Johnny Gilbert

It recently occurred to me it has been almost 41 years since I saw a certain three man band from Toronto for the first time. It was a cold night in February ‘79 at the Asheville, NC Civic Center, and this 17 year old bumpkin’s first concert.....of any kind! (What a way to start a concert going career, huh?!) Several high school acquaintances made the long journey to the “big city” that evening. Over half the distance at the time was on sketchy two lane roads. Classmate Sharon Painter was a big fan of the opening act, Head East, and had been talking all week about how they were going to “blow Rush off the stage”. Being my first concert, I was duly impressed by Head East’s set.....Then our boys came out and launched into “Anthem”. Everything was immediately at a different level, and life would never be the same! At some point near mid-song, I managed a sideways glance at Sharon, and caught the look of jaw-dropped amazement on her face. After that first song I turned and gave her a look of: “so, what do you think now?” She sheepishly smiled and nodded approvingly. This was a stop on the Hemispheres tour, and what a setlist it was! Keep in mind this was before “Tom Sawyer”, “The Spirit of Radio”, “Subdivisions”, etc. were even glimmers in the boys’ eyes! Unfortunately, I did not save the ticket stub, but I believe admission was $10. I did, however, manage to catch one of the two sticks Neil tossed to the crowd at the end of the show, and still have it to this day.

I found it!, and I do appreciate it. Thanks Lorraine, for the thread. Thanks all, for the kind birthday wishes.

Think there used to be some of this type thing (fanfiction) in the "Turn the Page" section of the forum.

That would be cool! But they are not playing all indoor venues. The Atlanta/Alpharetta show is at a "shed". Think there are a handful of other dates at outdoor amphitheaters.

Yep, some of their stuff looked exactly the same as what was available at Rushbackstage, so I ordered 2 shirts. They arrived yesterday, look good, and seem to be of decent quality. Will probably order from them again.

My Greensboro tickets purchased thru TicketsToday pre-sale shipped today. About 7 weeks before show date (5/28)

Gotta go with Red Rocks.

Thanks for the birthday wishes. You guys are terrific!

2 years already???.....you guys have made the time fly by making it fun!

Ok. Now that I have read the words "Hello...morning gov", I hear the same thing. Makes sense, being in the "London" section of the song. Thanks.

Probably already been addressed, but anyone here know who is doing the "mumbling" in the background at 8:55-8:59, and what is being said?

Me too! Power Windows Tour! :haz: Hemispheres tour for me...Damn, I'm gettin old!

Junior year was great because that was the year of my first Rush concert!

Are those the actual lyrics? If so...oh my God. Those are some of the stupidest lame lyrics I've ever read from anyone, ever. Just wow. When I tried to listen to such sucky songs on Counterparts recently, I purposely avoided paying attention to the lyrics because I have heard for 20 years how awful they were. But, I was NOT prepared for this. Those lyrics sound like a Weird Al parody...only without the cleverness or (intentional) comedy. Just horrible. SURPRISINGLY horrible. Agreed. Harmful to real relationships too, don't you think? I don't know, wouldn't it be better for the relationship if both people understand early on that it's not always going to live up to some fairytale fantasy land portrayed in a love song, than to be blindsided by this reality later on?

Such as?