| Author | Message | ||
| kmh364
Advanced Member Username: kmh364 Post Number: 323 Registered: 9-2003 |
Rush @ PNC Bank Arts Center in Joisey last night. The three Canucks from the great white north are are not looking too old and are musicaly in fine form. The mix was muddy as they were much too loud, but it was a good show anyway. Good mix of Old and new ("2112", "Xanadu", "YYZ", "Roll The Bones", etc, with a couple acoustic numbers plus covers from their new "Album"). Geddy is playing his old beat-up black J-bass with the maple neck and black block markers almost exclusively. Instead of his regular amp rig on-stage he had a matching front-load washer and dryer and a vending machine (laundry detergent???). Man, those Whirlpool's had great low end, LOL! Good light show/video presentation with a Jerry Stiller cameo....lot's of vintage pix that ran the gamut from long dutch boys/velvet bell-bottoms to mullets/parachute pants to no hair/jeans LOL! Alex played his usual 8-million guitars incl. various Gibsons (LP's, 345's, SG's, 1275 doubleneck's, etc.) Fender Tele's and PRS's. He had four custom Marshall "Plexi"-style boutique heads (with blue light-up faces) and eight 4x12 cabs. I couldn't make out the name on 'em. The crowd was the most obnoxious I've seen at this venue despite a lot of people bringing their families (i.e., little kids). I got clocked in the back of the head and got up and got stepped-on countless times due to grown adults who couldn't stay in their seats (you know, the $7 beer/p**s cycle). It rained like hell so the mile walk out to the car was a miserable one. Even the unwashed, unshaven, newbie wanna-be flower children at the Dead show this week were better behaved than this lot. Sigh, I'm getting too old for this s**t, LOL! | ||
| kmh364
Advanced Member Username: kmh364 Post Number: 327 Registered: 9-2003 |
Corrections: The Lifeson amps are Hughes-Kettner's. His one Gibson was an ES-355, not a 345. | ||
| bracheen
Senior Member Username: bracheen Post Number: 545 Registered: 11-2003 |
That must have been the same crowd that was at the Clapton show here a couple of months ago. http://alembic.com/club/messages/449/10734.html?1087652737 I wonder how many buses they used to get up to New Jersey. Sam | ||
| bassman10096
Senior Member Username: bassman10096 Post Number: 550 Registered: 7-2003 |
My observations: Concert crowds have always varied from band to band (my historical perspective). Some more good natured, sloppy dressers, and even brighter and dimmer (intellectually, in the eye of the beholder, of course) than others. As I've grown older I started going to shows again - first because my kid and his friends were too young to drive - more recently because I found I still enjoy live music in big venues. But the audiences are all a bit of a challenge. Sometimes enough to piss me off, sometimes enough to detract from the show. (I also had the privilege of exposing my 15 year old boy to his first near miss at being puked on by a drunk.) I don't believe the crowds are substantially worse than they were in my earlier years, but I am very different than I was then. I didn't WANT the exuberant idiot at last week's Phish show to burn me with his cigarette as he danced windmills next to me. I HATE the inept traffic control that wastes hours of my time getting in and out of the parking lot. These things didn't bother me as much when I was younger, because I was more likely to be among the obnoxious ones and because I guess I hadn't developed the expectations adults have of being treated with minimal consideration and respect. Survival tactics: You can't change the crowd - there's more of them than us. A couple things have helped me: (1) Buy the best seats you can afford. Generally ups the average age of folks around you. (2) Don't put up with any sh-t, but don't be a jerk about it. The dancing guy with the lit cigarette next to me responded really well when I said, "Look man, you're scaring me with that thing. Could you do something about it?" He apologized for distracting me from the music (He really did say this!), and spent the rest of the evening chatting affably about his take on the show (He was actually pretty insightful - not at all as dumb as he looked.). On the other hand, when