LaFellaStrangiato

Big Wreck. If you haven't heard them, you're missing out.

BW formed after Thornley and Brian Doherty met at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. They had some success in the late 90s and had a couple of videos on MTV. They still have a solid fan base in Canada, but have had a hard time breaking through in the States.

*SPOILERS BELOW* They played Descending on Wednesday. It's a much better tune the way it was utilized between songs in the show, and it's been altered a bit since the recorded version above. I missed the second night. They played Sweat, which hasn't been played since 1998, according to several sources I've seen. Oh, and they really seem to like No Quarter. They played it both nights as the opener.

Mini-tour kids off tonight in SF. I'll be there. I'll let you know if they play anything new.

Love this show! It's renewed for a fourth season and will debut in March, but they haven't announced a date yet.

I sensed a very definite shift in production style during the Hiatus Years of loss for Neil, when Ged went out and created MFH. When VT finally came out, it felt like it followed the same template that MFH did, from the balance of levels to the use of vocals and instrumentation that built the overall sound in the same way. Although Rush has used many different producers since MFH, Geddy has really become the "prime mover" when it comes to how Rush albums sound, and much of that can be attributed to the stretching of his musical wings on that solo album, in my opinion.

I was a ten year old boy when SW came out in '77, the perfect demographic for being a fan of the movie. My friend, Jeff, came over to my house the weekend that it came out and couldn't stop raving about how great it was. The following weekend we went to see it together. I remember the opening scene very vividly, with the Star Destroyer pursuing the Blockade Runner. As the point of the Destroyer got wider...and wider...and wider...so did my youthful eyes. Other members of the audience were similarly enthralled and there were whispered gasps as the size of the ship kept growing until it overwhelmed the edges of the screen. I was totally hooked. That movie set me off on an addiction that would last for two or three years. I collected action figures, magazines, trading cards, comic books...until my hormones kicked into top gear and my first addiction was replaced with my second...Girls. Most of my SW viewings took place at Glenwood Theater in Overland Park, Kansas, which ran the movie continuously for about a year-and-a-half. I don't know how many times I ended up going to see it in the theater in total, but I kept a running count for a while, and the figure gets fuzzy after 60. An estimated final count would probably put me at about 75 to 80 theater viewings.

If you knew the full backstory of the underhanded things Rudy did to CP, you might have some empathy for the site.

CP has not been shut down, from what I understand. Just some glitch with the hosting company. It'll probably be back up sometime today.

I spoke more in-depth with one of my Rush friends who stayed at the hotel where most of the stage crew was staying near LAX. He was still up having a nightcap at around two or three in the morning when the crew started arriving after breaking down the stage. He talked to several of the crew, including production manager Craig Blazier, and asked if there was any chance of more shows being added to the tour. Blazier said certainly not for this tour, and highly unlikely for any in the future. He said that, at this point, Neil is just tired of touring altogether, citing his advancing age and the much published desire to spend time with his family. I hold out hope for the future, but if this was the end of the touring road for them, I'll consider myself lucky that I was able to hitch my wagon to a band for 35 years.

It's a still from the exit video of the tour. I saw that video and this picture doesn't look like it is from it. I could be wrong. That's why I'm asking FOH when it was taken. I see what you mean. I just took a look at the exit vid posted on Youtube. The configuration of their positions as they walk down the hallway is different, but it looks like it's the same hallway. My guess is that they probably "filmed" several takes of them in the hall and someone took some stills as it was happening. Good hallway footage starts at about the two minute mark...

Why would you say that? The Exit Stage Left Tour was one of their best Tours ever. Believe me they didn't lose any money there and they Wouldn't here. All of the UK, Europe and South America are just dying to see this Tour. This R40 Tour couldn't lose $$$ if it tried. :codger: In the ESL era, most bands hoped to break even on touring. It was a way to promote album sales, which is where most musicians made the lion's share of their earnings. Today, that paradigm has shifted, with downloading cutting so heavily into their profits. Bands now make most of their money from touring and the associated merchandising. It wouldn't surprise me at all if the ESL tour was only marginally lucrative.

It's a still from the exit video of the tour.