MILWAUKEE 7/3 - my detailed review

[chrxtopher]

Edited July 4, 2010 by chrxtopher

[GrandDesigner]

Dude...that was the most interesting concert review I've ever read. I liked the song-by-song approach, it feels like I'm listening to a commentary of it. I'm getting super pumped for the 7/21 show now after reading these reviews!! I'm most excited for The Camera Eye. I take back all the negative sh!t I've said about this song - I absolutely adore it now!

[savagegrace26]

Reviews by Rush fans are extremely indulgent and boring. I rate this review * out of ****

[chrxtopher]

Hey, my sign is the first pic on the Rush.com Milwaukee page! That's my head below the middle of the sausage!

 

Milwaukee pics

 

http://img94.imageshack.us/img94/1775/wurstsign.jpg

[Tarkus406]

QUOTE (chrxtopher @ Jul 4 2010, 04:31 PM)

Hey, my sign is the first pic on the Rush.com Milwaukee page! That's my head below the middle of the sausage! Milwaukee pics http://img94.imageshack.us/img94/1775/wurstsign.jpg

That sign is fantastic!

[Mara]

QUOTE (chrxtopher @ Jul 4 2010, 04:31 PM)

Hey, my sign is the first pic on the Rush.com Milwaukee page!  That's my head below the middle of the sausage! Milwaukee pics http://img94.imageshack.us/img94/1775/wurstsign.jpg

You weenie-head!

 

Glad to hear you're enjoying yourself now after the opener!

Edited July 4, 2010 by Mara

[Mara]

See, these are the kinds of reviews I actually take to heart. From real fans of the band, who are capable of honest criticism as well as glowing praise, and not some self-absorbed paid jerkoff like the dude from Kansas City.

[Merely Space]

Good review. Glad you enjoyed yourself more this time around.

[presto123]

Great review! I saw your sign last night. I was on the far side pretty close to Alex. Let me just throw some general random thoughts out there about yesterday in Milwaukee:

 

My brother and I drove up from Indy and took the scenic route through the middle of Illinois to avoid the headache and construction around Chicago. Added about 2 hours each way to the drive but what a hassle free drive. That being said it was almost 7 hours each direction. Wow am I tired. I was going to leave the venue and get out of town and then find a hotel room for some zzzz but I just kept driving and driving and made it all the way home at 8 o'clock in the morning. LOL!! My brother slept most of the way home:)

 

 

What a beautiful day in Milwaukee! First time there and I couldn't believe how many people were there. Insane. On the way out it was so crowded you could barely walk. Wall to wall people all going in different directions. I thought I was never going to find my car......This is by far My favorite outdoor venue I've been to now.....and I have been all over the midwest....the view from Marcus is just stunning....when you live in central Indiana you don't get a lake view like that....and right behind the venue........like I said just a neat, neat layout. Makes me want a lakeside house soooo bad! I bet living in Milwaukee in the winter time sucks though LOL!

 

 

Traffic control around the venue was just bad and sometimes not there at all. C'mon Milwaukee...you dropped the ball on this one. Just a free for all getting out of some of those parking lots.....Deer Creek here in Indy is known for being bad but Milwaukee made getting out of Deer Creek seem like driving through a small town.

 

I noticed the technical glitches during the show but it didn't bother me....few things are gonna happen this early into a tour.....Neil's DW drums....sound amazing as far as the bigger drums....floor toms.......but yeah... as far as the high toms...like the Ludwigs or Tamas much better. Neil's playing was great though. For a guy pushing 60 I think he is on top of his game. Still plays a lot of energy and man does he whack them hard. Geddy goes without saying....the man is a machine. I did notice his bass sound really jumps out at you on this tour. Really impressed with the bass sound. Alex was on fire as well other than those technical glitches which probably distracted him just a little.

 

I really like the set list but agree with what some of you have said....... For the general crowd the first set loses momentum. It was very noticeable around me. Working Them Angels, Faithless, Stick It Out sounded great but maybe not the best choices...... After seeing the show I can kinda see how they come out with a bang and then the flow is lost a little bit. Not for me but for general crowd response.....

 

 

For my money the 2 new songs sounded about as well as anything they played all night. This stuff is WAAAAY better live material than the SnA material. I can't wait to hear the rest of this record....don't know which song I liked better live...they were both stellar.....I really didn't care for that reggae intro into Working Man.....same with the polka into into Lavilla....I think they tweaked those too much IMO. As far as the drum solo.....good solo but once again it is a momentum issue...don't get me wrong Neil's playing is as good as ever....believe me...I had a good view of him and I watched him all night. The chops are definitely strong as ever.......that being said this solo doesn't match his old solos....like I said just momentum wise.....too many slow parts...and please Neil just get rid of that whole middle eastern slow Roland sample part....it's cool but it just kills the flow of the solo....I think if he would just think aggression on his solos again it could be one of his best ever because like I said I watched him close and he is still on top of his game....his double bass stuff is better than ever...I can tell this is an area he has been working hard at...a lot of double bass used in his fills unlike a lot of previous tours.

 

 

 

Overall a great show although they still need to get a little more adventurous in the set list IMO I've just heard quite a few of these songs live too many times....even LaVilla...... SnA is a decent record but I just think that most of the songs on it don't translate well live. The new record will be much better in this regard......

 

 

Milwaukee rocks!! Can't wait too go back there again.....just not in the winter time:)

 

 

[The Killer Rabbit]

No lazers.... that kinda sucked. I was anticipating it for Camera Eye and Marathon. Other then that, excellent show except for a few tech difficulties and an EX recording to boot!

 

TKR

[syd11]

I saw your sign last night also. The only down side to my enjoyment was the 6' 6" dude in front of me (I'm 5' 6"). It did make a lot of the first set difficult to watch but in the second set some people left our row and I moved down a bit. As far as the setlist goes, I didn't check any spoilers so was surprised by the songs and order they appeared. Only real slight disappointments were the abscence of JL and maybe Xanadu. I also thought each set was a bit shorter that it could have been. Maybe the addition of the two I mentioned, one ending each set, would have made the night perfect. Loved TSS & Presto. I was happy that Counterparts was represented with Stick it Out but would have preferred Cold Fire or Between Sun & Moon. The 2 new songs were AWESOME live and it made my anticipation of the new cd that much greater. Loved the whole time machine theme. Neil's drum set was just sick and I mean that in a good way. One of my best experiences seeing Rush (17th show for me) ever.

Please hit Milwaukee on the next tour!

[Rolinda Bonz]

[nettiesaur]

QUOTE (chrxtopher @ Jul 4 2010, 02:31 PM)

Hey, my sign is the first pic on the Rush.com Milwaukee page! That's my head below the middle of the sausage! Milwaukee pics http://img94.imageshack.us/img94/1775/wurstsign.jpg

oh, now I get why you wouldn't show it to me yesterday.

[growingbald]

I took my 14 year old to Milwaukee as his first rock concert. He's more into rap (what can I say...I'm an open minded tolerant dad). I basically 'kid napped' him and had him in the car before I told him where we were going. He tolerated the show pretty well and I can actually tell he enjoyed parts of it (for stubborn 14 year olds, sometimes tolerance is the best reaction you get from them).

 

We had bleacher seats and were able to half-watch the fireworks show in the harbor that started during the second set. He was a little bummed that he was going to miss fireworks, so that made him happy(er). The fireworks didn't interfere with the show, but I wonder how the band felt about it.

 

As far as show, it was awesome and the highlight for me was new material. Caravan flat out rocks live. I really had to feel sorry for Alex with his 335 crapping out right at the beginning of La Villa. He still did the rest of the song with a Les and nailed it like a pro. I could tell by the look on his face he was ready to strangle someone. Somewhere there's a guitar or sound tech getting an arse chewing.

 

We went to the Cubs game today since we were making our way back to Michigan and someone mentioned Geddy was present. I didn't see him, but if that's true, I had a hunch he might be there since today was an off day and they were playing Chicago tomorrow.

[Joshua]

Great review. Thanks for posting!