someone is sitting in your seat, a quick jerk of the thumb upward and "You're in my seat" and a big friendly smile is all anyone gets. Doesn't give the kid a chance to behave inconsiderately, or to feel like the old guy was a jerk so he deserved it. (3) If you know the show has to end by a particular time (i.e. local 12AM outdoor concert curfew) get yourself moving and watch the encore from the door. This has saved me as much as 2 hours getting out and home from outdoor shows at Alpine Valley in WI. So much for the sermonette. None of this is foolproof, but I've found the kids at shows generally better to deal with than I at first expected. Bill | ||
| kmh364
Advanced Member Username: kmh364 Post Number: 330 Registered: 9-2003 |
Sam & Bill: Yeah, I whined in that thread about the obnoxious crowds at the Yes show @ MSG too. I expect a NYC crowd to be more obnoxious than a NJ crowd. I go to several shows @ PNC each season...it's my current favorite venue....usually the crowds are decent. Rush brought out the all the Joisey morons this time. I just don't get it: I try to act respectful of others who are supposedly trying to enjoy the show just like me. I treat them the way I wanna be treated. I guess to have a little respect for others and a little common courtesy or manners is asking too much. When we were all kids at a show, we were all guilty of getting as highed-up as we could and making as big of an ass of ourselves as we could. That was then...this is now. The "big" kids should now have grown-up and grown-out of that type of behaviour...but they haven't. What did Dr. Evil say about "Aging Hipsters"? Very apropos here. | ||
| dannobasso
Member Username: dannobasso Post Number: 86 Registered: 3-2004 |
That is why I don't go to shows that have seating all on one level. But do keep in mind that the older you get the more reserved your behavior when in public. I am sure that we all have said or done things at shows years ago that we would find inappropriate. I also think that there aren't many irresponsible Alembic owners. I didn't go to the show, I bought the DVD from Rio. I just came back from Vegas and Cali. Joisey doesn't have a lock on morons. Check out the Rainbow any night of the week! The guys in my band have a theory about anything below exit 12. Alembic owners the exception of course. Starland Ballroom is a great place to see a show. Represent Jersey man! Oh yeah, the govenor. Never mind! Danno | ||
| bracheen
Senior Member Username: bracheen Post Number: 546 Registered: 11-2003 |
I think Jacksonville just has the small town dressed up like a big city attitude. You are right,Danno, years ago I tried my best to take inappropriate to a whole new level. I just may have to break my no more live shows vow for Bonnie Raitt in October though. Sam | ||
| kmh364
Advanced Member Username: kmh364 Post Number: 332 Registered: 9-2003 |
Starland is cool...I've been there quite a bit this year...I'll be there for Dickey Betts, King's X and others before the year is through. It is close to me and pretty cheap. The price and the fact that it is a general admission club does foster the moron factor. The drunken morons spilling drinks, blowing smoke, and stepping on toes I can do without. I love to see live bands, but I leave a place like that exhausted from standing and being pushed and stomped on (and I'm 6', 215lbs!), especially after a weekday show that sees me up until after midnight when I originally got up @ 4:30am! On top of that, I wake up with a killer "hangover" due not to too much drinking (I usually don't drink or I have one Guiness Draught), but due to migraines from smoke and loss of sleep. | ||
| 811952
Advanced Member Username: 811952 Post Number: 239 Registered: 10-2003 |
Kevin, I'm green with envy over your getting to see and hear good live music so close to home. The pickings are a bit thin where I am, with the nearest venue for acts like Yes, Tull and Rush a good 100 miles away, but I digress... Does anybody know if Geddy has ever laid his hands on an Alembic? Surely he has, yet he seems like the kind of guy who doesn't exactly actively seek out the perfect bass, if you know what I mean. I would think an Alembic's responsiveness would be a nice complement to his finesse. I know the Wal is a fine, fine instrument, but not as clean and transparent as a Series Alembic... John | ||
| bassman10096
Senior Member Username: bassman10096 Post Number: 552 Registered: 7-2003 |
Kids are tough for grownups. That much my teenager and his friends have taught this old guy... As I was thinking about this thread in the car today, an amusing thought occured: I grew up in NJ outside NYC. Does anyone here have any recollections of the all-time worst outdoor concert venue of all time...Roosevelt Stadium in Jersey City? The Stadium was deep in a filthy, burnt out industrial zone, surrounded by stinking tidal marshes. The most depressing experience I had there was Summer '73 at an afternoon Clapton show. Hot, humid, polluted air, sky yellow with sulfur, Clapton at his strung-out worst. The show promoter had arranged for someone to shoot off arial bombs (just a rocket with a very loud bang). Sound was bad, Clapton was even bad (when you could hear him) and very irritable - pissed off at the audience, the band, etc. The rockets kept going off in and out of synch with the show. The guy I went with described the whole experience as "sort of hellish". Finally, after having stopped the show twice due to fights among infield audience and launching a tirade at the pyrotechs to "stop the f--king bombs!", Clapton disappeared from the stage, not to return. The show (if that's what it was) lasted no more than 40 minutes! Afterward, it took nearly 3 hours to exit the parking. My wierdest, grossest concert experience occured at, you guessed it - Roosevelt Stadium - that same summer at a rained-out Dead show. The sky just opened and the rain and lightning didn't slow or stop for hours. The wierdest image I retain to this day was the depraved scene in the men's rooms. 4" of water on the floor, way over capacity due to people seeking shelter from the storm, guys peeing in toilets, sinks, garbage cans and even a plastic garbage bag that was stapled to a wall. Ugh!! Phil actually came out during a brief let up in the rain and played his bass for a couple minutes. The solitary positive to the day was the sound of Phil's Alembic. It just thundered and soared (courtesy of the Wall of Sound)!! It was the first time the thought crossed my mind and those fateful words passed my lips: "God, I gotta get me one of those "Olympics" somehow!". Despite a canopied stage, there was way too much water to operate anything electrical - thus - a rained-out, "rain or shine" show. Nonetheless, most of my contemporaries and I returned to Roosevelt again and again. Kids just have no standards... Anyone else out there have any fonder memories of that hellhole in Jersey City? Bill | ||
| kmh364
Advanced Member Username: kmh364 Post Number: 336 Registered: 9-2003 |
Bill: you can at least relive some of them...ck out dead.net for the Dick's Picks series. There are some old gems from the old Roosevelt stadium shows. Personally, my fave s**thole was John Scher's Capital Theatre in beautiful downtown Passaic. Many good shows (JGB and the Dead in particular) echoed in that place before it was razed. The Haunted House, er, um, I mean the Ritz in NYC was also another dillapidated theatre venue that was cool in it's time. Or...the ubiquitous Birch Hill Nightclub in Old Bridge hosted many a decadent show...it's now a senior's community. | ||
| kmh364
Advanced Member Username: kmh364 Post Number: 337 Registered: 9-2003 |
John: In my estimation, there are not a lot of great things about living in the NY/NJ Metropolitan area, but access to great music is one of them. Personally, I have to put in another 12 years or so and I can retire to either the Western US or Oz where I can persue my lifelong passion of riding my Harley EVERY DAY YEAR-ROUND in perfect comfort and without electric underwear, LOL! Try that in Joisey, LOL! I'll deal with the music scene thing wherever I end-up. I also don't think there is a civilzed place on earth that UPS and/or FedEx doesn't reach, so I can always get an Alembic fix for my GAS, LOL! | ||
| effclef
Advanced Member Username: effclef Post Number: 222 Registered: 1-2004 |
KMH - that band is one of my all time favorites. Moving Pictures was the first LP I ever bought. The Rush in Rio double DVD is nice, and shows the exuberant Brazilian fans...Neil's electronic drum kit breaking down in the rain...and Geddy and Alex rocking like 20 year olds. Seems to me Mica said Geddy used an Epic for one track on his solo MY FAVORITE HEADACHE album. And I'm with you - with his Rics, and now the old Jazz, he turns up the treble and clanks away. Alembics already have all the treble you need so I am surprised he doesn't use one after all these years. Weight could be an issue. Only Geddy knows for sure! EffClef | ||
| kmh364
Advanced Member Username: kmh364 Post Number: 339 Registered: 9-2003 |
Until "Moving Pictures", I didn't care that much for Rush. That "album" turned me on to them and their earlier stuff. I used to cruise in my '78 Trans Am with the t-roofs off and crank that album so the whole world could hear it back in the day! You're right: Only Geddy knows for sure. He played the "other" killer bass player's choice (i.e., Ricky) for many years, but hasn't openly played Alembics. Maybe he just wants simplicity, something Fenders have and most Alembics don't. | ||
| bassman10096
Senior Member Username: bassman10096 Post Number: 553 Registered: 7-2003 |
Kevin: You raise a good point. I was just reliving the "glow" of the venue itself (Jersey is sometimes guilty of some extreme "ambiance"). Despite that, some of the Dead's most memorable performances (i.e. the raindate for the Roos. Stad. show I mentioned)went down at RS and the Capital (THAT's a blast from the past!). Those two venues were the Dead's NYC territory (along with the Beacon in NYC and Nassau). They always put on a great show there. I grew up in north Jersey, but left there nearly 20 years ago. It's hard to find accessible musical diversity in a lot of other places. Living near Alpine Valley and Summerfest in Milwaukee has helped that a lot, Keep truckin'... Bill | ||
| kmh364
Advanced Member Username: kmh364 Post Number: 340 Registered: 9-2003 |
I caught a few Nassau Dead shows in my time (I saw Kiss there for my first real concert ever back in the mid-seventies), but LI has always been a PITA to get to from Joisey (from anywhere actually, LOL!). I much prefer Madison Square Garden. Back in the day you could get toasted right on the train which takes you to and fro no muss, no fuss and no driving. The Beacon is cool...I've seen a lot of shows there, but never the Dead. I wouldn't feel too bad about missing Joisey: where you live may not have the Dead Head vibe of the NE Corridor, but you get those cool outdoor shows, it's cleaner and there are less people. PLUS you got Harleys, Domestic Brews, Cheese, and Brats! Not too shabby. Alright, Joisey's got Budweiser (NOT my fave)...I smell the sickening cooking of the barley/hops mash almost every day as they're right next to EWR airport where I work. | ||
| bassman10096
Senior Member Username: bassman10096 Post Number: 557 Registered: 7-2003 |
Nassau is still a pain to get to from the NJ side. I drove out from Nyack, NY to see Phish there last November(?). Not easy. Actually, the Chicago Deadheads are every bit as serious about their obsession as the NJ/NY/Philly folks. Just a bit mellower. Two years ago, they staged the Terrapin Station reunion shows at Alpine Valley. The hysteria and momentousness was all there. I have to admit, the midwest has some advantages when you conclude east coast living is putting on too much milage... However, the yin and yang is always working. My 17 year old guitarist son is enchanted with New York City. His first choices for college are NYU and Columbia and he desperately wants to get involved in the music scene in the Village. Having grown up in Florida, Ohio and Wisconsin, he finds NYC amazing and exciting. I guess it makes sense. Bill | ||
| kmh364
Advanced Member Username: kmh364 Post Number: 354 Registered: 9-2003 |
The grass is always greener. Having lived in the NY Metro area my whole life, and having worked in NYC at the World Trade Center for eight years, I could actually care less if I ever set foot in NYC again. The city is just not for me. You always want what you don't have I suppose. (Message edited by kmh364 on August 18, 2004) | ||
| kmh364
Advanced Member Username: kmh364 Post Number: 361 Registered: 9-2003 |
