Snyder80

Gotta agree with the theory here that they seem to be having way more fun these days than twenty years ago. My father has seen them about a dozen times and even he called the S&A show the best one he's ever been to. Just like the one poster said, it's like they are celebrating something every single night they play. And after their hiatus and the reason for it; to come back from something like that and do anything at all is supernatural if you ask me. Never mind the fact that they are still releasing grade A material and playing massive tours.

QUOTE (ProfGumby @ Jul 19 2010, 08:33 AM) stand back, its a big one..... *RANT MODE ON!* It is a live show! Live! No studio, no editing, no re dub and no do over! That's it! You get what you get, and it was never meant to be CD perfect!!! THERE WILL BE GLITCHES THERE WILL BE EQUIPMENT SNAFU'S ALEX WILL STRAY FROM THE SOLO HE PLAYED LAST TIME THE BAND DIDN'T ASK YOU WHAT TO PLAY THIS BAND HAS ONE OF THE MOST TECHNICALLY COMPLEX SHOWS I HAVE EVER HEARD OF, YET IT STILL WORKS NEARLY FLAWLESSLY EVERY SHOW DUH! GEDDY'S VOICE CANNOT DO WHAT IT DID 35 FREAKIN YEARS AGO SO WHAT IF THE BAND WANDERS INTO NEW GROUND WITH A SONG? IT IS A LIVE SHOW MAN UP, TURN YOUR PANTS AROUND AND PUT THE ZIPPER IN FRONT WHERE IT BELONGS (men only, obviously) *RANT MODE OFF!* ProfGumby, allow me to bow before you!!! You said it all. Long live

The switched a few songs out on the second leg of the S&A tour. The set list I experienced wasn't the one they played at the start of that tour. They added 2112/Temples & Red Barchetta were the two most notable I remember them adding. On a tour as short as this one, I really don't see them alternating or switching out songs. Next year I can definitely see that happening.

I listen to Rush pretty much everyday. No Rush on the way to the show or on the ride home though. After that I listen to the first live Rush album I grab from my collection.

QUOTE (moedrabowsky @ Jul 18 2010, 09:52 PM) And I play guitar and Kirk Hammet kind of sucks, while Malsteem is musical diarrhea to me. Playing a million notes a minute doesn't make one a great musician. It makes on a great technician. There's more to being a Great than having a fast left hand. Kirk Hammet sucks? Are you serious? I can't even respond to that completely erroneous statement. And their catalog was diverse compared to who??? And please don't say Rush or I'm going to tie a concrete block around my neck and jump in the Susquehanna river.

QUOTE (moedrabowsky @ Jul 18 2010, 09:52 PM) And I play guitar and Kirk Hammet kind of sucks, while Malsteem is musical diarrhea to me. Playing a million notes a minute doesn't make one a great musician. It makes on a great technician. There's more to being a Great than having a fast left hand. Kirk Hammet sucks? Are you serious? I can't even respond to that completely erroneous statement. And their catalog was diverse compared to who??? And please don't say Rush or I'm going to tie a concrete block around my neck and jump in the Susquehanna river.

Your right, it is an opinion. And in my opinion they are vastly overrated. I hear the same six songs played on every rock and classic rock station played over and over and over. I've heard 99% of everything they've ever recorded and in my opinion they are pretty ordinary. Sort of like an AC/DC with just a tad more creativity and some teenage cult following.

QUOTE (moedrabowsky @ Jul 18 2010, 09:10 PM) I don't think there are two, much less a dozen, guitarists who are better writers than Jimmy Page. His catalog is filled with mountains of mighty riffs and instantly recognizable licks. Everybody is entitled to their opinion, but you basically have to discount everything that Geddy and Alex (and we all know how important their opinions are around these parts) have said about Led Zeppelin to slag them. You don't have to tear down LZ to pump up Rush. I'm not tearing them down. I stated that I do indeed recognize their place in history. But to not recognize that they are a tad overrated is irresponsible. As far as Jimmy Page goes, have your opinion but if your going to tell me that he has the chops of Van Halen, Randy Rhoads, Malmsteen, Kirk Hammett, your just plain wrong. I can dig you up 100's of cover bands that can play everything Zep ever recorded. And I've heard lots of cover bands try to cover Crazy Train or One and get completely lost during the solo because the guy playing just isn't fast enough. And let's not forget the age factor. For example; Randy Rhoads was 22 years old when he wrote Mr. Crowley, Crazy Train, Revelation Mother Earth. How old was Page when he wrote Stairway to Heaven. Like it or not there are guys who are and were just flat out better. The guys isn't the best guitar player of all time just because he played for LZ or used a violin bow.

LZ are legends without question but I find most of what they did very ordinary. From a popularity stand point they have surpassed Rush in every way imaginable. From a musical prowess stand point I don't think they could touch them. Very few people realize just how ignored this band was at one point. My father saw them at The Forum in Harrisburg when they did their Fly by Night tour and he said you NEVER heard Rush on the radio. The only people that knew about them were the people who bought their records. Nothing LZ has ever done can come close musically to things like La Villa Strangiato, Xanadu, 2112, etc. Do I respect that band and their place in history? Absolutely. But I find that band more on the t-shirts worn by high school students than I do anywhere else and that sits very bad with me. Anymore that band is nothing more than a pop culture icon. Not to mention the fact that their best band member by far died way before his time. I also think that the fact that Rush only has three band members should be taken into serious account when people try to compare them to other acts. I mean do you really think Robert Plant could do what Geddy Lee does??? And as much as I respect Jimmy Page I could list at least a dozen guitar players who could blow him out of the water, both technically and in his writing. Lifeson is definitely one of them. I never heard Page do anything that rivals the solo on La Villa or Freewill. Lifeson is without question the most underrated guitar player in history. Still to this day I hear people say how he isn't as fast as Zakk Wylde and I'll have to walk away from the conversation because even mentioning the name Zakk Wylde in the same sentence with Alex Lifeson is on a level of blasphemy that I find ridiculously offensive.

QUOTE (trenken @ Jul 18 2010, 06:25 AM) "Don't listen to anybody who is negative about the setlist/other parts of the show. This concert was AMAZING, and at no point was it dull or uneventful." Yeah, this is easy for you to say, you've only seen them once before, long after they passed their prime. You dont have anything to compare it to, and never got to see rush at the prime in the 80s. For those of us that have seen them many times, we just have more to compare it to so its easier to be critical of things like the setlist which is why youre seeing that so much here. Glad you had a good time though, thats all that matters in the end, im just explaining why some are being critical, theyve probably been to rush shows they liked more. Passed their prime??? Your not listening to the same band I am. Or your just another fan boy lost in the Rush of the 70's who gets pissed off every time they don't play In the Mood or Bastille Day. Get real and wake up, this band is tighter than they've ever been. Take an open minded listen to the material and stop living in the past! I have every live album they've ever recorded, along with some bootleg stuff and I can tell you right now that it's a toss up between RIR or S&A for their best live album. And after reading some of the other comments about being past their prime; again, if you guys can't stand it so much why the f**k do you go??? Would you rather they not play at all. And as far as Neil's stamina during live performances, I'd challenge any of you to go as hard as he does or any of them for that matter for 3 hours.

I don't know what attendance numbers have been like but I do know that tickets were gone for the Susquehanna Bank Center in New Jersey and for the show in Allentown inside of a half hour.

The outdoor complaint is the ONE complaint I can honestly agree with. I saw Rush for the first time when the played the Vapor Trails tour and when that first crash symbol hits and that Moog growl kicked on from Tom Sawyer, coupled with the lights and seeing those three for the first time live was utterly breath taking. The lights are kind of anti-climatic outdoors until it gets dark.

Neil Peart is so sorely misunderstood, it should be a crime to judge someone based on their natural personality. He's shy, get over it! Portnoy is awesome.

The Necromancer.

By-Tor and the Snowdog.

Working Man. The live version on R30 is amazing.

Am I weird because I would never want to meet them in person. I'm very uncomfortable around people I don't know. Great pictures though!!!

I'm pretty new on this forum but I agree that I have read some pretty scathing comments on here regarding what is one of the best bands in the history of music. People are most definitely entitled to their opinions but they've never written anything that I disliked all that much. Certainly nothing they've written or played would make me say some of the things I've read. But that's just my opinion.

10. This will only be the third time in a lifetime of being a Rush fan that I've been able to go see them. I'd be thrilled beyond words if they were playing the theme to Sesame Street.

Thanks for sharing, great pics!!!

What a jackass. This guy obviously doesn't know good music from his asshole.

Great pics! That stage set is amazing, best one I've seen yet. Granted I've only seen the Vapor Trails tour and the S&A tour.

T-shirts sound great! Can't wait for the pic. Get well soon!

I've heard it pronounced both ways and I used to wonder but anymore I don't care. He's awesome; regardless of how he pronounces his last name.

QUOTE (GeminiRising79 @ Feb 23 2008, 06:01 PM) Ok, now try to keep an open mind here by what I'm about to suggest. First, choose the Rush member you primarily gravitate to, for whatever reason(This would be a member that you are mostly in awe of (if you are equally in awe of 2 or more, exclude yourself from this test). The setting: Lets say you happen to be out one night at a Toronto lounge/bar off of Younge Street (in close proximity to Massey Hall) with the Rush member you are in utmost awe of, and his wife. After having a few drinks and strong conversational bonding, the said Rush member looks at his watch noting that the time is already 21:12. He subtly suggests that you join him and his wife at his sprawling suburban Toronto mansion. He says that he will drive since his Audi/BMW is better in the voluminous amounts of snow that has recently fallen from the bruised and sullen stormclouds above. You agree and gingerly hop in the back seat and take in the surreal experience, whilst caressing the rich Corinthian leather and shining steel of the interior. After arriving at the mansion, the three of you entre the main den, sipping cognac (or perhaps The MacCallan) on the large C-shaped couch that encompasses the cozy, roaring fireplace that is automatically actuated by the bristling energy given off by human proximity. In a dreamlike state, you gaze up at the wall and see the gold and platinum records and the vast collage of Rush album covers. You see a magnificently stuffed animal in the likeness of the Snowdog. You see the work of gifted hands that grace this strange and wondrous land. It dawns on you that you're living every Rush fan's dream. The said Rush member then suggests that you join him and his wife upstairs in the Master bedroom. You gaze up at the spiral stair, and then to the Rush member where you notice his hungry eyes, and open mind. Are you prepared to indulge in both sides of the hemispheres or do you politely decline, suggesting that the hour is late and you feel you've got to move, (yes, you do?) Or do you proceed, tricked by circumstances? You would never get that close to any of their homes. And please don't make them sound more complicated than they really are. I've heard Lifeson say in interviews that they are family men above anything. Don't destroy that reality with fanatical imaginarium.