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July 2004
Posts: 812
Location: Hicksville, NY | In anticipation to seeing Rush in concert, three weeks from now at Jones Beach, I purchased their Rush in Rio DVD, and I was really blown away. These guys are still rocking after all these years! Their performances were tight, Alex and Geddy are both wizards of their stringed instruments, and Neil is still one heck of a percussionist.
I also purchased the video to introduce SWMBO to them, as she will be coming with me to the concert. This will be the third time, I will be seeing them live, and it will be the first for my wife.
In the video, there was a brief Ovation sighting in the opening melody of The Trees. Alex was playing a beautiful slothead, nylon string Ovation in natural color.
Throughout the video, Geddy stuck to his black Fender bass mostly, while Alex played mostly Gibby and PRS guitars. He also played a tele in a couple of songs. There was one acoustic song where Geddy set aside his bass and actually played guitar! In the song "Resist" from their Test For Echo album, Geddy played a guitar with a beautiful sunburst finish [I'm not sure of the make ... could be a Taylor?], while Alex accompanied him with a Gibson SJ-200. |
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September 2006
Posts: 143
Location: Shotley Bridge, Northern England | I think you're right Gil; it's a Taylor. But shhh! we musn't mention that here...
I'm off to see Rush too in October here in the UK at Newcastle Arena. That will be 3 times for me too. I first saw them in your neck of the woods (Palace Theatre, Albany NY) supporting Black Oak Arkansas (sp??) at the tail end of the 'All the Worlds a Stage' tour in 1976. That was a good show. Also in 77 at the same venue where they played Xanadu live for only the 4th time I think. Another cracking show.
Where have the years gone eh?
HW |
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September 2006
Posts: 143
Location: Shotley Bridge, Northern England | Darned double post! :mad:
HW |
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July 2004
Posts: 812
Location: Hicksville, NY | Gosh Hillwalker, I was just a child at that time you first saw them live, and never heard about this trio from Canada ... I started getting into them when I first heard Tom Sawyer on the radio in the early 80s, but it would be few more years before I would see them in concert. I first saw them in '89 [I think] in support of their Presto album at the Montreal Forum. I liked the way they brought those giant rabbits out from the hat, and made them play around on stage. The laser displays were very nice as well.
Saw them again in '94 for the Counterparts tour at the Pepsi Arena in Albany. The lasers were eliminated, and Geddy stayed away from the keyboards and concentrated more on playing bass. I guess I'll relive those good 'ole days when I see them again in three weeks.
Funny that you mentioned the Palace Theater. The only time I saw a show there was back in the winter of '93. I was on my way home for spring break, but got caught in the middle of a blizzard, that I end up getting stranded in Albany for three days. Luckily, I had friends who lived there and offered me a place to crash until the Thruway cleared, so I could continue on my journey. While there, one of my friends had tickets to see Pantera, and asked me to go with him since his friend copped out. All I could say, was that of all the metal concert I'd seen, that was by far the loudest and most intense. At the end of their encore performance, the audience stormed and thrashed the stage destroying [almost] everything in their path, including gear. |
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March 2005
Posts: 5567
Location: Blue Ridge Mountains | One of my favorite bands of all time...never toured without their music in the hotel room and in the van...Fantastic...saw their recent live concert on VH1...plan to get the new album ASAP...
Just proves...you're never too old to Rock and Roll...
Blessings... |
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October 2006
Posts: 39
Location: Montreal, Canada | I'm goin to see them here in Montreal on Sept. 15th. It will be my 6th time. It all started with the Moving Pictures tour for me back in 1980.
Alex Lifeson has used many Ovations during the years. He started by using an Adamas 1687-2 with nylon strings to do the intros of songs like Closer to the heart, The trees, A Farewell to Kings and others. He also used a 1985 Collector with the Power Windows album and tour and in the Rush in Rio DVD (Vapor Trails tour) he uses a Classic 1763.
Yves |
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July 2002
Posts: 327
Location: Houston, TX | I'll see them here in Texas (4th show for me) in August. I think Alex has switched to Garrison for this tour. |
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September 2006
Posts: 143
Location: Shotley Bridge, Northern England | A child eh, Gil? Yes, I know how that feels. No getting away from it, those were good times, the 70s. :)
Whatever happened to Big Jim Dandy and BOA? :confused:
They weren't good as headliners that night...
HW |
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Joined:
July 2004
Posts: 812
Location: Hicksville, NY | Originally posted by Hillwalker:
Whatever happened to Big Jim Dandy and BOA?
They weren't good as headliners that night...
HW Guess not ... if they were, then BOA would still be around either making records, selling out arenas, or both.
I saw Rush as a headliner with opening acts on both shows:
The first time I saw them, Mr. Big was the opening act -- while Billy Sheehan is one great bassist -- overall, I wasn't impressed by the band as a whole. Even though their popularity soared with a top 40 single later, I still didn't bother for them.
On the second time, Candlebox was the opener, and was completely blown away by them. Unfortunately, it seemed as if they just fell into obscurity after the success of their first album.
I don't think there will be an opener this time around... |
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July 2004
Posts: 812
Location: Hicksville, NY | Yves,
Montreal is a very beautiful city. Besides concerts, I saw a number of Canadiens' games at the Forum back in the day, as hockey is a very big game over there.
I'm not even sure if it's still around, but it sure was fun clubbing in L'esprit and the Metropolis. Of all the Hard Rock Cafes, the one in Montreal is the only one I know that has a dance floor, where guys and gals can dance on rock tunes from The Beatles to The Who [and everything in between]. The Metropolis would also be the place where I saw Phish perform small venues for the last time ... shortly after that, they were packing huge arenas and staging weekend-long festivals. |
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OT: Rush in Rio [brief Ovation sighting]
