Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion The Water Cooler RUSH Tour 2007!

For all you Rush fans out there, the tour starts June 13th!

Sweet! June 23rd at the Nissan Pavilion in Bristow, VA. Wonder how much tickets are going for...?

This may be a good event for the NoVa/DC/Md Axiomites to gather 'round, eh? I'ma talking to you, pmbuko, vassillios, CapnPickard, am I missing any others?

Swooping in to post for the first time in about a year (hi everyone...).

No Nashville date??? They started their 30th anniversary tour here! They've played Nashville religiously in the past. I'm miffed.

Cincinnati, here I come.

So THAT'S what it takes to bring Mike out of the woodwork.

Internet presale for Seattle and Portland tomorrow morning.

Ooooh baby.

Let's see... 3 month old... probably not going to see this tour.

I can't believe we have our new Wells Fargo arena that opened with Paul McCartney, and the closest Rush is getting is Minneapolis, KC, or St Louis. arrrrggg I suppose I could drive 2.5hrs to KC.

They're coming to Dallas but playing at the worst venue in the metro area.

D'Oh! I knew it was inevitable, me still being a relative noob. Wait - have I really been here for a year?!

Anyway, tix go on sale Saturday (3/31)!

Shall we all gather on the lawn? Mrs. Medic8r hates Rush (Oh, unenlightened wife...) so I'll be looking to hang out with friends who can appreciate the best damn band on the planet.

JP - Check on the "PreSale Info Here" link on the tour dates page. The internet presale for the VA started about 90 minutes ago. Today. I think all you have to do is register on the Rush site.

Thx Tom - I registered, but all the orchestra seats were sold out, and I think I'll go for the lawn, which is not for presale. Guess I'll pounce on lawn tix on Saturday, and fall back on home theatre viewing of R30 if I need to see them all big and close-up ...

Hey where did my post go? Did a crazed Rush fan delete it? Knowing me I forgot to hit [Continue] before closing the window. Anyways, what I said was...

Rush! The biggest Canadian band ever and only three Canadian dates in the whole tour! I think they have forgotten thier roots.

No more guest appearances on "The Trailer Park Boys" for them!

Murph,
I am a little pi$$ed at the tour schedule as well! Rush are playing in Calgary and two nights later in Seattle. I wonder if they think that their fan base has shrunk in Edmonton and Vancouver? They did the same thing on the R30 tour. Unfortunately, I do not have the time to be flying somewhere to see my favorite band.

Well, I'm going to sit in section 206, row 9 of the White River Amphitheatre on Friday, July 20. I've seen them several times, but the thrill is always there.

Mike, those of us who were unaffected by those types of disasters forget them too easily. Thanks for the reminder.

I must say that I'm terribly envious of your musical and automotive pursuits. I hope they remain joyful for you. Seems like we have some drummers around here somewhere...

I've got section 201 row D for the USANA Amphitheater show in Salt Lake City, Monday August 6th.

Looking forward to it!

I also noticed the new album 'Snakes and Arrows' to be released May 1st on both CD and DVD. The DVD contains "high-resolution audio", as well as a 5.1 mix. I hope the mastering is done well this time around (less compression to the dynamic range).

>>Odd too that they use the non-standard Separatist "PQ" for La Belle Province and not the postal abbreviation "QC"... for the Americans, PQ stands for Pays du Quebec... or "the country of Quebec."

I didn't know that. I have *always* used PQ; I thought it was the standard abbreviation for Quebec.

Hah, I bet she was a closet separatist assigned to corrupt innocent young westerners

My consultant has approved my request and I'm in for a lawn ticket for the June 23rd show. I will purchase Saturday.

Sweeeet. See you there!

I'm kicking myself really hard right now. (Ow! Stop it!) I didn't buy tickets right when they went on sale and now the lawn tickets are sold out. If you haven't bought yet, wanna move up to tier 3?

Sent you a PM, the lawn tix are now opened up for sale, and I've got us a pair. Anybody else going to the Northern VA/DC show?

The tour kicks off tonight!

On the web I found a posting of the supposed set list for the tour. This is taken from rehearsals.

If you're like me and want to know what's on the menu so that you can crank up those old forgotten tunes at home to get a sneak preview of the concert, then follow this link:

Rush 2007 set list

If not, then follow this link:

DO NOT WANT

Thanks for the link J.P. Interesting comments regarding the setlist. i am still pi$$ed they are not coming to Vancouver. Thinking about Las Vegas or California this summer to see a show.
Cheers,
Shaun

More updates from tonights show!
SPOILER UPDATE 1: Geddy Lee has rotisary chicken roasters instead of dryers. Alex is using a Les Paul fitted with a wammy bar. The first 3 songs are indeed Limelight, Digital Man and Entre Nous.

SPOILER UPDATE 2: The opening video featured all three band members and Alex and Neil waking up in bed together?! The video opening up the 2nd set features Alex.

SPOILER UPDATE 3: The drum solo is totally new and there's a South Park video intro to Tom Sawyer.

SPOILER UPDATE 4: The encore was just as advertised and there was a closing video featuring Geddy. Here's the entire setlist - 27 songs total plus the drum solo. There was no mystery song at the end of the first set, but otherwise the rumors from earlier today hold true.

Set 1:

Video Intro

Limelight
Digital Man
Entre Nous
Mission
Freewill
The Main Monkey Business
The Larger Bowl
Secret Touch
Circumstances
Between The Wheels
Dreamline

Intermission

Set 2:

Video Intro

Far Cry
Workin' Them Angels
Armor And Sword
Spindrift
The Way The Wind Blows
Subdivisions
Natural Science
Witch Hunt
MalNar
Drum Solo
Hope
Summertime Blues
The Spirit Of Radio
Tom Sawyer

Encore:

One Little Victory
A Passage to Bangkok
YYZ

Thanks for sharing this Shaun! I have tickets to see them on August 6th. I'm looking forward to the show.

Waaaaaaaah!

Sounds like a great show.

Finishing with YYZ? Oooh, baby!

My tickets are for July 20 in Seattle.

I pre-ordered the MVI version of S&A, the release date of which was delayed twice. Having made that commitment, I've been unwilling to ALSO pick up the CD version. So, I'm still waiting impatiently for the new tunes.

I don't really care what's on the setlist. It consists of what the band wants to play, so I'll just sit back and enjoy it. Should be a great show.

But, yeah, finishing with YYZ sounds just fine to me.

Tom,
You better "Rush out" (pardon the pun) and get that S&A cd! Once you hear it, you will wonder why you waited so long.
I am kicking myself for not buying tickets to the Seattle show (which is sold out). Now I am looking at the Las Vegas show on July 28th.

Wouldn't be as good as Neil on drums.

I don't know if Dave's memory is as good as Neil's to remember all those drum fills? I think that Rush's music would probably be a little too complicated for most rock drummers out there. That's why Neil is referred to as the "professor"

Tom,

I'm with you... waiting patiently for the MVI release.

Well, I don't know about "patiently". But yeah, between the tickets and the MVI release and associated expenses, they need to make that extra $15 from somebody else. Of course, if I still don't have the new tunes a couple weeks before the show, I'll have no choice but to go buy the CD.

Good news, I got an e-mail from amazon that the MVI of Snakes and Arrows has actualy shipped!

Okay, I'm going to need some help here, I think...

I got the MVI disk yesterday (whoopee!).

However, it is a confusing muddle of technology to me.

It appears that there are two distinct paths to access content on the disk.

First, as MVI (running it's own little bundled MVI application on a PC). This provides MP3 versions of the tunes, lyrics, games, a decent documentary and other extras.

Second, as a DVD. This provides a 5.1 mix and high-res 2.0 mix of the album.

This disk does NOT play anything as a CD.

I have not yet heard enough of the album to either be familiar with the tunes or to comment on the production quality of the content.

Here is my question: Due to the death of one of my Sony megachangers, some of you may remember that I am in the process of ripping "everything" to FLAC. It is brutally slow going. Is there ANY WAY for me to get the high-fidelity versions of the songs from this disk? The MP3's are in plain sight, but they sound crummy. Having already bought the MVI disk, I don't want to either have to buy the CD or listen to the DVD in order to access high quality versions of the music. I know I can't preserve the multi-channel or high sampling rate resolution.

Below is a snip from another forum (I am not the OP). It just confused the hell out of me.

I'm looking for step-by-step with software references.

This is - apparently - the point at which technology exceeded my willingness to learn it. Luddites unite!

Quote:

---

On the MVI disk, does anyone know if you can copy off the 96KHz / 24 bit audio files directly?

