Meeting Geddy and Alex on the R40 Tour

[dvdtrades]

hey guys, been forever since i've visited the forum. been missing the band a bit lately, thought i'd come here and share my story, and hope some of you might have one to share as well.

 

i should start a little earlier than the event, however. I met a friend online way back in '04 in a chat room when those were popular, because of our mutual love of rush. we stayed incredibly close all this time and always spoke about how we HAD to see rush together someday. while i did not realize/believe/accept/etc that R40 would be the end ( i had heard these rumors around just about every tour i'd ever seen,) she put me on the spot to come out her way and see a couple shows, which i'm incredibly happy to say i did.

 

we went to tulsa and i made some great friends in her rush crew, and we had an amazing time seeing the tour kickoff (my second consecutive, as clockwork angels opening night was only about an hour and change away from where i currently live.) following this, we hung out in st. louis at her place for the week or so in-between, and had an incredible time.

 

the day before the st. louis show, i happen to see a post on facebook that someone had met alex at their hotel on his way either out or returning from playing golf. we freaked out- they were in town, the city is not THAT large, and we didn't have any other plans that day, why not try and find these guys?

 

i did a little detective work, looking at websites of various higher-end hotels around town, comparing their lobby pictures with the picture of alex. we narrow it down to two possibilities, and decide to go to one and have a couple drinks at the bar. maybe we will catch one of them going out or coming in, and get a super quick handshake, thank them for everything, maybe best case scenario a super quick picture. we definitely were not out to take up more than a minute of their time at most. worst case scenario, we drink a couple beers at the bar and hang out.

 

at one point, i spot ray in the other end of the restaurant. holy shit!!!! we are in the right place, and this is happening! we try and stay chill, even though we are in this swanky hotel and all i packed for my trip were rush t-shirts and she had one on as well, we tried not to seem like we were...ya' know, stalking these guys! ray finished eating and was walking past, i wave and he acknowledged us as he stops for a minute. he came over and talked to us for a minute, he was super nice. he implied a little bit list she and i had hooked up at the bar over rush, which is hilarious. i wish i'd thought faster on my feet and mentioned the real reason we were together that week, i think he may have enjoyed that story. i mentioned the license plate in his office in the interview shots in the doc film (the MO license plate "rushhhhh") belonged to her friend, who is now my friend i met that week. ray somehow knew where our friend was sitting in tulsa, and mentioned he intended to say hello to him, which still blows my mind. he was cool enough to take a quick picture with us, and after he left, we are freaking out!! if that's as far as this goes, that was amazing!!

 

following this, we are freaking out, and this guy sits at the bar next to me. he is wearing a suit, he orders a drink, and says "rush fans, huh?" we tell him yes, and he informs us he is here to meet the band for dinner. he owns a wine store locally and has known them for some time, geddy supposedly orders certain wines from his store. my friend asked if there was any chance we could meet anyone for a second, to which he of course replied no. oh well, we hang out with him there for maybe 45 minutes or so, talking and still in shock at this entire day. he then says something to the effect of "there's who i'm waiting for." the guy looks firmiliar but i can't quite place it. later i realize i'd seen him in the doc and the clockwork dvd, bringing the guys on stage, bald guy with glasses. later on looking at the dvd credits i see it's dominic. he is talking to our new friend, but we are all just kind of there together, so he is basically addressing all of us. he said the band already left, and if this guy wants to call an uber or cab, he will let him know where to go. the guy we have been hanging with is clearly annoyed by this news, and my friend, thinking fast on her feet, offers to give him a ride to the restaurant. he and dominic kind of exchange looks, and he says, " yeah, i'll take a ride from her." dominic shows us his phone to give the name and address of the place, and we take this guy there. we weren't expecting anything, although if something happened...hey we aren't saying no! he makes a call and says to someone on the other end he has two really big fans with him who would love to say hello. it sounds like we are going to have the chance, but who knows? i'm sure we could be turned away at any moment of this.

