Neil Peart News
by AndyO
A high-quality version of "I Still Love You Man" is now available at "Funny or Die.
Thanks to Rushisaband.com and PowerWindows for the head's up.
Labels: Time Machine tour, videos
Rush.com just confirmed 2011 Time Machine tour dates for Europe, as well as additional North America tour dates between March and July, 2011 -- primarily where Rush didn't play during 2010.
Here's the official announcement:
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TIME MACHINE TOUR 2011
Rush has confirmed they will be extending the Time Machine Tour and coming to Europe this spring.
The following dates are confirmed, including Rush performing in Ireland for the first time ever.
More additional European announcements to come.
Thursday, May 12th Dublin O2
Saturday, May 14th Glasgow SECC
Monday, May 16th Sheffield Motorpoint Arena
Thursday, May 19th Manchester MEN Arena
Saturday, May 21st Newcastle Metro Radio Arena
Sunday, May 22nd Birmingham LG Arena
Wednesday, May 25th London O2
Rush.com members will be receiving a pre-sale notification on Monday, November 22nd that begins on Tuesday, November 23rd.
Tickets for the Time Machine Tour in Ireland & UK general on sale will commence at 9AM GMT on Friday, November 26th, 2010. Ticket links and details will be posted shortly.
Additional European dates will be announced shortly!
Also confirmed today, the Time Machine tour will return to North America for a selection of dates between March and July, primarily with Rush performing in markets not played on the previous tour run this summer.
Labels: Time Machine tour
Updated: The image of the 33 miners in Santiago was used during "Stick it Out." Thanks, SulfoCromico!
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Here are all the "photos of the night" for the South American leg of the tour. Thanks to John Arrowsmith for taking these photos and sharing them. Click an image to go to the collection of those photos on John's website.
Sao Paulo
Rio
Santiago
Two from Santiago. The first shows a woman with tears of happiness (probably one of the best images from the entire tour). The second shows that Rush added a graphic of the 33 miners rescued in Chile to the screen during "Stick it Out."
Buenos Aires
Labels: photo of the night, pictures, Time Machine tour
Every Rush tour, I try to see a show with my friend Dan Martin in Phoenix. For this tour, the closest the band would get to Phoenix was Las Vegas. So we bought VIP tickets (I figured if we were traveling all that way, we might as well have great tickets).
This show came only a week after my first "Time Machine" show in Auburn, WA, which was one of the best Rush shows I'd ever seen. But I was curious if that had been a magic show -- or if the band was playing like this every night.
Seeing them in Las Vegas would help answer this question.
Flying to Phoenix
On Thursday, I flew down to Phoenix and Dan picked me up at the airport. Since the show was on Saturday, this gave us time to catch up. I got to visit with his wife Kim, his kids, and even do a little swimming. (I also had my face melted by the 110-115-degree heat.)
One funny anecdote: Alaska Airlines sent my luggage to Alaska instead of Phoenix. So we had to wait around at Dan and Kim's house on Friday for my luggage to be delivered. When it arrived, it had the following tag attached:
The road to Vegas
On Saturday, Dan woke me up at 5:00 a.m. and we headed out under a pastel dawn sky. (Dan wanted to wake me up at 4:30, but I told him that I didn't function very well before 5:00.)
Having been friends since third grade, Dan and I had taken many trips together (including my first Rush concert in Tacoma, WA, in 1984). In addition to sharing a love of Rush and many other rock bands, we enjoyed talking about movies, technology, books, computer games, and many other subjects. This trip was no exception, except we ended up talking about our kids as much as the other subjects.
As we drove closer to the Nevada border, the scenery changed from flat desert to dramatic mountains and rock formations.
We stopped at Hoover Dam, which I'd never seen before. Hoover dam is part of Highway 93 between Phoenix and Las Vegas. There were traffic jams before 9/11, but now with the security checks, the jams extended for miles on bad days. But we were crossing early in the morning (one of the reasons Dan wanted to leave early).
To the south, we saw the new bypass bridge that will be diverting cars around the dam in early November, 2010.
Checking into New York, New York
Dan and I arrived in Vegas around 12:30 p.m. and went directly to the hotel. We used the time before our room was available to eat lunch, gamble, and people watch. (Dan said, referring to our gambling luck, "It would be better to just give the hotel our money upon arrival to save time.")
This was the third Rush concert I'd seen in Las Vegas -- the last two being the Test for Echo tour in 1986 (at Thomas and Mack Center) and R30 in 2004 (at the MGM Grand). Once again, we'd be seeing Rush at the MGM Grand.
Once our room was available, we enjoyed spectacular views of the New York, New York, rollercoaster from our window. After that, we just relaxed -- because we knew it would be a long night of standing -- and we had gotten up damn early. (Once Dan tuned into golf on TV, I started to feel sleepy.)
Showtime
Dan and I walked across the sky bridge between New York, New York, and the MGM Grand. Like the previous show, there was a current of people flowing to the arena -- and most of them wore Rush t-shirts. This current would sweep us past thousands of slot machines, the MGM lion habitat (about a month before a lion attacked a trainer), stores, restaurants, and finally the Box Office.
For some reason, we had to pick up our VIP tickets at the Box Office (as opposed to getting them in the mail). As we waited there with the other Rush fans, a parade of bikini-wearing young women walked by us (coming from the pool, I guess) -- as if it was normal to be walking in a "mall" with a bikini. It was entertaining to say the least.
Once we were inside the arena, we were met by the tuxedo-wearing MGM ushers. These are professional ushers -- not the temp worker security people you see at other venues. At the last show, I watched them take out concertgoers who would have gotten away with murder at any other venue.
After we ate some food, we peered into the arena. A fog hung over the dimly-lit space that made everything look blurry from a distance. Dan and I walked down to our seats.
As many fans know, these seats were not cheap. Fortunately, I wasn't disappointed. Talk about a perfect sightline:
While we still had an hour before the show, time passed quickly. I pointed out Rush crew members to Dan, including manager Ray Daniels, keyboard tech Jack Secret (he seemed to have quite a few friends in the crowd), and lightning director Howard Ungerleider. We talked to the usher in our section, who told us Lady Gaga had performed at the MGM the night before (it was a mad house).
Set 1
The lights went out, the crowd exploded with energy, and the intro film started up. Unlike the show I'd seen a week before, this was indoors -- so there was almost total darkness, unlike the pre-twilight of an amphitheater show. Dan loved the opening film. But what he loved more was that the owner of the seat to his left (which was on the aisle) hadn't shown up. This left us with a lot more room to spread out.
The band ripped through their set with the same intensity I'd seen in Auburn. Neil, in particular, was playing with the same controlled fire, and, if anything, seemed even more intense. The other thing I noticed was the sound was much better than it had been at my previous show. I could hear everything perfectly and didn't need earplugs.
There were a few downsides to being on an aisle. First, we watched the battle between the crowd and the ushers. Obviously many of these people didn't know they were dealing with professionals who weren't letting them pass without a ticket for the front section.
Second, there was the constant distraction of people making beer runs (funny how no one from our VIP section was making beer runs). We saw the same thing over and over (like a bad joke): A guy walks down the stairs with two beers; has to put his beer down to get his ticket; can't find his ticket; has to go find his girlfriend who happens to be rocking out near the front row.
Then there was the woman who wanted backstage. She got so violent, the police had to be called in.
There was one guy in the seats above us that Dan pointed out who practically made my night: As he was dancing around, he seemed to be miming the lyrical meaning of each song with hand gestures and body movement. It reminded me of something I'd seen at my only Grateful Dead concert. While I thought it was mostly entertaining to see someone displaying this type of musical interpretation, there was also something kind of pure about it.
Finally, the guy who owned the seat next to Dan showed up on the last song of the set. Dan and I were both wondering how someone who paid that much to see a show could arrive that late. I'm sure he had a good reason.
Through it all, the band played as well or better than the first set I'd seen in Auburn.
Set 2
As I watched Rush play all of Moving Pictures again, I realized that much of the magic from this tour was coming from the power of those songs. I think listening to those songs in order brings back strong memories for hardcore fans -- as well as people who just love that album. There's a feedback loop between band and crowd that grew in intensity with each song.
After it was all over, Dan turned to me and said, "That was incredible!"
Once Neil started his solo, I noticed a more improvisational flair than at the other show. It didn't hurt that we had a perfect view. I did see him throw in the double-hand crossover, which I hadn't seen in Auburn, which made me smile.
When Alex played his guitar solo, I took the opportunity to sit down for a moment (as many of the people did around us), and prepare for the final few songs and the encore. I was starting to feel my 5:00 a.m. wake-up time in my legs.
When the band got to their last song, "Working Man," I was more blown away than usual with Alex Lifeson's guitar solo. Alex isn't usually flashy, so when he starts shredding on an old song like this it becomes clear how underrated this guy really is. (And, hearing the Reggae version of "Working Man" again, I have to say it was growing on me even more.)
When the band was done, and the "I Still Love You, Man," outro completed, Dan said that he still hadn't seen that movie. I knew that we'd need to rent it before I flew back to Seattle (which we did).
As we walked out of the arena, I heard the polka version of "Closer to Heart," on the PA, which was starting to grow on me, too. I now had my answer about whether I had seen a magic show in Auburn or if the band was playing like this every night.
Dan agreed it was probably the best Rush show he'd ever seen.
Labels: concert review, Time Machine tour
Well, here it is: the last "Photo of the Night" from the Rush North American tour.
Next up: South America.
Labels: photo of the night, pictures, Time Machine tour
Having just watched the complete, unedited CNN interview with Rush (thanks, Rushisaband), I realized this video completes a modern picture of the band, along with Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage and Classic Albums: 2112 and Moving Pictures.
The CNN interview, with John Roberts, has the missing piece: Neil Peart sitting with his two bandmates, answering questions about the band and life. (I can't remember the last time I saw all three members interviewed at the same time.) In many ways, this is a coda to Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage, with the band reflecting on both their career and the reaction to the documentary.
While Geddy, Alex, and Neil might have theories about why they've continued rocking for this long, it's pretty clear that Rush is an anomaly in the music industry. It's a fascinating interview.
For all I know there might be more interviews coming like this, but if you haven't already I suggest watching these three videos together.
Netflix:
Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage
Classic Albums: 2112 and Moving Pictures (not available yet but you can save to your queue)
Labels: interview, Time Machine tour
Update: 10/3/10
I'm adding this great shot of Neil, as I don't think I've seen one quite like this yet from this tour:
Photos by John Arrowsmith
Labels: photo of the night, pictures, Time Machine tour
Pro-mark has posted some great pictures of Neil's kit from the Houston, TX, show.
Check out the detail on this cymbal stand!
Labels: pictures, Pro-Mark, Time Machine tour
There are just too many great photos from the Houston show, so I couldn't pick just one!
All photos taken by John Arrowsmith.
First, there's this great one of the ominous thunderhead hanging over the amphitheater. Also, looking at this picture you can definitely see that this show is "sold out."
While I've picked this angle before, there's something about seeing the first picture and then what it looks like from Neil's seat that makes for a nice comparison.
Finally, here's a really great shot of Neil beating his tom-toms. Interesting note for drummers: Check out the dents along the top half of the sticks. The first time I held a stick that Neil had used, I noticed this and didn't understand why he would dent them up like that (cymbals tend to cut into the wood). Then I looked back in interviews and read how Neil said he was actually doing rim shots on his toms because of the way it "de-tuned" the drum and gave it a "throaty" sound.
Labels: photo of the night, pictures, Time Machine tour
Kevin J. Anderson, the prolific writer and friend of Neil Peart, wrote about his recent visit with Neil in Colorado. It starts like this:
Two great Rush concerts in one week and summiting a 14,264-ft peak; it’s tough to decide which part I enjoyed most. (On the other hand, I don’t have to decide.)
Via Rushisaband.
Labels: Kevin J. Anderson, Time Machine tour
For the picture in Tulsa, OK, there's an interesting one of the electronic kit and, uh, Neil's back. Note how the headphone cord is pinned to his shirt so it stays along the center of his back. For a drummer, one of the most annoying things is when the cord moves over your shoulder and gets tangled in your sticks.
Labels: photo of the night, pictures, Time Machine tour
Here's the latest information on the shows in Sao Paulo, Rio, Buenos Aires, and Santiago. There's also a Rush app now available for Android phones.
RUSH Time Machine Tour Dates SUR AMERICA - The Rush App For Android Phones
Labels: Apps, South America, Time Machine tour
Photo by John Arrowsmith. See the entire set here.
Labels: photo of the night, pictures, Time Machine tour
Photo by John Arrowsmith. See the entire set here.
Labels: photo of the night, pictures, Time Machine tour
This review is from the White River Amphitheatre show in Auburn, WA, that happened on 8/7/10. It's taken me a while to write this, but here it is.
The short review: This was one of the best Rush shows I've ever attended. The band played at a level I'd never seen before; the stage design was imaginative and fun; the crowd was electric. What more could someone want at a Rush concert. Or any concert?
Pre-show: 5:05 p.m
I stood in the rain outside White River Amphitheatre with my 10-year-old son, Cameron, listening to the sound check. I hadn't heard Rush do a sound check since the Roll the Bones tour in Vancouver, B.C. (Gone are the days when they had jam sessions during sound check. Here's one that Billy Sheehan posted of a jam he had with Alex and Neil [RealPlayer file]).
"Why does it sound so strange?" Cameron asked, referring to the booming sound echoing from the amphitheater.
"Because we're listening to it out here instead of inside," I said.
First, they played "Faithless," from Snakes & Arrows. Then came the title track from Presto, in its entirety. Finally, "The Spirit of Radio," from Permanent Waves, which would be the first song of the night. I heard a little bit of "Subdivisions" keyboard from Signals, and they were done.
Cameron and I gathered my wife Brenda and brother Erik from of the car and headed into the VIP entrance, the rain still beating down on us.
Living in VIP land
The VIP area at White River is a cordoned off section with a bar and free food (this is not the same thing as the VIP Rush package from Live Nation). We'd scored these tickets from Aaron, Erik's old roommate, and the VIP service came with them (thanks Aaron!). For us, this meant lounging around on a leather couch, eating BBQ sandwiches, chips, pretzels, and drinks.
After an hour, we left the VIP area and headed to the mile-long line in front of the merch tent. Fortunately the rain had abated. I bought a new blue Time Machine shirt, and Cameron got a Moving Pictures shirt.
Time Machine: Set 1
Once we got to our seats, I said hello to all my friends, Steve, Monica, Dave and Keith from B.C., Paul, his son Nich, and Jen. It was nice to catch up, but there's never enough time before a Rush show.
Here's the view from our seats before the show:
Here's a Photosynth that a friend of mine did from seats very close to ours, where you can see the entire amphitheater before showtime.
The show started with the intro film, which I'd seen on the Internet -- but it was even funnier with the anticipation of the show. And then Rush blasted into "The Spirit of Radio." A wave of energy released from the crowd, more intense than just about any Rush show I'd attended .
Our seats were dead center in section 103, row two, which had its advantages and disadvantages. First, these were great seats (thanks again, Aaron!) -- some of the best I've had at a show, and they worked well for Cameron, since he only had one row in front of him. However, because we were in front of an aisle, it was a little distracting to see a constant stream of people flowing by.
As Rush played through their set, which I'd read beforehand but hadn't memorized, I realized how different this show was from the previous years:
By the time the band got to "Marathon," I started to notice a confidence in Neil's playing that was fresh and exciting -- even a little dangerous.
As most fans of Neil's know, his style and technique is always changing. When he joined Rush, his playing also had an adventurous quality, like Keith Moon, but more controlled. But as he and Rush developed over the years, his playing became more and more composed and confident. Since studying with Freddy Gruber before 1996's Test for Echo, I've heard a more improvisational style of playing creeping into Neil's performances.
On this particular night, Neil seemed relaxed behind the kit, with new drum patterns emerging where another fill or beat once had been. I knew it wasn't just me: my brother and I kept sharing looks of disbelief. These new elements had the effect of lifting a song's intensity, and I think this is one of the reasons "Marathon" sounded so good.
Rush ended the first set with "Subdivisions," which felt as smooth and powerful as ever. Geddy made the comment that Rush were "no longer spring chickens" and needed a rest, and it was intermission. I was surprised by how fast the first set had flown by.
Time Machine: Set 2
As the intermission came to an end, you could feel it in the air: the anticipation of hearing Rush's1981 breakthrough album, Moving Pictures. As many fans have pointed out since Rush returned to playing live 2002, they've played every song off Moving Pictures except "The Camera Eye." They've also played most of the songs off Permanent Waves, with the exception of "Jacob's Ladder" and "Different Strings." I was curious and excited to hear the original sequence of the the songs on Moving Pictures. After all, this album was from an era when song sequencing was an art form -- each song building on the last, like the stories in a book of short stories.
After the hilarious intro film, Rush tore through the songs of Moving Pictures as if they were as excited to play them as we were to hear them. They all sounded great, but for me the real gem I was waiting for was "The Camera Eye." I wasn't disappointed. In particular, I enjoyed the visuals, showing scenes of New York and London -- "Grim faced and forbidding, their faces closed tight" vs. "Wide-angled watcher of life's ancient tales."
Once again I noticed how Neil changed fills or beats throughout "The Camera Eye." One of the most interesting was the way he expanded the "double-ride" beat bridging the two parts of the song (he usually goes into a more conventional Rock beat about halfway through). They also cut some of the more repetitive sequences.
In short, the performance of Moving Pictures exceeded my expectations. I wondered if they could play it with this level of intensity every night (I knew I'd soon get a chance in Las Vegas to compare).
The new song "Caravan" also sounded great live, with a jam session in the bridge reminiscent of "Free Will." The visuals on the screen were also jaw dropping -- a perfect backdrop for the music.
Drum Solo
After reading Neil's August, 2010, blog entry, I was curious how he would approach his solo. In his section about traveling: "I: The Art of Improvisation," he wrote:
This tour I have deliberately designed my drum solo to be more improvisational than ever before, and that has led me into some "adventures" that have their analogues to the art of traveling…
My solo is built on three rhythmic foundations, which I think of as "The Steampunk Waltz" (freeform melodies and rhythms in 3/4 time), "The Steampunk Stomp" (polyrhythms in 4/4 with upbeats against downbeats), and "The Steampunk Mambo" (a Latin ostinato, or repeating rhythm--regular readers will recall its root in the Italian word for "obstinate," or "stubborn"). Through a couple of different variations, including the electronic drums at the back, I continue to explore and stretch my limits in all of those frameworks, and all of them converge toward the end--the big-band climax of "Love For Sale."
On this night, the improvisation over the "rhythmic foundations" certainly made the solo a lot more unpredictable -- even though I recognized patterns and melodies. Considering how many years of solos Neil has played, it's impressive that he continues to change and refine it.
Mr. Ray Daniels
One of the interesting things I noticed at the show was how Ray Daniels, Rush's manager, was watching the show -- usually from the handicap section, which was right in front of us. He seemed to know a lot of the people there, shaking hands, hugging people. He also seemed to be patrolling around the front section of the venue.
Erik turned to me and said, "Is Ray Daniels now doing security?" and we both laughed.
This was the second time I'd seen Ray Daniels at the Rush show in Seattle. Perhaps he'd always been there, but I'd never noticed him.
The Final Act
As Rush continued through their final songs and into the encore, I was once again surprised.
In the final verse of "Closer to the Heart," the band downshifted into 6/8 time (a fast waltz), stretching out the music and the lyrics. Gone was the long jam on three notes with Alex introducing the band.
"2112: Overture" and "Temples of Syrinx," followed by "Far Cry," created a wave of energy that took the band into the Encore. (One "nugget" as Geddy called it during "2112" is worth noting: During the "And the meek shall inherit the earth" bridge between the two songs, as Geddy tried to sing Alex played the wrong notes. Geddy finally exclaimed, "Where is that guy?" When they started playing "Temples," Alex hid behind his amps in mock shame, with Geddy and Neil laughing.)
"La Villa Strangiato" started off as a kind of post-disco Polka. Neil played bells on the midi-marimba during this section, too. I have to say I didn't recognize anything at all until the "La Villa" riff, which finally blasted into the heavy version we're all used to.
For some reason, I never grow tired of "La Villa." All of the different movements, all the amazing musicianship, it truly fits the subtitle of the song, "An Exercise in Self-Indulgence." Only "The Main Monkey Business" from Snakes & Arrows has come close to the same level of self- indulgence, but in a much more compressed way.
"Working Man" with its Reggae opening was a tour-de-force, and Alex Lifeson was particularly brilliant. While I know this song has been played much in the past 8 years, I enjoyed the new arrangement.
And then they were done.
The outro film, I Still Love You, Man, riffed on the move, I Love You Man, starring Paul Rudd and Jason Segel, and I thought it was absolutely hilarious. The two Rush fans sneak backstage into Rush's dressing room, and then Rush arrives after the show. I especially like how Neil gets really mad, with deep sighs, steely-eyed glares.
Also funny was when they call Neil "Mr. Part." Neil says, "It's just Peeert."
"Are you sure?" the two fans ask. "Because we're pretty big fans."
White River blues
Trying to get out of the White River parking lot is an exercise in futility and patience. Unless you leave the show early, it's just a sad reality with this venue. The infrastructure isn't set up for 15-20,000 people trying to leave the parking lot at the same time.
It took us 40 or so minutes to get out of the parking lot, and my brother swore he'd never see a show at that venue again. I don't blame him.
I was home by 1:00 a.m.
Epilogue
The next day I slept in. I mean really slept in. Cameron had tried to wake me up several times because he wanted to play all of Moving Pictures in its entirety on the drums. My wife kept him at bay until 11:00 a.m.
Just to hear Cameron playing along to those songs in his own way was one of the great benefits of seeing that concert. That's Rush and Neil Peart -- inspiring on so many different levels.
And, as Jack Black said in the documentary: Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage, they've still got the "Rocket Sauce."
Labels: concert review, Time Machine tour
Photo by John Arrowsmith. See the entire set here.
Labels: photo of the night, pictures, Time Machine tour
