Coltonz

Well it's certainly been a loooong time since I've last been online here, but I just felt I had to say this. I prefer the pre-remix Vapor Trails. I think a lot of the people who were disliking it may have been blinded by their own expectations of what Rush should sound like. Relatively it's the most different sounding album they've made. It's a little harsh sounding at times, but I love it. Alex's tone is pretty rough but I think it adds a certain emotional grit to the songs that work well with the themes of loss and pain. Listening with my nice wrap-around headphones now, I honestly think it sounds good, and that the songs are well crafted with some of the best rhythms and melodies Rush has written. When I listen to the remix it feels like a lot of the dynamics have been taken out. You used to be able to hear the energy of the songs shift as certain parts swelled, exploded, and soared between the changing parts, and now it just all feels flat to me. And I don't like changes to the vocals and lead parts. Anyone else feel this way?

At the TO show, Steven told a rather amusing anecdote about how he was reading a review for his album on amazon, and that it talked about his "Tolkein-esque lyrics".... "Basically," he explained, "I tend to write about three things: How women f**k me up, trains, and serial killers. No hobbits, elves or wizards... ever" which gave everyone a good chuckle... Then before starting Raider II, Steven said something like "This next song has some silences in it.... But they are musical silences. Pretentious they may be (pauses for some audience giggles); please respect them" and typically, some guy just HAD to yell out "Hobbits!" during one of the silent bits at the beginning, to which some people couldn't help but laugh... It didnt seem to f**k them up though, which was good. At one point someone else just HAD to yell out "Freebird!" to which he said, "Oh Freebird, like I havent heard THAT one before... like every night since 2005.." I mean there's bound to be a couple people like that at any show.. He took it all in stride of course. Good vibes throughout the performance

Wow. That was really an amazing show! I got to the venue (never been there before.. in fact I've only ever been to Toronto a couple of times) an hour and forty-five minutes in advance. I was 23rd in line, and when the doors finally opened, I made it straight past the merch tables and everything right to the front row, a few feet to the right of center. I couldn't have picked a better spot!! Good clear view of every performer, and Steven would often come over to where Guthrie was standing (right in front of me) because the other side had a keyboard in the way. The sound was amazing, the visuals were really cool, and the performances were just monstrous.... Everybody was on on fire, and Steven's vocals and Nick's backing vocals were both really good. Just a torrential downpour of music. Insane. The song introductions were pretty interesting, and every now and again Steven would tell a little story or joke in between songs. Infinitely memorable performance. I stayed there in the main room and watched the outro music video while most of the people were shuffling out, and then I went to the merch area after that, hoping that it'd still be open. I was pleasantly surprised to find that not only was it still open, but Adam, Marco, Theo, and Nick stayed there afterwards to sign stuff! I had no idea that would be happening. I didn't know much about any of the backing members (except for a little bit about Marco Minnemann) but they seemed like pretty cool guys for being so excellent at their craft. I said to Nick Beggs "Your bass playing really shook me. Like PHYSICALLY moved me" and he grinned and said "Then my work is done". I told Marco that their performaces make me want to be a better musician, which he seemed to appreciate. I got them to sign the back page of my tourbook! It was a perfect concert experience, and one that I won't ever forget. Being there and seeing them perform really made me want to elevate my own musicianship, just like with another band we all know and love on this forum!!! :ebert:

I am going to the Toronto show on tuesday!!! Looking forward to it with high expectations

I love My Favourite Headache. Every song on the album rocks, even when they are more personal, softer tunes. Some really nice composing and arranging in terms of strings, piano, backing vocals and everything else in there. Great album. It gives you some insight into their musical personalities, doesn't it? Geddy is more of a driving, melodic kind of guy while Alex is more of a spontaneous, kind of jazzy, moody modal player. At least thats how it seems to me. Geddy (along with Neil) provides a tight, driving bass section which creates the structure of the song, while Alex is effectively using his guitar to kind of paint over that structure and give it color and mood, as well as filling in the missing scenery. Its a really amazing style that I just love. Ahh but anyways yeah. MFH is great. Victor is great too. :rush:

Too bad about your poster... But I agree, that WAS an amazing night. Ged's voice was better than I've ever heard from him, from any live DVD or anything (the chorus of Headlong Flight - WOW). I was in row C, seat 1, and saw lots of Alex and a fair bit of Geddy close up throughout the night... It was amazing. Alex was SUPER entertaining. During the opening of Force Ten he did some dance moves and mimicked the women's laugh sound effect hilariously. He mimicked smoking a joint during the "he gets high on you" parts of Tom Sawyer. His movements and facial expressions throughout the night were very funny. His guitar box was right in front of me, and I could clearly see him standing beside the stage before each set. It was awesome. When Al and Ged switched sides, Geddy came right up onto the corner of the stage. Making eye contact with him (and Alex as well) made me swell with some crazy energy. Geddy really leapt too, which was so amazing given the fact that he's around 60 and has that heavy-ass bass around him that he's playing so aggressively. The people around me were pretty cool. The guy next to me was at the opening in Manchester, and he was pretty energetic as well as the guy next to him (and the two HOT older ladies beside him too!). The guy in front of me had his young (maybe 12) son with him, which was cute. They were right up against the barrier and the dad would hold him up when Geddy or Alex got close. So sweet. There were two teens I noticed in the front row, one of which who had an anarchy shirt and one who had a shirt with the watchmaker honeybee symbol on it (such a great idea!). There was an older couple in the front with a poster that said "Alex: You gave our unborn daughter a guitar pick - thank you!" At some point in the night Alex read it and mouthed "Oh, thats so beautiful" and during the encore break, he gave the couple a drum stick. Such a sweet moment. After the show a security guard gave me a setlist sheet; a nice memento. All in all, one freakin' amazing night - like nothing I have EVER experienced. I jumped and played air instruments and flailed so hard that I got a stitch in my side! As a huge Rush fan, I am truly lucky for having such an amazing time. A night to remember, for sure!

Okay! I printed my ticket. I really hope this is legit. Maybe I'm just paranoid

*edit* sorry double post

Well my tickets are downloadable apparently, but it says they won't be available for download till tomorrow..

Normally I would never use any kind of unofficial method for getting tickets but.. I went for it. It was just too good an offer to pass up. I actually already saw the first Toronto show the other night, which was AMAZING but I was surrounded by a bunch of casuals who sat for most of it.. I wanna be right in the zone with all the real fans with my spaz meter cranked up to 11!!! So hopefully this works out. If it doesn't I could probably go for some unsold cheap seats and be fine with it... All I know is that sometimes, you have to be wary...

So I impulsively decided to look for some tickets to the Montreal show, and I was wondering if Stubhub is a reliable website? They seem legit but the sellers themselves are a different story.. Theres a guy on there selling 3rd row tickets apparently, and while I am afraid of being ripped off I just want to go so badly!! Anyone have any experience with stubhub?

Theyre probably gone by now, eh?

I had a blast! I just wish I hadn't been surrounded by middle-age casual fans... I was the only one in my little sector who stood for the whole thing. My spaz meter was on eleven!

I know how you feel.... I was born in '93 and Sunday's show will be my 2nd Rush concert. But I still consider myself lucky that I'll have seen them at least twice in my life. Imagine if we were born even later! Now that would REALLY suck!

I'm 5:05:47 into the audiobook and while I like Neils performance, I think the voices he gives to some of the characters area bit cheesy (mainly the Anarchist). I'd have preferred to read the actual book and imagine my own character voices, but no book copies were available and I got impatient. The writing style is a bit simplistic. The repitition is a bit annoying, and some of the lyric refences seem forced, but I'm still enjoying it pretty well.

I'm listening to the audiobook, and am about 3 1/2 hours in (What Did I See, Fool That I Was). I had hoped to pick up the actual book, because I prefer to imagine how the characters speak and things like that on my own, but there weren't any copies that I could find and I got impatient.. Haha Some of the lines are a bit cheesy, but overall I'm quite liking it! It's a bit simple but a pretty good story none the less.

This album... Is fantastic. I had been on a Rush fast since last Tuesday, not listening to any Rush at all.. Now I've been listening to Clockwork Angels all afternoon/evening and WOW.. Its just amazing. New life has been breathed into Caravan and BU2B, Headlong Flight is still as rocking as ever, and the rest are just as fantastic. The Anarchist was the one that really struck me the most on the first listen - so driving, melodic, sinister.. Just awesome. The title track, Seven Cities of Gold and Wish Them Well didn't really absorb into my head on the first listen, but one more spin and I was loving them all. Every song is great. The album is a cinematic, cohesive piece. Just fantastic.

Okay okay okay okay okay....... When it says local time, does that mean the time where the venue is located?

I am so confused... Where can I actually buy the presale once its up? I wanna get to that Toronto show so badly....

