Rush Announce R40 Live 40th Anniversary Tour [SPOILERS]

[gunsfanoldie]

Not much to say that hasn't already been said in this thread in the past 2 months. Excellent excellent show. I've been on the fence about going since the tour started, and despite swearing I wouldn't spend more than $75 to get into the building, I ended up spending $100 for great side lowers right on Alex's side. Cool to hear his guitar nice and loud during the show since the last time I saw them I was pretty much right in the middle on the floor. There was also a great energy to the crowd, and me in particular, since I wasn't going at 6:30, and at 6:45 I got a deal set and raced to the venue, running through Newark in the rain to get in my seat on time. So I was pumped once I saw the R40 banner.

First set was much better than I thought. Definitely flowed better than expected and didn't drag. The Anarchist was a great opener, and the second they went into Headlong Flight instead of Clockwork Angels I knew we were in for something special. What I also loved was right from there I didn't know exactly where the show was going which is rare for a Rush show but made it even better. I was actually looking forward to Clockwork Angels being played, but I actually heard it on the way to work this morning and was glad it was skipped. Its too long and Headlong Flight kept the pace up which was a smart move. Main Monkey Business much better live and the first 4 songs really killed. It settled down a bit from there. I was gutted to not get One Little Victory (I really wanted it), but Losing It really did make up for it. That was awesome, and I wasn't sure if it was Dinklage's brother but they had the same last name so that does make sense! So cool to get that. Subdivisions wrapping up the first set really left everyone on a high note, and another highlight of the first set was Roll The Bones, which is a song I don't really like that much but it was played great and the celebrity rap video sealed the deal. Hysterical.

Set 2 was out of this world as expected. Loved the opening video of outtakes from the past videos. And the Lil Rush into Sawyer again from the Snakes tour was a nice touch for me, since I always thought that was very funny but never saw that live. I'll be honest, I REALLY wanted Red Barchetta, and after not getting Victory in the first set that was a bummer. But it was better than YYZ (played in the last Losing It set) and the Camera Eye was great and a song I do love. Just heard it on the Time Machine tour and wanted Barchetta one last time, and the Camera Eye seemed perfect for MSG so I'm surprised they deviated when that in Set B would kill in New York. The Spirit Of The Radio was one of the better songs all night. Played great and great lights, which blasted out the second the opening riff started. It was awesome. Cygnus Prelude was a dream to see live, and Book 1 was also extremely solid. Loved seeing them get that heavy.

The show just kept getting better as they went back further. Honestly, this was the point the show just stayed at an all time high. Closer was a great singalong and right into Xanadu was truly magical to see live. They played Xanadu flawlessly and it was really as good as everyone said. Right into 2112 was almost too much. Just 70s classic after 70s classic. They really destroyed 2112, and I was so happy to see Presentation and Grand Finale, and the ending voiceover always gives me chills live. The encore (my real love) was outstanding. Eugene Levy's hilarious introduction right into Lakeside Park which was so LOUD with Geddy's piercing voice just belting. It was a revelation to see after this second set (which really should kill him vocally) he was still so good. Didn't know Lakeside wasn't full (just the first half) but I hardly cared as they went into Anthem, which was a highlight of the night. What You're Doing and Working Man just wrapped everything up perfectly.

Just bravo to all of them. Geddy was definitely more animated the first set while Alex came to live in the second, which makes sense. And honestly I have to single out Geddy. The man is a marvel. Moreso than I've really ever seen him. Relentless vocals the whole show and jumping up and down and bouncing around that stage the whole time. So much moreso than Alex. And his voice held up so well through that second set, which I didn't realize was so demanding until actually seeing it live. Great stuff on Xanadu, 2112 especially on Presentation, and the whole encore. He couldn't have sang those early songs any better, particularly Lakeside and Anthem. Funny that he gave Neil and Alex introductions when I really think someone should introduce Geddy. He deserves it but I guess everyone knows who he is. All in all, a really perfect show. The best farewell you can ask for and they did good by their fans. I'm so happy I went. I'm still getting over that second set, and the only problem with the whole show is I had to be at work by 5AM the next morning . Worth it.

[James Bond]

Sounds like you had a great time and one hell of a show. Glad you made it! Especially with minutes to spare.

