Living in the Limelight: A Rush Concert Review

/ / Concerts, rantings

How?

I mean, seriously. These guys are close to 60. You know? What are they still doing on stage?

What they do best: playing insanely incredible music.

I’ve seen some amazing bands. Muse, Tool, Silversun Pickups … Rush tops them all.

They played 2 new tracks, entitled “BU2B” and “Caravan.” Both were unbelievable. Keep in mind that these guys have been around for over 36 years. And they STILL put out amazing music. Not just amazing–phenomenal. Superb. Think of a superlative adjective. It will work.

The opening of the second set is one of the main reasons I went to the show. Moving Pictures is considered their foremost recording to date. To be sure, it stands the test of time extremely well. Released in 1981, it contains some of their best work, like “Tom Sawyer,” “Limelight,” “YYZ” (one of the best instrumentals EVER), “Red Barchetta,” but then there are songs like “The Camera Eye” that are probably too long to garnish any radio time but far and away is one of the best songs they’ve ever written. “Witch Hunt” and “Vital Signs” are fantastic. There’s a reason this CD is considered a part of the rock and roll pantheon.

To hear the ENTIRE CD played live is an experience I’m sure that will never be repeated. For one, they have 19 CDs. To isolate one and continuously play it front to back at every show from here forward would, in my mind, diminish the roles of their other works. But for this tour–their “Time Machine” tour, they played every song on that CD, in the order they originally appeared.

And thanks to Steve Jobs and the Apple Family, I got it all in high def 720p. Thank you, iPhone! I will post vids when I can, but for now, know that they’re out there for the finding.

The pics aren’t the greatest, but under such low light, it’s not surprising. Some of them turned out really well though. Again, I’ll post those when I can.

They pulled out some gems for this tour, too. “Marathon” hasn’t been heard since about 1990, but “Presto” has *never* been played live … and we got to hear it!!! WHOO! “Faithless,” off of Snakes and Arrows, wasn’t played last tour, but they played it last night. One of the stand-out songs on that CD.

This is Neil’s drum solo. Shot in HD with my iPhone. I seriously love that thing. I can blog, take pics and vids and post all from the convenience of my phone.

Shot in HD with my iPhone. I seriously love that thing. I can blog, take pics and vids and post all from the convenience of my phone.

Here’s the entire set list, copied in portion from Cygnus X-1’s site:

Set One
Introduction Video – Rash: The Real History of Rush — Episode No. 2 “Don’t Be Rash” — Goofy take on The Spirit of Radio — Polka/Disco/Country Version with Alex in a fat suit, Neil as an Irish Cop and Geddy…oy, you have to see it I say…

  • The Spirit of Radio
  • Time Stand Still
  • Presto — (with vintage magic show footage playing)
  • Stick It Out — (with original Stick it Out video playing)
  • Workin’ Them Angels — (same video from Snakes & Arrows tour)
  • Leave That Thing Alone — (same video from Vapor Trails tour)
  • Faithless — (with dream landscape video playing)
  • BU2B — (with “old typewriter typing out the lyrics to the song” video playing)
  • Freewill
  • Marathon — (with extended guitar solo)
  • Subdivisions

Intermission

Introduction Video – Rash: The Real History of Rush — Episode No. 17 “And Rock And Roll Is My Name ” — Geddy on Drums, Neil on Guitars, Alex on Bass

Note: Most songs from Moving Pictures is preceeded by a short second Monty Python-esque video featuring the Parliament Building and/or the red-suited movers in one way or another.

  • Tom Sawyer
  • Red Barchetta — (Ferrarri 166MM pulls up with a race car number 2112 on the door)
  • YYZ
  • Limelight
  • The Camera Eye — (with NYC and London scenes video playing)
  • Witch Hunt
  • Vital Signs
  • Caravan — (Steampunk theme video featuring blimps flying over a burned out world playing)
  • Drum Solo (Love 4 Sale) — (Steampunk Robot Drummer video playing)
  • Alex Lifeson Solo leading into…
  • Closer to the Heart
  • 2112 Overture/Temples of Syrinx
  • Far Cry — (same video from Snakes & Arrows tour)

Encore

  • La Villa Strangiato — (Geddy & Alex Playing a Polka-inspired intro)
  • Working Man — (With Reggae-inspired intro)

So, you can see that the set list was spread out. Some CDs weren’t represented, but when you have 19 studio albums to select from, there are going to be some neglected works, obviously.

