Empty Mindless Spectre

At least until the setlist is established... for crying out loud. You guys are doing all of the bitching now, pre-emptively. People who don't like a setlist are allowed to say so aren't they? What if the setlist is laden with pre-Moving Pictures material, and has virtually nothing from P/G, PW, Signals, CP, RTB, S&A, TFE, Presto, or VT? Would you bitch about the setlist then? Or would you be merely stating your opinion about how the setlist choice hasn't catered to your personal tastes?

I'm trying to understand what your point is here. That material that appeals to casual fans is better than material that is better received by die hard RUSH fans? I surely can't agree with that. I will take CP over RTB hands down, but even among us as die hard RUSH fans, it is a matter of widely varying opinions. And if you want to use album sales as a gauge, we should all move over to the Justin Bieber forums...

I think you mean it paints a different picture than what you assume we are assuming.

I suggest you re-read my post. I am well aware that "rare" does not necessarily mean older material. As I said, the lion's share of the "rarities" performed on the past several tours have been taken from time period covered by the songs you have listed here.

I just don't understand all the emphasis on the vocals aspect of the songs. Focusing on the vocals of a Rush song is like focusing on a girl's feet in a bikini contest. There are at least three other things you should be paying much more attention to, and as long as the feet (vocals) aren't extraordinarily gruesome there's nothing there worth worrying about. :drool: I have the utmost confidence that Geddy can do a good enough job singing nearly any song in Rush's catalog. Yes there are a few exceptions, but not everything from the first 7 albums for crying out loud.

Well that wouldn't be playing the album in its entirety would it?

lksdjflaks klke xcklw, kljdflk jklhgsdjhkw sderqw cwqxso!!!!!!!!

Slow down there whipper-snapper. You grasshoppers need to keep in mind that without the support they received throughout their early years, Rush would not have survived to record such albums as Grace Under Pressure, Hold Your Fire, Counterparts, Clockwork Angels, etc. The past several tours have been dominated by newer material. What would be so wrong with the band wanting to thank and reward their earliest supporters with a setlist laden with earlier material? With no new album to support, now would be the perfect time to do it. I've been to every Rush tour since I was 16, and I'll go to this tour no matter what they play… but I for one would be most appreciative if the "rarities" of which Sir Alex speaks are taken from albums like Caress of Steel, Hemispheres, Fly By Night, 2112, and Farewell to Kings, rather than Grace Under Pressure, Power Windows, Presto, Hold Your Fire, and Counterparts as they have on the past few tours. If they choose to go with mostly newer material, I will be disappointed, but I will still be there, as I always have been. I may let it be known that I'm disappointed, but I won't be "boohooing", that's for sure.

I don't see any validity in this sentiment. If Ged can sing Working Man, Xanadu, Circumstances, Temples of Syrinx etc., then he can sing pretty much anything. Some songs (like Working Man) may need to be sung at a slightly lower pitch than the studio recording, but so what? I sincerely doubt that anyone listens to Rush for the vocals. As far as I'm concerned, as long as the vocals are passable, I'm not going to complain about seeing some great, rare, older tunes because the vocals weren't perfect.

Just in case they really are going to tour, and aren't really sure what they want to play, here is what I would consider the perfect setlist: Far Cry Spirit of Radio Lessons Cinderella Man Circumstances Cut to the Chase Leave That Thing Alone Show Don't Tell (Alternate with Prime Mover) Driven - (Alternate with Digital Man) Peaceable Kingdom (Alternate with Earthshine) Medley - Subdivisions/Tom Sawyer/Limelight Headlong Flight The Main Monkey Business Intermission Afterimage (Alternate with The Enemy Within) The Halo Effect Fly By Night Before and After (Alternate with What You're Doing) 2112 (abbreviated) By-Tor and the Snowdog Cygnus X-1 Part II Hemispheres (abbreviated) YYZ The Necromancer Encore Natural Science La Villa Strangiato

Yeah, that's what took out of that interview as well. And frankly, I'm not entirely convinced it's guaranteed to happen just yet. Regardless of what the promoters and managers say or plan, bottom line is that if the guys aren't up for touring, it isn't going to happen. I'm remaining cautiously optimistic, but in a "wait and see" mode until something is officially announced on the Rush.com website.

What about his wife and kids and secret wine expert girlfriend? They's call in your colleagues in blue, you'd be a rogue copper! :d13: That's the only Stynx song I like! I prefer this Renegade though... It seems we are at an impasse. I like me some Tommy Shaw ;) Geddy will have to listen to Styx in my abduction van instead of Thin Lizzy. :P Styx was a kickass show! I don't care what anyone says. Over 2 hours long and it melted my face off. :D I saw them July 4, 2011 and it was a kickass show for sure. It wasn't 2 hours, but I remember they played Suite Madam Blue and Man in the Wilderness back to back. They actually opened up for Yes which was ridiculous because Yes was sans Rick Wakeman (and Jon Anderson) and sounded horrible that day. Styx blew them off the stage IMO.

