Bummer that it's not the whole concert, or even most of it, but what we got is awesome. The band is full of energy, and you can hear and see it.
Looking at all of these videos of Neil speaking in interviews I am almost confused by the description of him as shy. Even in the Colbert report video, if I hadn't known this descriptor I would have said it was Alex who was the shy one of the three. I've even seen video of him on Bill Mahr which is a place one can't be shy to speak. In all the videos I've seen, he is confident to speak his thought, articulate, a good raconteur, thoughtful in his answers and never at a loss for a comment. Maybe the shy label was simply a cover for not wanting to do press or concert promotion things? Regardless I'm grateful he kept himself open for these interviews.
You know the backstory behind the lyrics to Red Barchetta? Apologies if this has been posted before...it's a great story. BMWBMW • View topic - The Drummer, the Private Eye, and Me (Rush Fans Take Note)
Based on the interviews with people I have seen over the years, I always got the impression that it wasn't so much shy in general as it was being really uncomfortable to be put in the position of a "famous idol" and the person he is interacting with the "fan" or some variation of such. Neil also mentioned this I believe in Beyond The Lighted Stage where he talks about how he was inspired by Keith Moon however would never want to stake out his hotel room to get his autograph, and pretending a stranger was a long awaited friend - to quote Limelight. Of course not that I knew him or know him at all lol. However I got the impression that he was very engaging and talkative when he was treated more a normal dude than a "Rock Drum God" - being engaged in a two-way conversation rather than being endlessly fawned over
Funny. I grew up in a classic rock musical family. My dad plays guitar and is a HUGE Deadhead, but he always hated Rush. He said only nerds listened to Rush when he was in high school. At least now though he respects them as musicians and thought they seemed like cool guys from the Beyond The Lighted Stage documentary. He still doesn't like their music though
Not me. Corgan used to do a live cover of Limelight back in the 90s. Both guys grew up in the 70s and 80s and are some of the more progressive rock-leaning alt-rockers. Good musicians often enjoy other good musicians.
I think I’ve got this right... At the time, the band were moving toward direct signals/amp simulation for their guitars and this made the traditional amp columns unnecessary. In order to fill the void on stage, they added these items (washing machines, rotisseries) as a way to fill the space using their typical brand of humor.
Are there any good Signals tour boots out there? It's a shame that's the one tour where there are no soundboards or professionally released recordings. Hopefully they will put out a show when they get around to that box set in a few years, if not sooner.
That was the first I ever heard or saw of Rush. Getting home from the pub one Friday evening and that gig was on the BBC’s ‘In Concert’ programme. It took about 30 seconds of Spirit Of Radio, and Alex’s finger-tangling intro, to grab my attention. I was transfixed by the rest of the show - ‘wow, these lot are good’, ‘look at all the crowd playing air-drums.’ I went and bought Grace Under Pressure the very next day. Twenty five or so years back. Rush have never left my top five. Must dig out my Replay DVD for a rewatch.
This is the one to track down - pretty good sound quality, and a rare outing for the track Chemistry:
He said that there was no bigger Who fan than himself. I get the feeling that he was far more comfortable engaging in a conversation with a fellow Who fan than with a Rush fan.
Iron Maiden bassist Steve Harris and drummer Nicko McBrain have separately shared their reaction to the death of legendary Rush drummer and lyricist Neal Peart earlier this month. "I never met Neil. I met the other two guys [Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson]," Harris told Rob Rush Radio. "Yeah, it's a sad loss with Neil passing - just awful, really." He then repeated, "Yeah, awful." Nicko spoke to Eonmusic earlier this week about his feelings over Peart's passing. He said, "I only met Neil once, at a show way way back in the late '80s. We were playing in the same city, I think it was in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, somewhere like that. They were doing a show, and we went to their show, got to meet them, and I got to sit and talk with Neil, a wonderful, articulated man. "He was quiet, he was very reserved, but when you sat down with him, my impression of him was of a very articulated, very educated kind, and I liked him very much. And I loved his playing." He shared that he learned about Neil's death via social media. He said, "Friends were phoning me: 'Oh my god, have you heard the news?' My immediate thought was for his family and Geddy and Alex. I thought, 'Oh gosh, how must they all be feeling?', because they were really his family. Not to take away from his wife and his kids." Nicko also discussed the impact that Neil had on rock drumming, "I've influenced players, but I think Neil reached a lot more youngsters than perhaps myself because of the way he played. "Yeah, the drumming community has lost a true diplomat for the instrument, and a wonderful human being, and an absolutely phenomenal player. He'll be sorely missed."
Thanks a lot for posting this pic. That's Herns Ungerlieder in the background, yes? I was lucky enough to meet all the guys after a Rush gig in Newcastle City Hall back in 1980 (Permanent Waves tour). It was the second tour I'd seen and my pal persuaded me that we should queue up at the stage door after the gig. It took a while but eventually the roadcrew let us back into the venue where Geddy, Alex & Neil patiently signed autographs and had a few words with each of the 20 or 30 fans who had queued up. The guys signed my tour programme. As I recall Neil and Alex were quiet and reserved, whilst Geddy was more outgoing. I was an awestruck 17 year old so it's a faint but very pleasant memory. Sadly the signed programme was lost years later along with all my tour programmes and tickets stubs from all my early gigs. That pic of Neil brought that memory flooding back. By the way, my pal that night was Craig Ellis - he was a keen drummer then and these days he is a pro drummer with Tygers of Pan Tang. I lost touch with Craig down the years but I know he'll be saddened by Neil's passing, he was a huge fan of the Professor.
Thanks, I thought it must be something like that rather than just being able to pull clean T shirts out of the dryer for the second set.
I just saw the Time Stand Still documentary and R40 tour blu-rays again, and Neil's performance just struck me to the core. How could he pull that off? It must've been painful, and almost impossible to perform while maintaining the highest possible level of musicianship. I'm just amazed, and forever grateful for what he left us with.
What else can be said, The Professor, consummate professional and human being. Have seen Rush every tour since Moving Pictures (minus Signals, Hold Your Fire). Never disappointed, always a fantastic show. The one band where people got their beers and took their potty breaks before the drum solo, not during. A couple memories of Neil. On Moving Pictures before the show, my brother and I made our way to the front just to look in awe at The Professors' drum kit. Like standing in front of an alter. Hardware was polished and reflected everything...beautiful. To think all that was used and not for show. The other was on Counterparts. I believe during The Big Money, Neil threw his stick in the air and missed. I think the stage lights got in his eyes. He was so pissed he took it out on his drums. His kit looked like it might fall of the riser he was hitting so hard. RIP Thanks for everything.
A person can be shy in some situations but outgoing and talkative in other situations. From what I've observed with Neil, he was VERY uncomfortable with the idea of interacting with strangers OR with people who fawned all over him OR with people who saw him as being "just a drummer". But once he connected with someone on a person-to-person level -- once he trusted you -- then he was able to open up and have an articulate conversation. Also, keep in mind that many of these interviews are fairly recent. Neil became much more open in the past 15 years than he had been in the 25 years before that.
