Gnoom

Just listened to it for the first time...holy crap! THIS is what I've been waiting for since 1982. Wow...just, wow... Tuesday can't get here fast enough.

From what I gather, they really appreciate non-shop talk every now & then, so I guess I'd keep it light: Neil, what was your most memorable bicycle tour? Geddy, what is your most cherished piece of baseball memorabilia? Alex, have you ever looked at Donald Trump and realized that maybe it's time to re-think this whole combover thing?

We all have The Eagles to thank for this. They were the first band to dip their toe in the Over-$100-Ticket waters, taking a calculated risk that fans would pay more than usual for tickets to their "Hell Freezes Over" Tour because (A) demand would be high since they hadn't toured in many years [and it was doubtful the band would ever reunite], and (B...the bigger factor) they knew that their core fan base was now older and filled with a lot of professionals making more money [thus having more disposable income]. This gamble paid off big time for the band, and many of the larger-profile performers followed their lead to similar results. Aside from a few rebels (such as Pearl Jam), the concert ticket market took a drastic shift from this point. Granted, the landscape has changed over the years with different factors (TM, brokers etc) coming into play to drive prices much higher...but it all began with The Eagles*, and as far as I'm concerned "Hell Freezes Over" was the starting point for all this nonsense. * I don't hold too much of a grudge against them, because if it wasn't them it would have been someone else. But FWIW, while I'm a casual fan of their music, I have never purchased a ticket for any Eagles tour (and probably never will) because I'm reminded of this moment every time they announce another tour.

Looking at the list, my only hope is that something from Clockwork Angels will be good enough to end Rush's 30-year drought of creating songs worthy of consideration for "The Big 10" That being said, I voted for "Tom Sawyer". Someone in another thread made the humorous observation that Rush could release an entire "Tom Sawyer Live!" CD. That says it all. I like the song, I'm just tired of hearing it.

While there are exceptions, for the most part I don't pay much attention to the lyrics in Rush songs. In fact, there are many Rush songs where I don't even know what the song is about, and I don't care to figure out the meaning. I know this is akin to ordering a pizza and then only eating the toppings while ignoring the crust, or drinking non-alcoholic beer, but it is what it is. I'm into Rush primarily for the MUSIC, and I'm so into the musical part of their songs that I sometimes get annoyed with the vocals as if they're a distraction. For this reason (I've said this many times already) I wish I could get every Rush tune with the vocal track dropped so I can focus more closely to their music (I've tried removing vocals with software like Audacity, but either it doesn't work well enough or I'm not using it right). And I'll be some would agree that this might actually improve some of their songs (like most of the filler songs on their 90's CDs ).

QUOTE (metaldad @ May 1 2012, 02:57 PM) Outside of the Tour Book , what are you going to do with the rest of the crap they give you for $350 ? The shirt looks like shit. Guitar Picks ? Get them on e-bay for $20 Here's a rundown of my Time Machine Tour VIP swag: Tour Book: Nice, but for me it's one of those things I look at for a time or two and then it's forgotten. This item currently sits on shelf collecting dust. Guitar Picks: Nice, but I had to use double-sided tape to keep the picks in the holder (otherwise they kept falling out). These sat around close to my desk in my home office...I liked looking at them occasionally...moved them into a storage box when I cleaned up office clutter, forgot to unpack them, still in a box somewhere in the closet...will probably unearth them at some point in the distant future and wonder "what can these strange devices be?" T-Shirt: meh. I wore it to the show, haven't worn it much since due to poor quality (thin material, shrunk in the wash). Poster: still in storage, never used. CD single: Still rockin' the two tunes from this, but the disc itself sits in a box in the closet with all my other CDs in this age of the iPod. BTLS DVD: This is the one item I truly cherish. Watched it a few times, enjoyed it, will watch it again many more times I'm sure. Parking Pass: saved me 10 bucks and got me a space in Lot "A", which was close to the venue. A nice convenience. ----- I guess my point is: the swag is just another corporate lure that contains a mix of some useful and mostly useless stuff...and while the useful parts at least offset the inflated cost of the package a little bit, the useless parts are basically inessential filler that serve as lipstick on a pig. On top of that, the swag for CA Tour contains (IMO) less useful stuff (no DVD, no music, no parking pass, but I guess you can use the tote bag if you're planning on buying more stuff at the show). I dunno, to each their own...I'm sure many VIP'ers will cherish their CA swag and if it makes them happy then it's all good. But I'll echo the established sentiment that the whole mystery-seat thing is a crock and LiveNation/TM is basically taking advantage of the lottery factor here. Ingenious from a business standpoint, but greedy nonetheless. Here's a suggestion to LN/TM: if you're going to keep this VIP thing going (and I know you will), ditch some of the useless filler items and replace them with stuff that fans can use AT THE SHOW. Bring back the parking pass, and throw in vouchers that can be exchanged for food & drink or even items from the souvenir stands. Perhaps even some sort of online code/credit that can be exchanged for tour merchandise of OUR choice...this way the experience can be better tailored to our specific needs, and it becomes more of a win-win for both parties.

