Powderfinger

Awesome! Been on a big Queen kick lately.

When I think of outstanding tone I think of the following: David Gilmour Keith Richards Mick Taylor Duane Allman Marc Ford Steve Hackett Brian May Neil Young Lindsey Buckingham Lee Underwood and Alex Lifeson's tone during the early period, definitely through 2112, and perhaps even through Hemispheres, was beautiful, back when it was nice and fuzzy and warm, and not so thin and processed as it eventually became.

I've noticed that I'm virtually always in agreement with you on musical tastes and perspectives. And would you believe that 1984 was the first cassette I purchased with my own money? I was eight. And they fell off my radar circa 1992 as well. The older high school kids used to play basketball in a driveway across the street from my boyhood home. I thought they were so cool. In the summer they would often crank Ratt Out of the Cellar, Iron Maiden Number of the Beast, and Van Halen's entire catalog to that point. I still vividly remember one of the kids throwing down a nasty dunk to the tune of "Running with the Devil." I guess I've never really paused to appreciate that those dudes are a significant part of the reason I became such a big metal and hard rock fan. I built my cassette collection pretty rapidly after acquiring 1984 as my cornerstone. Alas, I too struggle to tolerate Van Halen today. It would be much easier if they were not such A-holes. Not that I am not a huge fan of several A-hole musicians, but… well, I guess I pick my battles. :D

I really hope this is a joke. I really hope several entries in this thread are jokes.

I heard Rush fairly frequently on FM radio growing up: Tom Sawyer, Limelight, Closer to the Heart, Working Man, and to a lesser degree, Freewill and The Spirit of Radio. I also remember the Tom Sawyer video [ESL version] in heavy rotation on MTV. Alex's pink jacket intrigued me. As did Neil's massive drum kit and monster solo. And I recall watching the "World Premiere" of the Distant Early Warning video, replete with a special VJ introduction. For me the weakest era is not the 80s, but the 90s. I like the 80s less because it's less proggy, even though Signals is my favorite Rush album. But the 80s albums still had some great songs, which for me most of the post-80s albums lack. But less subjectively, I think many fans became frustrated in the 80s with the keyboards and special effects, and perhaps that Rush seemed to be following trends a little too enthusiastically. Every group goes through ups and downs in popularity. In the End, Rush won by insisting on doing what they wanted while challenging their fans to let the journey evolve. It Worked, Man.

Close to the Edge is my all-time favorite album. Listening to Fish Out of Water now, another favorite. RIP

This is almost precisely my experience, right down to it being Austin and shouting to my wife, "They're going back in time!" And the jump to "Between the Wheels" is when I really got excited and settled in. I like "Animate" well enough, but by that point I understood what they were doing and, well, I'm a bigger fan of FBN through Signals, so I couldn't wait to get to the good stuff. I thought "Subdivisions" was a great first set closer, and I predicted at that point that "Tom Sawyer" would open the second set. But I had no idea what to expect from there. I was on the edge of my seat for the rest of the night. "Camera Eye," whoa cool! Wait, no "Limelight"? Interesting. And then "The Spirit of Radio" really caught me off guard, not because I shouldn't have anticipated its arrival, but because it was odd hearing it in the middle of a set. And until they launched into TSOR I still thought they might end the second set with "Working Man" and then do an encore of TSOR and "YYZ," or something similar. But once TSOR kicked in I knew "Working Man" would be the closer. I was losing my shit from "Jacob's Ladder" through "Working Man," and I'm even one of those folks who thinks "Jacob's Ladder" is overrated. It was outstanding in Austin, partly because a thunderstorm had been threatening the evening for most of the day. Without question, the biggest surprises were 'What You're Doing" and the closing section of "Cygnus X-1." I absolutely could not have predicted those. I was absolutely blown away. I've seen virtually everyone you can think of live over the last 25 years. I immediately told my wife that it was easily in my top five concerts all time, maybe number one. And this had so much to do with making a commitment to not look at the setlist and see spoilers. which I never do, quite the opposite--I study setlists of bands I don't even like that much. I went back in time too, to being a teenager and going to a concert with absolutely NO idea what to expect, from the stage setup to the instruments to the setlist. It was such a :rush: !!!!!!

An ounce per day? Wow. Never would have guessed that's possible.

I thought he sounded excellent in Austin last night. I went in with zero spoilers. I couldn't believe he was singing so much 70s material so well. Blew me away. Thought the entire show, concept, and execution was absolutely brilliant. Maybe my favorite concert all time, and I've seen almost everyone. I could't be more impressed with Geddy--an inspiring dude.

Hello, headed down to Austin from Dallas tomorrow, can anyone help by letting me know what time the band has been taking the stage? It's been a struggle to not look, but so far I have not seen any spoilers. Bittersweet, but I can't wait to see what might be my final Rush concert. Just the titles of the spoiler threads have me thinking that the sets have been really exciting with several song rotations. Too bad I can only catch one show... Edit: Ooops, perhaps this should have gone in the non-spoiler thread? Not sure. I'm guessing most folks who know the answer are frequenting the spoiler thread more than the non-spolier thread. Thank you in advance for help with this.