In looking through all the folders, it's not obvious where they live. I can see the MP3 files (44.1Khz/16 bit/192Kbps) but I cannot see any other (obvious) audio files anywhere.

Quote:

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Those files reside in the VIDEO_TS directory in the .VOB files just like any other DVD. You will need to use a DVD audio extractor to rip them from the .VOB files. It's kinda pointless though since the Dolby Digital 5.1 file is a 44.1kHz 448kbps 16-bit sampling rate in .AC3 format, which when opened with a regular audio program will downsample it to 2.0 stereo. And the LPCM 2.0 file is a 96kHz 1441kbps 24-bit sampling rate in .WAV format, which to open and play you'd have to have a high-end sound card to support. The only thing you could do with it is listen because a redbook CD only supports 44.1kHz 1441kbps 16-bit sampling rate in .WAV format. And if you converted either of those files to .MP3 or Apple's .AAC format, they would end up sounding nearly identical to the same files ripped from the redbook CD version.

---

---

Tom, I'm in the same boat as you. I have requested a hold of the standard CD from our local library. To each their own, but I don't feel it wrong to make a CD copy of this album after buying the DVD version.

From what I've heard so far on the DVD, the mix of this album is very good, unlike Vapor Trails.

I highly recommend that you familiarize yourself with the new album if you plan on seeing them on tour this year. 8 songs from the new album are being played...strange setlist on this tour. I did not know many songs on the setlist (not including the new album), and I have been a fan for almost 20 years.

I agree. Anyone seeing them on this tour is going to definitely want to get familiar with "Snakes & Arrows" before they go. First of all it is an excellent album, especially the instrumentals, and secondly a large part of the concert is songs from the album.

Ditto - they are going deep into the new album and also digging up some oldies, some of which they have never done live before.

They also played 2/3 of Permanent Waves. Interesting. Nothing from Power Windows, one of my favorite albums.

They have retired or skipped some well-worn favorites. No "Closer to the Heart", nothing from 2112, etc. In fact, fans of early Rush will be disappointed. They didn't play anything from their first 5 studio albums. The only things from the '70s were "Bangkok" and "Circumstances".

Course, there's always R30 and their other excellent DVDs for catching those oldies. I'm glad they kept it fresh.

I am looking forward to hearing the new songs performed live. I have watched/listened to Rush In Rio and R30 so much that a new set list will be refreshing!

The concert sound was the best on the new songs. Makes sense, I guess, because that's what they are playing the most lately, what with recording and all. The second set opener was very impressive - the lighting and stage presence for Far Cry was top notch. And the multiple instrumentals rock!! Enjoy the show!

Yahoo! I have finally secured my tickets to see Rush! Our plans to see them in Las Vegas fell through so my wife and I are planning a road trip to Ridgefield, Washington (north of Portland) for the July 21st show. The trade-off is the wife gets to shop on the weekend and I will tour the micro brew pubs

Sounds like you made a great deal

The Rush album is growing on me every day. I like it. The video on the MVI DVD is interesting, and also the bio of the album that Neil wrote (also available on the DVD).

Now just 1 month and counting for the Utah show!

It does sound good, as it ought to. The stereo version is uncompressed, at 24 bit 96kHz. The 5.1 mix sounds really good, but it is a standard encoded (compressed) Dolby at 448kbps total for all channels. I've found both versions enjoyable. I've tried to A/B between them, but I have to make a large volume adjustment between the two.

Yes, I made a great deal. I feel like a child waiting for Christmas. I am going to pick-up the Rush MVI DVD this weekend.
Cheers,
Shaun

Good for you, Shaun! I'm seeing them the day before at the White River amphitheater (Seattle). I'd offer to meet you for beer on Saturday, but Tacoma Swim Club is hosting a meet. Hope I'm ready for that Saturday morning session. If you're driving back through the Puget Sound area on Sunday evening, give me a call.

If they closed down the swim club, you could drink more beer....

Tom,
I sent you a private email.
Shaun

J.P.
Did you by chance check out any of the s.w.a.g. at the Rush concert (T-shirts, cd's etc.)? My wife and I are attending their show this weekend in Washington state. Was wondering if they were selling the MVI disc at the shows?
I haven't had time to purchase one locally.
Cheers,
Shaun

Yeah, I got a t-shirt, and, as always, a program ($20). Tshirts ranged from $30 - 45, and there was a longsleeve T. I almost bought pmbuko the thong underwear, but he said they gave him too many yeast infections, so he stopped wearing them.

