RUSH - When did you "discover" them?

[the_O]

Discovered “Fly By Night” in '74. (Perhaps along with ZZ Top.)

Saw them live twice. The first time, they were the 2nd opener for KISS, when KISS was at the height of their popularity. (1st opener was J.Geils Band in Pittsburgh’s Civic Arena. Talk about odd man out.) 2nd time I saw them they were fronting their own show and have no idea of who opened. Or even if they had an opening act. “Red Barchetta” was on the album they were touring in support of. Musta been in Pittsburgh as well. I stopped buying CD’s (for the most part) sometime after their “Roll The Bones” album came out. I bought that one.

Lifeson’s acceptance speech was effin’ funny to me. Finally! (In an, “It’s about time somebody did that!”)

[pulykamell]

@dropzone

And this may be surprising for Canadians and even Brits, but Rush never got much airplay in the US, and today they get so little that I can tell I’m listening to WLUP when a Rush song comes on because that is the only station in the entire Chicago market that plays them regularly. Or has at any time in the past forty years.

'CKG would play them too back in the day. I never found Rush particularly hard to find on Chicago radio. At least not any more than Zeppelin or Sabbath or whatnot.

[Siam_Sam]

I listened to them in the 1970s thanks to my roommate, who was a fan. But the albums were his, and I don’t remember which he had. I enjoyed listening to them and watching their early videos on MTV but never sought them out on my own.

[Accidental_Martyr]

@Glazer

Thread Winner!

And Rush fans are not cool. The last time I was at a Rush show I thought D&D game was going to break out.

I like Rush but I’ve never had any interest in D&D.

[Mister_Rik]

@Glazer

And Rush fans are not cool. The last time I was at a Rush show I thought D&D game was going to break out.

1979?

[Malthus]

@dropzone

If the title of the poll were the same as the title of the thread, well, I guess it would be with “Rush” in 1974, and that is how I voted. But it is not. There was a bit of bait and switch and the poll became “When did you ‘discover’ the magical world of RUSH.” In my case, as well as for others, the answer is neither “I haven’t but now they’re in the HOF I’m gonna check them out!” nor is it “I’ve never heard them and I don’t want to.” In my case it’s “I’ve given them forty years to sweep me off my feet, and while I don’t change the station when a Rush song comes on, I’ve never bought one of their albums, either.” Not hatred. Not even indifference. I like them okay. But if you are going to title a poll on the SDMB “When did you ‘discover’ the magical world of RUSH” you should expect some kickback. A better poll, and one that would smack less of fanboi-ism, would simply ask “Which was the first Rush album you heard?” with a request for elaboration in the comments.

And this may be surprising for Canadians and even Brits, but Rush never got much airplay in the US, and today they get so little that I can tell I’m listening to WLUP when a Rush song comes on because that is the only station in the entire Chicago market that plays them regularly. Or has at any time in the past forty years. Album rock usually doesn’t get any play on stations that are more pop-oriented, and Chicago’s premier album rock station has always been FAR too cool to play Rush, so its fans needed to pass the fandom from friend to friend and brother to brother, as noted in this thread. The band has done phenomenally well, considering all that, and had Jann Wenner not been, well, Jann Wenner (He’s in there but Lester Bangs is not? :mad: ) and had not the band, looking at previous inductees, suffered from Acute Canadian Syndrome (Wha’d’ya mean The Guess Who isn’t in it? :mad: ) Rush might deserve to be in the HOF. On the other hand, the HOF only got around to Randy Newman and Quincy Jones this year, too.

Finally, you’ve been here long enough to know “If you don’t recognize a choice as one that fits you then don’t vote” is an alien concept here, causing Dopers to scratch their heads wondering what it could mean, give up, and either vote or gripe about how their special exception is not listed. Or both.

Meh. I hear what you are saying, and it sounds like ‘you gotta expect threadshitting if someone posts a gushing OP like that about a band’.

Which is true enough, but no reason to specifically cater to it.

[QuardleOodleArdleWardleDoodle]

I LOVE Big Time Rush! <3

[Hentor_the_Barbarian]

@the_O

Discovered “Fly By Night” in '74. (Perhaps along with ZZ Top.)

Saw them live twice. The first time, they were the 2nd opener for KISS, when KISS was at the height of their popularity. (1st opener was J.Geils Band in Pittsburgh’s Civic Arena. Talk about odd man out.) 2nd time I saw them they were fronting their own show and have no idea of who opened. Or even if they had an opening act. “Red Barchetta” was on the album they were touring in support of. Musta been in Pittsburgh as well. I stopped buying CD’s (for the most part) sometime after their “Roll The Bones” album came out. I bought that one.

Lifeson’s acceptance speech was effin’ funny to me. Finally! (In an, “It’s about time somebody did that!”)

If you discovered Fly by Night in '74 you were ahead of everyone else!

My brothers went to see Uriah Heap at the Pittsburgh Civic Arena in 1974, and were blown away by one of then opening acts - the first Rush concert with Peart on drums. I was 4 at the time, so I didn’t go, but I was exposed to Rush my whole life. I remember my brother playing Hemispheres; he had a cool red vynyl edition of it.

One of my first recollections of appreciating Rush on my own was seeing Red Barchetta on Don Kirchner’s Rock Concert c. 1981-82.

[Katriona]

I’m sure I’d heard the songs Fly By Night and Tom Sawyer, but the first time they registered on my radar was when my brother got a Power Windows cassette as a gift from someone who was really clueless about his musical taste, and turned it over to me on the condition that I listed to the last song on Side 2, because he just knew it was a “Wendy song.”

It was Mystic Rhythms, and I loved it.

[MovieMogul]

My college roommate was a huge Rush fan and was absolutely convinced that I would love them.

So he played some concert album which opened with the 3 Stooges music, which amused him no end.

In short, I didn’t really care for it, but before then, I’d never even heard of them so that was my introduction.

I like “Time Stand Still”.

[dropzone]

@pulykamell

'CKG would play them too back in the day. I never found Rush particularly hard to find on Chicago radio. At least not any more than Zeppelin or Sabbath or whatnot.

I forgot 'CKG even played music at one time. But WXRT played Zep and not Rush or Sabbath, so that’s all that mattered.

@QuardleOodleArdleWardleDoodle

I LOVE Big Time Rush! <3

After five years he posts this and is instantly banned. I think Jann Wenner is Cecil.

[nearwildheaven]

@Katriona

I’m sure I’d heard the songs Fly By Night and Tom Sawyer, but the first time they registered on my radar was when my brother got a Power Windows cassette as a gift from someone who was really clueless about his musical taste, and turned it over to me on the condition that I listed to the last song on Side 2, because he just knew it was a “Wendy song.”

It was Mystic Rhythms, and I loved it.

The video for that song is amazing, too.

Here’s a story about taking children, especially girls, to Rush concerts.

Why you should take your kids to see the rock band Rush--and how to prepare