# I was at the last Rush concert at the LA Forum !!!!



## AJ6stringsting (Mar 12, 2006)

When I was a 9 year old kid, my older brother , Gilbert, brought home the first Rush Lp.
Heck it, was like yesterday, he had long hair in belly button jeans, blasting the record loud in his " smoky room " .
He wasn't kidding when he said that they Rocked better than Led Zeppelin .

I finally got to see them in March of 1976 in Hollywood and in my home town of Fresno, when they did the 2112 tour.
Then again in 1981 in Fresno, California on their Moving Pictures tour, then the Power Windows tour ( 3x's ), Show of Hands tour ecetra..... you guessed it .... I am a RUSH Head !!!!
I seen them only 25 times , worse than a Dead Head !!!!
Yup, I loved other bands, played in numerous bands, playing originals / covers of others ..... but to me..... there is nothing like Rush .
Yeah, they may have changed gears with keyboards and my guitar hero, Alex Lifeson took a back seat for awhile .... but they're still the BAND !!!! .
Heck, during the Roll the Bones tour , we managed to get up front at the Concert and wore paper bags with goofy faces drawn on them and we were on Alex Lifeson's side of the stage , he looked at us strangely and started laughing and even Getty came over for a laugh .
A guy who went , met Ace Frehley, told him the " Bag " story ....so we did that to make Alex and Getty laugh.

Any way, I was at the last concert in LA , their last concert ever .
It was hard, when they finished the show, it was really hard to believe that that was it.
I actually seen people crying .... hell, I was even choked up .
Man, it was a good run , those 40 years !!!!
They have their last tour in a documentary.... I seen it and I had to post about it .


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## player99 (Sep 5, 2019)

What a Rush!


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

AJ6stringsting said:


> When I was a 9 year old kid, my older brother , Gilbert, brought home the first Rush Lp.
> Heck it, was like yesterday, he had long hair in belly button jeans, blasting the record loud in his " smoky room " .
> He wasn't kidding when he said that they Rocked better than Led Zeppelin .
> 
> ...


I feel bad for anyone who had a chance to see Rush and passed up the opportunity.

They were a big part of my adolescence and I still listen to them often today.


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## Rollin Hand (Jul 12, 2012)

I saw them on the "Roll the Bones" tour, and basically went to see Neil. He didn't disappoint (like he ever would), but neither did Geddy and Alex: the whole show was a great mix of humour, stellar musicianship and dancing bunnies that I'll never forget. 

And I know a great gal who went with her now husband, and came out a huge fan. That's right: a female Rush fan!


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## guitarman2 (Aug 25, 2006)

AJ6stringsting said:


> I finally got to see them in March of 1976 in Hollywood and in my home town of Fresno, when they did the 2112 tour.


I got to see them playing the BCI gymnasium in February 1976. They didn't do anything from 2112 as that album came out April 1, 1976. I wish I got to see them on the 2112 tour as thats always been my favorite Rush album. 

This is the concert I attended:






Rush live in Brantford, ON, Saturday, 21. February 1976


Rush Concert History: Rush live in Concert 1974 - 2015 - Gigographie Rush - Pictures, setlists and infos.



rush.thewholive.net


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

I'm a huge fan of Peart, but the drumming (and general musicianship) on that first album are also awesome. Rutsey was a fine drummer and the songs on that album are diamonds in the rough.


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## Chito (Feb 17, 2006)

Rush was one of the more progressive rock bands that came out in the 70s. But here's an interesting article about Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee getting to meet Robert Plant and Jimmy Page in 1998. Considering at that point in time, Rush was up there with the rest of them, it was surprising to learn the reaction of these guys meeting RP and JP.

RUSH's ALEX LIFESON Recalls Meeting LED ZEPPELIN's JIMMY PAGE: 'I Was So Nervous'


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## laristotle (Aug 29, 2019)

Anyone else go to 70's Max Webster/Rush New Year's Eve shows?


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

laristotle said:


> Anyone else go to 70's Max Webster/Rush New Year's Eve shows?



