The great Geddy Lee makes mistakes??

[scottfeldstein]

Friends, we've all done it. We've all dropped a few clunkers on stage. We've all hit that really wrong note and felt really bad about it. But have you ever seen Geddy Lee do it? I give you: Lee and Lifeson and Omar Hakim doing YYZ at the Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concert.

As I listened I perceived that there was some pretty loose timing going on in some bits. But, hey. Who knows how long its been since they've played this song - and probably never with Hakim. Speaking of which, how well does he know the song? So I'm prepared to cut some slack. It's rock n roll not the Mona Lisa. And let's not lose the plot, here. This is all to commemorate their fallen comrade, Taylor Hawkins.

But I had to rewind one section to make sure I didn't imagine it. Your hero and mine, Geddy Lee, plays a bunch of wrong notes. Like, for a few measures. Astonishing. This man is retirement age and has never had another job other than playing that instrument. Not only that, but he's legendary Geddy effing Lee!

I think we can learn a couple of things, here. First, professionalism. At no point does he appear flustered in any way. He continues on after the screw up and carries on like a boss. That's pro. Second, everyone makes mistakes. Even Geddy. So next time it happens to me, I'll be sure to remind myself: you're not better than Geddy, so yeah you're gonna make mistakes. Move on. And I hope you will do something similar next time you goof something up.

 

[Les Fret]

That link is not working...

 

[scottfeldstein]

That link is not working...

if I could fix it, I would. It's obviously been taken down by whomever owns the rights to it.

 

[J Wilson]

With THAT catalog and their time since NP passed, it's not surprising at all, and honestly, who cares? Great to see them again.

Those guys paid their dues in full a long time ago. It wouldn't take long for most anyone to get rusty playing those tunes, there's a lot going on, and they're using a different (though Omar did a remarkable job of it) drummer.

The stewards have reviewed this and assessed no penalty.

 

[hrodbert696]

I saw them live in the first show of the Clockwork Angels tour. Good show, but yeah, they could be loose sometimes - probably especially so times like the first show of a tour, or like the Taylor Hawkins show without Neil and doing a one-off together. In the concert I saw, they completely trainwrecked YYZ for a while - you sort of heard it turn to mush, and then Geddy and Alex turned and converged at the center of the stage in front of the drum kit while they all figured out where they were and got back together. In a way it was kind of cool, to see they're human.

 

[Gluvhand]

There's a meaness and snark to the OP that just isn't funny. Yeah, there are mistakes. It was a tribute to a dead friend from two older dudes that probably haven't practiced a challenging piece of music in a while. Ooooh. Hot take.

 

[scottfeldstein]

There's a meaness and snark to the OP that just isn't funny. Yeah, there are mistakes. It was a tribute to a dead friend from two older dudes that probably haven't practiced a challenging piece of music in a while. Ooooh. Hot take.

False. Drawing the lessons of professionalism and humility from the incident is hardly mean or snarky. And literally nothing in the original post was intended to be funny. I also gave several perfectly understandable reasons why the performance was less than perfect. I also pointed out that we mustn't forget that the occasion was a solemn one having nothing to do with musical perfection.

 

[Gluvhand]

False. Drawing the lessons of professionalism and humility from the incident is hardly mean or snarky. And literally nothing in the original post was intended to be funny. I also gave several perfectly understandable reasons why the performance was less than perfect. I also pointed out that we mustn't forget that the occasion was a solemn one having nothing to do with musical perfection.

I don't buy it but you do you.

 

[2112]

So next time it happens to me, I'll be sure to remind myself: you're not better than Geddy,...

Indeed. I am better than that hacc Geddy, and I drop clams too... the last time I did, in 2009, it was a real dumpster fire.

 

[warrplayer]

Geddy Lee is a professional. He can probably handle a little criticism.

 

[tmvt]

Both Alex and Geddys playing was a little rough around the edges but they aren't playing as much as they used to. Takes some time to knock off the rust on top of that they are only getting older and playing those riffs wont get easier. It was for a good cause and to pay tribute to a friend so they still showed up to rock regardless of how it was going to go.

Mad Respect

 

[db59]

All humans= not perfect......I try to keep my many mistakes, misspoken words, stupid thoughts, etc to a minimum and do my less than perfect self life.

 

[Chrisk-K]

Geddy plays sloppily and smiles during a bass fill on YYZ in the “Grace Under Pressure” live video.

 

[Mastermold]

Geddy plays sloppily and smiles during a bass fill on YYZ in the “Grace Under Pressure” live video.

When I saw them live during the Time Machine tour he was a little sloppy on at least one song such that I noticed, kept going flat and looking at his left hand like "whoops" but wasn't a big deal. I think it's Victor Wooten who's been quoted saying it's not live music if there aren't a few clams.

 

[Dave Hill]

Too much wine. Give him a break, lol.

 

[thmsjordan]

As my Chinese friend/Buddhist monk said once:

"Even monkeys sometimes fall out of trees."

 

[BassParrott]

Several times during their mini set you could tell that Geddy was having trouble with either his in ears or the mix. I can imagine with the many different bands, musicians and all of the stage/mix changes he may very well have been having trouble hearing himself or the mix properly. In any case, I thought they killed it and sounded great.

 

[HardNHeavy]

it happens...maybe it was an imposter, hybrid, geddy clone....too much sci-fi for me....next!

 

[ebo]

Played last night and dropped some clams. Keyboard player gave me snarky looks. That guy notices everything! He needs to drink more.

 

[john_g]

The other songs were tight, for the most part, but i heard YYZ and he went out of tune for a few measures. Playing with a different drummer, who is awesome, but put his own spin on it, and who knows the back story. Did they play it together at all, did OH have time to work on it, etc etc...who knows.