Thunder Bay Rush

I've been a Rush fan since 2112 - ATWA Stage, but when I heard AFT Kings for the first time, I actually checked my pants to see if there was any shit in them... That "New Rush" with the Mini Moog was so good I thought I soiled myself. I couldn't imagine Rush without keys. I really don't think Rush would have got to the "world stage" without keys. Just guitar, bass and drums has a limited audience, I think. And, when the dude plays bass, double-necked guitar, sings, plays Taurus pedals AND plays an EFFING keyboard at the same time... that made it even more cool. More reason to check my pants for shit at age 14... What would Yes or Genesis have been without keyboards?

So, are you telling me that I just asked a dude to come live with in Canada? Holy shit...

Okay, so could you somehow just become 20 years older and come live with me in Canada? Our gas is only $6.00 a gallon, plus, we have free health care...

I'm not entirely sure I understand your post... But I do know that if those pictures are of you, then you are a certified power babe! And, if those pictures are NOT of you, then whoever that woman is is a certified power babe!

GREAT pictures! Lucky SOB! I was at the AFTK tour as well only I wasn't three feet from the stage. There were 10,000 people where I saw them and I was in the nose bleeds. Max Webster and Butler opened the show I saw, not Travers. But he did open a bunch on that tour, so probably... It was a GREAT show though! You're right on all you said. People need to stop bitching about things and just appreciate the shows. These dudes are 60!

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww, shucks. I checked your profile and I am jealous! You've met Geddy and Big Al and I haven't!!

I saw Ringo on Jimmy Fallon last year (I think) and it was painful to watch. He looked like a kid just who just learning how to play. And, he was sining about a week off key. I also saw Charlie Watts (who is apparently a jazz drummer according to some of you) on Lettermen or one of those shows. He was playing with the Charlie Watts Five if I remember correctly. I don't remember him hitting one single drum or a cymbla at all. He just played brushes on his snare drum. It was boring... My point is that NONE of the Beatles or Stones tunes are even challenging to play on the drums. You can say all you want about "feel" but at the end of the day, those two guys could have been anyone else. They are lucky.

I was away on a fly-in fishing trip for nearly a week and I've been internet-less since Sept 5. I got back today, checked this site to see how the first couple of shows were going and... holy shit. Long before the internet changed the world, we just went to see Rush. Why? Because it was Rush. We never analyzed or disected set lists, talked about whether or not shows were selling well and the reasons for it. I cannot believe how much negativity I'm hearing about this or that ... set lists, drum solos, on and on. I thought we were all Rush fans. Is that not why one would sign up for a forum like this? Sometimes I wish the GD internet would go away. (Strange comment really, since I am ON IT right now.) For me, I can't wait to see the band in Minneapolis, and yes, that'll be an eight hour drive from Thunder Bay, Ontario. Why am I going to see them for my 28th show? Because it's Rush. As far as the "set list" goes, I couldn't give a rat's piece of shit what songs they play. Sure, there are some songs that I really like to see done live, but... It's still Rush, the world's best band.

I've been a fan since the 2112 show that I saw in Ottawa back in 1976. I listen to tons of different bands, even 60s vocal groups that are waaaay far from the Rush sound. But, Rush is by far my favourite band. I've been to 27 shows, only missing a couple of tours since 1976. And, I used to have all the posters on my wall... I wore out a dozen or so copies of AFTK and Hemispheres. And every single drum beat or pattern I ever played back then was a Neil ripp off. Of course, my drums were made by Slingerland... they were black. Set up just like Neil's late 70s kit, includiing wind chimes, temple blocks and cow bells. So, I figured all of this would make me one of the most "hard-core" Rush fans ever. Until I started reading some of these posts... holy shit! There are some SERIOUSLY hard-cores here! Some of you have gone to 8 or 9 shows in ONE tour. Two questions - 1) Has anyone here seen every tour since 1974? 2) Has anyone here joined the 100 club for having attended at least 100 shows? I know a guy in Toronto who claims to have been to 104. That's hard-core...

Hey, good point. Nick Mason, rich, but basic and boring. Great band though!

I haven't listened to a lot of Queensryche, but I heard Slient Lucidity on the radio fairly often. But, doesn't that quiet guitar part a lot like, actually, change that - EXACTLY like the guitar part in Alice Cooper's "Only Women Bleed?" I know I'm "just a drummer" but I'm still not deaf.

