got burned – and some of them had been burned at the Bee Gees!) The trio played more like the tough little barband that triumphed at Massey Hall just a few years ago. Even the more progressive science-fiction material seemed gutsier without the band’s classy visual distractions – and that’s a pointer towards Rushmusic in the 80’s.

 

The new album will be called Magnetic Air, which describes the buzz they get before going on stage. Neil Peart, whose solo rhythmic showmanship closed the concert on a climax, said he didn’t think there was “a single whiff of space anywhere on the album.”

 

“Not in the lyrics,” agreed singer Geddy Lee, who also mentioned a song that is “almost entirely” in 4/4 time. “That’s a breakthrough for us. Finding something we like that is in 4/4 almost all the way through is an accomplishment.”

 

During the concert they previewed two tight, disciplined creations called Free Will and The Spirit of Radio. The latter is a tribute to progressive CFNY, and while the band didn’t dedicate it on stage (the show was presented by CHUM), they knew the Brampton station’s listeners would recognize references to their promotions.

 

Progressive-rocking FM had their biggest hometown audience (and their best sound system) as Rush’s special guest; Peart told me his group feels FM is the best band in Canada.

 

Despite the lack of lighting (it was still day) and plastic shelter that shrouded drummer Martin Deller and his equipment, the young trio acquitted itself admirably. Ben Mink dropped a bunch of violin notes, but behind his electric mandolin is a guitar-hero in the making. Multiphrenic Cameron Hawkins was a believably passionate singer, a precise pedal-bass player and a multi-keyboard star – all at the same time.

 

I hope they sell bales of copies of Surveillance when their new album is released in a couple of weeks.

 

 

Rush at Varsity Stadium, Sept. 2, 1979 – Review #3

 

By Bruce Blackadar – Toronto Star

 

“Rush tries to bludgeon audience”

 

Attending a Rush concert is like being a masochist who’d enjoy a heart transplant operation in his friendly neighborhood hospital.

 

But the Rush fanatics – who used to be legion in these parts – seem to be losing their addiction to pain. Only 8,000 showed up last night at Varsity Stadium to happily endure the three-man Toronto heavy metal group’s mind-shattering barrage of technological and electronic wizardry that it cunningly disguises as music.

 

It’s meaningless to attempt to review what Rush is doing; that would be like trying to explain the political necessity of planting bombs in churches to a sweet old nun running a children’s orphanage.

 

However, we can say that the trio – Neil Peart on drums, Geddy Lee, vocals and bass, and Alex Lifeson, guitar – are certainly professional, like a team of frogmen who possess an exquisite mastery of technical matters.

 

First, there’s the overwhelming bass line, always present, steering the electronic carnage that makes up the bulk of the band’s albums, like Hemispheres and 2112, this way and that.

 

Then there’s the dentist drill voice of Lee, which after not all that many songs becomes a deft instrument of torture for the listener. It’s a voice that begins immediately at the level of pain and, miraculously, and very unfortunately, proceeds to a higher plane.

 

Finally, there’s the drum work of Peart, the frightful heartbeat, the rhythm of doom.

 

Other ingredients of the Rush assault include a mind-bending sound system, full of hysterical – and meaningless – distortions, a perfectly synchronized light show, and the band’s weird philosophical stance of intellectually primitive conservatism.

 

Much of what the band does – such as The Spirit of Radio, a new song they introduced to their fans last night – is wildly exciting. But the other material is pointless electronic overkill of the highest order.

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Syrinx, these are brutal. I knew that they took a beating by critics, but I had no idea how bad a beating.

 

Thanks for remembering them.

 

Attending a Rush concert is like being a masochist who’d enjoy a heart transplant operation in his friendly neighborhood hospital

 

 

First, there’s the overwhelming bass line, always present, steering the electronic carnage that makes up the bulk of the band’s albums, like Hemispheres and 2112, this way and that.

 

Then there’s the dentist drill voice of Lee, which after not all that many songs becomes a deft instrument of torture for the listener. It’s a voice that begins immediately at the level of pain and, miraculously, and very unfortunately, proceeds to a higher plane.

 

Finally, there’s the drum work of Peart, the frightful heartbeat, the rhythm of doom.

 

For their perseverance, the fans were treated to some new material from the band, including a song called The Spirit of Radio. The new material sounded much like the old material – pretentious and bombastic. But it sells, so why knock it.

 

:unsure:

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My first Rush concert was AFTK with UFO opening 10/1/77. I spent $10 and was 8th row center at the Santa Monica Civic. It was my 4th concert after Jethro Tull, Yes and Led Zeppelin. It's vague but I still have memories of being blown away by Bastille Day, Xanadu and 2112. Needless to say it was pretty life changing for this then 15 year old.

