Rush's ridiculous philosophy on setlist

[ALifeson85]

I personally LOVE when Rush decides to dust off a handful of deep cuts, and mix them in really well with a handful of their staples and newer material. I think the first leg of the "Snakes & Arrows" tour was a PERFECT balance of that. You got staples for the casual fans (Limelight, Tom Sawyer, Spirit of Radio, Freewill, Subdivisions, etc), deep cuts for more hardcore fans (Entre Nous, Digital Man, Mission, Circumstances, Passage To Bangkok, etc.), and a big chunk of S&A. Perfect blend, imo.

Who knows, though...maybe Rush will someday do a (limited) tour, where they do a ton of deep cuts for the first half, and focus on their "hits" the second half...?? Maybe like...

 

2112 Overture / Temples of Syrinx

Analog Kid

Turn The Page

Cut To The Chase

Ghost of a Chance

Bravest Face

The Color Of Right

Afterimage

Middletown Dreams

By-Tor & The Snowdog

Jacob's Ladder

La Villa Strangiato

 

intermission

 

The Spirit of Radio

Red Barchetta

Subdivisions

Time Stand Still

Freewill

YYZ

Marathon

New World Man

Show Don't Tell

-Drum Solo-

Closer To The Heart

The Trees

Xanadu

Tom Sawyer

 

encore

 

Limelight

Working Man

--------------------------------

 

THERE YA GO! ;)

Edited April 1, 2013 by ALifeson85

[gangsterfurious]

Gemini, I come to expect nothing else when you're the one starting the thread.

[drgrendel]

"Even if Led Zeppelin sprung back to life, they're limited too, they simply didn't put out the volume, much less quality volume, of material. "

 

I spit my coffee across my office after reading this particular line. Thanks, I needed the laugh.

[drgrendel]

"I personally LOVE when Rush decides to dust off a handful of deep cuts, and mix them in really well with a handful of their staples and newer material."

 

I do as well! I never had an issue with that. However, What tugs at my nads is this pre-occupation with jamming the new material into the 2nd set back to back to back to back to back to back to back to back. BORING!!!!!!!!! How creative is that? IMO, the last two tours (album supporting tours) were among their worst because of this. I love their material (all of it), but I give them low marks on being creative set-list wise (regarding mixing older and newer material into the list).

[gangsterfurious]

P.S. I too was at the Van Halen show in Los Angeles last year, with my husband who was seeing Van Halen in concert before I was even born.

 

It was NOT the same. David Lee shuffled around on his cheesy little dance floor, the energy on stage (and in the crowd) was VERY low compared to Rush, and my husband looked over at me and said. "He's not even singing, he's mostly speaking the lyrics." So are you comparing David Lee to Geddy Lee? Yikes!

 

First off, what songs has David Lee Roth sung that you can even compare to a Rush song? And what the hell was fresh about the Van Halen show? The graphics on the screen were soooooooo lame and boring, I would have been able to take a nap had the drunken lady next to us not been clapping out of time the entire show. Eddie was the only good thing about the show. Other than that, Alex gave us a half-assed little drum solo and uhhh, yeah.

 

Oh and I especially loved the part where David Lee got up with an acoustic and started blabbering about his farm up in Aptos while footage of his dogs running around through fields played behind him, which somehow segued into "Ice Cream Man".

 

 

Please, elaborate....

Edited April 1, 2013 by gangsterfurious

[Lost In Xanadu]

P.S. I too was at the Van Halen show in Los Angeles last year, with my husband who was seeing Van Halen in concert before I was even born.

 

It was NOT the same. David Lee shuffled around on his cheesy little dance floor, the energy on stage (and in the crowd) was VERY low compared to Rush, and my husband looked over at me and said. "He's not even singing, he's mostly speaking the lyrics." So are you comparing David Lee to Geddy Lee? Yikes!

