Rush week

[Mystic Slipperman]

OK... I'm going to do a song-by-song quick review of the first show, and then a shorter summary of the second one -- split into several parts.

 

L.A. Part One

 

I love the Gibson. Definitely one of our better venues to see a show. We had 2nd row balcony dead center, which was wonderful. Had a great view of everything and the sound was pretty great from up there too.

 

 

Opening video: Hilarious. A Mockumentary about the history of Rush with this funky contraption that "Alex" invented... We get multiple stylistic renditions of "Spirit of Radio"..which leads, naturally, to...

 

Spirit of Radio - A great first-set opener. I know they've opened with it before, but this was my first time seeing it at the start--usually it's in the encore! High energy!

 

Time Stand Still - Immediately I'm taken back to my first Rush show with this one. (1988 - HYF tour at the Forum). So nice to hear it again, as I don't believe they've played it since 1994. The lyrics get more poignant as the years pass: "Summer's going fast/nights growing colder/Children growing up/old friends growing older/Freeze this moment a little bit longer..." Don't we wish we could do that from time to time?

 

Presto - Never played live before this tour. And a great rendition it was. Only slightly rearranged from the studio version. Great Alex solo!

 

Stick It Out - A Dirty rocker from Counterparts. I always loved this one, and it was heavy.

 

Workin' Them Angels - A highlight from the last album. Workin' them angels overtime indeed!

 

Leave That Thing Alone - My appreciation for this one has increased over the years. They must really enjoy playing it cos it's been in many sets since its inception! A great feature for Ged's amazing bass playing.

 

Faithless - First time live for this one too. Beautiful. "I still cling to hope/and I believe in love/and that's faith enough for me"

 

Brought Up To Believe - First of the 2 new songs. HEAVY! excellent.

 

Freewill - A staple. Ged can still nail the high notes on this one. Hit it out of the park.

 

Marathon - Oh, this was a treat. Not played live since 1990. The ending was appropriately epic. Major goosebumps.

 

Subdivisions - Nice way to close the first set. I've always loved this particular song, having grown up in the suburbs.

 

[Mystic Slipperman]

LA Part Two

 

Video preceding 2nd Set: Another hilarious clip -- a mock vid for Tom Sawyer, again with the whole "time machine" vibe. Alex in a fat suit dressed up like Ray Danniels plus mullet. -- leads into:

 

MOVING PICTURES from top to bottom:

 

Tom Sawyer - The vid behind them on this continued the theme from the previous video. Some really funny shots... all of them switching instruments was especially entertaining. Thankfully Rush still enjoy playing this song and it shows. The crowd, of course, goes mental (as they did for most of the night, I might add...)

 

Red Barchetta - SO nice to hear this again. They have played it in recent years, but those happened to be the tours I/we missed! Come to think of it, *I've* not heard Barchetta live since about 1992 -- and at that point it was abridged! Haven't heard it in full since 1990. Such a powerhouse of a live song. IMO it's one of those that should always be in the set. Geddy played some killer sh!t during the outro!

 

YYZ - Nailed it. Hard to elaborate more, cos this one is such a staple, and deservedly so.

 

Limelight - My first favorite Rush tune, and it never gets old. Emotional solo from Alex.

 

The Camera Eye - OK. If there was one song to make the gig worth the admission price, it was this one. They have not played it live since 1983, and it did not disappoint. Just f****ing epic in every way possible. The band seemed to REALLY catch fire on this song too. Anyone catch Daffy Duck in there? And Python at the end?

 

Witch Hunt - Very powerful, as always. The opening video was hysterical... Sausages?!

 

Vital Signs - Such a cool and interesting experiment, this song is. Played fantastically.

 

Caravan - WOW. I dug this song on the download, but live it took on another dimension. I can't stop thinking big, indeed.

 

Neil's Solo/Love For Sale - By his own admission, the most improvised solo that Neil's ever done. I love watching him play, especially now. He's so concentrated, but ever since he started studying with Freddie Gruber (and Peter Erskine, apparently) his playing has gained some subtlety and finesse. The Big Band thing is always a lot of fun too. Tip o'the hat to his idol, Buddy Rich!

 

Alex solo---very nice 12-string interlude which leads right into:

 

Closer to the Heart. Loved the opening of this. I admit though, the reworking of the last verse didn't really work for me. Played great, but I dunno... the only real disappointment (if you can call it that).

 

2112: Overture/Temples of Syrinx. Overture was insane, as always. Temples rocked very hard, but Ged unfortunately really struggled with this one vocally. I hope they don't have to retire it for this reason.

 

Far Cry - GREAT end-of-2nd-set choice. One of my faves from Snakes & Arrows

 

 

ENCORES:

 

La Villa Strangiato - A Polka intro?! Funny as hell. This is another one of those "no brainers for me"...should always be in the set. And it kicked major ass. I love the long Alex solo/breakdown/buildup into the Monsters! section.

