THE CANADIAN MUSIC SCENE

RUSH 2004 UK Tour Part 2 "Steak Sauce and Grinning Cats"

What a great place the Llew Goch and great people also. I would like to especially thank Mark’s mother, Lynda for the great food she left for us. At three in the morning it was well received. I would like to thank Mark and his mates, Roger Couhig and Ryan Stuckey for the brilliant conversations and for helping me drink most of my Barbados, “Mount Gay” rum. Consuming copious quantities of alcohol and going to bed I do believe around four in the morning is not conducive to getting up and being on the road to Birmingham at eight am. The lads had made their way home, there was no movement from Mark and I was having troubles focusing on the TV. So for my safety and those of Welsh and English motorway users I decided to go back to sleep. Eleven am and the world seemed like a much better place. Some serious liquid replenishment, a quick ta rah to Mark and I was off to Birmingham. I somehow don’t think I am going to make the noon start to EUROCON 2004. EUROCON 2004 being the European RUSH fan convention similar to RUSHCON held in Toronto each year. When leaving Mark’s parents place in Aberdare, you head north on the A4059 for a short distance to the junction with the A465 east. You take the A465 for a fare distance until it junctions with the A40 east. The A40 passes through an area referred to as Monmouthshire. This is again a beautiful low lying mountain area with lots of beautiful valleys and several Roman arched stoned bridges (for some reason I love these things). For knowledgeable RUSH fans the town of Monmouth and more specifically, Rockfield have great significance as “A Farewell To Kings” and “Hemispheres” where both made at “Rockfield Studios.” This of course required an immediate detour to find the studios. The grandeur of Rockfield Studios is probably larger in most RUSH fan’s heads than it actually is. It is indeed still an active farm and blends in with the surrounding farms. One can miss it very easily especially with the only indication you are there is the sign below. The rather inconspicuous sign announcing your arrival at Rockfield Studios The driveway... Part of the stables forming a square. Part of the square, this building houses the original studio where RUSH recorded "A Farewell To Kings" and "Hemispheres". Unfortunately for me this was a Saturday and nothing was going on at the Studios and I could only find one person who actually worked the farm. So my tour was on hold until my return to Rockfield after the last Birmingham show. Back on the A40 until it junctions with the M50, yes M50 which is a motorway and not a carriageway! Heading north east out of Wales one joins with the M6 north which passes through Gloucestershire and Worcestershire a the waft of sizzling steaks basted with the regions unique sauce (okay I made this up). The M6 junctions with the M42 which is like a bypass around the city of Birmingham. My final destination is the NEC (National Exhibition Centre) which is right beside the Birmingham International Airport and is my final pit stop for this leg of the journey. The NEC is a very nice facility. The exhibition halls and hotels circle the outside of a very large pond. Everything is within a very reasonable walking distance, especially the Crowne Plaza to the exhibition hall where the concert was taking place that night. The Crowne Plaza being my place of residence in Birmingham and was made even better by a free upgrade to a suite on the executive floor (yes I will still talk to you). Time was becoming a factor now. I needed to attend EUROCON but I also desperately needed to catch up on some sleep and refresh myself. The latter part was easy. The room suite was great so I decided to quickly refresh and redress grab some of the free mineral water and chocolate mints and head to EUROCON. Some of the Dutch contingent at EUROCON 2004 Some of the EUROCON 2004 organizers and see I actually was there! It is a good thing I had met the organizers at the London shows and was on their VIP list otherwise I would not have got in. Sorry Judy the RUSHCON site has to be changed, it is not the largest RUSH fan convention in the world. The EUROCON 2004 website indicates that there were 650 RUSHie's in attedance with 400+ people that had to be turned away! EUROCON 2004 raised 1,146 Pounds for the NSPCC (National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children). There were some differences and similarities. This convention ran only for the afternoon. RUSHCON runs from Friday night right through to Sunday night. However the atmosphere was right as all convention attendees were going to the show that night. So everyone fed off each other with RUSH stories, those who had seen the Wembley shows pumped up those who had not seen RUSH in over 12 years or more. The convention ended with a tribute band, auction/raffle and the unleashing of hundreds of rabid RUSH fans on the exhibition hall anxiously awaiting the show! Some EUROCON 2004 happy campers! Some of the Stalkers at EUROCON 2004. Good crowd for the EUROCON 2004 tribute band. I know from experience the time and effort that goes into these events. My congratulations