Rush going on tour next year

[hbelkins]

Who expected that announcement?

They've already had to add tour dates. There's a one-off date in Mexico City and now two in Cleveland, but they have four four-date mini-residencies in LA, Ft. Worth, Chicago, Toronto, and New York, up from two dates originally in those four cities.

Besides the female drummer Anika Nilles they've chosen to replace the late Neil Peart, they're going to get a separate keyboard player to give Geddy Lee a little freedom to run around on the stage with his bass and not be tethered to a keyboard setup.

My brother has registered for the pre-sales for Cleveland and Ft. Worth. He said he would probably go if the tickets don't cost a small fortune.

He's seen them twice (late 70s on the Hemispheres tour and 1982 on the Signals tour). Somehow I missed seeing them.

[ModernDayWarrior]

Yeah, I'm expecting these tickets to be well out of my price range. I signed up for the presale for the four Chicago dates anyway, just in case.

I've only seen Rush once, in 2015 in Kansas City. Probably the best concert I've attended. Had tickets to a show in St. Louis a few years before that, but something else came up at the last minute and I wasn't able to attend.

I still proudly wear my Rush Tour 2015 t-shirt. (Actually it's my second such shirt; completely wore out the one I bought at the concert, so I bought a replacement on eBay a few years ago. It's now starting to fray as well.) Had an interesting experience while wearing it on my annual road trip this past May--was checking out of the Sleep Inn in Cross Lanes, WV when someone stopped to compliment me on my shirt. He told me that Rush was one of his favorite bands and that he particularly liked the one-armed drummer. I didn't bother correcting him. 

[Henry]

This is going to be a very interesting lineup indeed, and I like that more and more female musicians get to play with those legendary bands. I'd sign up for a Seattle show right now, but I'll settle for either L.A. or Chicago, whoever comes first.

[Takumi]

My stepdad plays guitar in a Rush cover band. He's talking about going to one of the shows.

[tchafe1978]

I'd love to see Rush again, but I'd probably have to sell my house. I saw them once on the Roll the Bones tour when I was 13 or 14 at Alpine Valley in Wisconsin. I still remember it as one of my favorite concerts of all time.

[Rothman]

They're too old.

[kphoger]

They're too old.

A little slower Rush.

[WillWeaverRVA]

Who expected that announcement?

They've already had to add tour dates. There's a one-off date in Mexico City and now two in Cleveland, but they have four four-date mini-residencies in LA, Ft. Worth, Chicago, Toronto, and New York, up from two dates originally in those four cities.

Besides the female drummer Anika Nilles they've chosen to replace the late Neil Peart, they're going to get a separate keyboard player to give Geddy Lee a little freedom to run around on the stage with his bass and not be tethered to a keyboard setup.

My brother has registered for the pre-sales for Cleveland and Ft. Worth. He said he would probably go if the tickets don't cost a small fortune.

He's seen them twice (late 70s on the Hemispheres tour and 1982 on the Signals tour). Somehow I missed seeing them.

That's crazy, I had no idea they were still performing!

[thspfc]

Is this the part where anyone who doesn't know or like Rush talks (brags?) about how much they don't know or like Rush? Or does that only apply to 21st century artists?

[formulanone]

Is this the part where anyone who doesn't know or like Rush talks (brags?) about how much they don't know or like Rush? Or does that only apply to 21st century artists?

...someone's getting right on to the friction of the day.

[Molandfreak]

I'll take this as a sign that hotdogPi actually knows who Rush are.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

They're too old.

Nothing wrong with staying home then. Not interested enough in Rush to go, but plenty of other artists who I didn't have a chance to see in their prime that I'll take the consolation prize.

[kphoger]

Is this the part where anyone who doesn't know or like Rush talks (brags?) about how much they don't know or like Rush? Or does that only apply to 21st century artists?

On a more serious note...

I've certainly heard of Rush, but I've never listened to their music.  Would anyone here care to tell me what their music is like?  Compare them to another couple of bands I might be more familiar with?

