Northerner

A friend I'm going with to one of the Toronto shows was able to get decent tickets during the pre-sale despite the fact within 30 seconds a message popped up saying it was sold out. She just kept refreshing the page and eventually she got in. I know that might not help anyone who got shut out from the pre-sale or whatever, but it's something to keep in mind - not to give up right away when those messages pop up.

I like this album a lot - maybe not as much as the first four albums and Sabotage - but it is definitely up there. I think there are a lot of great songs on there - Johnny Blade, Junior's Eyes, A Hard Road, Air Dance, Over To You - and it stands out as a unique album for them. I think the critics and naysayers have it wrong.

No matter how many times I've heard it, the opening of "Working Man" always fills me with a sense of anticipation and excitement. Another one that has that same effect on me is "The Enemy Within."

I credit Rush for triggering not only a serious interest in music but an awareness of the skill level of musicians playing in bands that I liked. They were my first real favourite band. This was around the time AFTK had just come out — hearing that album, and ATWAS completely blew me away. I cited them as my favourite band for a number of years, before I started really getting into Genesis. Despite being usurped, I never fell out of love with Rush. They are still one of my favourite bands, very likely among my Top 3.

Aside from seeing Rush for the first time which was during the Moving Pictures tour... Best non-Rush show for me would probably be Genesis 1982, during the last tour in which they performed Supper's Ready in its entirety. Worst concert was Ted Nugent 1980. Wasn't a huge fan to begin with, but I didn't mind some of his early stuff, particularly with the Amboy Dukes. Unfortunately, the sound was ear-piercingly loud and crappy, and I couldn't decipher at all what was being played. It was just noise.

Wow, I'm a huge, huge Traffic fan and quite keen on Fairport Convention as well. But if the conditions were uncomfortable and the sound system sucked, I suppose it's not going to matter who's playing on stage.

Not necessarily in order...: 01. Rush – All The World’s A Stage 02. Genesis – Seconds Out 03. Steve Winwood & Eric Clapton – Live From Madison Square Gardens 04. Neil Young – Live At Massey Hall 1971 05. The Who – Live At Leeds 06. Strawbs – A Collection of Antiques and Curios 07. Yes – Progeny 08. Van Morrison – Too Late To Stop Now 09. ELP – Welcome Back My Friends 10. The Allman Brothers – Live At Fillmore East 11. CSNY – 4-Way Street 12. Camel – A Live Record 13. Gentle Giant – Playing The Fool 14. Deep Purple – Made In Japan 15. Tim Buckley – Dream Letter: Live in London 1968 16. Peter Gabriel – Plays Live 17. Bob Dylan – Live 1966 18. Fleetwood Mac – Live At The Boston Tea Party 19. Eric Clapton – Rainbow Concert 20. Traffic – Welcome To The Canteen

Despite the court ruling, women’s crisis organizations rallied in support of DeCoutere and the two other women, saying "We believe you." The trial has also sparked a national discussion about how complainants in sexual assault trials are routinely dissected on the stand as they were in this case. If DeCoutere turned around two weeks later and offered her support to a colleague accused of physically assaulting a woman, she would be pounced upon in the media and crucified as a hypocrite. Considering the optics she didn't have much choice but to publicly condemn Smith.

From what I’ve seen, TMZ seems to be the only media outlet reporting she was being choked. Everything else I’ve read suggests she was pinned against a hotel bathroom wall during an argument. While neither act is acceptable and both can lead to an assault charge, I think there is a clear difference in the degree of seriousness between choking someone and pressing someone up against a wall. The woman, in this case, says no else was in the bathroom and if that’s true, I’m not sure where TMZ’s witness would have seen someone being choked.

This is nearly identical to my own view except I prefer 2112 to CoS. With CoS, the main point of contention seems to be TFoL which starts off slow, and I guess you need to be in the right frame of mind, willing to settle back and surrendering to this musical journey that might or might not be fulfilling. Whereas, I find, the other full-side-length tracks 2112 and Hemispheres pull you in from the opening moments and just never let go; you’re either pumping with adrenaline or tingling with goosebumps from beginning to end.

My top 20 by 20 artists (not necessarily in order): 01. Genesis – Nursery Cryme 02. Rush – Hemispheres 03. Traffic – John Barleycorn Must Die 04. Santana – Santana 05. Derek And The Dominos – Layla And Other Love Songs 06. King Crimson – Discipline 07. Yes – Fragile 08. Porcupine Tree – Up The Downstair 09. Big Big Train – The Underfall Yard 10. Strawbs – A Collection of Antiques and Curios 11. David Bowie – Aladdin Sane 12. Neil Young – After The Gold Rush 13. Bob Dylan – Blood On The Tracks 14. Van Morrison – St. Dominic’s Preview 15. Led Zeppelin – III 16. The Who – Tommy 17. Jethro Tull – Benefit 18. Fairport Convention – Liege and Lief 19. Max Webster – High Class In Borrowed Shoes 20. Caravan – In The Land of Grey and Pink