Here’s the thing with Rush. You never know what to expect. From the opening videos all the way to the band walking off the stage after the encore … you never know what to expect. Even after the show was over, it still wasn’t over. If you’ve never seen “I Love You Man,” the movie at the end would have made no sense. Thankfully, my brother pointed that out to me, so I watched it the night before the show. Thankfully! It was hilarious. Peter Klaven and Sydney Fife. That’s all I’m going to say. HA HA HA!!

To the band, even though I’m fairly confident you’ll never read this, thank you. You guys are world-class, and I’m glad you guys keep making incredible music. We are the fortunate ones who get to indulge in your offerings for decades to come. For this, we can never repay you other than offering our heart-felt and sincerest thanks.

Here are some pics I snapped last night. Keep in mind, iPhone camera from about 25 yards away in the dark. They’re not the worst, but they’re not the best.

New Music Friday. Literally

/ / New Music, rantings

Well, it’s been a while since I’ve written about the Friday pick-ups from Graywhale. Blame my lack of … something. One problem I’m running into is that I generally try to rip my new music either the day of or at least over that weekend. Well, ha ha ha … guess whose optical drive is in a non-functional state. Go ahead.

Okay, there’s generally no connection between the two. So really, I don’t know why I haven’t written about the additions. Allow me to make up for it today.

If you’re expecting a long list, you’re going to be disappointed. However, if you’re in to quality music and new releases from semi-/established artists, you’re going to LOVE this week’s list.

As I mentioned in a previous post, Jesca Hoop’s “new” CD was actually released internationally in November of last year. That does not at all take away from the fact that her new CD is just as sonically inspiring and vocally lulling. Hunting My Dress was released domestically this past Tuesday in quality music stores (effectively ruling out Walmart, Blockbuster, Target, etc … not that those are quailty places to get ANYthing, but whatever), such as Graywhale.  

So here’s the list for today:

  • Jesca Hoop – Hunting My Dress
  • Samantha Crain – You (Understood)
  • Sera Cahoone – Only As the Day Is Long
  • The Ms – Future Women
  • Interpol – Our Love To Admire
  • The Reverend Horton Heat – Smoke ’em If you Got ’em
  • Reverend Horton Heat – Revival

Sometimes, it’s all about quality vs. quantity.

My man Kyle hooked me up with Windham Hill Chill Vols. 1 and 2 as well for the cost of nothing. Thanks, Kyle! He also threw me a free movie pass for “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.” The screening in a bit of a drive from my house, but it’d be worth it, right? Free movie? Just need popcorn. Yah. Pretty cool.

I’m stoked that Samantha Crain has a new CD out. Surprised, too. I didn’t see anything about it anywhere! Now that I check her site, it’s all over the place (of course).

Jesca Hoop Day

/ / rantings, review
In honor of Jesca’s new CD coming out tomorrow, I’m listening to Kismet, an awesome release that snuck under many a radar in late 2007. Oddly, her new CD tomorrow isn’t exactly new new; it was released in the UK back in October 2009. Someone please explain to me how a California-native artist releases a new CD overseas 8 or so months before its initial release in the US. how does THAT happen?
Anyway, if you have the Hunting My Dress import, then this new release probably won’t rattle your sonisphere too much. To be noted though … Amazon is selling the new CD with an additional EP. Not sure what all is included on the bonus CD, but hey … that alone my be reason enough to pick up the US version … IF you don’t already have the UK import.
The thing I like about her music is that it’s completely accessible from multiple angles. For one, there’s the genre-shattering sound. At once a glancing nod to an air of country with respect to some of the harmonics, a mix of alt-folk electronica … a strong influence of free-verse poetry with accompanying acoustic guitars (even as I type, “Enemy” plays on iTunes) … her music is definitely not to be missed. Enjoyable by anyone with an ear for haunting melodies and and voice. I love how there’s a slight sound of Joana Newsom to some of her vocals.
I’m sure that Graywhale will have a copy of the new CD tomorrow. Hopefully, it’ll have the new EP along with it.

Rush in August

/ / Concerts, rantings

Section 202, row C, seats 1-3.

Can.

Not.

Wait.

They will be playing their entire Moving Pictures album to open their second set. The best song on there is “The Camera Eye,” in my opinion. The whole CD is phenomenal, but that song in particular is just shudder-inducing.