[Henry]

Is this the part where anyone who doesn't know or like Rush talks (brags?) about how much they don't know or like Rush? Or does that only apply to 21st century artists?

On a more serious note...

I've certainly heard of Rush, but I've never listened to their music.  Would anyone here care to tell me what their music is like?  Compare them to another couple of bands I might be more familiar with?

The closest band I could come up with is Aerosmith, with their vocals actually being emphasized over the guitars and a sound that combines the blues with hard rock.

[kphoger]

The closest band I could come up with is Aerosmith, with their vocals actually being emphasized over the guitars and a sound that combines the blues with hard rock.

Interesting.  While I wouldn't say I'm a big Aerosmith fan, I do like a lot of their songs.  And the first CD that I ever owned was Pump, so I have a soft spot for that album.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

I disagree with the notion that Rush and Aerosmith sound anything alike. I find it hard to really compare Rush to other major bands; early on Rush was classified as a progressive rock band, but they sound very little like peer groups Yes, King Crimson, early Genesis, or Emerson Lake & Palmer do, as Rush didn't as heavily feature the classical music influences those groups did and better embraced newer popular music trends to implement into later albums than those other groups, who fell out of favor with the press by the late 70s and were then eviscerated by the burgeoning punk rock scene.

[Scott5114]

Is this the part where anyone who doesn't know or like Rush talks (brags?) about how much they don't know or like Rush? Or does that only apply to 21st century artists?

On a more serious note...

I've certainly heard of Rush, but I've never listened to their music.  Would anyone here care to tell me what their music is like?  Compare them to another couple of bands I might be more familiar with?

They are probably one of those bands where you've heard them a thousand times but just never connected the song with the band. I'd be pretty surprised if you've heard neither "The Spirit of Radio" nor "Tom Sawyer".

[kurumi]

I'll take this as a sign that hotdogPi actually knows who Rush are.

I was tempted to ping ModernDayWarrior if he wasn't already here ("might want to take a mean mean stride over to this thread").

As to who/what Rush sounds like... it's tough to find other bands that Rush sounds like without thinking it's the other way around (Coheed and Cambria, etc.)

Going through their first few albums, here's my 2 cents

Rush, Fly by Night: mainly classic blues-based rock; Working Man, Fly by Night

Caress of Steel: transitioning into prog, especially in the song subjects: Bastille Day, etc.

2112, Farewell to Kings, Hemispheres: guitar-based lean prog, lots of odd meter, easier than Yes, Genesis, etc. if you're 16, in a band with some friends, and want to play some prog.

Permanent Waves: still solid prog, but Free Will and Spirit of Radio get a lot of airplay to this day on classic rock stations.

Moving Pictures: their breakout album, even bigger than Permanent Waves: Tom Sawyer, Limelight, etc.

Signals: it's 1982 IIRC and keyboards are taking over. Rush gets in there too with Subdivisions and other hits.

Grace Under Pressure: still prog, but a slight change from Signals to more mainstream.

Power Windows: first one I was disappointed in (more prog-pop), but many people like it.

After that, I stopped listening, so no opinions there. I've heard Clockwork Angels is good. Roll the Bones has Geddy Lee rapping for a verse.

[Molandfreak]

I'll take this as a sign that hotdogPi actually knows who Rush are.

I was tempted to ping ModernDayWarrior if he wasn't already here ("might want to take a mean mean stride over to this thread").

Wasn't there another user who had a "US 2112" shield as their avatar several years ago?

[roadman65]

Anika Nilles is supposed to be great.  Although no one can replace Neil.


I did hear that they are hiring a touring keyboardist so Geddy can play more bass minus his signature keyboard lines that he can deliver. Plus Geddy and Alex can both take center stage together.

[Rothman]

Anika Nilles is supposed to be great.  Although no one can replace Neil.