Bill: Send your boy to the city like he wants for a little vacation. He'll either fall in love with it, or it'll kill his wanderlust for sure, LOL! NYC tends to polarize individuals: you either love it or hate it. I tend to be in the latter group (sorry NYC denizens and afficianados..just my $0.02). Believe you me, Joisey is no "Garden of Eden" either. I have a lifetime job that's nearly impossible to duplicate elsewhere, so I'm here for a while until I can pull the magic golden plug (i.e., retirement). I hope I can make it that long, LOL! Each year it gets tougher and tougher to stay here. | ||
| bassman10096
Senior Member Username: bassman10096 Post Number: 560 Registered: 7-2003 |
Guys: Thats why I LEFT the NY metro area. I spent 30 some odd years there. The kid's a different story, though. He has spent a few vacations there and (so far) likes it a lot. My bigger concern is that, after the new and exciting wears off, NYC can become pretty tiresome. Unfortunately, that takes a little time...I guess the good news is that he'd only be signed on for a 4 year college stint. Fortunately, his second choice is now Chicago. Only 90 miles from home, much saner city, etc. Guess what I'm rooting for?? BTW, my son and I were in Boston last week and sat through an info session at Berklee. It sounded cool. My son was very level-headed and has elected to take a music minor somewhere else rather than go to music school. On the other hand, I didn't want to LEAVE! Anyone have any experience with Berklee's seminar programs?? Bill | ||
| kmh364
Advanced Member Username: kmh364 Post Number: 365 Registered: 9-2003 |
I haven't done them, but I'm on their e-mail list. Personally, I'm dying to study with Jack and Jorma at the Fur Piece ranch. Ultimately, I wanna do the Pick n' Putt weekend: four days of playing with Jack, Jorma and other special guests and putting around the Appalachians on my Harley with those guys. You can also look into GIT/BIT/MIT in Cali. It seems that any hotshot musician that didn't graduate Berklee all went to Musician's Institute. | ||
| bassman10096
Senior Member Username: bassman10096 Post Number: 561 Registered: 7-2003 |
I've been looking longingly at Fur Peace, too. Thanks for the other suggestions. | ||
| kmh364
Advanced Member Username: kmh364 Post Number: 377 Registered: 9-2003 |
Remember; "If you don't know Jorma, you don't know JACK!", LOL! They sell that as a shirt @ furpeaceranch.com. (Message edited by kmh364 on August 20, 2004) | ||
| kmh364
Advanced Member Username: kmh364 Post Number: 378 Registered: 9-2003 |
I know this is a "Rush" thread, but since we've touched on the Dead, NYC, Philosophy, the price of milk/ducks/tea in China, etc., let me throw this into the mix: HOT F****N TUNA RULES! LOL! | ||
| dadabass2001
Advanced Member Username: dadabass2001 Post Number: 213 Registered: 6-2002 |
I found (!?!?) Jorma's "Blue Country Heart" CD at Best Buy 2 months ago(gasp!). Jorma playing old country and mountain tunes with a bunch of Nashville cats (Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, Byron House,and Bela Fleck). Very cool! I also got a RCA "Platinum Gold Collection" of Hot Tuna (14 cuts digitally remastered). And my prize find... the remastered re-release of the original acoustic "Hot Tuna" from New Orleans House with 5 additional unreleased tracks from the same date. How much fine fingerpicking and bass ESP can you stand at once?  Mike | ||
| kmh364
Advanced Member Username: kmh364 Post Number: 380 Registered: 9-2003 |
It's all about Jorma/Jack! Isn't that so, LOL! They both still amaze me...Jorma is a kick-ass picker (and no slouch on Electric) and Jack solos while keeping the rythymn pumpin'! | ||
| alembic76407
Advanced Member Username: alembic76407 Post Number: 329 Registered: 5-2002 |
speaking of Hot Tuna, I did sound for Papa John Creach back in the late 70s, he was a class act, after the show he and his wife came out to the stage with a big ham, cheese and fruit plate for us (the sound crew) and the light crew, then hung around for awhile, just a very nice man and a pleasure to work with!!! David T | ||
| kmh364
Advanced Member Username: kmh364 Post Number: 387 Registered: 9-2003 |