That's annoying, the only two songs I'd really care to see would be Finding My Way and Anthem, and it looks like they won't be played together.

I didn't read all of Bond's post, didn't realize the FMW wasn't actually played.

That's just how believable my set list was.

I liked P5's suggestions for additional rotation songs too.

[Powerage5]

Great review - glad you managed to make the show, and had a great time.

You actually hit on one of the things that's already slightly bumming me out about MSG - since they did The Camera Eye last night there's virtually NO chance of getting it tomorrow. I was so excited when I counted out and figured MSG would be set B, seeing TCE at MSG would've been a dream come true At least I still got the full set B in Buffalo, and in the plus side I should get Distant Early Warning one more time now.

The more I think about it, I think MSG is likely to get Losing It again also. I don't think they'd want the Newark show to overshadow what will likely be their last show at the Garden. I won't get my hopes up though until they skip Clockwork Angels/The Wreckers

[gunsfanoldie]

Tell me about it. The whole thing seemed kind of off. Like they went all out for Newark for some strange reason, when I agree the Garden is a much bigger deal (its the show I would have gone to until I found out I'm working late Monday night). But what makes things slightly worse is, like you, I counted out Newark and picked it cause it was an A set. So I knew I'd get Victory and Barchetta (the two songs I really wanted that are rotating), as opposed to MSG which would have been getting How It Is and Camera Eye (the former of which I don't really care about and the latter I've already seen). Seems crazy they'd do Losing It twice in a row but I guess stranger things have happened. I don't know. Makes no sense to me you wouldn't do Camera Eye in Manhattan, or why you'd do Losing It in New Jersey as opposed to your last Garden show. Then again, its Rush and I didn't really expect them to make the Garden a huge deal, despite how famous the venue is.

Here's what I'm thinking: I counted out, and it would make sense if people this is a D setlist and they'll continue with 4 throughout the rest of the tour. This week it basically went A, B, C, and last night, which could be considered D cause of Losing It. Maybe they really liked the reaction it got and chose to keep it and did it this way. It would make sense, especially as to why it happened in Newark instead of NY (cause it just happened to fall there). Or the other thing I thought is because of Dinklage they chose to bust it out last night cause he was there. I don't know where he lives, but I figure its possible they just did it cause he was in the area and they knew him. So maybe it was another one off kind of thing for that song that just happened to occur? Its all kind of weird. Not really sure the reasoning of it. I guess, as usual with this tour, they'll keep us getting until the next show and until we see how the whole tour maps out.

[RandallFlagg]

Witch Hunt is one of my favourite Rush tracks. DEH NAWWW DEH NAWWWW, DA NAOOOO DA DAOWWWWWwwwwww etc

[Powerage5]

Losing It again at MSG. New variation on the setlist though - tonight is A/C so far with Losing It instead of Clockwork Angels, as opposed to set B with it instead of The Wreckers.

[Anguyen92]

Did they have another guest violinist or they opt to use a backing track here?

Edited June 30, 2015 by Anguyen92

[RandallFlagg]

Tom Sawyer dat drum rhythm. Peart is a monumental lyricist I have decided. Not even going to get started on his performances on the sticks.

[Powerage5]

Did they have another guest violinist or they opt to use a backing track here?

Jonathan Dinklage was the violinist last night, same as Newark.

Full MSG review tonight.

[James Bond]

Did they have another guest violinist or they opt to use a backing track here?

Jonathan Dinklage was the violinist last night, same as Newark.

Full MSG review tonight.

I'll be waiting.

[Powerage5]

So yeah, MSG. Gigs at MSG are always exceptional - the artist is always on fire, and the crowds are always great. Last night was no exception. One of my favorite things about MSG is that it seats a good number of people (I think about 12,000 for gigs?), but it still feels very intimate - very different atmosphere from other arenas.

On to the gig - the band really was in fine form last night. Objectively, last night may have been the best performance I've seen this tour, even if it wasn't my favorite show personally. The first set in particular was excellent, it was definitely the most I enjoyed the first set of any gig this tour. I'd actually say the crowd reception of set 1 was better than set 2 also, first time I've seen that. Of course I knew Losing It was on the menu when they skipped the second song, so I was just so excited about that in the lead up during the first set. Far Cry was particularly good last night, and I even enjoyed The Main Monkey Business even though it has consistently been my least favorite moment of the set at every gig. It was probably still my least favorite last night, but more enjoyable than usual.

