May 29th, 2008

Long time folks!

Anyway...

That was the day I saw Rush live in concert for the first ever. A day where I shook the hands of two of my greatest heroes - Geddy Lee & Alex Lifeson. The show it's self was absolutely incredible. The performance was unmatchable, and the stage set (lighting and all) unbelievable. And the set list...absolute perfection. When packed with not only 'Mission' and 'Witch Hunt', but 'Digital Man' and 'Ghost of a Chance', you cannot complain about anything.

It was an incredible day, and one which I'll never forget. Here's what I'll have forever: Me and my dad standing between Al and Geddy.


Rush Foreva!

Got Me Rush Tickets!

They aren't front row of course...

In the stands.... But woohoo!!!

Pre-Sale Tickets!

Tomorrow the Pre-Sale tickets for Rush's May 29th concert here in Vancouver, go on sale!!

Hoping for the best. Will report back.

Blew An Artery!

OMG...

I'm meeting a girl that I've been talking to online for a couple days at Oakridge mall here in Vancouver tomorrow morning at 11:00am

AND

Rush announced their 2008 leg of the "Snakes & Arrows" tour, and they're coming to Vancouver on the 29th of May!!

AH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Excitement! %* %^#R

MOOD: HAPPINESS!

Weekend Video's (#41)

Rush - "One Little Victory" (live in '03)



Loreena McKennitt - "Dante's Prayer" (live in '07)



Porcupine Tree - "Halo (live in 2007)

Guitar Legends - All Rush

For any Rush fan, this magazine is pure pornography. True, there isn't a whole lot in the magazine that I didn't already know (although even this Rush loony learned a few new things!), but it's the pictures and classic interviews make it a necessary item.

Christmas Morning

It's Christmas morning ya'll, and "Far Cry" by Rush is a playin'.

Merry Christmas folks.

Weekend Video's (#40)

Rush - The Big Money (1985)
Uploaded by -J-rom-

Katie melua - spider's web - Sopot-4
Uploaded by kiligolo

Porcupine Tree - Way Out Of Here
Uploaded by Northia777

Songs & Albums of the Moment

My ten most listened to songs over the week (alphabetically ordered by band name):

* Porcupine Tree - "The Start of Something Beautiful"
* Porcupine Tree - "Open Car"
* Porcupine Tree - "Mellotron Scratch"
* Rush - "Distant Early Warning"
* Rush - "Mission"
* Rush - "Prime Mover"
* Rush - "Double Agent"
* Rush - "Nobody's Hero"
* Tom Cochrane - "Paper Tigers"
* Tom Cochrane - "Will of the Gun"

My five most listened albums over the week (alphabetically ordered by band name):

* Porcupine Tree - "Deadwing" (2005)
* Rush - "Counterparts" (1993)
* Rush - "A Show of Hands" (1988)
* Rush - "Hold Your Fire" (1987)
* Tom Cochrane - "Ragged Ass Road" (1995)

"The Speed Of Love"

Lyric excerpts from this superb song from Rush's 1993 "Counterparts" album. I bring these lyrics to life as tribute to a special girl:

"We don't have to talk
We don't even have to touch
I can feel your presence
In the silence that we share
Got to keep moving
At the speed of love
Nothing changes faster
Than the speed of love
Got to keep on shining
At the speed of love
Nothing changes faster
Than the speed of love"

Yeh... Don't worry, I won't make too many more of these "sappy" posts.

Weekend Video's (#38)

Rush - "Malignant Narcissism" (2007)



Jethro Tull - "Songs From The Wood" (live in '77)



Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers - "I Won't Back Down" (1989)

Love 'Em!

Man, Porcupine Tree is unquestionably the best band I've heard since discovering Rush. I just cannot believe that it took me so long to find 'em.

Steve Wilson - the leader singer and song writer - is an absolute genuis.

And they sure as hell put on a great live show:

The Sound of Muzak
Uploaded by touffu

porcupine tree" blackest eyes--live"
Uploaded by miklo

*shock* I think I love them as much as Rush... *Shock*

More Music!

Being one who has a great deal of affection for music and is ultimately obssessed with it, I feel it nessecary to pick up new CD every two or so weeks. No qualms, I love music to no-end. So, growing my already exsisting collection is always a top piorioty for me. And in passing by "Future Shop" earlier today, I of course could not resist going in to pick up some new stuff.

I came out of there with two items:

Firstly: Blue Rodeo's 1995 album, "Lost Together". Having yet to own any such recordings from BR and having always had a great appreciation for them, I thought this would be the time to start a collection in respect to this great Canadian band. Should you not already know - Blue Rodeo's music is essentially Country Rock. Well... I suppose that's the best description. They have a lot of music which is indeed Country Rock, but they have a great deal of music which fits into a genre of it's own.

In any event, I am more than glad that I finally picked up some Blue Rodeo stuff. Their music is undoubtedly top-notch. Most of their songs have an incredibly strange musical arrangement; the changes which they bring are unpredictable and exciting. The vocals are sweet, the guitars are imposing, the drums are superb and the bass guitar, is oh-so awesome. And I mean really awesome. Some of the best I've heard in a long while to be frank (excluding Rush that is...).

Secondly, I picked up "The Barenaked Ladies" recently released (on the 6th) concert DVD, "Talk to the Hand: Live in Michigan". Got the opportunity to watch a bit of the DVD earlier today and naturally, it's awesome. The performance is spectacular - the guitars sound downright godly - and the boys are just hilarious. Honestly, this concert is as much as a comedy showcase as it is a music concert. In the short piece I watched, they had me both bursting with laughter and signing along to favourite tunes such as "If I had $1,000,000" and "Be My Yoko Ono"; the latter of which is performed acoustically with the addition of an accordion. And yes, it truly does sound great!

All in all, two purchases which I am very happy with!

And on a side-note - albeit related to my music affection - I ordered this white, Rush "Grace Under Pressure" Tour T-Shirt earlier last week. Should arrive on Tuesday. Can't wait!

Weekend Video's #33 (Unplugged Special pt.1)

Oasis (Noel Gallagher on vocals) - "Wonderwall" (live in '06)



The Pretenders - "Brass in Pocket" (unknown year)



Rush - "Resist" (live '02)

Weekend Music Video's #32

Talking Heads - "Making Flippy Floppy" (live in '84)



Rush - "Countdown" (1982)



Tears For Fears - "Head Over Heels" (1984)

Weekend Music Video's #30

Alanis Morissette - "Hands Clean" (2001)



Rush - "Superconductor" (1989)



Peter Gabriel - "Steam" (1994)

Best Live Recordings

Finding a band which is good in the studio ain't that a hard task, but finding a band which has the ability, desire and talent to pull of a truly great live performance is a far more daunting task.

In fact, I like to believe that a great band is one who can perform just as well, if not better than a studio album in a live concert situation. It really helps define a reputation for a band; it creates standing stone if you will.

A great live performance must bring some sort of magical ambiance to the sound of the band and their respective songs. They should slightly differ performance to performance; perhaps benefiting slightly reworked guitar solo, or a different vocal performance with the possibility of reworked lyrics. That in my humble opinion is what defines a live performance. But of course, what is also largely important in any live recording is the sound quality and thus is very important in securing all musical notes at an equal volume while retaining a degree of clarity. And last, but certainly not least, the concert they were recorded in - open, closed, length, width and etc all make the difference.

Anyhoo, now that I've given a brief explanation of the my expectations, it's time to talk about a variety of live recordings from my personal favourite bands:

U2 - "Rattle & Hum"

R&H stands out as one of the finest live recording from the Irish rock band that is U2 and features a number of excellent performances and even a few new songs unheard on previous studio albums. Good sound quality too.

Loreena McKennitt - "Nights from the Alhambra"

A recently released album, "Nights from the Alhambra", is one of the great live recordings of all time. Not only because the performance is fantastic - better than the studio albums - but because the sound quality is beyond compare. Mind you, such a music style is ultimately easier to record in terms of clarity when compared to such a band like Rush or U2 which obviously belt out loud rock.

The Fixx - "React"

Unfortunately, I think "React" is one of the weaker live albums from my many favourite musicians. The vocal performance is great as Cy Curin insists on signing various songs in a different cue and while the actual instrument performances are no less impressive, a number of the songs on this record seem to lack the intensity I expect. Song such as "Stand or Fall" are brilliantly recorded and performed, but songs such as "One Thing Leads to Another" are kind of half arsed. Nevertheless, for a hardcore Fixx fan, it's most definitely an album worth owning.

Rush - "A Show of Hands"; "All the World's A Stage"; "Rush in Rio", "R30", "Grace Under Pressure Tour"; "Exit Stage Left" and "Different Stages".

Oh boy, where should I start? Well, with six different recordings to choose from, I suppose I can start by choosing a favourite. That's easier said the done though. Honestly, the first deciding factor will be what era of Rush you most prefer; after all, these recordings cover the '70's, '80's, 90's and '00's.

But you know, one problem which a great deal of live recordings from Rush have always had is weak sound quality. As a result, many of their recordings have a phased out sound where the vocals remain percise, but the drums, guitars (bass, acoustic and electric) as well as synthesizers are faded out. It leaves the recordings - despite the excellent performance - lacking intensity; almost if you're listening to the music with a pair of ear plugs. That's not to say they all have that problem though, 1984's GUP Tour soundtrack remains as the only '80's recording to not suffer from faded out instruments. Although, whilst it has a lots of intensity and great performance, the sound quality is pretty jaded when you crank it up. You can hear the speakers blaring and crackling. It doesn't ruin the entire CD, but if it were better, you'd have perfection. But then again, you can't blame 'em for something recorded in the mid '80's (lack of technology and what-not).

