Phantom

As long as it's a noticeable improvement from the album release, with some breathing room, it'll make for a very interesting listen.

Great thread Mara.... Alex is the consumate team player, and it seems he's taken to letting Neil and Ged have more of the instrumental spotlight. I too long for the type of playing he showcased on songs like La Villa, and Jacob's Ladder.

The man is only human... perhaps he's trying to quit but cheats every now and then It's not entirely unheard of :eyeroll: Yeah, actually the thought did occur to me. I met him at a restaurant just before this tour kicked off, and he was in there all night, and didn't leave for a smoke break.As an aside, he was just about one of the most polite people I ever met. He really is one of the nicest soft spoken person I've met too. Oh and funny as hell! I know! Not only was he really funny, he was also totally engaging in conversation. It's not often that famous people will actually engage in any significant conversation with fans, much beyond the basic pleasantries, and I can understand that. It must get tiresome.... especially when they're out for dinner. But when I met Al, he seemed to really take interest in shooting the breeze a bit. What an awesome guy.

The man is only human... perhaps he's trying to quit but cheats every now and then It's not entirely unheard of :eyeroll: Yeah, actually the thought did occur to me. I met him at a restaurant just before this tour kicked off, and he was in there all night, and didn't leave for a smoke break.As an aside, he was just about one of the most polite people I ever met.

Good on him that he gave it a shot. From what I've heard, quitting is really really tough.

Where's the evidence of this?? I just noticed that someone has already posted the pic. I recall Big Al talking about quitting on the Rush in Rio DVD, but don't know if he ever did or not. Maybe he's been smoking all along? I'm not sure why, but I was under the impression that Neil was the only one who still smoked.

I didn't realize big Al still smoked. I'd thought he'd quit. Pretty cool interview.

it's definitely noticeable but not in a bad way. It looks good on him. i've thought it looks a bit like elton johns, which in many ways, looks very real. I don't know what EJ has but I don't think it's an actual wig, or plugs. Must be something else.

It obviously meant something to Neil and Geddy and they were gracious. I thought Alex was pretty cringe worthy. Alex is a very funny guy, but i didn't find him very funny at that moment. I've watched it a couple of times now, and I totally agree. To each their own I suppose but I didn't find it to be all that funny. To me, it's a bit awkward to watch. From what I can tell from Ged's and Neil's reactions, they thought it was amusing at first, but towards the end, they clearly seem to be done with it.

Tom Sawyer is a given. I think Closer to the Heart could be a long shot.

We will pay the price, but we will not count the cost.

I'm wondering if we'll find someone who will hear some of the rehearsal material... and whether or not it would lead to a leak of any possible changes to the setlist. Prior to the first leg of the tour, things were very tight lipped, so I imagine it'll be much the same, and that we won't find out until opening night.

Yeah, one of the guys I work with came into my office today to tell me about it, and said something about them playing a bit of YYZ? He also said the band is definitely worth checking out... says they're amazing.

I definitely recall one of the guys mentioning that they're planning on switching up a couple of tunes on the upcoming leg. I'm eager to see what they've decided to do.

If I created my own set list for this tour, or any other tour, it wouldn't likely match Rush's. But I'm finding that to be ok, as some of the songs that they play are a real treat when I hear them live.

I'm not at all surprised by this news from Ged. I'd posted early this month that an R40 tour just doesn't seem like something they'd want to do, It's just not consistent with them as a band that always seems to look forward. If ever they were to look back, it would have been on the Time Machine tour, and given that they felt the need to release new material in advance of that tour, I just couldn't imagine that they'd gather around and tell each other... " Let's do an R 40 tour ". From my perspective, it just seems that they need a break. I'm sure they'll be back after a well deserved break.

I'd be shocked to hear it, if only because it doesn't seem like it fits seemlessly into this set.... at least for me.

I worry more about Neil, given that he's a smoker, and rides his motorcycle everywhere. It's like he's playing with fire.

That's an interesting post, offered from an interesting perspective, given that you're in their age range. I think they all realize they aren't as young as they used to be, and as Geddy said in his interview with Eddie Trunk, his off days are spent recovering, and not even speaking. Neil is physically incredible, but it's a pace that isn't realistically sustainable over the long haul. As per Ged's interview, it looks like the band is taking at least a year off after this tour, so I find it hard to think that there's an R40 in their plans.

You know it's interesting. I always thought that it would be Neil that would be the one leading them off the road. And maybe when the time comes, that'll still be the case. All I know is, right now, it really seems like Ged is ready for a break. I'm going by nothing other than gut feeling at this point, but personally, it just sort of strikes me that a year off isn't going to be enough of a break for the 3 of them - especially Ged. As I see it, if they were to go out on tour in the fall of 2014, it's really not a year off (when you take into account planning, rehearsing etc). It'd be more like 6-7 months off, and I just don't see that as enough of a break for the guys. I could easily see them taking time off from it all, and until maybe xmas of 2014, at which point I'd imagine the 3 of them would entertain discussions about what they should do next.

Loved reading this thread from top to bottom. Personally, I'd be surprised if they toured next year. I really think they need/want a break. That said, even they do tour next year, I don't thinkg it'd be under the "brand" of R40. They just strike me as the kind of guys that would look at that as a regrettion/reguritation of an idea (R30) that they've already done. As a band that seems to constantly move forward, I just can't see R40 in the cards..

I enjoy Counterparts quite a bit. It was a return to the heavier sound that I prefer. Back on point though... I'm really curious to hear if there's a noticable difference on the SACD. I've read some unfavorable reports online, including this info on wikipedia History The Super Audio CD format was originally introduced in 1999.[2] Royal Philips Electronics and Crest Digital partnered in May 2002 to develop and install the first SACD hybrid disc production line in the USA, with a production capacity of 3 million discs per year.[3] But SACD did not achieve the same explosive growth that Compact Discs enjoyed in the 1980s,[4] and was not accepted by the mainstream market.[5][6][7] By 2008, some considered the Super Audio CD a complete failure.[8]. Comparison with CD In September 2007 the Audio Engineering Society published the results of a year-long trial in which a range of subjects including professional recording engineers were asked to discern the difference between SACD and compact disc audio (44.1 kHz/16 bit) under double blind test conditions. Out of 554 trials, there were 276 correct answers, a 49.8% success rate corresponding almost exactly to the 50% that would have been expected by chance guessing alone

The hand cut pastrami sandwiches at Pancers are outstanding. Ged and Alex were filmed eating there for the Deli scene in Beyond the lighted stage.

A nice win for Rush. Well done fans !

I couldn't find the item on ebay. Do you have a link?