rosul@nmtvax.UUCP (05/17/84)
Well, it is now my 9th try at getting this posted. Let see if it will
work this time.
On Monday, May 8th, Rush invaded Albuquerque. What a night, what a con-
cert. Let me fill you in.....
The show started, much to everyone's surprise at exactly 8 p.m. just
like they said. The opening act was a relative unknown (at least around these
parts) named Gary Moore. I believe that he has an album out of one sort or
another. Being an avid fan, I pushed my way to within 5 feet of the stage, on,
facing the stage, the left of the stage. I got a real good look at Mr. Moore
and got a faceful of really loud music. They were really o.k., just a little
on the loud side. Gary had his amps and speakers not 10 feet from the foot of
the stage, making things really loud for those of us who were in front of him.
Unfourunately, all you could hear was his guitar, his singing, and the drumming
which was nothing spectacular. They played one tune of theirs, "Empty Rooms" I
believe it was called, which was real neat. It started with an Acoustic guitar
being played by Gary. Really a neat song. They were a bit unprofessional, I
noticed that the drummer broke at least 3 tips off his sticks. He was generous
though, and threw several sticks out to the crowd. I did notice, however, the
roadie that was right there ready to feed him more sticks. I also noticed at
least 2 playlists on stage. I know that they need to know what they are playing
but make the lists a little less obvious. Well, after about 45 minutes of hard
music, the quit, and instantly the roar of the crowd chanted "RUSH, RUSH, RUSH"
The chants quickly died down when the lights went up, however, and then,
after a wait of a half-hour, RUSH hit the stage. It was great! It was awesome!
It was marvelous! It was Rush....
Geddy Lee, ski-slope nose and all blasted out the lyrics to songs both
old and new. He played a funky square guitar which my friend informs me was
known as a "Stienbrenner". He played (are you reading Mr. Rosen???????????)
his pedals and awesome keyboard. He played a few songs from old, then a couple
from Grace Under Pressure, a few more oldies, a few more from G/P (If you
wonder what the funky symbols on Neils basses are, it is a g/p, written in the
same type as the title to Permanant Waves. Stands for, of course, Grace Under
Pressure.) The encore was old stuff, and of course there was an encore.......
Alex Lifeson did his usual competant job.
Neil Peart, drummer extrodinaire, did awesome. He played a candy-apple
red set, with double basses, with the g/p symbol on them. It had roto-toms, a
bunch of cymbals, and all the other goodies that one could expect on a Peart
set. He did a really great job, with his patented 5-foot spinning stick throws.
He only screwed it up once, and he even didn't drop the stick! And now for some
of the surprises that Rush said that they were going to pull off........
<caution, we are now entering a spoiler zone, for those of you who wish to
avoid such, please lok for the double row of astericks at the
end of the section.........Thank you.............>
Well, before the show, as they were setting up the stage, we couldn't
see Neil's set! It was shrouded in a red cloth. I described what was under
there before. But we were suspicious. And we were right. After about the second
or so song, we cheered wildly, as usual, and then looked for the next number.
As we were scanning the stage, I noticed something strange about Neil's set.
Between numbers, they had changed his double bass into one, added a high-hat,
electric toms, still lots of cymbals, but there was no design on the bass. We
thought, 'wow, what a quick road crew! I'm impresssed!' So we listen to a few
more Rush tunes, and then, after looking away again, we noticed that somebody
had given Niel his old set back! (The one with the two basses) Needless to say
we were throughly suspicious then, and had our eyes glued onto the set. Well,
our questions were answered when after the next number, the sets changed again.
He had his sets on a rotating base. Two sets on stage, on a rotating base. WOW!
What a trip. It got really funky when he was playing his solo during the encore
and he changed sets in the middle of it! He just spun his chair, and played on,
while the sets turned so he could face the audience, he did this twice during
his 4 minute solo session. Like I said, what a trip. That wasn't the only
surprise they pulled. They opened in Albuquerque for a reason. It was so they
could test out their newest, and never before used during a Rush concert treat.
You can probably guess, that's right, lasers............
They did a really good job with them, spraying them out to the crowd, etc.
Don't want to spoil it too much for you all! They also had the big screen out,
but didn't use it as effectively as in previous concerts.
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Well, thats all the spoiling I'm going to do. Let me give a quick review:
Bad Points: The opening act was much too loud for even my ecelectic tastes.
Rush could of, and should of picked somebody a little better for an opening
act. The show was too polished. It looked like they were about to go on a
world tour. It was not spontanioius, it was glossed.
Good Points: Gary Moore really tried to please and will get better with time.
Even he had a few good numbers. Rush was awesome, as expected, and almost
demanded. They played 'till they could play no more. And, with the surprises
listed above, it made the show that much more enjoyable. On a scale of one
to five, five being the best, they get **** 1/2 stars. A concert well worth
paying your hard earned dollars to see.
Ronald "Not quite all here" Rosul@nmtvax
New Mexico Tech, Socorro, New Mexicokim@felix.UUCP (05/22/84)
{}
Sounds like Kneelpurt (you know, the one who "did awesome") should join
a circus, what with his "patented 5-foot spinning stick throws".
Impressive display of equipment! Did they play any music??
Still laughing hysterically,
lkp
P.S. "g/p" looks more like pressure under grace.craig@fritz.UUCP (05/22/84)
[] What a road crew! I can't wait to see them set up this summer. I hear Menudo has a great road crew too. Maybe if I take a second job at McDonalds I will be able to afford tickets to both shows. Wouldn't that be awesome! Did RUSH wear matching costumes? I think Menudo's are great! -ch (Sign-off? I don't need no stinking sign-off!) P.S. "Steinberger" makes basses (in upstate New York). "Steinbrenner" owns the bases (in Yankee Stadium). P.P.S. What does "ecelectic" mean anyway?