 

Little did I know, these same 3 guys would still be my favorite band 37 years and 58 Rush shows later.

 

I was right up the road from you and saw them before they hit LA. :codger: :haz:

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My first Rush concert was AFTK with UFO opening 10/1/77. I spent $10 and was 8th row center at the Santa Monica Civic. It was my 4th concert after Jethro Tull, Yes and Led Zeppelin. It's vague but I still have memories of being blown away by Bastille Day, Xanadu and 2112. Needless to say it was pretty life changing for this then 15 year old.

 

Little did I know, these same 3 guys would still be my favorite band 37 years and 58 Rush shows later.

 

I was right up the road from you and saw them before they hit LA. :codger: :haz:

 

Yes! :haz:

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Syrinx, these are brutal. I knew that they took a beating by critics, but I had no idea how bad a beating.

 

Thanks for remembering them.

 

Attending a Rush concert is like being a masochist who’d enjoy a heart transplant operation in his friendly neighborhood hospital

 

 

First, there’s the overwhelming bass line, always present, steering the electronic carnage that makes up the bulk of the band’s albums, like Hemispheres and 2112, this way and that.

 

Then there’s the dentist drill voice of Lee, which after not all that many songs becomes a deft instrument of torture for the listener. It’s a voice that begins immediately at the level of pain and, miraculously, and very unfortunately, proceeds to a higher plane.

 

Finally, there’s the drum work of Peart, the frightful heartbeat, the rhythm of doom.

 

For their perseverance, the fans were treated to some new material from the band, including a song called The Spirit of Radio. The new material sounded much like the old material – pretentious and bombastic. But it sells, so why knock it.

 

:unsure:

 

The last quote reminds me of a time when a friend of mine and I snuck into a rock club back home. We were well under age, so we had to sneak in. We went there to see a band a friend of a sister of a friend of a cousin of someone said was pretty cool and different. They had just released an independent demo and had not yet signed with a full label.

 

We saw the show. We enjoyed it.

 

As we left, I told my friend, "That band was pretty cool... but they are never going to make it."

 

The band was Metallica. About a year later they got their deal with Megaforce. The EP was "No Life 'til Leather" and I could have bought a copy at that show but passed.

 

So ended my budding career as a music critic...

 

:facepalm:

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3 reviews of the infamous Varsity Stadium show in 1979:

 

 

Rush at Varsity Stadium – Sunday, September 2, 1979

 

Concert review by Alan Niester – Globe and Mail

 

When it was conceived a few months ago, last night’s pairing of Rush and FM at Varsity Stadium probably seemed like a good idea. After all, Rush members are favourite sons here, and their appearances traditionally draw good crowds. It was the Labor Day weekend, the last slice of summer freedom, and presumably the city’s students would have been dying for one last chance at a summer blow-out. And putting the concert in a nice outdoor setting should only have increased the pleasure two-fold.

 

But somehow, it didn’t quite turn out that way. Only 8,000 fans turned out for the concert, apathetically sitting through conditions which seemed more suited to a late autumn football game than a summer concert. Between enduring the cool breeze and facing the realization that summer had run its course, the audience hardly seemed in a festive mood. And the music provided by the artists both reflected and increased the general audience apathy.

 

FM started it off with what may have been the most ignored set I’ve ever seen in this city. The three-man band, featuring Cameron Hawkins on synthesizer and Ben Mink on electronic violin, plus drummer Martin Dellar, ran through 50 minutes of its own brand of electro-jamming. Although the music tended to be a bit ragged, the trio generally acquitted itself well. Considering the similarities between this type of music (progressive, thought-provoking, rambling) and the headline act, it was quite surprising that almost no one noticed when they left the stage.

 

Of course, Rush fans are an intensely loyal lot, primed for their heroes and having little regard for anyone else. Simply because the band only drew half the number of fans it usually draws, I’m not yet prepared to write it off. The weather was less than inviting for an outdoor concert, and I suspect the CNE has gleaned most of the greens from teen jeans.

 

Rush ran through a lengthy set which revolved around material from its Hemispheres and 2112 albums. Personally, I find the idea of a power trio with a singer who sounds like Lucy Ricardo rather trying after an hour or so. But the Rush fans who hung in through the seemingly endless (often as long as 20 minutes – which in the hands of Rush seems endless) songs seemed to be satisfied, even if they did spend most of the evening hunkered dozily on the stadium infield.

