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Middletown

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Everything posted by Middletown

  1. Received my swag today! Went to the Philly show on 10/12. I must say, for $300 this was a great GREAT experience. I will definitely do VIP Nation again. I checked out online at 12:04 for tickets that went on sale at 12:00. Got row 3 in front of Alex. Show was awesome! The swag is great. The program and shirt are great. Love the limited edition poster. I will frame it along with the laniard and hologram ticket plus a few pics I took from the awesome seats. Many people here complain about VIP Nation. But I can only say great things about them. Highly recommend using them next time around!
  2. Well, I'm a VIP Nation believer! Again, 12:00 tickets on sale. Confirmation of purchase received at 12:04. My seats? 3rd Row directly in front of Lerxt's microphone. The show was awesome!
  3. I'll be there with you!!! Nothin better!
  4. I received my confirmation email from VIP Nation at 12:04:33 on tix that went on sale at noon. Philly show at Wells Fargo Center. Taking my 12 year old daughter to her second Rush concert. Her first concert ever was Time Machine Tour (raising her right). Her old man's first concert ever was 1984 Grace Under Pressure tour at the Philly Spectrum. The kid is a Rushhead. Based on what I'm reading here, I cannot wait. Unfortunately, you guys have really raised my expectations. I'm thinking 1st 3 rows now. I will report back on 10/13. P.S. The 80's setlist rules! Middletown is my favorite Rush tune ever! If they keep the same cycle, I should get to see it! Nothin better!
  5. For the record, Power Windows is one of Rush's BEST albums. Some of their best work was done in the 80's! This notion that "the keyboard" era was "bad" is simply stupid. Alex complained about the keys on Signals. I never hear anyone bashing that record though. I'm stoked for Grand Designs! What a killer song! Lifeson's solo in The Big Money is amongst his best. Love the harmonics while Geddy and Neil are going off. GUP, PW, and yes HYF are incredibly good albums. Better than the 90's stuff by a wide margin IMHO. If you haven't taken the time to get into these records, you're missing out. I admit, I graduated in 87 and my first concert ever was GUP tour. Y&T opened. For me the 2012 setlist rules! And if the rumors are true about Losin It and Limelight, the setlist is amazing! I anticipate The Garden played with a strings section will be a high light. The hair on my arms stands at attention every time the solo kicks in. I may have a full body Rushgasm when I hear it live. Against the run of the mill. Swimming against the stream. Life in two dimensions is a mass production scheme
  6. QUOTE (Unobtrusive Companion @ Jun 8 2012, 06:26 AM) Great review! One thing, BU2B2 is actually after HF, not after The Wreckers Still, I love the points you make, and I pretty much agree wholeheartedly Wow, I just checked the track listing I downloaded and see that BU2B2 and The Wreckers are both listed as track "08". I've been listening to them out of order?!!!! One more reason to officially purchase the tunes on Tuesday! QUOTE Typical trolling.......it's a part of discussion forum reality, unfortunately. Anonymity breeds larger testes. If you check out these guys' post history you'll find most of it negative or contrary to the points of those they are engaged with. I'm quite the accomplished internet troll myself. But I confine my war cries to motorcycle websites and those who think their HD products possess some form of quality or desirability. Why does the the lead in The Garden make me tear up? My first concert was Grace Under Pressure Tour at the Philadelphia Spectrum, 1984. Y&T opened up for them. Myself and nearly my entire high school class (Wildwood, NJ) were huge Rush fans. They are the soundtrack of my entire life thus far. I've slept out for tickets countless times (back when that actually worked). I've stood front row in Philly nearly every tour since 1984. Travelled to see them in numerous other cities. They are music to me. So, when I hear something from them that soul stirring, 28 years after my first show, and 30 years after I first discovered them, it's a tad moving. I'm invested.
