Rush: Classic or Dud?

And Caravan is awesome.

A band like Rush would normally play a much larger outdoor stadium where the tickets would be more like $70 to $100 with fees. I've vowed never to go to those shows again, as they're not very fun, and lousy value. However Charter One Pavilion is smaller. It's all metal fold-out chairs and high school-style bleachers, and it seemed like all seats had a good view of the stage and weren't too far away. I saw Dio w/ Heaven & Hell there last year, and it sounded great.

Yeah, I've seen Tom Petty there, Destiny's Child, Wu-Tang, Stevie Nicks and a couple of other things there, and it's a great place to see a show.

My (modest) feature review of the documentary:

http://wweek.com/editorial/3631/14141/

Nice work Nate!

Even if Geddy Lee’s banshee wail drives you up the wall, one viewing can’t help but bring him a little closer to your heart.
excellent sentence :)

the Doc is playing in Chicago (one night only!) at the new Icon theater on Roosevelt at Clark...

only problem is that I have an old high school friend in town that I need to hang out with and I'm pretty sure she isn't a huge Rush fan, and even if she was, there is the free Otis Taylor / Hubert Sumlin thing over at Millennium Park, and I love both those dudes to death. Man there is SO much competing shit in Chicago this weekend it is nuts. the aforementioned conflict on Thursday, then Blues Fest all weekend, Lit Fest all weekend, Cubs/Sox series, Hawks parade on Friday, Dave Holland is in residence at the Jazz Showcase now thru Sunday, and somehow I gotta fit in the USA/England match on Saturday... egads

have to say that I'm going back and listening to some of the 80s Rush I never gave a chance to back when I was a fan, and these are *huge* productions. Grace Under Pressure is killing my poor laptop speakers, sound is everywhere.

grace under pressure is kinda of a masterpiece IMO

Love that record. Always makes me wonder how the fates would have treated the band had the booked producer, one Steve Lillywhite, not backed out at the last minute.

i'm going to see the doc tonight in chicago -- seems like it would be more fun to see it in a theater full of people vs dvd
it's reserved seating!

I'm missing the theatrical release to be in Hollywood w/Yob. Can't complain.

i missed the first ten minutes of the movie, but what a joy it was! i especially loved the lady from WMMS when she talked about how they broke "working man" -- that's one of the stations i grew up listening to and it was fun to hear the discussion of midwestern rock fans. it's SO true.

This movie is such a blast, I had a big, stupid grin on my face during the whole thing, as did everyone else in the jam-packed theatre tonight.

I'm really glad the doc was so thorough, I was worried they'd gloss over the 82-87 era, which I'm fondest of.

Caught the docu on Thursday night, and it was brilliant. Can't stop listening to all Rush, now. Sheesh.

Rush is so genuinely inspirational. Irony free, but totally with a sense of humor. Utmost respect.

" I was worried they'd gloss over the 82-87 era, which I'm fondest of."

That's probably my least favorite Rush era. And they are by far one of my favorite bands.

I've been in northeast Ohio visiting family and I've heard "Tom Sawyer" 2x and "Working Man" once on the radio. <3

Must be listening to WNCX 98.5!

I'm seeing the film tonight!!!

That's the station!!

The Rush doc is on VH1 Classic at 9 tonight (EST), kids!

oh man subdivisions

If I only had cable...

Oh sweet! Half an hour away!

It's also showing on plain ol' VH1, FYI. Watching now.

The Rush doc is excellent, except my god were they weird, even weirder than I though

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OK, wow, Neal Peart is freaking me out...I am going to have to read this thread carefully after this things ends.

lol @ teenage Alex being a little shit at his parents' dinner table.

After that, it got really really good. And I'd forgotten what a demanding listen Hemispheres is. I'm going to have to dig it out asap.

lol @ teenage Alex being a little shit at his parents' dinner table.

What killed me was, who thought, "Hey man, Alex is telling his parents he's quitting school; we gotta get this on film!" ?

Also got a laugh at the RATM dude being escorted out of the backstage room Neil Peart was in at Neil's request. I can understand shying away from throngs of yelling, grabby fans because it makes you anxious, but what the hell was RATM guy doing that warranted a forceful ejection? Inquiring minds...

I'm so pissed I missed it. Again. No listings for it to show again.

