[SPOILER] RUSH- Clockwork Angels Tour

[ZoSoRose]

I have to say, Im the only RUSH fan on earth it seems who is disappointed in the new album. Its getting rave reviews everywhere and I was therefore looking forward to seeing it live and maybe "getting it" that way. Ive seen RUSH 3 times and was looking forward to this tour for the new stuff to hopefully appreciate it more live and maybe some deeper cuts I haven't heard before (like Xanadu or Jacob's Ladder). I haven't gotten tickets yet and sadly, don't think I will now

Im all for their 80s material but IMO this is overkill. WTF is this setlist? There's barely ANY of the 70s classics or jems, just the stupid hits we've seen a zillion times (minus other hits like LIMELIGHT or free will or 2112). Im so fucking disappointed in this shit... It especially sucks because they have a sting section from Caravan to YYZ, there could have been so many cool songs that would have killed with strings that they're leaving out.

So glad I caught Snakes and Arrows and the Time Machine Tour and really have no idea if Im going to this tour now. If the set works for you though, awesome! Im sure it's still a great show and I do like their 80s era, just not nearly this much or at the expense of a complete lack of their 70s era.

Set 1

1. Subdivisions

2. Big Money

3. Force Ten

4. Grand Designs

5. The Body Electric

6. Territories

7. The Analog Kid

8. Bravado

9. Where's My Thing/Drum solo

10. Far Cry

Intermission

Set 2

1. Caravan

2. Clockwork Angels

3. The Anarchist

4. Carnies

5. The Wreckers

6. Headlong Flight/Drum solo/Alex solo

7. Halo Effect

8. Wish Them Well

9. The Garden

10. Manhattan Project

11. Drum solo

12. Red Sector A

13. YYZ

14. Working Man (reggae intro)

Encore:

1. Tom Sawyer

2. The Spirit of Radio

Edited September 8, 2012 by ZoSoRose

[Jumpin' Jack Flash]

Whoa, definitely not the setlist I expected. I mean, I don't mind but I was just shocked to not see Limelight or Vital Signs

Edited September 8, 2012 by Jumpin' Jack Flash

[ChineseDemocracy2004]

My goodness, why so much Power Windows but having said that I have only heard the band perform 7 of those songs live, 4 of them twice.

Edited September 8, 2012 by ChineseDemocracy2004

[James Bond]

No Limelight or Freewill is quite a surprise. However, since I've seen them twice on Snakes & Arrows and twice on Time Machine I'm glad I'll be able to see some of these eighties deep cuts. Still, a bit more 70s stuff would have been ideal.

[WhazUp]

I have already seen Rush 3 times so I am glad this setlist has a lot of choices I have yet to hear live. Can't wait to see them in a couple of months!

[Powerage5]

I'm marking this as a

topic as I've done for some of the other big tours this year. Didn't peek at the full setlist but did see the first three songs (Just enough to know there's spoilers in here) - wow! Cool to see a couple more 80's songs return, and Subdivisions should be an interesting opener. I'll be joining you guys in here after the Buffalo show on 10/26!

[dalsh327]

Oh noooo the electronic era! Must be a reason they're doing a heavily 80s setlist. I won't be surprised if Rush re-records some of their songs in the near future.

[Zint]

Is Alex sporting the powder blue suit, white shoes and Flock Of Seagulls haircut?

[ZoSoRose]

I'm marking this as a

topic as I've done for some of the other big tours this year. Didn't peek at the full setlist but did see the first three songs (Just enough to know there's spoilers in here) - wow! Cool to see a couple more 80's songs return, and Subdivisions should be an interesting opener. I'll be joining you guys in here after the Buffalo show on 10/26!

so sorry powerage! didnt think to do that

apparently theres a setlist "B" with a few changes like seven cities of gold, 2112, the pass, and a few mores swapped in there. it looks like im going now cause my friend really wants to. im psyched just cause i love me some live RUSH!! but the set still leaves me so confused

[Zint]

I might do a last minute ticket for Toronto...I dunno.

That setlist has kind of deflated my interest, but as Zoso said...it's some live RUSH.

