#2 - Posted 07/14/2010 1:04 AM by simon2112 [contact]
the show was awesome! i had a front row seat on geddys side and it was a blast!! they were all having fun on stage, making jokes/cracking a smile etc. it was a 9/10 !!
this is my second show (i saw them in sarnia friday june 9), i am seeing them friday as well!
Well that was the wettest show I've ever been too. Alex went thru three shirts just completely soaked with sweat, I think I could have used the same amount of backup shirts too. There's like no breeze coming thru the amp at all, at 1:30 AM it's 22, feels like 30 in TO, so must've been even more hot up on stage with all those lights.
Show wise, the boys were on fire again (as always) and the sound was great from my 201 section seats. Highlights were Faithless; this is my mom's favorite song, this show being her birthday gift (2nd Rush show for her), and again she left saying if she never sees them again she won't be sad (I have to chuckle at that). But she had a really great time. The smiley beach ball landing on stage during Faithless. Marathon; as always I love the energy during the whole song. Presto; Neil is just so powerful on those hits during the verse. YYZ; cause the video has the CN tower and glancing to the right, there it is!! And finally getting to enjoy the video displays.
But this was no perfect show; Neil missed a few stick tosses, slight drum fill in Camera Eye but he corrected that real quick, the drum robot during his solo came on too early and was out of sync, the lights that rise & fall stayed down for pretty much the whole second set (oops!), also saw Geddy motion to have vocals up in his mix. Despite the hazards associated with such a large production, it's kinda neat to watch them play through all the stuff like nothing has even gone wrong. Seemed like they were happy to be back at home which made up for a lot of it. Sarnia seemed more perfect, mind you, the light show was reduced so there wasn't as much that could go wrong. I think the humidity played a factor in much of the problems.
Looking forward to ACC Saturday where it'll be inside, so less hot & smuggy for the guys to work, and the treat of a full light show from the get.
#4 - Posted 07/14/2010 8:07 AM by Rayzer2112 [contact]
Simply put...it was excellent...
#5 - Posted 07/14/2010 10:04 AM by Ref71
I have lost count how many times I have seen the boys play since my first show in 1976, but musically, I dont think I have ever seen them as tight and accomplished as last night in T.O. Geddy is simply the best at his trade. Neil seemed to lack the energy I have seen from him in the past, but that might just be age! As usual, the band's sense of humour makes them even more appealing. A great show!
#6 - Posted 07/14/2010 11:05 AM by Londonguy [contact]
Excellent show. First set actually surprised me. My favourite song of the night, ya I know, Presto. It was performed incredibly well. I thought the Light Show of Snakes and Arrows was actually better. The moving octopus was not really active in that many songs, and a few coloured lasers would have been a nice touch. The flames during Caravan were absent, even Alex looked back to check it out. I found it odd that Geddy introduced Far Cry when it was the last song of the main set. It almost made you feel they were gonna play another one after. That closing video is absolutely horrible, and was 5 minutes long. Clearly filling in time here to get to 3 hours with the videos. I thought it was dumb, but some people were laughing. At the ACC Saturday night, we're leaving after Working Man. Geddys vocals were spot on. The every other night show clearly serves them well. Very good crowd for a Toronto crowd, everyone standed the whole show and was very humid out. All in all, cant believe the performance from guys pushing 60. I wish I would have half their energy at that age. Well done.
#7 - Posted 07/14/2010 12:24 PM by yangie69 [contact]
Awesome show as usual. These guys just keep raising the bar.
First, this is not Rush's fault but access to the Amphitheatre is terrible. Thousands of people having to file across a narrow bridge simply doesn't work. Only ONE security person checking people in at the AMEX 'front of the line' queue? Poor coordination of 100, 200, 300 and 400 section queues. It was chaos - even saw skirmishes in some line ups, police (forcibly) taking someone of the park, etc. Show started 25 mins. late because of all this and some were still outside when Spirit of Radio started. There - I had to get that off my chest!
Wife and I were in 'the pit' - 10th row in front of Alex. Great group of fans and friendly chatter before the show! Guys beside me from Mississauga were hilarious - never seen two guys consume more beer in 3 hours; two guys who flew all the way from California (!) solely to see Rush do a hometown show; guy behind me (from UK?) spotting my shirt and asking if "Bubba's Bar and Grill" was a good place to eat! Thanks for the great memories people!