 

First off, what songs has David Lee Roth sung that you can even compare to a Rush song? And what the hell was fresh about the Van Halen show? The graphics on the screen were soooooooo lame and boring, I would have been able to take a nap had the drunken lady next to us not been clapping out of time the entire show. Eddie was the only good thing about the show. Other than that, Alex gave us a half-assed little drum solo and uhhh, yeah.

 

Oh and I especially loved the part where David Lee got up with an acoustic and started blabbering about his farm up in Aptos while footage of his dogs running around through fields played behind him, which somehow segued into the intro to "Ice Cream Man".

 

 

Please, elaborate....

 

I saw them in Chicago and other than the drunk lady clapping, I had pretty much the same reaction.

 

I liked all the false attitude also - yelling at the climate control guys, at stagehands, etc...

[losingit2k]

I agree with some of your points and I too was a little taken aback with some of the choices concerning the setlist. Yeah they could have played some more 70's tunes, Xanadu and Jacob's Ladder would have been very welcomed and Losing It and Limelight would have sounded great with strings. However, after experiencing the show live I'm 97% fine with it.

 

3% = Losing it, Limelight and Jacob's Ladder!

 

:codger:

[losingit2k]

P.S. I too was at the Van Halen show in Los Angeles last year, with my husband who was seeing Van Halen in concert before I was even born.

 

It was NOT the same. David Lee shuffled around on his cheesy little dance floor, the energy on stage (and in the crowd) was VERY low compared to Rush, and my husband looked over at me and said. "He's not even singing, he's mostly speaking the lyrics." So are you comparing David Lee to Geddy Lee? Yikes!

 

First off, what songs has David Lee Roth sung that you can even compare to a Rush song? And what the hell was fresh about the Van Halen show? The graphics on the screen were soooooooo lame and boring, I would have been able to take a nap had the drunken lady next to us not been clapping out of time the entire show. Eddie was the only good thing about the show. Other than that, Alex gave us a half-assed little drum solo and uhhh, yeah.

 

Oh and I especially loved the part where David Lee got up with an acoustic and started blabbering about his farm up in Aptos while footage of his dogs running around through fields played behind him, which somehow segued into the intro to "Ice Cream Man".

 

 

Please, elaborate....

 

I saw them in Chicago and other than the drunk lady clapping, I had pretty much the same reaction.

 

I liked all the false attitude also - yelling at the climate control guys, at stagehands, etc...

 

Really? He did the same thing in South Florida, Is it part of the act now?

[bathory]

how is this still going

[driventotheedge]

Geddy has said many times that he sees RUSH as the biggest cult band in the world. Right or wrong that seems to be their main driving force behind choosing a setlist.

RUSH has NEVER been a band to sit back on their past successes and milk them. They've ALWAYS moved forward. Even when they did "Greatest Hits" tours (R30 and TM) they felt compelled to record new material to play on those tours. Going backwards is not an option for RUSH. They've been there and done that.. they want to move forward and luckily for them (and us) they have a fanbase that for the most part is happy to go on that journey with them.

 

Granted, on this tour there are a lot more "nuggets" then on previous tours but a vast majority of the people at the shows have seen all the "standards" multiple times plus you can see several versions of Freewill or Red Barchetta on DVD anytime you want.

 

Personally I am THRILLED with the setlist for the most part. I do think they missed the mark by not including Losing It since they have a string section for the first (and presumably only) time. I could do without 2112 in the encore but I certainly understand why they play it.