I enjoyed it overall (it definitely made me want to listen to a lot more of their music); I just wish it had more hardcore musical discussion. Oh, well.

but what the hell was RATM guy doing that warranted a forceful ejection?

"I heard you like that Ayn Rand shit."

"SECURITY!"

I think being in RATM is reason enough.

I got a lot of enjoyment out of this film, but I am definitely the target audience.

My biggest complaint is that they could have spent more time on the post-Moving Pictures albums. It felt like the 80s to present day piece went by too quickly compared to the 70s portion.

I loved all the celebrity interviews though, especially Billy Corgan, Trent Reznor, Jack Black, and Gene Simmons. It's just great to hear these guys geek out about Rush in the same way that I would. You don't necessarily expect to hear Trent Reznor waxing nostalgic about the synths on Power Windows, but why wouldn't he? I know I do.

Also, the clips of Rush playing high school dances and discussion of kimonos was A+.

The part about about them playing Caress of Steel for Paul Stanley in the back of the tour van and him not getting it was completely lolz for me, because I can just imagine the dumbfounded look on his face upon hearing something like "The Necromancer."

"I'm not quite sure where I'll stop, but it'll probably be somewhere around Presto."

Personally Phil, I'm not so keen on Presto and Roll the Bones as I am on their "return to rock" album Counterparts. I think you'd find some songs you like on that one.

As for wanting more discussion of the music, buy the Popoff book!

You have a lot to look forward to. I recently played 2112 for my brother and his reaction was "wow, this sound like Iron Maiden, only it's from 1976."

I really like Presto. It was a little more back-to-basics without completely shedding the synthy stuff from the 80s. Counterparts/Test For Echo/Vapour Trails really did nothing for me, but Snakes & Arrows was a huge return to form.

i don't think they really captured what a cultural landmark album 'moving pictures' was. everyone in my junior high school had that record, not just the rush geeks, everyone. maybe it was a michigan thing, the same as the tragically hip selling out arenas once upon a time. but yeah they are some weird dudes, neil peart most especially, watching him made me feel really uneasy except for maybe during the mullet and handlebar moustache phase.

I finally saw it on the big screen tonight. It's gotten a second run at another cool indie theater in Portland.

Still the most profound part of the film for me is when they describe how 2112 set them free for the rest of their career.

Will be loading the first 12 albums (debut through Hold Your Fire, no live albums) into my iPod today. The Project Begins!

"My biggest complaint is that they could have spent more time on the post-Moving Pictures albums"

That's because if you watch the movie, most of the interviewees, especially Alex Lifeson, describe those albums as completely sucking, which, for the most part, they do. I'm glad after watching this movie that opinion has been vindicated, none of this "Grace Under Pressure and Power Windows are the two greatest albums ever made" challopsy bullshit.

I guess I missed the part where Alex Lifeson said "All the albums we've recorded for the last 30 years completely suck."

Not sure where anyone is saying that Grace Under Pressure and Power Windows are two of the greatest albums ever made, but they are both really good. So are Signals, Counterparts, Vapor Trails, and Snakes and Arrows. All the rest have their fair share of great tunes as well.

I don't think that Rush is trying to disown any of these albums. Their live show tends to have quite a lot of songs from the post-Moving Pictures era. It would have been nice to take a little more time with these past 30 years in the film, but it probably would have been a much longer film.

this reminds me to mention the major larfs in the restaurant when the waitress only recognized geddy lee
i liked that facet of the movie, the "look how NICE these guys are" -- i realize that doesn't have anything to do with the music, like at ALL, but i will listen to rush if i want to think about the music. i really liked the personal aspect of the movie.

i wanted to hug these guys at the end of the movie, i just LOVED them. i never knew much about them beyond their music, so it was all pretty new to me. i knew they were smart, Canadian, and pretty clean cut comparatively, but nothing more than that.

I guess I missed the part where Alex Lifeson said "All the albums we've recorded for the last 30 years completely suck."

^ You must have seen an edited version of the movie.

It would have been nice to take a little more time with these past 30 years in the film

^ no, it would have been better to have said what they did, that they made some serious mistakes in the '80s, and then beefed it up with more '70s stuff. If you dont think they were trying to back away from some of their '80s stuff, especially Lifeson, then please send me some of what you were smoking while you were watching it.

The part in the diner with Lee, Lifeson and the waitress was total gold.