There are many things for which I’m thankful in life: my family, friends, house, working car, job … in my mind, everything is a gift, and I’m grateful for it all because there could come a time that I won’t have these things, so while I have them, I’m extremely happy to have them. One of those things is my passion for music. Just because I don’t write every day doesn’t mean I’m not blasting something or exploring something new.

Today is a day of exploration, of sorts. I’ve been listening to Rush since the late 80s, circa Presto. At first, I didn’t “get it;” I wondered what the mystique was to this band. it took going away to college and meeting James (whose last name escapes me) to really start diving in. Since then, I haven’t looked back. Ever. Yes, other bands have come and gone, but there are few bands that have the staying power Rush has.

So in the spirit of the upcoming show, I’ve been in a Rush mood for about a month. I bought “Beyond the Lighted Stage” and watched it until 1 in the morning while my wife blissfully slept through it. I knew that Alex Lifeson was an amazing guitarist, but … seriously? You listen to songs like “Finding My Way” or “Working Man,” and you know that better things are coming down the pike with the addition of Neil Peart. So this documentary has footage of the band WAY back in their early days, before they even had a contract. To watch Alex on stage was mind-blowing.

If you haven’t gotten into these guys because you “can’t stand that guy’s voice,” I pity you. While I acknowledge that his voice is not everyone’s favorite, you can’t get around the talent.  Especially in the later albums. Everyone will praise and Laud Robert Plant or Dennis DeYoung with their similar high-pitched voices, but mention Geddy Lee and people start cringing–the very same people who will listen to Styx or Zepplin for hours on end. Shame. Both other bands have long ago thrown in the towel. Rush is working on their 19th studio album. They’ve been around for almost 40 years. How can anyone deny their greatness?!

Whatever. Rant over. You can not like Rush all you want. If you want my unbridled opinion (and you might as well accept the fact that I’m going to give it to you anyway: my blog, my rants!), until you recognize their status as “legendary power trio,” you will *never* be able to converse intelligently about music. Sorry … that’s just me. And millions of other fans.

Web Comic Fun

/ / Opinion, rantings

Admittedly, web comics aren’t my … thing. I don’t read a lot of them. It takes a lot for me to *want* to follow a web comic.

Enter Jeph Jacques. Much like Penny Arcade is to video games, the original concept of Questionable Content was to bring Indie music to the masses. I think. That’s my perception of the comic, anyway. With a degree in music, I’m sure there had to be some correlation.

As far as comics go, you’ll need to read it for yourself to judge of course, but I frickin’ love it. Witty, acerbic, sardonic, and TONS of indie music references. Especially at the beginning of the strip. As it progresses, it kind of reaches its zenith with the music references when the main character, Martin, forms a band with his friends. After that fizzles, so do the music references. Again … correlation? Dunno. One to ask Jeph.

Not only does he design his web comic exclusively, but he also designs the merchandise as well. I got a t-shirt the other day with the ever-endearing anthro PC, Winslow, that says “I am full of music.” It couldn’t be any more appropriate for me. LOVE the shirt.

Jeph also maintains a couple other blogs. here are somenod his links:

www.twitter.com/jephjacques
www.jephdraw.com
qcjeph.livejournal.com
qcjeph.tumblr.com

Awesome online comic. Enjoy it.

Best of Both Worlds

/ / Opinion, rantings, review

So, U2 had to cancel their tour due to Bono’s back surgery. Crushing shame for fans all over the world, right?

Tell that to the Glastonbury audience.

In their absence, Muse was asked to fill the slot. Now … I have no problem admitting that I am a HUGE Muse fan, and I bask in their musical glory on a daily basis, but those are awesomely MIGHTY large shoes to have to fill. U2 is legendary. Their shadow is cast on just about every country. Is there a corner of the world that hasnt’ heard of them? I highly doubt it. Muse, by way of comparison, are on the rise, and they are comprised of some of the best musicians out there, but …  they’re not Adam, Edge, Bono or Larry.

Yet.

So the good folks at Glastonbury recognized the talent in Muse, asked them to headline the show. An honor in and of itself. However, Muse “filling in” for U2 is like asking the now LA Lakers to “fill in” for the Chicago Bulls of the 90s. You can’t do it.

Yet.