 

For their perseverance, the fans were treated to some new material from the band, including a song called The Spirit of Radio. The new material sounded much like the old material – pretentious and bombastic. But it sells, so why knock it.

 

When all was said and done, however, Labor Day weekend with Rush was certainly not the triumph it should have been. The concert was a “so what” affair, and ended the listless Toronto concert summer with a whimper, not a bang.

 

 

Rush at Varsity Stadium Review #2 – The Toronto Sun

 

What a bummer for Rush!

 

When last Toronto’s hometown heavies played at home, they sold nearly 50,000 tickets to three nights at the Gardens.

 

This year they had reportedly been booked to play the CNE but were lured back into the arms of Concert Productions International with a fat guarantee. CPI hired Varsity Stadium for them on Sunday and sought to raise the crowd limit by 10,000.

 

But by showtime the attendance was less than 10,000 in all.

 

Was the problem the recession that is scaring many American acts off the road?

 

Was it the length of time since the last album? (Rush will begin to record again next month at Quebec’s Le Studio.)

 

Was it promotion that took for granted that the Rush show was the big event of Labor Day weekend and failed to make it seem so?

 

Was it a ticket price half again as much as the CNE concert by Triumph and Doucette (who drew half again as many people)?

 

Was it the threatening weather that also prevented Rush from using its movies and turned its clouds of smoke into wisps of mist?

 

Aside from bruised feelings, though, Rush was alright. (It was the scalpers hustling passers-by with slashed-price tickets who got burned – and some of them had been burned at the Bee Gees!) The trio played more like the tough little barband that triumphed at Massey Hall just a few years ago. Even the more progressive science-fiction material seemed gutsier without the band’s classy visual distractions – and that’s a pointer towards Rushmusic in the 80’s.

 

The new album will be called Magnetic Air, which describes the buzz they get before going on stage. Neil Peart, whose solo rhythmic showmanship closed the concert on a climax, said he didn’t think there was “a single whiff of space anywhere on the album.”

 

“Not in the lyrics,” agreed singer Geddy Lee, who also mentioned a song that is “almost entirely” in 4/4 time. “That’s a breakthrough for us. Finding something we like that is in 4/4 almost all the way through is an accomplishment.”

 

During the concert they previewed two tight, disciplined creations called Free Will and The Spirit of Radio. The latter is a tribute to progressive CFNY, and while the band didn’t dedicate it on stage (the show was presented by CHUM), they knew the Brampton station’s listeners would recognize references to their promotions.

 

Progressive-rocking FM had their biggest hometown audience (and their best sound system) as Rush’s special guest; Peart told me his group feels FM is the best band in Canada.

 

Despite the lack of lighting (it was still day) and plastic shelter that shrouded drummer Martin Deller and his equipment, the young trio acquitted itself admirably. Ben Mink dropped a bunch of violin notes, but behind his electric mandolin is a guitar-hero in the making. Multiphrenic Cameron Hawkins was a believably passionate singer, a precise pedal-bass player and a multi-keyboard star – all at the same time.

 

I hope they sell bales of copies of Surveillance when their new album is released in a couple of weeks.

 

 

Rush at Varsity Stadium, Sept. 2, 1979 – Review #3

 

By Bruce Blackadar – Toronto Star

 

“Rush tries to bludgeon audience”

 

Attending a Rush concert is like being a masochist who’d enjoy a heart transplant operation in his friendly neighborhood hospital.

 

But the Rush fanatics – who used to be legion in these parts – seem to be losing their addiction to pain. Only 8,000 showed up last night at Varsity Stadium to happily endure the three-man Toronto heavy metal group’s mind-shattering barrage of technological and electronic wizardry that it cunningly disguises as music.

 

It’s meaningless to attempt to review what Rush is doing; that would be like trying to explain the political necessity of planting bombs in churches to a sweet old nun running a children’s orphanage.

 

However, we can say that the trio – Neil Peart on drums, Geddy Lee, vocals and bass, and Alex Lifeson, guitar – are certainly professional, like a team of frogmen who possess an exquisite mastery of technical matters.

 

First, there’s the overwhelming bass line, always present, steering the electronic carnage that makes up the bulk of the band’s albums, like Hemispheres and 2112, this way and that.

 

Then there’s the dentist drill voice of Lee, which after not all that many songs becomes a deft instrument of torture for the listener. It’s a voice that begins immediately at the level of pain and, miraculously, and very unfortunately, proceeds to a higher plane.

 

Finally, there’s the drum work of Peart, the frightful heartbeat, the rhythm of doom.

 

Other ingredients of the Rush assault include a mind-bending sound system, full of hysterical – and meaningless – distortions, a perfectly synchronized light show, and the band’s weird philosophical stance of intellectually primitive conservatism.

 

Much of what the band does – such as The Spirit of Radio, a new song they introduced to their fans last night – is wildly exciting. But the other material is pointless electronic overkill of the highest order.

Appreciate the post. The way it was for sure. It really used to piss me off at the time. The last laugh is sweet however...
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Yep the reviews and views of Rush outside of the Rush fan base were almost universally bad back then. They really never got the respect until the last few years. It was funny. You had the fans who were absolutely rabid and everyone else who hated them. I will post more eventually. Not a great pic but the '77 show set me back $8.00!

 

I have no luck posting photos anymore - not sure what the problem is?

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The first song by Rush I remember hearing on the radio was Fly By Night. Then Closer To The Heart. I'm from the NYC metro area. I don't ever recall hearing anything derogatory said about them. They were just another new band, among many, that made it big in the seventies.
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Most rock criticism is pretty bogus. People like what they like, and our reactions to songs are mysterious but very real things and certainly not bound to be influenced by someone else's view. I wonder how often the clever know-it-alls who write most reviews give a record the close listen that it really deserves. These are guys who are networked into a "purveyors-of-cool" set with a sadly narrow perspective of what is really meaningful. The weeping Brazilian woman on the Rio documentary who is struggling to articulate what Rush means to her is a galaxy of genuine reaction, and quickly makes me forget about critics chuckling over their clever but abusive phrases. Any critic who writes a negative review is basically saying to thousands of people: you're an idiot because you like this garbage. That person can go back to his little computer and type away while the weeping Brazilian woman and I continue to take pleasure in what we love.

 

Also, how many platinum albums are we talking about here - and those figures haven't even really been updated.

 

 

Disclaimer: I don't know the Brazilian woman from the documentary and did not mean to imply that she and I would do anything "together," as in at the same time or in the same room even...

Edited by toymaker
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The weeping Brazilian woman on the Rio documentary who is struggling to articulate what Rush means to her is a galaxy of genuine reaction...

 

She's not alone. It is hard to articulate what they mean to you to someone who doesn't share your enthusiasm and love for them.

 

After I read those reviews, I couldn't help but wonder where today the men are who wrote them.

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Lorraine, Toronto LOVED Rush but the critics hated them. For several years Rush played a series of shows at Maple Leaf gardens around New Years. They were annual homecomings and were greatly anticipated - at least by my crowd. Those shows were celebrations!
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I honestly don't understand the hatred for them back then. Geddy's voice never struck me as strange. And they sounded as talented as anyone else on the radio back then. So, I don't understand where the animosity towards them came from. Or why.
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I honestly don't understand the hatred for them back then. Geddy's voice never struck me as strange. And they sounded as talented as anyone else on the radio back then. So, I don't understand where the animosity towards them came from. Or why.

 

Yeah me either, especially when you consider there were so many other male singers that sang in a high range at the time. The 80's were full of them, and even then they were talking about his voice being screechy.

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Syrinx, I see you are from Toronto, so you would know first hand the reaction to them. I would think that home boys would have been well received, but apparently not.

 

I was at both those shows. You have to remember that back in those days critics were old men that simply hated new music. Kinda like:

 

Editor "Bill, what do you think of Rush"

Bill "Can't stand them"

Editor "Okay, you're reviewing the show tonight"

 

Thats just how it went back then.

 

As a fan, here's what actually happened...

 

CNE Stadium

Rush were on the verge of breaking world wide. AFTK had either just been release or there had been a preview on a local FM station, but regardless, we were all familiar with the new tunes. Rush killed that night. My big recolection of that show was looking back (I was in the front row) and seeing the kids all the way to the very last row standing on their seats. Electric! The band played everything from ATWAS (with the exception of What ya doing) and most of AFTK (no Madrigal). I can't begin to express how good that show was!

 

Varsity Stadium

Yes the attendance wasn't great. It was cold. It was windy. And it was pissing rain. But you also have to remember that Varsity stadium isn't on the train line, so its hard for the kids in the burbs to get there. Also, it was entirely general admission, meaning if you wanted to be close you'd have to spend all day waiting in line. The wind forced Rush to abandon their visuals, and even the dry ice in Xanadu failed big time. But, the band was as tight as I'd ever seen them given that they were in the midst of recording PW. The stripped down show put the focus on their playing and the band didn't disappoint. The crowd was rowdier than any Rush show I've ever been to, and I highly doubt that anybody went home disappointed. In fact its become one of those events that you can say with pride "I was there"!

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