  7. QUOTE (vital signz @ Jun 7 2012, 10:44 PM) Dear OP, Great fun and exciting review! I agree wholeheartedly. I have listened nonstop for three days now, and I have to say it better than anything since Power Windows for sure, and maybe better than Grace Under Pressure and Signals. That's kinda where I'm at with it. I'm still a little stunned at how great it is. I had resigned myself to knowing that I'd never be moved by a new Rush record the same way I used to be. I mean S & A has its moments. There are things I love on there. But CA has me screaming to myself in my truck. I just can't believe they pulled this off. And check out the sheer amount of content on this thing. It's 12 songs. Okay, 11.25 with BU2B2. AND it's a concept album. There is only 1 slower tempo tune. The rest all contain some form of blistering guitar riff, insanely emotional chorus, or both. All the great albums we're comparing it too typically have 8 tracks on them. Lerxst, Dirk, and Bubba were on a mission when they made this. btw... while it's the weakest song on the album, at this moment I can't get "All that you can do is wish them well" out of my head. It's got a catchy hook.
  8. QUOTE (trenken @ Jun 7 2012, 09:53 PM)You lost me at saying Wish Them Well is great. That song is baaaaadddddd. It doesnt flow well, feels like a bunch of parts written months apart glued together, and even Neil himself hates it! Otherwise a good in depth review. I dont personally think its better than anything prior to maybe Presto or RTB, aside from the debut, but its the best of what I consider modern Rush. Overall for me too many of the songs have parts that dont seem to fit that great together keeping them from having that say perfectly written Limelight iconic sound. It sounds like the parts were jammed out at separate times then put together like a puzzle, unlike in the past when they say down to work on say Big Money, Geddy said songs like that were written with every part intended to be there. Not sure how much I like these just jammed out songs but there some good parts on it for sure. Your comments are interesting about how the song parts don't fit together. Do you feel the same way about "Xanadu"? "The Camera Eye"? "By-Tor"? "Red Lenses"? "Twilight Zone"?
  9. http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UO4rVcV9BbM/T81OSygNLpI/AAAAAAAACLs/mp3_zNdJcD0/s1600/Rush+-+Clockwork+Angels+(front).gif Rush's Best Album in 25 Years? So, the other day I log onto facebook and see posts from a few friends declaring that the new Rush album has been leaked. It's scheduled for a 6/12/12 release. I couldn't resist and raced to download it. I'm happy to report that the rumors were true and I've been living with the new music for 4 days now. But don't fret. I will be purchasing an official copy this coming Tuesday. Maybe two copies! Because this is the best music the Holy Triumvirate have released in very long time! Why is this album so good? Because they're BACK! Geddy, Alex, and Neil have returned to a form that we haven't heard from them since the mid to late 80's. I originally felt that CA was their best record since "Power Windows". But after a few days and multiple listens, this might be their best effort since "Moving Pictures." Yes, I'm going that far. Now, I'm a tad Rush biased as a good collection of my FB friends also are. They can nearly do no wrong in my book. That said, I'm still able to delineate greatness from within the greatness that is the Rush discography. What makes this album so good is how they've each managed to play to their strengths on a level they've never achieved before. Geddy must have broken the Rickenbacker back out! His bass sound on CA is the Moving Pictures sound on massive steroids. And he's playing like a melodic monster all over this thing! Not that fast one finger, chicken picking he's adopted since "Counterparts". Don't get me wrong, he throws it in. But he's also back to full on "Hemispheres" mode with sick, tasty melodies that add as much, if not more, to the hooks as the vocal and guitar. Neil has been playing out of his mind since "Vapor Trails". Not exactly my favorite collection of Rush songs that one. He played angry big on it. "Snakes and Arrows" continued this relentless assault of big sounding drums but in a sort of melancholy way. CA is no doubt Neil Peart's finest recording performance ever because you can now feel the unbridled joy in his playing! The interviews with Freddie Gruber from "Beyond The Lighted Stage" where he and Neil discuss space and movement between hits. Well, you