Snakes & Arrows, who else was bright enough to go?!

llamalor2112 · #1 08-03-2008, 09:04 PM

Hey fellows, now that the tour is over, just wondering who all went to see Rush either this year or last. What was your favorite performance of the night (Besides Neils big performance

)? I saw them at the Gorge on May 31 and my favorite song was the bass overhaul at the end of Red Barchetta (it just keeps getting better everytime

) or right before the guitar solo on Bangkok where Alex broke his pick

but then flipped it upside down and kept on going (Neil was smiling soooooo big, it was great!) I also saw them in Ridgefield the year before and my favorite part was near the end of the show, a white barn owl like the one on Fly By Night flew across the stage!

jmac · #2 08-03-2008, 09:14 PM

I saw them last year for the first time. I don't know if I have a favorite performance. I know that is sort of a cop out, but thewhole show was phenominal from start to finish.

Ric5 · #3 08-03-2008, 09:16 PM

I saw them at Red Rocks ... good show ...

It was nice he got out the Ric ...

He should have got out the Wal as well ...

nohbudi · #4 08-03-2008, 09:32 PM

Saw em at the Joe a few months back. It was beyond unbelievable, and best part is my girlfriend bought me the tickets as a christmas present...... Given, she went in not being a fan, she said it was a phenomenal performance, and she would go again. 10 rows back, center stage.

No call on my favorite act, but I will say YYZ was awesome.

82Daion · #5 08-03-2008, 10:02 PM

I saw them in Cincinnati this summer. Caught the first set from the lawn and the second set 10 rows back.

They were playing very well, but they were hindered by bad sound and a slow setlist, in my opinion. The venue was way too boomy, and it seemed that they were exploring a lot of their slower material, so I didn't enjoy it as much as I could have.

Still, it was a fun time, and I'm glad I went.

mrokern · #6 08-03-2008, 10:12 PM

Saw them in both September 2007 and May 2008 in St. Paul. Great shows both times! The May show seemed to have more energy, but they were both top-notch. The boys can still get it done.

Bassgirlsara · #7 08-03-2008, 10:14 PM

I saw them in St.Paul too for both shows!! it was amazing. soooooo amazing. Im not sure what my favorite part was, the south park intro to Tom Sawyer was funny. But I really liked when Geddy pulled out the Jaco bass and did solos.

bl2112 · #8 08-04-2008, 09:27 AM

I saw them 3 times the past tour, Tampa and Jones Beach on the first leg and Orlando on the second. Circumstances was great. Each show topped the previous expect the Orlando show which was following a 1st row geddy side seat. About the Ric cool he pulled it out. I really couldnt hear the difference. He should of had the chicken wheel out an old Sunn amp.

superfunk47 · #9 08-04-2008, 09:53 AM

Saw them at White River last July and at the Gorge at the end of May this year.

Man, talk about two of the most amazing shows...

I will say though, that despite spending 3x the cash on tickets the second time (!!!) I found the overall sound quality clearer and better mixed the first time. Then again, I was sitting right in the direct path of those mammoth PA's that were swinging everywhere because of that terrible wind at the Gorge that night...so that probably had something to do with it

And at White river, there was a roof and I was a lot farther back, so it probably wouldn't have seemed as boomy.

Both incredibly energetic and high quality shows! Top notch!

nysbob · #10 08-04-2008, 10:15 AM

I saw them last month and it kind of reinforced what my opinion of them has been from day one - they are a very good band that knows how to play together. They seem like nice guys who enjoy performing.

I'm just not that crazy about the writing or the singing. YYZ was very much the high point, I enjoyed that...but for the most part their music doesn't really speak to me. The bombastic mix didn't help - a lot of what Geddy was doing on bass got swallowed by drumming.

Geddy Claypool · #11 08-04-2008, 10:19 AM

Saw my idol at Hershey Park a few weeks back. The show was everything I could've hoped for and then some. Favorite performances aside from the obvious ones (YYZ, Tom Sawyer, Spirit of Radio, Limelight) were The Trees, Freewill, and Red Barchetta. Loved how Geddy was playing keys with his feet THROUGH THE BASS SOLO on Red Barchetta. And Malignant Narcissism was awesome too.

mrokern · #12 08-04-2008, 10:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bassgirlsara

I saw them in St.Paul too for both shows!! it was amazing. soooooo amazing. Im not sure what my favorite part was, the south park intro to Tom Sawyer was funny. But I really liked when Geddy pulled out the Jaco bass and did solos.

MalNar rocked, no doubt about it!

Trying to convince my guitarist we need to cover that one...

