bigalfan

I have to say my appreciation for the sheer joy of music displayed by Mr. Lee has increased over the course of watching several shows from S&A until now. I am a 'bigalfan' because I play guitar - have been learning from this guy since All The World's a Stage came out - and because his goofiness is endearing, but with that, it seems to me he can be a little 'moody' from night to night on stage. His silliness obviously shows up from time to time and I've seen Alex do an entire show with the joy of the music and the moment being THE focus, but I've also seen him do a show like he just received a disturbing phone call right before they went on stage. Geddy on the other hand seems to always lose himself in the sheer joy of the moment and music. Always! I have really come to appreciate not only his phenomenal skills as a musician/singer, but also his pure joy of the music no matter what - whether it be the first show of a grueling tour or the last. I'm not saying the others don't, Neil is such a concentrated machine it's hard to tell what's going thru his mind, I'm just saying Geddy tends to display it night in and night out to which I say, "Here's to you Ged!" That's all.

Thanks, Eric2112!

QUOTE (drbirdsong @ Sep 28 2012, 09:56 AM)He murdered it in St. Louis ^ this

Let me just add this for all of you who live in or near St. Louis - The Hill is AWESOME! I could only wish OKC had a 'little Italy' section of the city as cool as that. Zia's (one of dozens of restaurants in the area) was outstanding and then we hung out at Shaws Coffee and just people watched outside - the Italian grocery store next door to Shaws is really cool. Even saw a guy pushing a shopping cart out of the store - heading back to his home somewhere in the neighborhood and all three of us agreed - that guy is THE neighborhood 'Don' - no doubt! Great place!!

QUOTE (drbirdsong @ Sep 27 2012, 10:36 AM) Here are a few pictures from the meet up at the Schalfy Tap Room. If you recognize yourself speak up. I just got a few shots right before the mass of fans left for the show. At the bottom of the first pic you can see my wife's red (formerly blonde) hair. In pic three you can see Christopher Schneberger paying for beer. (If I got your name wrong sorry, but it is not the easiest one to remember.) http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/z437/drbirdsong/Schafly01.jpg http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/z437/drbirdsong/Schafly02.jpg http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/z437/drbirdsong/Schafly03.jpg http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/z437/drbirdsong/Schafly04.jpg During the first set my wife, not the biggest fan, wandered away to buy me way too much merchandise (it was my birthday and the show alone was more than enough). She ended up on the third level and snapped a bunch of out of focus pictures. I was looking at them during the intermission when I burst out laughing at a great one of Neil. I tried to "fix" it as best I could. The look on his face is priceless. http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/z437/drbirdsong/Peart09-22-12.jpg Unfortunately, we didn't make it to Schlafly, but The Hard Rock's patio was packed out with fans as well, and of course, they (HR) had the songs going for the fan-base. Good times! Thanks for posting, btw.

QUOTE (karlx2112 @ Sep 26 2012, 12:24 PM) @big al fan - Dude I has seen them at Kemper once and sandstone probably 3 times but starlight is absolutely my favorite venu I've ever seen them. If only R30 was played there!! You know thats where they're coming next year! I see you don't have TMT @ Starlight in your list...what's up with that?

QUOTE (friendlyvoice @ Sep 25 2012, 10:18 AM)Amazing show and it ranks with among the best I've seen. The abundance of 80's/early 90's material that so many have whined about sounded fantastic live...much more ballsy than it did back then. So great to see so many young people at the show and really enjoying it. There was a boy in front of us--maybe 9 or 10--who was standing on his chair (we were on the floor) and really into it. And right in front of me, a couple maybe in their late teens/early 20's who clearly knew the music and enjoyed every minute of the show. And on the other hand, there was a couple sitting next to us--probably mid-40's or so--who were long-time fans, but had never seen them play live. So it was a great experience for them. As my wife & I were walking into our hotel, a guy stopped us and asked, "Is Rush playing here tonight?" We said yes, in just a couple of hours. He said he'd seen 3 people at the hotel (including us) wearing Rush t-shirts and realized that couldn't be a coincidence. Unlike us TRFers, he obviously wasn't keeping up with tour dates...but he wasn't one of those so-called "fans" I run into all the time who have a copy of Moving Pictures and aren't aware they're recording new music. He was mentioning being a fan since CoS and FBN, so he sounded legit....and he was totally freaked out that Rush was in town. Don't know if he made it to the show or not...I hope he did. After the show we were mulling around the vendor section of Scottrade and three kids - couldn't have been more than 19 or 20 at most - one male, two females - walked by me all garbed out in fresh swag and just as happy as larks and I stopped them and said, "Wait...wait - how old are you three?" They all say, "Twenty!" almost in unison. I asked, "And, you actually like Rush - you liked the concert?" "We love RUSH!" they answered. "The show was unbelievable!" I went over, shook each hand with a big smile and said, "God bless you three, you've restored my faith in the young people of this country!" We all had a good laugh and they headed off. Love seeing the 'younger' individuals/groups at concerts. Even overheard while standing in line for a shirt, "Do you want me to get you anything Grandma?" That's good stuff!

