andreww

Being from Toronto just about every show I saw was magic. However seeing them on the road brought out my Canadian pride. Like the time in 1978 in Hollywood Florida when my brother and I stood at Geddy's feet. In my opinion this was about the time the band hit its zenith, and luckily I got to see them about 10 times during that period, but the Florida show was really special/ http://i761.photobucket.com/albums/xx257/andreww1962/RUSH042_zps337130a3.jpg

I'd love to sit next to someone like you at a Rush concert. We'd have a great time. Yeh, I'd love to sit next to the guy that always sits at the front too!

http://i761.photobucket.com/albums/xx257/andreww1962/ScreenShot2014-07-25at85534AM_zps83e708f1.png Shouldn't the finger be pointing straight up?

Haha, very true. All that expensive wine has taken its toll on Al's waistline! But I think he could still rock it ;) http://i761.photobucket.com/albums/xx257/andreww1962/AL_zpscbcfa087.jpg

How do you know he wasn't wearing it at the time ;)

http://www.2112.net/powerwindows/coverpics/CanadianMusicianJun1979.jpg When I saw that pic it automatically took me back to the late 70s. Alex had made the cover of a new magazine called Canadian Musician and he was wearing that exact jacket. I stared at that pic for years and its still probably one of my favourite shots of him!

It was close quarters. I was with a buddy and when Alex walked on and stood next to me, I gave my bud a nudge and motioned toward Alex. He immediately said "is that him?" and I nodded. Al was literally inches from us, and you know that sometimes you can feel people staring at you. He immediately pulled out his iphone and never looked up. I get the distinct feeling that he knew he was recognized and simply kept his eyes on his phone so as to avoid eye contact. I guess that was the main reason I didn't say anything, there was just that vibe. However, I m 100% positive he would have been gracious if I did say something. And BTW, I work for an investment management company and every once in a while Geddy comes in to meet with his advisor. I haven't seen him though.

Thats funny. I ran in to Alex on the subway a while back. I mean I was standing right next to him for about 10 minutes and I never asked to take a picture with him. It wasn't until I got of the train that it hit me and the disappointment sunk in. Alex takes public transportation? I bet he was pleased you didn't recognize him. It must get tiresome being recognized all the time. I was wondering this too. I don't think Al gets as recognized as Geddy so he can travel incognito from time to time in the city. I wouldn't say he was incognito. He was dressed like he would be on stage. But yes, with his short hair he isn't someone you would look at twice so he can pretty much fly under the radar. Loved that scene from the documentary shot at the deli. The waitress is all over Ged and Alex is munching on a sandwich. Classic!

Thats funny. I ran in to Alex on the subway a while back. I mean I was standing right next to him for about 10 minutes and I never asked to take a picture with him. It wasn't until I got of the train that it hit me and the disappointment sunk in. Alex takes public transportation? I bet he was pleased you didn't recognize him. It must get tiresome being recognized all the time. I was wondering this too. I'm sure he was well aware that I had recognized him. And the reason I didn't say anything to him was that I didn't want to draw attention to him on a confined place like a subway. If he were on the street, I would have said hello, but on the train there is no escape until he got to his stop. And apparently he takes the subway quite often when in Toronto. Don't think I've ever seen a pic of him driving. Does he? Anyway, the funny thing was that where I saw him was a couple of blocks from Toronto's Air Canada Centre where he was playing a sold out show in less than a week!

Thats funny. I ran in to Alex on the subway a while back. I mean I was standing right next to him for about 10 minutes and I never asked to take a picture with him. It wasn't until I got of the train that it hit me and the disappointment sunk in. You mean in a dream or in real life? It was in real life.

Thats funny. I ran in to Alex on the subway a while back. I mean I was standing right next to him for about 10 minutes and I never asked to take a picture with him. It wasn't until I got of the train that it hit me and the disappointment sunk in.

Think of it this way, when you talk about direction you are talking about movement. I this case from being a hard rock power trio to being some kind of progressive soft rock trio. I don't really appreciate progressive soft rock, but as the move in that direction was gradual, there has to be a point where they crossed a line. I think signals is probably an accurate estimate of where that line might be. It doesn't matter how good the songs are after that point, I'm not denying that they aren't good. They are just no longer in the genre of music that I or most of the bands original fan base enjoy. If they had slowly bridged in to being a full on country band would you still feel the same about them? The band has been able to maintain its popularity for the most part by devoting a good chunk of their shows to the pre signals era and I firmly believe that the day they stop playing their oldies is the day the band will be playing theatres and not arenas.