QUOTE (Chicken hawk @ Apr 19 2012, 10:18 AM) has anyone in the past bought one of those VIP TOUR PACKAGE ? If so how much? Were u in the front row for sure? I got the VIP package last tour and netted two seats in the 8th row near the center. While I LOVED the seats, I can't see myself doing the VIP thing again for this tour. For one thing, shelling out that much dough for tickets (around $260 each) meant catching hell from Mrs. Gnoom and also my best friend (who begrudgingly bought the second ticket from me). Another problem was with TM dragging their feet and not providing VIP-level customer service to go with the VIP price (not delivering on their promise of timely email updates, shipping info etc...basically forcing me to chase them down for info and then giving me the runaround and incorrect/unreliable info). From what I heard, I wasn't the only one who had this beef with TM/LN, but in the end they did finally deliver. Still, I think it's a shame that they hold the best seats hostage and shake down the fans for more money.

QUOTE (trenken @ Mar 29 2012, 09:26 AM) QUOTE (rushgoober @ Dec 11 2011, 06:31 PM) Good. Maybe they completely re-wrote the lyrics to BU2B. And added more lyrics to the Caravan chorus, because repeating that 1 line 50 times annoys the hell out of me. Sounds like they just wrote that 1 line then went and took their afternoon nap. Lazy! Yup. Reminds of another pet peeve from Between Sun & Moon: "ahh aahhh yes to yes to aahhh aahhh aahhh to yes..."

My vote goes to PERMANENT WAVES, which ushered in the "making modern music" phase of their career. But there are many other albums that could be considered, so I'd be very interested in hearing what others have to say.

There is a pack of many in this race, but Caress of Steel is the one that first came to mind when viewing the thread topic, so I'll go with that. This brings a sad realization that I can only think of TWO Rush albums that I like from beginning to end and would be up for a full play at any given time: Permanent Waves and Moving Pictures (there are a few more that come close, but they fall into the "have to be in the mood" category). Considering Rush's talent, it's perplexing that the more you progress thru their catalog (especially when you get into the CD era), the less likely that you'll find an honest-to-goodness epic ALBUM. There are a lot of good-to-great songs here & there, it's just that there's too much filler between them. However, there is reason for hope: I have a strong hunch that Clockwork Angels will break the trend and become the 2112 of the band's latter efforts.

A huge Yes vote for "Instrumental". This is a drum I beat often (pardon the pun), as I'm a huge fan of the band's MUSIC. That's not to say I don't appreciate Neil's lyrics or Geddy's voice, just that the expert musicianship within their songs is the first and foremost reason why I like Rush. I would definitely buy an all-new album of instrumentals. I would also buy a greatest hits album of instrumentals if it contained at least one new track (or at the very least I would download the new track(s). In case of the latter, I think it would be very interesting for them to include some of their lyrical songs with the vocal track removed (which would make an interesting topic for another poll).