QUOTE (J2112YYZ @ Sep 5 2012, 09:03 AM) You're picking drummers from bands that don't really require much drum skill to play in them. It's possible that Charlie Watts is a better drummer than what he's shown live and on record. But The Stones are a blues based rock band and that really doesn't require a drummer to go all out. They just need him to play the beat and that's it. For all we know Charlie does Peart like drum solos all the time on his kit at home. Plus, Charlie has had the job for 50 years, if he sucked at what he did he probably wouldn't have lasted this long. As for the rest of the list, these aren't prog or thrash metal drummers were talking about here. These guys do what's needed in their bands, it just so happens they don't really need to do much because the music doesn't call for it and there are other people in those bands who are the bigger stars and have more of the spotlight. Getting a steady gig in any successful band does require some luck but there's more to it than that. You need to be able to get along with your bandmates and most of all, you need to be able to gell with them musically. I agree with everything you're saying (accept the Charlie Watts observation, that guy is brutal and I know you're kidding about the Peart-esqu drum solo at home bit ) but the point is that all of these modestly talented drummers are mega-rich. Do they really deserve it?? For example, Ringo is a rich and famous drummer because he was in The Beatles, not because he is a great player or writer. I mean, the man if left-handed but sets his kit up as a right handed-drummer would... Same with Charlie, not exactly challenging drumming. I saw him in Minneapolis with the Stones and I was disappointed. He barely moved all night. Bass, snare and hi-hats. The odd tenor and floor tom fill... And what about Phil Rudd from AC/DC? If you can count to four and have a decent meter, you can play ANY AC/DC song out there.

I think that would a cool idea... but I've never been lucky enough to be that close to the stage. If you found those people to switch with before the show... might work. Once in Minneapolis, CP tour, we walked up to the ticket window about 4 pm and asked if there was any way to exchange our nosebleeds for something closer (almost as a joke) and she said, "Sure. How about these?" We looked at each other like WTF? But, we didn't skip a beat! The new seats were off to the side, a few rows up just off to the side of Alex's set up. It turned out that they opened up some new seats after they had the rigging and stage set all finalized. I think she felt sorry for us because we drove all the way from Thunder Bay (8 hours)... We gave her a big sob story... Fine with me.

One of the things I like about Rush is that each player contributes and equal share of the workload and is just as vital to the band as the other two. Not just in playing... in writing too, obviously. I dare say that without Neil's arrival in '74 Rush would have turned out much differently. Not only is Neil one of the best drummers out there, but he writes 1/3 of the band's material. Not exactly riding on anyone's coat tails. But, what about other very wealthy drummers who don't write anything (or very little), don't sing and are just "okay" drummers. These people are lucky that they happened to be "in the band" when the band broke out and started making some serious cash. Here are a few that come to mind - Charlie Watts, The Rolling Stones - possibly the least skilled of any famous drummer in the world. Net worth 200 million. Ringo Starr, The Beatles - same... he sang and wrote a few songs, but he is a terrible drummer. Net worth 250 million. Joey Kramer, Aerosmith - didn't write anything and nothing special on the drums. Any 14 year old kid could along to any Aerosmith song. Net worth 80 million. Larry Mullen, U2 - pretty decent drummer, but his position could have been filled by just about any drummer at the time. He was lucky that he was friends with Bono and Edge. Net worth - 150 million. Anyone want to add to this list?????

Correct you are about the solo in Beyond the Moon. He just keeps going and going and going... and it sounds so cool. I saw Max about 8 or 9 times back in the 70s and I honestly don't remember a better front man than Kim. He would OWN the crowd, not only through his playing and singing, but he is one seriously funny dude - and the way he moved his skinny little legs... his spin-o-ramma moves - that dude could FLY across the stage and with a guitar that was plugged in to the amp, no wireless back then! By the way - he is about 6'2" or so and what did he weigh back then.... uh, about 105 pounds or something??

Wow - it's nice to see other people who are not afraid to say it like is... well done, "Rushchick!" I am impressed... About 10 years ago I met a woman, 11 years younger (probably a huge mistake now that I can look back with my brain and not my "Johnson") and she had a 4 year old boy. Oh my friggin' God! Never again. That little fart had his oblivious "mommy" wrapped around his little finger. He said "Jump" and she said "How high, sir?" Pathetic. It's (almost) always difficult to accept and even love someone else's children as if they are your own. In fact, it wouldn't be natural to do so. Sorry, but The Brady Bunch was a TV show. I don't know one single mixed family that does anything more than just "get along" and that's at the best of times. Dude, if you're still slugging it out, cut your losses and find someone who doesn't have big bags dragging behind her at every step of the way.

