I saw the Full Show Rehearsal on Friday - no spoilers

[Union 5-3992]

On 5/31/2026 at 2:40 PM, launchpad67a said:

Unfortunately, no. I won't reveal specifics like that. There are plenty of songs for everyone, and you'll be very surprised by some.

I was already very surprised by Finding My Way at the Junos

[grep]

This is a great report, and it put a smile on my face this morning.  Thank you for sharing!  

[Alexmai]

Do not reply if you can't
My dream is a rockumentary of the whole thing, since the 2022 concerts for Hawkins to the end of the tour...

Did you see cameras as if they're doing it?

[jamesgmac]

This is really exciting for one of my all time favorite bands. And I also despise spoilers. The last time my buddy and I saw Rush a guy next to us said "I know every song they are going to play". Before he could get out another word my friend and I both said shut up don't say an effing word. October 30th feels so far away! Long live Rush!

Edited June 2 by jamesgmac

[edhunter]

There’s going to be Pyro??? you ruined it!! next you’ll tell me that there were lasers too!

[James Bond]

On 5/31/2026 at 1:16 PM, launchpad67a said:

make sure you are back in your seat for the start of the second set. Seriously!

 

Confirmed: Tai Shan and Dog Years are getting played back to back to open the second set.

[launchpad67a]

On 5/31/2026 at 10:16 AM, launchpad67a said:

Out of everything I saw and heard, the thing that struck me most was how bizarre it was to see them up there rockin' out on-stage, full show, then a song ends and it's complete silence in the arena. No crowd, no cheers, just silence. It was very foreign and a total mind f*ck.

I would have thought some of you would ask more about the above quote. I CAN talk about that part generally, without show details.

I've worked hundreds of big shows, but never once have I worked a full show production rehearsal in an empty arena. Always just the show night. It was a super rare experience.

When Lady Gaga was here recently, she was supposed to have 2 rehearsal days and then 2 show days. But the rehearsals didn't happen. Just the shows.

So, if you're interested, ask me something about seeing a major band in an empty arena.

[dtpoet]

1 hour ago, launchpad67a said:

I would have thought some of you would ask more about the above quote. I CAN talk about that part generally, without show details.

I've worked hundreds of big shows, but never once have I worked a full show production rehearsal in an empty arena. Always just the show night. It was a super rare experience.

When Lady Gaga was here recently, she was supposed to have 2 rehearsal days and then 2 show days. But the rehearsals didn't happen. Just the shows.

So, if you're interested, ask me something about seeing a major band in an empty arena.

I would think that thousands of compact bodies would impact the acoustics or maybe it doesn’t.  Thoughts?

[Papa Emeritus]

11 hours ago, launchpad67a said:

I would have thought some of you would ask more about the above quote. I CAN talk about that part generally, without show details.

I've worked hundreds of big shows, but never once have I worked a full show production rehearsal in an empty arena. Always just the show night. It was a super rare experience.

When Lady Gaga was here recently, she was supposed to have 2 rehearsal days and then 2 show days. But the rehearsals didn't happen. Just the shows.

So, if you're interested, ask me something about seeing a major band in an empty arena.

There’s a bootleg from the Test for Echo tour of a full rehearsal run through. It’s a great listen. No audience noise. Geddy doesn’t sing all the vocal lines. 

[Brava Doh!]

40 minutes ago, Papa Emeritus said:

There’s a bootleg from the Test for Echo tour of a full rehearsal run through. It’s a great listen. No audience noise. Geddy doesn’t sing all the vocal lines. 

I’m thinking of the counterparts one. It’s wonderful.

Edited Wednesday at 12:11 PM by Brava Doh!

[Blue J]

Yeah, I think I've seen a full rehearsal-type thing here or there on YouTube, but I couldn't say what tour(s) they're from, just didn't remember.

[losingit2k]

Awesome Thanks for Sharing! 

[James Bond]

13 hours ago, launchpad67a said:

I would have thought some of you would ask more about the above quote. I CAN talk about that part generally, without show details.

I've worked hundreds of big shows, but never once have I worked a full show production rehearsal in an empty arena. Always just the show night. It was a super rare experience.

When Lady Gaga was here recently, she was supposed to have 2 rehearsal days and then 2 show days. But the rehearsals didn't happen. Just the shows.

So, if you're interested, ask me something about seeing a major band in an empty arena.

 

I reckon the reaction to their epic live debut of Dog Years was about the same as it would have been with a crowd. 

 

Kidding aside, compared to some of the soundcheck bootlegs that exist (Echoes on the Stage comes to mind, or perhaps that Limelight soundcheck on the Clockwork Angels Tour live release), was it more of a straight run-through or did they still have some off the cuff banter, joking around, etc...?

[grep]

1 hour ago, Blue J said:

Yeah, I think I've seen a full rehearsal-type thing here or there on YouTube, but I couldn't say what tour(s) they're from, just didn't remember.

There's 3 out there that I know of. The CP tour. VT tour. Also a recording of Losing It in rehearsal for r40, before the debut in Toronto.I haven't heard the Losing It one myself, but remember it being mentioned back then. 

[JARG]

On 5/31/2026 at 10:16 AM, launchpad67a said:

No Spoilers - No Specifics - Just General Observations

 

They did a full show rehearsal on Friday here in Phoenix at Desert Diamond Arena, and I got to work it. Rush, empty arena, running their entire show with full production, start to finish. Absolutely incredible experience!