Re: Geddy's voice - When I saw TMT live, I didn't notice that anything was off...but there's so much to take in at a live show that you're not usually focused on one thing (and it was overall one of my favorite shows from the ones I've seen dating back to '82). A couple of weeks ago I was on iTunes sampling some tracks from their "Live in Cleveland" show (looking to pick up some live versions of songs I don't yet have), and on the few I sampled I noticed right away that his voice just didn't sound right. It pains me to come to that realization (and I know they're just samples of a larger work that might contain some gems), but it was enough for me to decide to pass on them. I'll pick up the video for sure (holding out for the BluRay version, but I need to get a bluray player first), but as for the audio version(s) of Cleveland... I'm holding out hope that Geddy is indeed learning to adjust as far as singing-old-stuff-live goes. As for the studio, there are a multitude of ways to sweeten the rough spots, so there really isn't any cause for concern regarding the recording of new material down the road. And as far as I'm concerned, they could just do instrumentals from here on out and I'd be happy. Re: their future - The CA tour will end either late '12 or early '13, then extended break, then R40 in '14. They're smart enough to know to "never say never", so you won't hear any use of the word "farewell". But after '14, I imagine they'll go their separate ways while occasionally teaming up to record new downloadable studio tracks (in small doses...no albums), and maybe the rare reunion show.

QUOTE (mmclarney @ Jan 13 2012, 03:46 PM) QUOTE (Gnoom @ Jan 13 2012, 12:36 PM) I recently discovered "Echos on the Stages", which is a soundboard recording of their T4E tour rehearsal. I dunno it it's considered their best boot (my experience with Rush boots is very limited anyway), but it comes highly regarded and the sound quality is at times very good. I like the unique qualities of it (no crowd noise whatsoever; some occasional goofing around by the band members due to the relaxed setting; Geddy sometimes choosing not to sing the lyrics, which made sort-of-instrumentals out of Spirit of Radio among others). I just listened to it thru YouTube, as I don't do the torrent thing and have nothing to trade for it, but I'd sure love to get my hands on a copy. It sure would be cool if the band would make these sort of things available for download through their official site (I'd have no problem paying a reasonable price for it). I have the Echoes boot and yes, it is quite good. Excellent quality sound, although as you say, due to the more 'relaxed' rehearsal setting, some of the songs lack some of the urgency and spark that naturally come when there is an audience present. However, it's a very unique recording indeed. What boots do you have Gnoom? I'd be willing to make a copy of Echoes in exchange for something of yours that I don't have. Thanks for the offer! I don't have much to offer in exchange, but check your PM for my limited list.

I love Feedback...there's some very cool layers of stuff in there if you listen closely. I never understood the backlash towards it, but to each their own. If they ever choose to do "Feedback II", I would much rather they do an album covering their OWN tunes (re-imagined with a fresh viewpoint, of course). Or for that matter, an album of Rush tunes with the vocal track removed (making some of their familiar songs into instrumentals). I know this might be sacrilege to some, but like I said, "to each their own".

I recently discovered "Echos on the Stages", which is a soundboard recording of their T4E tour rehearsal. I dunno it it's considered their best boot (my experience with Rush boots is very limited anyway), but it comes highly regarded and the sound quality is at times very good. I like the unique qualities of it (no crowd noise whatsoever; some occasional goofing around by the band members due to the relaxed setting; Geddy sometimes choosing not to sing the lyrics, which made sort-of-instrumentals out of Spirit of Radio among others). I just listened to it thru YouTube, as I don't do the torrent thing and have nothing to trade for it, but I'd sure love to get my hands on a copy. It sure would be cool if the band would make these sort of things available for download through their official site (I'd have no problem paying a reasonable price for it).