mlc Posted May 8, 2011 Share Posted May 8, 2011 Hello All, Please don't let this degrade into another online bitch session. I am a huge Neil Peart fan as many of you are. I saw them in Greensboro, NC and really enjoyed the show. I have also started in the last six months to play the drums in a meaningful way. I am working on playing several songs from the R-30 DVD. To my question..... I actually stopped and watched the entire R-30 DVD and man they were really on there game. It is a long show and has to be physically demanding. I can say this at least from a drumming point of veiw, I have gotten down the opening instrumental and "Spirt of the Radio" and let me tell you I have worked up a good sweat from just those two songs. I am not out of shape, I run several days a week and also mountain bike a couple of days a week, and let me tell you if you don't play the drums you don't understand just of much work it is. After seeing them in Greensboro and I am sure a lot of others of you have seen them this tour as well..........SOOOO is Rush, or Neil, physically past its prime? Lets face it they are coming up on 60 years old and I can certainly attest to the older you get the harder it gets to stay in shape. Kevin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReRushed Posted May 8, 2011 Share Posted May 8, 2011 I dunno. When I saw them at MSG I thought Neil Peart played aggressively and energetically. He was as good as when I first saw him 30 or so years ago. He does seem to have a little pot belly, though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StellarJetman Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 How would three guys who are pushing 60 not be physically past their prime? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D3strukt Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 I'd say that R30 was their musical prime, they were really well oiled. Speed doesn't account for prime, nor does vocal notes, It is when they sound best. R30 is the best they've sounded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nappy2112 Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 Neil is not nearly the beast he was even 20 years ago, still great though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Krinkle Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 I thought Neil was playing his ass off at the Chicago show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
micgtr71 Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 QUOTE (StellarJetman @ May 8 2011, 07:03 PM) How would three guys who are pushing 60 not be physically past their prime? Yes...Hope I am doing as well in 20 years... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Krinkle Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 I think I'll be dead by 60. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Whompus Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 He may not be as best as he was, but keep in mind; Neil today is still WAY better than any of the younger drummers nowadays. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perchance to Dream Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 Yes, but there's still some left in the tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
presto123 Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 I can tell you are a new drummer. Yes drumming is physical but if your hands and feet are developed to elite levels it's not as physically hard as most people think. This takes years and years and years of dedicated speed and endurance training. Neil is playing as good as ever although maybe not as aggressive as he used to. Wasn't Buddy Rich over 70 when he was tearing it up like no other? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 Interesting question... physically, I can't be sure. His drumming sounds as good as ever. However, I think in terms of writing his drum parts, Neil may be past his prime. On the making of Snakes and Arrows dvd, we see footage of Nick R pushing Neil out of a very ordinary drum part in The Way the Wind Blows. With Nick's input, the drumming became much better. As Neil even says, " it's how that part SHOULD have been ". We also just read this from Neil re Caravan.. ""Nick is a very bad influence," Peart continues. "He wants us to be more Rush than we are, it's wonderful, he pushes me in ways I wouldn't dare. In the middle of Caravan there's a ridiculous fill and it was Nick who wanted me to go all the way down the toms and back up again and once I'd done it, my comment was, 'I'm so ashamed!'," he laughs. On the new Moving Pictures DVD, Geddy even makes mention of it, when he references Neil's drum part in Tom Sawyer. Something to the effect of " Sometimes we have to push Neil to play that way. " It seems to me that if Tom Sawyer were written today, Neil wouldn't have played his solo part the way he did back then. To me, it's almost as though Neil is trying to drum in a more understated way? Given his quote this past week, " ... "I feel a certain urgency, I really want to get that record made while I'm still able to," he says. "It was hard for me to set the album aside to tour, this really means a lot to me, I intend it to be my highest achievement lyrically and drumming wise, so I really want to get it done while we still can." ... It'll be curious to see how his drum parts sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlc Posted May 9, 2011 Author Share Posted May 9, 2011 Believe me guys when they played "La Villa Strangiato" as the encore he was getting on it and was REALLY good. And I am not saying that he is in any way falling apart but I think they were just right in that zone for R-30. Old enough to really get what they were doing but young enough and in the right shape physically to be at the best. I guess I am just hoping they keep going....at least long enough for me to be able to take my son to a show, he is 8. Kevin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pratt53 Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 QUOTE (presto123 @ May 8 2011, 07:54 PM)I can tell you are a new drummer. Yes drumming is physical but if your hands and feet are developed to elite levels it's not as physically hard as most people think. This takes years and years and years of dedicated speed and endurance training. Neil is playing as good as ever although maybe not as aggressive as he used to. Wasn't Buddy Rich over 70 when he was tearing it up like no other? Not as aggressive as he once was, is a good observation and way to put it. He's not as aggressive. And a lot of that, IMO, has to do with the fact that he's not in the same shape he used to be. He is a lot larger, his arms, his torso, and I've noticed that since the S&A tour his whole body language and attack has changed due to that. A lot of drumming, like dancing, is about what happens in the air, and Neil just doesn't move through the air, the way he used to. Buddy Rich was a different type of drummer...obviously. But he played jazz and big band music, on a small four piece kit, utilizing traditional grip with his fingers and wrists doing most of the work. He certainly needed to be in good shape and have a great deal of stamina, but he didn't need to move through the air or around a large kit the way Neil does to pull off his craft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IChoseFreeWill Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 He sounded fantastic at the Tampa concert last October. I cannot even play the drums in Rock Band without getting tachycardia. And I go to the gym nearly every day and do cardio classes often. Yet drumming is too much for my cardiac organ. Neil is doing a great job. Not over the hill yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WCFIELDS Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 QUOTE (Perchance to Dream @ May 8 2011, 06:41 PM) Yes, but there's still some left in the tank. there's some fumes left.