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tomhealey

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  1. Last show at LA Forum. I had the great good fortune to be there, and I still have a print of Neil's picture of the crowd at the end because I'm in it. Seven years. Practically half of my son's existence on the planet. Amazing how time flies. I miss the shows, but I mostly miss the meetups with folks I met on this and other Rush boards. Thinking of all that's happened these last seven years. Wow. Tom Healey (yeah, my real name) Shameless Plug - Please check out Kubla Ken's www.rushradio.org and donate if able. Random Rush on demand is a beautiful, and valuable, thing.
  2. I was there (driving through floods in Chicago to fly there the day of the presentation, but that's another story). Yes, there were a huge amount of Rush fans in attendance. Maybe 75% of those with some band's attire on were Rush fans. But living the audience response in person, there was so much vengeance to it. We knew who kept them out all of those years - Jann Wenner. To see him have to announce and acknowledge their admission was significant. I know I wanted to stick my cheers in his ear. And I didn't stop yelling until I could yell no more. Did their admission mean much to the band? I think so. But I walked away thinking the band got it right - it was more important to their fans, who felt vindicated. Just one man's first-person views. Share your own, please, but don't crap on mine. s/ Yes, my name it really Tom Healey
  3. I had it really great. Went to the showing in Rosemont IL (up near O'Hare, maybe a 1/2 hour drive for me) on the second screen they opened (7:40 PM showing) when the first screen (7:30 PM showing) pretty much sold out. Only had about ten other folks in the theater - great social distancing for those of us that are at increased risk. Had on my Toronto Blue Jays "Weinrib 3" jersey. Said I would stay until I got bored, and wound up staying for the whole thing. Sound was great, viewing was great. Just had a blast. Also going to see Primus in Chicago in a few weeks. My brother - He Plays Bass - and I are going. Primus is his favorite band, and they'll be playing the first album I heard from my favorite band, in a landmark Chicago theater. Doesn't get much better than that.
  4. I wore a custom designed, official MLB-issued Toronto Blue Jays home jersey, number 3, with "Weinrib" on the back. I'm always impressed when people recognize what it is. I'd call it one of a kind, but I know that two exist (or existed), as the first one I ordered in large was too small, so I gave it to FS2112 to give to his wife. The next one, in extra large fit perfectly.
  5. tomhealey

    RRHF

    Folks, the intro to the HOF ceremony was the very best part of being there.
  6. Yes, I went for the faux-leather binding, and yes, they are certainly pretty to look at!! Got a few of these on the shelf - Neil Young and Van Halen, Dylan and so on. They are pretty, and I tend to use them for reference photos to paint or draw said musicians. I hadn`t considered actually reading them :cool: For reference I tend to use Wandering The Face Of The Earth. Now that is a mighty tome!! That book is so much fun to just read in bits and pieces! :) The touring stories from the early days really take me back to the 70's and the way things used to be. So glad I got it! Totally agree, Blueschica. I just finished this book, reading maybe 20 pages a night, and dreading the end, partly because I know full well how the story ends of course, but partly because I looked forward to my 20 pages before bed. Just bought the first two volumes. I haven't been overly impressed with Popoff's other Rush works, but this was good.
  7. I'm getting a strong 'get off my lawn' vibe here. No it's all good. I just can't fathom a real Rush fan quitting on the band despite a bad album or two. Well, one can drift away and maybe come back later like I am with the latest Steven Wilson record. Dreadful. Agreed. Personal Shopper is 9:49 of my life that I'll never get back. While listening, I kept thinking that it was a joke, as if he was just testing fans to see how much of the dregs we'll listen to, or that it eventually would segue into some guitar-fronted blasting riff. Disappointment was all I experienced.
  8. Easy for me. Signals. No question. I undertook a complete and total separation from the band. Like walking into your bedroom and finding your spouse in bed with your worst enemy, and his pals filming it and laughing. Never going back. I felt humiliation, like my heroes had waved the white flag. I couldn't deal with that Subdivisions keyboard shite. Didn't listen to anything else on that album. Didn't listen again to Rush for many years. Not at all. Gave away albums. And turned the channel when they came on classic rock stations. Didn't even read stories about them for many years. I felt complete betrayal. And that merits complete exclusion. You've got to understand. I'm 57 now. I still remember sitting in my friend Gary's bedroom after school and listening to his just-bought, just-released pressing of A Farewell To Kings. Blown away. Totally. Blown. Away. Literally, and fundamentally, that album changed how I listened to music. This band changed what I expected, and now demanded, from music. Hard rock can be like this? So thoughtful, yet so rocking. An instant fan. All the thoughtfulness I'd been looking for and couldn't find in hard rock. All the stuff to make me think deeper into the thoughts I'd been thinking on my own. I followed and listened, and (at least I felt like) my mind expanded. And then, to have them turn to keyboards, like A Flock of Seagulls or Duran Duran? Can't do it, won't do it. And didn't do it. 16+ years passed. I heard that Neil's wife and daughter passed. And that they released a live album, A Show of Hands. So many years since I cared a wit about this band. Somehow, for reasons I don't recall, I asked my sister to get me ASOH for Christmas. At least I wouldn't be paying any money for it. Might as well see what they've been up to since my betrayal. And I will admit, it wasn't an instant sell. I wasn't convinced that it was all classics in the interim. But some of the music that had happened during my self-imposed exile appealed to me. Maybe I listened with a more mature ear. Maybe the writing of the music matured since the early keyboard days. And maybe, just maybe, the two veered toward the happy middle in those 16+ years. And I'm very glad I came back. For all of the friends I made on this and other boards. For all of the amazing live shows I saw, from seats I didn't dare dream of as a teenager. For the fantabulous pre-show parties with you lot. And for all of those many Friday nights, sitting up after my son went to bed, listening to my friend Kubla Ken's rushradio.org and playing computer games.To paraphrase Freddie Gruber, "I wish that I could live it all again."
  9. Ugh. Five years. Looking at my Aug 1 2015 poster for the LA show. What an evening.
  10. Hi All: As some of you know, I work as an attorney, so my whole working day is spent thinking about words. I often tell people that words are the only tools that lawyers have in their toolbox. The literal meaning of words, along with the images they connote, are powerful and heavily premeditated elements of any legal document. Persuasive legal writing depends upon a robust - but exactingly accurate - vocabulary. And so it is that the other day, while listening to YYNOT's live cover of No One At The Bridge (it's awesome, check it out on YouTube), I focused on the word "supplication," which is defined as asking or begging for something earnestly. And I realized, while thinking of that word, that I have known its meaning for many decades because of Neil's decision to use it in The Fountain of Lamneth. Neil contributed to my view of life by presenting me with a very different perspective than the one I had those many decades ago. But he also contributed to my life by using words that I didn't know, and that were unlikely to have ever appeared before, or since, in a rock song. What about all of you? Are there any words that Neil taught you?
  11. A special song for me. It was off the setlists during my early (1980-1981) Rush concerts, and I figured by my later years that I'd never ever hear it live. Then, late in the first set at Hi-Fi Buys in Atlanta on the tour opener in June 2007, they pulled it out. From the fifth row Alex side, I went just-a-wee-little-bit crazy. "Berserk" is not a word often ascribed to corporate lawyers (outside the courtroom anyway), but it accurately described me that night. Fits of my version of "dancing" and various ill-timed paroxysmal spasms from which some witnesses have surely not recovered without a decade or more of therapy ensued. Particularly memorable because I almost missed the show entirely due to a traffic jam getting to American at O'Hare that afternoon (don't ever fly on show day, idiot!!!), but my now-ex-wife convinced me not to head back home but instead to buy an entirely separate ticket on United (bless her soul), which got me there too late for the always fun pre-game festivities, but right on time for the show opener. It was like an entirely gift show bequeathed to me, and Circumstances, the cherry that was on top. So, yes, superb song.
  12. Was wondering the same thing myself.
  13. You go, Grey! Those who weren't there can write about it. Those who were there can sit back and smile!! Although I have to admit, my confusion rests not so much with how I got to the LA concert, but rather, with how I got back to my hotel room from the desolate parking lot of Steve Harvey's Chicken Shack!! Thank you Tombstone Mountain, wherever you might be!!
  14. Hi All. I was lucky enough to see the 2015 tour (I still cannot bring myself to call it "The Last Tour," even after four years!!) from pretty good seats on several occasions, start of the tour to finish. I never thought Alex as down. Unlike Geddy, who played to the top of the house most of the time, Alex mostly focused his performance on the first few rows. And he never disappointed us. If he was unhappy to be there, I never noticed it. Not once. I never had the feeling he mailed it in. Now, Neil. on the other hand, never mailed it in either, but unhappy?...
  15. Indica commented in this thread in 2005...good memories.
  16. Yup, it's RobertRobyn in the photo; or at least, it's not me (although equivalent amount of hair on me!!). Grey is hereby and hereinafter relieved of all liability of other culpability (spoken like a lawyer, eh?) re my absence from the photo. Grey is such a good guy. Be sure to send him a note saying "hi," even if you don't know him. Do it, right now. Seriously, before you read this further, do it. He's good folk; the best, and he will be sure to respond in kind. W hen the photo was taken before the show, I was off at a parking lot south of the stadium, giving away my second ticket for the show to RushChic, a friend from 12+ years, who shared shows and smiles and life and boards and tix and stories and hugs and beers and friends and tee shirts and more beers and knuckle bumps and tunes and urinals (don't ask) and tears (at least, during Xanadu, that "final" night, when it meant the most) and lots and lots of laughs with me over the years at and before and after a dozen Rush shows. When I found out that my brother, He Plays Bass, wouldn't fly to LA for the final gig (ever), I gave RushChic my ticket (Section C (center), Row 2, seat 1), on two conditions. She had to actually be in the seat next to me for the whole show, without exception or excuse, and she had to buy me the first beer of the night. And as you'd expect of a good Rush fan, she followed through on both points. No one other than He Plays Bass that I wanted next to me for such an emotional event. I made the right call. And as it turned out, I would up in Neil's final photo of the fans from the drum riser, proving both that I was there (as Grey, x1yyz, and Tombstone Mountain will attest, because they got me to the LA show (and, most thankfully, got what was left of me after the show out of the Steve Harvey's Fried Chicken parking lot and safely back to my hotel)), and that Neil has better photo skills than John A, who would have gotten my besodden, orange-capped head blotted out of the final fan photo ever by high hat or lunar eclipse or raised fist or bass headstock or Neil's tubeteika or intentional deletion or explosives or Alex's butt or whatever. I'm in that photo, ten seconds before the band ended. I think that means that the weight of history is on me!
  17. which were done by all the members. They all have their duties in regards to this. Excuse me. they all "had" their duties YO!! Wuddup dawg? I answer to yo TM! Glad to see you surface!
  18. When I am asked, as I inevitably am, why I would take the time and $$ to go see 5 or 6 shows each tour, when I knew pretty much what songs they'd play, and in what order, and I knew the band and crew worked very hard to make it sound exactly like the record (removing the spontaneity, and hence the uniqueness, from the show), I'd invariably conclude it was interaction with the people I met on this board (and rushtour.com, R.I.P.) that kept me going. And, as much as I loved the shows, and would get lost in the music (and thrash about, becoming a threat to the safety of myself and those in my vicinity), I find myself missing the face-to-face interaction with other Rush fans more than I miss the shows themselves. Of the forty-some shows that I got to see, and through all of the pre-party hoopla and craziness, I can think of only two people I ran into who behaved like jerks. The hundreds and hundreds of others I came in contact with seemed to treat everyone they met with respect, dignity, and kindness. And I suspect they took that sunny outlook of the world with them when they weren't interacting with other Rush fans, too. Now, go away, before I start blubbering...
  19. Tom Healey got one for Chicgo all right, thanks to Blueschica, one of the finest people I know! Thank you for thinking of me and sending me the heads up, as I would have missed this! There are truly some amazing people on this board. In fact, it looks like I'll be meeting a friend for dinner before the signing. He's taking his son to it. They're not huge Rush nuts per se, but are huge music fans who appreciate Rush's musicality (and are amused no end by my Rush ardor). Woop! Can't wait! Thanks again Blueschica!! I owe you one!
  20. Circumstances, from Atlanta (tour opener) in 2007.
  21. Love boots, particularly of shows that I attended. One of my favorites is from the Starlight Theater in Kansas City (either 2008 or 2010, I cannot recall). Sound quality is amazing; you can hear Neil counting off to open songs. The boot of that show that I picked up had no name, so I titled it "8,000 Geeks Can't Be Wrong," some self-effacing humor to be sure. I'm always interested to hear the "train wrecks." Those moments clearly don't make it to official releases, but particularly with a band that is well known for precision in its playing, train wrecks add variety to the boots, and make the band seem a bit more human. As Geddy said on stage (I think between songs at the Atlanta opener), just remember, there are no mistakes, just new versions of songs. I undertook a project a while back to collect the two best-sounding boots (to my ears) of each tour. Since setlists didn't change much once Rush became headliners, quality usually dictated the shows to keep, rather than the content of the show. That sort of project is never finished, in the sense that new boots become available (or known to me, anyway) all the time. I'm not even sure I have that collection any more, as I've had several hard drive implosions over the years.
  22. Lorraine, that would be great because, you know, guys aren't allowed in there. Now, let the guys try to set up a "men only" section around here and see the hell we'd catch!
  23. No ARF40 tshirts, though, I really think they missed a great opportunity to make some extra cash there. I have been trying to get my tee shirt guy to make me an Arf40 shirt, but I cannot find a clear photo to use as a base. Anyone got any ideas?
  24. I agree - those old buildings were old but they were fun. And look at that ornate trimming around the windows - that's what I love about old buildings - they were built to be pleasing to the eye most of the time. I wonder if it is still there? Wikipedia... Saw another photo taken in 2018 ...It's still there It's a beauty! I love old buildings! :) Thanks!! Wow. I have seen a bunch of shows at the Aragon Ballroom (or "Aragon Brawlroom," as we used to call it). Never saw Rush there, unfortunately, but I did see Rush at (at least) six other Chicago-area places (Rosemont Horizon, Tinley Park, United Center, Chicago Stadium, Northerly Island, and (first and still favorite, but now demolished) the International Amphitheater (or "International Empty-theater," another favorite nickname), a joint built on the south side and primarily first used for auctioning cattle). Back to the Argon, I saw Motorhead there just after the (now deceased) Fast Eddie Clarke left the band and was replaced by Brian Robertson (concert date May 22, 1982, if my Google machine is correct). The show was so loud that I temporarily lost my hearing for about ten minutes, and went outside to recover a bit. As I recall, Robertson was incredibly shaky on the solos, often turning his back to the audience so we couldn't see his ineptitude. Lemmy got pissed at the abuse being heaped on Robertson and challenged some front row folks to fight on stage, which they declined. I also recall the Aragon sold big popcorn buckets filled with beer for $10. Funny the things you remember in your dotage.
  25. Woot!! I have the book already, as does my brother, He Plays Bass, but I'll buy a few more to get the signed ones!
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