Thunder Bay Rush

I love all the albums and like most, I have a few favourites... Hemispheres, AFT Kings, Permanent Waves and Moving Pictures. But, what I find most amazing is the improvement (is that the right word??) from 2112 to A Farewell To Kings. They went from just a three piece, guitar, bass and drums, to a MUCH deeper sounding band with the addition of the Mini-Moog, Taurus pedals, double-neck guitars, guitar synth and Neil's additional precussion instruments. Remember, before AFTK, none of those instruments were used, at least as far as I know. Well, they did have a cowbell... I was "a fan" when I heard 2112 and All The World's A Stage, but I went mental when I heard Kings for the first time. I couldn't believe how BIG their new sound was. I wore out three copies of the album in just a few months and the blew the crap out of my mom's "hi-fi" speakers. "Turn that goddam thing down!" As far as I'm concerned there is no comparison between the two albums. Kings is almost like a new band... so to me, the biggest "jump" is between those two albums. Listen to Xanadu, then listen to anything on 2112, including the title piece. HUGE difference in sound, writing, playing, singing, production, all of it. To me, Rush was born on AFTK.

That guy's a piece of shit.

QUOTE (Mika @ Sep 19 2012, 02:19 PM) I like to think of it as: we're all just people. When meeting new people in normal circumstances, neither person knows each other, and are on equal footing; there is a bit of conversation to 'break the ice' and get to know each other a little bit, and if there is chemistry, the people can become friends; otherwise, with no chemistry, they drift away and don't become friends. There needs to be some kind of common ground for friendship to happen. With celebrities, this isn't a normal circumstance; the fan and the celebrity are not on equal footing, as the fan knows (or thinks he knows) much about the celebrity, and the celebrity knows absolutely nothing about the fan, except for an assumption of normal fan behaviour. With this situation, it'd be hard to get some kind of normal interaction between the people, especially with each person's pre-conceived notion of each other (the fan knowing all that he knows about the celebrity, through media and third-hand information, and the celebrity knowing that this is a fan and will likely be enthusiastic and star-struck). As other people have mentioned, the best interactions have seemed to happen outside of these 'artificial' environments of meet-and-greets; a random encounter at a bar, or crossing paths outside a hotel, with something in common (a conversation launched by a John Deere hat). Meet-and-greets seem too contrived a situation to get a satisfactory experience meeting one's 'heroes'. I don't think I would be interested in it. I'd be interested in meeting the Rush guys as themselves, since they seem to be interesting and nice guys, but not in a situation where the balance between people is so uneven. Just because I enjoy their music and think that they're cool guys doesn't mean I have to elevate them. I do have pre-conceived notions of them, through what I've learned of them and my opinion, and I don't want that put to the test, either; if my meet with them didn't live up to my conceived expectations, I would be disappointed, through no fault of theirs, and I would be bummed. I remember some years ago, Jennifer Lopez was filming a movie in my area, and would hit the gym that I went to early in the morning. A friend suggested going to the gym earlier in order to meet her, but I balked - why would I want to present myself to someone I don't know and who doesn't know me in the midst of a sweat-fest? If I'm in the middle of doing some squats, the last thing I would want is for some stranger to come up and ask for an autograph or something. My eyes are bright with the light of the stars in the sky, not with the stars on the ground. Best post ever... and I didn't even write it!

Great album, every bit as good as MP. The musicianship on both Losing it and The Weapon is astonishingly good. It sold more than 2 million copies world-wide from I can see on the internet.

I've never heard anything from those earlier bands. But, remember, they were 14 year old kids, as far as I know, so I doubt there'd be a whole to listen to.

I gotta say - The Garden could easily be one of the top 3 - 4 Rush songs ever... when I first heard it I thought, WOW! And, it`s so different. I just love it! Favourite song on CA, by far.

Well, I am never listening to Rush again, ever. Ray has convinced me that they suck, so from now it's Justin Beiber, Britany Spears and Lady Gaga. They rock! Christ, I might even start listening to Bon Jovi...

If I was allowed to only play one song with hopes of "hooking" a person who has not heard any Rush, it would have to Xanadu, no contest. That song has all the elements of the band, all three guys really strut their stuff... great lyrics, plus, it has the sheer power they are known for.

They could easily play Jacob's Ladder. Drum-wise, I could play it when I was 15, so it's not that hard. The vocals are in the lower register, so it would be easy for Geddy to sing. I guess since they have so many songs, they can't play all of them. Would be great to see it though. It is a killer song, especially the part after the slow synth part.

Hmmmm, some very interesting comments on this. I think I'd likely shy away from meeting the guys at a meet and greet when I know it'll be an assembly line affair. But, I'll take the guys on a fishing trip anytime!!!!!!

QUOTE (gangsterfurious @ Sep 18 2012, 04:03 PM) QUOTE (Prattster @ Sep 18 2012, 12:36 PM) QUOTE (rayrushray @ Sep 18 2012, 03:58 PM) and bill it appropriately so the "Working Man" can save his money Peace out The Troll, Ruffian, Scoundrel and whatever else the Post T4E rush "experts" want to call me. Good, I can feel your anger... It gives you focus, makes you stronger... Ughhh, that made me laugh so hard I knocked some grapefruit juice on the soccer mom shirt they make me wear at work. Now I'm pissed. Soccer mom... If you were living in Canada, you'd be a hockey mom!!