I was surprised to get One Little Victory since I knew Losing It was going to happen. I'm split on which setlist I would've preferred to have last night. In the Vapor Trails slot, I definitely would've rather had How It Is, since I've seen the do One Little Victory a good number of times between S&A and this tour, while I only got How It Is at two gigs this year. In the GUP slot, I prefer Distant Early Warning over Between The Wheels, absolutely no contest there. And in the Moving Pictures slot - this one is tough for me. It was great to get Red Barchetta again since it's my second favorite Rush song, but getting The Camera Eye in NYC would've just been too cool (Plus I only got TCE at one gig this year).

The rest of the first set was excellent - Animate was possibly my favorite rendition I saw on this tour. That was really one of the songs I went from being indifferent about to being one of my favorite moments in the show. Roll The Bones got the crowd riled up with the rap video as it has at every other gig this tour. Distant Early Warning was awesome - very, very powerful last night. As it has been at every other gig I saw it this tour, it was probably the best crowd reception in the first set.

It should come as no surprise that Losing It was the highlight of the show again last night. Geddy did his little spoken word teaser before it as he did the other two times it was played, and introduced Jonathan Dinklage as "an alumni of the Clockwork Angels String Ensemble" and introduced the song. The crowd went wild when Geddy said "This song is called Losing It", but they were actually really subdued during the song itself. I guess it's sort of a difficult song to go crazy over. I honestly think it was a little better in Toronto, but that solely comes down to the fact that it was sort of extra special having Ben Mink playing it with them. Dinklage did an excellent job on it last night as well, and it really has me scratching my head as to why they didn't have him (Or the full orchestra for that matter) do it with them on the Clockwork Angels Tour. Still, I can't believe I got to see what is arguably the holy grail of live Rush songs twice - just, something I never in a million years imagined would happen. Subdivisions closed out the first set and it was as great as ever.

As I said earlier, the crowd was actually a little better for set 1 I thought. The crowd started thinning really early last night, I'd amount that to people needing to catch early trains though. But still...the people on our left took off during Hemispheres, and the people on our right took off during Xanadu. On the other side of the lower bowl there was one section that was almost half empty by the start of the encore.

Tom Sawyer had the big fuck-up moment of the night - on the 7/4 riff coming out of the solo, Alex dropped the ball big time. He wasn't, like, playing the riff right in the wrong key or anything, he was just not at all playing the right riff. And the worst part is, he didn't drop out when he got off, he just kept going and it kept getting worse - it was really embarrassing honestly. It was so bad that even my mom, who has absolutely zero musical knowledge or a good ear for things leaned over and said "what the fuck was that?"

I honestly have very little to say about the second set last night other than the usual "it was fucking amazing" comments. I do have to say, seeing The Spirit Of Radio at MSG was a really cool moment for me what with it being such an iconic venue and all the crowd participation on that one...concert hall!!! Geddy hit a really bum note on the synth in the middle of Jacob's Ladder, otherwise that went over pretty well with the crowd last night. Hemispheres was probably the highlight of the second set for me. Closer To The Heart got the crowd re-energized before the band sort of lost them with Xanadu again. The crowd chants in 2112 were amazing last night, definitely the loudest I've ever heard the crowd on that one at any Rush gig I've been to, not just this tour.

The encore was great, but it was just - I got so wrapped up in taking it all in. It's such an odd feeling to know there is a very real possibility that you're in the final minutes of your last gig for one of your favorite bands. I didn't sing along or go crazy or anything, I literally just watched the show, enjoying the last 15 minutes in relative silence.

If there's no second leg of this tour, I'll be very happy with MSG as my last show on this tour for me. More importantly, if it is my last Rush show ever, I'm very happy with it. Do I believe LA will be the last show the band ever plays? No. It's still so clear how much the guys still love playing together. I truly don't believe anything will be able to keep them from playing together in some manner, even if it isn't full tours. Still, if this really is the end, I'm incredibly glad I got to celebrate the end with them on so may occasions this year.