Agree to disagree. I assume you mean that the newer records are the best sounding Rush. I whole heartedly disagree. No. I meant Power Windows and Grace Under Pressure. Counterparts was very clean. Am I talking about song quality? Not necessarily. Just the sound. VT-CA have not been produced or mixed to impress. Yes, but Terry wasn't just about the sound of the recording. Terry was way more. There is no way Terry would have let Geddy get away with some of the melody lines on the later albums or Alex's 12 guitar sound. He was the best they ever had. I agree he was their best producer, but I am glad they got rid of him. I'm happy with the music they created after his departure My point exactly. I wholeheartedly disagree.... :) It's not like Rush was all of the sudden going to make AFTK over and over again just because they kept Terry. They had already decided to change their direction, Terry obviously didn't know how to treat the new direction (see Signals), they had to ditch him For me signals was probably the last good album. I didn't like the direction they were moving after Moving Pictures, but the music was still really good. After signals it really didn't excite me any more and it still doesn't. So yes, I think Terry Brown had a huge influence on Rush's sound, even on the keyboard stuff. Once he was gone the band just stopped sounding like Rush, and they've never been able to recapture that.

There are lots of people that yearn for the days of 20 minute epics, double necks and power chords. I can't blame the band for moving in the direction they did, but I don't get how they wouldn't want go back to their roots at some point? I know Ged and Alex were fans of bands like Yes and Led Zeppelin and I often wonder if the hated the fact the Yes went from "Close to the Edge" to "Owner of a lonely heart" and Zeppelin went from "Whole lotta love" to "Hot Dog". You gotta think that they wished those old bands made music like they did in the 70s like every other fan on the planet? Or do they sit back and say "I wish Zeppelin would put out more tunes like Hot Dog because that's where there artistic sided were taking them"? I just don't get it. As a guitar player, I can play plenty of technically challenging stuff, but when playing in front of people I much prefer to play stuff that gets the audience moving, even if its something simple like Jessie's Girl or Echo Beach. If I were in Rush I would surely prefer to play the tunes that make the audience go nuts, and I would strive to write more music in that vein. Give the people what they want IMO.

I became less interested the day that Alex stopped being a master riff player and started being a textural background player. A lot of Rush's appeal in the 70s and 80s was that they were a musicians band. A great gauge for a bassist, guitarist or drummer's abilities. Their new sound was layered, convoluted and the instruments that we wanted to hear were hidden beneath so many layers of keyboards and were almost impossible to decipher. I also think that the lyrical content drifted from a heavy science fiction theme towards a more personal human relationship direction. Not that any of this was terrible, but as a young rocker, I really didn't appreciate the change in direction. Still don't.

This is the big mystery to me, too - it is some sort of conspiracy. How do the brokers know tickets they have so soon. You haven't figured out that Ticketmaster has their own ticket broker company? I think at one point Ticketmaster was taken to court about it, but it is a common practice will release prime tickets to a broker to sell at an extreme premium.

Yep, the world is a totally different place these days. Money is king and if you don't got it, move to the back of the room. Was just checking for available seats for Kiss/Def Leppard later this summer and to sit in the first rows will cost you $1250 per seat. And that is from Ticketmaster, not a third party! Back in the day the good seats went to the kids that camped out in front of the box office the night before they went on sale, today its all about money. I just by a decent seat and crash the stage at the appropriate moment. Never fails.

Pretty sure thats not the Farewell to Kings tour. That would be ATWAS or earlier.

Maybe its a regional thing but Kansas was never huge in my area. Of the original list of bands in that contest, I'd put Kansas near the bottom. COMYS is a killer tune though and I still love to rock that one on my Les Paul.

I think the solo at 4:47 sounds very similar to some early rush stuff.

Just voted. Journey is winning but its close. Love Journey, I think I wore the grooves off the live album. Lights and Wheel in the sky are the highlights. In some ways they are a lot like REO Speedwagon in that nobody took them that seriously because they had a massively successful album full of AM hits. If you dig past that you will find a really hard rocking guitar heavy band. I still voted for Rush though ;)

Why did you crop the wine bottles out of your avatar?

Geddy's is cool... http://www.2112.net/powerwindows/coverpics/CityBitesAprMay2005b.jpg But Alex's is much nicer ;) http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/home-and-garden/architecture/article13545905.ece/BINARY/w620/lifeson18re13.JPG

Sorry, I just cant picture a band like Rush recording a song like that without rehearsing it with vocals and probably recording a demo of it first. The song itself doesn't strike me as being any higher than any of the other stuff they were doing back then, and as it was a sequel to Cygnus X1, it needed to have that same strained vocal quality. The songs were done back to back in concert, so it would have been weird to play Hemispheres in a lower register.

Not really a Geddy line, but the most powerful lyric ever Attention all planets of the solar federation Attention all planets of the solar federation We have assumed control We have assumed control My favourite lyric is Children growing up old friends growing older. or Keep on looking forward...no use in looking 'round Hold your head above the ground and they won't bring you down