Best sounding album? Probably have to go with Moving Pictures, maybe Hemispheres. I prefer Alex's guitar tone from COS through Hemispheres. We should start a thread on Alex's tone. I'd like to know what others think on that topic.

I can't recall how Before and After goes, so I should give it a listen. And I've typically blown by Kid Gloves when listening to P/G, so I should revisit that one too, eh? And yes, Digital Man isn't underrated by Rush enthusiasts, but I'm guessing the average FM radio fan doesn't know it. Finally, I agree Narpsberg, CInderella Man definitely needs a spot on the list.

Some excellent choices here. Very similar to a list I would make. Some of these won't seem so underrated to us diehards, but a great list for casual fans: http://ultimateclassicrock.com/rush-underrated-songs/

Isn't that a little strong? I don't care for her music either. But "scary"? It's my opinion. Sure, I understand it's your opinion. And I respect that. But what's the point of sharing your opinion on a music discussion board if when someone asks you to elaborate you are only willing to offer "It's my opinion"? I've always liked your posts and perspectives, Lorraine--nothing personal here. Just truly curious about why you would call her "scary." Again, I'm no fan of her music either. But I will say that the unbridled hatred people exhibit when her name comes up is troubling. It often seems to be rooted in something deeper than an aversion to avant-garde music and art. And I've never quite understood. So forgive me for asking for further insights.

Isn't that a little strong? I don't care for her music either. But "scary"?

I like it more than some of their studio albums. I've never understood the venom some fans spew at it. They were having fun, returning to their awed adolescence. What's the big deal? Do those of you who hate it have a strict no-covers policy for bands you like, not like Rush in particular playing covers, or simply just not like the execution? Or some combination thereof?

Without fail, I always find a way to complain about the setlist when I go see my favorite bands. But then I try to remember that my own negativity or unrealistic expectations are typically the problem, and not the setlist. I prefer FBN through Signals, but I don't want to go see a band that plays for me. I prefer to see a band that plays for itself, and does it so well that it deserves to be paid and appreciated for it. I hated the overabundance of keyboard material in the CA set. But that's because I've only seen Rush twice, and I therefore have other dream setlist priorities. But the keyboard material is what Rush wanted to play. Gotta go with what you're excited about when making a setlist--keep things fresh, fun, and challenging. This is true for all creative endeavors: painting, writing, acting, performing music. As for ticket prices, Rush didn't set the market, even though they may have at times been complicit in contributing to it. Rush must set their ticket prices lower than The Rolling Stones, The Who, Paul McCartney, U2, et al., but higher than, say, Soundgarden. Because Rush alone didn't create the system, I cannot resent the band. But perhaps I'm a hypocrite on this, because I do think that powerful bands (any of the above) should be doing more to fight the Stubhub/ticket broker epidemic. Finally, I try to remember that high ticket prices are partly encouraged by the fact that a substantial number of people no longer pay a dime for the music that enriches their lives on a daily basis. But I guess it is unfortunate that artists in turn take it out on the diehard fans who actually go to concerts and purchase merchandise. Alas, most of my frustration stems less from the artists and more from the ticket business monopolies and free/virtually free music sites.

This would make sense to me. They could open with 2112 and then segue into an overture of songs. i think they save 2112 for late in the show because it's the most challenging for geddy's voice at this point. he can let it rip and not worry about 20 more songs to deal with. that being said, i'm guessing that 2112 will probably be late in the show. I didn't mean the entire song, just what they've been doing the past few tours. The Overture, then segue into something else. Don't they normally do Overture/Temples? I think that's what he's talking about They haven't done Temples in a long while. Wha? They did Temples on the last tour.

This would make sense to me. They could open with 2112 and then segue into an overture of songs. i think they save 2112 for late in the show because it's the most challenging for geddy's voice at this point. he can let it rip and not worry about 20 more songs to deal with. that being said, i'm guessing that 2112 will probably be late in the show. I didn't mean the entire song, just what they've been doing the past few tours. The Overture, then segue into something else. Don't they normally do Overture/Temples? I think that's what he's talking about They also used to open main sets with Overture>Temples and close them with Grand Finale. That would be rad too.

I can only see them going in one of two directions: R40 medley or Overture. If this really is the final tour of this nature, then it has to be one of those two.

Oh no! RIP. Until now, didn't TS succeed in keeping the classic lineup together to the present? Few 80s hair/metal bands can claim that.

Not that I would have voted for it, but no "Saucerful of Secrets" option?

I would pick Signals, fully understanding it would never happen. They'll throw us some bones, but they can't be that self-indulgent on their last major tour--unless they were doing Moving Pictures, but they already did that. Moving Pictures worked because it's practically a greatest hits album in its own right. No other album in the catalog contains so many hits to keep the 10,000 non-obsessive fans in the audience interested. I wouldn't be surprised if they play a significant amount of Hemispheres. The Trees and La Villa are real possibilities, and I think they will play a section of the song Hemispheres.

Man, this is tough, and it changes on a daily basis for me. 1) Foxtrot 2) The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway 3 Selling England by the Pound 4) A Trick of the Tail 5) Wind and Wuthering Some days Trespass bumps W&W for a top five spot.

RIP. Fire and Water is an outstanding album. Free is vastly underrated.