r/rush

Obviously, if you polled most Rush fans (including me of course), you'll find they are fans of bands like Yes, Porcupine Tree, Dream Theater, Genesis, Jethro Tull, and other prog bands. But besides the obvious, what other artists are you a fan of? They can be rock too, but even then there are still a lot of regular rock bands that Rush fans will congregate to as well. Me personally, rock wise I have been listening to grunge lately, listening to a lot of Nirvana with one of my friends. I've also been exploring modern pop music, and while a lot of it sucks I really like what Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo, and Charli xcx are doing. I do like some of Sabrina Carpenter's songs since she's a Rush fan but it'd be nice if every single song wasn't sexual. I like rap too, but when it wasn't really allowed in the house as a kid I was kind of stunted on it but I do love it when I hear it. I'd say I'm more of a fan of rap songs than rap artists due to this, mainly of ones I've heard in video games or with friends at school (Get Low from playing Need for speed underground at school is definitely as much of my childhood as listening to Xanadu on my iPod). I feel like I should know more Country being from Texas but I've just never been into it. It doesn't help that a lot of modern country feels like it's leaning more into pop music than keeping its country roots.

I went to eat lunch at a local diner near my house. Was wearing the LA Forum show shirt. The guy asks how the show was. I said, “Excellent, beyond expectations!” Then he starts with the bullshit “but it’s not Neil, she’s not as good, Geddy can’t sing”.

I asked, “Did you see a show?” To which he replied “I’ve seen videos”. I said “And you still think they collectively suck?!” Like huh?

“Well, no…”

I laughed. I said, “you can’t really make a judgement without seeing them live. She’s an outstanding drummer. She knows she’s not Neil as do the fans. Go see them, I recommend…”

“Meh…”

I went back to my burger, thinking “what a dummy”.

I’ll never understand the “fans” that hate that this is happening and try to shit on it.

I'm new to Rush as I only have two of their albums ( Presto and Roll The Bones ), but just from these two albums, they make me want to learn more about them and more about their music. What got you all into Rush and what was your first album by them?

Rush’s story is one of the most unique and inspiring in the world of rock. Not only have they maintained a nearly flawless musical career, but they’ve also had to rise from the ashes at various points in their history.

Seeing them live for the first time in Mexico City—with a show whose sound and quality exceeded my expectations—put my doubts about their comeback to rest. And the tour is far from over.

This made me wonder if Rush is one of the few bands to have achieved massive success after what seemed to be their definitive retirement from the stage.

Here's what I'm throwing down...

For those of us who've seen Rush in the 70's and 80's in arenas, their concerts were largely comprised of lights, lasers, inflatable rabbits, and both artistic and campy images on the screen. There were no close-up shots of the guys projected in 4k on screens that are 10-stories high and as wide as the arena itself as we've seen since 2002 to today. As such, the production costs are high which, understandably, requires months of preparation and more hands on deck to make the show successful night after night. Now that there's talk about Rush playing the Sphere in Las Vegas, that's another level of show preparation that even the band has yet to experience themselves.

Now, here's my question. Would Rush fans be more than willing to see a stripped down show like they had in the 70's and 80's with minimal flare at a cost that is significantly less than current prices or are we now accustomed to expecting an elaborate stage show and are willing to pay for it?

My point I'm trying to make is that there will always be complaints about how high ticket prices are on this tour, and that people will reminisce about how they saw Rush back in 1977 for the same price as a latte today, but I really do think the fans are somewhat to blame for the high prices because Rush have elevated their stage show production and we're willing to pay for it.

Having seen Geddy with the Roland Fantom X-7 for years, it was interesting to not see him with it on the current tour, and he hasn’t really seemed to discuss the change during recent interviews. It has been replaced with an Oberheim OB-X8. It sounds nice, producing a more authentic analog sound for the songs of the analog synthesizer eras. What are your thoughts on his new keyboard setup?