nhlrush

Mika, you are the best.... what you wrote is my whole point... you are the kind of fan that should win some contest for a meet and greet... not some fan who can't wait to meet Neil..... i am not trying to totally bash the winners of this contest....but could we at least have a winner who has a clue? for the record, i have never spent time checking out geddy's eyebrow wiggles...i think for a guy that would be just too weird...

i agree....meet and greets are very brief, but i know a few real diehards that really really want a shot at a meet and greet so i suppose this is why it bugs me.... i can be happy for this guy tom.... i guess its part of life that so often those who get comped tickets up front or meet & greet passes just know someone or whatever and unfortunately there are some very loyal fans who will never get the chance to tell Ged and Alex how much it all means to them.... I had my chance in 2004, it was great for sure, it was awesome to shake their hands, say hello and take a picture....I cherish the memory...

So if you look at Rushisaband.com, there is a link to this article in today's paper here in the Salt Lake City area http://www.sltrib.co...oncert.html.csp It's the winning entry to two tickets to tonight's show and a meet & greet.... Hundreds of entries were sent in, the idea, how has rush touched your life....etc... I have two problems with this story.... here they are... I must admit, I had not listened to them a lot growing up, but Tom had gone to their concerts since the beginning, and had their memorabilia on his walls. As we were watching the Rush video and they were playing his favorite song, Tom Sawyer, he mustered up the courage for our first kiss. I don't care that she didn't listen to rush growing up, that's not my issue...but she refers to her friend Tom.....I suppose I am just warped after all these years, but c'mon, isn't it just so cliche to say your favorite song is Tom Sawyer....of course its a great song, great rush moments, etc. etc....but really? this is your favorite song? i don't know, call me what you will....too critical? perhaps.... but this next one takes the cake folks.....this one has no excuses....period.... If I got the two tickets and the chance to meet Alex, Geddy and Neil, he would book a flight and be here tomorrow, thrilled to meet them, as would I. Their music is a part of our story. yeah, big rush fan there..... yeah, neil is the highlight of the meet & greet experience.... again, i know, i am being too critical....but she is obviously a casual fan at best, and yes, not everyone has to be a nut-job like me, following rush around the country....but i read this and just kinda shook my head in wonder.....

the last few times neil had me over to the house, he made several attempts walking across his backyard pool, but each time after several careful steps, he sunk into the water.... i told him his pathetic water walking attempts were worse than any drumstick fumble... he agreed....

look, hard to argue how incredible neil is at drumming....most consider him the foremost rock drummer on planet earth....that's saying something... but, part of neil, is his drive to be perfect....to put on a perfect performance each and every time... no one is perfect....everyone is human and makes mistakes....just in neil's world, they are very rare and very small mistakes... this, if you really watch it....is a big mistake, for neil, do you know what i mean? because he is so great, because he has been the world's greatest rock drummer for decades, it makes this rare mistake an eye opener.... i don't think rush fans care that neil messed up....it happens, he fumbled a stick....no big deal... quarterbacks throw interceptions, goalies allow goals....pitchers give up home runs.....once in a while neil fumbles a drum stick.... i think its his greatness that makes it more of a "whoops" moment..when you are at the show, its a moment where you are like, "wow, did you see that?"

cool that there is video.... what's interesting is that when it happened it seemed so much worse than what it looks like in the video....maybe just the surprise of the mistake itself....although in the neil world it was pretty monumental....i'd never seen something like that before....

it did feel like an eternity.....didn't it?

just to clarify what happened last night in vancouver... this was NOT one of those moments when Neil throws a stick high in the air and then he either drops the catch or in some instances i have seen him throw the stick up high and he threw it clear behind his kit and had no chance of catching it... last night was during his electronic drum solo, his third solo of the night....he was simply doing his routine and fumbled a stick.... what was shocking was the amount of time it took for him to get another one and continue..... it was just one of those "holy smokes" moments....

Are you joking or did he really do that? okay, i forgot to put the "lol." but i think he felt like doing that... by the end of the show, he was all smiles waving to the crowd.... i am sure he was upset with the degree of how bad the mess up was, but he carried on just fine.....

i was there... in the world of neil, this was epic.... i felt bad for him.... worst gaffe i have ever seen him make in my 151 shows......ever.... it was even more bizarre when he left his kit, walked over to geddy's mic and said, "f**k this," and left the stage....

my goodness, just check out the stage set up.... no offense to howard, the lighting for rush is spectacular, but i would love some stripped down future shows, just the three of them, no lighting, no steam punk, no theme, just them....like a bunch of club shows.....that would be awesome... great pics, thanks for sharing.....hard to believe its over thirty years ago....