[Andrew07]

its a pretty epic setlist, you guys cant blame them for trying to play the same thing each time they tour

[ZoSoRose]

i think its totally awesome of them to do this setlist... its just not what I want

[Zeppelin]

Fucking awesome. I love their 80s era and Power Windows is a fantastic album! Love that they finally play another song from Grace Under Pressure also, The Body Electric. I would kill to see this setlist. They can't even play their 70s material anymore because of Geddy's voice.

[Powerage5]

Huh...quite an interesting setlist. I've heard through the grapevine that there was a fair bit of 80's stuff, but I didn't know there would be this much. Last night's set was:

Subdivisions

Big Money

Force Ten

Grand Designs

Limelight

Territories

Analog Kid

Bravado

Where's My Thing?

Far Cry

Caravan

Clockwork Angels

The Anarchist

Carnies

The Wreckers

Headlong Flight

Halo Effect

Seven Cities Of Gold

The Garden

Manhattan Project

Red Sector A

YYZ

Spirit Of Radio

---

Tom Sawyer

2112 (Overture, Temples Of Syrinx, Grand Finale)

First things first: other than a couple odd songs, no real gripes with the song choices themselves. That said, I think the ordering of the setlist is a big problem. Way too much 80's stuff all at once in the first set, and likewise, way too many Clockwork Angels songs front-to-back in the second set. I do really like Clockwork Angels, but it's such a dense album that doing that many of the songs in a row (Worked out to nearly 75 minutes with breaks between songs, drum solos, etc.) doesn't really feel right. Of course, they did it because of the string orchestra, but the crowd wasn't into it at all in Buffalo last night. Now, I think at least a couple songs could be dropped in place of a couple hits just to keep crowd interest up. I'm not saying we need a hits-packed show like Time Machine, but I definitely think a couple more could make the show a lot better for casual fans. Songs I wouldn't be upset to see dropped:

- Territories (Frankly, probably the most boring Rush song I've seen live besides Stick It Out)

- Halo Effect (Boring live)

- Seven Cities Of Gold (Really didn't care for this one live)

[Zeppelin]

Territories is such a great song. At the same time, I'm not surprised that it doesn't translate well live.

[James Bond]

P5 hit the nail on the head - the order of the set list is the big problem. I saw the first Toronto date a couple weeks ago and you could tell the crowd was getting restless. I don't like Subdivisions as the opener, even though it's my favorite Rush song. The Big Money should be the opener like on A Show Of Hands. Give more of an energetic start.

Also, it probably wouldn't kill them to at least throw Limelight or Freewill mid-way into the first set (I see they did this in the Buffalo set list). I found the "casual" audience was getting disinterested and, to be quite honest, probably didn't know half of the songs. It would be ideal to keep Limelight (or another song from that era) in there from here on out.

The crowd in Toronto seemed to dig the Clockwork Angels stuff (I think the string section surprised most people and made it interesting to watch and hear), and in general, reaction was better during the second set. It's mainly the first set that kills the momentum. I do think it's kind of cool how Rush plays whatever they want and really vary the set list each tour, but at the same time, it was disappointing to see people constantly get up and go for drinks, often not returning for two or three songs.

Overall though, I enjoyed seeing many of these cuts live, and it's cool that they are refining the set as the shows go on rather than stick to a solid set list with only one or two rotation songs as they usually do.

[Powerage5]

Agreed on keeping Limelight...I've seen some people bitch about it replacing Body Electric, but the first set needs a hit to break everything up - the casual fans will likely know nothing between Subdivisions and Far Cry (Maybe they'd know Force Ten?). Big Money would be a cool opener but to be honest, they should really just stick with Spirit Of Radio, it's the best Rush opener, no contest.

Another point I forgot to bring up - if they're doing so much of Clockwork Angels every night, why not just do the whole damn album? They're only skipping 2 a night, and they've played the whole album live at one point or another (For all intents and purposes, I'm not considering BU2B II a song). It absolutely baffles me why BU2B hasn't been played at all though, it worked so well in 2010 and 2011, and people will know it since its been out for 2 and a half years.

[James Bond]

Agreed on keeping Limelight...I've seen some people bitch about it replacing Body Electric, but the first set needs a hit to break everything up - the casual fans will likely know nothing between Subdivisions and Far Cry (Maybe they'd know Force Ten?). Big Money would be a cool opener but to be honest, they should really just stick with Spirit Of Radio, it's the best Rush opener, no contest.

Another point I forgot to bring up - if they're doing so much of Clockwork Angels every night, why not just do the whole damn album? They're only skipping 2 a night, and they've played the whole album live at one point or another (For all intents and purposes, I'm not considering BU2B II a song). It absolutely baffles me why BU2B hasn't been played at all though, it worked so well in 2010 and 2011, and people will know it since its been out for 2 and a half years.

You're right. Force Ten and maybe Bravado people will know, but even the latter is a stretch. Definitely need to keep a hit in there to break things up. Body Electric isn't a big loss, in my opinion. Truthfully, my favorite opener was Limelight on the Snakes & Arrows tour. I liked how Alex would come out early, hold the chord and then "look" for Geddy and Neil. It was fun and it's a good song to get things started. I do like The Spirit of Radio as an opener, but I like it later in the set too.

Agreed. I kind of missed BU2B. Damn good song! I almost feel like Clockwork Angels should be the first set, then do the hits for the second set. You could argue that the crowd might not dig the first set, but hell, they don't dig it anyways. At least the strings would give them something to watch, kind of a warm up, and then they'd be all over the second set.

[Zeppelin]

They really should bring Natural Science back to their set. It was in the S&A set, but Alex loves playing it and Permanent Waves doesn't get enough love. Plus it satisfies pretty much every Rush fan.

[ZoSoRose]

i was bitching about the set a few months back but im really bummed i missed the show lol. CA really grew on me. I still think its a sub par set but, oh well, that's what R40 will be for

[Zeppelin]

I guess I'm biased because I love 80s Rush as much as 70s but I'm happy that my favourite band comes out with a fantastic new album and plays a completely new setlist for each tour. It's refreshing. The days of Rush pulling out rare 70s songs are over pretty much. I think it's best to accept that fact going in. They played Circumstances on the S&A tour and while it was awesome, it was extremely tuned down. Rush doesn't want to do that with their songs.

[Powerage5]

Cleveland gig was much better. The rotational songs were Middletown Dreams, The Pass, Wish Them Well (In place of Seven Cities Of Gold), and Dreamline. I did really enjoy Middletown Dreams, but Limelight felt much better in the set. Otherwise, this setlist flowed a lot better. Wish Them Well made all the difference when it came to the Clockwork Angels portion. And now I've seen all of Clockwork Angels live (Excluding BU2B II) B)

Overall, I'd rank the Cleveland gig my third favorite Rush show to date out of 8, behind Syracuse 2010 and Hershey 2011.

[Zeppelin]

I should add that I am incredibly jealous that a lot of you were able to make the shows, as I was not able to this tour

I'm hoping that after they do their European run, they'll come back here with a few more dates.

[James Bond]

I guess I'm biased because I love 80s Rush as much as 70s but I'm happy that my favourite band comes out with a fantastic new album and plays a completely new setlist for each tour. It's refreshing. The days of Rush pulling out rare 70s songs are over pretty much. I think it's best to accept that fact going in. They played Circumstances on the S&A tour and while it was awesome, it was extremely tuned down. Rush doesn't want to do that with their songs.

I love 80s Rush too, but it's disappointing for me seeing that the crowd is not feeling it. To me, that's part of a concert experience. I loved every minute of the show, but the atmosphere wasn't as strong as it was on the last couple of tours since people just seemed restless. Even on Snakes & Arrows where they played nearly the entire album, it was organized and split between the two sets so they never lost the crowd. While I enjoyed all the 80s deep cuts I never thought I'd hear, one or two hits wouldn't hurt to break up the first set a little bit.

It is nice that they are changing it up as they go though. Usually they have a pretty standard set for the tour with only one or two rotation songs.

I imagine Time Machine tired them out of the standards in a way. They've always admitted to getting tired of playing particular songs, so perhaps they thought they'd revisit the 80s and then in a couple more years they could very well do a 40th anniversary tour.

[Zeppelin]

I gotcha. It is much better when the crowd is really into it. Trust me, I'd love if they brought out some Xanadu or Jacob's Ladder. Hell, even if they played Counterparts in its entirety, I'd shit myself (I think it's their best 90s album of the three). I'm really quite curious what they might bring out if they end up doing an R40 type tour, but they're not getting younger haha.