I went to one at Maple Leaf Gardens with Webster headlining, Geddy and Alex joined them for Battlescar. Saga opened up the show.

That was in the 80s I think.


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## laristotle (Aug 29, 2019)

Milkman said:


> I went to one at Maple Leaf Gardens with Webster headlining, Geddy and Alex joined them for Battlescar. Saga opened up the show.
> 
> That was in the 80s I think.


I was there too.

The two years prior , they would switch back n' forth headlining.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

laristotle said:


> I was there too.
> 
> The two years prior , they would switch back n' forth headlining.



Michael Crighton, Alex Lifeson and Kim Mitchell all playing at one show......

Oh well, these days we can go see Drake or the Weekend.....(sorry kids).


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## 1SweetRide (Oct 25, 2016)

AJ6stringsting said:


> When I was a 9 year old kid, my older brother , Gilbert, brought home the first Rush Lp.
> Heck it, was like yesterday, he had long hair in belly button jeans, blasting the record loud in his " smoky room " .
> He wasn't kidding when he said that they Rocked better than Led Zeppelin .
> 
> ...


This might interest you.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Chito said:


> Rush was one of the more progressive rock bands that came out in the 70s. But here's an interesting article about Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee getting to meet Robert Plant and Jimmy Page in 1998. Considering at that point in time, Rush was up there with the rest of them, it was surprising to learn the reaction of these guys meeting RP and JP.
> 
> RUSH's ALEX LIFESON Recalls Meeting LED ZEPPELIN's JIMMY PAGE: 'I Was So Nervous'


I'm not surprised Geddy and Alex would be a little star struck meeting the guys from Led Zep. For anyone not familiar with Rush (it's possible) I would highly recommend watching the documentary film "Beyond The Lighted Stage".

They come off as pretty decent people to me, in fact, it's almost a relief that the band I so admired, I guess you could say Idolized, turned out to be such normal, down to earth guys.


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## Permanent Waves (Jun 2, 2020)

Rush? Never heard of them... 

Been a fan since Moving Pictures and saw them 16 times over the years, sometimes multiple times on the same tour. First time was in 1986 for Power Windows, and I saw the last tour in Montreal. Every show was an object lesson in solid musicianship. I knew it was the last tour in 2015 and it was no secret that Neil was done, but I was glad he retired when he did, especially considering he was diagnosed a year later. 

Most of all I was grateful they never had a bad show or a declining period. I make it my business to dissect their music and performances, and I have to say as great as they were, they never played as solid as they did in the last 2 tours (Clockwork Angels and R40). It's sad to see former stars give poor performances on these cash-in farewell tours on their way out, and I am grateful they never subjected their fans to that.


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## 1SweetRide (Oct 25, 2016)

Permanent Waves said:


> Rush? Never heard of them...
> 
> Been a fan since Moving Pictures and saw them 16 times over the years, sometimes multiple times on the same tour. First time was in 1986 for Power Windows, and I saw the last tour in Montreal. Every show was an object lesson in solid musicianship. I knew it was the last tour in 2015 and it was no secret that Neil was done, but I was glad he retired when he did, especially considering he was diagnosed a year later.
> 
> Most of all I was grateful they never had a bad show or a declining period. I make it my business to dissect their music and performances, and I have to say as great as they were, they never played as solid as they did in the last 2 tours (Clockwork Angels and R40). It's sad to see former stars give poor performances on these *cash-in farewell tours* on their way out, and I am grateful they never subjected their fans to that.


Would you put Bon Jovi and GnR in that category? Or do they just not realize they really don't have it anymore but miss the feel of being on stage?


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## Wardo (Feb 5, 2010)

Last time I saw Rush was at Larry’s Hideaway and I ended up in 52 Division.


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## Permanent Waves (Jun 2, 2020)

1SweetRide said:


> Would you put Bon Jovi and GnR in that category? Or do they just not realize they really don't have it anymore but miss the feel of being on stage?