Muse knows PR. They know the fans got shafted out of seeing the legends. They also know that they have a good, strong fan base in the UK. So … how do you assuage the audience that feels cheated?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yX1avvACZM&feature=related

If that doesn’t give you goosebumps, you suck. Period. For one, it means you know next to nothing about either music history or current music, which begs the question: “Why am I even reading this blog?” Second, the energy these two bands have ALONE is enough to power a small country, like France. Together? I don’t know. We’re way past nuclear fusion or atomic energy. We haven’t even created that much energy yet.

Or maybe they have.

In any case, enjoy the video. I have at least a dozen times at this point.

On the Horizon

/ / interview, New Music, rantings

Yes, I know … it’s been a while. Life happens. I can’t do anything to stop it.

And I don’t *want* to do anything to stop it. The highs are too many to discount it based on a few lows. Sometimes the lows suck, sure. But the highs … much goodness and enjoyment.

For example …

We all have those friends from our high school days who we remember upon having the cobwebs shaken loose from our deepest recesses, where the vague tends to mingle with the suspicion of forgotten. With a word or a song, maybe a smell … perhaps something we see, the memories come flooding back, and we sit back and reminisce with ourselves while we smile to no one in particular. Those present, assuming anyone else is around, might question the grin with an ounce of trepidation, for such looks are normally immediately chalked up to a diminished mental state.

Such was my experience the other night when I was transported back to my senior year of high school. As is so often the case when I look at old friends’ pictures on Facebook, I found a picture of a girl with whom I have not spoken since at least May 1990. This friend and I used to dance together at church youth functions. I’m pretty sure that she was a couple of years younger than I. I’m equally sure that I didn’t care. The sincerest and warmest smile is what I remember. Friendly, approachable, fun … quite the combo.

And away I went to college. Never saw her again.

Flash forward almost exactly 20 years. Facebook. Friends. Friends of friends. Jennifer Morrow. Memories. Now Jennifer Morrow Burrell. “Add Friend.” And just like that, we were back in contact.

The musical connection, thus making it a relavent blog post, is that she is now an aspiring musician with ambition and talent.  Her works can be found on iTunes under the name “Paisley Rose.” At the moment, they only have two songs listed in their catalog, but I know more are coming, and I’m *really* excited to hear what they’ll offer.

She and her husband, who is also in the band, have graciously agreed to a phone interview in the coming weeks! I know they’re super busy with life and stuff, so the fact that they are willing to take time out of their busy schedules to answer a few measly questions for me is flattering beyond words. When I get the interview finished and transcribed, I’ll post it for your reading pleasure. It might be a couple weeks, but it’ll be worth it!

Thanks, Jennifer!

Back in the Saddle

/ / New Music, rantings

It has been a wicked crazy week and some. Work has exploded. I think I mentioned that my boss retired a couple of Mondays ago. From the frying pan and into the fire, as it were.

Yah, yah … excuses excuses. Make the time, right? So here it is.

While I’m thinking of it, for all you fat fin fans, GW has a Facebook page that’s not to be missed. Please add them and support local music shops!

Of course, went to Graywhale for a quickie. So to speak. Hmm. ANYway, didn’t really peruse much as time was limited due to some geotagging test driving. Brought my camera along for the drive, randomly taking pictures at stop lights and other various locations. So, I have this app called GeoLogTag. It’s supposed to tag pics from ANY camera. After doing some poking around, I can understand why they make the claim: all the app does is “waypoint” your location at X intervals. I have mine set to continual. I believe it waymarks a location every 5 seconds, which is SUPER great for geotagging with accuracy. Anyway, after I take a bunch of pics, I import them into Geosetter. This program takes the images and bats them up a .gpx file that has all the waymarks listed. The program accesses this set of waymarks a couple of different ways: 1) you can email it to yourself, or (my favorite method) 2) it turns your phone into a virtual server, replete with a temp IP address for connecting and downloading the file to a specific location. Nifty, eh? Anyway, once the .gpx file is on your machine, you open it in Geosetter. It compares the time the waymarks were logged to the time the pictures were taken, and it adds the geotagging metadata to the image so you can view your image in geo-social picture sites like Flickr or Panoramio. Anyway, the bulk of my lunch was spent driving around and doing that.

