Saw Rush in concert tonight, very impressive!

Cafe Society
1

I’ll spoiler tag anything that one might not want to know ahead of time in case they’re going to see the show. The US portion of the tour is almost over, but there are a few shows left.
First of all, this show was far beyond what I was expecting. I really haven’t listened to any of their newer stuff, or given a chance I guess, so I was prepared to skip the show. I new they would have a handful of their older songs in there, but I wasn’t going to pay for a ticket on the chance that it would be really heavy on the new stuff. My brother (arguably the biggest Rush fan there is, story to follow later in the thread) scored free tickets from a local radio station, and offered me one. I would have been a fool to decline, so I didn’t. :smiley:

I was listening to the radio on the way over, and heard some details about the show which proved to be pretty accurate. Show starts around 7:45, one hour set, half hour break, one and a half hour set. Apparently that was routine for the tour.

The light show/pyrotechnics/high def video combination was very impressive. I haven’t seen a show that could compare since I last saw Pink Floyd. There were a few brief segments on the screens in between songs that were quite funny. The setlist was also pretty tasteful for both a new and old Rush fan.
Setlist according to some random web person, the only difference that I noticed was that they played Hold Your Fire tonight. There may be another revelation that I have later, we’ll see.

  1. Limelight
  2. Digital Man
  3. Entre Nous
  4. Mission
  5. Freewill
  6. The Main Monkey Business
  7. The Larger Bowl
  8. Secret Touch
  9. Circumstances
  10. Between The Wheels
  11. Dreamline

Intermission

Set 2:

Video Intro

  1. Far Cry
  2. Workin’ Them Angels
  3. Armor And Sword
  4. Spindrift
  5. The Way The Wind Blows
  6. Subdivisions
  7. Natural Science
  8. Witch Hunt
  9. MalNar
  10. Drum Solo
  11. Hope
  12. Summertime Blues
  13. The Spirit Of Radio
  14. Tom Sawyer

Encore:

  1. One Little Victory
  2. A Passage to Bangkok
  3. YYZ

Circumstances, Natural Science, Witch Hunt, and Passage To Bangkok were great treats. I heard that they had a song on this tour that was never before played on tour. I’m guessing either Witch Hunt or Circumstances, I’ve seen them do Natural Science before, and possibly APTB.[/spoiler]

The video segments were vivid and humorous, some were even a little moving.

[spoiler]The video interludes were well put together, there was a skit by Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas (of The Great White North fame… think Strange Brew guys) and a short South Park skit that had people laughing really hard.

The South Park short had the kids pretending to be Rush and playing Tom Sawyer. Cartman plays Geddy Lee, counts it off, and they start playing. He sings something similar to “A modern-day warrior Mean mean stride, he floated down a river with a black guy” Kyle asks him what the hell he’s talking about, and Cartman says that he read the book, and that’s what happened. Kyle tells him that he’s thinking of Huckleberry Finn, and calls him some sort of name. Cartman says “Fine”, and counts it off again, Rush starts playing, and the lights come up.

2

I am jealous. The last show I saw in person was on the “Counterparts” tour, but I also have the “RUSH In Rio” dvd from the “Vapor Trails” tour (which you should check out, if you haven’t seen it).

I’m seeing several songs on your list that I don’t recognize. Do they have a new album that I haven’t heard about yet? The last one I got was “Feedback,” their album of cover tunes that they did for their 30th anniversary. A new RUSH album will send me high-tailing it to the music store without hesitation.

(Just for the record, the tours that I have caught: “Hemispheres”, “Signals”, “Counterparts”. I’m due to see them again.)

3

Get your butt to the music store and buy “Snakes and Arrows”. I saw the same show in June, and it was amazing.

4

I saw them in July, and I loved the South Park video. They sure make a lot of noise for just three guys up there.

5

Consider it done!

6

Soooooooooooooo jealous! I only discovered Rush 2 years ago, at age 22. I did not realize they were still playing concerts. Yesterday I opined, ‘‘Man, wouldn’t it be AWESOME to see Rush in concert?’’

And there you go doing it. Good for you! What a set!

7

A Passage to Bangkok was my introduction to Rush, and I must have worn out the 2112 tape I owned. That would be great to hear it live. I’m envious.

8

Me, too. I was in 5th grade when my older brother brought home the “2112” album from a party and played it for me. This was back when it was the new RUSH album. I’ve been hooked ever since.

