Signals '83

On this day in 1983, 3 college buddies and myself set out from Cullowhee, NC towards Charlotte in a 1967 Rambler to see Rush, some of us for the first time. We stopped off in my hometown and picked up my then still in high school little brother. Tickets were $12.50. I'm pretty sure that we bought them in advance but its been a long time. Our excitement built as we waited in the parking lot outside the Coliseum (the old one on Independence Blvd.) We could hear sound check and could not wait to get inside. It was "festival seating" then and when the venue doors opened, there was quite the crush to get in. I had a brief sense of fear as we were pushed along, remembering that The Who concert tragedy in Cincinnati had only been about 3 1/2 years prior. Things settled down the further we moved down the concourse and we took seats in the lower level about where mid-court would have been for a basketball game. Jon Butcher Axis was the opening act and we all concurred that he was a sort of Jimi Hendrix wannabe. My little brother was actually familiar with him and would later turn me on to his 1984 album, Stare At The Sun. Well, the show was great. We all freaked out when Geddy sang "one likes to believe in the freedom of baseball" . Being poor starving college kids, not knowing where our next beer might come from, I don't think any of us actually bought anything at the show. All I have to show for it is my ticket stub and some articles downloaded from The Charlotte Observer years later. My brother remembers buying a t-shirt that he says lasted until he was stationed at Hurlburt Field, Fla. (USAF). The only camera I had then was a Nikon 35 mm that I wasn't about to lug around all day and night so there are no photos. I did download the concert bootleg a few years ago off of Dime. It is quite muffled and isn't quite complete but its better than nothing at all and it took me back to that evening the first time I listened to it. Sadly I've lost touch with two of these friends. I did purchase some SIgnals 40th anniversary t-shirts a couple of weeks ago and sent one each to the remaining friend and my brother. This morning I wear it proudly and remember.

One of the websites had a section that included all the tours and dates/locations. Many had photos of ticket stubs from the shows/venues. I remember scanning my March 25, 1983 Charlotte Coliseum stub and uploading it to the site and it was used by the page for that show. I've forgotten which page and was trying to recall it as the 40th anniversary of that trip to Charlotte with a group of college buddies and my tag along then "little" brother is coming up.

Been away from message boards for quite a while. I had to play around a bit to remember my password. I learned via text from a college friend/teammate just before I was leaving home to webcast my local high school's basketball game Friday night. I was busy and really didn't have time to process it. I mentioned it to my wife as I went out the door and she said that she had just read it herself. We reached a point in the 1st half of the game where the visiting team went up 21-12. I repeated the score on air, just like I do dozens of times per game, and then it hit me. I gave a mention of his passing and a verbal tip of the cap with my analyst and went back to the game pxp. Back in the 80's, three of us guys in college, 2 players and myself, the team manager, spent 3-4 years together jamming Rush albums daily. I can still remember driving about 50 miles to the nearest record store to buy Signals the day it came out in 1982. My younger brother had Moving Pictures first. After I got into them, I bought Exit Stage Left as one of my Columbia Record club 13 records for a penny deals. Signals was my first store bought album, or should I say cassette. We decided to play it safe so we could listen to both in the dorm and in a car so I bought the tape. We all loaded up and headed to the Charlotte Coliseum to see them in March of 1983. I still have my ticket stub from that one. After Roll The Bones I stopped running out to buy the latest recording. The 90's were musically a wasteland to me and I had no interest in anyone's new music. My wife bought me Different Stages for Christmas and that is when I first learned of the tragedies in his family. With the increasing use of the Internet, I began to keep up with the goings on of the band began to regain my interest when they reunited. My son was born in 1999 and when Rush in Rio was released, I played it nearly every morning on the way to pre-school and he loved it. We had to talk about "the Dragon" and how he got his name. When they came to Charlotte in 2004, I so wanted to take him with us but my wife said No. I did eventually take him 2006 to Raleigh but he had kind of grown out of that baby like innocence about it by then. We also went with my brother when he got to be middle school age. Now he's in college. He's not a super-duper fan but does have some songs on his playlists and he kept my Fly By Night poster when we swapped rooms in the house a few years ago. I've saved my "shrunk in the closet" t-shirts for him once he lifts or eats his way up to my size. Its a bummer for sure but the music will always be there when we are ready. I like the $21.12 donation idea that has been brought up.

Anybody got photos uploaded from Atlanta yet? My POS Motorola takes really crappy pics. Everyone around me was shooting some great shots (6th row off Geddy's side) with their iphones and Droids. I'll be glad when my new every two rolls back around in April.

They wound up starting up after 8:15

But that interview was when bands made way more money off their music sales than they do now. Touring is the cash cow now

Closest I ever heard was when he starts the count on Animate on Counterparts and live on the Analog Kid on DS.