The National Midnight Star #402

Errors-To: rush-request@syrinx.umd.edu Reply-To: rush@syrinx.umd.edu Sender: rush-request@syrinx.umd.edu Precedence: bulk From: rush@syrinx.umd.edu To: rush_mailing_list Subject: 12/12/91 - The National Midnight Star #402
** ____ __ ___ ____ ___ ___ ** ** / /_/ /_ /\ / /__/ / / / / /\ / /__/ / ** ** / / / /__ / \/ / / / / /__/ / \/ / / /___ ** ** ** ** __ ___ ____ ** ** /\ /\ / / \ /\ / / / _ /__/ / ** ** / \/ \ / /___/ / \/ / /___/ / / / ** ** ** ** ____ ____ ___ ___ ** ** /__ / /__/ /__/ ** ** ____/ / / / / \ ** List posting/followup: rush@syrinx.umd.edu Administrative matters: rush-request@syrinx.umd.edu or rush-mgr@syrinx.umd.edu (Administrative postings to the posting address will be ignored!) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The National Midnight Star, Number 402 Thursday, 12 December 1991 Today's Topics: (none) DAT taping For John Turner RUSH Bootlegs Rockline in NY Worcester, MA concert SPOILER Rush As Musicians another useless tidbit NYC 12/6 Comments (SPOILERS?) Toys onstage Not Rush related BUT... Working Man Re: toys in the show? Thumbs up to John Turner AVAIL.BOOTS LIST Tickets for Seattle go on sale SAT 12-14! Re: address of the boyz Rush and hearing loss Rush and Rand glow sticks and Ayn Rand ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 11 Dec 1991 15:40:20 -0800 (PST) From: TGRAVES@UPS.EDU Any Yes fans out there. Would like to know of the existence of a Yes mailing list like the Rush one. <tgraves.ups.edu> ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 11 Dec 91 19:23 EDT From: <SIMON%HUXTAL.BITNET@mitvma.mit.edu> Subject: DAT taping Want to get alot of mail from interesting people ? Then just post to the NMS that you will be taping a Rush show ! I got alot of mail from folks asking for analog dubs of the show. Unfortunately, I had some security problems. I had great taping seats (22nd row floor, near the center) but, unfortunately, they were right next to the security station. Imagine my paranoia, with all the stuff I had (Nak 700 capsules, power supply, cabling, DAT - would have been a great tape !) and all the security dudes right there, with noone between me and them. Well, they did catch on, and I had to check my stuff in the security desk. This happened just after the warm-up band, so I did not miss any of an excellent show. (And it was great ! My favority of my 10 Rush shows. The encore just blew me away !!!). After I got yelled at by two Centrum security dudes, I got yelled at by two Rush dudes (Rush management folks with laminates all over them). I explained 'I just love Rush'. They said 'Then why are you stealing money from them ?'. I said 'Stealing money ! I own every album they put out ! They're not losing any money from me.' After being told that they were going to 'press charges' (yeah, right) and that I was 'out of here!' I finally did convince them that I had well placed intentions, and they let me return to my seat. Whew ! Anyway, to make a long story short (too late! :-) I don't have any DATs to offer anyone. So ... DAT taper seeks same to obtain Rush tapes from this tour. Have plenty of stuff to trade (but no Rush). Thanks ! take care, ejs --------------------------------------------------------------------- | Eric J. Simon Harvard Univerity HU GSAS BMCDB (BMB) G3 | | SIMON@HUXTAL.BITNET, SIMON@XTAL0.HARVARD.EDU | --------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 11 Dec 1991 20:07:36 -0500 (EST) From: Matthew Joseph Desantis <md4l+@andrew.cmu.edu> Subject: For John Turner John, I cannot agree with you more. I like there is absolutely no reason to worship these musicians. They are humans. Their computer paraphernalia may make them sound infallible, but the are.... humans. Sometimes boards like this get too carried away. I love rush, and much of what they do. People on this board wonder why Rolling Stone pans rush.... they see them as humans. I like rush, but I can see why the average listener or non musician may get quite irritated with the rush sound. Phil Collins plays a totally different style of drums than Neil. Neil is a technican. Phil is more of a charismatic entertainer. There is no way to make a comparison about drumming ability. I bet there are things that Phil does at home that would make Neil shit, but his repertoire does not call for technical drumming. Neil has been doing the same licks for years. He's great, don't get me wrong, but he's a human... he has only a certain capacity for drumming.... I have played keyboards for over ten years, and I think as a musician