I was thinking more of recent viral videos of Vince Neil and David Lee Roth. I had to Google some recent Bon Jovi and GNR videos to get your point. I thought GNR was not too bad overall but Jon Bon Jovi took a dive. I think there are specific elements people are paying for when they go see a band perform. For Bon Jovi, they are obviously going to see him more than the band, and that would be a let down. In the GNR video I saw from last June, it's apparent Axl's voice went down but the rest of the band seemed spot on, if a bit slower, so I would not have felt cheated too much on the ticket price. 

For Rush, the key element has always been the musical performance, especially the drums. That's why you see all the air drummers in the crowd in the middle of Tom Sawyer, they are expecting every fill to be perfectly executed and nothing less. Neil always delivered until he felt he couldn't anymore. Geddy had his vocal challenges and they had to drop tune or completely avoid some of the older material, and I noticed they cut a few corners on the bass pedal work from some of the old classics they brought back like Jacob's Ladder, but they would have never accepted to give a sub-par performance.


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## 1SweetRide (Oct 25, 2016)

Permanent Waves said:


> I was thinking more of recent viral videos of Vince Neil and David Lee Roth. I had to Google some recent Bon Jovi and GNR videos to get your point. I thought GNR was not too bad overall but Jon Bon Jovi took a dive. I think there are specific elements people are paying for when they go see a band perform. For Bon Jovi, they are obviously going to see him more than the band, and that would be a let down. In the GNR video I saw from last June, it's apparent Axl's voice went down but the rest of the band seemed spot on, if a bit slower, so I would not have felt cheated too much on the ticket price.
> 
> For Rush, the key element has always been the musical performance, especially the drums. That's why you see all the air drummers in the crowd in the middle of Tom Sawyer, they are expecting every fill to be perfectly executed and nothing less. Neil always delivered until he felt he couldn't anymore. Geddy had his vocal challenges and they had to drop tune or completely avoid some of the older material, and I noticed they cut a few corners on the bass pedal work from some of the old classics they brought back like Jacob's Ladder, but they would have never accepted to give a sub-par performance.


Rush was super professional. I really only listened to one album but I did wear it out. When I got to know more about music, I couldn't believe they were just a 3 piece band.


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## Grab n Go (May 1, 2013)

I only saw one show. It was the Test for Echo tour. They played 2112 in its entirety.


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## Davestp1 (Apr 25, 2006)

I saw them in Charlottetown PEI in Sept 1976 with Wireless opening. 2112/All the Worlds a Stage tour. Saw them again during the Power Windows tour in Ottawa with FM. Stellar shows.


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## AJ6stringsting (Mar 12, 2006)

Milkman said:


> I went to one at Maple Leaf Gardens with Webster headlining, Geddy and Alex joined them for Battlescar. Saga opened up the show.
> 
> That was in the 80s I think.


Years ago, I remember Saga opening up for Jethro Tull in 1982 .
Saga was a really great band, they kind of had a Jazzy / Gentile Giant thing to them , but definitely had a Prog Rock edge to them.


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## AJ6stringsting (Mar 12, 2006)

Davestp1 said:


> I saw them in Charlottetown PEI in Sept 1976 with Wireless opening. 2112/All the Worlds a Stage tour. Saw them again during the Power Windows tour in Ottawa with FM. Stellar shows.


FM open up for Rush on the Moving Pictures tour in 1981 at Selland Arena, in Fresno .
Is FM still around ? 
Or Saga ?


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## Chito (Feb 17, 2006)

1SweetRide said:


> Would you put Bon Jovi and GnR in that category? Or do they just not realize they really don't have it anymore but miss the feel of being on stage?


Some of it might have something to do with money. These guys are not making that much money from the music they played before. They don't know any other way of making a living. So they continue on.


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## NB_Terry (Feb 2, 2006)

Milkman said:


> I went to one at Maple Leaf Gardens with Webster headlining, Geddy and Alex joined them for Battlescar. Saga opened up the show.
> 
> That was in the 80s I think.



Is it possible that this was a Kim MItchell band show, and not Max Webster?

