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Concert memories of Rush shows you attended


TheGhostRider
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I am curious to hear from other users here what were your first and best memories from Rush concerts you went to. It can be anything at all, as long as it was memorable to you that you still recall it or found it the highlight of the show etc. I am a huge Rush fan and I really enjoy hearing stories from other fans and their experiences.
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Having security come up to me in 2007 in St. Paul during Entre Nous to offer me FAR better seats (4th row on stage left side).

 

I was close enough to hear the drums before they hit the PA. There is NO recording from that tour that does the sound of those drums justice. NONE.

 

The only bummer here is that I had to hear Mission while walking down the stairs. Initially, I was upset about this. Once I landed in my new seat though...

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The first RUSH concert I attended had Marrillion as an opener and I thought they were terrible (still do, but I now understand why, to appease the prog heads).

 

The best overall experience was at White River Amphitheater when I bought day of show tickets and ended up in the 4th row directly in front of Neil, AND I caught a sausage t-shirt.

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Most of my memories are from later Rush shows; from the first one, all I have left are impressions, as from a dream: it was loud, it was wonderful; I could not believe those were the guys in Rush, right there in front of me, about 1/6 scale. I knew all the songs, and was trying to remember the running order; the next day I wrote down what I could remember and made myself a "mix tape" of the songs from the cassettes I had -- years later, when I learned what the actual setlist was, I was a little proud of myself for getting them all, but not in the right order. It was a genuinely important experience for me.

 

It was also my mother's 40th birthday and she and my dad spent most of the evening waiting outside the venue in the car for me and brother, since I couldn't drive yet. Good parenting!

 

I also remember that Blue Oyster Cult opened, but I didn't know who they were -- at school the next week, one of the "cool" kids told me that the band that played "Godzilla" was BOC.

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My first gig ever was in ‘83 for the New World Tour. I was a 10 year old 5th grader but I already was a diehard fan and knew every song they played and could sing (badly) nearly all of the lyrics. Jon Butcher Axis opened and even that left an impression. People threw frisbees and other stuff at the band as they played. I remember asking my eldest bro who took me to the show why the audience was doing that and his answer was something like, “They’re just being buttholes because they’re too impatient to see Rush.” :LOL: True though.

 

What else? I remember Count Floyd. I remember Geddy’s dorky new wave sleeveless shirt. I remember Alex and Neil looking bigger than I imagined. I remember asking big bro what that strange smell was in the auditorium...Mary Jane. I remember the Florida crowd going nuts when Countdown was played with all the visuals complimenting it. I remember the music critic, Claudia Perry, shredding Rush in the papers the next day. She said that the audience would’ve been better off spending their $10 (the cost of the ticket) on Pac-Man at the local arcade. More negative than that though - during the intro, TSoR, some idiotic fan on the floor pulled out a knife and was trying to knife his way through the floor crowd. I believe nobody was seriously injured as security took the dude out pretty quickly. Rush didn’t know about it until after the gig. I can’t help but think that that incident was at least part of the reason why they skipped my town (Jax) over the next several years as the next time I’d see them wasn’t until Presto.

 

A lot of strong memories to be had that night.

 

:blaze:

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Nova, I bet leaving that venue was fun!

 

I honestly don't remember anything about it! My dad was driving, and I was probably too busy telling my mom how awesome the show was. I was still out of body.

 

I don't even remember how we found/met up with my parents again. Did we agree on a rendezvous? Normally, I have a very good memory for things like this, but the fact that so much of it is just a blur tells me how distracted I was. Dreamland.

 

Whenever I drive past Kemper Arena now, I still get a little charge of what it felt like to walk in. I'm a little surprised it's still there, frankly.

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I only saw RUSH twice (throughout their career) live in Vancouver, BC at Rogers Arena on the following dates:

 

June 30, 2011 (Time Machine Tour)

July 17, 2015 (R40 Live Tour)

 

Both events were memorable.

 

I would've attended the Clockwork Angels Tour concert on July 26, 2013 in Vancouver, but due to work commitments I couldn't leave.

 

The thrill for me at the Time Machine concert was meeting Ben Mink, who was sitting a row behind me two seats down in the middle section of the venue on Geddy's side of the stage. He brought his young daughters and his spouse who were both sitting nearby. We talked for 5 minutes and thanked him for his contributions to music for acts such as RUSH, Heart, k.d. lang, Murray McLauchlan, FM, etc. I didn't ask for a photo with him due to being respectful of his time.

 

On the R40 Live Tour, I had the opportunity to meet Geddy and Alex at the 'meet and greet' courtesy of an individual who performed with another music act I discovered courtesy of Alex Lifeson. An individual gets those 'meet and greet' opportunities if they win a radio contest or if the individual is a family member or friend of Geddy, Alex, and/or Neil. RUSH never did VIP packages with 'meet and greets' included like some other acts do.

 

On a side note, for those who attended Geddy's book signings, the meet and greets with Geddy and Alex are similar in which they are short and brief with a photo taken and then you leave.