I appreciate rush. I think many people (Rolling Stone) regard rush as an adolescent band. The music of rush has inspired me, but it's not for all...I think we must all come down from our rush clouds and start to view rock with an open mind. Matt DeSantis ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 11 Dec 91 20:35 EST From: <RKEGLEY%IUBACS.bitnet@UICVM.uic.edu> Subject: RUSH Bootlegs I haven't seen alot of talk about various bootlegs of Rush that exist. Down here in Bloomington, In. home of Indiana University we are home to several independent record stores. One of these stores happens to carry several imports (most being bootlegs). All are used of course. They have 3 Rush boots: CURRENTLY IN VOGUE, RUSHIAN ROULETTE, and LIVE UNDER PRESSURE. Has anyone else heard of these? The quality of them (all are on cd) is not bad (a little audience heavy, but otherwise sound quality, more or less, of ESL. My girlfriend is buying me LIVE UNDER PRESSURE for that Winter Holiday. All 3 have the same sound quality and are definitely worth getting. Imports of anything at this store go for $29.95 for a single disc and $49.95 for a double disc. All 3 Rush cd's are single discs. Does any one else have any of these, or any others I have not heard of? I would be interested in obtaining copies of other bootlegs or buying them, if I can afford them, as I am a starving college student. Any info would be breatly [oops...] greatly appreciated. Many thanx. -g.g. ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 11 Dec 1991 20:37:09 -0500 (EST) From: Ceri Alun Morgan <cm5m+@andrew.cmu.edu> Subject: Rockline in NY Sorry, this is not a Rush post but I figured someone would know the answer due to Rush's recent appearance. Can someone please tell me on which radio station rockline is played in the New York City area. thanks a lot, -Ceri ---------------------------------------------------------- From: martino@wpi.WPI.EDU (Robert Paul Martino Jr) Subject: Worcester, MA concert SPOILER Date: Wed, 11 Dec 91 21:00:55 EST Well, last night was the Worcester MA concert and it was awesome. All the band members IMO looked like they were having a good time, Geddy and Alex were going all over the stage (switching sides, along the sides towards the back, everywhere but on the ramp behind Neil- Alex lost his footing for a second and almost fell over when stepping off the lower part of the ramp to get to the far left side of the stage!) Geddy seemed pretty talkative to the crowd, saying it was good to be back in this part of the country, asking how everyone was doing, etc. My seats weren't that great(balcony right above the left side of the stage) but I could see the videoscreen and everything. The opening cartoon with the cartoon Rush members from the ASOH album cover was funny (the three of them falling from the sky splatting on the stage) Is this the regular video for Force Ten or is it just for concerts? Sorry, I'd never seen any Rush videos until last night, so it might be a dumb question. The playlist was same as recent concerts including GOAC. Neil got up and did one of those windmill arm motions like hockey players do when they score at one point in the show. Lights and lasers were incredible and the speakers at the back of the arena were neat (esp. the end of Where's my Thing when the last note and the lights swept from the stage to the back of the arena and everyone's head turned to follow the light/sound as if someone on stage hit a baseball across the Centrum). The lights during the Rhythm Method were hypnotizing. Let's see can't think of anything else to add... Well that's enough rambling for now. Hope the boyz come around again before I graduate from WPI because the Centrum's only a 15 min. walk from here! Rob Martino martino@wpi.wpi.edu ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 11 Dec 91 21:26:26 EST From: Greg.Andrade@ub.cc.umich.edu Subject: Rush As Musicians I must agree with whoever stated that the members of Rush are great, but not the greatest at playing their respective instruments. I am a die-hard Rush fan, but I can admit that they haven't always performed or written songs which are truly great. Take "Caress Of Steel" as an example. Although Alex's gutiar licks and solos were quite impressive, Neil's drum parts and some of Geddy's bass lines were lack-luster. As far as I'm concerned, COS was a step backward for the band after a great album such as Fly By Night. Since I've become a muscian (drummer), I've found a much greater respect and understanding for what is happening in Rush, but I've