QUOTE (hobo73 @ Jul 6 2011, 12:40 PM) 3. when your wife doesn't have to ask what your password is for anything, because she knows the answer. 2112. That's good!

When you hear an amazed, "You drove all the way to ____________ to see again?" quite often.

Has anyone noticed the plaque in front of 'The Gedison' changes out from venue to venue? One version is - Big Horn-Brainstorm-Top Horn-Popcorn. In StL we got - Bassy-Brainy-Horny-Corny. Any others out there?

QUOTE (hermy @ Sep 25 2012, 04:59 PM) I took a few: http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d153/avplanners/IMG_2233.jpg http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d153/avplanners/IMG_2232.jpg http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d153/avplanners/IMG_2217-1.jpg and a video of the Garden: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdzOFHDqwgg The exact angle I had in St. Louis. Wild! Nice pics!!

Cloverfield. After ALL the build up and fanfare and....it was just lame. Beyond lame. Having a conversation about why your girlfriend broke up with you while a gigantic creature is ripping the world apart.....uuuuuhhhh, yeah.

There ya go!!!

Testing ....one-two. Helloooo? Testing....one-two. Rush did have an actual concert in Minneapolis last night, right? Maybe it's tonight and I got the sched mixed up? Anyone? Bueller?

Was pretty "meh" about the first set when we all first learned of it that opening night. Got to thinking/listening - got to liking it a little better. Went to the concert and with two exceptions - thought it was great. live makes damn near every song BETTER! That being said, I still have zero idea how the subdued Subdivisions makes the opener. Hell, Big Money would have been better - but hey it's - they could open with Different Strings and I'd go.

AWESOME pics! Loved that crowd pic - nailed it. All night long - just like that!

QUOTE (mazyyz @ Sep 24 2012, 04:22 PM) QUOTE (marlinsfan @ Sep 24 2012, 11:17 AM) Are they allowing digital SLR cameras into the shows this tour? if not, the little point and shoot will have to do again! Yes, and make sure you bring a tripod too.

DSLRs with detachable lenses - Point and shoots -

QUOTE (karlx2112 @ Sep 24 2012, 12:25 PM) SEE YALL AT THE KANSAS CITY SPRING DATE WHICH I'M SURE WILL BE ANNOUNCED SOON. I can only hope. The Starlight is one of the best outdoor arenas anywhere. I'd drive the 5.5 hours (one way) happily to see them for the third time there.

QUOTE (Jomboni @ Sep 24 2012, 07:28 AM) QUOTE (RalphyS @ Sep 24 2012, 02:53 AM) Does this mean that 'Working Man' is dropped from both setlists ??? I was actually thinking of buying an extra concert ticket to hear both "Nights" but in that case you want as many changes as possible, so with the "Working Man/The Spirit of Radio"-change, there were 5, without it only 4 I hope so because it looks like Philly is getting the B setlist and I really don't need to hear Working Man again. It's good live but Spirit is much better. I concur!

QUOTE (willowroolz @ Sep 24 2012, 08:19 AM) Some more from Chicago: Highlights The Spirit of Radio Subdivisions Drum Solo (Where's My Thing) Tom Sawyer / 2112 The Highlights piece is AWESOME!!! Thank you! I felt liked I "lived it all again"!!

Well, I guess everyone can pretty much gather that the St. Louis show was in the 'magical' category. I was in section 117 just off Alex's side and there was a woman in front of me that came in from Chicago with her boyfriend and a woman next to me who brough her entire fam - two very small boys included - and she was the 'driving RUSH force' in the fam. Those two chicks ROCKED OUT the entire concert (along with me - and several others, of course) - but it's ALWAYS awesome to see females having a great time at a concert and these two absolutely were. Highlights of the night for me: Territories, Dreamline, Red Sector A, Caravan, HEADLONG FLIGHT - AWESOME!!!, The Garden, TSOR & Grand Finale! What an EPIC show!! Still on cloud 9!!! What song was it that Alex stepped up to the mic and started the silly babbling, was that, "Where's My Thing"?

Yes, and I LOVED it!! A very, very nice surprise.

FANTASTIC SHOW!!! The crowd was GREAT - hardly anyone sitting as far as I could see. Met Circumstantial Tree briefly after the show. Just a brilliant performance and this from a guy who wasn't thrilled initially with the first set. Some nights were bright and this was one of them.