Rush: Classic or Dud?

True story:

Daniel Richler's parked
Illegally at Shopper's
Then Geddy Lee hops in!

Whoops, drop the "Lee" from that last line to make it fit haiku form.

New Rush single is out today - Caravan b/w BU2B - and it rocks!

Some crazy instrumentals going on in Caravan, and BU2B is super heavy.

hmmm not really feeling this....

it's like they are just jamming random riffs together, no memorable melodies or songwriting...

these songs remind me of what ppl often say about rush like they are some kinda math rock band, when in reality they always used to write really great songs, great hooks...

why are they trying to be so "heavy", this is arguable "heavier" than they ever were, at the expense of the stuff i actually loved about rush.

Yeah, not feeling the new one. Reminds me a bit of the "Counterparts" comeback, when the band was all, hey, we can be heavy, too! But this seems almost Primus at times in its herky-jerkiness.

Yeah, the vocal melodies seem a bit generic TBH (although maybe not that much worse than many other hard rock/metal bands) but I think the music, especially on "Caravan", is very good. Surprisingly metal for them. Have they been listening to Mastodon or something?

xpost

I did think of Primus too, actually, but not in a bad way.

The new songs are pretty good if you ask me. Very heavy at times, but still willing to toss in some synths every now and then. I think it's very similar to what they did on S&A.

You guys are scaring me shitless with the Primus comparos.

doesn't sound like primus to me. no rubbery bass riffery at least. something else that might be worrisome though is what BU2B might have to do with bono

There's no Primus going on. Nice psych groove on "Caravan", though. Not unlike the new Cathedral.

Ha NOW you're talkin'!

Off to download now. This is my first official purchase of music from ITunes, lol!

I suppose I've always liked this neither fish nor fowl quality of the band. Is it metal? Well, no. Prog? Not really. Hard rock? In the most generic sense, yes, but ...

I just became a Yes convert, and I can feel Rush on the horizon..what is happening to me??!!

Cathedral is probably a better comparison, actually.

Can't stress enough how much a new Rush fan will get out of Sam Dunn's new documentary. Watch it asap Iago G :)

I want to watch it BADLY but it's not in wide release yet is it???

Will do, Nate--maybe it's on Netflix I'll check--thks for the tip

It's in theaters now. On DVD in a month or so.

As for the new single - LOVE IT. I'm a big Snakes & Arrows guy, and this follows it in the best way (heavy rock, creative songwriting), and leaves out the filler (acoustic instruments, blues jams).

More stoked than ever for Clockwork Angels LP + Time Machine tour.

wow Rush excitement! Really want to see the doc, as I was a major Rush head for a while in HS and early college. Liked what I heard of the new single too

I'll be seeing the doc at the Alamo Drafthouse in 1 1/2 weeks. Pretty much the ideal setting for a Rush doc, if you ask me.

A friend went to the Charter One Pavilion box office (only open on show nights) and got us tix for 7/7 show for $49.50, NO SERVICE FEES! I didn't think that was even possible for shows in that venue! Now I can spend what I saved on one 32 ounce can of Bud Light Ultra 64 Lite...

Correction, he got these through the LiveNation website, which is having a special on no service fees for certain concerts.

Those are lawn seats, right?

I hate to even post what I spent on 2 tickets for the San Antonio concert, it is a truly shocking amount. I love Rush and want an opportunity to go see them and have pretty good seats, but prices are getting way out of control.

I mean we are talking about $50 dollar tickets as if that is cheap. That's double what tickets cost about 15 years ago, and that represents the absolute least you can spend now, so really ticket prices have tripled or quadrupled in a fairly short amount of time.

Trying to get press passes. If that fails, I'm looking at $200 seats...

Not even playing in New England. C'mon guys, we're practically Canada up here!

Unforgettable 2002 São Paulo concert (maybe better than 'Rush in Rio'). Hope they come to Brazil this time.

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!!!