 

Then as I was leaving to remember directions to go back upstairs, Ben Mink was walking towards me in the opposite direction. Again we talked for 5 minutes and one of the crew took a photo of me and him together with my digital camera. I got my photo opportunity with Ben that I didn't get on the above mentioned Time Machine Tour for the reason noted. I only brought the camera for this possible occasion and then put it away. I don't take concert photos for etiquette reasons.

 

Also, Neil Peart's 'hockey-themed' DW drum kit was on display upstairs on the various Canadian dates of the R40 Live Tour. I paid my donation fee of $10.00. where I sat on the drum stool smiling. The crew took my photo with a booklet photo frame included. The funds raised went to The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation, Neil’s charity of choice. See here.

 

As well before the R40 Live concert, there was some fellow RUSH fans who put together a fund-raising auction that included a dinner at this restaurant in a private area. There was RUSH related merchandise auctioned off with the funds going to local charities. My auction contribution was the 2015 book 'The History of Canadian Rock 'n' Roll' by author Bob Mersereau. Neil Peart penned the forward for the book, which can be read here.

Edited by RushFanForever
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My first Rush show was my first ever concert.

Hampton Coliseum - Hold Your Fire

 

It was a school night. My parents drove me from Richmond to Hampton (they were going to hang out in a bar while I went to the show with my cousin). So excited as we approached the venue. Was heartbroken when we were told that the show has been postponed due to an illness in the band (Geddy had laryngitis). What a sad drive home. Luckily it was rescheduled a few months later and they were so much better live than I was hoping.

Being only 15 and never attending a concert before, I didn't realize what an encore was. When Geddy told us good-night at the end of the set, I started heading towards the exits. I did seem a little weird that no-one else was heading for the exits. Just about to leave the venue when all of a sudden I heard 2112 overture. Excitement so thick, you could cut it with a knife.

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I was lucky enough to be around since the very early days and old enough to get it. I still remember when they played bars in Toronto although I was too young to get in. My first show was a classic - ATWAS at Massey Hall. I remember very little from the show other than the giganticness of three guys on that small stage in that small venue. My best memories are the annual New Year's Eve shows at Maple Leaf Gardens. Also a weird outdoor show at Varsity Stadium in the rain.
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The first time I saw Rush they played some songs from an album I hadn’t heard yet. That album ended up being “Fly By Night”. My most memorable was Charlotte 2008 watching my daughter’s reaction on stage when Geddy dedicated “Mission” to her. Edited by Mr. JD
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My first concert ever during the AFTK tour. I only remember that I was very excited and that everything was black and white :huh: I also remember that I am very emotional for a few seconds at each first minute of a concert. (Tears are coming out of my eye for a minute...)
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3 experiences.........

 

1. First time I saw them in Tacoma on GUP tour. (Sidenote: Gary Moore opened and he was also great)

2. Making eye contact with Geddy during Subdivisions on the R30 tour. Had like 5th row nearly right in front of him and I had my eyes closed and was singing along and when I opened my eyes he was looking at me and a quick smile crossed his face.

3. Front row for 2nd leg of the Time machine tour. 'nuff said

Edited by driventotheedge
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Best experience, front row at Sheffield UK, getting a smile from GED, and acknowledging a rare mistake from Neil, which he also winced at. Getting Alex's pick at the end was the highlight, still got it, as it was, complete with sweat and DNA, in a jewellery box. On Clockwork Angels, being very underwhelmed at the first set, despite it containing some of my favourite songs, and being completely blown away by the second set, audio and visuals went up several notches!!
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The heat and blinding light given off at the end of Overture at my first Rush show. That show was also my first "big" concert, having only seen bands play at my high school before that. The volume, the heat the lights - a beautiful, all consuming, rush on all the senses.
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Deeside Leisure Centre, May 1980. Standing room only, right underneath Alex Lifeson at the front, don't think he was impressed with the acoustics as it was an ice rink. I took a rubbish polaroid camera in the vain aim of getting some photos, none came out. Think Edgar Broughton band was the support, I had to be in the Lake District for a college camp next day, went up on the back of a motorbike. Amazed I didn't fall off with that concert still buzzing in my head.
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I've seen Rush in the Gorge a couple of times. Weather there can be great or pretty awful usually due to windstorms. The T4E show was awesome. The best I could hope for. The weather was great, the boys were on their "A" game that day, and they played the 2112 Overture. The S&A show was during a wicked windstorm that played hell with the sound. I remember watching Alex continually looking up as the overhead P.A. system kept swinging back and forth over him. Saw a brawl with a deaf guy.
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August 2007 at Woodlands in Houston. Temperature at showtime was around 90 degrees with 65% humidity. Unlike those of us in the crowd, the band spent the time before the show in air conditioning. So when they hit the hot stage it was brutal. I distinctly remember Alex sweating profusely, with sweat just dripping down his forehead and into his eyes. To this day I cannot imagine how he managed to play ... he was cringing and obviously his eyes were stinging.

 

For whatever reason it didn't appear that Geddy was suffering like that, and Neil was wearing his African beanie (or whatever it's called) so he manged to avoid the sweat deluge. But man o man, Alex deserves a medal for making it through that ordeal...

Edited by dapoopa
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