I used to know Peter Fredette a bit, from Kim's band, and I believed he was playing with Kim for the show with Saga.


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## NB_Terry (Feb 2, 2006)

AJ6stringsting said:


> FM open up for Rush on the Moving Pictures tour in 1981 at Selland Arena, in Fresno .
> Is FM still around ?
> Or Saga ?



FM's NASH the Slash died, so I am sure that the band died as well. 

I saw Saga in 95 or so in Toronto, and in the past 10 years they have done shows in Europe. 

I am sure that there has been a lot of member changes.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

NB_Terry said:


> Is it possible that this was a Kim MItchell band show, and not Max Webster?
> 
> I used to know Peter Fredette a bit, from Kim's band, and I believed he was playing with Kim for the show with Saga.


Yes, I can't recall for sure but it's possible it was the Kim.Mitchell band. I thought it was Max Webster, but it was NYE and I may have been....affected.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

NB_Terry said:


> FM's NASH the Slash died, so I am sure that the band died as well.
> 
> I saw Saga in 95 or so in Toronto, and in the past 10 years they have done shows in Europe.
> 
> I am sure that there has been a lot of member changes.



FM also performed some shows with Ben Mink stepping in for Nash.


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## 1SweetRide (Oct 25, 2016)

Chito said:


> Some of it might have something to do with money. These guys are not making that much money from the music they played before. They don't know any other way of making a living. So they continue on.


That's the saddest answer of all if true.


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## laristotle (Aug 29, 2019)

NB_Terry said:


> Is it possible that this was a Kim MItchell band show, and not Max Webster?





Milkman said:


> it's possible it was the Kim.Mitchell band. I thought it was Max Webster, but it was NYE


I was at that show, Dec 31, 1980. Kim went solo in 1982.


NB_Terry said:


> NASH the Slash died


1948 - 2014
_Nash rejoined FM__ from 1983 to 1989, and again from 1994 to 1996. During these years, he recorded a further three albums with the group. _


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

laristotle said:


> I was at that show, Dec 31, 1980. Kim went solo in 1982.
> 
> 1948 - 2014
> _Nash rejoined FM__ from 1983 to 1989, and again from 1994 to 1996. During these years, he recorded a further three albums with the group. _


Thanks, I have many fond memories, but some of them are a bit hazy.


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## laristotle (Aug 29, 2019)

Milkman said:


> Thanks, I have many fond memories, but some of them are a bit hazy.


So was I. lol


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## AJ6stringsting (Mar 12, 2006)

laristotle said:


> I was at that show, Dec 31, 1980. Kim went solo in 1982.
> 
> 1948 - 2014
> _Nash rejoined FM__ from 1983 to 1989, and again from 1994 to 1996. During these years, he recorded a further three albums with the group. _


I heard that Kim Mitchell was originally a Hard Rock / proto Metal guy at first .


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

AJ6stringsting said:


> I heard that Kim Mitchell was originally a Hard Rock / proto Metal guy at first .


Well, I don't know about that, but Max was a progressive band for sure, and Kimbo is a freaking MONSTER guitarist.

I saw them open up for Rush for the Farewell to Kings tour. He played an ES335 (or some Gibson semi) and yeah, that was an eye opener. I went out and bought the albums the next day.


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## AJ6stringsting (Mar 12, 2006)

Milkman said:


> Well, I don't know about that, but Max was a progressive band for sure, and Kimbo is a freaking MONSTER guitarist.
> 
> I saw them open up for Rush for the Farewell to Kings tour. He played an ES335 (or some Gibson semi) and yeah, that was an eye opener. I went out and bought the albums the next day.


There were only one Rock Radio station in my area in the 1980's, they only played a couple of Max Webster songs and the record stores didn't have any of Max Webster's music 🎶 😡


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

AJ6stringsting said:


> There were only one Rock Radio station in my area in the 1980's, they only played a couple of Max Webster songs and the record stores did have any of Max Webster's music 🎶 😡


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## hagfan (Apr 7, 2011)

AJ6stringsting said:


> When I was a 9 year old kid, my older brother , Gilbert, brought home the first Rush Lp.
> Heck it, was like yesterday, he had long hair in belly button jeans, blasting the record loud in his " smoky room " .
> He wasn't kidding when he said that they Rocked better than Led Zeppelin .
> 
> ...