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J2112YYZ Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 I'm sure they've been in better shape when they were younger. But the fact that they play two and a half hors a night still shows they are in good shape. If they can still play that long at their age i'd say they are still in good enough shape right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sleepy face Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 Sometimes he looks like sleep drumming... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lerxt1990 Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 QUOTE (pratt53 @ May 8 2011, 09:12 PM) QUOTE (presto123 @ May 8 2011, 07:54 PM)I can tell you are a new drummer. Yes drumming is physical but if your hands and feet are developed to elite levels it's not as physically hard as most people think. This takes years and years and years of dedicated speed and endurance training. Neil is playing as good as ever although maybe not as aggressive as he used to. Wasn't Buddy Rich over 70 when he was tearing it up like no other? Not as aggressive as he once was, is a good observation and way to put it. He's not as aggressive. And a lot of that, IMO, has to do with the fact that he's not in the same shape he used to be. He is a lot larger, his arms, his torso, and I've noticed that since the S&A tour his whole body language and attack has changed due to that. A lot of drumming, like dancing, is about what happens in the air, and Neil just doesn't move through the air, the way he used to. Buddy Rich was a different type of drummer...obviously. But he played jazz and big band music, on a small four piece kit, utilizing traditional grip with his fingers and wrists doing most of the work. He certainly needed to be in good shape and have a great deal of stamina, but he didn't need to move through the air or around a large kit the way Neil does to pull off his craft. Im not sure I agree that range of motion is the issue; nor that Neil needs to pound the shit out of his drums to practice his craft. Louie Belson, Buddy Rich, they could have hit more drums (true trad grip makes it dicey, but matched grip they could have done) --- they worked it. I dont believe physical conditioning is in any way going to stop Rush. If its physiology, it will be the thing that gets ALL older bands... the vocal chords, which age, stretch, and break down... (Geddy, Roger Daltrey, Sting, Paul McCartney, .....). IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zanadoo Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 Watch the videos from this tour. I'm amazed he can still play like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lerxt1990 Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 QUOTE (Zanadoo @ May 8 2011, 10:16 PM) Watch the videos from this tour. I'm amazed he can still play like that. And remember, they play like that because they do not tour the way they did in their early careers, playing every night. What I am amazed at is that they play the long set with a modest break. They could *easily* tour with an opening act and shorten their evening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
presto123 Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 QUOTE (pratt53 @ May 8 2011, 08:12 PM) QUOTE (presto123 @ May 8 2011, 07:54 PM)I can tell you are a new drummer. Yes drumming is physical but if your hands and feet are developed to elite levels it's not as physically hard as most people think. This takes years and years and years of dedicated speed and endurance training. Neil is playing as good as ever although maybe not as aggressive as he used to. Wasn't Buddy Rich over 70 when he was tearing it up like no other? Not as aggressive as he once was, is a good observation and way to put it. He's not as aggressive. And a lot of that, IMO, has to do with the fact that he's not in the same shape he used to be. He is a lot larger, his arms, his torso, and I've noticed that since the S&A tour his whole body language and attack has changed due to that. A lot of drumming, like dancing, is about what happens in the air, and Neil just doesn't move through the air, the way he used to. Buddy Rich was a different type of drummer...obviously. But he played jazz and big band music, on a small four piece kit, utilizing traditional grip with his fingers and wrists doing most of the work. He certainly needed to be in good shape and have a great deal of stamina, but he didn't need to move through the air or around a large kit the way Neil does to pull off his craft. Neil is certainly more economical in his playing these days but I think a lot of that is because he's been studying with mostly jazz inspired drummers. But it's not like he's cheating or anything playing these songs. All the fills are there. The point I was trying to make is that there are plenty of out of shape and overweight drummers out there that play incredibly fast (even speed metal)for long periods of time. So it's more about hand and foot development than it is" being in shape". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nim2 Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 Let's face it, they are no "young" anymore. But isn't your age a relative thing? I don't feel 50 in my thoughts, but my body is starting to tell me it is so. Physically, the band is slowing down some. The days are gone that they would tour, write music, record an album and tour again year round. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Krinkle Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 (edited) I think Buddy was a black belt in karate. Edited May 9, 2011 by Mr. Krinkle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
endlesslyrocking Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 Past their prime? that would be the Stones, Van Halen, ACDC,. Rush sounded fine to me on this tour Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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