 

we get to the place, there is a separate entrance for where the guys are from the rest of the restaurant (we have eaten there a few times since this and it always brings back some feelings when i see that door!!) someone is standing outside, and he lets us right past him with the guy we brought there. we go up some stairs and take a sharp left into this medium sized banquet room. it's hard to remember, but i'd say there were probably 15-20-ish people in there, probably closer to 15, all drinking wine. we walk in and alex is standing pretty near the door. everybody, including geddy and alex are in kind of dressy clothes, and here we are in this tiny room with these guys in rush t-shirts, it's actually kind of hilarious when i think back on it. alex immediately makes eye contact and smiles. we both shake his hand and thank him. looking back, i didn't say for exactly what, i hope he inherently knew i was thanking him for all the years of amazing work. he probably would have given us more time but he was standing with someone who said something to him and we didn't want to seem rude, so we kind of waved and said thank you, and walked over to geddy. the guy we brought was with geddy, he is kind of giving geddy a little shit, saying "the car left without me!" to which geddy replied to him by name (so he clearly did know him) "nobody expected to see you today." oh man. he then introduced us by name to geddy, and said we were his chauffeurs for the day. geddy was wearing a brown leather jacket and a scarf from what i remember, i'm fairly sure i'd seen him wearing the same jacket in video somewhere but i'm not sure. we both shake geddy's hand and say thank you. he smiles and nods. at this point we are all just kind of standing there awkwardly with geddy. my friend asked him if he had caught a cardinals game while in town. Geddy told us no, he doesn't do anything on his days off, he's not even supposed to talk. at this point he has been more than kind with his time and we thank him again, walk past alex, wave to him again, and go outside. i should note this entire time we are both completely freaking out on the inside, but externally we are being totally chill with everyone.

 

we get outside and walk a bit down the street and completely start losing it, i may or may not have cried a little bit after that experience. sometimes i still can't believe it happened, it seems too outrageous to be real, but it most certainly did.

 

we did not get any pictures, any autographs, nothing. it didn't feel like the right setting to ask that at all, although i'm pretty sure they both would have been cool to do so if we asked. we were clearly in their space, and did not want to be there long, the entire thing was maybe 5 minutes at most, but those guys were incredibly nice to us, especially given the situation. one funny thing of note is as we were leaving i noticed ray on the other side of the room see us, and had a look on his face like, "how did these two from the hotel get here?" however, we were gone before anyone had much of a chance to think about it.

 

anyways, that's my crazy story of meeting 2/3 of rush. anyone else here have any similar encounters?

[Chicken hawk]

What a great story dvdtrades. Ive been to most all the concerts in my area from their start...but never saw them close up . I wish i had. Thank you for sharing. I always wonder if i would have lost it during a meeting with them. haha ♪♪♪ ♪

[Ancient Ways]

Interesting story. Sounds like you both handled the awkward meetup as well as can be expected.

[Phantom]

That's pretty cool. My story isn't quite as cool but..

 

I was in downtown Toronto picking my wife up from her work, and as we started driving home, she yelled out.."omg..there's Neil Peart!". I looked over and saw Alex as he was walking into a local restaurant. My wife wasn't a big fan at the time but she knew that it was one of the guys.

 

She shouted at me twice to "stop the car" but I told her that a.) let's leave the guy alone and b.) we are NOT going to that restaurant as it's obscenely expensive.

 

My wife is persistent and insisted that I stop so as I did, she got out and ran to the restaurant while I tried to find a spot to park. By the time I'd parked a block away, she'd called me and told me to meet her at the entrance. Knowing that resistance was pointless, I walked over there to find my wife advising the host that we needed a table for dinner...without having made a reservation. We were offered a table upstairs, which wasn't acceptable of course because she could see that Alex and his friend were seated on the main floor.

 

After a 30 minute wait (most of which I spent trying to convince my wife NOT to have dinner there) we were seated at a table directly across from Alex.. No more than a few feet away.

 

Having been at the restaurant on business before, I knew that its menu would not appeal to my wife's tastes and that it was prohibitively expensive, but it was too late at this point so I thought to just make the best of it.

 

My wife and i nibbled on a bit food that the restaurant was kind enough to customize for us, and throughout the evening my wife implored me to send over a bottle of wine, or even worse, to pick up their tab. (As a point of reference on the price of meals at the restaurant, my wife and I each had a salad, pasta, glass of wine, coffee and dessert, which came in at over $250).