If anyone wants to check out Kim Mitchell's guitar work, listen to "Oh War" from the High Class and Borrowed Shoes album and; "Beyond the Moon" from the Mutiny Up My Sleeve album. This stuff will freak you out, I promise. While you've got the "mutiny" album going, listen to "The Party" too. Cat's in the bag, neighbours holler, This party's higher than the EIFFEL TOWER!

Back in the late 70s and into '80 and '81, Max Webster used to tour with Rush quite a lot. GREAT band! Nothing like Rush, but hard rock and progressive, melodic, whatever you want to call it... (funny too.) But, they broke up in '82 I believe. Anyway, the front man, Kim Mitchell, went on to his own succesful solo career selling three platinum albums up here in Canada (or as they sometimes say in Arkansas, "Canadia") and he still plays about 20 shows a year. Do any of you from the USA or other countries remember this band, or do you still listen to them? They were HUGE up here, selling out 15,000 arenas (headlining) but they had a tough time cracking the US and European markets. If you haven't listened to "Max" I suggest you give them a go... unreal band. Kim Mitchell is probably the only Canadian guitar player that is considered by some to be even better than Alex Lifeson. He can really go...

Holy Effen Eff... Transparent Green (Quite the handle!) sounds like you could take over for Mr. Geranois if he even needs a week off... either that or you're a killer keyboardist! I was living in Toronto and slugging out in the bars at the same times as Geddy's newer and "bigger" keyboards were coming out and that's all you ever heard about. I used to play in a band that covered some YES material and our keyboard player had stacks of keys, sort of like what Wakeman used to have. He used to say, "But, it's not as cool as Geddy's though." Me? I just hit things with sticks.

Hermy - yes, you are correct about Neil playing along to the big band swing section, as a piece of recorded music. I stand corrected! I was thinking about the horn shots during his solo BEFORE the swing parts. Duh on me!

I am probably the least "techie" person on this site. Believe me, I doubt that Bill Gates is concerened about me cutting in on his business. But, I did do some "surfing" yesterday with leads from this site and I was stunned at how many boot-leg recordings there are out there, both audio and video. I thought there'd be a few but holy sh**, there are hundreds going back to 1974. Many of you probably already know about all this, but since I don't do a lot with computers (compared to most people these days) I just had no idea. I listened to a few samples and wow - there are some VERY good recordings on the net. So, my favourite, the 1980, St. Louis, Keil Auditorium recording, might have some newly found competition. Question - Again, I'm not exactly "up" on the ins and outs or wrongs and rights of the internet, so - is it not illegal for us to buy or even possess such recordings? I'd LOVE to get my greasy little hands on some of this stuff, but I'm not sure how and whether or not I'd be breaking the law. I'm also not in favour of artists not getting paid for work their do, or in simple terms, getting ripped off. Can anyone help a "non-techie" guy from the woods of northern Canada? THX!

I'm wondering if Neil will go back to the sampled big band section in the end part of his solo this time around. I think it's a great solo, easily one of the best, but he has been doing that big band piece (although a little differently each tour) for quite a while now. I'm sure most people on this forum are aware that Neil triggers everything himself... he's not playing along to recorded music, in other words. Nor, does Gump, his drum tech have anything to do with the live performance. That just shows us how much skill he really has, as anyone could play along to something... my gawd, even me. You'd think the man has an extra pair of feet for Chist sake! But, I wonder if he'll have any new tricks up sleeve for the CA tour? I think it would be a nice change if he did something altogether different, even if it meant doing away with the big band section. Yes? No?

Some very interesting points of view on both sides of the debate. I can see that a lot of people would to like to see the classic rock star bow at centre stage. But then again, many feel that since Neil and the other guys have done their job by playing a great show, so they're free to hit the road. I can see both sides, no doubt. I just think it would be great PR if they'd give just a little bit more. Is 30 seconds too much to ask, especially for Neil since he doesn't do meet and greets, etc... ??

I guess what bothers me is the difference between a few people right in his face who tell him how great he is, "I have all your CDs and I've read all your books," and "I can play your solo"... "you're the best drummer ever" ... on and on, as opposed to standing there in front of 15,000 people who must stay their distance and who CAN'T get right in his face and tell him how "great he is" and all the rest of it. I hosted a TV series for eight seasons and I had a very small taste of what he goes through at times, although what I went through was about 1% of what he must. But, still, when people did approach me, I was as polite as I could be, given the circumstances. It wouldn't kill the guy to stand there for a bit and show his appreciation... Alex too. He normally hits the road pretty quick, often before Geddy is finished with his "Thank you for coming out" duties. Jeez, I must sound like a dick...