The remaineder, of course, was spent acquiring more great music. Maybe it’s the loyal Western New Yorker in me, but today kind of had a theme. First off, I owned no Ani DiFranco. I now own 4 CDs. I owned no Natalie Merchant CDs. I now own 3. Still no 10000 Maniacs though. That’s bad. Didn’t even think to check for that. Oh well … something to hunt for next week, right? 🙂

So here’s the list of what I got today.

  • Faceless Wolverines – Pardon Me, Are Those Your Claws on my Back?
  • Ani DiFranco – Evolve
  • Ani DiFranco – Dilate
  • Ani DiFranco – Out of Range
  • Ani DiFranco – Imperfectly
  • Natalie Merchant – Leave Your Sleep
  • Natalie Merchant – Ophelia
  • Natalie Merchant – Motherland

RUSH TIX FOR SLC SHOW!!!!

/ / Concerts, rantings

GOT ‘EM!!!

Section 303, row J, seats 12-14. My brother and I are going, and either my wife or an old friend. August 5th cannot get here fast enough!!! WHOO!!!

For those of you who don’t know me (read: pretty much anyone), I came on board late with the whole “Rush” thing. I actually had Presto as a Columbia House SOTM at some point in 1989, but I shelved it because I didn’t “get it.” “Yah … what’s the big deal? These guys aren’t Van Halen. Screw ’em.” And I walked away.

About a year later, the guy across the hall from me kept playing this amazing music. “What is that?”

“You’re kidding. Right? ‘Who is this?’?!”

“Dude … it’s just a question. Don’t answer it then.”

“It’s *RUSH*. How do you not know who Rush is?!”

So then he shows me his tape collection, which was expansive. He let me borrow and copy all of it (poor college kids … what can you expect?). Between those tapes, I don’t think I swapped out anything else the rest of the semester. I drank it all in as often as I could, which, since I couldn’t have had a much worse GPA for the year, must have been pretty often.

I left for home at the end of the year, wondering if there was anything else out there of theirs. Keep in mind that this was before the advent of the people-friendly internet: I had to scour used record stores for anything I wanted. No surfing to find a complete discography on the band’s official or otherwise page. No wiki. No nothin’. Just me, car keys, and a lot of driving to various used music shops.

By the end of that summer, I had collected pretty much everything of theirs. Oh, what a music feast it was. I haven’t looked back.

Other bands have come and gone. I’ve had my dabblings with just about every genre of music with the exception of rap. My CD collection is rapidly expanding. My mp3 collection is on the verge of requiring a new hard drive. 4000+ “CDs” in mp3 format. Close to 700 in actual hard-copy. Amongst it all, there is none that is quite so timeless as Rush’s 19 studio albums and myriad live CDs.

Yesterday, I ordered R30 and their Snakes and Arrows tour videos on blu-ray. I can’t wait to show those to my girls. They’re already in love with Muse (another timeless band that will almost certainly have their place in music history). Now it’s time to step it up and get them some serious me

Dangerous Amazon One-Click

/ / rantings

Yah … so, I got a copy of Barenaked Ladies’ new CD, All in Good Time. I’m not going to sugar-coat it; I actively went out and looked for it on various torrent sites. I don’t have a problem with this because I plan on getting it first thing Tuesday morning before I even come to work, unless crappy Walmart doesn’t have the bonus track disc, in which case I’ll look elsewhere later in the day. We’ll see.

Anyway, so I was listening to that CD this morning in the car (the review of which is forthcoming). It got me thinking about the other band members’ contributions to this CD. Kevin Hearn and Jim Creeggan both have other projects: Thin Buckle and Creeggan Brothers respectively. Both have multiple CDs to their credit aside from their joint offerings with the Ladies. I, being the music junkie that I am and thoroughly enjoying their scant songs over BNL’s previous releases, finally decided to get their solo stuff.

All of it. At once.

Curse you, one-click button. Curse you.

Granted, it took 7 or 8 times of gently touching that button (iPhone … not a lot of pressure needed at all), but you get my point. I ordered both of their back catalogs in their entirety, if Amazon’s listings are to be believed.

The really dangerous part is the fact that all this was accomplished between home and work, driving in traffic and construction. Dumb, yes … I know. Would I do it again? Probably. I’m a cautious driver (“says the guy buying stuff left and right while he’s barreling down the highway at 65+ MPH …”). I check my mirrors, I look around me, I keep my speed relatively in check … hey, not one accident in over 22 years of driving, so say what you want.

Anyway, just thought i’d

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