 

Working Man - AWESOME reggae intro, and then BAM! middle of 2nd verse into the heavy powerhouse which it usually is. Just smokin'!

 

Outro video --- a little long but funny nonetheless, with the "I Love You Man" guys.

 

And over the PA--- a polka rendition of Closer to the Heart as we were all exiting the theater!

 

They're entertaining, they're funny, they rock, and they give you your money's worth. I couldn't ask for more! Rush show #9 was a winner.

Edited August 16, 2010 by Mystic Slipperman

[Mystic Slipperman]

OK, now onto Rush show #10 - Irvine

 

This will be a much shorter review, since the last one laid out some detail.

 

 

We didn't have tix for this show before that night, due to money restrictions. Having already promised a good friend we'd drive her down to the show, we figured we'd either get lawn seats at the box office, or luck out with someone selling tix in the parking lot.

 

Lawn it was. And they were discounted a bit, so that was a bonus!

 

 

The only bump on the evening took place in line for the show... we had to deal with a Bud-Light drinking, ignorant, OC white racist who made a crack at a group (think "N" word). Being that my wife is part Ethiopian, AND from Brooklyn, she was gearing up to kick his ignorant ass. I had to cool her down and remind her that we wouldn't want to be spending the night bailing her out of jail....

 

But it makes me wonder...was this guy and his posse even Rush fans? Did they ever read the lyrics to Witch Hunt? Are they aware that 2/3 of the band are of Jewish descent? I know that not everyone in OC is like this, so apologies to any OC folks who don't fit this description. But it was pretty aggravating. All the people around us were shocked too, like "Is this guy for real?" Even his wife was embarrassed... I bet he won't be getting any for a while...

 

Other than that, the show itself was spectacular. In many ways it was even better than the Gibson.

 

LA was hot. Irvine was even hotter. At LA I remember the first set being tight, heavy, but a little reserved...and the band really caught fire from "Camera Eye" onward. At Irvine it seemed like they were in that zone from the very start of the show. Could be just my own perceptions, but that's what it felt like.

 

At Irvine, something up front did happen during "Closer to the Heart" which apparently upset Alex, but I have no idea what it was.

 

Speaking of "Closer To The Heart" I wasn't too sold on the change-up they made to the arrangement on the first night, but the second night I was digging it.

 

Ged had no trouble nailing "Temples of Syrinx", with which he'd struggled in LA.

 

God, his bass playing is so rippin'. He did a lot of ad-libbing during "Leave That Thing Alone" and the end of "Red Barchetta" which was just hot.

 

Alex.... this tour seems to have his best heavy guitar tone in years. And the 12-string intro to "Closer.." was just beautiful. Solos in "Limelight", "La Villa" and "Working Man" were smokin'.

 

Even though I am a drummer, I've never been moved to tears by a drum solo. But Neil's solo on Friday nearly did just that. It was astonishingly powerful in its scope. He's recently written in his blog that this year's solo contains more true improv than he perhaps has ever done. I tried to really pay attention to both solos to see if they were different, and they definitely were!

 

One other thing I've noticed in my Rush-concert-going years: It used to be that Rush gigs made me move my head and that's about it. But since Neil changed his drum style and the other guys followed suit (you know that something that significant also changes the way the other musicians play) now they make me move my whole body. Even in odd meter. No wonder my neck hurts!

 

These 2 shows combined may even top the 2002 tour as a personal "best" for me. It really couldn't have been any better. (other than hearing "Xanadu" and maybe "Dreamline", but that's a minor point)

 

Color us both (me and TwoOneOneTwo) very satisfied fans!!

Edited August 16, 2010 by Mystic Slipperman

[racegts]

Check out my pics of the show!!! Enjoy!

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/43356047@N08/?saved=1

[Merely Space]

Excellent reviews. Thanks!

[Rushman14]

I was at both shows and while I agree both shows were awsome, the sound was better and the band was tighter at Irvine.

[Mystic Slipperman]

QUOTE (Rushman14 @ Aug 16 2010, 12:11 PM)

I was at both shows and while I agree both shows were awsome, the sound was better and the band was tighter at Irvine.

Yep. Right there with you.

[different strings]

QUOTE (Rushman14 @ Aug 17 2010, 06:11 AM)

I was at both shows and while I agree both shows were awsome, the sound was better and the band was tighter at Irvine.

I was at both shows as well from the second row and I agree the boys seemed to be enjoying themselves far more at Irvine.

[Brizel]

I couldnt imagine them being any looser at Irvine! I was at the LA show and i remember thinking to my self that geddy was jumping and grooving around and looked liked he was just havin a ball. Wish i coulda made the Irvine show.