RushBoingo

Either Toronto for the double date flexibility, or LA so they can bill the DVD as the last show of the last big tour.

I am a solid 8. A whole point off for not having them as my favorite band (They hold spot number 4 for me), half a point off for not liking the odd song here and there, and half a point off for not devoting every single dollar I have to memorabilia.

Unless your really late to making this post, you do realise the St. Paul tickets went on pre-sale a week ago right. It's no wonder all the presale $146 seats are gone. I had a hard enough time securing row 9 in the first 10 minutes. If you want good seats you have to be there right at the sale time.

...For Weird Al I am pretty stoked, I decided to buy the Mandatory Czar VIP package (in Orlando while on vacation there), and somehow, there a front row seat available dead center (this is unlike the ticket buying process for some other band I know) Along with this, a bunch of merch and a pre-show party, I get to MEET AL! I'm stoked. Anyone else here ever gotten front row before (I have once for a general admission concert, but that doesn't really count), or gotten to meet a musician before?

I have a feeling after this tour, when doing shows more sporadically, Rush will become a bit of a festival band. They can release some form of content, and announce that they are going to do a release celebration show in Toronto, and then announce that they are going to do 3 or 4 rock festivals over the summer. Festival shows are restricted in time to 2 hours for headliners, so there is their excuse to play shorter shows right there. I could definitely see them playing Bonnaroo somewhere in the future.

I think after some research I have figured out how Stub Hub gets their tickets on sale before the actual sales. Truth is, every concert does not have every single ticket available to the general public. When a venue is booked, seats are set aside for various people. Rush first takes a portion for friends, family, and promotional purposes (concert reviewers), then the venue takes enough tickets for their staff members, not all, but most staff receive tickets to shows at a venue, even though most of them are working during the concert, they are intended for family members and friends, only occasionally for the staff themselves (They probably could see 10 hockey games and 3 or so concerts a year). From there a fraction of tickets is set aside for the VIP packages, a fraction is given to the fan presale, a fraction is given to citicard members, and the remainder (plus what is not sold from the previous presales) goes up on the general sale. The Stubhub tickets come from all those people who receive tickets before any of them are sold, mostly staff members looking for some serious dough, and the promotional extra tickets (reviewers probably get a group of tickets, but only need a few)

I'm going to see weird al in Orlando this august. Better yet, my seat is front row and center, and I will get to meet him because I bought the VIP package

Considering that the Clockwork Angels Tour had four slots in the show where songs alternated, and since this will probably be the last major tour for Rush, does anyone think they will have alternators in this set to squeeze in performances of all those gems that still need to be played? How Many alternator slots do you think there could be, and how many sets (A,B,C,etc) do you think might happen? I thought it would be great if they had quite a few alternators for rarities from albums that have not gotten a lot of performance space lately. Maybe Alternate the following (Circumstances/The Trees), (Kid Gloves/Between The Wheels), (Prime Mover/Lock And Key), (Show Don't Tell/Chain Lightning), and (Test For Echo/Virtuality(Yeah, I want to hear that one, don't give a damn about Net Boys and Girls))

Yes, although obviously it goes without saying that you can (and most do) sit during the intermission. Sorry, silly idea here, but you could bring some phone books to sit on to add some height when you have to sit. I think of all the concerts I have been to, the only two where sitting on the floor happened was at Weird Al and The Blue Man Group. Every other show involved standing (even a folk concert I went to had people standing).

Why that's 95% of the other bands do, this makes Rush somewhat special, plus it gets the crowd pumped up

They did that for R30. Remember Geddy 'working out' at the retirement home!

I want to see them all enjoying a vacation in their own way, when a metal detector (like the one the moving pictures guy was using on the promo) lifts them out of paradise, along with instruments and forcing them onto a stage, they try to run, but everyone cheers, so they shrug and play. All that in cartoon for the opener would be great, and then as they play the first note on the video, the stage lights up and they are there.

I prefer to remain optimistic, and would like to believe that they will continue to perform live, just in smaller shows, and with only a few shows tied to whatever they are promoting. When at the concert I am going to, I am going to remain excited, and the only bittersweet feeling I will take with me will be the encore, knowing that it could be the last show I will be at (though I will pull out all the stops I can if they do another show after this tour).