also learned how to be an educated listener. Neil Peart in my opinion is the greatest rock drummer who ever lived, but Bill Bruford and Ginger Baker (Cream) are right there with him. There are several drummers who are better than Peart, including Dave Weckl, Steve Gadd, Tony Williams, and Joe Morello. Geddy Lee is also one of the best rock bassists, along with Chris Squire, but (Primus) are better. As for guitarist, there are quite a few guitarists who are better than Lifeson. I don't mean to bash Rush in any way; collectively, they are the greatest band in history (yes, even greater than the Beetles or Rolling Stones). I just had to state my case and I hope that no one is offended. I wouldn't be involved with this mailing list if it weren't for my being a totally dedicated Rush fan. Roll the Bones! ---------------------------------------------------------- Subject: another useless tidbit Date: Wed, 11 Dec 91 21:49:26 EST From: ddl683@csc.albany.edu The New York Times (12/11/91, sec.C) printed a review of the 6 Dec. show at Madison Square Garden. It isn't particularly negative or positive; I don't feel like typing it all in, but to paraphrase, Karen Schoemer was generally respectful of the boyz' musical abilities, but said she was overwhelmed by the layers of samples and multimedia, so that the band members were "practically invisible." She especially pointed this out in "Roll the Bones" itself. [personal opinion starts] I agree with her to some extent -- every Rush show I find myself hoping they'll suddenly stop, tell their sampleboy (Jack Secret, I presume?) to take a night off, and just jam, but I know they never will. So I enjoy the concert THEY give, instead of the one I'd like to see. And largely my wish for a Rush show that is unfettered by computers, and samplers, and a pre-determined setlist exists because I've seen them a few times already, so I'm used to them as they perform now. We all want each night to be something special, something done "just for us," don't we? Ms. Schoemer also comments that the "thousands of teen-agers in the audience, most of them male, screamed every lyric, punched their fists in the air. They played air guitar, air keyboards and air drums..." Funny, I was at the show she reviewed and I thought the audience was relatively low-key! She must've been standing behind me... :-) She goes on to say that "... this band has been a kind of rite of passage. With lyrics about such grand philosophic issues as free will, destiny and apocalypse, Rush creates music that is bigger than life, dazzling in its technological feats. The teen-age mind is chaos; Rush is perfect order. It's like a sonic video game." I believe she's getting a little carried away with her metaphors. The audience at most hard rock concerts is largely made up of teen-age males, for one thing. Second, rock music in general is a "rite of passage," an expression of the rebellious, and Rush only distinguishes itself in ability and in lyrical content. But they're "just" a rock band, they've said so themselves. She may not be wrong in what Rush represents, but I don't go to a concert because of "big themes," I go to sing myself hoarse and applaud three great players. Derek L. -- derek@albnyvms.bitnet <> ddl683@sarah.albany.edu ====}=---------------` Fencers love to touch '-----------------={==== "Cinderella man... hang on to your plans..." ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 11 Dec 91 21:52 EST From: <AS624625%LIUVAX.bitnet@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU> Subject: NYC 12/6 Comments (SPOILERS?) Hey... I was at MSG on 12/6 and I thought I'd at my $0.02. Overall, what can I say, it was a great show. I had seats on the floor, directly in front of the mixing board, so they were pretty good. I really have to say, as far I was concerned, the boyz played great, but didn't necessarily sound great. For some reason (was it me?) it sounded like the mix was off almost all night. Alex was really getting lost in the background at times. During a couple of songs, I totally missed his entry on the solos. When he was on, though, he was awesome. Geddy was incredible all night and well Neil... the solo was incredible. To whoevere said that Ged did the rap live, I don't think so. It was pretty obvious that he walked over the the synth setup to kick the sequence in. Which reminds me... Was anyone else taken by how loud and empty some of the sound sample were? I mean, during Force Ten, the "rising, falling at Force Ten" part was louder that Ged singing the straight lines, and it sounded awkward. The same with Aimee Mann's "Time Stand Still" sample... way too loud. I think they corrected a bit later. "Show Don't Tell" sounded better, but (as has been said) Geddy triggered the sample a bit early at one point. I really have to agree with a previous poster about what was probably the biggest disappointment at the show. The crowd quality was pretty poor. I mean I saw so many people where just standing stonewall while the boyz were really rockin'. I didn't get it. With the exception of the radio staples (Spirit of Radio, Sawyer, Limelight, etc), the response by the bulk of the people was lukewarm at best. But I didn't let it get me down. I had an incredible time! Just wished they had played a bit longer... As to Rush coming through NYC again, I have to agree that it will be the Meadowlands in March and not Nassau Colliseum. The tour shirts mention East Rutherford (Meadowlands) and don't mention Uniondale (Nassau). Well, I hope the crowd is more into the show then. I'll see ya there! -- |George Papadopoulos| | gip@msb.com | | AS624625@LIUVAX | ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 11 Dec 91 23:14:33 EST From: "David S. Schmidt" <dschmidt@sales.stern.nyu.edu> Subject: Toys onstage Yes, there definately is a dancingkeleton on the top of Alex's amps, it is rather small, but it seems to be going haywire throughout the concert! I wonder if it moves in response to sound, or if it is battery powered? Has anyone else noticed how the various sequences and samples are triggered by the boyz? It helps to have binoculars to see exactly what they are doing onstage. ---------------------------------------------------------- Subject: Not Rush related BUT... From: wilkinso@darkside.com (Sean Flanegan) Date: Wed, 11 Dec 91 15:49:16 PST I must say that Yes are definately my second favorite band next to Rush, and Tony Banks does not hold a candle to Rick Wakeman(one of the most talent musicians I have ever witnessed perform) I also really don't think Genesis are even as good Yes let alone Rush. Here are my reasons. I think that old Genesis is much better than the new stuff( your no son of mine sounds really cornball to me) Phil Collins should be behind the drumkit New Genesis sounds like a Phil Collins solo album. On the arguement between Geddy and Tony Banks Ged isn't a Keyboardist to the extent that Tony Banks or Rick Wakeman are. He is a BASS PLAYER and SINGER!!!!!! And NO ONE CAN SING OR PLAY BASS LIKE GEDDY!!! NO ONE!!!! Tony Banks can't do those things. PS I am not trying to cut down Genesis because they are at least one the only bands around today who have SOME originality!!! I am just eager to tell my ideas on a comparison between Rush and Genesis. Just for the record here are my favorite bands 1. RUSH 2. YES(ABWH or any incarnation) 3. LED ZEPPELIN (Just Rock legends) I also like Queensryche, The Who, Primus Eric Johnson, Jeff Beck, Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Cream ( thsecond best rock trio ever) sean ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 12 Dec 91 01:38:22 -0600 From: walker1@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (George Walker) Subject: Working Man hello! anyone notice the 'double-track' effect on 'Working Man', from _RUSH_? best i can tell, it sounds like geddy singing the same part *twice* (ie, once for the left-side track, and again for the right-side track, then combining the two into one {listening to the song on a cassette, BTW}), or maybe geddy singing the back-up vocals as well as main vocal. any thoughts/ideas/info? thanks! Ben ---------------------------------------------------------- From: rivard@claude.ma30.bull.com (Dennis Rivard) Subject: Re: toys in the show? Date: Thu, 12 Dec 91 8:51:34 EST > I was at the Worcester show - and it was amazing!! It was The last (and first time) I saw Rush was for the HYF tour, and this show blew HYF away! > I have a strange question to ask...my brother and I were wondering > about something. Can someone who was sitting either near the front or on > the left side tell me what that was on top of the amp? From where we were [...] > flower things (those toys that move and seem to dance when there's music or > noise near 'em)...finally we guessed it was a dancing skeleton. Is that I was sitting stage left (BEHIND the screen :-( ) and I saw what you were talking about (it was on stage right, but I was positioned in such a way as to see it).... it appeared to me, to be a dancing skeleton that was kind of sitting down... it definately was not standing