The DVI wasn't yet released when I saw them, but they were selling the CD for $15. Hopefully that is a good sign and you may be able to get the DVI. I'd go to the merch area before the show starts, because when I went after the show, they had sold out of some items.

Have fun!

That's the last time I pad by drawers with a baguette.

T minus 04:39.00

Here's hoping to hear some reviews from both Tom and Shaun.

Wish I were there, man. I'd see them again in a heartbeat. Enjoy the show, my brother in beer.

Well, it's Monday afternoon, and I am now mostly recovered from Friday night's show.

The band was as good as ever and I was not disappointed. Given my fairly high expectations, that is high praise.

It took Geddy a bit of time to get his voice warmed up; the beginning of Limelight wasn't perfect by any means. They did not deviate from the previously published setlist except that they did not play Summertime Blues. My current favorite cuts from the new album (Far Cry and Workin' them Angels) were stellar, and the band seemed to enjoy playing all the new music. Cuts from the new album were not as enthusiastically received by the crowd as some of the classic numbers. I thought Digital Man and Natural Science were very compelling, as each one was not only passionately played but also deviated somewhat from the studio versions.

The venue (The White River Amphitheater) is a good place to see a show, if you can live with fairly horrific ingress/egress problems. There are about 8,000 covered seats and another ~10,000 on the lawn. It was fortunate that we were in the middle of the covered area, as this has been the wettest July EVER in the Puget Sound area, and it rained like Thailand most of the week, including the day of show.

The open-air nature of the venue contributed significantly - I think - to a VERY high fidelity mix. The show was still very loud, and was surprisingly clear and detailed. We were probably 150 feet back and dead center. I did not feel compelled to use the earplugs I brought. I left my SPL meter at home.

The visuals - both the live shots and the set pieces - were very good, and were displayed on three screens behind the band and two enormous screens to the sides of the stage. I did not find a high enough percentage of the thematic visuals compelling, and might have preferred a higher ratio of live broadcast of the band.

The South Park into to Tom Sawyer was hilarious. Classic.

At one point, Geddy brought out a video camera and aimed it at the crowd. He implored a "Hello Canada!" and seemed genuinely surprised by the resulting vigor. At the end of the show, he graciously thanked the crowd and said we were great. It's true.

I found Geddy's singing to be very satisfying; he is still quite able to hit whatever he wants. I was also reminded how much I enjoy his bass playing - he plays a LOT, and has a very punchy, bright tone that is complementary to the rest of the band's profile. He played three different Fender Jazz Basses most of the evening, but did pull out a Rickenbacker for one number. It seemed - a bit more than usual to me - to be "his band".

Neil's playing was superb and compelling, as usual. His are the only drum solos I find interesting. He works awfully hard, but his apparent joylessness and lyrical/philosophical bent make him somewhat less appealing to me personally than I'd like. He does seem to genuinely value his big band and jazz predecessors, which I think is wonderful. His technical skills seem unsurpassed.

Alex's playing has never been better, I think. I really like the parts of the new album where he indulges the acoustic guitar more than usual, and I was mesmerized by his performance on the MVI disk and in the concert. I think so much of what he does is contextual that he is somewhat under appreciated as a virtuoso. He did seem to enjoy himself.

It was a good show - one of the few times where an exorbitant entry fee has proven "worth it". I went with a friend that I've known since childhood and sharing the evening with him definitely enhanced the experience. We see each other too rarely now, and this was a special occasion for lots of reasons. Wish I'd been able to share the show with Peter, JP, Dave, Shawn and other Axiom folks also.

I would go again.

Wow Tom! A great and detailed review. You pretty much covered it all. Now I'm really looking forward to the show 2 weeks from tonight.

It would be great to see really good show together as a group of Axiomites. I echo your sentiments

When asked for a review, you certainly deliver... thanks and take care.

Hi Tom,
Fabulous review! I echo your sentiments regarding the show. It sounds like my wife and I had similar seats to yours. I found myself using binoculars quite often when the visuals were playing. The live footage of the band was great (not enough though). Was watching Mr. Peart most of the time. (Note to Dave, bring binoculars!) BTW, Neil's new drum kit sounds awesome and the drum solo is worth the price of admission.