I did hear that they are hiring a touring keyboardist so Geddy can play more bass minus his signature keyboard lines that he can deliver. Plus Geddy and Alex can both take center stage together.

Well, it did say so in the OP... ;D

[roadman65]

Anika Nilles is supposed to be great.  Although no one can replace Neil.


I did hear that they are hiring a touring keyboardist so Geddy can play more bass minus his signature keyboard lines that he can deliver. Plus Geddy and Alex can both take center stage together.

Well, it did say so in the OP... ;D

I'm starting a conversation.   This isn't a news channel like Fox or CNN.  The forum is supposed to be for conversing.  Yes I'm aware of that smarty pants, I'm just saying I heard to strike up part of the discussion. D.

[Scott5114]

Anika Nilles is supposed to be great.  Although no one can replace Neil.


I did hear that they are hiring a touring keyboardist so Geddy can play more bass minus his signature keyboard lines that he can deliver. Plus Geddy and Alex can both take center stage together.

Well, it did say so in the OP... ;D

I'm starting a conversation.   This isn't a news channel like Fox or CNN.  The forum is supposed to be for conversing.  Yes I'm aware of that smarty pants, I'm just saying I heard to strike up part of the discussion. D.

Is it really starting a conversation to barge into the middle of a conversation someone is already having to say something they already said?

[formulanone]

Anika Nilles is supposed to be great.  Although no one can replace Neil.


I did hear that they are hiring a touring keyboardist so Geddy can play more bass minus his signature keyboard lines that he can deliver. Plus Geddy and Alex can both take center stage together.

Well, it did say so in the OP... ;D

I'm starting a conversation.   This isn't a news channel like Fox or CNN.  The forum is supposed to be for conversing.  Yes I'm aware of that smarty pants, I'm just saying I heard to strike up part of the discussion. D.

Is it really starting a conversation to barge into the middle of a conversation someone is already having to say something they already said?

I guess it's a refrain.

[hbelkins]

To "reverse engineer" the "what band does Rush sound like," I've heard a lot of people compare Rush to Greta Van Fleet. I don't get it; I've been a fan of Rush since their "All The World's A Stage" live album came out, but I don't think those two bands sound anything alike.

I'd compare early Rush to Led Zeppelin, with the bluesy guitar sound and shrieking vocals. After Neil Peart came on board in time for their second album, the sound started changing.

To me, the 80s were mostly a wasteland where Rush is concerned. I preferred "Permanent Waves" to "Moving Pictures" and started losing interest after "Signals." Thankfully, "Presto" came out at the end of the decade and they started ditching the keyboards for a leaner sound.

Last week marked the anniversary of "Power Windows." I noted on the Discogs Facebook page that I thought 'Power Windows" and "Hold Your Fire" were the two worst Rush albums, and there wasn't one side's worth of good songs on both albums put together. Randy Bachman (yes, THAT Randy Bachman, another legendary Canadian artist) liked my comment.

It's interesting to listen to Neil Peart's lyrics and what he was writing about. On "Test For Echo," he was really tuned in to the issues that dominated the news. The title track makes reference to "the showcase trial on TV," referring to O.J. Simpson. "Virtuality" is about the rise of online culture. "Put your message in a modem, and throw it in the cyber sea." His atheism was on full display in the lyrics to "Snakes & Arrows," which was a bit off-putting to me as a believer and a Christian. "Clockwork Angels" was a concept album, with a couple of previously-released tunes -- "Caravan" and "BU2B," which is short for "Brought Up to Believe" which is another paen to atheism -- included.

If I had to choose favorite albums, I'd recommend "All The World's A Stage" as a good overview of their early works, "A Farewell to Kings," "Hemispheres," "Permanent Waves," "Presto," and "Vapor Trails."

After their initial announcement, they added two shows for each of the venues where the had previously announced two shows, and a second show in Cleveland. Early reports on ticket prices are that they're astronomically prices. That leads me to believe that either Alex and Geddy need the money, or someone's getting rich off of them on this tour.