Rush: Classic or Dud?

"We need someone to talk to
and someone to sweep the floors"

^rush otm

2nd leg of Time Machine tour just announced and tickets going on sale tomorrow! Pretty sure I'll be seeing them in Austin and Seattle. I highly recommend this tour to anyone with an interest in Rush, it's an amazing show.

Woot!

Kinda cool:

As a tribute to the U.S. city that first played their music on the radio, the Cleveland performance at The Quicken Loans Arena on April 15, 2011 will be filmed for full-length release, making it the first full-length live performance filming of Rush on US soil.

omg ne ohio is totally gonna flip out -- i have never lived an area more densely packed with rush fans than northeast ohio

I'm amazed that they haven't filmed a US show in all these years.

Yeah, but their live releases are outnumbering their studio albums by a 4-1 margin over the last few years. Seriously, dudes, maybe come up with a concept record where the concept isn't something like "the first live Rush album since Thursday!"

I think this happens because they are in marketing overdrive and are trying to cash in in the biggest way possible while they still can. I'm pretty sure the tour DVDs sell way more copies than their actual studio albums.

omg ne ohio is totally gonna flip out -- i have never lived an area more densely packed with rush fans than northeast ohio

― ergonomically chromium plated fish slice (La Lechera), Tuesday, January 18, 2011 1:55 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark

I think they are pretty huge throughout the Great Lakes, upper midwest. I grew up in Chicago, and they were utterly huge there. Cant imagine much has changed.

What the fuck is that guy doing in my post.

According to Neil Peart, studio albums have basically become vanity projects for them that they just break even on, while they rake in ridiculous sums of money for touring.

Still, yeah I agree with you Tarfumes, I'd be much more excited to hear Clockwork Angels than another tour album.

i was wondering the same thing

http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_leftkrHJkw1qf8yek.gif?

today's variation...

i'm just wondering what region "uppermdet" refers to

hacked the sub out. Uppper what, Bill Magill?

midwest?

Yeah it must be. Fixed.

my der beek

I want more haikus.

According to Neil Peart, studio albums have basically become vanity projects for them that they just break even on, while they rake in ridiculous sums of money for touring.

Still, yeah I agree with you Tarfumes, I'd be much more excited to hear Clockwork Angels than another tour album.

― Moodles, Tuesday, January 18, 2011 3:02 PM (28 minutes ago) Bookmark

I totally get that (about the studio albums), but pretty soon they're gonna run out of studio recordings to recycle live ("It's the first time they're doing all of Hold Your FIre live!"). And it's not like the live shows are much different from the studio recordings. Lifeson has said that, when he saw Cream live as a teenager, he was disappointed that they didn't play the same solos as on the records; as such, he's tried to never (or barely) stray from the recordings when playing live.

That's true, Rush is never going to deviate much from the studio recordings in their live performances. They are all about trying to recreate those songs as faithfully as possible right down to doing the same drum fills and guitar solos. It's an unusual approach, but also interensting in a way because it becomes this challenge to play the songs in an extremely specific way, and part of the joy of seeing them is being able to confirm that yes indeed, they do play all of those songs exactly as you would imagine they would.

I'm pretty down with this approach with one big exception: they've taken up the practice of playing canned backing vocals and extra guitar tracks on lots of their newer songs. I think it's an unnecessary step that doesn't really add much.

Canned, perhaps, but still triggered live, no? Foot pedals and whatnot?

Possibly, not really sure, not sure that there really is a difference if they are triggered by Rush or not. I'm not real thrilled when Alex Lifeson lipsyncs vocals.

Two dates in my neck of the woods. Thanks for this great news!

looks like the production on Vapor Trails is finally going to be fixed

http://ww2.richardchycki.com/archives/166

Oh cool!

also Moving Pictures in surround (but I'm more interested in seeing Vapor Trails fixed...)

http://ww2.richardchycki.com/archives/167

Sweet!

Songwise Vapor Trails is a great album, but the over-loud and distorted mix makes it a very difficult listen.

Rush: tank(a) or haiku?

My wife loves The Cure
Played her new wave-era Rush
Still, she hates them so

very interested in this remix of vapor trails!

Those synths on Signals?
That "trapped in Tron" atmosphere?
Rush revival looms.

So it sounds like we won't see Clockwork Angels this year after all:

In January 2011, Lifeson told in an interview with Guitarist Magazine that, due to the extension of the Time Machine Tour, the release of the album will be delayed. Writing the final 2 or 3 songs required will resume in early 2011, with recording resuming after summer.

All these years and albums later and I still have no idea how this band actually writes songs. Is this one of the few acts with no outtakes or demos bootlegs?

This site:

http://www.rushtrader.com/news.htm

...seems to be all live shows but maybe something's tucked away in there.

Some quick googling reveals Rush as virtually nil in the leftovers and rarities department. If it gets recorded, it gets on the record. There's some quote from Geddy about the record company being really disappointed if they all die in a plane crash, because there's nothing in the vaults.

Still, I'm surprised there are no alternate versions floating around.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OfbBn8Fuaw

Actually, come to think of it, I recall the Rush doc featuring a snippet of "Tom Sawyer" done at twice the speed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kflP2yBvFY&feature=player_embedded#

They were playing a polka version of Closer To The Heart after the show in London tonight, maybe that'll turn up somewhere for the collectors.

Over the PA I mean, they weren't playing it live, although there was a polka-ish intro to La Villa Strangiato

Wow, the tempo on that pre-release "Tom Sawyer" is lurching all over the place. Surprising.

We have tickets for the June 26th Time Machine show in Concord...weee I'm so excited, my first Rush concert!

Wow, really weird to hear a different guitar solo on "Tom Sawyer." I know Lifeson's thing was to always do the same solo as on the record, so without a record as such, it's interesting to hear him wing it.

Saw my first Rush show in Dublin two weeks ago. I went in only knowing the hits (y'know, Spirit and Radio and all that) but I came out a fan. Wish we didn't have standing tickets, though - 3 hours on my feet was rough.

Spirit AND Radio? Where's my head today? Of course that AND should be an OF.

Yeah, they won me over in a big way when I saw 'em at MSG a little while back.

Great chatterbox interview and track-by-track evaluation of Moving Pictures by the oft recalcitrant Neil Peart:

http://www.cbc.ca/strombo/show-music/neil-peart-on-moving-pictures-track-by-track.html

saw them two nights in a row during one of those 90s tours. it was religious

Wow, that's a great interview with Peart. Rush=class acts.