Very humid, especially under covered part of the venue by the stage. "The air was thick and still." The boys worked up a sweat - especially Alex!
Presto -- Worked well live; better than expected (not one of my faves off that album). Alex sweating through his shirt at this point (as were many of us).
Stick It Out -- Sound was not as heavy as on the CD. Sounded a bit off to me. Maybe they were still adjusting the sound? Low end and bass overpowering from where I was.
Faithless -- Sounded great; better than Stick it Out. Geddy mentioned it's one of their favourites from S&A they did not get to play last tour.
Marathon -- Anyone notice a train wreck in the middle?!? Around "You can do a lot in a lifetime, if you don't burn out too fast..." with the short descending keyboard part? Ged played it too early, then played it again at the right time. Confused look from Alex and Neil. Maybe it was just me? Still, love this song and a treat to see live again.
Tom Sawyer -- Flawless! Best I've ever seen them play it. Sound much improved and better balanced vs. first set.
Red Barchetta -- have never seen Neil miss a stick toss but he did here - sent it a bit too far to his right. Immediately grabbed another stick without missing a beat, then shared an embarrassed glance and smile with Alex.
Camera Eye -- If they had only played this one song at the show, I would die happy. This was the absolute pinnacle for me. Tears welling in my eyes. Images of NYC and London on the screen worked well.
Witch Hunt -- Is the cowbell part in the beat Neil plays at the beginning of the song electronically triggered somehow? Does he play it with his foot (hi-hat trigger)? He was not hitting a cowbell with his stick. Always thought he hit a cowbell 'for real' in the song, while simultaneously playing the tricky tom & floor tom pattern. As a teenager I spent weeks trying to figure out how he plays this! It's still not clear to me... (I gave up trying to mimic Neil's drumming style years ago...)
Drum solo -- Beginning was excellent; he added a cross-hand floor tom / snare pattern. Electronic part was OK, but too busy for me. A lot of stuff coming out of triggers which at times became a blur. Distortion on anything with a low end sound from where I was sitting - e.g., his bass tom. Robot video image on screen during the big band part did not seem to be synchronized with Neil's playing? I know I'm being overly critical. It's Neil - 'nuff said.
Closer to The Heart -- Alex acoustic opening and a slowed down section near the end - nice twists on a Rush classic.
La Villa -- Absolute tour de force from Alex; pleasure to see always and one of my quintessential Rush favourites. They nailed it.
- Love both the new songs and they went down great live. Clearly the boys like to play these ones.
- Light show was better in second set once it was dark out, but not really effective in the first set.
- Alex hamming it up and lots of funny faces for the crowd, plus some of his family to his right (grandkids)? Lots more smiles from Neil than usual. Great to see.
- Images in the circular windows of Alex amp cabinets: horseshoe or magnet? 1950's B-movie box shaped dancing robot? Clothes rotating in a dryer (like Geddy's dryers from previous tours).
- Sausages continually cranking out of the lower left side of Geddy's time machine.
- Vendors selling "Rash" t-shirts for $40 after the show (same shirt Geddy wore for first set). Some were genuine and others clearly fakes. Either way, $40 is too rich for a t-shirt...
- Anyone notice the logo on Geddy's t-shirt in second set? Had chevron shape with "GEFILTER" logo - it's the same logo on the 'time machine' from the opening video. Where might one obtain one of those shirts?
I saw the GeFilter shirt, Geddy always has the best shirts, I'd love one of those or the Rash shirt. The other shirts online are 35-40 bucks, so it's not too much out of place for that shirt price. Have not seen them for sale yet, I still have 4 more shows to go so I'm in no hurry.
I do believe Neil triggers the cowbell with his foot midi pedal in Witch Hunt.
Marathon; Alex 'extended' the solo in that one, I think Geddy is still getting the timing down on reentry into the singing part. I think that was the one slight flub in Marathon at Sarnia around that time as well.
I commented to mom there appeared to be a lot of kids on sides of the stage before the show, I'd be willing to be a lot of extended family comes out to see the home shows.
My feelings on the Molson Amp; I think it's the worst designed of any 'modern' venue out there. Yeah, the only bridge in & out that has to haul all 16,000 people across it, there has to be a building code out there that would make that a no-no. When they rebuilt the forum into the Amp I would have assumed they would make a second bridge across the 'river' to ease the exiting mass of concert goers. And every show I've seen there the entrances are all slow, I think it would be a good idea for them to bump the opening gate times up an hour to 5:30 to aid in getting people in.
#9 - Posted 07/18/2010 12:38 AM by rg1
What a great show this was. My wife and I came from Miami Beach, Florida to see it. We were at 5th row right in front of Geddy, and there was no seats in front of us because of the shorter 1-4 rows. We were able to ride the rail in front row when security wasnt around. The people to our left came from the UK and the people to the right were from TO. Overall a very friendly crowd. a little less energetic than what I am used to, especially being within the first 5 rows.
Its definitely strange seeing them outdoors in the summer due to it being light out for the opening of the show. I say this for every outdoor summer show. The light lasted throughout the first set. It didnt really bother me. I was surprised at the setlist for the first set in a good way. Overall, not disappointed except that I read an interview where it was mentioned that Jacobs Ladder was going to be played or considered, but it apparently didnt make it. I guess The Camera Eye made up for it, but they better play Jacobs Ladder on the 2011 tour. Moving pictures was completely awesome. The sound quality was insane from where we were. The Bass was really deep at times causing my body to rattle and the synthesizer was very crisp. Overall no complaints on the sound. Lighting was definitely better on second set. I didn't think the lighting rig not moving was a problem (from other review). Not sure if that was intentional, or a malfunction, but didnt phase me. I didn't see Neil drop his stick either, so glad he recovered without notice. I thought I heard anomalies in some of the songs (cant recall which) but at the time I attributed to changes and not necessarily mistakes. Witch Hunt was very heavy and the flames and lighting was nice. Firework blast in Marathon was certainly a wake up call :) I saw 3 shows last tour, the best being at the Mohegan Sun in CT. This show was a close second to that show as best overall show I have seen. Ive been going to shows for almost 30 years now.
I didnt find the weather that bad. From what I understand it was hotter out than usual in TO. I guess being from Miami, the humidity didnt bother me. I agree the funneling into the Molsen needs to be addressed. The security was super tight. I wasn't sure how they would react to cameras so Im glad I was able to get mine in. They didn't bother frisking my wife as she could barely get her license out of her pocket they were so tight. They were like you are obviously not hiding anything. Im glad there was a no smoking policy on the floor. Cant stand cigarettes. The other stuff is ok by me :)
The icing on the cake. Geddy throwing me a shirt. The front of it has a picture of Geddy behind the bar in full uniform with "Gershon's" on the top. The caption on the back says "Nobody beats my Sausage". I would love to have a "GeFilter" shirt too :)
Finally review of Molson show! I have to say the crowd in Block 405 in front were superb-real RUSH fans enjoying every song. No talkers or off for a beer merchants like in some reviews. Had clear view in centre but below in gangway you had a show of its own!
First you had the ice barrows of Canadian sellers at $13 a can-someone made a mint as people were queueing up-it was funny seeing the ice melt and cans sloshing around in water still $13 a can!! Then constant stream of security, people going to bar, fans dancing-it was a show of its own! 2 women about 50 were really enjoying it albeit pissed!
Back to the real show-it amazes me how RUSH manage to keep producing excellent shows note perfect. Nice to hear Time, Presto, Faithless,Marathon, Closer. The quirky films got everyones attention and shows a humour side other bands should copy. They clearly get on well even after 36 yrs!!
The security at Molson was OTT as usual-of course they have to be aware of certain things but it takes forever searching everyone and seemed tighter than the airports I visited!! By contrast it was more relaxed at Santana on 11th-no searches just check bags and away you go-now both bands are similar eras only 5yrs or so-why should it be relaxed for Santana-wouldnt they be the same type of fans?
Anyway a big thank you to RUSH-2 Toronto shows and Quebec-I had a lovely vacation from UK on my 5 tour of Canada since 2002.