 

Having seen what Alex and his guest were enjoying, I knew his and his friends bill would be north of $1,000-$2,000 and there's absolutely no way I was prepared to pick up his meal, even though my wife encouraged me to..telling me that it'd be a great story to tell grandchildren some day.

 

Common sense prevailed though and we spent the evening enjoying food at a leisurely pace and often overhearing Alex talk about Rush related things.. Fans, websites, fan forums, Toronto etc. As we wrapped up dinner, and there were only a few guests left, I overheard Alex tell his friend.."if you've never seen Yorkville before, let me take you around and show you some great places. The weather's great tonight, so we can grab a nightcap on a patio".

 

With that, his friend went to the washroom and Alex waited alone..holding his glass of wine.. Just kind of looking around. With some encouragement from my wife, it struck me that this was the perfect time to just say hello, so...

 

I mustered up some courage, walked over, excused myself for interrupting his evening and mumbled something about how much I enjoyed his work, and how grateful I am that I became a fan..that their music and their work has inspired me and made me a better person and that I just wanted to say thank you and that I hoped he enjoyed his evening. He flashed a huge smile..and seemed genuinely blown away. I asked if a photo together would be OK and he said..," Sure...actually, why don't you have a seat?"..

 

We spent a minute or two chatting..my wife came over to introduce herself and took our picture (it's the photo in my profile), and he thanked me for coming over to say hi and told me he was glad that I did.

 

It's hard to imagine that there is anyone famous who would be as gracious to a stranger as Alex was...especially given that that he was out for dinner on his own time.

 

I'm so glad that he was as kind as he was because as can often happen, celebrities can shatter a fans image of them with one negative interaction. Alex couldn't have been kinder..he's a true gentleman.

 

Here's to you Alex! Cheers!

Edited April 2, 2017 by Phantom

[Fridge]

Never really felt the desire to meet them....I've already met Kings X a couple of times in fantastic circumstances and been treated really well, and I just can't imagine it measuring up to that.

[Ancient Ways]

That's pretty cool. My story isn't quite as cool but..

 

I was in downtown Toronto picking my wife up from her work, and as we started driving home, she yelled out.."omg..there's Neil Peart!". I looked over and saw Alex as he was walking into a local restaurant. My wife wasn't a big fan at the time but she knew that it was one of the guys.

 

She shouted at me twice to "stop the car" but I told her that a.) let's leave the guy alone and b.) we are NOT going to that restaurant as it's obscenely expensive.

 

My wife is persistent and insisted that I stop so as I did, she got out and ran to the restaurant while I tried to find a spot to park. By the time I'd parked a block away, she'd called me and told me to meet her at the entrance. Knowing that resistance was pointless, I walked over there to find my wife advising the host that we needed a table for dinner...without having made a reservation. We were offered a table upstairs, which wasn't acceptable of course because she could see that Alex and his friend were seated on the main floor.

 

After a 30 minute wait (most of which I spent trying to convince my wife NOT to have dinner there) we were seated at a table directly across from Alex.. No more than a few feet away.

 

Having been at the restaurant on business before, I knew that its menu would not appeal to my wife's tastes and that it was prohibitively expensive, but it was too late at this point so I thought to just make the best of it.

 

My wife and i nibbled on a bit food that the restaurant was kind enough to customize for us, and throughout the evening my wife implored me to send over a bottle of wine, or even worse, to pick up their tab. (As a point of reference on the price of meals at the restaurant, my wife and I each had a salad, pasta, glass of wine, coffee and dessert, which came in at over $250).

 

Having seen what Alex and his guest were enjoying, I knew his and his friends bill would be north of $1,000-$2,000 and there's absolutely no way I was prepared to pick up his meal, even though my wife encouraged me to..telling me that it'd be a great story to tell grandchildren some day.

 

Common sense prevailed though and we spent the evening enjoying food at a leisurely pace and often overhearing Alex talk about Rush related things.. Fans, websites, fan forums, Toronto etc. As we wrapped up dinner, and there were only a few guests left, I overheard Alex tell his friend.."if you've never seen Yorkville before, let me take you around and show you some great places. The weather's great tonight, so we can grab a nightcap on a patio".

 

With that, his friend went to the washroom and Alex waited alone..holding his glass of wine.. Just kind of looking around. With some encouragement from my wife, it struck me that this was the perfect time to just say hello, so...

