It's three short weeks until the 2008 leg of the Snakes & Arrows tour kicks off in Puerto Rico. Rush is currently hunkered down in rehearsals at an undisclosed location in the Toronto area. But according to a Puerto Rican reader they'll be heading to San Juan a full one week prior to the show to rehearse there as well (see the Feb. 7 update to this post). As more proof that ticket sales are sluggish for this go-around, Rush is only at #18 on the Pollstar Top 50 Concert List. Not bad, but on the last leg they were consistently in the top 10 (top 5 usually) from when tickets went on sale through to the end of the tour. Maybe things will pick up once folks get their tax rebates or ... if Rush drops a setlist bombshell of some kind.
I've received several setlist rumors over the past couple of weeks and - up until now - I haven't felt confident enough in the information to report it. But just last Friday there was a very interesting rumor posted at The Rush Forum. In it the poster relays some info he received from a friend of his who knows a FEDEX driver in Toronto who is also a Rush fan. Apparently this driver was able to overhear some of Rush's rehearsals while making deliveries to the warehouse where they're rehearsing, and he gives a partial list of some of the songs he heard. I know several of you still won't buy it, but after cross-checking his info with a couple of other rumors I'd heard, and checking with one of my more reliable sources - it definitely sounds legit. And there are 2 songs in particular on the list that I'm almost positive about - the 5th and 10th songs listed. Whether these songs will ultimately make it to the setlist or not is something we'll just have to wait 3 weeks to find out for sure. So if you want to know some of the songs Rush may be currently rehearsing, read (*** SPOILER ALERT ***) below the fold or check out the original thread at The Rush Forum (*** SPOILER ALERT ***).
In last week's poll I asked you which of Rush's never-played-live 90's-era songs would you most like to hear on the 2008 leg. The overwhelming winner with over 30% of the vote was Cut To The Chase off of Counterparts. The next three spots went to Everyday Glory (12%), Totem (11%) and Alien Shore (10%) with all the other tracks garnering 5% or less. You can see the complete results here. For this week I'm asking the same question but shifting the focus to post-2000-era Rush which includes only their Vapor Trails and Snakes & Arrows albums. So which of Rush's never-played-live post-2000-era songs would you most like to hear on the 2008 leg? Take the poll and let us know what you think.
This past weekend we learned that The Canadian Music Scene is allowing readers to submit questions for an upcoming Q&A session with Rush's long-time graphic artist Hugh Syme. You can submit your question for Hugh at this link.
The Rush Backstage Club is running a new Meet & Greet contest for the upcoming tour. Go to this link to enter.
Rush will be appearing on the nationally syndicated radio show Rockline on Wednesday, April 30th at 11:30 PM EST. For details or to listen live go to the Rockline website.
The release date for Rush's upcoming double live CD Snakes & Arrows Live has been pushed back one week to April 15th. The Workin' Them Angels live single from the album was officially released to radio on March 10th and just recently made it into the top 30 on the Mediabase Mainstream Rock Chart.
The long-awaited Episode 2 of the Rush.com video feature The Biggest Fans was recently posted to the Multimedia section of the website. Make sure to check it out if you haven't yet - it's hilarious.
There's more information regarding this upcoming summer's RushCon 8 posted at the official RushCon website.
Power Windows alerts us to yet another reference to Rush made on the Cartoon Channel's Adult Swim TV show Aqua Teen Hunger Force. The reference occurred in episode #508 titled The Marines which aired this past Sunday, March 16th. From the Power Windows site:
... When Meatwad unwittingly enlists the Aqua Teens into the Marine Corps, Frylock flees to Canada. In the ATHF universe, "Canada" is merely a red barn, where Jigsaw, the star of the Saw horror movie franchise, taunts and tortures people via a live video feed. In one scene, Jigsaw tries to lure Meatwad into the barn with Want to play a game...I've got all the Rush records!. ...
Power Windows also made a short clip available which I stuck up on YouTube.
This past Thursday, March 20th marked the anniversary of Rush's induction into the Juno Awards Hall of Fame back in 1994 (watch the video here). And this coming Monday, March 24th marks the anniversary of Rush's first Juno award which they won back in 1975 for Most Promising Group. This year's Junos will occur in Calgary Alberta from April 4-6. Rush is not up for any awards but Richard Chycki is up for Recording Engineer of the Year for his work on Far Cry.
