Thunder Bay Rush

I’m in the Grace Under Pressure concert DVD that was taped in Toronto… I’m somewhere mixed in with the 15,000 or so other people. That’s me, way the heck up near the rafters wearing the ball cap and Maple Leafs sweater… you can’t see me, that’s all. One thing I do find kind of interesting, is the night they taped the show, during one of the songs (I think during Red Sector A) one of the two flash pots failed to ignite (there was one set up on each side of the stage.) For some strange reason, I remembered that for quite a while. Being a musician at the time, I used to pay attention to things like that… production, lights, effects, how the stage and speakers were set up. And, years later, when I finally watched the DVD, yep, one of those goddam flash pots failed to “blow up.” That’s the only way of knowing that I was there that night and there wasn’t any swapping of footage to make their movie.

I wouldn’t say ten years… maybe two or three. The point of the question is WHEN the last show takes place, where should it be?

I guess I might have OCD… what is OCD exactly? I get the feeling it’s not good…

I am so ashamed of myself… all this talk about jalapenos and poopers and stuff made me go nuts tonight. I drove 25 minutes to the closest town and bought a box of those jalapeno poppers. Drove home – cranked a pot of canola oil onto the stove – deep fried ‘em - ate the whole goddam box. I think there were about 16 in there. They were good though…

Hmmmm, not a bad idea, Snaked... I'll start making some calls.

GM, I think you're 100% correct... many critics were like that back then.

Whenever that very last show is played (my guess is fairly soon, within two – three years) I say they should go out with guns a’blazin’… Toronto IS the best city for the show, and the Rogers Centre (where the Blue Jays play baseball) should be the venue. The place holds about 60,000 and yes, I know that Rush wouldn’t normally play there. They’d normally play the ACC (hockey arena, 14,000) or the Molson Amphitheatre (outdoor venue, 16,000.) But, I think that since it would be the very last show, people would fly in from all over the planet and they’d fill that place with ease. Probably need 2 or 3 shows. And, a concert video would be a no-brainer. So, whenever the boys finally decide to pack it in, I think they owe to their hometown go out where they first came in…

I don’t think Tom Sawyer played for long… the guitar player went back school if I remember right. I only saw them once, at the old Knob Hill Hotel in Scarborough. They were really good… played ALL of side one, 2112. All of Moving Pictures too.

Hey, thanks!! Pretty small venue, but I’ve heard that many in England were small back then… And, yes, weird review…

I used to have a dumb ass dog that ate his own shit, never mind from the cat box. But, my dogs are all trained hunting dogs and they stay outside in the kennel. No need to hide the blueberry Pop Tarts!!

What, who ME??? Do something mean to cats? No… I loooooooooooove cats. (Enter heavy-duty eye roll accompanied by face palm here). The part I love most about cats is when they go in their cat box and take a big shit. And, a piss. Then, they walk all through it, and kick it around. Then, they jump on the kitchen table, the couch, the kitchen counter and then your bed and your pillow. (That’s the thing you place your HEAD on while you sleep.) And, then, as you’re sitting on your couch, they jump up beside you and start rubbing their asshole against your arm. You think this is a sign of affection… “Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.” Yep, I love them there fuzzy little buggers. They’re SO cute. And clean. (Another TBR classic… “toot, toot.”)

I have a solution to your cat problem...

Dude, that pic of Geddy facing the crowd on your signature thing - where was that taken? the caption says, "I'm in that lot." Looks like the Hemispheres Tour.

WTF? Above??

I remember when I was living in Toronto and trying to “make it” in the music biz (I got nowhere of course) there was a really good Rush cover band called Tom Sawyer. This would have been 1982. They were SO good it was almost scary. The guy playing Geddy’s parts looked exactly like him only he played his bass left handed… it was weird seeing that, but man, was he a clone to the Geddster.

I probably won’t see many of you agreeing with this, but I’d have no problem if Rush announced that they were retiring. They’ve given us 40 years of wicked music… and tons more. Neil has a little girl now… Big Al is a grampa… Geddy has his wine collection and baseball to keep him company.

Tried that too… I don’t know what the secret is. I asked a chef friend of mine and he said “fu**ed if I know.” Maybe some kind of Krazy Glue?

Yes, agree. And, Asylum from the same album is pure prog rock at its finest. No weird time signatures or anything, just a good rock tune that would rarely get played on radio.

A few years ago on a fly-in fishing trip, me and my two buddies ate 5 boxes of those jalapeno poppers in two days… they’re like eating suicide wings. You just cannot NOT eat one more. I tried making my own a few times but I just can’t figure out to get the Panko bread crumbs to stick to the goddam jalapeno peppers. I tried everything, egg wash, flour, everything… even scratching them a little bit to rough the skins up so the stuff would stick. I gave up and now they are one of the very few processed foods I buy. Damn things…

I agree... 28 or older for you then.

Gangster… laughing THAT hard causes farts… shits and even those half-way things that Kenny refered to as sharts. I normally just refer to them as a surprise… And for the record, I eat oatmeal with cranberries, raisins, almonds, flax seeds and bran four – five days a week. It’s the laughing I tell you, the laughing… (Ganst’) What were we talking about again? Oh ya, shaved beavers…

I was laughing so hard, I went to fart and I shit my pants... just a tiny bit though... some of you guys (and chicks) are mental...

Ganst' buddy... I'd pay to see that, but I'd pay even more to have Alex and Geddy removed from the aquarium first...

She is extremely hot right now… so when she’s 45, she’ll still be “pretty hot.” Besides, right now, she’s younger than both my daughters… too weird.

I’m going to marry that little blond when she turns 45. She’ll still be “pretty hot” then… hot enough for me anyway.