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Tue, Jul 13 @ Molson Canadian Amphitheatre in Toronto, ON
REVIEWS AND POST-SHOW ANALYSIS
The show is over - what did you think? Give your review or just recount your experience.
RUSH in YYZ!!!!!!!
PRAETORIAN
the show was awesome! i had a front row seat on geddys side and it was a blast!! they were all having fun on stage, making jokes/cracking a smile etc. it was a 9/10 !!
this is my second show (i saw them in sarnia friday june 9), i am seeing them friday as well!
Well that was the wettest show I've ever been too. Alex went thru three shirts just completely soaked with sweat, I think I could have used the same amount of backup shirts too. There's like no breeze coming thru the amp at all, at 1:30 AM it's 22, feels like 30 in TO, so must've been even more hot up on stage with all those lights.
Show wise, the boys were on fire again (as always) and the sound was great from my 201 section seats. Highlights were Faithless; this is my mom's favorite song, this show being her birthday gift (2nd Rush show for her), and again she left saying if she never sees them again she won't be sad (I have to chuckle at that). But she had a really great time. The smiley beach ball landing on stage during Faithless. Marathon; as always I love the energy during the whole song. Presto; Neil is just so powerful on those hits during the verse. YYZ; cause the video has the CN tower and glancing to the right, there it is!! And finally getting to enjoy the video displays.
But this was no perfect show; Neil missed a few stick tosses, slight drum fill in Camera Eye but he corrected that real quick, the drum robot during his solo came on too early and was out of sync, the lights that rise & fall stayed down for pretty much the whole second set (oops!), also saw Geddy motion to have vocals up in his mix. Despite the hazards associated with such a large production, it's kinda neat to watch them play through all the stuff like nothing has even gone wrong. Seemed like they were happy to be back at home which made up for a lot of it. Sarnia seemed more perfect, mind you, the light show was reduced so there wasn't as much that could go wrong. I think the humidity played a factor in much of the problems.
Looking forward to ACC Saturday where it'll be inside, so less hot & smuggy for the guys to work, and the treat of a full light show from the get.
Simply put...it was excellent...
I have lost count how many times I have seen the boys play since my first show in 1976, but musically, I dont think I have ever seen them as tight and accomplished as last night in T.O. Geddy is simply the best at his trade. Neil seemed to lack the energy I have seen from him in the past, but that might just be age! As usual, the band's sense of humour makes them even more appealing. A great show!
Excellent show. First set actually surprised me. My favourite song of the night, ya I know, Presto. It was performed incredibly well. I thought the Light Show of Snakes and Arrows was actually better. The moving octopus was not really active in that many songs, and a few coloured lasers would have been a nice touch. The flames during Caravan were absent, even Alex looked back to check it out. I found it odd that Geddy introduced Far Cry when it was the last song of the main set. It almost made you feel they were gonna play another one after. That closing video is absolutely horrible, and was 5 minutes long. Clearly filling in time here to get to 3 hours with the videos. I thought it was dumb, but some people were laughing. At the ACC Saturday night, we're leaving after Working Man. Geddys vocals were spot on. The every other night show clearly serves them well. Very good crowd for a Toronto crowd, everyone standed the whole show and was very humid out. All in all, cant believe the performance from guys pushing 60. I wish I would have half their energy at that age. Well done.
Awesome show as usual. These guys just keep raising the bar.
First, this is not Rush's fault but access to the Amphitheatre is terrible. Thousands of people having to file across a narrow bridge simply doesn't work. Only ONE security person checking people in at the AMEX 'front of the line' queue? Poor coordination of 100, 200, 300 and 400 section queues. It was chaos - even saw skirmishes in some line ups, police (forcibly) taking someone of the park, etc. Show started 25 mins. late because of all this and some were still outside when Spirit of Radio started. There - I had to get that off my chest!
Wife and I were in 'the pit' - 10th row in front of Alex. Great group of fans and friendly chatter before the show! Guys beside me from Mississauga were hilarious - never seen two guys consume more beer in 3 hours; two guys who flew all the way from California (!) solely to see Rush do a hometown show; guy behind me (from UK?) spotting my shirt and asking if "Bubba's Bar and Grill" was a good place to eat! Thanks for the great memories people!
Very humid, especially under covered part of the venue by the stage. "The air was thick and still." The boys worked up a sweat - especially Alex!
Presto -- Worked well live; better than expected (not one of my faves off that album). Alex sweating through his shirt at this point (as were many of us).
Stick It Out -- Sound was not as heavy as on the CD. Sounded a bit off to me. Maybe they were still adjusting the sound? Low end and bass overpowering from where I was.
Faithless -- Sounded great; better than Stick it Out. Geddy mentioned it's one of their favourites from S&A they did not get to play last tour.
Marathon -- Anyone notice a train wreck in the middle?!? Around "You can do a lot in a lifetime, if you don't burn out too fast..." with the short descending keyboard part? Ged played it too early, then played it again at the right time. Confused look from Alex and Neil. Maybe it was just me? Still, love this song and a treat to see live again.
Tom Sawyer -- Flawless! Best I've ever seen them play it. Sound much improved and better balanced vs. first set.
Red Barchetta -- have never seen Neil miss a stick toss but he did here - sent it a bit too far to his right. Immediately grabbed another stick without missing a beat, then shared an embarrassed glance and smile with Alex.
Camera Eye -- If they had only played this one song at the show, I would die happy. This was the absolute pinnacle for me. Tears welling in my eyes. Images of NYC and London on the screen worked well.
Witch Hunt -- Is the cowbell part in the beat Neil plays at the beginning of the song electronically triggered somehow? Does he play it with his foot (hi-hat trigger)? He was not hitting a cowbell with his stick. Always thought he hit a cowbell 'for real' in the song, while simultaneously playing the tricky tom & floor tom pattern. As a teenager I spent weeks trying to figure out how he plays this! It's still not clear to me... (I gave up trying to mimic Neil's drumming style years ago...)
Drum solo -- Beginning was excellent; he added a cross-hand floor tom / snare pattern. Electronic part was OK, but too busy for me. A lot of stuff coming out of triggers which at times became a blur. Distortion on anything with a low end sound from where I was sitting - e.g., his bass tom. Robot video image on screen during the big band part did not seem to be synchronized with Neil's playing? I know I'm being overly critical. It's Neil - 'nuff said.
Closer to The Heart -- Alex acoustic opening and a slowed down section near the end - nice twists on a Rush classic.
La Villa -- Absolute tour de force from Alex; pleasure to see always and one of my quintessential Rush favourites. They nailed it.
- Love both the new songs and they went down great live. Clearly the boys like to play these ones.
- Light show was better in second set once it was dark out, but not really effective in the first set.
- Alex hamming it up and lots of funny faces for the crowd, plus some of his family to his right (grandkids)? Lots more smiles from Neil than usual. Great to see.
- Images in the circular windows of Alex amp cabinets: horseshoe or magnet? 1950's B-movie box shaped dancing robot? Clothes rotating in a dryer (like Geddy's dryers from previous tours).
- Sausages continually cranking out of the lower left side of Geddy's time machine.
- Vendors selling "Rash" t-shirts for $40 after the show (same shirt Geddy wore for first set). Some were genuine and others clearly fakes. Either way, $40 is too rich for a t-shirt...
- Anyone notice the logo on Geddy's t-shirt in second set? Had chevron shape with "GEFILTER" logo - it's the same logo on the 'time machine' from the opening video. Where might one obtain one of those shirts?
@ yangie69
I saw the GeFilter shirt, Geddy always has the best shirts, I'd love one of those or the Rash shirt. The other shirts online are 35-40 bucks, so it's not too much out of place for that shirt price. Have not seen them for sale yet, I still have 4 more shows to go so I'm in no hurry.
I do believe Neil triggers the cowbell with his foot midi pedal in Witch Hunt.
Marathon; Alex 'extended' the solo in that one, I think Geddy is still getting the timing down on reentry into the singing part. I think that was the one slight flub in Marathon at Sarnia around that time as well.
I commented to mom there appeared to be a lot of kids on sides of the stage before the show, I'd be willing to be a lot of extended family comes out to see the home shows.
My feelings on the Molson Amp; I think it's the worst designed of any 'modern' venue out there. Yeah, the only bridge in & out that has to haul all 16,000 people across it, there has to be a building code out there that would make that a no-no. When they rebuilt the forum into the Amp I would have assumed they would make a second bridge across the 'river' to ease the exiting mass of concert goers. And every show I've seen there the entrances are all slow, I think it would be a good idea for them to bump the opening gate times up an hour to 5:30 to aid in getting people in.
What a great show this was. My wife and I came from Miami Beach, Florida to see it. We were at 5th row right in front of Geddy, and there was no seats in front of us because of the shorter 1-4 rows. We were able to ride the rail in front row when security wasnt around. The people to our left came from the UK and the people to the right were from TO. Overall a very friendly crowd. a little less energetic than what I am used to, especially being within the first 5 rows.
Its definitely strange seeing them outdoors in the summer due to it being light out for the opening of the show. I say this for every outdoor summer show. The light lasted throughout the first set. It didnt really bother me. I was surprised at the setlist for the first set in a good way. Overall, not disappointed except that I read an interview where it was mentioned that Jacobs Ladder was going to be played or considered, but it apparently didnt make it. I guess The Camera Eye made up for it, but they better play Jacobs Ladder on the 2011 tour. Moving pictures was completely awesome. The sound quality was insane from where we were. The Bass was really deep at times causing my body to rattle and the synthesizer was very crisp. Overall no complaints on the sound. Lighting was definitely better on second set. I didn't think the lighting rig not moving was a problem (from other review). Not sure if that was intentional, or a malfunction, but didnt phase me. I didn't see Neil drop his stick either, so glad he recovered without notice. I thought I heard anomalies in some of the songs (cant recall which) but at the time I attributed to changes and not necessarily mistakes. Witch Hunt was very heavy and the flames and lighting was nice. Firework blast in Marathon was certainly a wake up call :) I saw 3 shows last tour, the best being at the Mohegan Sun in CT. This show was a close second to that show as best overall show I have seen. Ive been going to shows for almost 30 years now.
I didnt find the weather that bad. From what I understand it was hotter out than usual in TO. I guess being from Miami, the humidity didnt bother me. I agree the funneling into the Molsen needs to be addressed. The security was super tight. I wasn't sure how they would react to cameras so Im glad I was able to get mine in. They didn't bother frisking my wife as she could barely get her license out of her pocket they were so tight. They were like you are obviously not hiding anything. Im glad there was a no smoking policy on the floor. Cant stand cigarettes. The other stuff is ok by me :)
The icing on the cake. Geddy throwing me a shirt. The front of it has a picture of Geddy behind the bar in full uniform with "Gershon's" on the top. The caption on the back says "Nobody beats my Sausage". I would love to have a "GeFilter" shirt too :)
Cant wait to see them in West Palm Beach...
Finally review of Molson show! I have to say the crowd in Block 405 in front were superb-real RUSH fans enjoying every song. No talkers or off for a beer merchants like in some reviews. Had clear view in centre but below in gangway you had a show of its own!
First you had the ice barrows of Canadian sellers at $13 a can-someone made a mint as people were queueing up-it was funny seeing the ice melt and cans sloshing around in water still $13 a can!! Then constant stream of security, people going to bar, fans dancing-it was a show of its own! 2 women about 50 were really enjoying it albeit pissed!
Back to the real show-it amazes me how RUSH manage to keep producing excellent shows note perfect. Nice to hear Time, Presto, Faithless,Marathon, Closer. The quirky films got everyones attention and shows a humour side other bands should copy. They clearly get on well even after 36 yrs!!
The security at Molson was OTT as usual-of course they have to be aware of certain things but it takes forever searching everyone and seemed tighter than the airports I visited!! By contrast it was more relaxed at Santana on 11th-no searches just check bags and away you go-now both bands are similar eras only 5yrs or so-why should it be relaxed for Santana-wouldnt they be the same type of fans?
Anyway a big thank you to RUSH-2 Toronto shows and Quebec-I had a lovely vacation from UK on my 5 tour of Canada since 2002.
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