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I'll show you a time machine!


andreww
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As a concert photographer, I not only enjoy your pics immensely, but I'm also quite envious!!! Those pics in the first post have quite an historical meaning because they were from the last shows before they filmed Exit... Stage Left at the Montreal Forum on March 27th!!! It will always make me sad knowing it was the last tour they did before I became a Rush fan (Only weeks after the ESL show) and I never got to see Xanadu the way it was MEANT to be played... With BOTH Double-necks..... And although I've always loved the RED Jacket/tie and shoes outfit from ESL, I also love that Alex had a yellow version of the outfit!!!! Thanks for sharing your pics!! :notworthy: :)

 

I know exactly what you are saying. I love the guys and think they are probably still the best working band on the planet, but I will say that they are not the same band that they were back in the 70's and early 80s. As far as I'm concerned the peaked at about the time of ESL. In those days you could see how hard they worked on stage. Double neck guitars, Taurus pedals, synths, all played at the same time using hands, feet, elbows, and even Geddy's nose at times. After ESL the technology had developed enough that allowed them to use guitar effects instead of doublenecks, sequenced sounds triggered by touching a synth key. The band sounds better, but a lot of the magic was in that dance that they did to create those sounds. They are still a 10 out of 10 band, but back then they were a 12 out of 10 :)

 

Do you think they could do all that today if they ditched the modern techno stuff?

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They may have aged well, but just from viewing these pictures, I can see a vitality they once had is now obviously gone. That is very sad, but I guess it is to be expected.

 

Personally, I would love to go back in time and catch one of those 1980, 81 or 82 shows.

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As a concert photographer, I not only enjoy your pics immensely, but I'm also quite envious!!! Those pics in the first post have quite an historical meaning because they were from the last shows before they filmed Exit... Stage Left at the Montreal Forum on March 27th!!! It will always make me sad knowing it was the last tour they did before I became a Rush fan (Only weeks after the ESL show) and I never got to see Xanadu the way it was MEANT to be played... With BOTH Double-necks..... And although I've always loved the RED Jacket/tie and shoes outfit from ESL, I also love that Alex had a yellow version of the outfit!!!! Thanks for sharing your pics!! :notworthy: :)

 

I know exactly what you are saying. I love the guys and think they are probably still the best working band on the planet, but I will say that they are not the same band that they were back in the 70's and early 80s. As far as I'm concerned the peaked at about the time of ESL. In those days you could see how hard they worked on stage. Double neck guitars, Taurus pedals, synths, all played at the same time using hands, feet, elbows, and even Geddy's nose at times. After ESL the technology had developed enough that allowed them to use guitar effects instead of doublenecks, sequenced sounds triggered by touching a synth key. The band sounds better, but a lot of the magic was in that dance that they did to create those sounds. They are still a 10 out of 10 band, but back then they were a 12 out of 10 :)

 

Do you think they could do all that today if they ditched the modern techno stuff?

 

Honestly, I don't think they could. Not without a heck of a lot of practice anyway. I've heard that Alex ditched the doubleneck because it hurts his back to play, and Ged hasn't played his in decades. Nonetheless, its all about the sound for these guys, and the techniques they use today, though they may not be as spectacular, are a lot more consistent in sound quality. It would be fun to see them both strap on the doublenecks and Taurus pedal just for Xanadu on the next tour. That would bring the house down!

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They may have aged well, but just from viewing these pictures, I can see a vitality they once had is now obviously gone. That is very sad, but I guess it is to be expected.

 

Personally, I would love to go back in time and catch one of those 1980, 81 or 82 shows.

 

I think its more a hunger that has disappeared than anything else. At that point in time it was all about the music, and the guys will tell you that their family lives suffered at that time. With what happened to Neil's family I think they all have realized that there is a lot more important things than music. They are still passionate about it, but they do it to please themselves, not impress the rest of the planet.

 

BTW, happy belated birthday to Geddy! Heard he turned 60 yesterday.

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I think it is more of a freshness they had back then. Their fame was new. They were young. They were actually making money. And lots of it. They had energy.

Look - they were young. They aren't young anymore. Everything gets old after awhile - even the adulation of an audience of fans.

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Not sure about that. Somewhere there is an interview with Geddy done about a week prior to the above pictures. He was tired and burnt out from years of non stop touring and album making.Back in those days you put out an album a year, you toured non stop to support it, then you went back to the studio. These guys didn't have time to enjoy the money they were making, not for a long time. I think they allude to this in the movie, and how Hemispheres was the straw that broke the camels back. After that album and tours there tended to be year long breaks that provided relaxed recording times and much needed rest.

 

They were young though, and that never hurts does it?

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It was the same for other bands back then too. The Moody Blues put out seven albums in five years with non-stop touring - doing two shows a day at Madison Square Garden. After Seventh Sojourn, they were numb.

 

This reminds me of a question I have. I know that the music industry has changed drastically the past forty or more years, but i am curious as to who pays for the recording of a new album? Back in the sixties and seventies, and into part of the eighties I think, you signed onto a record label who pretty much took you under their wing. From what I understand, today the only thing a label does is distribute the album. Who pays today for all that goes into recording a new album and producing it? The band?

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I think the record company footed the bill in most cases, although the cost had to be recouped before the band made any money. In Rush's case I think Ray Daniels payed for the first album. Edited by andreww
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I would guess that the record company pays for it. But its also possible that Anthem Entertainment pays for it. With a band like Rush it really doesn't matter because those production costs are bound to be recouped, and they will be repaid before anybody makes a dime. So it really doesn't matter who foots the bill. Its more of an issue for lesser known acts where you risk having a flop and never recouping the initial investment. With new bands there is a huge investment, not only for an album, but for publicity, videos, tours, etc. If the band flops, the record company loses, and that happens more often than not.
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They may have aged well, but just from viewing these pictures, I can see a vitality they once had is now obviously gone. That is very sad, but I guess it is to be expected.

 

Personally, I would love to go back in time and catch one of those 1980, 81 or 82 shows.

 

I think its more a hunger that has disappeared than anything else. At that point in time it was all about the music, and the guys will tell you that their family lives suffered at that time. With what happened to Neil's family I think they all have realized that there is a lot more important things than music. They are still passionate about it, but they do it to please themselves, not impress the rest of the planet.

 

BTW, happy belated birthday to Geddy! Heard he turned 60 yesterday.

 

Speaking as a musician, and this is NOT a criticism, but an objective observation, they could never be the band they were in the late 70's and early 80's, in terms of MUSICIANSHIP... I know they are always saying how they play better than ever, but I think they think that because they appreciate what they have more, since the tragedies... But, honestly, put on live recordings from that great era, and it is not even close from being the same... The advent of sequencers has helped them immensely (The Camera Eye intro on the Time Machine tour was mostly sequenced and triggered by Ged's ONE finger), Marathon, etc... but the most I notice is all the little places where they cut corners.... Especially Neil... I've been playing Rush songs on drums for 30 years, and I could show you a million little places where he has "simplified" a given fill, or pattern, or rhythm (Red Sector A on this tour sounds so "Square", it's unbelievable...)... Alex is the sloppiest one... Some solos he's just destroyed on some occasions.... I RARELY see Geddy mess up, or anything.... Does it dampen my joy of seeing them live? No.... Because it's obvious they are having the time of their lives onstage and they give it everything they have every show. Do I wish they still had their double-necks and stuff?? OF COURSE!!! I can't understand why they thought they looked so cool playing them, and just threw all that away..... It WAS a giant part of why we were Rush fans... The Instruments!! The Double-necks, The Rick, the Oberheims and Moogs (At least that one's back), the DRUMKIT (In my case)..... Not wanting to play Xanadu on a double-neck for 5 minutes because it's too heavy is a very lame excuse to me.... If I was in their place I'D WANT to have all that cool stuff around.... How can you not feel like the coolest guitar player in the world with a Gibson SG Double-neck strapped to your body!! But what can you do... It is what it is and whatever... I go to the shows to enjoy myself, not dwell on the past.....

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Outstanding pics, thanks!

 

And yeah, sign me up for breaking the Rick out again, always loved that axe. Anybody in the same company as Chris Squire and Lemmy, you're good to go.