Ah, Papa John! The Airplane and Tuna loved that guy, and he was a cool addition to the band. Who at that time was using a cool, elderly (at least compared to the rest of the band) black blues fiddle player in a white-bread Acid Rock band context? I think those guys broke a lot of barriers down in their time, and this was certainly one of them. That music was light-years ahead of anybody else at that time in history, and Popa John certainly did his share to cement their greatness in my mind. | ||
| kmh364
Advanced Member Username: kmh364 Post Number: 390 Registered: 9-2003 |
Hey Bill: If you're still tuned in to this same Bat Channell, ck out Dead.net for the latest Dick's Pick (#32?). It's from Alpine Valley, WI and it's a Brent Mydland-era show (ca. '82). Brent was very underrated, but he did a hell of a job replacing both Keith and Donna Godchaux (no easy feat). Dick Latvalla may be not amongst the living anymore, but his sprit as Dead Archivist lives on with these live releases which generally tend to be decent (warts and all....we are talking about the Dead here, LOL!). | ||
| rogertvr
Advanced Member Username: rogertvr Post Number: 254 Registered: 1-2003 |
I went to see Rush last night at the NEC in Birmingham. They were fantastic! It's been a 12 year wait for us here in the UK. The band were full of energy - I'm not going to write a concert report, for those of you who are interested, I'm sure that you will find them elsewhere on the internet. My main reason for posting here is Geddy Lee's bass sound. I used to love his 4001 sound and still do. I also enjoyed the Steinberger sound he had. It all went downhill with the Wal basses (hate those things - foul) and the Jazz he's using now is horrible. Either the sound man last night didn't like bass players or that Jazz is well past its best. It sounds like it's got next to no decent attack on it and not much sustain either. A very muddy bass sound, 80% lost in the mix, and does no justice to an enormously talented guy whom we all know can play and who plays extremely well. The high point of the concert? The general atmosphere and watching a band who are undoubtedly still on top of their form. The low point? Watching a bass player who you've respected for the last nigh-on 30 years who you can't really hear....... Rog | ||
| bigredbass
Advanced Member Username: bigredbass Post Number: 282 Registered: 9-2002 |
While RUSH is not exactly my cup of tea, I have huge respect for Geddy Lee. It's tough enough playing bass, hearing guys like Stanley, Vic Wooten, et al, but then Geddy plays the amazingly contrapuntal lines AND kicks Moog pedals AND sings at the same time . . . geez, I should just get a Fender Mustang and stay in my room . . . . J o e y | ||
| palembic
Senior Member Username: palembic Post Number: 1560 Registered: 9-2002 |
Brother Joey, I think Brother Paul the Good one has a Fender Mustang lingering on somewhere. Now ...who has a room?????? Paul TBO | ||
| davehouck
Senior Member Username: davehouck Post Number: 845 Registered: 5-2002 |
I have a question. When a big name band, like Rush for instance, plays at a venue and the venue supplies the sound system, does the band get to use their own soundman? | ||
| trekster
New Username: trekster Post Number: 8 Registered: 7-2004 |
RogerVT -- I generally agree with your opinions, but keep in mind some of the best tone that Geddy had was during the Moving Pictures album..most people think he's playing the Ric, but in reality he's playing the Jazz (especially for Tom Sawyer and Limelight). I'm not sure that the blame lies in the Jazz itself, but the amp chain as well -- these days Ged does the "sansamp" chain, and doesn't even have any speakers on stage anymore. I personally loved the Wal sound, but I think that has to do more with my love for the "orchesteral" period Rush went through from about Power Windows to Roll the Bones -- I know many Rush fans got thier noses bent (oh, bad pun) during that period. --T | ||
| kmh364
Senior Member Username: kmh364 Post Number: 485 Registered: 9-2003 |
By going the "DI" route, Geddy has put his tone in the hands of the soundman. IMHO, the mix is horrible: too loud, too muddy. Rush is musically in fine form, but the sound production kills any semblance of tone. I guess that's what the multitude of fans out there wants: to have their ears bleed from the high SPL. | ||
| kenbass4
