THE CANADIAN MUSIC SCENE

RUSH 2004 UK Tour Part 1 "Why are we here... because we're here..."

The trip begins at the new terminal in Toronto. Still under construction one has to board a bus which takes you along part of the terminal among the planes, taxi ways, even in a tunnel under the runways, until you arrive a special terminal in the middle of the field. Although somewhat a bit of a pain it was fascinating to see the working side of gates, the underneath of the planes and did leave an impression on just how big some of the planes are. Shall we regress to let’s say, 1903, to Kitty Hawk (Kill Devil Hill actually) North Carolina, where the Wright brothers made the first manned, powered, and heavier-than-air machine flight. It lasted 12 seconds and went 120 feet. Apparently animals are not as impressed with this accomplishment as my dog on one visit decided that the rail that they lunched the flight from made for a great target to pee on. Sorry Wright brothers I am sure he meant no offense. Back to the trip, time to board an Air Canada 747, cruising speed, 570 miles per hour, range with full passenger load, 6,670 miles, capacity over 300 people, the length of the plane is 231 feet, just about double the length of the first flight. The flight was pretty uneventful until about half way through. One of the passengers started to freak out. He was severely agitated, banging his head violently against the back of his seat, thrashing from side-to-side almost ripping the arm rests out of the seats. I commend the flight crew on helping to calm the person down. His carryon bag had some medicines that he should have taken but was perhaps afraid to getting on a plane. The crew contacted the doctor listed on the medicine bottle, the medicine was given and all was calm for the rest of the flight until just before landing. This did not last long as a medical team boarded the plane immediately upon arrival to look after the person. With that over, one begins the seemingly endless walk to go through customs, the final corner is turned and one is greeted but what had to be a line of 500 or more people snaking their way through the cattle gates. I figured this was a half day to a day adventure, but it actually only took about 45 minutes. My personal thanks goes out to the lady who decided to put on her headphones and hum, very, very badly to some religious songs. Don’t get me wrong, it is not the religious part that I am complaining about. A fairly quick shuttle ride to the Avis depot. By this time I have had a chance to realize that I really did not want to have to battle with driving on the other side of the road, and with a manual transmission which I haven’t driven in years, so I decided to see how much it would be to upgrade to an automatic. This is where my years of renting with Avis paid off. They upgraded me for only $10 Canadian a day more. Best decision I have ever made! Another surprise, cars are not very big in the UK. Even with my upgrade is was a struggle to climb in and out but for the most part it was quite comfortable once in it and it had a 2.2L Turbo Diesel engine that really looked after me quite well on the motorways. My first test, leaving the Avis depot. I was facing south and had to head west. There was a light so I had time to think. Do I turn right into the first lane, nope that is the east bound lane and cars are facing me, so I need to go across this lane and then head west. A few kilometers later and my first roundabout. I want the A408 north that will get me to the M4. So not the first exit but the second exit. Traffic clear (always comes from the right) out into the roundabout, past the first exit, there’s the sign for the A408, exit out and success, I’m on the A408 north. It really wasn’t that bad! Another roundabout and first exit onto the M4. Three lanes of cars, I’ll just stay in the slow lane here for awhile. Have to remember to look to my right to see if the next lane is clear. Why change lanes, because some vehicles go really, really slow on the motorway. First check, signal, accelerate, no problems up to 120 km now feeling pretty relaxed. Time to put in a CD, I wonder who the CD might be by, well lets get started right away, a little Hemispheres to get the brain going and with another lane change, the car going as well. My Trusty Steed Pretty well uneventful after that, one major slow down for construction. Then clear sailing until the new toll bridge on the England-Wales border. Funny how the toll was only on the Wales side. On I go past Newport, Cardiff until my final destination, Swansea were my buddy Mark lives. Mark is a pretty loyal RUSH fan, he has been to RUSHCON II and brought his wife Anna to RUSHCON III and IV. Now I don’t mean to be insulting but I wouldn’t consider Swansea to be a major urban hub in the UK. But for some reason the two Holiday Inns were booked solid, the Marriot wanted 155 pounds per night so I found a Ramada Encore hotel along the main road to-and-from Swansea and the M4. This is a brand new hotel with ultra modern furnishings, very nice reception, bar and kitchen area. Rooms were very small but cozy. The major feature was the bathroom. All stainless steel and glass. There wasn’t even a door to the shower, just a glass wall that kept the bathroom from being flooded. Very reasonable rate, quite enjoyed my stay. I would recommend it to anyone visiting the Swansea area. Time for