sb2112

I've always loved their goofy side. For as serious as Neil seems, there were so many great funny moments over the years. Any time the guys got Neil to goof around on stage was great. Like this:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmWx1KyEt60

Well said. I can only imagine how hard it has been for them to act like nothing's wrong in public. That is not an easy task, I'm sure it's lead to some difficult moments. But they were good friends to the end.

I've been working my way through all these posts. It helps knowing that among this group, everyone understands and gets why it hits so hard.

 

I've still been a shock about it several hours later. No celebrity death has hit me this hard, because no band ever mattered more to me. Like everyone here, Rush was always so meaningful, so no death could be like this one. Rush is music that continues to speak to you as you grow older. They spoke to me as a teenager, and as I've gotten older different songs have taken on newer and deeper meaning. Neil's lyrics about loss particularly have had an impact on me in recent years. When music hits you this hard throughout life, something like this hurts.

 

And it hurts more because of all that Neil went through. The pain he went through in life is unimaginable, to lose so much. And yet he did "get back on" and was able to build a new life and have another child. To not be able to enjoy that retirement and time with his kid breaks my heart. It reminds me a lot of my own dad, who had a long cancer fight almost immediately after retiring. It's just not right, and he deserved better. I hope his family and friends will be able to navigate this well. Long cancer fights are so brutal for everyone involved.

 

The Garden is a fitting end to their career. Neil said the measure of a life is a measure of love and respect. And by that metric, he's beyond measure.

Think about this for a second.

 

Not only will the band have toured in 2012 and 2013, they also toured in 2010 and 2011. On top of that, they have toured every year since 2007, with the exception of 2009. By the time this tour ends, that will be six of the last seven years. Expecting them to tour again when they've done this much already is so unrealistic.

I was going to make a post about Middletown Dreams at one point. I saw the A setlist, and although Body Electric was killer, I was a little disappointed that I wasn't getting to see one of my favorite dream setlist songs. But watching the videos, something seemed off. It just wasn't sounding good for some reason. So I'm not the only one thinking that?

RIAB has a new interview with Alex where he says they really like showing up and tweaking the setlist every night. He speculated that they might eventually stick to a regular set, or they even could play something they didn't rehearse.

 

I hope they do keep switching it up. It's so different for them and very exciting.

Saw the Pittsburgh show, didn't get a chance to post detailed thoughts until now.

 

Went without knowing the setlist and WOW, huge surprises left and right. I only first saw the band for the first time on the S&A tour, so everything in the first set was like a dream come true. In particular, Big Money, Force Ten, Grand Designs, Analog Kid and Bravado, are some of my favorites, so the first set blew me away. Analog Kid was the highlight for sure, so glad I got to see that. Body Electric was fantastic as well. Neil was really killing it on the drums. Territories is another really good song off one of my favorite albums, so I was happy about that too.

 

New stuff was good. I'm liking Seven Cities a lot more now after seeing it live. Red Sector A was very impressive, and YYZ with strings was one of the highlights.

 

This is such a gutsy setlist, playing almost no hits, and so many obscure songs. How could anyone not like this?

 

My only complaint: I missed Middletown Dreams and The Pass, two of my other favorites. Got to find a way to get to another show!

I'm loving that the setlist keeps changing. It's nice to see such variety from them this time around.

I'm still at work, but I just got it confirmed that it was delivered today. Will post a picture tonight.

Really hoping I get my CA album back from the Pittsburgh show.

QUOTE (BrightAntennae @ Sep 7 2012, 03:14 PM)

QUOTE (Alchemical @ Sep 7 2012, 10:57 AM) QUOTE (farcryoverspilledmilk @ Sep 7 2012, 01:44 PM) You obviously don't read well. That post was ripped from another thread about guess the set list game. That post had nothing to do with what was posted yesterday. Did the planets somehow align for you to have guessed Losing It/Manhattan Project/Marathon/Nobody's Hero were on the setlist a couple days before you actually found out from some journalist? And why would a journalist know the setlist or even songs they were rehearsing? This part of it doesn't make sense. To begin with, why would he be getting this information? Somehow he's the one guy who found out the setlist, and then he risked screwing over his source by telling someone all about it.

QUOTE (The Mighty Dudad @ Sep 7 2012, 09:10 AM)

QUOTE (HalfwayToGone @ Sep 7 2012, 07:47 AM) I'd be happy if they just played "Digital Man" for a change.  Amazing chops on that one. Hmmm...didn't they play Digital Man on the first leg of the SNA tour? I recall it being like the second or third song of the set...and that it sounded really sloppy and muddy to me. Sounded way better on the SNA Live CD. They played it on both legs, so I can't see it being brought back.

Also, keep in mind that the cover first leaked several months ago, when the setlist would have been far from finalized.

5 days until Pittsburgh. I'll have to not visit any boards or sites after today to stay surprised.

I predicted Jacob's Ladder, Manhattan Project and The Enemy Within. The Weapon is one I could see happening too.

I know Alex said they would play 3.5 hours, but I just can't believe that. The TM tour was actually shorter than S&A (two less songs, 25 plus drum solo). So my guess would be the same length as last tour, or maybe even slighty shorter.

Why does it even matter? The three hour awesome show would not be improved at all by taking a bow. If Neil not basking in the crowd's response for a while leaves a bad taste in your mouth, you clearly don't know anything about his personality.

It will be the first time since Mystic Rhythms on Power Windows that the last song on an album has been played live. Since then, they've never played whatever the last song on the album was.

 

Just a random stat. Feel free to contribute your own random tour stats.

Tears

Emotion Detector

Open Secrets

Chain Lightning

Red Tide

Hand Over Fist

Heresy

Ceiling Unlimited

Nocturne

Bravest Face

Anarchist has also been confirmed by Geddy, when he said it would be difficult to play live.

This is definitely my final guess. I've been overthinking this a lot, but I think I settled on one here that makes a lot of logical sense.

 

Tom Sawyer

The Analog Kid

The Enemy Within

Driven

Freewill

Carnies

Seven Cities of Gold

Red Barchetta

Show Don't Tell

Far Cry

Jacob's Ladder

-----------------------------

Caravan

BU2B

Clockwork Angels

The Anarchist

Subdivisions

Manhattan Project

Losing It

The Wreckers

Headlong Flight

Drum Solo

The Garden

Xanadu

2112

YYZ

---------------------------

Limelight

Cygnus X-1 (abbreviated instrumental)

The Spirit of Radio

 

 

Something I've noticed: It seems like Analog Kid is the most predicted "vault" song across the board in this thread.

QUOTE (Jaminbenb @ Aug 29 2012, 02:58 PM)

Interesting...I'd love to see a cross reference like Dave Matthews has on one of his fan sites...you can plug in what shows you've seen, then you are able to see what songs you've heard from which albums....his is a little more complex, however since the setlist changes from night to night.

Anyone try this at the Consol Energy Center last tour? Would love to do this.

Obviously we are going to hear a lot from Clockwork Angels and Moving Pictures, but which other albums do you think we'll hear stuff from?

 

I think looking at what they've played the last several tours might be a good way to judge. That's why something from Counterparts has a good chance, I think. They played 2 from the album last time, and the S&A tour was the only time it was skipped.

Since they considered playing it last time, I wouldn't be surprised if they did.