SS73 Posted May 21, 2011 Share Posted May 21, 2011 Been to most of the venues for various bands and they all are difficult to mix, so it's all down to the one I've never been, O2...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cd_david Posted May 21, 2011 Share Posted May 21, 2011 (edited) [quote name='wateroftyne' post='1239698' date='May 21 2011, 08:56 PM']It was... Marathon is the highlight for me so far... No busy video screens, just music. The sound is cack, though. (yes... I got a ticket in the end :-) )[/quote] Was going to text you, knew you would crumble Great show mediocre sound. Edited May 21, 2011 by cd_david Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris2112 Posted May 22, 2011 Share Posted May 22, 2011 [quote name='wateroftyne' post='1239698' date='May 21 2011, 08:56 PM']It was... Marathon is the highlight for me so far... No busy video screens, just music. The sound is cack, though. (yes... I got a ticket in the end :-) )[/quote] Marathon was great. My favourite song of the show, and I loved the way the lights matched the music. The white lights that shone as Geddy sang "Something always fires the light that gets in your eyes" were particularly impressive and really added impact to an amazing song. Hearing 'Presto' live was awesome too, what a fantastic song. At first I wasn't overly impressed with the show, 'Spirit of Radio' seemed a bit of a dull choice for an opener and I've heard it so many times now. I think they got off on the wrong foot, because 'Time Stand Still' was incredible. Alex was the man of the night for me, his playing was spot on, his tone was quite sharp and bright and he was full of energy, clearly having a blast. His solo on the 12 string was particularly beautiful. The sound wasn't the best but it was more than decent considering the fact the arena is a load of crap. Alex and Neil sounded great, but Geddy's bass seemed to get a little mushy. It's as though he was using two different tone settings, because on 'Leave That Thing Alone' he sounded really clear and present with loads of growl, but at other times that was lacking. As has been said, in some of the heavier parts the bass didn't sound great. Still, his playing was great. There were a couple of duff tracks that could have been left at the door, things like 'Stick it out' and 'Witch hunt' were pretty dull and could have been replaced with a few more Hold Your Fire of Power Windows tracks. Interestingly, there was nothing from Grace Under Pressure, Test For Echo, Roll The Bones or Vapor Trails as far as I can remember. That said, most of the tracks were excellent and the standards were nicely balanced with more interesting tunes. 'The Camera Eye' was a particularly awesome song, and 'Vital Signs' took me by surprise as I had forgotten how good a song it is! Overall, it was a great show. The video segments are excellent ("Girls, can you stop those Moving Pitchers"). The guys are obviously still having a blast and they are still the best band of all time. I'd place the show on par with the Snakes and Arrows show, even if the sound mix wasn't as good. Still a great show and easily worth the asking price when you consider how long they play for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wateroftyne Posted May 22, 2011 Share Posted May 22, 2011 (edited) ***SPOILERS!!*** Yeah... for me, the first set was lacklustre in places. There was a run of five songs which tried my patience even as a dedicated fan... Stick It Out. Workin' Them Angels, Leave That Thing Alone, Faithless, BU2B... a strange choice of tunes, IMO. Back on track with Freewill, where the focus seemed to go back to the three blokes on the stage. (I'm not a fan of excessive videos - I find myself watching them more than the band). And... MARATHON. My God, I love that tune. Subdivisions had a bit of a shonky start, didn't it? The 'Subdivisions!' voice was a bit out of sync... The second set was much better. Moving Pictures didn't use too much video. Witch Hunt was awesome (sorry, chris2112 ) Camera Eye was wierd, though.. where I was, no-one reacted when it started..? A great performance. As I mentioned above, the sound was fairly cack where I was (nowhere weird... on the floor, in the middle). Geddy was an undefined rumble, unless they brought him up for solos or what-have-you. In which case it was a fizzy growl. Alex's Tele on Vital Signs was great.. I wish he'd go back to single-coils for a few more tunes. The nadir sound-wise was Working Man. The solo section was an indistinct buzzy mush. They could have played anything, and I'd be none the wiser. Overall... a great show, but it would have been better if I could have heard a bit more of it. Its's nice to see Neil enjoying himself so much these days, as well.... Edited May 22, 2011 by wateroftyne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmccombe7 Posted May 22, 2011 Share Posted May 22, 2011 Didn't manage to go this time around and regret that decision. My mate went to the Glasgow show with his daughter and left after the first hour. Both fans of the Rush albums but had never actually seen them. Haven't managed to get all the detail but basically said he was bored and that from the back of the hall he found lots of people went to the bar after first 3-4 songs and he got the feeling a lot of people were there just to put a tick in the box. Too busy talking to their girlfriends or going to the bar rather than watching the show. He said it was a really weird atmosphere and he couldn't quite put his finger on it and he goes to lots of major gigs. He said the sound was ok though and the starter movie into Spirit was excellent. I think I would have stuck it out to the death no matter what after paying for those tickets. He could have phoned me and I would have went in after first hour - Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jezzaboy Posted May 22, 2011 Share Posted May 22, 2011 I have been a Rush fan since 82 and did consider going to the Glasgow show until I seen the prices! I have to say that looking at the above posts from youz that went to the gigs, it seems that on the whole the sound was guff. To pay that kind of dosh to go and see a band and then to be dissapointed with the sound seems bad news. It seems to be the way nowerdays that just being there rather than the music has become the main reason for going. This is not aimed at Rush themselves, it just seems that to satisfy the demand to see these kinds of bands, you have to put them in exhibition halls such as the SECC and such like that are not primarily designed for music. I will wait for the dvd to come out which will no doubt sound really good. Apart from Alex`s guitar that always sounds cack, imo Jez Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris2112 Posted May 22, 2011 Share Posted May 22, 2011 [quote name='wateroftyne' post='1239942' date='May 22 2011, 07:24 AM']Yeah... for me, the first set was lacklustre in places. There was a run of five songs which tried my patience even as a dedicated fan... Stick It Out. Workin' Them Angels, Leave That Thing Alone, Faithless, BU2B... a strange choice of tunes, IMO. Subdivisions had a bit of a shonky start, didn't it? The 'Subdivisions!' voice was a bit out of sync... The second set was much better. Moving Pictures didn't use too much video. Witch Hunt was awesome (sorry, chris2112 ) Camera Eye was wierd, though.. where I was, no-one reacted when it started..? A great performance.[/quote] I thought Workin' Them Angels and Leave That Thing Alone were great. LTTA is about the only song worth listening to from Counterparts! So overall I thought both sets were great. Even with small fluffs like the Subdivisions intro being out of time, you can expect one small gaffe of that nature at every Rush show. I think they do it to show that they're human! But yes, the lack of response to the intro for The Camera Eye was disappointing. There are a lot of fair weather fans there I suspect who come to hear Limelight and Spirit of Radio. Completely avoiding the rest of the songs. One bloke said as I was leaving "I think a lot of Rush fans put up with listening to all kinds of sh*t so they can hear Limelight and the rest of the hits...". I rolled my eyes and thought "yeah, fans...". The Camera Eye was a standout moment for me, utterly awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevB Posted May 23, 2011 Share Posted May 23, 2011 (edited) WRT lack of response to Camera Eye I think you have to look at it in context. For this tour it was well documented that they would do the whole of MP as a 'mini set'. I think a lot of fans then treat it like a single suite and save the main applause until the end of Vital Signs. Seemed that way at Sheffield anyway from what I recall. I think the introductory vids before the start of each set were way too long and spoiled the jokes a bit. Edited May 23, 2011 by KevB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RhysP Posted May 23, 2011 Share Posted May 23, 2011 Just got back from the NEC gig, which was fantastic even though the sound wasn't as good as the last two tours to my ears. Geddy seemed to be having problems with his monitoring for the first two songs & his vocals suffered as a result. They also seemed to be having some timing problems with some of the sequenced stuff, nothing catastrophic though. His bass sound was (IMO) ghastly as always but he was playing like a demon. Loved it & I'll be there to see them next time around regardless of ticket price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salt on your Bass? Posted May 24, 2011 Share Posted May 24, 2011 Just scored free tickets from a guy at work that has managed to squeeze himself into a box!! Never seen Rush, and been into them for only about 5 years or so, but really, really excited about tomorrow night!! I'm hoping the O2 will be a better sound than some of the above venues....I find it hit or miss there, even though most rave about it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobby K Posted May 24, 2011 Author Share Posted May 24, 2011 The Birmingham gig was great!! Like people have said, the sound wasn't fantastic and Geddy's bass sound was definitely hit and miss. I think it didn't help that I was so close to the stage (2nd row, in front of Geddy) The subs were right in front of me and the vibration was intense to say the least. It was like I couldn't even hear Geddy at times. It didn't take away my enjoyment of the gig though. I had a great time watching Alex, what an absolute legend! The solo in Spirit of Radio was a top moment! Geddy was totally on it too, despite the sound issues. There were some amazing sections where he and Neil seemed to be linked telepathically! The flourish/drumfill at the end of YYZ was just stunning! - we are not worthy etc Yep, Marathon - one of my top 5 Rush songs of all time, great to see it in the set and another great highlight of the gig. Kind of misses the Wal sound for me that one though and was slighly peeved they cut it short slightly, but no big deal I suppose. Fantastic to see Camera Eye finally. The accompanying visuals were superb, with the alternating views of New York and London. Brilliant! Here's a pic I took of Geddy on the night Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ednaplate Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 [quote name='Bobby K' post='1234802' date='May 17 2011, 08:04 PM']Managed to get to the sheffield gig myself last night, as my mate had a spare ticket (will be paying him back on a very slow drip i think!) Bloody 'ell it was loud!! Very boomy where i was, which was up on the side of the arena at the front (Geddy's side) but not too far up. like Kev said, you could only really hear Geddy properly when the others were backing off. He certainly [i]was[/i] giving it a lot of the flamenco thing though; it's integral to his style these days I think.. One great thing about where I was seated was having a great viewpoint of Ged's multitasking. Very interesting watching him playing string lines on the pedals effortlessly with his foot whilst on the bass and singing. Interesting too to see the black and white jazz bass with[i] pearl[/i] block inlays and binding on the fingerboard, as opposed to black. Anyone know if this is his old Moving Pictures jazz bass with a different neck on it?? Maybe it's just a different bass altogether... Anyway, the guys rocked as ever though and now I'm [size=7][b]very[/b][/size] excited about Birmingham!!! [/quote] I was at the Manchester gig and noticed on the screen that the black bass had a Fender custom shop logo on the back of the headstock roughly where his signature would be on the er... signature bass. I managed to film the entire first half of the set until my battery went flat. A truly amazing gig and the sixth time I've seen them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misrule Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 [quote name='Salt on your Bass?' post='1242591' date='May 24 2011, 08:21 AM']Just scored free tickets from a guy at work that has managed to squeeze himself into a box!! [/quote] That's strange -- so have I Cheers Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobby K Posted May 25, 2011 Author Share Posted May 25, 2011 [quote name='ednaplate' post='1244499' date='May 25 2011, 05:05 PM']I was at the Manchester gig and noticed on the screen that the black bass had a Fender custom shop logo on the back of the headstock roughly where his signature would be on the er... signature bass[/quote] Yeah, I noticed it too at Birmingham. I also noticed a decent amount of wear on the bass body itself, behind Geddy's right arm, so I think it's fairly certain to be the original Moving Pictures jazz. That red jazz he played in the 2112 overture, with the black pearl pickguard, was gorgeous! I didn't notice at first but the wood on the body had a lovely stripe pattern/grain to it.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toneknob Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 (edited) I was at the O2 last night, brilliant show - I was in the 2nd row right in front of Ged. Got a load of pics, I'll edit and post the good ones later. I think he played about 5 different Jazzes over the course of the night, I can't remember when each was used and for what song, but here's some facts I do know - can anyone else flesh out the rest? 1. Black signature bass with new neck (pearloid slab markers, white neck binding) 2. Drop-D tuned Jazz for Stick It Out 3. Red Jazz pictured above for 2112, I think tuned DGCF No fretless this time - as used on Malignant Narcissim from the last tour. Any ideas about the others? The steampunk setting was cool - even the bass/midi pedals got the treatment. Edited May 26, 2011 by toneknob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arthurhenry Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 Original Black '72 Jazz with custom shop neck which was added before Snakes & Arrows tour Jaco tribute bass with fretted neck for drop D songs (including Closer to the heart at Brum) Red Custom shop Jazz tuned down a whole tone for 2112, to make the vocals more comfortable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urban Bassman Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 [quote name='toneknob' post='1245283' date='May 26 2011, 10:14 AM']I was at the O2 last night, brilliant show - I was in the 2nd row right in front of Ged. Got a load of pics, I'll edit and post the good ones later. I think he played about 5 different Jazzes over the course of the night, I can't remember when each was used and for what song, but here's some facts I do know - can anyone else flesh out the rest? 1. Black signature bass with new neck (pearloid slab markers, white neck binding) 2. Drop-D tuned Jazz for Stick It Out 3. Red Jazz pictured above for 2112, I think tuned DGCF No fretless this time - as used on Malignant Narcissim from the last tour. Any ideas about the others? The steampunk setting was cool - even the bass/midi pedals got the treatment.[/quote] Was there too, but a bit further back. Lots of Jazzes - he used a Sunburst for a few songs. Great show really enjoyed it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misrule Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 [quote name='urban Bassman' post='1245367' date='May 26 2011, 11:12 AM']Great show really enjoyed it [/quote] +1. Really great. I'd forgotten how much of that stuff is soaked into me. I particularly liked the spooky Witch Hunt. Cheers Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Fudge Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 Saw them in Brum last Sunday. Fantastic as always. I think the fretted Jaco bass would be my dream bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salt on your Bass? Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 I was sat in row ZZ to the left on the 4th tier, stage left, I'm guessing I'll have seen some of your heads from up there!! Great show, but the sound from where I was was really muddy and boomy - the kick drum seemed to be the most prevalent sound down low - the bass was indistinguishable most of the time to my ear. I dont feel like the arena's PA'd properly or something. How was the sound form those of you who werent touching the roof? In the rare moments where I caught a whiff of a balanced sound, it was great. I thought they absolutely rocked, and loved the set! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toneknob Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 (edited) [quote name='Salt on your Bass?' post='1245407' date='May 26 2011, 11:43 AM']How was the sound form those of you who werent touching the roof?[/quote] A bit of a muddle for the first few songs, it was fine from the middle of the first set right through to the end. No trouble hearing Ged's bass properly and the kit sounded great. Friends in Block B had trouble as well in the first set. Edited May 26, 2011 by toneknob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magnolia Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 I was there last night too. Great show. Sound was a bit crap in parts, too much guitar for my liking. Got some half decent video [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jde5o4YwS2Q&sns=em"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jde5o4YwS2Q&sns=em[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misrule Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 From tomorrow's Sun. The sobbing woman was my wife. Seeing Rush for the first time since about 1980 proved too much for her Cheers Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wateroftyne Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 [quote name='misrule' post='1245987' date='May 26 2011, 06:04 PM']From tomorrow's Sun. The sobbing woman was my wife. Seeing Rush for the first time since about 1980 proved too much for her Cheers Mark[/quote] What the heck's going on with Rush? They used to be MY band. Now they're even in the flippin' Sun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toneknob Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 It's all going well until they say Working Them Angels is some of their fabulous tremendous best work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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