[James Bond]

I'll have to find a video of that Tom Sawyer fuck up. That'll be too good to miss!

Awesome review though. I take it you and your mom ended up getting seats together after all?

[Powerage5]

I'll have to find a video of that Tom Sawyer fuck up. That'll be too good to miss!

Awesome review though. I take it you and your mom ended up getting seats together after all?

Yeah - we just asked at guest services and they had a pair available we could trade for. We actually decided to try asking because when we got to MSG, we realized the tickets we had weren't at all what we had actually ordered on Ticketmaster. We were both supposed to be halfway back in the lower bowl on opposite sides of the arena - our actual tickets were one in the end of the lower bowl opposite the stages and the other was upper bowl halfway back on Geddy's side. Not sure what happened there at all - the upper bowl ticket wasn't even the same price as what we paid

Here's a video of Tom Sawyer - it's not quite as bad as I originally thought but it's still pretty bad

[James Bond]

Weird, I've never had that happen before from TM but I'm glad it ended up working out.

I've heard worse mistakes from them but that was satisfying all the same! His solo was fine so I don't even though what happened. He mistimed that riff big time.

[Powerage5]

I love it, we find it satisfying to see videos of Rush fucking things up

[James Bond]

It's nice to know they're actually humans. Makes me feel more competent as a musician.

[gunsfanoldie]

You want to hear something sad and silly:

Rush fans freaking out cause at their last tour stop last night, Neil came out from behind the drum kit and took a bow with the rest of the band. The man that notoriously runs off stage after the last note, took a bow. As someone on the Rush forums said "if you didn't think it was the end, that just said it all."

[Powerage5]

Everyone is freaking out about that on the Rush subreddit - it's crazy. I do think last night was the last show of the tour, I'm not expecting a second leg next year. But Alex has made it pretty clear in interviews during the tour that the band does want to keep playing in some shape or form, be it short tours or residencies.

I'm confident last night wasn't the last Rush show ever.

[ZoSoRose]

I dont think its the absolute end

Either way, this tour has been increadible and it was so worth going to

[James Bond]

It could indeed be the end, but I don't think so. We'll see more from Rush. I'm sure Neil is playing it safe.

[Anguyen92]

This R40 Tour might be it for them playing cross-America and Canada and doing the three-hour shows in the arenas with all the bells and whistles we've come to know in a Rush show. I don't think they will stop playing in front of a paying live audience though. Alex did hinted they could do even shorter tours and residencies in venues like Massey Hall in Canada. However, I don't think that this tour is it for Rush as a band making music. I hear that Geddy and Alex may want to do a soundtrack, I don't know. Who knows what the future for these guys will bring? Whatever they do, they've earned that right, but for now, I think they are going to nurture and protect their garden, so hard to earn, so easily burned.

[Mansin Humanity]

If they called it a day, I have nothing but well deserved respect for that decision. I'd love it if they kept going though.

[James Bond]

This R40 Tour might be it for them playing cross-America and Canada and doing the three-hour shows in the arenas with all the bells and whistles we've come to know in a Rush show. I don't think they will stop playing in front of a paying live audience though. Alex did hinted they could do even shorter tours and residencies in venues like Massey Hall in Canada. However, I don't think that this tour is it for Rush as a band making music. I hear that Geddy and Alex may want to do a soundtrack, I don't know. Who knows what the future for these guys will bring? Whatever they do, they've earned that right, but for now, I think they are going to nurture and protect their garden, so hard to earn, so easily burned.

A Rush Residency in a small venue would be very cool. It'd be a good excuse to play shorter shows while still being able to cover a diverse amount of material over time. They could literally do a different set list every night but instead of three hours do 90 minutes. With reasonable ticket prices there's no doubt fans would attend multiple nights so really you'd be getting the three hour show and good set list but spread out.

[dalsh327]

Just from Vapor Trails to now they've had an incredible ride and gave us so many shows in that time.

[Powerage5]

R40 live release coming November 20, first single (Roll The Bones) on September 25:

http://news.cygnus-x1.net/2015/09/rushs-r40-live-album-and-concert-film.html