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Rush and Countdown were just mentioned on NASA TV. A short blurb about how the band was invited to see STS-1, and how they wrote the song about the experience. It was also said that the song was playing somewhere in Mission Control during the Artemus 2 liftoff!!

I think most of my additional optimism about the tour, that comes from seeing this Juno performance, springs from the simple logic that if they did this well, with this song, how much easier is it going to be to play songs like Dreamline, Red Sector A, Far Cry…so many songs that are much better suited to Geddy’s current vocal range. I mean, going all the way back to the first album and, objectively, just crushing one of their high-key, Zeppelin-esque bangers as faithfully as they did probably represents the zenith of “degree of difficulty” they’ll face on this tour. Part of me wonders if the song choice didn’t contain a little element of, “We’ve heard some tut-tutting out there about, ‘Will they still be able to cut it’. Well, here—hold our f***ing beer, and watch this.”

Geddy sounded good. Much better than i expected. I am getting pumped up again for the Summer tour.

Choosing Finding My Way is a bit of a flex. Sounded far better than I expected! Looks like the 10 years off did Geddy's voice a world of good.

That sounded great. Any minor doubt I had in my mind have just evaporated. Let's not pretend that Geddy sounded exactly like he did on the Album 52 years ago - but to even attempt to sing that in the same key and generally sounding better than he did 10-15 years ago whilst doing so is one hell of an achievement. The band sound tight and well-rehearsed and I thought that Loren's addition to the sound was tastefully done and not too intrusive - adding a little bit of a lift to the second half of the song. I thought that Anika's interpretation of the track contained a good blend of John Rutsey and Neil influence, as well as some of her own sound. I liked the little alternating 1/8th and 1/16th cowbell pattern she played during the bridge. Looking forwards to the tour now.

Did not expect finding My Way! Fantastic

Fantastic articles. Anyone who is still in that scoffing denial "it ain't Rush without Neil" is being a stubborn crab. This tour is gonna be phenomenal. The playing will be the most energetic playing the band has had since the T4E tour IMO. I can already feel the energy, intensity and focus just by reading both articles. And the Juno Award performance solidified my feelings. The set lists will be intense and filled with a ton of the signature prog Rush tunes we all love mixed in with the hits. Anika is bringing a renewed energy to the music. She would make Neil's spirit incredibly proud as she is taking the "feel" so seriously and not being hired to be a Robot Neil Peart clone. The boys knew exactly what they were looking for...someone who get's the feel and has love and joy in playing. Man I can't wait. So happy to be part of the fans attending this monumental tour for the greatest band to ever grace progressive rock. They are the Godfathers......this will be their true farewell on their terms. I couldn't be happier for Alex and Geddy. Because they weren't ready to say goodbye in 2015....but understood Neil had enough. They are doing this for their souls. And yeah...the money ain't bad either.....but the fact 100's of thousands of fans are paying to see them again.....speaks to the power and pull of their brilliance.

Was it really necessary to come in here to post this?

It will still take a bit of getting used to this being "Rush" now though.

For a SEVENTY TWO year old Geddy Lee to be able to still sing Finding My Way in it's ORIGINAL f***ing KEY is a feat that can only be described as otherworldly. Seriously they sound so unbelieveably tight and almost like they never went away. I also love the fact that Ged is starting to incorporate more of that slapping and popping type of bass playing that had been missing since since the GUP/Power Windows era, really makes me wonder if this new tour is going to incorporate more songs from that era. God I f***ing hope....

Holy shit. Holy shit!!! That was amazing.

Neither did I !! They sounded fantastic!

For anyone interested here, is a rundown on the footage a friend did. The Enemy Within - A different night than original, cool it was mostly all new. The Body Electric - Seems like they only had Geddy footage for most of it. The Weapon - A different night, different Count Floyd audio. And maybe footage? a lot of Geddy vocals in solo not in original. Witch Hunt - Seems overdubbed screen films come from original release, idk not sure. Half and half, actually no, that was way more complete then I ever seen that screen film. Must still have original footage for the edit. Definitely dubbed in. Different performance to original release too! I think Neil drops a stick off screen based off Geddy's reaction and kinda delayed drum roll, it's right after he throws it in the air. New World Man - Missing intro, probably copyright?? Synths are really different, think this a different night too. I'm getting the vibe the original release is mostly the first night and this is mostly the 2nd night, pretty interesting. Crazy how much of this is brand new, wasn't expecting this. Feel like most bad sync shots are on purpose to add variety to not a lot of cameras angles to work with, going out of there way to use a different night for every song on the original release so far. The sync is mostly right for everything so far. Between The Wheels - Cool to see red strat. Some bad Neil shots. All from the end of the song but in the beginning. Odd. BTW has a lot of weird edits. Up to this point the audio matched the visuals. Now it seems like the video is a different night than the audio being played. But also just bad edits. Those fills in the beginning are not played in the right spot later. Can barely make out the P/G Laser, pretty much gotta know it's there to notice. Limitations of tape. I wonder why the right nights audio couldn't be used?? Like it's definitely a different night over the footage, and it has definitely not been like that so far. Red Barchetta - Cameras seem to be a mix of 2 nights. It's mostly right, besides typical weird Neil shots. Alex cameras are perfect, Geddy cameras are off I noticed, maybe they only had some to work with again. The bad syncs again are because of wrong audio, but it's perfect for Alex close ups, maybe he's just more consistent? Idk. Not all Geddy shots are wrong, just one angle. Distant Early Warning - Missing video, odd they didn't just pull from official. Good example of how bad the screen film was captured by the tape, doesn't surprise me based off things I've seen with tape and capturing projected film. Looks no better than the bootlegs lol. Interesting Witch Hunt was preserved. Different night than original release again. Crazy how much better the syncs are on the songs that were on the original night, even though it's a different version all together. Red Sector A - Different performance again. Sync is perfect, minus typical odd balls. Closer To The Heart - hmm breaks the pattern, songs In the original but the audio doesn't match the video. Very little is right, can actually see quality difference. Accurate shots are better looking. I think the lower quality shots are taken straight from the original. The most original shots I've seen used since spirit of radio. YYZ - Lots of reused shots from original, again you can actually see the quality different. Different audio again. Crazy they didn't get those YYZ drum fills right. That's just bad. They are clearly taking a lot from the original edit on this song, no excuse. Yeah it's a different night from the original audio wise. 2112 - Same thing, different audio than original but a lot of reused clips from the original. I really noticed the original is mostly one night audio wise, and this is mostly a different night audio wise. Tom Sawyer - Different night again. Sync is really good so far. Some reused shots buts it's much better. Getting worse at the end. Red Lenses - Audio doesn't match video, think it's night one video with night two audio or vice-versa. I hope it's that so you can sync with the boot. I feel bad for the editor, bro had to sync the audio of a different performance to this!! So much little improv in the drum solo and bass solo at the end. They did there best, the right audio just isn't there. I wonder if the video was edited to a different audio than the final TB live mix. Vital Signs - Pretty sure it's a different night again, actually syncs good. Gets bad at the end again. Finding My Way + In The Mood - All new, sync is actually pretty ok. Like Quote Reply Report

She has already learned over 25 tunes as of 3-4 weeks ago......I am sure she is locked in to those and will be locked in to the 40 they have planned to rotate 40% of over a 5 night cycle. She is a world class drummer. It's all about the "feel" technically she can play literally all the parts......no doubt in that. And I can see they are having a blast and the chemistry is strong. She will slay all of it. Rush is gonna slay literally all of it.....they have high standards.

The performance is still living in my head... 100% rent free... My thoughts: Anika... THE WOMAN SHE IS. Omg. Finally getting to see her rock it out with Ged and Al was a TREAT. She really did seem to fit in well and her sound was really good! Loved her own spin, because honestly? Why would she do a one for one of John or Neil? She's not them. She is Anika. She has her own flavour and I loved hearing it with them! Alex? Holy crap, dude looked FANTASTIC. All that physical training he had to do really did wonders! He seemed so energetic, so present! And his playing reflected that the entire song. Seeing him in such good spirits and playing so effortlessly again was beautiful. Geddy... holy... mother of Syrinx. That man seemed like he had the best time up there. He had energy that I don't think we'd seen in many many years. Like a creature being released from confinement. AND HIS VOICE WAS SO GOOD. I knew all the naysayers would be probably biting and swallowing their words. Man's had 11 years to rest, to rejuvenate. He had POWER again. His playing was perfekt (heh) as always! And I loved finally getting to get a taste of Loren! Didn't expect to see him up there with them. I liked his energy and vibes from what I could see! The little snips of keyboards in the song were kinda nice! Was it "Finding My Way" from 74? Nah. This is "Finding My Way" but make it 2026. And I loved every second! Fifty Something Tour will absolutely be a spectacular run. And I cannot wait!

That was awesome! Tears in my eyes… I loved Annika’s kit and they all sounded great!!! They are gonna have a blast this year and next!!!

WOW! Geddy's voice sounded great...And love how hard Anika played. Served the song so well.

Who's excited to finally see RUSH back on the road again? I am!!!

Welcome to the forum, Hugh Syme!

What a great performance! They sounded great. Wish they could have played more.

Ignore it.... let them be miserable. It's on them, not us.

Yep! You're right. .......3, 2, 1 I'm used to it.

When I entered the arena last night and saw this kit set up (with a blanket hiding the bass drum logo), I immediately knew it was truly happening.

Geddy's voice was a bit ropey but to be expected with quite a challenging choice of song but overall a pretty damn good performance. I see the'e already a couple of snipes at Anika ..... crikey, give the girl a chance!!!

Ohhhhhhh myyyyyy Rush brothas and sistas. Are ready to get Rushified this summer? f**k yes!!!!!!!

Well that caught me by surprise! Incredibly brave song for Geddy to attempt to pull off in front of an audience of millions Good choice to ease Anika into the fold though. Again fair play to her agreeing to being revealed in such a high profile fashion Challenging as it was, a great choice of song for many reasons

I especially like they didn’t hide the keyboard player, even though his participation was minimal. Some bands hide “extra” members. whenni saw the blu ray of Black Sabbath: The End I was floored when they introduced the band and a keyboard player emerged out of the darkness literally.

Literally in tears as they played that! Goosebumps. The whole deal really did NOT expect to react that way. Was that Maiah Wynne in the front row?

Hope we get one with a live soundboard show mixed and mastered properly. No...I don't need nor want a Terry Brown remix......absolutely no. Power Windows is sonic masterpiece for the time and place it was recorded. It was 1985, sequenced keyboards and bombastic drums were a thing and Rush captured that brilliantly. Literally it's one of the 5 perfect records they recorded front to back. Every song is meticulously crafted in every aspect of how it was recorded, played, mixed and mastered.

I was one of the first people to see this footage. It was found on a stock footage website as part of a collection of 8mm films that had been donated. It had no sound originally. It was such an exciting moment when I realized it had footage of the Twilight Zone and The Necromancer. Until that point nobody knew that those songs were played on the double necks.

A sleeping white dragon….

f**k no

I'll throw in my thoughts for fun: Geddy - this is probably the best he's sounded in 20 years TO MY EARS. It's clear he's done some work to adapt his technique to his age. Obviously he's not going to sound like 70's Geddy, I'm just hoping he stays this fresh through the tour and doesn't have to lower the keys of too many songs. But damn he looks happy, he's slapping the shiz out of da bass, and TO MY EARS he's never reached a point where he's sounded unlistenable. Really not looking forward to 8 months of "is he singing good or not" debates. Anike - I don't think there's been any debate about her technical abilities, it's going to come down to everyone's personal taste about her feel. Ged and Al clearly feel incredible with her, but after hearing Neil for 40 years, it's going to be a bit strange at first to have another drummer bringing themselves into the Rush fold. I'm hoping that the prog fans will be TOTALLY NORMAL ABOUT THIS and can be cool with her not being a carbon copy of Neil. I was a bit unsure at the beginning of the song, she seemed a tad nervous/stiff to my ears, but as soon as she started hitting those fills, she was ON IT. Also, her drum tones are insanely good. Can't wait to hear her play the Neil songs. Alex - Whatever issues he was having with his arthritis on the last tour.... he was on fire. Go off king. Loren - Again, this is going to be a personal thing, but I loved what he added. He gelled into the arrangement and added just enough flair without getting in the way of the main trio. It seems like he'll fill in the space without some of the studio overdubs, especially on the later era songs. The CBC - Nobody is talking about how hilarious that pip'd in appaluse is, while panning out to an absolutely quiet crowd who seemed to have no idea who Rush is. That one guy in the pit jumping up and down - Go off king. Overall... this got me so hyped for a tour that I can't afford to see.

