TheBluePhoenix

I really have no idea. I’m guessing they won’t repeat much if anything from the last two tours. I wonder if Alex will go back to having speaker and amp stacks on his side. There’s no telling what Geddy will have on his side. I for one will do my best to avoid stage setup and setlist spoilers before I see them in Atlanta. That means staying completely off these boards because I know some jackass will post a major spoiler in the title of a thread. So just coming to the website and not clicking on anything could still expose you to a spoiler. Luckily I only have to wait a couple weeks.

I was hoping that they would play Nashville TN, Greenville SC or someplace within a 4 hour drive from Atlanta. Greensboro, NC is the closest to Atlanta at about 5 hours away. I’m considering it although I currently don’t have tickets. If some good seats open up a couple/few days prior to the event I’ll probably go. If I don’t go I’ll regret it.

They have played at the same outdoor amphitheater in Atlanta for several tours and I hate it! The worst part is that it's still light when they start so you don't have the excitement of the house-lights turning off and everyone going nuts. Instead, the opening video plays and at one point they just walk on stage and there they are. It makes it a very anticlimactic opening. I was hoping that they would play at an indoor arena this time but no!

Are you sure that “hated” is the right word in regards to T4E? For a lot of people it’s probably not their favorite album but I don’t think that most fans hate it.

I was thinking the same thing. A discussion of philosophical, religious, or political beliefs can easily and quickly deteriorate into childish name-calling. It seems to me that the first person that resorts to name-calling loses the argument because they failed to respond with an intelligent counter-point. We know very little about each other so we don’t know how or why a person has come to believe what they do. Ayn Rand, for example, was born and raised in Communist Russia until she fled to the USA when she was 21. So her early life was very different compared to what one would experience if born and raised in the USA or a similar country. Her first hand experiences growing up under a Communist regime had a profound effect on her which can be seen in her writing.

Nope. My own kid, of course. But that's just my sense of morality. Why is it moral to see to your own interests before seeing to a stranger's? How is the morality of choice determined to be objective? This is where Objectivism falls apart. It took me a while to get clear of it to see its failings, but it's so plain to see once you're on the outside looking in. I really don’t understand your point. You say that Objectivism falls apart but in the two examples above you are right in line with it. You would choose to put your self-interest ahead of your neighbor’s. The truth is, we do it every day without even thinking about it because it makes sense. Putting our self-interest first doesn’t mean that we’re greedy, unkind or don’t care for others. That’s another misconception about Objectivism.

You can take any philosophy or religion that teaches right and wrong and ask “why is this moral and that isn’t?” And then for every answer you can still ask “why?” Why is it wrong to kill, to steal, to covet, etc? In many cases you eventually get to the core of the belief system where the truth is self-evident and you either agree with it or you don’t. At this point I have to ask the obvious question: why is it immoral to pursue your own self-interest? Why should you put others people’s interests ahead of your own? Ayn Rand rejected the idea that we are our brother’s keeper. Everyone is responsible for their own happiness. Obviously if someone is mentally or physically unable to take care of themselves then of course we should help them.

Given that she's dead now, she won't be able to answer this question, but why is it moral to see to your own needs before anyone else's? I can see why it's pragmatic, but why is it moral? She actually covers that very thing at the beginning of the interview that I linked to in my post. Give it a listen. Basically, in Ayn Rand’s philosophy morality is based on reason and logic. It’s not based on faith or emotion. I listened up to the 7:00 mark. Does she ever get around to saying why putting your interest ahead of others is immoral? She claims that reason will lead one to an objective morality, and that's a pill many of her followers (or former followers, as I was) unthinkingly swallow, but she never goes beyond assertion. I’m surprised that you call yourself a former follower of Rand’s yet you don’t seem to know what Objectivism is all about. By the way, you got it backwards. Putting the interests of others ahead of yours is immoral. That is because when you do you become a sacrificial animal. Do you believe that it is moral to, for example, feed your neighbor’s kids first and let your kids starve? You can take that example to the extreme. If your child and your neighbor’s child were dying of the same disease and you could only save one of them, who would you choose?

Given that she's dead now, she won't be able to answer this question, but why is it moral to see to your own needs before anyone else's? I can see why it's pragmatic, but why is it moral? She actually covers that very thing at the beginning of the interview that I linked to in my post. Give it a listen. Basically, in Ayn Rand’s philosophy morality is based on reason and logic. It’s not based on faith or emotion.