Songs: That I have yet to see them play that I need to hear Xanadu Distant Early Warning Mystic Rhythms The Fear Series Test For Echo Jacobs Ladder Prime Mover Kid Gloves Lock And Key Songs that I have heard, and must again The Big Money Marathon Dreamline The Anarchist Force Ten (The Spirit of Radio, and Subdivisions, although those are relatively givens) Also I want to see them put Tom Sawyer in a non opener/closer part of the set. (like for instance have it be near the end of the second set, but play it up like its the ending, then Geddy comes out and says "Were not done yet, how about some more" and does another one-two punch of hits, maybe if were lucky, Fly by Night, then The Spirit of Radio.

In terms of Quality, Power Windows, in terms of sound (do the songs sound similar), the debut album.

I agree with you. I think I read Geddy saying that Neil is in pain every day from the beginning to the end of the tour. Neil's pain, while partially due to playing, is likely also due to his insistence on riding a motorcycle between cities. I imagine that if he took... oh, I don't know.... the plane Alex and Geddy use... he might be a little more rested and comfortable! Well, he probably insists on motorcycling because A: That's one of his favorite things about being on tour, and B: He hates flying, and will only do it when he has too. If Neil started flying, all the pain would be replaced with stress and anxiety.

To quote Little Jon: YEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Yes, nah, Yes, Yes. I would add Prime Mover, the fear series, and Marathon (their career has been a marathon) to that list as well. Oh yeah, and Distant Early Warning, that the only synth era opener I haven't heard live yet.

Well, I have only ever seen rush on the floor, so I don't know what the people in the nosebleeds are like, but if there are good Rush fans next to you (which you can tell by someone who is wearing a rush shirt obviously (and even better if its not a shirt bought at the show)) don't be afraid to talk to them if they seem social. I know time flew chatting with a fellow Rush fan waiting for the Red Deer show to start (which started an hour late due to them not being able to get their ear monitors working). Also, beware of beer! Watch for anyone carrying it, and make sure you keep as close to your seat as possible while they pass (to avoid a spill), and keep note of them if they seem like they would be easily pissed off if drunk. Again, I can only speak from other fans experiences, since the floor is a place to stand, air (insert instrument here) and sing along, but the upper section people probably don't take kindly to this. Here is a tip I have not seen yet, don't get fixated on the video screen when it is showing band footage. Though the borders used for it are neat, and it does give a nice close-up of solos, if you fixate on it, you may not notice certain light effects, or other fun things going on stage. Finally, make sure you lock your car doors while waiting to exit the car parking lot. I didn't think to do this once, and a very drunk guy just opened the car door, and told me to go. It took two helpful rush fans to help me get him out Have Fun!

The big hint is in the press release, and you know they will never tell you that it is actually the end. Geddy is bad at goodbyes, and so are we. Yeah, I just read that now. I never really bothered to read the full press release because I thought I had read it all on the website

It took a long time but I scored two in Row 10 on the floor on Alex's side for St. Paul. Good enough! Best I've done in a presale since 2007. I just have to wait to figure out if seats 9 and 10 are closer to the end of the row or closer to the middle of the row. I never remember how they run the seat numbers on the floor there. Yeah, Arenas are weird like that, I know Winnipeg and Vancouver have the numbers run right to left, and Red deer is left to right, but I have never been to the Twin City arena before

I'm sorry, but where is everyone getting the idea that this is the last large scale tour, granted, it is possible, but its not like its in the official press release.

I got Row 9 on Geddy's side for the St. Paul/Minneapolis show. I was scared because when I first clicked to get my tickets I got row nine and accepted them, but then for some reason I was taken to another page that said I had reached it by pushing the back button, so I couldn't get any tickets at any price (Damn Scalpers). After 10 minutes of trying though, I got row nine back. This will be the second best seat I have had for a rush concert, only behind 8th row in Winnipeg

It would be, if Rush didn't make it so easy to access the presale. Scalpers have computers spamming the refresh button and buying every good seat. If you get junk when you first get in, try refreshing. When I was buying for Winnipeg, I was given 16th row at first, but due to a computer problem, I had to refresh, and got 8th.

Alright, who else is going to St. Paul for Rush, where are all the Manitoba, Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin fans?