Anyone going to see Rush?

The concert was great, but the sound at the back rhs of the "flat" area was not great. Bass notes were just a loud "Sound" and the music just bounced around and made your ears "ring". All the more annoying as my mate we met there had recently seen Yes there and said the sound was really good, extra hangings at the back and extra speakers half way down.
The sound seemed to improve a little in the second half(or I was getting used to it).
It seems to me that a little less volume would result in a cleaner sound ,it makes you wonder if the guy(s) on the desk ever venture out into the arena during the performance.
Those going both days may have some observations about any differences.

Howard

The 3 tumbles dryers from the Brazil concerts have been replaced by 2 tumble dryers and a vending machine. As far as I can acertain it' a piss take. Instead of loads of miked up amps and stuff on stage they have the white goods and vending machine. Perhaps some crazy canuck humour there

PS
Its a shame NAIM can't make a super huge concert rig. It would have to be a fixed venue though you couldn't wait 2 months between gigs for the rig to "warm up".

[This message was edited by BigH47 on Thu 09 September 2004 at 18:32.]

[This message was edited by BigH47 on Thu 09 September 2004 at 18:32.]

I saw them for the first time last night, absolutely awesome. Sound quality in row 5 was OK, but watching them play just blew me away

Regards

Trevor

Well it's been probably a couple of years since I posted on this site. However, the performance of RUSH on Wednesday night as prompted me to do so.

Absolutely phenomenal. 3.25 hours of musical mastery from 3 individuals who are all master craftsmen at their trade.

Agree with the Wembley Arena accoustics - not a good venue for good sound. But wow - what a band. 30 years together and they can still perform with the energy and sheer capability of this.

Bought back all the memories from 15 years ago - another awesome performance.

Grace Under Pressure straight into the CDX and now in the car.

Damian

Anyone go to Manchester last night?

What a gig! Sound was a little woolly where I was, but what do you expect in a big arena?

Neil dropped a stick twice - Oh My God! He is human after all!!!

David

You guys have me interested in seeing Rush again. I missed them the last two times but have seen them every year before that. Actually the last time I "saw" them was when Geddy Lee did an album signing for his solo record a few years ago at a local hockey rink.

Anyway, I'm mainly posting about this Caress Of Steel nonsense. I heard Bastille Day the other night on the radio while driving in my truck. I had to crank it up; that song just rocks.

So today I got the record out and played it front to back. Twice. It is their most solid record. I would say the record is a must have just for Bastille Day but Under The Shadow (the middle song in The Necromancer) has one of the most lacerating guitar tones ever. I also love the two chords strummed on the electric 12-string in The Fountain of Lamneth theme.

The drum solo, called Didacts and Narpets is quite a workout and one of Neil's best.

I also think Caress of Steel has Neil's best lyrics. When that record came out, I was sort of into the whole Dungeons and Dragons/Lord of The Rings thing. You know, incense and all that.

Give the record a listen again if you disagree. I also really like the production/mixing. I have fond memories of playing this record with headphones on, burning one, with a lava lamp or psycho light going. As soon as I'm done posting I may just have to get out the phones.

BTW, as much as I favor the Rush epics like 2112, Cygnus X1, and Hemispheres, my favorite tune by them is probably Kid Gloves. I love that song.

Ron The Mon,
(Still a) Rush-Freak.

Was at the SECC last night. Watching them was amazing, but listening rendered somewhat pointless by a sound mix completely overwhelmed by low bass. To the extent that the music ceased to be music. Shame, Alex's sound was superb and Neil's was pretty good, but anything Geddy played might just as well have come out of one of the tumble driers.

Faced with the prospect of getting increasingly frustrated by the sound with a huge queue in the car park at the end to rub salt in to the wound, I left after a couple of songs in the second half. "Disappointed" doesn't even start to cover it.

As to "what sound do I exepect in a big arena?", I saw Peter Gabriel in the very same hall back in June, and the sound was easily the best I've ever heard at a rock gig with everything clear and tuneful. Hearing a friend's report from Wembley and reading the criticisms here, it looks more than just possible that the basic problem was a fool on the sound who thinks more bass equals better.

Bah!