ASOH, ESL, ALTWAS are yet again victims of somewhat crummy recording devices. Suffice to say, the later in time one searches for live recordings the better the quality becomes and thus is the why the best live Rush recordings are the most recent three - recorded through out '94, '97, '02, and '04.

The R30 recording is, in all definition, biblical. It's clean, crisp and great, yet it's still not my favourite. "Rush in Rio" is arguably greater still as it's louder while boasting what is perhaps an even better performance. Thing is though, the sound quality is pretty choppy in certain areas. And Additionally, Geddy's vocals suffer the same fate as in areas they are almost non existent.

With that all being said, we are left with "Different Stages". And make no mistake, DS is a fantastic recording. It is worth taking note of the world class performance and superb recording quality. It truly is amazing that such clarity (and quality) has been extracted from such a music style. It's all clear - drums, bass, guitars (both electric and acoustic). And I do think that has much do with the stadium that much of the disk was recorded in: Chicago's Amphitheatre. While the third disk, recorded in '78, is quite crummy, the other two (largely recorded in '97, but with a few songs picked from the '94 "Counterparts" tour) are just perfection. All of the songs have their own magical touch and sound to them - especially "Closer to the Heart".

Is it's the best live recording I've ever heard? Close, but not quite.

It's not the immediate winner because of this...

Tom Cochrane & Red Rider - "The Symphony Sessions"

Recorded on March 17th & 18th of 1989 in the Edmonton, Alberta Jubilee Auditorium, the SS is most probably the best live recording I've ever had the pleasure of listening to. You see, this concert wasn't recorded in a typical fashion of aiming to recreate the studio albums, but add a new degree of allure to the songs. Thus was achieved by teaming up with the "Edmonton Symphony Orchestra" to add an almost classical tone to their already great songs. And as a result, much of the synthesizers found on the original recordings were replaced with the Symphony's violins and what-not.

It really does add a magical and classical tone to their music. I reckon they sound even better here than they do on the studio albums and that my friends, is the magic of live performances. "Different Stages" is undoubtedly amazing, easily one of the best live performances I've ever heard, but the SS extracted magic I had quite simply not heard from Mr. Cochrane and his band. Songs such as "Avenue A", performed mostly unplugged, approach a new level of greatness. It doesn't just sound like an unplugged song, it sounds like a masterpiece; both the guitar notes and Cochrane's vocals bounce around the Jubilee like nothing else. And then you've got such excellent performances from "Lunatic Fringe" and "Can't Turn Back", the latter of which is un-earthly. Rather the usual 3 and half minutes, Tom and Ken (Greer) extend the song to a massive 9+ minutes and load it both bass and guitar solo's. Take my word for it, It's absolutely amazing.

Everything about this recording is perfect - performance, sound quality (recorded by $10,000 German speakers), Cochrane's vocals as well as the numerous back up vocals, etc. As to this day, it remains my favourite live recording.

Weekend Video's (#27)

Rush - "Roll The Bones" (1991)



Avril Lavigne - "Nobody's Home" (2003)



Jethro Tull - "Heavy Horses" (1978)

It Arrives!

Earlier today (after two weeks of nail bitting), my Rush "Different Stages" CD arrived!

It's effin awesome. Best live Rush CD, bar none.

Random Thoughts pt.2

All of my random thoughts as of this moment:

Yesterday was a slightly chilly, albeit beautiful typical fall day. The trees in the suburbs in 'Couver look spectacular. They're typical firey red and orange, but oh so much more special than Calgary. On the other hand, today is anything but nice. Right now, it's both cold and raining. Ughhh..

My annoying housemates (I really hate calling them that) - who left for their cabin last Thursday - have yet to come back, but I'm expecting them to come back any time soon. And I'm dreading that moment like few things else.

The Rush "Different Stages" 3 set CD I ordered last Monday and expected delivery of yesterday, has yet to come. The merchandise site says it'll take 2 to 3 weeks (on average), but seeing as I got my last CD in a 7 days (including a weekend) you should understand why I expected it yesterday. I know, I know - I'm being too pushy; I've got to give these things time.

**Please come today**

Meanwhile, have any one else noticed how colourful and exciting my Blog is when in contrast with others? Seriously, most others have a Blog similar to that of a real journal. Bleak, stark and honestly, un-interesting.

Different strokes for different folks I suppose, but there's no way I could stand having a Blog with no character whatsoever.

So then, what else is there to bitch about? Hmm, how about..Nah..

Oh wait, I've thought of something.

Had you not already known, I write car articles for both AutoSavant.net and my own Automotive Blog. I enjoy writing them, but surely not reading them. Most anything and everything I write anywhere - be it on a forum, AutoSavant.net, or even this Blog, I absolutely refuse to re-read. I cannot stand reading my own writing. It always seems so contrived, so embarrassing, so idiotic. I hate it and thus is the reason you'll commonly see spelling mistakes and muddy sentences through out much of my writing; I don't re-read my stuff.

Anyhoo, that's all for the moment.