Legendary guitarist Michael Schenker (formerly of UFO and The Scorpions) recently released an album of cover songs called Doctor, Doctor: The Kulick Sessions and included in the collection is a cover of Rush's Finding My Way. You can listen to a sample of the song at this link. Thanks to GhostWriter at Counterparts for the heads up.
I recently came across a couple of neat Rush spy photos from the last leg of the tour. There's this image of Geddy and Alex arriving for the show in Rotterdam last October (thanks to Vagner for the link). And there's this photo of Neil's bike shot at the Phoenix show by Counterparts member Showdonttell25.
Last month I mentioned that Jhase Sniderman - goalie of the Ontario Hockey League's London Knights - is the Godson of Geddy Lee. Well, there was a feature article on Sniderman in Wednesday's London Free Press. Geddy Lee was mentioned again and it also turns out that Sniderman's grandfather is Sam of Sam the Record Man fame.
There was a Rush sighting in the latest issue of British Sci-fi/fantasy magazine SFX. They counted down the top sci-fi-related songs and Rush's The Body Electric came it at #8. They did a similar countdown for concept albums and Rush's 2112 came in at #3. Thanks to Slaine mac Roth at The Rush Forum for the heads up.
Alex Lifeson is mentioned in the April 2008 issue of Guitar World in an article on prog-rock on pages 109-110. Here's a transcript:
RUSH INTO THE LIMELIGHT
A powerhouse player, Alex Lifeson remains among the most innovative rock guitarists of the last three decades. His work with the kajillion-selling Canadian power trio Rush is marked by epic and melodic solos, shimmering rhythm parts, and a frequent use of modulation and time-based effects to add dimension to his colorful guitarscapes. Some of Lifeson's best electric solos are in tracks such as the complex instrumental La Villa Strangiato, and Limelight, which includes tasteful whammy-bar effects and strong melodic statements.
In addition to his fiery lead work, Lifeson is also a skilled rhythm guitarist and texturalist. Like the Police's Andy Summers, Lifeson makes extensive use of chorus in his arpeggiated chord progressions. His electric work often sounds like acoustic playing, and his rhythm work is just as developed as his lead playing - which certainly contributes to the success of any power trio, even if that trio includes monster bassist Geddy Lee and powerhouse percussionist Neil Peart. Like many other iconic prog guitarists, Lifeson is a veritable jack of all guitar trades, equally at home with electric, a acoustic, or classical guitars, and always handy at pushing the envelope of rock guitar.
Let's zero in on Lifeson's ability to craft vibrant chord parts that sound full and jangly by checking out Example 6. Instead of playing typical, clunky barre chords, Lifeson often lets the B and high-E strings ring open (provided it suits the tonality), making his six-string guitars sound almost like 12-strings, perhaps adding some stereo chorus to further widen the sound.
"I've always put a lot of emphasis on being a rhythm guitarist," said Lifeson in 1994. "In a three-piece, you have to. You have to fill the space".
Thanks to arrowsandsnakes for the heads up.
March Madness is upon us and every rock station across the country seems to want in on the action by running March Bandness competitions. Rush unfortunately lost to The Who in round 1 of 92.3 K-Rock's March Bracket Brawl that I'd mentioned a couple of weeks back. You can still go vote for Rush in 106.9 The Fox's Bracket of the Bands competition that I'd mentioned last week. And here's a new one; Rock 105 is running their Rock and Roll National Championship. Rush is up against Styx and currently winning so go vote for Rush!
Have a great weekend!
SPOILER ALERT!!
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Possible songs Rush is rehearsing
Vapor Trail
Closer to the Heart
Spirit of Radio
Far Cry
* Marathon
La Villa Strangato
Faithless
Working Man
How it is
* Jacob's Ladder
Roll the Bones
Bravado
The Main Monkey Business
Everyday Glory
Working Them Angels or Armor and Sword (one of the two)
* I have separate confirmation of these songs being rehearsed that I'm very confident about
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