Pete.

Interesting The bass problem. In the current Rush article in Classic Rock Geddy Lee discusses a sound check in a big american arena and comments that the Bass is very boomy during the sound check but they have to leave it like that because when the hall is full lots of the bass is absorbed by the crowd. It would seem that they have failed to get the balance right by your and other comments here.

As I said re the Wembley gig , does no body walk around the arena during the performance to check on the sound. I they do he needs sacking if thjey don't the sound crew need sacking.
Perhaps they used the "big American arena " settings, and there were not enough big Americans to absorb it.
As mentioned before Yes had a "very good" system occording to my mate. Much the same as the Peter Gabriel comment.

Howard

As also posted on the pfm place:

Sound in large arenas
Last Wednesday at Wembley I found myself in one of the worst seats in the place - at the back on the right hand side facing the stage. The sound was terrible; the bass guitar and bass drum sounded about a fraction of a beat late throughout. And as others have stated here, there was a lot of bass (some very low notes from Geddy's keyboards and bass pedals). Coupled to this was the appalling view; I could see them clearly only with the aid of the hired binoculars I had (and I have very good eyesight).

The following night I found myself nine rows back from the front on the left hand side facing the stage (Alex Lifeson's side). Completely different experience re. the sound and visuals. It was so transformed it was almost like a different gig. Yes it was certainly loud but not unbearably so; I could hear everything in the live mix (it was a kind of hi-fi loudness). The Who tribute band, Who's Who, I saw recently in a pub hall venue was subjectively far louder (my eardrums were 'tickling' on that one and I had to retreat to the back of the hall from the front after a very short time).

I will also say that I have never seen Wembley Arena so full, (pretty much every block of seating was occupied) and fans so obviously committed to a band. The Who (the real band) are perhaps the only other band that I can compare this with.

Mole Man

P.S. Did anyone else notice the amount of guitar changes that Alex Lifeson made throughout the gigs?

MM
We must have been prety close on wednesday I hope you wern't with the woman who I told off for smoking. You summed up really well the feeling about the bass "sound". I also don't think it appeared over loud but had the feeling a little less volume and it would have not reacted with the hall so much. I did not notice any apparent delay, but admit to sitting down a lot and just listening in the second half. I was on the end of row and could often see the screen above the stage.
Did not think Alex changed axes that often,have you seen the amount of them Ronnie Wood takes on tour?

Howard

Alex was changing guitars like they were going out of fashion, and I only saw the first half and two songs...

rush.com has an equipment list for the current tour, and he does indeed use several. And unlike the bass, they were very, very well amplified and reproduced in Glasgow.

But I'm still gutted by the whole affair of Tueday's gig :-( I'd been waiting over 10 years for that concert, and I enjoyed a R2 documentary on Aretha Franklin on the car radio driving home more becuase I could hear what was going on better. Bah! again, and thrice Bah!

Pete.

Rush September 11th at NEC, must be the finest live performance I have ever seen. Agree that the sond wasn't great but the sheer musical performance more than made up for it. Did any one else think the sound got better as the night went one, especially the second half.
Have seen rush three times before, this gig was by far the best yet. a memory that will be cherished for many years.Awesome.

Ian

I can't bear Rush. They are one of those bands that polarise music lovers I guess, but I am heartened that a band with a relatively small loyal following can still pack the major gigs and carry on doing what they do successfully. Long may they continue.

quote:

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Originally posted by Ian B:
Agree that the sond wasn't great but the sheer musical performance more than made up for it.

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Glad that someone had a great time at least, but for me if you take away the basslines (and submerging them in an inarticulate drone takes them away) then that's a third of the musical tripod that Rush are. Very stable with all three legs, but take one out and the other two fall over. So the "sheer musical performance" just wasn't there for me, it was very articulate guitar and drumming over a monotone rumble, and that made for noise rather than music.

I saw them at NEC in '88, and on that occasion the sound started off poor but markedly and noticeably improved quite soon, so there were obviously tweaks going on. But on Tuesday there wasn't any obvious change in the sheer quantity of bass by the time they'd finished "Dreamline", and I just couldn't take any more disappointment by that point.

Pete.