I have to say If I'm staring down a scuffle, and have to rely on help from one of RUSH, I'm running out of there as fast as I possibly can. They are 3 the of the greatest musicians of all time, the best rock band ever, and truly fascinating individuals, but nothing I've seen or heard about them over the years leads to even remotely believe any one of them could help me in a fist fight. Now if we're cornered and have no choice, regardless of which one is there to help we're both going to look like this when all is said and done. :hockeygoon:

There you go. Fixed! :P

Definitely Caress of Steel for me. The Necromancer has always been one of my top 2 or 3 favorite songs. I really love Bacchus Plateau as well.

I've refrained from commenting for some time waiting to see this last qoute. Do you guys write original material? This is a labor of love for you, and I get that...but don't you desire to create and not replicate? In your posts concerning the remedial, non-challenging nature of Chris Squires work, I'm taken aback by your statements...what does the "real" Kenny sound like? How awesome is his "own" material? I think I read in some music magazine, maybe the Yukon Blade Grinder or some other reputable publication, that NASA has actually trained monkeys to play Rush on guitar, bass, and drums. So it seems that anybody, or anything for that matter, can do this type of mimicking. C'mon Kenny—let's hear YOUR music. Haha. Wow. This thread has really taken a turn. Everybody please keep in mind, I didn't even start this thread. I NEVER said Chris Squire was anything less than a quality bass player. I simply do not have him in my top 20 and find mimicking his "playing" (much like if I were a chimp) not incredibly difficult. I wrote music in my 20's. I am now in my 40's. My three kids and their activities do not give me time (by my own choice) to write music. It's time for their dreams and I am focusing on giving them the tools to achieve them. I admittedly was not a very good song writer. I'll try to upload something. Haha I could be wrong, but I think Tombstone was being facetious? Funny stuff! Actually, I think the 2nd half of the "Gefilter" skit from the Time Machine tour proved that monkeys can play RUSH tunes didn't it. LOL

Duly noted! :ebert:

Seems to me that you're the one picking the fight… you came into a thread about a tribute band, knowing that you are philosophically opposed them, to "offer" a scathing opinion of how bad you think they sound. Why bother? Secondly, you didn't just casually state your opinion, you essentially told the guy you think he is silly and ridiculous for doing and working hard at something he enjoys doing, and continued to tell him what he SHOULD be doing instead. Maybe your words weren't intended as harshly as they sound… but they sound a bit overly critical and authoritarian to me. But then again, this is just my opinion.

Well, my favorite RUSH song has no lyrics, so I derived my name from the lyrics of my second favorite RUSH song. I could have simply gone with "The Necromancer", but I figured that was probably already taken, and I think "Empty Mindless Spectre" sounds pretty cool.

I had an absolute BLAST watching you guys jam RUSH tunes Kenny. I did not walk into JB McGinnes expecting to see RUSH themselves. I was actually expecting a lot less to be quite honest. I'm not a musician, but I am well aware of how difficult it is duplicate what RUSH does. I think I have pretty high standards in judging bands who play RUSH (and other bands I like), and you guys were excellent. I have to say though, the acoustics at JBM are not good. I was standing at about the middle of the bar for awhile and the songs sounded pretty good, but when I moved right up in front of the stage you guys sounded waaaayyyyyy better.

Well, if you really want my opinion, Subdivisions and Time Stand Still are two of my least favorite RUSH songs.

I feel that way about Subdivisions too. Tom Sawyer is an infinitely better song than Subdivisions though.

Don't be discouraged Kenny. Keep doing what you do. Expecting a drummer to play Neil Peart perfectly is simply unrealistic. If you play as well as you did when I saw you at JB McGinnes, I expect you will be received very well at "Prog Night" at Dobbs.

You are most kind, EMS. It is definitely a labor of love. Natural Science is my second favorite Rush song, only second to Hemispheres. Thanks so much for coming out. My pleasure KL. I can assure you I will soon be a regular at your gigs. It will be tough for me to get out until after May 2 (when I graduate from Goldey Beacom). I won't likely be able to make the benefit show at JBM or the Dobbs gig up in Philly (best of luck with that one though!). I really want to try to make Pale Dog, but I can't say for sure until it gets closer. I will DEFINITELY be at the June gig at JBM though, and will likely be able to bring a few friends with me. I also have your website bookmarked now and look very forward to seeing you guys many, many times in the future. I feel very lucky to have a quality RUSH tribute band so close to home. BTW, having just seen these guys, let me assure everyone that these youtube clips do very little justice to how good they actually sound in person. If you are RUSH fan in the Delaware area you MUST come see these guys. Seriously...

Dude… focusing on the vocals in a Rush song is like focusing on feet in a bikini contest. :finbar: