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For local Vancouver fans of RUSH. We need your support to keep the music of RUSH alive! Come see your local RUSH tribute band "Moving Pictures" Live at the Blue Frog in White rock BC Saturday Sept 28 2013. http://www.bluefrogstudios.ca/newshows.html https://www.facebook.com/MovingpicturesRushTribute http://www.soundslikerush.com/index.html

For local Vancouver fans of RUSH. Come see your local RUSH tribute band "Moving Pictures" Live at the Blue Frog in White rock BC Saturday Sept 28 2013. http://www.bluefrogstudios.ca/newshows.html https://www.facebook.com/MovingpicturesRushTribute http://www.soundslikerush.com/index.html

This might be better placed right in the Vancouver thread in Headlong Flights, but... it's near the end of the tour and I wanted to share my experience with anyone interested, not just us Vancouverites! :) Prolouge This was my fourth Rush show since 2008 - last one was Edmonton last year, where I had a phenomenal second-row-immediately-on-Geddy's-side seat with completely unobstructed views. This time around, I decided to go for the floor, get a different angle. I snagged a just-about middle of the 14th row, and thought about getting a zoom-ier camera to take lots and lots of pictures of Geddy a few photos of the show. The day before I left for Vancouver, I picked up an awesome new camera, and with back-up camera, cell phone, and tape recorder packed up, I was ready to go! :P I showed up at the arena quite early - an-hour-and-a-half before the show was to start, and for some reason, hadn't made sure my bladder was empty before getting there. Eesh. I spent about 45 minutes hovering around outside the arena doors, legs crossed, getting mighty antsy. There was a Rush merchandise kiosk outside, which I'd never seen in that kind of place before, so snagged the goodies I wanted, without the horrendous line-ups I endured last time in Edmonton. I got a girl shirt, and, of course, a tour programme. Was happy to notice that there was a full two-page photo of the Edmonton show inside! I finally got inside - made a beeline to the girls' room - and found my seat, all the way down those stairs. Ate a veggie burger (yum!), and sat on my lonesome (yes, me all by myself!), and chatted with neighbours. The lady next to me was seeing Rush for the first time, and I told her it was going to be an amazing show! Then, finally, a wee bit late, the lights dimmed.... The Show I stood up for the opening movie, and didn't sit back down until... well, I didn't sit back down! Not only because I'm kind of shorter than all the guys in front of me, and I want to see, damn it, but because standing at floor level just seems a given, even though there were times a few others around me decided to sit (in fact, one guy near me was actually trying to get everyone around him to sit... like, why? What's the point?). So, I stood and wiggled my butt through 'Subdivisions' - Geddy's singing sounded good - and danced and sang along to every song. The boys were playing really well, as per usual, and the best part is... Geddy was wearing the red shirt I'd hoped he'd wear! Ok, that last part won't interest everyone, but it was still cool to me! And there were moments where he just seemed to dominate the bass, if you get what I mean. Parts of 'The Anarchist' definitely come to mind. And his singing got even better after the first song, so much that 'Halo Effect' sounded even better this time around than on the album, I thought! So, as I was thoroughly enjoying the songs and catching the snippets of stage action that I could in between bobbing heads and hands, I managed to snag a few photos with my shiny new (and red! to match Geddy's shirt!) zoom-y camera. I wanted to have a good balance of taking photos to preserve the moment, and to actually be there in the moment, enjoying myself. And I found an awesome balance. Since I couldn't see much of what was going on, I was responding very much to sound, and communicating my appreciation of the music through my various gesticulations (fist-in-the-air and dancing, and tossing around my hair, mostly!). The setlist was exactly the same as it had been in Edmonton, it turns out, so there were no surprises, but I thoroughly enjoyed it all again. And the Clockwork Angels songs absolutely rocked - they translate so well live! Such a full sound, with the orchestra, and such a great experience to listen to live. I filmed 'The Anarchist' (with my back-up camera, unfortunately, because the battery suddenly died on the new one! :() because, as I explained to the nosey guy beside me, it was "my song". There was a good energy for the CA songs, but the crowd really dug into 'YYZ' through '2112'! Because of my poor ability to see the stage, I didn't see if there was much fun interaction between Geddy and Alex as there usually is, but I caught Geddy jumping a few times. I saw Neil fumble with a drum stick during his third drum solo (which has been remarked upon), but was kind of cute, and I saw Alex get a little mad during - I think - 'Wish Them Well' - I think he wanted his volume turned up, and gesticulated about it a few times, looking a bit miffed. Oh, and I was sandwiched in between a guy that kept lighting up joints (which I don't really have anything against, but the smell really just kind of turns my stomach) and ended up spilling beer on my feet and creasing up my new tour book, and a guy that was aggressively trying to get everyone around him to be as obnoxiously fervent in his cheering as he was. He kept taunting everyone with being a less-enthusiastic crowd because we're Canadians (he's American). It's fine to be exuberant, but I don't think it's cool to be pestering people with how they're choosing to display their enthusiasm; everyone displays their concert energy differently! As for me, even with my dancing, hair-swishing, enthusiastic cheering (at appropriate points, not in the middle of my favourite vocal parts!) and singing along to every single word, it wasn't enough for him. He made fun of my filming 'The Anarchist' (I don't care what you think, buddy - this song means so much to me that I want to treasure it forever!) Afterwards The show seemed to end so quickly! Suddenly, it was over, and I found myself outside, watching over a concrete railing at the tour trucks getting loaded with gear down below. It was pretty cool, actually - a lot of teamwork, efficiency, and speed to get everything loaded up as quickly as possible. There were a lot of people moving around, each doing his (or her!) role. It's neat to see 'the other side' of a show - how much work and labour goes into putting on each show. It's such a huge effort by many people! I got back to the hotel room, and after babbling to my boyfriend for a bit (and admonishing him to talk more quietly, because my ears were ringing something fierce and staticy), I sat down and went through my photos (on three cameras, including my cell phone!), and found some good ones and one that made me burst out laughing. If ever I can get this darn new camera to transfer photos to the computer, I'll share some. So, it was an awesome concert, as always, and a memorable experience. I'm a bit annoyed that I couldn't see much of what was going on - I'm very visual - but I'll know for next time, that the floor just isn't that great for someone under 6 feet tall (why, oh why, didn't I wear my platform shoes?!). I know this is long, but I thought it might be kind of cool to share for those who haven't had a chance to catch the boys on tour, or have never been able to catch them. A Rush show is a remarkable experience, and heartily recommended! And for anyone that was at this show, and want to share your own experience, please do! :) I'd love to hear your stories!