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Okay fellow time travellers, all good things must come to an end. As much as I'd like to spend eternity in the late 70s, attending Rush concerts and sending images back to you guys, my flux capacitor is on its last legs and I must return home.

 

My last stop is a very special one. It's August 23rd 1977 and I am 15 years old attending my first Rush concert. The good news is I have 6th row centre floors. The bad news is the front row is a good 15 yards from the front of the stage. Again, this is a kind of in between tour. A Farewell to Kings has yet to be released, but I was able to record it from a radio premier several days previous to the show and after repeated listenings I am very familiar with all the new tunes.

 

On this evening the band will play every song from All the Worlds a Stage (with the exception of "What You're Doing") plus the entire Farewell to Kings album (with the exception of "Madrigal" and possibly "Cinderella Man"). Obviously a killer show! It was at that point that the band was also looking their best as well. Alex's hair was at its longest, Neil looked like the professor with his handlebar moustache, and Geddy as always looked marvellous! And those wonderful robes were at their longest, blowing in the summer breeze. Magic!

 

Unfortunately, at that point in time I only had the crappy point and shoot, and because of the added distance to the stage, the pics aren't that great. But they do give us one last small glimpse back to a magical time.

 

Enjoy!

 

http://i761.photobucket.com/albums/xx257/andreww1962/RUSH152_zps402026be.jpg

 

http://i761.photobucket.com/albums/xx257/andreww1962/RUSH147_zpse505f37d.jpg

 

http://i761.photobucket.com/albums/xx257/andreww1962/RUSH146_zps04a275bd.jpg

 

http://i761.photobucket.com/albums/xx257/andreww1962/RUSH148_zps173f4229.jpg

 

http://i761.photobucket.com/albums/xx257/andreww1962/RUSH150_zps78bdcf26.jpg

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I would guess that the record company pays for it. But its also possible that Anthem Entertainment pays for it. With a band like Rush it really doesn't matter because those production costs are bound to be recouped, and they will be repaid before anybody makes a dime. So it really doesn't matter who foots the bill. Its more of an issue for lesser known acts where you risk having a flop and never recouping the initial investment. With new bands there is a huge investment, not only for an album, but for publicity, videos, tours, etc. If the band flops, the record company loses, and that happens more often than not.

 

The band has said they only break even on the albums and they get their money through concerts, so they might be on the hook for at least some of the studio costs.

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I would guess that the record company pays for it. But its also possible that Anthem Entertainment pays for it. With a band like Rush it really doesn't matter because those production costs are bound to be recouped, and they will be repaid before anybody makes a dime. So it really doesn't matter who foots the bill. Its more of an issue for lesser known acts where you risk having a flop and never recouping the initial investment. With new bands there is a huge investment, not only for an album, but for publicity, videos, tours, etc. If the band flops, the record company loses, and that happens more often than not.

 

The band has said they only break even on the albums and they get their money through concerts, so they might be on the hook for at least some of the studio costs.

 

Both the record company and the band are on the hook for the production costs. Nobody gets paid until those costs are covered.

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Is that the Teardrop bass I see in the last couple of photos?? Great photos, and many thanks for sharing! That's one large and busy photo pit in the first one!!! :LOL:

 

Yep thats the teardrop. I was able to see that and Alex's 335 and red doubleneck at that show.

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That was at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto, its since been demolished. Back in those days the 2 week Canadian National Exhibition was a big part of a Toronto Summer. There was a different concert featured every night, and in 1977 rush was probably the highlight of the fair. Although they'd been big in Toronto for about a year, at this particular show they were returning as conquering heros. It was a perfect day. The fair was great, and the opening acts, Jerry Doucette (Momma let that boy play some rock and roll...) and Max Webster were just the perfect combo on a warm summer evening. Rush hit the stage and absolutely nailed it. With the new Farewell to Kings material they had let all of us know that they were the new kings of progressive rock.
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I can't believe you have photos from the Varsity show!! That is awesome. I am going to dig out the review and try and post it here some how. There was NOTHING like a Rush show in the late 70's / early 80's! Never ever duplicated.
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