a few pints in the local establishments. All of course quite old compared to Canadian standards. Then it was time for Mark to be the generous host and kick my ass all around the snooker table. Man I used to play a lot of snooker but had regressed to the cheap ass 9 ball pub tables that suck the ball into the pocket if you are even within 5 inches of it. Last game was coming back but then the bell went and it was time. Time for what, for last call, it was 11:30. This was my first non-impressed moment in Wales but also fortunately I do believe my only one. My Welsh Buddy Mark and myself... The next day I was on my own so I decided to test my driving skills and headed up into the highlands, the Brecon Beacons National Park which is mostly a mountain range of small mountains ranging between 300 and 600 metres in height. The Brecon Beacons National Park Well this is an experience. Fortunately the roads were not busy during the time I decided to use them. What they mark as “A” highways can sometimes turn out to be not much more than a country lane. However the beauty of this land far out weighs any driving fears that quickly faded away. Some of the wider roads in Aberdare Some of the most challenging areas are in the small towns. Roundabouts are quite easy compared to the narrow streets that are tough enough to drive on without people parking their cars on them. It now becomes a game of right-away not necessarily to those whose side of the road is open but to who arrives first. Much to my surprise everyone seemed to follow this rule and passage always seemed to flow with neither problems nor confrontations. Some more of the park... For those interested in a nice drive through the national park you take exit 45 off of the M4 unto the A4067 north. The first several miles are still in the valley and among towns with about six roundabouts to negotiate. You then begin a climb into the mountains where the scenery is worth the trip. Up to the A40 and back down the A4069 where it eventually joins the A4067 again back to Swansea. It is now Wednesday, September 8 time to head back to London, Wembley to be more precise. Back to the M4 east for approximately 4 hours. Starting to get a little busier and looking more like a large city as I pass Heathrow to exit 1. According to the map the A406 looks like a major road but turns out to be a narrow two-lanes on each side carriageway. With several roundabouts if you can imagine that. These are big city roundabouts though with several lanes. The trick here is to look at the markings on the road. If you are more than one exit into the roundabout head deeper into the roundabout and once pass an exit move outwards until you get to your exit. Actually they kind of make sense once you get used to them. London is just like any major international city, don’t expect to be in a hurry on any city streets. Finally I spot the Holiday Inn Express park my chariot and head inside to register. Now the fun begins, I am registering in a hotel in Wembley England when I hear, “Fucking Hell it is the Canadian.” Are they talking to me, who could it be? As it turns out there are about 20 people sitting in the bar all wearing RUSH shirts. They are part of the RUSH UK Stalker tour, a group of 40 people who booked tickets for each event, formed a group and rented a bus to take them to each of the venues. How do they know me? At least a few of them have been over to at least one or more RUSHCONs in Toronto. Well I now knew I would have some buddies to share some stories with. Some of the UK Stalkers... After a social pint I headed up to my room. Mark had given me a number to contact another Welsh buddy of his, Stuart Cable the drummer from the band, The Stereophonics. Stuart and his mates had some great seats right beside the stage on Alex’s side. I soon learned that the Stereophonics were quite large in the UK, selling over 8 million albums. As we went to the bar for a few pre-show pints it seemed that a lot of people recognized Stuart and wanted to either talk to him or get their picture taken with or both. I was either in the right spot or have the face that people don’t mind bugging as it seemed I ended up taking quite a few pictures for people, no one seemed to want mine, oh well. I thank Stuart and his mates from Cwmaman, Wales ( a town the size of Stuart and his mates plus 3 pubs) for their hospitality and providing me with some entertainment for a couple of days. I also had the pleasure of sitting next to Stuart’s manager, John Brand. RUSH fans might know who he is, need a further clue, check out the credits on Hemispheres. No I didn’t bug the shit out of John but was still my pleasure to have met him. Wembley Arena will not go down in the annals of great concert halls but then who cares, it had been many years since most of the concert goers had seen RUSH and I don’t think they cared. A lot of people I ran into at the later shows thought that the sound was not very good, sounded okay to me on the side and after a couple of pints, okay maybe a few more than a couple but I’m not driving so who gives a shit. The show was great as usual with the guys playing over three hours worth of material or as Geddy’s indicated, “We will punish you with way to much music,” to which the audience insisted on being punished. Everyone went away very happy, especially “The RUSH Merchandise” booth, 30 pounds for a tee, ouch (sorry