though... ---------------------------------------------------------- From: Tero Valkonen <d40374w@kaira.hut.fi> Subject: Thumbs up to John Turner Date: Thu, 12 Dec 91 17:38:41 EET I was very positively surprised about John Turner's posting in today's NMS. As you remember, he was the guy who had gotten mad about the Rush- worship. As you probably remember, I personally hate Roll the bones and don't regard Presto as a very good album either. I have also made this very clear in my postings to the NMS. Also, I posted something very similar to John's posting a few months ago. Blaming the Rush-woshipers and such. I don't know whether you remember that posting, but since John predicted that he will be getting a lot of flames for that posting I decided to tell you what kind of email replies I got to my "Thumbs down to Rush-worship" (Actually my posting was titled "To Gregg Jaeger and other fanatics") article. TWO persons flamed me. A LOT of people told me that I had done a good job when slandering the fanatical worshippers. And I think John Turner did a very good job on his article as well. I got very sad and upset about the flame-war that is going on in alt. rock-n-roll the very moment and I actually tried to calm people down in one of my postings. One thing that I find very annoying is that my fellow Rush-fans seem to LOVE that kind of flaming, since they never stop doing it regardless of how much you beg them to stop. If a person doesn't like Rush and thinks they suck, leave it at that. I consider U2 to be absolute garbage but I have nothing against a person who thinks they're great - even if he told me that The Edge is the guitar-god and Alex Lifeson sucks. Ain't it funny how it is: Rush is the only band (Ok, the only one I've seen) whose fans are generally so stupid and naive and fanatical and and and...that they need to flame anyone who disagrees with them. Or is it just that the fanatics make so much noise that they seem to be the majority? [ Personally I think it's the latter, but it may be wishful thinking... :-) :rush-mgr ] ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 12 Dec 1991 08:45 MDT From: SLCKM@cc.usu.edu Subject: AVAIL.BOOTS LIST Whoooooooaaaaah! I must have missed this! Can anybody tell me how to get access to said list? I can't find it at the FTP... Thanks, The Thom Thomas Earl Bowers ORQ: ``Shit. *Stupid* computer!'' Utah State University --K. Lerxst slckm@cc.usu.edu ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 12 Dec 1991 08:54:53 -0800 (PST) From: Eric Lundquist <ericl@cac.washington.edu> Subject: Tickets for Seattle go on sale SAT 12-14! The title says it all... Eric Lundquist University Of Washington, Seattle ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 12 Dec 91 11:41:21 -0600 From: Brian E. Saunders <saunders@luther.che.wisc.edu> Subject: Re: address of the boyz What do you plan to do? Drop by their house and say hello? I truly doubt that anyone outside Rush's management has them (maybe even they don't). This is getting into the realm of being dangerously fanatic; I sure hope you don't plan to pull a John Lennon job on Neil Peart. Brian E. Saunders saunders@luther.che.wisc.edu ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 12 Dec 91 12:57 EDT From: <SIMON%HUXTAL.BITNET@mitvma.mit.edu> Subject: Rush and hearing loss Howdy. I am a veteran concert goer who almost never has problems with volume at the show. However, my ears are still ringing from the Rush show two days ago. I was in the 22nd row on the floor, so I was pretty close to the stacks. Usually the ringing will go away after just that one night, but for this show it still persists. My point is this: consider bringing earplugs with you to the show (or cotton or tissue or something). Offer this advise to the people you are going with, especially if they are Rush/concert novices. It might help them enjoy the concert more. Rush is loud ! (and that's the way I like it, don't me wrong-I just wish I had been more cautious). take care, ejs --------------------------------------------------------------------- | Eric J. Simon Harvard Univerity HU GSAS BMCDB (BMB) G3 | | SIMON@HUXTAL.BITNET, SIMON@XTAL0.HARVARD.EDU | --------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 12 Dec 1991 14:07 EST From: Mueller@drew.drew.edu, Matthew S <MMUELLER@drew.drew.edu> Subject: Rush and Rand To Greg and those who don't see any Rand influence in late Rush, How can a philosophy that affects your life completely not always influence some of your writing? I can see lots of Rand influence after 2112, beginning with Hemispheres. Rational