This covers it for me though I don't care about Losing It and always enjoy 2112 no matter how many times I've seen it. I would like to see one less PoW song and Driven instead, but these are minor things to me. I think it's great that the guys are focusing on new material, most of which is KILLER. To compare this band in any way unfavorably with Aerosmith, who haven't written hardly any of their own material in 25-30 years is IMO a weak-assed, desperate attempt at finding a way to denigrate Rush with little to back it up in the way of substance. You tried this Aerosmith angle about a year ago as well and I called bullshit then and am doing so now. A'smith was a good band in the 70s and have done an off and on decent job of playing other writers' material since then but they are no longer worthy of comparison with Rush. As for VH, they are a more reasonable comparison and their new material is at least their own and of some quality. Too bad they hate each other so much and can't tour longer than a few months without imploding. Last time I looked, not only is the new Rush material considered excellent or better by most long time fans of the band, they actually enjoy each other's company, are still friends after 40 years or more and tour without personal conflict to this day. Oh, and my cousin saw VH last year in Tacoma and DLR totally sucked but Eddie was still good so what are they, half a band?

Edited April 1, 2013 by driventotheedge

[softfilter]

I thought the idea of touring( excluding of course R30) is to showcase NEW material from new album release.

Not really a NEW concept... New x3 = :rush: :P

Edited April 1, 2013 by softfilter

[gangsterfurious]

P.S. I too was at the Van Halen show in Los Angeles last year, with my husband who was seeing Van Halen in concert before I was even born.

 

It was NOT the same. David Lee shuffled around on his cheesy little dance floor, the energy on stage (and in the crowd) was VERY low compared to Rush, and my husband looked over at me and said. "He's not even singing, he's mostly speaking the lyrics." So are you comparing David Lee to Geddy Lee? Yikes!

 

First off, what songs has David Lee Roth sung that you can even compare to a Rush song? And what the hell was fresh about the Van Halen show? The graphics on the screen were soooooooo lame and boring, I would have been able to take a nap had the drunken lady next to us not been clapping out of time the entire show. Eddie was the only good thing about the show. Other than that, Alex gave us a half-assed little drum solo and uhhh, yeah.

 

Oh and I especially loved the part where David Lee got up with an acoustic and started blabbering about his farm up in Aptos while footage of his dogs running around through fields played behind him, which somehow segued into the intro to "Ice Cream Man".

 

 

Please, elaborate....

 

I saw them in Chicago and other than the drunk lady clapping, I had pretty much the same reaction.

 

I liked all the false attitude also - yelling at the climate control guys, at stagehands, etc...

 

Also, I could have sworn that during "Romeo Delight" David Lee was saying "David Lee, I can't take it anymore!" instead of "Baby please, I can't take it anymore!" Which, in my mind, and being well aware of his ego since the 80's, made perfect sense.

 

My husband and I now jokingly sing "Geddy Lee, I can't take it anymore". It somehow makes things more bearable.

[metaldad]

I swear this happens once a year around here, the ol Rush /Van Halen thing . Just stop , 2 totally diff bands . Enjoy both . If the OP { who most of us here know well} bothers you, then Don't read his posts. Simple

[jjgittes]

Agree with driventotheedge. Funny, I remember some people complaining how "nervy" it was for the band to come out of the break of the S&A tour with five straight songs from the new album so the OP doesn't have a new point, per se.

 

I agree this setlist lost some people but going with the cup-half-full theory, as I have spewed forth before, this tour was for those that actually bought and played their albums rather than listened to their greatest hits or only catch them on radio. I may not have liked the choices but I enjoyed the show.

 

This thread reminds me of when the wife and I got HBO for the first time and there was a hot show everyone was raving about, "Sex And The City." So we gave it a whirl and didn't find it funny or "get it."(for those that care, it was an episode with Alanis Morrisette where Sarah Jessica Parker is dating a bisexual guy). The next day, all our friends are telling us-"Oh, yes that episode was bad but give it another chance, it really is a great show." Sorry, one sucky show is all it took for me to ignore it. Bottom line, for me, Rush like SATC for all those who loved it - I'll go back after this "bad episode" tour because Rush is a great show.

[driventotheedge]

...........this tour was for those that actually bought and played their albums rather than listened to their greatest hits or only catch them on radio...........