Patrick). Getting up a little later the next day I was wondering what to do with myself, London being, like most big international cities, outrageously expensive did really not interest me (what happens over 20 years, in ’85, ’86 and ’87 I couldn’t wait to get to London.) I met some new RUSH fans in the lobby from all places, Swansea. Neil had brought his twelve year old son, Mike, to see his first RUSH concert and his sister, Ang, to prove to her that even though U2 is a great band, their live show was not the same as RUSH’s and to change her allegiance to the boys from TO. We spent a pleasant afternoon together waiting for Neil's friend Lee. It appears that Lee has problems attending RUSH shows. Back in 1988 Neil had tickets for Lee and himself for the RUSH concert in Birmingham. Lee had justed started a new job and was told either the job or the concert, the job won. Sixteen years later on September 8, Lee is in front of Wembley arena calling Neil in a panic. "Neil the show is about to start were are you?". Neil replies, "I'm in Swansea where are you?", "I'm in Wembley for the RUSH concert", replied Lee. To which Neil replied, "Our tickets are for tomorrow night, the 9th." For Lee it was time to make the trip back home to Lincoln and back to Wembley again on the 9th. I am glad to report that Lee did join us for the concert and the wait was worth it! After sharing a few pints with Stuart and the boys before the show, I got Stuart to make Neil and his son Mike’s day by getting their picture taken with him and some items autographed. Thanks again Stuart. I didn’t sit with the fellows from Wales that night as it was the day celebrating my entry into this world and I had a front row seat. Needless to say it was fucking brilliant! I am not sure Alex was having as great an evening, it appeared that he was having problems with his monitor all night. This resulted in an rare error during La Villa Strangiato an instrumental that recently features a rant from Alex. Alex’s theme for tonight went something like… "I had a dream that I was a big rock star… big star… and I was playing in front of a lot of people… playing a song that I have played a million times… and well, I fucked it up… wait a second (his eyes opening wide with a look of astonishment) it wasn’t a dream it just happened…" this brought a “it’s okay” wave of the sticks from Neil and a pat on the back from Geddy and I do believe made the rest of the evening’s proceedings much more enlightened for all those on the stage! After the show I met up with Neil, Mike, and Ang and indeed we had a convert. Ang could not stop talking about the talent of the guys and the incredible light show. To quote another famous artist, “and another one bites the dust…” Time to depart… for the Stalkers it is up to Birmingham, for myself back to Aberdare in the Welsh highlands before making my way to Birmingham. Until Birmingham Stalkers a tip of the Macallan… The Stalkers Trusty Steed... Hey the door is on the wrong side! Does it get much smaller and older than Aberdale, oh yeah, Penderyn! And lets not put the pub where anyone might see it, it is almost like the bat cave. Press a button and a small opening appears amongst the trees. Carry on up the hill on a path (I refuse to call it a road) barely the width of an English car with the hill on one side and a man made wall on the other. No lights I might add to show the way. But alas the journey is short and the destination a treat, the Tafarn Llew Goch! We do believe the Llew Goch dates back to the fourteen hundreds and you will not get an argument from me on this. The pints are hand poured from the kegs sitting on racks in the back room. If you ask for a pint of Bud or crap like that you are shown the door to the back room which is actually outside which should give you a hint of what they think about that request! The Tafarn Llew Goch, Penderyn, Wales True to Wales, as the evening progressed the weather regressed to strong winds and rain. As the pints flowed so did the stories of ghosts and weird goings on in the Llew Goch. Story has it that in time past the English would recruit Welshman for the infantry and would pay them some cash upfront. One night an English soldier made a visit for a pint or two. These would be his last. The owner of the tafarn decided to make himself a wee bit richer and did the English soldier in hiding his body in a newly built wall. The current owners decided to renovate the tafarn and upon tearing down one of walls discovered human bones. A chair is set aside in one corner by the fireplace where psychics believe the soldier sat. The Soldier's corner and chair! Pretty tall tale but it effects you when you have to go outside in the howling rain, the trees shaking in the wind and the only place to pee a few yards down the path. To top it off, on the other side of the wall is a cemetery! It was one of the fastest pees I ever had! In the new extension to the tafarn is a tribute to the famous Welsh Regiment that defeated the Zulu warriors in 1879 against extremely overwhelming odds. This battle was portrayed in the movie, Zulu. The modern day Zulu army have even made a visit to the tafarn to bring a plaque of honour. Royal Welsh Regiment Tribute Mark and some locals... The Jones... thanks for the hospitality! Thus ends the first part of my UK journey... in part two I am off to Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow!