Puppyloo

We did VIP for Ft. Lauderdale tonight - confirmation email said 12:00:38 and got front row a couple seats towards center from Geddy's mic stand.

Just my experience - my husband hounded me for several years to come see his favorite band - but honestly I wasn't interested because I couldn't understand a damn thing Geddy was singing. It was like his notes are too high - like a dog whistle - for me to comprehend. Sure I can make out the chorus, but the rest was musical mush. I finally caved for the Vapor Trails tour and while I still had a rough time with the lyrics, the fact that three guys could make so much noise was impressive. Plus, the videos and lighting were pretty cool... And there was NO ONE on line for the bathroom! (That's totally a chick perk.) The more I opened up to their catalog and read the album liners (lord, aging myself here), the more I came to appreciate the whole package. Snakes and Arrows was the turning point for me - his register dropped and I became just as big a diehard as my husband. On my way to show #26 tonight, in fact! Now I love nothing more than rocking out like an idiot at the shows - their music moves me... sadly, it's in sweaty, uncoordinated spastic ways that I call "dancing". ( :

Hubby and I shot for Ft. Lauderdale (VIP) and Orlando (MusicToday) simultaneously this morning. VIP confirmation at 12:00:044!!! If we're not sitting on Geddy, Alex or Neil's lap, I'm going to be pissed! ( : Orlando on the other hand was meh. Didn't pull a thing for Section 1 (runs the length of the stage) so best we found was F3, Row J. For giggles we tried Nashville and same issue - nothing coming up in the front sections (F1 & F2). I'm going to bet that they are sitting on a larger stash of VIP seats (i.e. those very front sections), banking on the publicity bump from Hall of Fame. Hopefully the more casual fan won't want to pay VIP prices and some of those will get released closer to show dates... at least a girl can dream.

THIS ^ My husband pulls the same move for movie theatre talkers - if I can't HEAR the show, you can't SEE the show! ( :

Not sure if it's handled differently now, but based on our experience with M&G on TMT no autographs are allowed. Arrived at designated time and location, lined up the herd (there were about 30 of us), Michael gives the rules (no autographs, no cell phone cameras, no individual pics unless you came solo, official photographer will take pic & you'll be given a website to download it from later and than back out the door (or in our case, up the stairs). He said it will be over before you know and he was quite right. I didn't even realize till I was halfway up those stairs, that due to my nervous babbling with Alex I never even said a word to Geddy. However, I totally understand the assembly line queue else the shows would never start on time. (I've seen how unregulated fandomonium can get out of hand at too many comic book/sci-fi conventions.) Was it worth it though? Absolutely! ( : Enjoy the experience, ya lucky duck!

Any word if one of the message board peeps scored this one? I typically listen to Sirius or my iPod while working, but decided to invest a month in trying to enter as much as possible (it was a sweet ass prize package!). After all this time, I came away with two observations: 1) Over all that time I heard Rush played a grand total of three time... yes, three. 2) Apparently the music of the 80's and early 90's is now considered "Classic Rock" by Clear Channel... yes, "Classic Rock".

I purchased VIP tickets (2) for the Detroit show - completed the transaction within 20 seconds of going on sale (thank you, auto populate!) and ended up with 2nd row dead center. Others we spoke with in line were within first 3 rows and 6th - not sure how quickly they purchased though. Personally, I took the lack of feedback after the shows as a good sign that folks were overall happy with the VIP. People are much more motivated to complain about a crappy experience than a good one... (see the 3 gazillion setlist rant/postings, as example). Best of luck to everyone still waiting on their VIP!

On the hunt for a good Christmas gift for the hubby (huge Rush fan) - he's got the GL Fender Jazz and a Rick, so I'm thinking that same type of bass strap that Ged uses might be cool surprise... except I can't seem to find a mention of a particular type or manufacturer anywhere. Hoping the Rush equipment aficionados on the board might have some suggestions or be able to point me in the right direction... Thanks in advance! ( :

Sticks were a "Neil liked my sign... and I think I just peed my pants!" delivery at the next to last Snakes & Arrows show in Alpharetta, GA. Picks were gift from friend who received them at a radio station meet & greet. I know it's not the same as catching a toss, but can't break up the set! ( :

QUOTE (TheY2k @ Aug 17 2011, 11:33 AM)I might have to do that. Thanks man While I like the look of the circular shadow box, you lose a lot of workable space inside of it because of the items being squared off. You can find the round boxes on-line, but they are pretty pricey and the color/style selection is kind of plain. I would suggest you go with the rectangular framing shape - again easier to fit more inside and easier on the budget. What I would do if I were you is start hitting thrift/antique stores and find some old broken clocks, ideally some grandfather or coo-coo clocks. Bust them open and hot glue some of the interlocking clogs, springs, gears and various mechanisms to create a few interesting accent pieces to place in the a couple of the corners of the box. (You might even just be able to find clock repair parts online, too.) This way you get the steam punk feel, without overpowering all your pics & stuff - which should be the main focal point. Lay out all the pieces that you want in the box (pic, tix, stix, etc) and see if there is a common color tone (or a complementary color) to all of them to pick your matting colors - honestly, this was the toughest step for me because not all of ours had one. You can tie in the same feel to your flat frame as well, so they will sit together as a set nicely, by carrying over some flat gears/cogs in between the matt and glass. I've throw together a sample image below to give you rough idea of what I'm trying to describe (I'm a graphic designer and I really should be working right now, but this sounded like more fun at the moment!) And keep your eye out for custom framing coupons for Michael's - they have them pretty often, usually 50-60% off. http://i1097.photobucket.com/albums/g360/Puppyloo/TestFrame.jpg

Wanted to post earlier, but had to wait till after husband's birthday - found this thread about a week before the last show of the tour and decided to sent one of our pre-sale lenticular lanyards to the Gorge. I included a note that Karl (hubby) and I are huge fans, his birthday was coming up and getting the lanyard signed for him would be a huge surprise (and give me leverage in getting a new puppy! Hey, a girl's gotta do, what she's gotta do, right?) Honestly, when nothing returned in a week I thought no hope and on to b-day Plan B... but a few days later it was in the mailbox. Though I was really surprised to see that it was personalized to BOTH of us - between this and Neil's drumsticks, we're stuck with each other forever. Like some sort of marriage insurance! ( : Got everything framed as a surprise - one set for S&A and the other set for TM. He was kinda sedate about the S&A set, because he knew all the items and we've wanted to properly display them for some time. But the look on his face when he opened the TM set and realized what was on the lanyard was priceless! I can't begin to describe how grateful I am that the band takes the time out of their already busy schedule - and even at the last show of a long tour - to do something so nice for the fans. The only downside now is I've set the bar too high - Christmas is gonna be a let down, unless I can get Geddy to give Karl bass lessons. (and yes, I got my new puppy!) ( : http://i1097.photobucket.com/albums/g360/Puppyloo/IMG_2001.jpg http://i1097.photobucket.com/albums/g360/Puppyloo/IMG_1999.jpg

I actually just got the same type of items framed as a surprise b-day gift for my hubby, Karl. Granted it's not the steam punk theme you're looking at doing (which would be amazing), I ended up choosing matting materials that were more generic "rock" feel - brushed suede, leather, etc. I ended up having to split the group into two frames - partially due to cost & overall size, but it ended up working out well as one for each tour. The S&A set is shadow box due to the depth needed for floating the sticks - looks smaller in pic than really is (about 2' x 2'). The TM set is traditional frame with double matting (20"x15"). I debated using our meet & greet photo, but decided to go with one of Arrowsmith's since being in the front row for the first time (thank you Fan Club Pre-sale gods!) was huge part of the evening & you can see us rocking out like idiots. ( : (Plus, Geddy's standing about a foot away from Karl in the M&G pic like he's got cooties) It took a TON of sneakiness to get all these out of the house without him knowing (scanned copies and decoy sticks/pics had to come into play), but totally worth the surprise. I was a bit skeptical about going to Michael's rather than a traditional frame shop, but they worked with me for several hours to pick all the peices and I'm really pleased with the finished results. Only downside is that even with the 60% off custom framing coupon, still set me back about $450 for the two (but worth every penny). http://i1097.photobucket.com/albums/g360/Puppyloo/IMG_1999.jpg http://i1097.photobucket.com/albums/g360/Puppyloo/IMG_2001.jpg