UPDATE - 6/12@11:23PM: MLB pitcher turned photographer Randy Johnson was apparently photographing the show. So now you know who that really tall guy with the camera was that you saw at the show. :)
UPDATE - 6/11@2:51PM: Here's a review from the Buffalo News.
UPDATE - 6/11@9:56AM: Here's a photo gallery from Cygnus-X1.net.
UPDATE - 6/10@11:22PM: The show is over and setlist B was played as expected. Good night Buffalo!
UPDATE - 6/10@6:26PM: The show should be getting underway in a little over an hour from now. Rush is expected to play their Version B setlist as shown here. If anything changes, I'll let everyone know.
Date/Time: Wednesday, June 10th @ 7:30PM
Show Number: 14
Venue: First Niagara Center
Place: Buffalo, NY
Twitter: #R40BUF | #R40Live
Instagram: #R40BUF
YouTube: Buffalo Rush R40 Live Tour
Setlist: Version B
Photos: Cygnus-X1.net
Reviews: Buffalo News
Rush heads north from Columbus to Buffalo, NY tonight to play the First Niagara Center for the 2nd show of the 2nd leg, and the 14th overall show of the R40 Live tour. The band is expected to play their Version B setlist for tonight's show, and I've already entered that setlist into the Buffalo setlist page for now. I'll be sure to update it if anything changes, and finalize it once the show is over. Despite the expectations of the B set, there's always a chance that Rush will throw something new into the mix. For more discussion on that along with a preview of the show, check out the pre-show SPOILER review below the fold. Here's a great preview article from Jeff Miers of the Buffalo News titled Why everything you think you know about Rush is wrong, which dissects 5 of the most common stereotypes you often hear about Rush. Tonight's show has a 7:30PM start time listed, so the band will probably hit the stage around 7:45-ish. For everyone going tonight, have fun, stay safe and make sure to share your reports, reviews, photos and video with us. RUSH!!!!
*** WARNING ***
*** SPOILERS BELOW ***
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*** pre-show SPOILER review *** Rush is expected to play their Version B setlist tonight, although they could always surprise us with something different. On the first leg they consistently soundchecked Losing It but never included it in the live set. This lends support to the current rumor that they will only be playing it at a few select shows centered around the inclusion of a guest violinist (Ben Mink? Clockwork Angels stringer?), with Toronto (where the DVD will be filmed), NYC, Vancouver (last Canadian show) and Los Angeles (last US show, last show of tour) being the likely candidates. The only other question is whether it would replace Subdivisions in the set or be added in before or after it. In his recent Classic Rock interview Alex had this to say about the setlist and tour:
"... We've dug deep. We've pulled out some songs that we haven't played in a very long time. We've pulled out some real fan favourites. And we're enjoying playing them. We've revisited every era except maybe the mid-eighties era, which we covered in a good portion of the set on the last tour. We've not included anything from Power Windows or Hold Your Fire, but there's something from just about every other record. ... We're bringing the Hemispheres Prelude and Jacob's Ladder and Cygnus X-1. It's fun and exciting to play these old songs. Jacob's Ladder sounds amazing! For years we've discounted it, although it was always a fans' favourite. We've got three sets - A, B, C - which we'll be rotating throughout the tour. ... Ged and I have gone crazy on bringing out all of our old instruments and buying up vintage gear all over the place. His goal is to play a different bass for every song in the show. ..."
Note that he says that nothing from Power Windows will be played which would count out The Big Money despite it being listed in the tourbook credits. However, it's possible that the tourbook credit refers to the fact that a snippet of the song was included in the opening video. Some other quick notes about the setlist and the show:
* The entire setlist is played in reverse chronological order, beginning with Clockwork Angels, and ending in the encore with a short snippet of the unreleased, early '70s track Garden Road.
* As the show progresses back in time, the stage props and instruments also devolve to coincide with the songs being played.
* How It Is had never been played live prior to this tour.
* During the rap section of Roll The Bones a video is played with the following celebrities lip-syncing the rap: the Trailer Park Boys, Paul Rudd & Jason Segel, Jay Baruchel, Les Claypool, Tom Morello, and Peter Dinklage.
* For the 2nd set, Neil Peart's R40 drum kit is replaced with a retro, late '70s-era replica kit dubbed El Darko featuring double bass drums.
* The Camera Eye is dedicated to the late Andrew MacNaughtan with an in loving memory photo shown at the end of the song.
* Every show/setlist so far has been identical from Jacob's Ladder on through the encore.
* Jacob's Ladder makes its first live appearance since 1980.
* Cygnus X-1 Book Two: Hemispheres - Prelude had not been played since 1994.
* Cygnus X-1 Book One - The Voyage: Part 3 was last played live in 1980, although Prologue was played in 2002.
* Xanadu includes both Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee using doubleneck guitars.
* The Mel's Rock Pile skit before the encore reprises Eugene Levy's character from an old SCTV skit as seen here.
* Lakeside Park was last played live in 1978, and this performance is truncated, leaving out the bridge/last verse.
* What You're Doing was last played live in 1977.
Photos from Instagram using hashtag #R40BUF:
