andreww

Geddy really has aged well hasn't he? He's fit, trim and still has a great head of hair. I'd love to see what he would look like holding that Ricky again!

No I don't. Back in those early days the atmosphere at concerts was completely different. There was very little in the way of photo magazines, and no MTV or concert videos. People were hungry for visual images of these bands. In those early days I would have no problems taking my 35mm SLR with a huge 300mm lens in to a show, and when ushers or security people would see it they would actually ask people to make room so I could get to the front of the stage. It was fun to do, but mostly it was a means to get me closer to the bands I admired so much. But that was in the days when concert tickets cost $6 and a tour guide was $2. In the early 80s that started to change and "No Camera" warnings started to appear in the fine print on ticket stubs. I continued to take my camera but found myself having to leave it with security, or have all my film destroyed. The bands at that time (especially Van Halen and Kiss) were starting to control their images and selling their Tour guides for outrageous dollars. Money killed that hobby which is a shame because so much of that era is now undocumented. The pro photogs get their photo pit shots for the first couple of songs, but the bands know they are there and are posing for those pics, whick kind of defeats the purpose. But anyway, I really stopped doing anything after about 1984.

I know exactly what you are saying. I love the guys and think they are probably still the best working band on the planet, but I will say that they are not the same band that they were back in the 70's and early 80s. As far as I'm concerned the peaked at about the time of ESL. In those days you could see how hard they worked on stage. Double neck guitars, Taurus pedals, synths, all played at the same time using hands, feet, elbows, and even Geddy's nose at times. After ESL the technology had developed enough that allowed them to use guitar effects instead of doublenecks, sequenced sounds triggered by touching a synth key. The band sounds better, but a lot of the magic was in that dance that they did to create those sounds. They are still a 10 out of 10 band, but back then they were a 12 out of 10 :)

Here are the last two shots from Buffalo. The pic of Alex is my favourite shot that I have ever taken of the band. Unfortunately I lent the negatives to a co-worker who shared a similar passion for concert photography. A few days later he was arrested and fired for stealing from the company. needless to say I never saw him or my negatives again. http://i761.photobucket.com/albums/xx257/andreww1962/RUSH126_zpsebe25809.jpg http://i761.photobucket.com/albums/xx257/andreww1962/RUSH125_zpsa457ad3b.jpg

Yep, the infamous red shoes. They are quite something aren't they :D http://i761.photobucket.com/albums/xx257/andreww1962/RUSH122_zpsdfb8033e.jpg http://i761.photobucket.com/albums/xx257/andreww1962/RUSH123_zps5aa2ec20.jpg http://i761.photobucket.com/albums/xx257/andreww1962/RUSH124_zps7413090b.jpg

The professor on the drums... http://i761.photobucket.com/albums/xx257/andreww1962/RUSH112_zpsf6d4d6bf.jpg

Gettin artsy fartsy with this one... http://i761.photobucket.com/albums/xx257/andreww1962/RUSH109_zpsa2b2cb7d.jpg

Lets not forget that Guitar fellow http://i761.photobucket.com/albums/xx257/andreww1962/RUSH108_zpsba614fae.jpg

Another of Mister Lee http://i761.photobucket.com/albums/xx257/andreww1962/RUSH107_zps489f882c.jpg

Another http://i761.photobucket.com/albums/xx257/andreww1962/RUSH079_zps9a01f7bc.jpg

A couple more http://i761.photobucket.com/albums/xx257/andreww1962/RUSH121_zpsd2fdac32.jpg http://i761.photobucket.com/albums/xx257/andreww1962/RUSH1210_zps7cec00f9.jpg

I was at the Kiss show as well, that was beautiful weather. Maybe it was raining at the rush show, it was a long time ago and my memory ain't what it used to be. As I recall the wind and rain made using the video screen impossible. The reviews weren't that good either. I seem to remember the headline being "Rush: Clouds of smoke turn to wisps of mist".

A little bit of a technical problem with the time machine this morning (needs a scanner software update :) ), but I did manage to get some images of our next destination. The date is May 21st 1980, and because the band had decided to ignore its hometown on the Permanent Waves Tour, a trip to Buffalo, New York was required. Anyway, here are a couple of pics, I'll see if I can get some more for tomorrow. http://i761.photobucket.com/albums/xx257/andreww1962/RUSH110_zps40bca99e.jpg http://i761.photobucket.com/albums/xx257/andreww1962/RUSH111_zps814ef1f7.jpg http://i761.photobucket.com/albums/xx257/andreww1962/RUSH119_zps78e04e25.jpg

Really? In the 70s and 80s he used to drop them all the time, but he also did a lot more tossing and spinning than he does now. In fact the only thing more impressive than his throws and catches was how smoothly he covered up when he missed.

I'm not 100% sure. In the above pics you can see that the screen is already in place, but at this point they were only projecting light on to it. I think by Hemispheres they had graduated to projecting still images on to it as I seem to recall some imagery from Cygnus X1/Hemispheres. My memory is a little sketchy though. Anyway, the next stop the time machine will make will be on Monday when I'll post some pics from the Permanent Wave show in Buffalo NY. Strangely the band avoided Toronto on that tour, probably because they'd played here 3 times for the Hemispheres tour and once on the Mini Hemispheres tour (Varsity). That was a drag because Waves was one of my favourite tours!

Did you go to multiple shows? I used to love those three and four night Gardens stands. I'd always try to catch at least two of the shows. Yes I used to attend multiple shows. Usually around Christmas / New Years at Maple Leaf Gardens. I saw many of those concerts in the 70's and 80's. Did you see them at Varsity Stadium? That was an odd show. If I remember it was raining for most of it. Actually it didn't rain at all. It had rained the previous day and it was a little foggy during the show. You probably remember that because the crowd stated ripping up the damp chunks of turf and chucking them at the stage. (You'll see one of these projectiles in a coming post ;) ). But you are right, it was an odd show, kinda last minute if I recall correctly.

Ah, if you want doubleneck pictures you'll have to see the Permanent Waves set on the next stop of the time machine. I was pretty lucky as I was able to see four shows between the period of 1977 - 1981 from the front row. In my opinion that was when the band hit their zenith. Still a great band, don't get me wrong, but there was something magical about that period in the bands history. As for the jackets? It was a period in music known as "New Romantic" and bands like Bowie, Roxy Music, Japan, Duran Duran were kind of an underground thing. Alex was always following fashion at the time so I'm pretty sure thats where the jackets and skinny ties came from.

Okay, the time machine is going back three years, almost to the day. Its March 25, 1978 and I was a 15 year old kid on vacation with his family in Fort Lauderdale Florida. Rush was playing in nearby Hollywood and my dad was cool enough to buy my brother and I tickets and drive us to and from the show. Somehow we ended up in the front row! Anyway, I ad a POS 35mm point and shoot at the time, so these pics aren't the greatest, but decent enough for you guys to catch a glimpse of what they were like back then. Enjoy :) http://i761.photobucket.com/albums/xx257/andreww1962/RUSH042_zps337130a3.jpg http://i761.photobucket.com/albums/xx257/andreww1962/RUSH063_zps9a9c8cae.jpg http://i761.photobucket.com/albums/xx257/andreww1962/RUSH053_zps64e669d9.jpg http://i761.photobucket.com/albums/xx257/andreww1962/RUSH064_zpse37e2470.jpg

Hehe, gotta love the clothes. But really, Geddy has got to bring that Ricky bass back in to the rotation, it looks so cool. It was kind of fun scanning and retouching those photos after so many years. Things like Photoshop make life so much easier ;) Anyway I'll see what I can find in my box of negatives tomorrow, but I can guarantee that we'll be going back in time even further!

I think they just did a poor job of editing out f***ing there. I highly doubt that. I've seen rush many times over different eras and have never heard Geddy curse on stage, let alone dropping F bombs. My guess is that he is saying "hands" in a different language. Gealic possibly?

Did you go to multiple shows? I used to love those three and four night Gardens stands. I'd always try to catch at least two of the shows.

Was thinking the other day that Ive got tons of slides and negatives sitting in my basement from various rush shows I attended back in the 70s and 80s. These pictures have never been seen by anybody by myself, so I thought it was about time I shared them. Hope you enjoy! Ill add pics as I dig them up and scan them, but for now here is a set that were taken over two nights at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto during the Moving Pictures tour I believe. I believe the dates were March 23 & 24, 1981. http://i761.photobucket.com/albums/xx257/andreww1962/RUSH040_zpsf9a043e5.jpg http://i761.photobucket.com/albums/xx257/andreww1962/RUSH039_zpsb347694a.jpg http://i761.photobucket.com/albums/xx257/andreww1962/RUSH034_zps8131cfa4.jpg http://i761.photobucket.com/albums/xx257/andreww1962/RUSH031_zpseb56fecf.jpg http://i761.photobucket.com/albums/xx257/andreww1962/RUSH033_zpsae655ed5.jpg http://i761.photobucket.com/albums/xx257/andreww1962/RUSH016_zps0af3d33a.jpg http://i761.photobucket.com/albums/xx257/andreww1962/RUSH012_zpsc53d41c9.jpg http://i761.photobucket.com/albums/xx257/andreww1962/RUSH001_zps74c7b16c.jpg http://i761.photobucket.com/albums/xx257/andreww1962/RUSH024_zps9661066d.jpg http://i761.photobucket.com/albums/xx257/andreww1962/RUSH006_zps38708026.jpg http://i761.photobucket.com/albums/xx257/andreww1962/RUSH005_zps78d2358c.jpg http://i761.photobucket.com/albums/xx257/andreww1962/RUSH002_zpsed85a8f2.jpg http://i761.photobucket.com/albums/xx257/andreww1962/RUSH004_zpsfdc2246f.jpg http://i761.photobucket.com/albums/xx257/andreww1962/RUSH010_zps34f15304.jpg

Close, but not really.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipJVO-2zib4

I'm sure they will.

My most memorable seats were..... 3rd row in front of Alex on the All the Worlds a Stage tour (Toronto) 1st row at Geddy's feet on A Farewell to Kings tour (Hollywood, Florida) 5th row centre for Permanent Waves tour (Buffalo, New York) Somewhere in my basement are some pretty decent pics from all these shows!