Neil Peart -- The Latest News

The Phoenix Rush photos just keep coming! Randy Johnson, baseball pitching legend and photographer, took this great photo of Neil Peart during soundcheck -- and many others of the band.

Follow Randy on Twitter and go to his site to see Rush and other cool photos (motorsports, Africa, concerts, KISS, U2, USO, and more).

Click to see the entire gallery (including photos from past tours).

Thanks, Randy, for sharing these photos!

Labels: Clockwork Angels tour 2012, photo of the night, Randy Johnson

I wasn't originally planning on going to the Clockwork Angels show in Phoenix, AZ. I'd just seen the band in Seattle a week or so before, and I was looking forward to a quiet, four-day Thanksgiving weekend.

But then the ticket angels smiled upon me.

This, of course, meant I needed to make last-minute travel arrangements during one of the busiest travel weeks of the year. I'd be flying in on Saturday, staying with my friend Dan and his family, and flying out on Monday.

But it's always amazing how much you can pack into two days -- including one of the best Rush shows I've ever seen.

Here are some pictures I took before and during the show:

Notes from the show

• Rush was filming this show for their next DVD/Blu-ray release
• The cameras were all miniaturized and remote (except for one cameraman I saw on the floor). You wouldn't have known they were filming.
• Rush put on one of the most energetic, passionate shows I've seen from them in my years of being a fan. The only other one I've seen at this level was the final show of the "Time Machine" tour at the Gorge in 2011 (where Geddy dropped an F-bomb at the end).
• Dan and I had sixth row tickets, close to center. We were right next to Phil Michelson's caddy, Jim "Bones" MacKay. Dan (the best golfer I know) was ecstatic to shake Bones's hand before the show started.
• Many parents brought their children with them to the show (as I did with my two sons in Seattle). It was amazing to see those kids singing along with the older hits -- as well as the Clockwork Angels songs.

Photos:

Rush in Phoenix - AndyO's photos

Rush in Phoenix - Dan's photos

Here are some great photos that Dan took of Neil, Geddy, and Alex:

Labels: Clockwork Angels tour 2012

I was at this one, and it was one of the best Rush performances I've seen. I also took a bunch of photos, which I'll be posting soon.

Only 3 more shows left!

Labels: Clockwork Angels tour 2012, photo of the night

Two great photos from San Diego:

Stick flying...

Orchestra playing...

Labels: Clockwork Angels tour 2012, photo of the night

Labels: Clockwork Angels tour 2012, photo of the night

All three members of Rush appeared today at an invite-only event for Guitar Center RockWalk in Hollywood. They pressed their hands into into concrete, and Alex Lifeson gave a short acceptance speech.

Read more at:

Power Windows

Rushisaband

Cygnus-X1.net

It's interesting to compare the list of RockWalk inductees to the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame. I think you'll find this list is much closer to who should be in any legit Rock Hall. (Rush hasn't been added to the list as of this writing).

Labels: RockWalk

Labels: Clockwork Angels tour 2012, photo of the night

Today, in LA, Rush will be inducted into Guitar Center's RockWalk. Details below.

Labels: awards, RockWalk

Labels: Clockwork Angels tour 2012, photo of the night

Neil Peart's drum tech, Lorne "Gump" Wheaton, has re-launched his website, and it's chock-full of behind-the-scenes goodies.

Go to Gump's new website

Labels: drums, Lorne Wheaton

Labels: Clockwork Angels tour 2012, photo of the night

Neil Peart has posted a new story to his website. You can read it here:

Neil Peart.net: Witness to the Fall

In this update, Neil writes about seeing his first drum teacher, Don George, whom he hadn't seen in 45 years!

In recent years Don and I had been in touch by mail and email, and he sent me videos of his current teaching ideas and methods. I was pleased to see that he was obviously still a gifted and dedicated teacher. For his part, when talking about this long-ago student, Don was once quoted, "Neil didn't have another teacher for thirty years, so I must have done something right."

And he did -- Don gave me a strong enough direction toward what I needed to know that I could follow it through those decades. Most of all, he gave me the encouragement that I could be a drummer, if I worked at it. Essentially, Don kept me climbing that mountain for three decades, until I needed Freddie Gruber and Peter Erskine to guide me to higher elevations.

Labels: neilpeart.net, News updates, written by NEP

It's been 20 long years since Rush rocked Key Arena (formally Seattle Center Coliseum). As one of the thousands in attendance, I can say it was a triumphant return.

Congrats to my son, Drew, for seeing his first Rush show!

Labels: Clockwork Angels tour 2012, photo of the night

Rush completed the second leg of their Clockwork Angels tour after 13 shows. The last show of the leg was in Tampa, FL. They'll pick up the tour again in Seattle, WA, on November 13 -- which means I'll finally get to see a show!

There are l0 more shows left in the 2012 Clockwork Angels tour.

Photos of the Night

John Arrowsmith continues to take great photos every night. I've been posting my favorite "photos of the night" after each show. Here are a few of my favorites from the second leg:

Buffalo, NY - Oct 26, 2012

Newark, NJ - Oct 20, 2012

Montreal, QC - Oct 18, 2012

Twitter updates from the road

Michael, Neil, and Brutus have continued to tweet from the road from the "West Coast Beemer Boyz" Twitter account. If you've missed these, or don't use Twitter, here are some of my favorite photos. (Click the photo to go to the Twitter photo.)

Fan photos on Twitter

I've also really enjoyed all the fan photos and updates on Twitter. I captured what this looked like for Toronto in this update.

@rushinconcert has been tweeting and retweeting a lot of great photos.

Here are some others that you might like:

Thanks to Michael and all the folks on Twitter for posting the updates and photos.

Labels: Clockwork Angels tour 2012

Posting this one late, but better late than never!

Labels: Clockwork Angels, photo of the night

Cleveland: Oct 28

Charlotte: Oct 30

Atlanta: Nov 1

Labels: photo of the night