Sounds like some great ideas!!! I think the Watchmaker is going to be evil though... Just something about it, makes me think hes a tyrant.. And honestly, I hope there is no instrumental on this album. There are 12 tracks. The two in the beginning have pretty much just introduced the setting and character background. The ninth is pretty much the hero looking back on the journey at that point. That leaves HUGE story gaps that need filling. In order to make a proper story, I think each track needs to have some lyric in it. But who knows? Maybe not. Either way, it'll kick some major ass.

So at first I was a bit bummed that Rush was to be touring in the fall. I had hoped that they'd do a summer tour before I had to head off to the University of Ottawa(first year). Right now I live in this crappy corner of Northwestern Ontario where pretty much our best hope of seeing Rush is in Winnipeg. But then I thought... I could hit up the Toronto show!!! Take a bus/train/whatever I need to take to get down there, its about a 5 1/2 hour drive apparently.. Go to the show... Take a night bus back to the school and all's well! Its kinda nuts, and I'll be broke to begin with, but.. What the hell. Its Rush!!! Problem is, I've never bought a concert ticket on my own before, and I wanna make sure I can snag one when it goes on sale. Does anybody have any advice on how to do this? All it says on Rush.com is "On sale soon".. I really want this, any help would be appreciated!!!

This is NOT a "farewell" song!!! Think about the context, people. As some others have said before, the reflective lyrics are from the hero's point of view. Its near the end of the album, and he's looking back at his life. Also, the "some days were dark, some nights were bright, I wish that I could live it all again" was taken right from Freddie Gruber. This isn't Rush saying farewell. Rush have said they wouldn't do a "farewell". It isn't their style. Granted, this may be their last album and tour for all we know... But can't know anything about that at this point, can we?

Loving the new single!!!! It totally rocks, and its (in my opinion) quite catchy. The vocals in general aren't very melodic, save for the "Big steel wheels" line (which is awesome), but still really kick ass!! The bass, drums, and guitar are all very high-voltage. Rock on, RUSH!!!

Hey, thanks for the positive reaction! I started listening to Rush when I was eleven, so that'd be eightish years ago. (I think it was 2004, so vapor trails was already out but it would be a long time before the S&A) At the time I was starting to get more curious about music and trying to get an grasp on what I really liked to listen to... I was rooting through my dads collection and grabbed Chronicles, to which he remarked, something along the lines of "Ah, good ol' Canadian band right there." So I patriotically put er on.. I think the first song I put on was the Trees, because it had the most interesting title to me.. I thought it was a bit weird at first with the acoustic guitar and the talk of oaks and maples.. But then the song kicked in with Alex's deep, chorusy guitar and I was like... whoa And then the arpeggio part came and I was like... whoooa (Kind of like the first whoa, but like... a more chilled whoa) And then came that guitar solo, and I was like... And then before I knew it it was over, and my mind was completely blown. It was that very day, that I decided to start playing guitar and that I began to crawl out of the pathetic shell of my former self and reach some kind of identity. The sound of Rush, to me, was/is the sound of happiness.

Hello everybody! I like to consider myself an "official lurker" as I don't post here very often unless I feel compelled to... And well, this is one of those times. Snakes and Arrows was released when I was only in Grade 8, at the end of my elementary school education.. I am now graduated from high school, and Snakes and Arrows is still the last album that has been released by Rush. The time between the end of elementary school and the end of high school feels like a span of geological time (see what I did there?) when you're going through it, and that thought kinda just made me realize how long its been since the last album. However, when I listen to S&A, it still feels exciting and fresh, not dated like so many current-generation albums would sound like after such a span of time. And I love it just as much as any other album the band has put out. Looking forward to Clockwork Angels, I feel more excited for the release than mostly anything I've had to look forward to recently. I consider myself one of those Rush fans that loves the music that the band has produced throughout the all their decades, and I feel like this next album will be absolutely terrific (and its been a looooong time waiting). I check these forums nearly every day for CA news and rumors (because why search for news on the upcoming album when I can just get other Rush nerds to do it for me?) and lately I've had a hard time having to read the grating comments from certain users on this board. I don't know why so many people are bashing the album before it even comes out.. I think Caravan & BU2B are fantastic. I also think that younger people are generally more open-minded about Rush's newer releases (and dont give me that crap about liking the stuff because I was raised on NSYNC etc etc.... I was raised on my dads old record collection) Anyways.. I might be starting to ramble, so I'll just finish this thread by saying.. I wish the less-optomistic people on here would just keep their crummy comments to themselves and let the people who are actually looking forward to the next album and are excited about it, do so. Because I am 19 years old and have a spent great portion of my adolescent life just waiting for the next Rush album to come out, and gosh darn it, I think its gonna be awesome. So there!!