 

I mustered up some courage, walked over, excused myself for interrupting his evening and mumbled something about how much I enjoyed his work, and how grateful I am that I became a fan..that their music and their work has inspired me and made me a better person and that I just wanted to say thank you and that I hoped he enjoyed his evening. He flashed a huge smile..and seemed genuinely blown away. I asked if a photo together would be OK and he said..," Sure...actually, why don't you have a seat?"..

 

We spent a minute or two chatting..my wife came over to introduce herself and took our picture (it's the photo in my profile), and he thanked me for coming over to say hi and told me he was glad that I did.

 

It's hard to imagine that there is anyone famous who would be as gracious to a stranger as Alex was...especially given that that he was out for dinner on his own time.

 

I'm so glad that he was as kind as he was because as can often happen, celebrities can shatter a fans image of them with one negative interaction. Alex couldn't have been kinder..he's a true gentleman.

 

Here's to you Alex! Cheers!

Nice story, trying to imagine that evening if it actually was Neil.

[vitalsigns318]

Alex is really very super nice. I met him and Geddy on a meet greet on the Vapor Trails tour. I gave Alex and Geddy both equally sincere compliments, and Alex got so excited at both of them that he blurted out thank you to the entire room twice and got very emotional. He made me feel like I was the rock star and that he wanted to meet me. It changed my life, I was inspired from that point on to know that the music that I create and co-create can inspire other people in the same way. So I thank you Alex for that life changing interaction. Edited April 2, 2017 by vitalsigns318

[edhunter]

I went backstage at Mohegan Sun in '07 the afternoon of the show. The casino loading dock is underneath right by the arena loading area. I had a uniform so no one gave me a second glance. Walked around for about 20 minutes. Watched the lighting tests, walked by Neil's bikes. Chatted with Tony Geranios for a bit. Then I had to get back to work.

[Phantom]

That's pretty cool. My story isn't quite as cool but..

 

I was in downtown Toronto picking my wife up from her work, and as we started driving home, she yelled out.."omg..there's Neil Peart!". I looked over and saw Alex as he was walking into a local restaurant. My wife wasn't a big fan at the time but she knew that it was one of the guys.

 

She shouted at me twice to "stop the car" but I told her that a.) let's leave the guy alone and b.) we are NOT going to that restaurant as it's obscenely expensive.

 

My wife is persistent and insisted that I stop so as I did, she got out and ran to the restaurant while I tried to find a spot to park. By the time I'd parked a block away, she'd called me and told me to meet her at the entrance. Knowing that resistance was pointless, I walked over there to find my wife advising the host that we needed a table for dinner...without having made a reservation. We were offered a table upstairs, which wasn't acceptable of course because she could see that Alex and his friend were seated on the main floor.

 

After a 30 minute wait (most of which I spent trying to convince my wife NOT to have dinner there) we were seated at a table directly across from Alex.. No more than a few feet away.

 

Having been at the restaurant on business before, I knew that its menu would not appeal to my wife's tastes and that it was prohibitively expensive, but it was too late at this point so I thought to just make the best of it.

 

My wife and i nibbled on a bit food that the restaurant was kind enough to customize for us, and throughout the evening my wife implored me to send over a bottle of wine, or even worse, to pick up their tab. (As a point of reference on the price of meals at the restaurant, my wife and I each had a salad, pasta, glass of wine, coffee and dessert, which came in at over $250).

 

Having seen what Alex and his guest were enjoying, I knew his and his friends bill would be north of $1,000-$2,000 and there's absolutely no way I was prepared to pick up his meal, even though my wife encouraged me to..telling me that it'd be a great story to tell grandchildren some day.

 

Common sense prevailed though and we spent the evening enjoying food at a leisurely pace and often overhearing Alex talk about Rush related things.. Fans, websites, fan forums, Toronto etc. As we wrapped up dinner, and there were only a few guests left, I overheard Alex tell his friend.."if you've never seen Yorkville before, let me take you around and show you some great places. The weather's great tonight, so we can grab a nightcap on a patio".

 

With that, his friend went to the washroom and Alex waited alone..holding his glass of wine.. Just kind of looking around. With some encouragement from my wife, it struck me that this was the perfect time to just say hello, so...