This!! (X 1000) Edited April 1, 2013 by driventotheedge

[Disk98]

You know, if Rush throws all their greatest hits into one show, the setlist would be boring. Rush needs to make room for their new material, or else their fans will become bored with hearing the same stuff every time. Do you have any idea how sick I am of "Tom Sawyer," and I've only been to two shows! Don't get me wrong, it's a great song, but there are plenty of others on this site that will agree with me when I say that your idea of a setlist is simply unentertaining. Rush has a great philosophy when it comes to set lists. I love the new stuff, and you should consider yourself lucky that they're still playing "2112" day in and day out.

[Todem]

This is the same moaning and groaning I saw from some fans during the Snakes and Arrows tour.

 

They did R-30, they did TM. Heck even the VT tour (awesome set list too) had a ton of so called greatest hits.

 

Ever since the CP tour the set lists have been absolutely amazing. Very diverse and well thought out.

 

Clockwork Angels is a brilliant record and among long time Rush fans I can assure you it will end up being a top 6-7 album all time when it is all said and done. It's that good.

 

The first set catered to 80's Rush fans.....and it was about fricking time. Not since the Hold Your Fire tour have we heard so much mid 80's era Rush (a brilliant period for the band I may add). Finally heard some great tunes from Power Windows, Grace Under Pressure and Signals. It was awesome. I can't wait to hear them again on this leg.

 

Then the Clockwork suite? AMAZING.

 

If you don't care for it...that's cool. Your opinion.....don't go.

 

All I know is the show I went to last year in Tampa.....the new stuff was very well received.

 

Big time.

Edited April 1, 2013 by Todem

[Union 5-3992]

http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m8g65tWo4O1qhrsco.gif

RABBLE RABBLE RABBLE

[upstateNYfan]

There is nothing ridiculous about the philosophy of their setlists. Their large catalog is both impressive and extremely difficult to execute as a three piece band. They have to please themselves, yes, because they never want to go through the motions—they've said this many times. Of course, they appreciate their fans a great deal and play fan favorites often—these favs are tough to play (good for them) and the crowd loves them (old fans come out in droves to hear them). It's a tough balancing act.

[USB Connector]

It's true that each band has a formula, and that if you want to hear the retrospective albums live it probably won't happen. However, can I remind you that the Time Machine Tour was basically their greatest hits tour? Personally I'm happy they don't play the same thing all the time. I wanted to hear all of the songs on the setlist for the CA tour except for Where's my thing, which turnout out to be a hell of a thing live. There are plenty of bands which go out and play nearly the same set every single tour (Aerosmith, Van Halen, Def Leppard...). I'm glad Rush has the guts to go beyond that.

 

If you're not happy with hearing the same songs every show, that's why we have live albums, bootlegs and studio recordings. Take the money you would invest in tickets and buy a sound system.

[losingit2k]

Its kinda nice to see the trolls coming out of hibernation though!

 

[drgrendel]

I personally love when the term "Troll" is tossed out against those who post an unpopular opinion. Not everyone in the "Rush Kingdom" is overly fond of CA nor the current tour list. Why does that make their opinions and comments any less significant than those who love everything Rush? This forum is simply a sample of the total Rush Fan Population. It is ok not to like everything!

[Omelanebridge]

I just wish I could see them again on this leg... would you all just enjoy the show!! I can't pay a premium for tix at uncaville and no Boston show :P I have no passport... I just would like to hear them again no matter what the set list is. I like the setlist :)

[drgrendel]

@omelanebridge - I hope that you get your chance to see them!

[Thunder Bay Rush]

There are a million points of view on this set list nonsense, but here's the bottom line - if a band has a new album out, they will promoting THAT album on the road. Pretty simple and uh... "bottom line" isn't it?

 

As far as I'm concerned, if a band tours, even a big band like VH, and they play mainly the "hits," they should stop recording new albums and just go out and play the festivals and casino circuit.

 

Rush has always been a forward-thinking band and that's why most of us like them and stick with them.