Objectivism is the philosophy of selfishness, fighting against the mass popuplar culture and doing what you want. Above all, you must use reason to govern your passions and not be irrationally selfish. Hemispheres is all about the battle in peoples' mind between passion and reason and how either one in excess can be harmful (a full explanation by Neil is in _Visions_). Freewill expresses another Rand concept of atheism, complete freewill and your obligation to decide for yourself. Limelight, Witch Hunt, and Vital Signs all express basically the evils of mass popular culture, the mob, and mass produced super technology. Subdivisions is all about childhood battles for independence against an all absorbing society, as is Kid Gloves. The Body Electric is another example of super technology trying to have freewill. Neil expresses a belief that emotion must be balanced with rationality in Open Secrets when he says " I find no ablsolution in my rational point of view. Maybe somethings are instinctive, but there is one thing you can do." Show Don't Tell says that we must all make our own decisions on what to believe and not take anything on pure faith (notice, "_I_ will be the judge"). Superconductor is an example of people who just perform to please the crowd and soak up second-hand self esteem. Most of RTB talks about not believing in fate or supreme being but in taking our chances and living life to the fullest. Neil writes in the title track, "Good work is the key to good fortune." which is Rand almost word for word. There are more examples but I don't want to ramble too much. OQ-"He [Geddy] looks like my grandfather!"-one of my friends upon seeing the pictures of Dirk in _Guitar_ -Matt the Bassist ---------------------------------------------------------- From: stedmant@LONEX.RL.AF.MIL (Terrance A. Stedman) Date: Thu, 12 Dec 91 15:23:45 EST Subject: glow sticks and Ayn Rand > Something cool: cool?????? >Right at the begining of the Rhythm Method, someone chucked one of >those chemical glow stick thingies on stage, and it bounced off of >Alex's synth and hit one of Neils cymbals, making it sound. It was >really cool because it sounded like it should have been there, but >Neil was not amused. (like I said, he didn't seem to be having much >fun) I'm a drummer and I hate it when people handle my equipment, be it stands, toms, or especially cymbals which get dirty rather easily. Basically, I'm real protective of my kit. So I can definitely understand why Neil was "not amused" when that glow stick struck his cymbal. It equally well could have struck and possibly injured him!! Besides that, it probably broke his concentration as well. On a lighter note, people who want to find out more about Ayn Rand should take the time to read "Anthem". The book is really short so it doesn't take long to read. You will also find that the story parallels side one of 2112 almost exactly which explains why Neil gave credit to her on the album. Cheers! Terry Stedman Internet: stedmant@lonex.rl.af.mil ------------------------------------------------------------------------ I ) I I <~ I_I "It is my will which chooses, and the choice of my will I \ I_I _> I I is the only edict I must respect." - Rand from _Anthem_ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------------------------
To submit material to The National Midnight Star, send mail to: rush@syrinx.umd.edu For administrative matters (subscription, unsubscription, changes, and questions), send mail to: rush-request@syrinx.umd.edu or rush-mgr@syrinx.umd.edu There is now anonymous ftp access available on Syrinx. The network address to ftp to is: syrinx.umd.edu or 128.8.2.114 When you've connected, userid is "anonymous", password is <your userid>. Once you've successfully logged on, change directory (cd) to 'rush'. There is also a mail server available (for those unable or unwilling to ftp). For more info, send email with the subject line of HELP to: server@ingr.com These requests are processed nightly. Use a subject line of MESSAGE to send a note to the server keeper or to deposit a file into the archive. The contents of The National Midnight Star are solely the opinions and comments of the individual authors, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the authors' management, or the mailing list management. Copyright The Rush Fans Mailing List, 1991. Editor, The National Midnight Star (Rush Fans Mailing List) ******************************************** End of The National Midnight Star Number 402 ********************************************