 

I mustered up some courage, walked over, excused myself for interrupting his evening and mumbled something about how much I enjoyed his work, and how grateful I am that I became a fan..that their music and their work has inspired me and made me a better person and that I just wanted to say thank you and that I hoped he enjoyed his evening. He flashed a huge smile..and seemed genuinely blown away. I asked if a photo together would be OK and he said..," Sure...actually, why don't you have a seat?"..

 

We spent a minute or two chatting..my wife came over to introduce herself and took our picture (it's the photo in my profile), and he thanked me for coming over to say hi and told me he was glad that I did.

 

It's hard to imagine that there is anyone famous who would be as gracious to a stranger as Alex was...especially given that that he was out for dinner on his own time.

 

I'm so glad that he was as kind as he was because as can often happen, celebrities can shatter a fans image of them with one negative interaction. Alex couldn't have been kinder..he's a true gentleman.

 

Here's to you Alex! Cheers!

Nice story, trying to imagine that evening if it actually was Neil.

 

If it were Neil, I'd have known not to approach him.

 

Funny thing about Neil and that evening though....

 

When i first heard my wife yell out that it was Neil, i knew it wasn't him because that evening Neil was doing a radio interview song by song about their album...and I was looking forward to listening to it.

 

After leaving the restaurant, we gave a listen to it online...

 

It was quite the Rush evening...

[dvdtrades]

Phantom, thats an awesome story!! Alex has got to be one of the nicest "rockstars" one coukd ever hope to meet. He is such a sweet person! I will never forget that he immediatly gave us a huge smile and a few moments of atrention. Such a nice person!

 

 

You reminded me of another alex encounter. My friend moved to new york city many years ago, and worked at a restaraunt owned by jay-z that had great food and a lot of well known people would frequent there. In '07 another friend and i rode the bus to ny so the three of us could see rush at the garden the next night, and our friend who worked there took the night off to meet up w us. That night, alex came into the restaurant and hung out for hours, and gave the guy waiting on him free tickets right up front.

 

Day after the show and we went home, our friend went back to work. He hears this story after coming back, and hears not only this, but that the guy and his friend...guests of the band, free tickets right up front...left after the first set, wasnt their kind of music. My friend got so mad...told him his two buddies rode the bus down from maine so the three of us could sit in the nosebleeds!! Anyways another story i know of close to me of alex's kindness

[Chicken hawk]

Phantom ..your story is as special as dvdtrades. Your wife sounds like a special lady Phantom. Thanks for sharing ! ♥

 

dvdtrades------i cant believe the guy that waited on Alex left the concert ...what a pity! Im sure somebody grabbed those seats after.

 

Hey im from Maine...wonder where your buddies got that bus out of. :)

[dvdtrades]

Phantom ..your story is as special as dvdtrades. Your wife sounds like a special lady Phantom. Thanks for sharing ! ♥

 

dvdtrades------i cant believe the guy that waited on Alex left the concert ...what a pity! Im sure somebody grabbed those seats after.

 

Hey im from Maine...wonder where your buddies got that bus out of. :)

 

cool man! we grabbed it at the concord/amtrak in portland, to boston, to new york. and yeah i hope someone snagged those seats! the guys who got them probably had no knowledge or interest in this old rock band, still kills me every time i think about us riding 7 or 8 hours to be way up top, and those guys did that after hanging out with alex lol

[Mr. JD]

My daughter was granted a Make-A-Wish in 2008 to meet Rush. She was their first MAW kid. We spent a few hours with them including the sound check. It was a very cool experience.

[dvdtrades]

My daughter was granted a Make-A-Wish in 2008 to meet Rush. She was their first MAW kid. We spent a few hours with them including the sound check. It was a very cool experience.

 

wow man, i read her account on this years ago, it was an absolutely beautiful story that she wrote, made me cry. i hope she is healthy and doing well today

Edited April 2, 2017 by dvdtrades

[thirteen]

It's hard to imagine that there is anyone famous who would be as gracious to a stranger as Alex was

One of the forum regulars Rushhead666 (Earl) met Neil Peart...hopefully he sees this thread and gives an account of the joyous occasion

[Mr. JD]

My daughter was granted a Make-A-Wish in 2008 to meet Rush. She was their first MAW kid. We spent a few hours with them including the sound check. It was a very cool experience.