Uh oh... looks like we have another scrap startin' up... I got twenty bucks on ray. He's a feisty one.

I'll bet that building will be packed tonight... half of Toronto will be there, be doubt. And, Windsor, and Sarnia, and London and... and... and... Have fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've read a few posts about the meet and greet affairs that people go to so they can meet Alex and Geddy or their other favourite rockers. From what I hear, there is normally disappointment after because of the lack of personal touch, etc, and people go away with a different opinion of their "heros." I met David Lee Roth in 1981 in a Holiday Inn in Savannah, GA, and he was a real ass. Drunk, loud and rude. I really liked VH back then and it bummer me out that one of my high school-period idols was a jackass. I also met Neil Young in Toronto years ago. He wasn't drunk, loud or rude, just didn't want to give two seconds of his time. So, I went away thinking that he wasn't a very nice guy, when in fact, he probably is. I would hate to have people constantly wanting to tell me their life story and how "learned all your songs!" Knowing how Neil avoids any type of fan interaction when possible I think I'd be afraid to meet him in case I said the wrong thing... even, "Hi Neil." So, I'll leave my opinion of Neil as it is - a "great guy" who I've never met. A friend of mine met him backstage in Thunder Bay, Ontario, on the Hemispheres tour and he said Neil was not exactly the way he thought he'd be. So, he was slightly bummer out about his "hero." So, here's the question - Instead of taking a chance that when you meet Geddy or Alex (for example) they might not be the people you envisioned, would it be safer to NOT meet them and keep them in your mind as they are?

Cool reading the part about Lorne Wheaton too. The "behind the scenes" guys do a lot for the "in front of the scenes" guys!

Dude, both you and your son have it straight up! Have a great time at the show - "A single perfect sphere" - along with about 12,000 others!

You're right. The best musicians are often never heard of.

Sorry, the books are both spoken for. That didn't take long...

I guess I should have put this in the books section... sorry. Can someone move it for me? Thx

To all of you in the USA... you would NOT believe just HOW popular TPB is up here in Canada. That has got to be some of the funniest shit ever... I hear that the show is just starting to get popular in the states.

I have a friend who was in the "meet and greet" group in Toronto a few years ago and there was no "assisted cheering" instructions or anything like that at all. Geddy and Alex came out and spent about 20 minutes chatting and signing anything that people had to be signed. Pictures, etc... all of that. My friend said she had a great time and wasn't hurried at all. In fact, she said Alex was asking questions about her family, her career, etc, and even asked to see pictures of her kids. So, maybe the other night the guys were a little short of time... I couldn't imagine being told to cheer... that would be weird. I doubt very much Geddy and Alex know about that. They'd probably feel a little silly. They have nothing to prove at this stage of the game.

It's obvious that there are some seriously hard-cores on this site and I thought someone might like to read a couple books about Rush. I've already read them and they're sitting around, so someone else might as well have them. I'm not much of a collector... but, I will never let my Neil penned books go!! First book is "Rush Chemistry" by Jon Collins, copyright 2005. The second is "Rush and Philosophy" copyright 2011. If you would like either or both of these books, send me a private message with your name and mailing info and I'm ship them to you. If you live in the states it'll take a few weeks to arrive because I live in the "How's it goin' eh?" region of the world. Thx

QUOTE (fordgt99 @ Sep 16 2012, 11:02 PM) QUOTE (Steely Caress @ Sep 16 2012, 10:49 PM) Along with Geddy, I have read where Neil says power windows was one of their best records. I know he talks about this in the book contents under pressure. Is Contents Under Pressure a good book to read to get a good history/insight into the band? Reason I ask is some jerk on another forum I visit claims I don't have much knowledge of the band (which I never claimed to have in the first place). I own and have watched Beyond The Lighted Stage a few times but of course it doesn't cover everything. Yes, Contents Under Pressure is a good book. Go get it... And, I also really like Power Windows. There's some heavy stuff on it. Love, love, love the guitar on Territories...

QUOTE (trenken @ Sep 17 2012, 09:42 AM) Come on, are you new to the internet? This is a message board, complaining about complainers never works out too well. If someone wants less CA and more older stuff, they should be able to express that without being called retards. You know how many people still go to Rush shows that havent bought a Rush album in decades? A LOT. When I went to the S&A tour almost NOONE around me knew any of the new songs and PNC in NJ was absolutely dead during the first part of that 2nd set when they played all those songs in a row. This isnt really the 70s or 80s anymore where everyone at Rush shows was buying their albums and wanted to hear all the new stuff. Sure, complaining about Rush playing new material is pointless, but the fact is they do have a crap load of fans that dont buy their albums anymore, or dont love them anyway, so you just have to live with it. Complaining about it here and insulting them accomplishes nothing. You're right, but I still feel a lot better now!! People can say what they want, but I'm just glad they're still playing anything...

We should round up all the whiners and make them sit through a Justin Beiber show with all the screaming 12 year old girls. Then, make them sign a contract stating they'll never complain about a Rush concert again. Assholes. Geez, I feel SO much better now. Those Mydol seem to really work!!!!!