FPRIEST@CLEMSON.BITNET (02/20/90)
Well guys,
The shock has worn off...
Here's the whole story....I'll try to make it short...
(right.)
Friday night, my roommate and I and his two friends from Indiana
went to the Greenville Hyatt to see if we could get autographs, as
a friend of ours used to be a bellboy there...he told us a way to
get to the 8th floor which is normally reached by elevator, which requires
a key to get to the 7th and 8th floors...we took the fire stairs...
we found out through this friend that they had the rooms 861-877 odd...
after waiting from 6:30 to 8:00 for this friend to show, we decided
to make our own move...we went up and knocked on all the doors in that
section....no answer, even from the rooms where there were obviously
people...(lights on, tv/radio playing, etc.)...we left, disappointed...
we went back and watched Show of Hands on videotape...Next morning
at 9 am, we went to the coliseum (not much of a coliseum, only 7,000
seats) and there were already about 75 people there...so we waited...
we met people who had driven straight through from Massachusetts, New
York, New Jersey, and Maryland...wow...we sat there playing a Rush
marathon on our boom box, watching the people...One guy (from Mass.)
had purchased copies of Rush's first two singles (unreleased) for
$150 in Vancouver...He also had a box full of bootlegs from concerts
all the way back to Fly By Night...
The doors opened at 6:00, a half-hour after it was expected...
Everyone rushed for the good seats above the floor, so we got to the
front row of the floor with no problem...
At 7:30, the lights went out and Mr. Big took the stage...we were
3 feet from Billy Sheehan, and it was awesome...We couldn't even hear
Paul Gilbert's guitar because the bass racks were right in our faces..
Nobody but us seemed interested in Mr. Big except us, and Sheehan
was giving us the thumbs up sign, and a punch or two, and it almost
seemed as if the band was playing only for the few of us who knew
the songs....They put on a great performance, had a lot of energy,
and were obviously having a great time...The bass solo by Sheehan
was pure genius....
About 8:30, Rush took the stage...and so did the people behind us..
well, almost...the jockeying for position was intense, and at times during
the concert, I was almost crushed...They showed the beginning piece
that they showed for the Show of Hands tour, minus the Three Stooges Theme,
and the side of the marquee said: 'TONIGHT: Attack of the Killer Rabbits'...
they opened with Force Ten, and did some Power Windows and Hold Your
Fire, before going into Show, Don't Tell...The opening skit for Show,
Don't Tell showed a magician doing all sorts of weird transformations...
and a big bunny came on the screen...They played some Presto, and
then some older stuff....The light show for The Pass, Scars, and YYZ
was incredible....In Marathon, "More than just a dotted line", a
dotted line appeared on the back wall in green laser light, "More
than just a dash...", a big line appeared....
In the middle of Anagram, two GIANT bunnies began to inflate
one on each side of the stage...must've been twenty-five feet...
They began to dance when Tom Sawyer was played.....
The encore was incredible...They led off with Big Money, and
then did 2112/La Villa Strangiato/In the Mood to close...
The screen was not used as much as it usually was...Only the
videos came on for Mission, Force Ten, Manhattan Project, Time Stand
Still, and Show, Don't tell, as well as before Tom Sawyer...
Before Scars, a black screen came down in fron of the stage, and
they began playing laser light across it...
Only two keyboards were provided for Geddy this time, and, surprisingly
enough, Alex had one too, that he played for Closer to the Heart, and
one other song...as far as guitars go, Alex played his Signature the
whole time, only switching guitars when a string broke, but
grabbing the Sig again when it was repaired....
They really jammed on the guitars, putting punch into otherwise
wimpy songs, like Superconductor...Neil was very relaxed, smiling
and making funny faces at Alex and Geddy when the two came up to
the drums at the ends of songs, and Alex and Geddy were having a ball...
Alex was uncharacteristically all over the place, making faces and doing
rock poses....
All in all, an incredible show, and I got to stay up front the
whole time....It was hard, because it was so hot that a dozen people
passed out from the heat and had to be carried away...I lost at least
6 pounds....
At the end, Alex threw his pick in our general direction, and it
bounced off the retaining wall and a security guard picked it up, and
wouldn't give it up until someone gave offered ten bucks....what a dick.
Tour shirts were $20 and tour books were $12...Tickets were $18...
I will post tour spots and show list later(in case anyone missed it the
first time....)
The tour will have two legs, the first one beginning in Greenville,
and touring the south and southwest, except for a couple of dates
in Canada, and ending with California...Nothing north of SC or east of
CA......
whew...
OverseerBAWOLTERS@UALR.BITNET (ORANGE AND LEMONS) (02/21/90)
Well, again, please inform us on tour dates for LITTLE ROCK, MEMPHIS, ST.LOUIS, and DALLAS.