Reading this actually just gave me a cold shiver of dread. As if some icy hand from the beyond touched my chest. It was not pleasant. Yes, there will certainly be a day when Rush no longer tours. I don't think, thought, that it will be announced as such, and especially as a "oh, by the way, this is the show. Bye" kind of thing. I think Rush will kind of not announce an actual retirement, but will kind of keep the flames of hope alive. But they will end, whether announced or not, on the top of their game. They will not start to go downhill in their playing and then call it quits. And they will certainly not announce a retirement only to come back a few times, a la Cher or whatever. I don't think they would manipulate their fans like that. I don't ever see them announcing anything of a farewell tour.... i think they will do what they have done their whole career.....they will plan a tour, play the shows, and when its over, take some time off and then talk to one another and see if they want to get back to writing or doing anything.... at some point in the future, they will just cease to write new material or plan a new tour and at that point they won't be necessarily retired but won't be working on anything either... i actually think neil's second chance at fatherhood has to be a huge factor as well as his ability to play the way he does for so many hours a night... in saratoga, it was really humid and he was sweating so much, i kept thinking, boy, i hope this guy doesn't pass out right up there on the kit....the guy is amazing for stamina.....i am 15 years younger than neil and just enjoying the show in the audience and i am wiped out from the show and i am not twirling sticks all night....

From RIAB excerpt..... Bp: Will they ever do a full Clockwork… Howard: I don’t know. Are they talking about touring again? Yes. They’re talking about possibly touring in two years. But there will be nothing again for two years, we know that. Bp: Would that be a new album or R42 as Geddy has mentioned, do you know? Howard: I don’t know. That is up to them. They are the masters of that. As they say, “I light ‘em, I don’t write ‘em.” [laughs] Pretty much confirms what Geddy has said, Rush will be off the stage for quite a while.... Btw, did anyone notice during the RRHOF induction ceremony that Neil's wife Carrie appeared to be pregnant? i read about this somewhere else but was't sure if it was common knowledge... If this is true, then one would have to think that Neil is going to want to be home for these two years as he spends time with Olivia and the new baby to be..... I keep thinking 2015 sounds about right..... but no touring at all for 2014, that seems very likely...

Two more full blown tours is realistic as we finish out the decade.....maybe three, but if i was a betting man, i would say two more tours..... you always have to leave the possiblity open that a year from now one of them just doesn't either want to do it anymore or physically just can't go through it all anymore.....but i think after a nice break, we will see some kind of R41 or R42 tour followed by their final studio album and a tour for that album..... who knows......but its just what i think is most likely to happen as we sit here with six actual rush shows scheduled.... I am doing the last five just in case this is it....

YES, HI, I'D LIKE A HEAPING PLATE OF EVERYDAY GLORY FOR MY MAIN DISH WITH SOME AFTERIMAGE ON THE SIDE PLEASE.

if anyone has any last minute need for great single floor seats at face value.....txt me at 973-886-7474....please text only, i will respond....

What makes you think this? When RUSH played the festival in 2010 it was a full set... http://www.setlist.f...a-13d46935.html According to rushisaband.com at 3:18am they played setlist A with limelight, so it was a full show....not sure why they did the shortened show in ottawa and sweden but were able to do the full gig in quebec....

the milwaukee show is not the same kind of festival..... rush is starting at 8:30 pm for quebec, they have had start times at either 7:30 or 8pm, most of the time its been 7:30, with a real start time of about 7:41 or so... .....seems to me they will finish the quebec show at 10:30ish, so shortened two hour set.... milwaukeee was at a regular shed, even though they call it summerfest or whatever.... these other festivals are these crowds in a field or area of thousands and thousands with no seats....no arena, no shed.....

This happened at the Sweden Rock Festival... They are only given a two hour headlining block to play.... these festivals are completely different than any arena/outdoor shed regular rush concert..... at a regular show, rush is the only band on the bill....its their venue to do whatever they want....but at the festivals, usually multi-day festivals, you have lots of bands playing, several stages, all kinds of other things happening..... I purposely decided to skip both Ottawa and Quebec shows because they were festivals....plus, look at the wide crowd shot on the official rush show photos....you have thousands and thousands of people are standing in front of the stage general admission.....how good could the view be from hundreds of feet away..... i suppose i am just old at 45 and can't be bothered with a sea of humanity.....i like having a seat, at least i have a little space thats reserved for me... once rush hits halifax, the last shows of the tour will all be their regular A/B setlist just like the rest of the Clockwork Angels tour...