Intermediate Member Username: kenbass4 Post Number: 115 Registered: 10-2003 |
Actually, Trekster, you're half right. He played the Jazz on Limelight, but the Ric on Tom Sawyer while recording. The videos for those songs were filmed during the recording sessions. And I actually liked the Wal period sound as well... All IMHO, of course... Ken TEO | ||
| jacko
Junior Username: jacko Post Number: 16 Registered: 10-2002 |
I'll be seeing them in Glasgow tonight. Can't wait. Will let you know how it sounded tomorrow. graeme | ||
| trekster
New Username: trekster Post Number: 9 Registered: 7-2004 |
Hey Kenbass, I know the videos you are talking about -- however, I was basing my comment on what Ged has said in previous interviews. He's done that "recorded it with one bass, video'd it with another" several times -- Mystic Rhythms wasn't the Steinberger, and Show don't Tell wasn't the Jazz. Both were the Wal in the recording studio. I'll have to dig up the interview somewhere for quoting purposes. ;) --T | ||
| kenbass4
Intermediate Member Username: kenbass4 Post Number: 116 Registered: 10-2003 |
It may have even been BOTH on some of the songs on MP (Geddy typically has 3 bass tracks/song, each with different tone settings/processing). Yeah, with most of their videos, there definately posed for imagery, but those two videos from MP were way too unflattering (:-) ) visually to be posed...although his final track on Tom Sawyer may have been re-tracked with the Jazz. I think the only album (CD) that was tracked with the Steinberger was Grace Under Pressure, since he started using the Wal at Power Windows. He used the Steinberger on stage on that tour, though. (probably due to weight and clearance issues with his keyboard rig) Too bad he can't be convinced to use an Alembic, but I think his Fender deal probably prohibits that. Have a blast at the show tonight, Graeme. They're a lot of fun live. Ken TEO | ||
| jacko
Junior Username: jacko Post Number: 19 Registered: 10-2002 |
Well that's another Rush gig over with, hope I don't have to wait another 12 years to see them again. Taken as a whole, the show was absolutely fantastic but individual aspects could have been better. For starters, they were way too loud (and this isn't just an old curmudgeon talking). In the mix, only the vocals and alex' solos came through clearly, Geddy's bass sound was very muddy, probably as a result of going through the sansamp although I've never found fenders to be the clearest basses - probably why i've got ricky electrics on my precision. The hall at Glasgows SECC is pretty poor for acoustics anyway as it's just a vast empty space - the Yes sound in June wasn't much better. I was sitting right at the back centre stage so probably had the best sound in the hall and also, paradoxically the best view. The light show was superb and from my seat (standing al night though) I had a good view of the mixing desk/lighting boeard. Those guys have their work cut out for them! the lighting guys almost needed to be maestro keyboard player in their own right as very little of the show was computerised - all the spots, lasers etc being switched on and off manually. There was a good balance between close up shots of the band and animated graphics on the back screen which incidentally was very clever, having a main central screen and then several vertical panels off to the sides which seemed to be projected seperately. As a crowd, Glasgow is always brilliant, almost rivalling the Rio crowd for enthusiasm although it didn't detract from the music. The only gripes were the number of people smoking - in a non-smoking auditorium! and the number of people phoning each other! to find out the football scores - celtic were playing barcelona apparently. From my vantage point the funniest thing was instead of loads of zippos being held aloft, it was mobile phones taking pictures glowing in the dark. Geddy played 3 Jazz basses, the black one, a sunburst and a bright red one which I suspect was probably active as he got the best tone for that but only used it on one song. This post is now far too long but as I said the show was amazing. | ||
| jacko
Junior Username: jacko Post Number: 20 Registered: 10-2002 |
oops, forgot to say, during alex' solo during 2112, neil peart was almost seen smiling!!!! |