It amazes me how many people consider “Moving Pictures” to be the greatest RUSH album ever. I always thought it was (while good) one of the more boring ones. Lots of them are WAY better, IMHO (including “Vapor Trails”, which I would put in the top half-dozen).

I can’t wait to hear the new one.

(In addition to the aforementioned “RUSH In Rio” dvd, I know that they put out a video to coincide with their “Show of Hands” tour/album. You could look for that, too.)

9

Damned double-posty gremlin:[spoiler]Persuant to the OP’s “Never before played in concert” thingy:

I would be venturing a guess at “Witch Hunt” for this one. “Natural Science” was on the “RUSH In Rio” dvd, I think “A Passage To Bangkok” was on “Show of Hands”, and I’m pretty sure (although it was nearly gulp !!!30 YEARS AGO!!!) that I saw them do “Circumstances” on the “Hemispheres” tour. I don’t recall ever seeing “Witch Hunt,” although I love the song.[/spoiler]

10

Rush is the only band I’ve seen in concert twice - once on the “Exit Stage Left” tour (early 80’s), and again in 1990 in Denver. The Denver show was one of the loudest shows I have ever been to, and it was an outdoors concert. I can’t imagine what it would have been like indoors. Yes, It does sound like it’s time to go again.

11

I saw them last Thursday in Cleveland. It was something like my 50th time going back to 1982.

The song that was never played before (according to my concert tapes and checking the web) was

[spoiler]Circumstances. Witch Hunt had been played on the Moving Pictures tour and was featured as a part of the ‘Fear’ trilogy on the Grace Under Pressure tour. Entre Nous is the other true rare one. They didn’t play it on the Permanent Waves tour (at least not much) and then it got dropped until the later ‘Evening with Rush’ shows.

It was good to hear a song I’d never heard before.[/spoiler]

12

I really really wanted to see them this tour, but I couldn’t swing it financially.

They played at The Gorge Amphitheater in George, WA in 1997 (Test for Echo tour), on my birthday, but I was a) unemployed, and b) didn’t even hear about it until 3 days before. So I missed that one. :mad:

The came through again in 2002 (Vapor Trails tour). I again found myself unemployed, and had to miss another tour. :mad:

They played the White River Amphitheater in Auburn, WA in 2004 on their 30th Anniversary tour. I was again unemployed :mad: But this time I said “screw it”. I sold one of my bass guitars and bought a pair of tickets. The drummer from my band rented a car, and off we went. It was the thrill of my life, finally getting to see them live after being a fan for 24 years (my first Rush album was Permanent Waves).

13

I was just in a supermarket and noticed I was singing the lyrics to By-Tor and the Snow Dog. I stopped and listened and realized it was being played over the loud speakers. What’s next Paranoid by Black Sabbath? Who the hell would have thought one day Rush would be grocery store music?

14

[smug]I’ve got front-friggin-row seats for Sunday’s show in St. Paul, and this’ll be my 10th time seeing them.[/smug]

15

They just played the WR Amphitheater back in July, other than it fricking rained all night and security did a lousy job of keeping those with the lawn tickets out of the covered seating area, the show was great.

16

Please go out and buy Snakes and Arrows, make sure to listen to it a couple of times. The images used in the concert to back up some of the songs add an extra layer of meaning.

Also, the above set list is correct. They are switching out one particular song on alternating nights.

Also, also, there is no song called “Hold Your Fire.”

17

I missed getting 5th row for Germaine Amphitheater in Columbus by 2 minutes. When I tried again, I couldn’t even get lawn seats. I am NOT amused. Rush is on my list of “bands I must see before I leave this mortal coil” and 2nd on my top 5 bands list. Even though I know how they do everything, I still sit back and go “blinkblink.”

Good to hear you had such a great time!

18

I’ll be seeing them at Radio City Music Hall on the 17th. :slight_smile:

Check this recent thread to see all the great doper reviews it’s getting!

New Rush album: Snakes & Arrows

19

Well, at the time of this posting, your post is the only one there…

But thanks for starting it. I just picked it up today, but haven’t listened to it yet. I’m still relishing the anticipation.

20

Yeah, I figured that out after talking to friends about the show. I was thinking of Mission. Geddy said “This is off Hold Your Fire” and I thought he said “called” instead of “off”. Add to that the fact that the song contains the words “Hold Your Fire” and the number of years it’s been since I’ve heard that album, and you get why I got confused.