Also have a third row floor seat in section 50 for sunday....face value...

I have an extra ticket for each of the halifax shows.... for friday, show #1, i have.....SECTION 50, ROW 5 , SEAT 4 for sunday, show #2, i have.....SECTION 50, Row 7, Seat 8 these are great floor seats on alex's side.....the friday ticket is in PDF form and could be emailed to you immediately if you pay with paypal.... the sunday ticket is at will call at the box office....I will be at both shows so we could meet up anytime between friday and the sunday show.... selling for face value....no VIP or any other nonsense, just regular floor ticket prices, i believe with all the extra music today fees it added up to $149 per ticket... feel free to contact me direct at nhlrush@hotmail.com.....i see email more often that messages on the forum...thanks...

I am just curious why you would prefer to see them outdoors..... granted, if its red rocks or the gorge where there is natural beauty, i understand that....but at a typical shed, i am wondering why you would prefer this over an arena... the negatives for me for an outside place......the weather, it could be disgustingly hot or really cold (see Alpharetta and Virginia Beach on the CA tour) and if its in the summer, the whole first set its still light out....and finally, if you don't get good seats, you are stuck way back but in an arena you can always get close by going side stage in the lower bowl...

I've discussed this several times on this board.... yes, there are diehards in the audience.... but more and more this is what i see.... families, nothing wrong with that....but, and not always, but families where there are parents who like rush, maybe one of the children like rush, but then there is a 13 year girl who doesn't care whatsoever about what is in front of her....she is bored to death and wondering why she agreed to this family night out...i saw this the other night.... a bunch of buddies....they are all drunk, high fiving each other, not because rush is on the stage, but that they have seats up front and are now big shots.....they yell into each other's ear about how they liked rush in 1982 when they were in high school, blah, blah, blah...they keep drinking, sometimes falling into each other, or fall over the floor chairs (this happened at jones beach, i thought the guy was going to be seriously injured the way he fell) they take pictures of each other with the band behind them and generally get really bored by the middle of the CA material and thankfully leave for more beer and don't come back at all or just in time for TSOR... a huge fan with his/her spouse who just doesn't get rush....boy, do i hate this one....you got one guy (or girl) rocking out to Rush, and their spouse/significant other is just so out of their mind miserable....saw this the other night....the woman dragged her boyfriend/husband out of there around YYZ and never came back and she just looked like she was going to killl someone... So, while the rest of us are rocking out to the band, there are many in attendance who don't really want to be there....or thought they wanted to be there only to find out they are bored because they don't know the songs....you have to admit, even with cool riffs and how awesome all of them play, if you don't know the songs, it is harder with rush to get into it on first listen, it takes a little time to have the songs sink in, to know where they are going, to learn some lyrics or neil's patterns, whatever.... I don't really go to concerts if I don't really want to be there, but i suppose if a buddy called me and i was available and he offered me a free ticket to a band, i would be inclined to go just to see my friend and have a night out....hopefully i would have some respect for the band and the other fans and not be some drunken fool....

you have to understand that alex says many things.....it gets a lot of fans excited, then it doesn't happen.... you always leave room for them to change their minds or to feel energized and want to head out next fall, but Geddy has said repeatedly in recent weeks that they are taking a long break....long.....i don't think they will even talk Rush related anything until at least after Christmas/New Years..... they would have to start developing a stage show, setlist, etc... and then start rehearsing by July/August to start a fall tour....i just don't see them getting back that fast...

I just did the last three shows....hershey, jones beach and saratoga.... i thought the saratoga crowd was the loudest of the three.... but i was 5th row in front of alex.... yes, there are lots of people in the first 10 rows who could care less about rush.... they talk to each other, they drink beers, they leave for a while (that's nice) and they text, take pictures, shoot video, it's very annoying.... Who knows how they got their tickets, or if they paid for them or got them as a freebie..... you wish everyone there was hanging on every note.....sadly, not the case....but what can you do.... thankfully, there are still lots of fans who are going crazy and totally soaking in the band.... a lot of the first setlist is songs that I like very much, but they are not necessarily fist-pumping songs..... grand designs, territories, force ten, the body electric are great rush songs, but not going to get the causual fan into a frenzy... songs like limelight and analog kid get the crowd going a bit...i wish they would sprinkle in a few of my all time favs....xanadu, trees, natural science, freewill, hemispheres, you get the idea... I don't want rush to play the oldies to be some sort of retread band, i just want them to play some of the all-time epics because this is my band and I love all of their catalog including the first six studio albums which they have basically abandonned in recent years....