Was Rush the last stadium-level successful prog rock trio?

Call their music what you want, they never really played too many stadiums. A few shows in South America in November 2002, and a spot on the Toronto SARS concert in 2003 is about it to my knowledge.

 

Pretty brief moment for Rush though, I think? They followed the same path as Genesis and Yes, at least as far as the non-specialist might judge.

 

Which prov acts were ever “stadium”, anyhow, if stadium means the biggest in the business?

 

I guess the only real prog trio at stadium level might have been ELP. Then maybe the pop Genesis trio, and really when Rush followed the Police during the 80s they were pop prog at best. While Rush may not have played stadiums the loyalty of their fans is something any band would be honored to enjoy.

 

None, IMO. To me "stadium" means you can sell out a 50,000 seat football or soccer stadium by yourself. E.g., some gave an example of Rush playing at the Cotton Bowl in Texas in 1979, but that was a festival type thing. Those 60,000 people didn't show up just to see Rush any more than 100,000 people showed up at the 1982 US Festival to see the Ramones. So you can't give them 'credit' for that.

When U2 or the Rolling Stones play a football stadium and 70,000 show up, that's "stadium level" because regardless of who the opening act is, the people are their to see them, and no Prog band ever was at that level. At their peak, ELP, Genesis, Yes, Kansas, and Rush were all arena level.

 

Rush transcended prog

 

Almost Prog but surely a profit.

 

There are stadium dates listed on ELP's Gigography for Brain Salad and Works. There is also the dynamic of being able to play multiple dates in the 5 largest markets at the time: NYC, Chicago, LA, Philly, and Detroit.

 

Exactly to quote Chiam Wick “What kind of music is it? Its RUSH”

 

The Canadian Zeppelin!

 

Lol...i doubt you would see it that way if you where around in the 70' and 80's

 

ELP at Olympic Stadium in Montreal. In the snow no less!

 

There's always the everlasting debate about whether Pink Floyd was prog. But they were certainly a stadium act, in 1977 on the Animals "In the Flesh" tour and in 1987/88 and 1994 on the post-Waters tours for AMLOR and Division Bell.

 

Lifeson sounded more like Iommi than Page to my ears, so I heard Sabbath, myself.

 

Not a big turn out for that one. Punk must have already hit.

 

I love Rush, but they were never a stadium-level band. They were never a band that could do an entire tour and fill (or mostly fill up) stadiums. They even said themselves they were more of a hockey band (arenas) than a baseball one (stadiums).

As for prog, Rush was always, at root, a hard rock band, not a metal or prog one. Sure, they had their prog phase, but they were never prog in the sense that Yes, ELP or Genesis were in the 70's.

 

Not like a U2 or Rolling Stones, where it's one night in the New Orleans Super Dome, the next in the AstroDome, the next at Cowboys Stadium, the next at Arrowhead Stadium, the next at Soldier Field, etc.

ELP at their peak were best described as an arena act, which is no small thing, btw.

 

...anyway, it's ok with me that Rush wasn't some huge stadium band.

Only seen them about 6 times: 1 stadium, 5 arenas.

 

Shirley you cant be serious

 

But the fact that we’re not in the 70s or 80s and have had more time to reflect on the band has enabled us to gain a clearer, more accurate perspective. I remember Rush quite well, especially in the mid-80s and no band was making music like them at the time. They were always a band that evolved from one album to the next. I think the fact that you haven’t bothered looking at their achievements from an objective point-of-view reveals more about your own prejudices about the band than anything substantial or thought-provoking.

 

One would have to look closer at the demographics relative to the times.

 

Of the strange things I've read on this forum, maybe the strangest is the questioning of 1970s Rush's credentials as a "prog" band. Sure, Permanent Waves was a shift to a more radio-friendly AOR approach. But if the five albums from Fly By Night through Hemispheres aren't prog, i don't know what is?

 

Rush were not retro.
Once past their first 3 "hard Rock" albums they were a very innovative rock band.
The albums speak for themselves - 2112, A Farewell To Kings, Hemispheres, Permanent Waves, Moving Pictures, Signals.
I find your remarks to be very ignorant of what Rush accomplished in that time span.

 

Elder could be if people still cared about rock music.