Memories of Previous Tours

[streak85]

friendlyvoice! You missed an exceptional performance of either Time and Motion and/or Virtuality as well as 2112 on the t4e tour.

[friendlyvoice]

QUOTE (streak85 @ Jun 21 2007, 12:50 PM)

friendlyvoice! You missed an exceptional performance of either Time and Motion and/or Virtuality as well as 2112 on the t4e tour.

Don't I know it!!

 

I've gotten over it. No, really, I have.

 

OK, everytime I hear 2112 on Different Stages I get a sharp pain...kind of on the right side of my gut and a little low.

[friendlyvoice]

QUOTE (darrenhigh @ Jun 20 2007, 02:30 PM)

QUOTE (friendlyvoice @ Jun 20 2007, 11:18 AM) My first Rush concert experience was merely OK. It didn't have anything to do with them. They were great, as always. It was because of the lousy venue and even worse crowd. This was January '88, HYF tour, at the arena in Jackson, MS...or as I call it "the giant circus tent". The place was maybe half full, the crowd wasn't interested, and Rush has never returned to Mississippi. Can't say I blame 'em. Had tickets for the T4E tour in Nashville and literally at the last minute was unable to go. Didn't even get to unload the tickets. And I missed seeing 2112.  My Rush concert-going fortune has been MUCH better since 2002. I was at the Eric Johnson show in Little Rock last week and there were two guys who had driven from Jackson complaining about the lack of concerts there. We even talked about Rush and they said the same thing, that Rush got no support so they quit coming back. I feel for anyone who lives in remote areas.   I'm in the military and from HYF until the R30 tour, I was never able to see a concert because of distance, scheduling and a lack of enough funds to travel. Fortunately although I'm still in the Army, I can now afford to travel a bit so I was able to see R30 in Dallas (driving from OKC) and I will be seeing them in Dallas again this tour (driving from LR area). I just like to think it could be a lot worse. Traveling to Atlanta, Nashville, etc. hasn't been that bad over the last few years. I could live in some place like Wyoming or Montana and be hours & hours away from...anything.   (that's not a knock on Wyoming & Montana, both great places to visit & live...)

[moonriver]

First rock show ever was Rush, 81, Charlotte, NC when I was 14. I thought of Rush as a "serious" band with very serious themes. The opening song before they came on was the theme to The Three Stooges... I was devastated for a few moments and then treated to the most fun and adventure a kid should ever be allowed to have.

 

In 83, again in Charlotte, I had the nerve to knock on the door of their bus and give someone, anyone a homemade cassette tape of my songs and guitar work. A very annoyed looking skinny dude opened the door and patiently listened to my rambling and accepted my tape... said he would try and listen to it. He then closed the door to the bus. I walked away and sat down nearby hoping to see the guys in the band exit for the coliseum.

 

Five minutes later the door opened and the skinny dude looked around and spotted me sitting by the curve. He came over and sat down beside me and told me he had listened to the tape and then said, "... the guys listened to the tape as well and and enjoyed what they heard and asked me to tell you to keep it up and keep writing your own material." He gave me a t-shirt and told me to enjoy the show.

 

 

During the Presto tour we saw the band play the night of Alex's birthday and a stripper was just off stage at the beginning of the first set shaking her boobs in Alex's direction. He smiled through at least four songs and Neil and Geddy laughed their asses off until she left.

 

My Rush stories.

Edited June 22, 2007 by moonriver

[jonrush]

On Vapor Trails Tour I took my new wife (pregnant) to see Rush in Kansas City. Turned out it was 99 degrees and it was a bit much for her. Had to leave after the first set. Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Don't ever bring preggers to a rock concert fellas.

 

[EveryNerveAware]

QUOTE (moonriver @ Jun 21 2007, 09:38 PM)

First rock show ever was Rush, 81, Charlotte, NC when I was 14. I thought of Rush as a "serious" band with very serious themes. The opening song before they came on was the theme to The Three Stooges... I was devastated for a few moments and then treated to the most fun and adventure a kid should ever be allowed to have. In 83, again in Charlotte, I had the nerve to knock on the door of their bus and give someone, anyone a homemade cassette tape of my songs and guitar work. A very annoyed looking skinny dude opened the door and patiently listened to my rambling and accepted my tape... said he would try and listen to it. He then closed the door to the bus. I walked away and sat down nearby hoping to see the guys in the band exit for the coliseum. Five minutes later the door opened and the skinny dude looked around and spotted me sitting by the curve. He came over and sat down beside me and told me he had listened to the tape and then said, "... the guys listened to the tape as well and and enjoyed what they heard and asked me to tell you to keep it up and keep writing your own material." He gave me a t-shirt and told me to enjoy the show. During the Presto tour we saw the band play the night of Alex's birthday and a stripper was just off stage at the beginning of the first set shaking her boobs in Alex's direction. He smiled through at least four songs and Neil and Geddy laughed their asses off until she left. My Rush stories.

Wow!! Great stories!

 

[JohnnyBlaze]

Think I posted this somewhere before but anyways...

 

New World Tour, Jacksonville FL: During the opener (SOR) a guy near the stage pulls out a switchblade and starts stabbing a few folks. Security grabs the guy before anyone is seriously injured and the BOYZ don't even notice (they were informed after the show of course) and continue playing. After that they skipped Jacksonville for the next few tours... I wouldn't doubt it if it were at least partly due to that incident.

 

Counterparts, Jacksonville FL: 2nd row in front of Lifeson...during Double Agent when the flames were blasted, my face felt as if it were melting. Good times

[Funky Chicken]

My first show was at the Palladium in NYC in May 1980 (PeW tour). I went with my high school buddy whose dad drove us in from the suburbs. We were in the very last row and the smoke rose and completely enveloped us. My buddy fell asleep about 15 minutes into the show and ended up sleeping thru Cygnus X-1, full side 1 of Hemispheres, and other gems. I managed to not pass out and got him outside to his dad's car after the show.

 

I took my mom's car without her permission and drove from Westchester County to the Nassau Coliseum for a show on the MP tour with this crazy girl from school. We had no map. I had no driver's license. We had no tickets. We had 50 bucks between us and managed to buy 2 tickets, a bunch of beer, and pay all the tolls both ways. Definitely one of my more stupid nights, but it all worked out.

 

I camped out overnight in the parking lot at the Meadowlands in NJ with the same friend from the first show above to buy tickets for the ESL tour. It was late fall and COLD. They handed out wristbands at 8am, and we got pretty good seats, but not nearly as good as we thought we would after being there all night.

 

At a show at MSG on the Power Windows Tour, I was sitting directly in Geddy's sightline when he was at the keyboards facing left. He thought I was nuts screaming and jumping around, but I had him laughing a lot. He actually pointed at me a couple of times and laughed.

[rushfanNlv]

My first Rush concert was the GUP tour in Dayton Ohio at the University of Dayton Arena. During the concert, Alex broke a string during YYZ and neil broke a snare head but I can't remember which song it was.

 

[Weatherman2112]

I have many memories from my 30 years of seeing Rush. The early years included a lot of but I still remember every bit of every show. Man how they have changed over the years. I think it's funny nowadays how the people react if they smell pot. "whisper, whisper...do you smell that? wow, someone is smoking pot!" I can't help but laugh. In the 70s in Chicago, I actually saw people yelling and selling like hot dog vendors, only they yelled "pot, shrooms, blotter, microdot". It was amazing...right in front of the police! As long as nobody was getting hurt, they let it go.

 

Because almost everyone used to be smoking something, there were a lot of lighters! I always loved that!

 

Some of my favorite memories are from when I used to sleep out for 2 or 3 days to get tickets. You developed a relationship with the crowds in those lines and you would always see some of them at the show. It was cool. of course, those days are long gone now the way ticket sales are done.

 

Well, I'm older now and making new memories with every tour. Been to Tampa already this year with great memories there. One thing I have missed lately are the indoor shows so I'm going to Vegas and St. Paul this year too. Always trying to find the majic of yesteryear! Thanks

[since2112]

QUOTE (jonrush @ Jun 22 2007, 01:51 AM)

On Vapor Trails Tour I took my new wife (pregnant) to see Rush in Kansas City.  Turned out it was 99 degrees and it was a bit much for her.  Had to leave after the first set.  Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!  Don't ever bring preggers to a rock concert fellas.

LOL!..."preggers"...Yeah, but who here wouldn't love to boost that their son/daughter was born at a Rush concert. I would have tried to induce labor, "Come on honey...break that water...push...Push...PUSH!!!"

 

Of course if it was a boy you would have 3 names to give it, or 4 counting the name Rush.

Edited June 24, 2007 by since2112

[EveryNerveAware]

QUOTE (Weatherman2112 @ Jun 23 2007, 06:16 PM)

I can't help but laugh. In the 70s in Chicago, I actually saw people yelling and selling like hot dog vendors, only they yelled "pot, shrooms, blotter, microdot". It was amazing...right in front of the police! As long as nobody was getting hurt, they let it go.

 

Same when I went to those early shows... as long as no one got out of hand, security just looked the other way.

 

Too bad we don't have the same environment today, but I understand that parents are taking their kids now and you hardly ever saw that back at the early shows. We WERE the kids!!

 

I say if it is an outdoor show, WTF...? It's not like the smoke is going to linger... let it go.

 

[Necromancer]

QUOTE (EveryNerveAware @ Jun 15 2007, 11:26 PM)

Would like to hear any intriguing stories you might have from Rush shows back in the 70's and early 80's. I have some "vivid" recollectios of my young adult experiences at a few Rush concerts. Without getting specific, I actually had to leave during the last part of the Moving Pictures concert because I was rather "disoriented". (I know, that is heresy to leave a Rush concert... but believe me, it was necessary to avoid security) http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb305/EveryNerveAware/RUSH/movingpictures-cover-s.jpg

You think THAT is bad??? Okay... try this.

 

My buddy Kevin organized a bus trip to see on the Hold Your Fire tour. He's a huge fan and this was going to be his first concert seeing them. He's a great guitarist too and he was especially stoked to see the opening act, Michael Schenker Group. So the show was at Broome County Arena, which is a little over an hour away from us. On the way down we were all drinking, of course. Kev was really pounding them. He was doing shots all the way down. Within an hour he was PLASTERED. As he was getting off the bus, I actually had to catch him. He was getting sick. He said for us to go on, that he'd find us, but he had to puke somewhere. Broome County has all these ramps and he was gonna go under one of them to puke. His girlfriend went with him. Broome is a general admission arena, so we never caught up with him during the show. When we left, it turned out that he'd spent the ENTIRE show under that ramp with his girlfriend.

 

Poor kid never saw or MSG. He was the whole time. We loaded him back on the bus and went home. He was pretty sick the next day too. We bust his ass to this day about that.

[JohnnyBlaze]

QUOTE (Necromancer @ Jun 25 2007, 12:21 AM)

QUOTE (EveryNerveAware @ Jun 15 2007, 11:26 PM) Would like to hear any intriguing stories you might have from Rush shows back in the 70's and early 80's. I have some "vivid" recollectios of my young adult experiences at a few Rush concerts. Without getting specific, I actually had to leave during the last part of the Moving Pictures concert because I was rather "disoriented". (I know, that is heresy to leave a Rush concert... but believe me, it was necessary to avoid security) http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb305/EveryNerveAware/RUSH/movingpictures-cover-s.jpg You think THAT is bad??? Okay... try this.   My buddy Kevin organized a bus trip to see on the Hold Your Fire tour. He's a huge fan and this was going to be his first concert seeing them. He's a great guitarist too and he was especially stoked to see the opening act, Michael Schenker Group. So the show was at Broome County Arena, which is a little over an hour away from us. On the way down we were all drinking, of course. Kev was really pounding them. He was doing shots all the way down. Within an hour he was PLASTERED. As he was getting off the bus, I actually had to catch him. He was getting sick. He said for us to go on, that he'd find us, but he had to puke somewhere. Broome County has all these ramps and he was gonna go under one of them to puke. His girlfriend went with him. Broome is a general admission arena, so we never caught up with him during the show. When we left, it turned out that he'd spent the ENTIRE show under that ramp with his girlfriend.   Poor kid never saw or MSG. He was the whole time. We loaded him back on the bus and went home. He was pretty sick the next day too. We bust his ass to this day about that. I would call him some name but he missed a concert as a vomitous mess. That's enough torture. Damn shame. But funny at least

[flybynightgirl]

QUOTE (SCREAM @ Jun 17 2007, 08:30 PM)

I'll share a couple old-school memories. In the late 70's tours, I can remember magical moments during the Extended intro to Xanadu, where the stage was bathed in "soft" purple lights, as fog/smoke curled knee-high from the amp area to the front of the stage and into the first few rows, as the ENTIRE arena was aglow with thousands of lighters being held up. Pure magic! Also back in those days, the flashpot explosions simultaneous with EXTREMELY BRIGHT 747 landing lights lighting the entire crowd up. (It was a new thing back then) Give ya chills man!

that's my favorite story of yours. Remember the video I took of us back stage Radio City friggin best time ever "yeah the dryers!"

yo and those silly jersey guys pretending to be security. Those burgers were cool. I remember the disco ball at the Cow Palace during bytor - PW tour. Haha weirdness but it worked

[HowItIs]

I know I've posted this before but can't find it, so...

 

The second time I saw Rush (first was the MP Tour in '81) was on the GUP Tour at the Thomas & Mack Arena in Las Vegas. My Hubby and his friend got us good seats in the 3rd Row. Of course. we'd done a bit of in the parking lot before coming in.... The opening band was Gary Moore: the audience was a bit raucous and I got crowded and pushed even though we had seats. I'd been feeling poorly in the first place and this made me rather ill. So at intermission I asked one of the Bouncer/Security guys if I could sit off to the side for a little bit while I recovered. He took a chair and placed it directly against the stage and sat me down. He even brought me some water

 

I was literally using the stage as a support, leaning against it with my left side. Well, the lights went down and the guy never came back. The band took the stage... and he never came back. I wasn't sure what to do and looked over at Hubby who motioned for me to stay right there. So I sat right in front of and a few feet below Alex for the entire show. Of course, my view of Neil was blocked and I only saw Geddy well when he came over to stage left. The monitors blocked my view a little, too. But I got an eyeful of Alex's playing and being silly... and being mad: I can't remember which song it was but at one point his guitar was acting up and he took it off and literally threw it to his tech. Who caught it one-handed! He gave Al another guitar with his other hand and everything was cool. I don't think Alex even saw me and I wish I could remember more but it was a huge thrill