 

wow man, i read her account on this years ago, it was an absolutely beautiful story that she wrote, made me cry. i hope she is healthy and doing well today

 

She is. Thank you. She earned her Master's degree from the University of Georgia last year and got a great job at a.hospital making twice as much as I ever made. Sam is one of a kind. 25 tattoos and all (yes...including a p/g logo on the top of her right foot).

[Phantom]

Phantom ..your story is as special as dvdtrades. Your wife sounds like a special lady Phantom. Thanks for sharing ! ♥

 

dvdtrades------i cant believe the guy that waited on Alex left the concert ...what a pity! Im sure somebody grabbed those seats after.

 

Hey im from Maine...wonder where your buddies got that bus out of. :)

 

Thanks Hawk... She's an off the charts incredible person...I intend to spend the rest of my life trying to become half the person she is...those that have met her knows that she lives life on a different level of kindness and generosity. She sets the benchmark of who I hope to become. Cheers!

[edhunter]

It's hard to imagine that there is anyone famous who would be as gracious to a stranger as Alex was

One of the forum regulars Rushhead666 (Earl) met Neil Peart...hopefully he sees this thread and gives an account of the joyous occasion

 

??? Plenty of celebrities are wonderful folks. They're not all Peartbags.

[thirteen]

??? Plenty of celebrities are wonderful folks.

Who said they ain't? My post was about Earl's 'ínteresting' encounter with Neil.

 

On another musician related note - it was not uncommon for Ronnie James Dio to spends hours after a gig talking and signing autographs for fans. Even in the rain.

[dvdtrades]

My daughter was granted a Make-A-Wish in 2008 to meet Rush. She was their first MAW kid. We spent a few hours with them including the sound check. It was a very cool experience.

 

wow man, i read her account on this years ago, it was an absolutely beautiful story that she wrote, made me cry. i hope she is healthy and doing well today

 

She is. Thank you. She earned her Master's degree from the University of Georgia last year and got a great job at a.hospital making twice as much as I ever made. Sam is one of a kind. 25 tattoos and all (yes...including a p/g logo on the top of her right foot).

 

that's great to hear she is healthy man. i am completely serious when i tell you how touching i found the essay she wrote about that, there was a link on rushisaband or whatever when it was posted. it was an incredibly beautiful story she wrote

[RUSHHEAD666]

I am sure many of you old school forum members know my meeting of Neil Peart at his tour bus in the back of the Concord Pavilion.

 

Vapor Trails Tour.

 

Epic.

 

 

And not so wonderful.

 

Yet well..

 

EPIC

[JohnnyBlaze]

I am sure many of you old school forum members know my meeting of Neil Peart at his tour bus in the back of the Concord Pavilion.

 

Vapor Trails Tour.

 

Epic.

 

 

And not so wonderful.

 

Yet well..

 

EPIC

I remember....

 

Pre-gig you were wandering aimlessly around the place and humming Bangkok. Peart, thinking he was alone, steps out of his tour bus and sees you. Both of you are staring at each other for a full 5-10 seconds not knowing what the other is going to do. You're sizing each other up. Then, you suddenly start screaming the lyrics to Bangkok. No melody. Peart looks confused and reaches for the bus door handle hoping to hide inside. It locks automatically. You approach slowly but increasing the volume of your screaming. CAPS TOTALLY ON. Peart reaches in his back pocket, finds a monkey wrench, and chucks it at your head. You hear him scream, "Just leave me alone!" before things go dark.

 

You wake up outside on the lawn of the Concord Pavilion with a bump the size of your penis on your head. That is, it's not too big at all and you're fine for the most part. From that moment on though you're completely disenchanted by Peart.

 

 

Well, that's what you posted before anyway.

 

Signed,

 

The Main Monkey Wrench Business

[Laurabw]

I was lucky enough to get picked for the Sirius Town Hall in November 2015 and I was in the front row, a mere 5 feet, if that, from Alex and Geddy. And I got to ask them a question. It was SO exciting to hear Alex say "hello Laura" ("Lora" in his accent, :D .) they were both so entertaining in the interview, I'm sure you all heard it.

After we got to officially meet them and get a picture. It was very brief, but Alex was just lovely.