For me, my Rush journey began early. It was my 1st concert, the Fly By Night tour and I was a ripe old 14 !!! Back then Alex was pretty much the show, 2 full Marshall stacks and damn they were LOUD. It was a life long trip for me that included more than 30 shows (that's where I lost count). I had the pleasure of spending time with the band on several occasions, and I can attest first hand to the quality of people they are, what you see in interviews is what you get. I "think" I saw every tour, except the last one. I knew they were done and I really felt that I didn't need to see the end since it wasn't a tour to support an album. I really can not quantify what the band meant to me in my life, Peart's lyrics as a inarticulate adolescent gave a lot of my thoughts words. I had, what at the time, seemed like a very unpleasant conversation with Neil that ended up being one of the most important conversations that I have ever had in my life. Their music truly is the soundtrack of my life, from the first concert I saw right up until today ... yes I listened to them today !! They are not by far the only band I listen to but I have always felt, to me, there was 2 kinds of music .... RUSH, and then everything else !!!


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## Mark Brown (Jan 4, 2022)

hagfan said:


> For me, my Rush journey began early. It was my 1st concert, the Fly By Night tour and I was a ripe old 14 !!! Back then Alex was pretty much the show, 2 full Marshall stacks and damn they were LOUD. It was a life long trip for me that included more than 30 shows (that's where I lost count). I had the pleasure of spending time with the band on several occasions, and I can attest first hand to the quality of people they are, what you see in interviews is what you get. I "think" I saw every tour, except the last one. I knew they were done and I really felt that I didn't need to see the end since it wasn't a tour to support an album. I really can not quantify what the band meant to me in my life, Peart's lyrics as a inarticulate adolescent gave a lot of my thoughts words. I had, what at the time, seemed like a very unpleasant conversation with Neil that ended up being one of the most important conversations that I have ever had in my life. Their music truly is the soundtrack of my life, from the first concert I saw right up until today ... yes I listened to them today !! They are not by far the only band I listen to but I have always felt, to me, there was 2 kinds of music .... RUSH, and then everything else !!!


I have never listened to a Rush album, I am passingly familiar with their radio play, however that right there has now got me interested enough to go check it out. 

Thanks for the story man. Let us see if perhaps you are responsible for the next Rush fan.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Mark Brown said:


> I have never listened to a Rush album, I am passingly familiar with their radio play, however that right there has now got me interested enough to go check it out.
> 
> Thanks for the story man. Let us see if perhaps you are responsible for the next Rush fan.



Be careful. It's a slippery slope.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)




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## AJ6stringsting (Mar 12, 2006)

Milkman said:


>


When I was 12, my Mom opened the door and was shocked to see .... that I was playing air drums to Neil Pert's drumming on Something For Nothing !!!!

I was like " Look Ma, no fuzzy palms !!!!" .


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## AJ6stringsting (Mar 12, 2006)

Back in 1981, a friend invited me to go with his family to watch the first Space Shuttle make a landing out in the California Desert.
Before the shuttle landed, we were blasting Permanent Waves and the then newly released Moving Pictures, while smoking ....some smokes, sitting on lawn chairs on top of their big RV .

Every time I hear Camera Eye, I think about when we watched the shuttle land with our binoculars and smoking 🤪😵‍💫😵 .


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## AJ6stringsting (Mar 12, 2006)

This song is something that I totally related to in High School .






In a lot of ways, Neil Pert was a good analyzer of Society .
Kind of like the Plato or Aristotle of the Rock era !!!!


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## AJ6stringsting (Mar 12, 2006)

Funny, this songs true meaning, about racism or any "ism", was addressed in this song . The meaning flew over the heads of many teens, as they were hitting their bongs in the 1970's, but not Rush fans , who generally are more observant, caught the meaning


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