“Missing,” or… “so seductively subtle that they flew under the radar?”

Amazed Ged sang this in the key he did and pulled it off the way he did. Yeah Alex's guitar sounded great up front. Good drumming, bodes well.

Also quite poignant that this "rebirth" took place in the city where Neil was born.

I have to say, Anika sounds great, Ged sounds great, Alex sounds great, the keyboard "parts" in this song are distracting LOL

Was fighting sleep at 1am here. Not now!

Presto is definitely the heaviest album of 1991

Though the Grace Under Pressure Box Set has been somewhat polarizing among fans for a myriad of reasons, it's still an absolutely gorgeous package and, yes, worth the money (IMO). For those who didn't acquire it, you can check out the entire package online below, including a full transcription of all the liner notes and essays, and high resolution scans of all the photos and artwork. Enjoy- Grace Under Pressure Box Set Liner Notes and Essays Grace Under Pressure Box Set Artwork and Photos

I guess you could say it started back on PeW with The Spirit Of Radio - the chorus is a sequencer that he triggered with his foot, I think...and then there's the sequencer on Vital Signs, which I think maybe was them playing to tape live? They clearly made a decision after GUP that they would not allow their arrangement choices to be dictated by the binary "bass or keyboards" thing. We also should not forget that they actually brought a keyboard player in during the PW sessions. I think this has been downplayed over the years, but it's probably good to remember that a lot of the parts that were being sequenced were parts Geddy never played in the first place, and likely were beyond his skills as a keyboardist. I think that time is an interesting period in their career...they really challenged themselves to replicate those arrangements live. One could argue that it was to the detriment of the live energy of the band - Geddy spending so much time locked behind the bank of keyboards, Alex married to his pedals. It's interesting to imagine what it would have been like if Rush were not so obsessed with recreating the album arrangements - what would some of those songs from PW or Hold Your Fire be like if they were more stripped down live. We'll never know. I personally never had an issue with the triggering of keyboard parts back on those 80s tours - but when they started triggering background vocals (I think beginning on the Presto tour?) that somehow seemed less authentic. It's really just semantics, but it seems like more of a cheat somehow.

The goal is to keep any tour-related content -- spoilers or otherwise-- confined to the R50 tour forum. That includes leaks of any kind before the tour starts. For instance, if you have a piece of news or content that can be categorized as a spoiler, don't post it in an existing thread that isn't already a spoiler thread. Say there's a thread where we're speculating about the setlist, and you come across a piece of information confirming a certain song that will be played that isn't Tom Sawyer -- you don't post it in that thread, you start a new thread that's clearly labelled SPOILER, and you don't put the song title in the thread title. That sounds like common sense stuff, but as anyone who's been here for the past few tours knows, the desire to be the first person to break an exclusive story can sometimes override common sense. There'll be official spoiler protocol posted once we get closer to game time.

This thread is about to be a shitshow

I'm comin' for ya... With some Buckethead.

It could be, but I doubt it. They've probably played the classics dozens of times at rehearsal already and she is more than capable. I think it was more the "first album, first song" thing - apparently a suggestion by management according to Geddy.

I dont know theyve played in front of folks so calm and reserved before lol.

The only thing missing was Alex's new dance moves.

It was great to see how Anika gelled with Ged & Al. I think that they picked a song from the first album so the emphasis wasn't on her vs. Neil. I also thought the song "Finding My Way" was appropriate, as the three of them are doing exactly that right now. She's a solid drummer. And, I would think she probably knew we diehards would be scrutinizing her perfomance last night. She's filling some big shoes, and she sounded great. Is she Neil? Nope, but I don't expect her to be Neil. Be true to the song, but I'm fine with her "take" on the drum parts. Al sounded fantastic. Ged sounded great too but I don't know how his voice is going to last this extensive of a tour without pitching some of these songs down. I'd rather hear him sing songs in a more comfortable key than straining to hit notes he first did 50 years ago. I also expect to hear a few instrumentals sprinkled throughout the set to help his voice, which I'm cool with. And I'm happy to be back here with my Rush family!