can hear it and feel it on CA. Particularly on the title track during the initial verse. You can feel the air between the hi-hat, snare, and bass drum. Neil is actually grooving! The metronomic terminator of a drummer is no more. Neil has transcended precision into territory that perhaps no other rock drummer has ever gone. He's wildly aggressive, hits like an anvil, and now he has a Stevie Wonder like groove. Alex has officially taken the ethereal tone to a new level. CA returns Rush to a formula that all fans will recall as their "hey day" feel. The right blend of guitar and keys and killer bass and drums. Except that the ethereal keys aren't keys at all. They're guitar! One of the best parts of being around in 2012 is how fantastic recorded guitars sound. Heck, Toni Iommi has a tone to die for these days. But no one knows how to coax the best tones out of a guitar rig better than Alex Lifeson. Criticize his "instinctual lead playing" all you like. His chord choices, song writing, and guitar sound are unparalleled in music. And for the record, I love his lead playing! His work on "Moving Pictures", amongst other records, is right alongside that of EVH, EJ, YJM, etc... all the greats. I mean is there a more perfect lead than that of "Limelight" or "Red Barchetta"? But I digress... Lifeson has taken his trademark to new heights on CA. His dirty tone on "The Anarchist" is the best I've ever heard on any album. I need to find out how to make my guitar sound like that. His lead work on CA is somewhere between where he was on "Signals" and "Counterparts". http://www.glidemagazine.com/UserFiles/2010/Image/Rush-Band1(1).gif Okay, so we've established that the playing and quality of sound on this record are beyond reproach. By the way, listening with headphones just blows your mind! It's an intricate recording to say the least! A word of warning. Some of the low notes (Taurus pedals?) may destroy your speaker cabinets. Most audio systems are likely incapable of rendering them. The high end stereophiles will be rewarded greatly when listening to "Clockwork Angels." But what about the songs? I won't bore you by going through each one at length. I'll simply comment on the standout items I've noticed thus far. I feel cheated having heard "Caravan" and "BU2B" after their release in 2010. They are updated on CA however. A neat intro to "BU2B" makes it that much more impactful. Some bass flange on Caravan keeps it new. Great tunes! "Clockwork Angels": OMG! The first verse with Neil grooving and Alex filling space with airy, chorus and reverb color gave me immediate, two story goosebumps. As all great Rush tunes do. Neil's hi-hat and lazy snare are excellent. But the song soon breaks into a major heavy riff via Neil with a stick 4 count into psychoness. They dive in and out of 4 or 5 musical themes in this 7:31 mini opus. It's Rush getting back to what made them great in the first place! And the chilling chorus "... as if to fly" Awesome Lifeson lead too! "The Anarchist": Another OMG! Opens with Neil and Alex shredding. Then into a brief interlude that ends with Geddy ripping out one of his most melodic bass riffs ever! To which Alex answers with an awesome flanged out guitar riff that makes me think of flying rocket ships! Then back into Lifeson's awesome dirty tone underneath which Geddy and Neil do their classic, Rush-centric accents. The composition of the song at this point is phenomenal. But then they tease you with the chorus to which Geddy adds goosebump inducing keys in the background. His note choice is utterly perfect here and they tease you with this awesome chorus through the tune only repeating it at the end. And it floors you with Ged's vocal over the keys with Lifeson's thick tone in the back and Neil holding it down on the ride. This is a standout song for me. Love it! "Carnies": Sorry dear reader, I think I may be going through every tune. Because every tune is awesome! "Carnies" opens with awesome Lifeson riff complete with "DWAAAAAAaaaasss" Neil and Geddy hit the guitar part with what sounds to me like "The Grand Finale" from 2112. Same opening. They quickly break it off though and take you through a fantastic chorus section. It's Rush magic with a great middle section jam. "Halo Effect": After all the bashing you take from the first 4 songs this one brings it down. Fantastic song opening with acoustic and bass guitars. Rush once again influences themselves by repeating the guitar and bass part from "Half The World". It's almost like they went back and remade "Half The World" the way that