The new music was very impressive which I was really looking forward to hearing. Far Cry, Workin Them Angels and the Main Monkey Business will be future Rush concert classics. I could feel the heat from 125ft. on the pyro/fire on One Little Victory. I thought Geddy's voice sounded far better than the R30 and Rio dvd's. The sound was loud however we did not resort to ear plugs. Other bands like Metallica will have your ears ringing the following day! The musicianship of Rush is nothing short of stellar. The improv on YYZ was classic.

A cool thing happened early in the show. A white owl flew over our section and sat up in the rafters for about 5 minutes. Reminded me of the album cover of Fly By Night.

The venue (The Amphitheater at Clark County) was a great facility although the on-site parking is limited at 7,200 cars. The local transit were running shuttles to and from the Clark County Fairgrounds (outstanding service as we were back at our hotel 25 minutes after the show ended). One of the staff told me they seat 10,000 under cover and 5,000 on the back lawn. I believe the show was sold out. The weather was great, scattered clouds and around 80 degrees (we were lucky).

Met some interesting Rush aficionados before the show. One fellow has seen every tour and according to his wife owns every t-shirt. I purchased a tour program and the white Snakes & Arrows tour shirt. It was an expensive weekend but worth the trip. My wife is a very casual Rush fan but she was astounded by the performance.

Maybe on the next Rush tour we can try to get some of the Axiom crowd together and attend a show? That would be fun
Cheers,
Shaun

Here's some links to some interesting reading for all of you Rush fans. I think that you'll really like it.

The blogger is one of my best friends from high school, Beau Dure. He's the one who turned me on to Rush. As the blog says, it was a transitional time for Rush in the mid-80s. We saw Rush on the Power Windows tour in Atlanta.

The post begins here. It is, to borrow the title of Neil's instructional DVD, a work in progress.

I may be biased, but I think Beau is a great writer. Let me (and him!) know what you think ...

Snakes & Arrows House Music Playlist!
For all you Rush fans that have attended a concert or are planning to go, this is the setlist (from rushisaband.com) of the house music compiled by Neil Peart. My wife and I arrived early enough to hear the whole playlist. Interesting selection of music by The Professor!

Tommy Overture - The Who
Mojo Pin - Jeff Buckley
Trains - Porcupine Tree
Solsbury Hill - Peter Gabriel
All Along the Watchtower - Jimi Hendrix
In the Court of the Crimson King - King Crimson
Fear of a Blank Planet - Porcupine Tree
Welcome to the Machine - Pink Floyd
Eria Tarka - The Mars Volta
Roundabout - Yes
Looking for a Place to Happen - The Tragically Hip
Aqualung - Jethro Tull
Last Goodbye - Jeff Buckley
Baba O'Reilly - The Who
Comfortably Numb - Pink Floyd
2112 Overture - String Ensemble
The Temples of Syrinx - Sting Ensemble
I Know What I Like - Genesis
The Prophet - Yes
Grace - Jeff Buckley
18 People Live in Harmony - Dredg
Dazed and Confused - Led Zeppelin
Bobcaygeon - The Tragically Hip
21st Century Schizoid Man - King Crimson
Inertiatic E. S. P. - The Mars Volta
The Sound of Muzak - Porcupine Tree
Echo - Vertical Horizon
Fifty Mission Cap - The Tragically Hip
So Real - Jeff Buckley
Time - Pink Floyd
Good Days, Bad Days - Richard Butler
No Opportunity Necessary - Yes
Anesthetize - Porcupine Tree
Say Hello 2 Heaven - Temple of the Dog
Babe I'm Gonna Leave you - Led Zeppelin
Open Car - Porcupine Tree
Evenflow - Pearl Jam
Hells Bells - AC/DC
Crosstown Traffic - Jimi Hendrix
Kashmir - Led Zeppelin
Thick as a Brick - Jethro Tull
How Many More Times - Led Zeppelin
Us and Them - Pink Floyd

Went to the show last night it was a great show for sure. I wish I could add to what Tom wrote but I think I would embarrass my self after his great write up.

The South park characters was a crazy bit

It's "The Professor's" birthday today! Yes, Mr. Neil Elwood Peart is turning the big double five today. I'll have to pour a glass of The Macallan tonight in his honor.