It’s interesting to me how Ayn Rand is considered insane by some and a genius by others. I read “Anthem” and while I appreciated the message I hated the book itself simply because it was very boring. I felt the same way about “Atlas Shrugged.” It contains lots of great points but she makes those same points over and over and over. It’s just sooooooooooo long. I have not yet read “The Fountainhead’ but it is on my list. I actually prefer to listen to Ayn Rand interviews. There are a handful of interviews on YouTube and I enjoy hearing her philosophy from her own mouth. Here’s a good one from 1959: Her philosophy is often twisted and considered “ultra-rightwing” when the truth is that she hated conservatives as much if not more than liberals. If anything I think she is closest to a libertarian. One aspect of her philosophy that her critics like to focus on is “the virtue of selfishness” which many people misunderstand. They assume she meant that you should get whatever you can, be as greedy as you can and don’t share anything with anyone ever which isn’t what she meant at all. What she meant was that putting yourself and your loved ones first is perfectly moral. In other words, if your family is starving and your neighbor’s family is starving you should feed your family first. After you feed your family, if there’s anything left, then giving that to your neighbor is also moral. Giving food to your neighbor first and letting yourself and your family go hungry is very immoral. It’s just like when you’re on an airplane. If the oxygen masks drop they tell you to put your mask on first then help children or others who need help. Why is that? Obviously, if you help others first you may pass out and then you’re of no help to anyone. She was never against charity as long as you don’t sacrifice yourself or your loved ones. She was against the forced charity of income taxes. I’ll jump off the soapbox now.

No! Keep him out! You wouldn't want him sitting in front of or next to you!

The Camera Eye Cygnus X-1 Beneath Between & Behind Cut to the Chase What You’re Doing

Bastille Day or Lakeside Park would be cool. Anything else from COS would be a waste of precious stage time (IMHO.)

Actually, the opposite happened to me. As a hardcore fan I want to be into every album. So when Presto and Roll the Bones came out I wanted to like them. I listened to them a lot and found things to like about those albums at the time. Now, I almost never listen to anything from those two albums. They do have some well written songs but the overall sound is so weak that they just don't sound like Rush to me.

I'm expecting this to be a good mix of greatest hits and deeper cuts.

Am I thinking about skipping this tour? Ummmm, let me think about that for a second... NO!!

On past tours they’ve made some odd choices for their opener IMHO. I personally always hope for an opening song that starts with a bang. For me, Limelight and Subdivisions just don’t start with a bang. I also hope that they don’t repeat the R30 opener and do a historical medley. Maybe they’ll do that for the set 2 opener. I think Caravan would be a great opener. I can imagine the intro part starting at the end of the intro video. The venue is still dark and then bang! The song kicks in and we’re off to the races! I also think that The Analog Kid, Far Cry, or One Little Victory would be great openers because they start with a bang. Realistically, I can see them opening with something like 2112. That’s my best guess at the moment. Is Vegas taking bets on this?

There’s no way Neil is going to play on an old Slingerland kit. Who started that rumor and who believed it?! He changed his drums over the years for a reason and there’s just no way he’s going to go backwards. Alex currently plays Gibson Les Pauls (like he played in the early days) and Paul Reed Smiths. He also still plays a white Gibson ES-335 semi-hollow body and I think it’s the same one he got in the mid 70s. Geddy did play a Rick on PTB on the Snakes & Arrows tour. I wouldn’t be surprised if he did that again on this tour. It’s doubtful that he’ll play a Steinberger or a Wal.

Nothing would blow my mind at this point. Over the last few tours they played a handful of songs that I really wanted to hear (The Camera Eye) and surprised me a few times with with Entre Nous, Circumstances and Passage to Bangkok. What would really surprise me now is if they played “What You’re Doing.” It’s unlikely but one can hope.

I typically wear earplugs. For me they help to block out echos coming back from behind me. I don't use the squishy foam ones. They just make it sound like you're under water. The ones I use are similar to these: http://www.amazon.com/Howard-Leight-FUS30-HP-Earplug-Hearpack/dp/B0037F92RC/ref=pd_bxgy_hi_img_y

Since it is a fan favorite as well as a radio hit, I doubt that it is retired.

This is the guy I think of when someone talks about vinyl being better than digital. He shows up at about 1:10.

I usually try to avoid the setlists because I want to be surprised. But it can be difficult if your show is months into the tour because you have to avoid the forum and other websites. It wouldn't be so difficult if people had the sense not to post spoilers in their thread title. (Idiots!) Luckily on this tour I'll only have to wait a little over two weeks.

Obviously Geddy is not able to sing much of the older stuff as it was written. I know that 2112 (and maybe Circumstances and Bangkok) were played tuned down a half step to make the vocals easier. I suspect that they’ll have to do that more if they play a lot of older stuff.

I'm in Atlanta, GA and I have not been able to find this show. God forbid they add programming that people actually want to watch!