they should have done it in the first place. Not that I don't love that song. But it's pretty basic and simple for a Rush tune. "Halo Effect" totally corrects that. If you like HTW you will totally fall in love with "Halo Effect". It's all the good parts and then some. "Seven Cities Of Gold": This tune will cause priaprism in Rush fans. It opens with a blistering Geddy Lee bass groove. Under which Lifeson is toning it up and Neil is playing around. From which they break into a fat, Cream style heavy guitar riff. They hit you with this until breaking into a classic Rush pre-chorus and then the main chorus, "Seven Cities of Gold". It totally jams! You will bang your head! As a bonus the solo section features Geddy totally tearing it up. Toward the end, for a brief 5 seconds, we are in "Freewill" solo territory on the bass. "The Wreckers": Preceeded by the interlude of "BU2B2", this is arguably the best song on the album. It opens with a "Counterparts" style intro. But heads into one of the most beautiful verses ever. Lifeson is shining on this! TONE! I can't comprehend whatever it is he's doing back there. It sounds so airy and big! And from that verse the Holy Triumvirate break into a chorus that WILL go down amongst they best they've ever written! Hair was shooting off my arms like a porcupine when I heard this. The goosebumps! The goosebumps! "All I know is that sometimes you have to be wary, of a miracle too good to be true. All I know is that sometimes the truth is contrary, everything you thought you knew. All I know is that sometimes you have to be wary, because sometimes the target is you." I cannot say enough good things about this song. It is an immediate Rush classic. "Headlong Flight": It's great! It's a jam. Another one I wish I hadn't heard in advance. I can't imagine how blown away I'd be by this record if Rush hadn't released 3 songs ahead of the album. I think they were showing a form of mercy to their fans. Heads would have been exploding all over the planet had they not pre-released some of the material. "Wish Them Well": Worst song on the album. And it's friggin great! Would have been a standout song on their recent releases. But it's surrounded by such sickness that you hear it and think, "Meh". It opens with the chorus. It's kinda formula. But the song makes up for its relative short comings with a friggin awesome solo section! Again, great Rush song. Just surrounded by utter sickness! "The Garden": I gotta admit something. This song made me cry. I cried when I heard it. Tears of joy streaming down my cheeks. In the great tradition of Rush album closers "The Garden" may be the ultimate masterpiece. Think "Losin It"(not a closer I know), "Mystic Rhthyms", "Available Light", etc... Okay, it's not "Natural Science". But my god, it is a piece of genius and better than the former 3 songs I mentioned! There's a piano interlude in the middle of it that is followed by Alex Lifeson demonstrating why he is and always will be my favorite guitar player ever! I broke into tears when I heard the opening of his lead. It's amongst his best work. The song ends with big keyboards and the classic Rush ending experience that leaves you gasping for breath. Did I mention how strong Geddy's vocals are throughout? My friends. Rush is back. This is the album we've all been waiting for. Maybe for 25 years. It's not another "Snakes and Arrows" that stirs you a bit, you appreciate a lot, you internalize, maybe force it a little. "Clockwork Angels" requires no such effort. It is one of those Rush albums in which your appreciation will grow with every listen and without limit. True Rush fans know what I'm talking about. It's amazing to me how Rush reinvents the supposed Prog Rock category. They truly do not fit into that mold. Because they recast that mold with everything they write. I listen to "Clockwork Angels" and can't help but think of how inferior bands like Dream Theater, Fates Warning, and Symphony X are to the Holy Triumvirate. Rush create songs and feeling and emotion using god like chops and playing. All other progressive rock is mere scale exercises by comparison. Rush are on another level entirely. With "Clockwork Angels" they've moved that bar even higher. And I haven't even figured out the concept story yet! http://www.warnermusic.de/media/cms/images/201004/rush-2010-pub-pic-500px-medium_1271661712276.gif Thank you Ron Samartino for forcing me to love this band some 25+ years ago. It's one of the best gifts anyone has ever given me!
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