 

I do pyro for tons of concerts and large events, and when touring bands come through town they need my license to shoot pyro in most venues throughout the city. Since this was a "full production rehearsal", they had pyro, and that's why I was there. Check out my Youtube Channel ( https://www.youtube.com/@MikeKreidel ), and you'll see some of the big events I shoot - Post Malone, Lady Gaga, Super Bowl, etc ... doing Ed Sheeran in 2 weeks.

 

I Will Not reveal anything specific about this show. What I can say is, the show is stunning, the setlist is amazing (some huge surprises), they sounded and looked great, Geddy's voice was very good, Anika played really well (but don't expect her to play all of Neil's parts - she covers what's important), the additional member Loren Gold (keyboards) played great and really helped take some pressure off Geddy. Overall, the visuals of this show are incredible, and the stage design is very cool. There is a 20 minute intermission - make sure you are back in your seat for the start of the second set. Seriously!

 

Out of everything I saw and heard, the thing that struck me most was how bizarre it was to see them up there rockin' out on-stage, full show, then a song ends and it's complete silence in the arena. No crowd, no cheers, just silence. It was very foreign and a total mind f*ck.

 

Sorry I can't share more. Really wish I could. If you're going to any of the shows, and they play well, you're in for a special treat. Enjoy!

 

Given that you're OK to opine on the state of Ged's voice, what is the state of Al's fingers? The ravages of age with respect to his facility on the guitar were very painfully obvious from the vids of the R40 tour. Has time continued to chip away at his ability to play?

[Crimsonmistymemory]

I will be at rhe 11/11 show in Tampa! 

Can't wait!

[hgwy407]

I'll be there Sunday night. Thank you for the teaser. I can't wait.

[Papa Emeritus]

Does Geddy play any keyboard parts at all or has that been completely delegated to Loren? 

[Papa Emeritus]

10 hours ago, Brava Doh! said:

I’m thinking of the counterparts one. It’s wonderful.

 

I was totally going off memory. Forgot about the Counterparts one. I haven't listened to my boots in years. I need to dig them out. The CP and T4E rehearsals will be first I listen to. Hope I don't regret not having them ripped to a hard drive. 

[sb2112]

Thanks for the info and perspective! Very interesting. 
 

I’m kind of curious about the logistics of how they did the full run through. Was it done in real time? Full performances of songs and then right into the next one? Did they take the 20 minute break between sets and come back on time? I would assume they do this all in real time as it would be on stage to prepare. 

[launchpad67a]

On 6/2/2026 at 6:29 PM, dtpoet said:

I would think that thousands of compact bodies would impact the acoustics or maybe it doesn’t.  Thoughts?

Yes exactly. Arena's are already very open sounding and reverberate, even with the seats full. So the lack of people, and open floor (they had no chairs on the floor - nothing between the stage and FOH), certainly doesn't help the reverb in the room. But what I noticed was the absolute clarity in the PA. With no crowd, it was dead silent in there, and the PA could be heard very clearly. There is obviously a difference in sound in a room full of people and not, but I think the difference isn't as much as you'd expect. Like I said before, the biggest thing was the absolute silence after ending a song. It was wild.

[launchpad67a]

23 hours ago, JARG said:

 

Given that you're OK to opine on the state of Ged's voice, what is the state of Al's fingers? The ravages of age with respect to his facility on the guitar were very painfully obvious from the vids of the R40 tour. Has time continued to chip away at his ability to play?

I thought he played fairly well. IMO, his sound was a little thin to be honest. It was a rehearsal after all, and no one was mistake free.

[launchpad67a]

7 minutes ago, sb2112 said:

Thanks for the info and perspective! Very interesting. 
 

I’m kind of curious about the logistics of how they did the full run through. Was it done in real time? Full performances of songs and then right into the next one? Did they take the 20 minute break between sets and come back on time? I would assume they do this all in real time as it would be on stage to prepare. 

They ran their entire show, song to song, start to finish, in real-time, with the intermission. It was a full production rehearsal, and these are treated as a live show. You run the whole show, mistakes and all.

[JARG]

2 minutes ago, launchpad67a said:

I thought he played fairly well. IMO, his sound was a little thin to be honest. It was a rehearsal after all, and no one was mistake free.

Do you attribute that thinness to where he was at in the mix, or to his specific gear, or to something else?

And how does Rush handle mistakes? Do they laugh it off, or does it prompt serious discussion (I suppose that depends on the nature of the mistake...a goof will probably get laughed off, a wrong keyboard patch or lighting cue, for example, might need a technical discussion).

[grep]

1 hour ago, launchpad67a said:

Yes exactly. Arena's are already very open sounding and reverberate, even with the seats full. So the lack of people, and open floor (they had no chairs on the floor - nothing between the stage and FOH), certainly doesn't help the reverb in the room. But what I noticed was the absolute clarity in the PA. With no crowd, it was dead silent in there, and the PA could be heard very clearly. There is obviously a difference in sound in a room full of people and not, but I think the difference isn't as much as you'd expect. Like I said before, the biggest thing was the absolute silence after ending a song. It was wild.

Sort of like listening to a mix of a live show without the audience mixed in. You know it's live. It sounds live.  But then that silence. 

I'd imagine multiply that experience by 10000 to come close the the same thing in the arena. 

Edited Thursday at 05:21 PM by grep