Superfunk, it probably had a ton to do with the wind if the cabinets were swaying. Brad's a great sound engineer (I was on crew when he was FOH for Def Leppard back in the late 90's) and has some top-notch gear to work with on this tour, but no knob controls the weather (now THAT would be an invention worth $$$). If the wind was high enough to sway the arrays, I'll guarantee it was wreaking havoc with the high frequencies as well.

-Mark

hoey222 · #13 08-04-2008, 11:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bl2112

About the Ric cool he pulled it out. I really couldnt hear the difference.

i could - i saw them 2x. once in philly at the wach and once in nj at the trump. great shows - although i could tell they were tired at the nj show. geddy had some trouble singing bangkok....still a great show...

when he brought out the rick - i though it had a little more cut in the mix - i could hear the bass part a little better. his jazz i thought got lost a little too easily in the mix.

llamalor2112 · #14 08-04-2008, 11:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrokern

MalNar rocked, no doubt about it!

Trying to convince my guitarist we need to cover that one...

Superfunk, it probably had a ton to do with the wind if the cabinets were swaying. Brad's a great sound engineer (I was on crew when he was FOH for Def Leppard back in the late 90's) and has some top-notch gear to work with on this tour, but no knob controls the weather (now THAT would be an invention worth $$$). If the wind was high enough to sway the arrays, I'll guarantee it was wreaking havoc with the high frequencies as well.

-Mark

Hey, my guitarist is slow to convince w/ MalNar as well, he doesn't like that I'm having all the fun.

The Gorge had like 20-30mph winds and was totally singing the arrays. They played great through it though. The wind stopped the lighting technitions from operating the hanging stage lights, but it was really cool for the fog (It matched the direction of the wind on-screen in Spindrift & The Way The Wind Blows). It was windy enough that Geddy had his hair tied back.

Glad to hear the boys have so many satisfied fans.

Everyone has to understand that while you're on stage in a venue like that, as musicians, you really can't hear eachother worth crap and the fact that they play as tight and as well as they do (especially in that wind) is beyond me.

bassbrock · #15 08-04-2008, 11:57 AM

I'm amazed so many of you saw them not just once but twice!

bl2112 · #16 08-04-2008, 11:59 AM

Yea I heard about that show with all the wind. In Tampa the wind was blowing against the big screen projection of the way the wind blows. Kinda ironic. I thought the jazz cut through the mix well or the mixer guy had it set right. At tampa I swapped tickets with the drummer from my dad's band was about 20 rows back, and when they played subdivisons I felt the low F# that was the coolest feeling.

GianGian · #17 08-04-2008, 12:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by llamalor2112

Hey, my guitarist is slow to convince w/ MalNar as well, he doesn't like that I'm having all the fun.

The Gorge had like 20-30mph winds and was totally singing the arrays. They played great through it though. The wind stopped the lighting technitions from operating the hanging stage lights, but it was really cool for the fog (It matched the direction of the wind on-screen in Spindrift & The Way The Wind Blows). It was windy enough that Geddy had his hair tied back.

Glad to hear the boys have so many satisfied fans.

Everyone has to understand that while you're on stage in a venue like that, as musicians, you really can't hear eachother worth crap and the fact that they play as tight and as well as they do (especially in that wind) is beyond me.

I think they can hear each other pretty well since they use in ear monitors.

llamalor2112 · #18 08-04-2008, 12:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GianGian

I think they can hear each other pretty well since they use in ear monitors.

From the way I've heard through in-ear monitors, they do recieve the other band members but at a slightly delayed response and whenever I here an instrumental mix that has been focussed on just one instrument, that instrument is always playing almost a whole note ahead of the rest. So while they do hear eachother it is not always synced. From what I understand, those monitors are mainly used for que's.

GianGian · #19 08-04-2008, 12:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by llamalor2112

From the way I've heard through in-ear monitors, they do recieve the other band members but at a slightly delayed response and whenever I here an instrumental mix that has been focussed on just one instrument, that instrument is always playing almost a whole note ahead of the rest. So while they do hear eachother it is not always synced. From what I understand, those monitors are mainly used for que's.

That must be worse than not listening at all then. "que's"??

Eckie · #20 08-04-2008, 12:23 PM

I saw them in Glasgow back in October 2007. The show went a little flat in the second half - I don't think the S&A album is that great, but they revived us with Natural Science and finished like a storm.

I loved the South Park intro to Tom Sawyer.

Geddy used four different basses that night but only the 72 Jazz stood out (in particular because of the bottom end), followed by the Jaco custom shop. The red custom Jazz and the Ricky were lost in the mix, both really missing bass tones