and a tip of the Macallan goes out to all those involved in organizing EUROCON 2004! Stewart the Chairman of EUROCON 2004. All of the UK shows were widely anticipated but I do believe the Birmingham show had a special air about it. A lot of the songs on “A Show of Hands” were recorded live in Birmingham. Apparently the sound is brilliant and it was being filmed for a VHS release. So the guys, the lighting, sound, everything was extra special for the show in 1988. Could and would this same atmosphere be reproduced in 2004? Only a survey of those who attended both shows could answer which one was better. I did not hear any complaints as I walked amongst the crows after the show nor from any one back at the bar in the hotel. All I did here was how brilliant it was, how great an evening with RUSH with over three hours of music. The show starts with a short animated film that cleverly shows parts of every album cover with sound bites from the same. With the egg in the vice from Grace Under Pressure breaking into three red balls of fire which turn out to be three eggs that hatch baby dinosaurs. The three dinosaurs breaking into the three stooges, hello, hello, hello, which fades away as Jerry Stiller (George Costanza’s father in Seinfeld) awakes from his deep sleep. Wearing only his Risky Business underwear and a RUSH Starman t-shirt he wonders what someone put in his drink and if he missed the show. He calls for Dirk, Pratt, and Lerxst to come on stage, which they do bursting into the R30 Overture. A volley of one to one-and-a-half minute excerpts from Finding My Way, Anthem, Bastille Day, A Passage To Bangkok, Cygnus X-1, and finally Hemispheres Prelude, each blending perfectly into the other. This is so well done, everyone is on their feet roaring their approval and awaiting Geddy to lead them in some serious clapping during the full version of The Spirit Of Radio. These are followed by Force ten, Animate, and the very well received, Subdivisions. Earthshine brings one back to some basic hard core guitar work, followed by the always popular Red Barchetta, Roll The Bones, Bravado, and time to get pumped up again with the classic instrumental, YYZ. The trees warms the crowd up for the first of their Feedback number, The Who’s Seeker and rounding out the set with One Little Victory. Another great evening. Time to head up to the suite, fluff up the pillows and catch up on some sleep., sleep, sleep… Invisible airwaves crackle with life, bright antennae bristle with the energy… at the one lane bridge I leave the giant stranded by the riverside … why are we here, because were here roll the bones … and the trees are all kept equal by hatchet, axe, and saw… one little victory, one little VIC-tor-RY… zzzzz… Time for the next leg of the journey. A nice short jaunt up the M6 to Manchester. Heading out from the NEC north on the M42 you arrive at the junction with the M6 north very quickly, maybe a mile or two. You keep on the M6 north through Cheshire , was something grinning at me through the window, I could have swore it was a cat! At the junction with the M602 take it east towards Manchester, then turn on the M602 into the heart of Manchester to the Salford Quays. This is a beautifully redone area of Manchester. Very nice with some newer modern architecture and a very nice Holiday Inn Express, the pit stop for this leg of the journey. The day was still early so I decided to walk around the neighbourhood and take a few pictures. Looking across the river what do I spot, Old Trafford! Even though I am a Gunner’s fan one can’t help but be in awe of Old Trafford do to the glory years of Manchester United. Imperial War Museum and The Lowery Lifting Foot Bridge Salford Quays The Holiday Inn Salford Quays Old Trafford Home of Manchester United As show time approaches I head to the lobby to seek transportation to the MEN Arena (Manchester Evening News). As has become the norm, there are RUSH fans in the lobby. Also the norm they are very friendly and I am offered a ride with a group from Ireland. This must have been the right decision by myself to come on the trip. So far everyone I have met have been absolutely great and these gentlemen from Ireland were no exception. A tip of the Macallan for your hospitality gents. I have to admit I have been spoiled for many years and many shows either being right in front on first row on the sides of the stage. Or have I been spoiled? I have to admit when I first entered the MEN Arena and found my seat to be in the middle but at the back of the arena I was pissed. But as the show started and as it continued I saw the full effects of the lighting show for the first time. It was awesome! A tip of the Macallan to Howard and his crew. Modern lighting, computer animation and controllers and the background consisting of one large screen, 22 feet wide by 12 feet high, flanked on each side by 7 special led screens designed to resemble wind chimes provided an unforgettable visual display a perfect compliment to RUSH’s music. Even with all this machinery making modern music mistakes can happen. I do believe it was during Earthshine when the PA went total dead. All you could here was Alex’s guitar and Neil’s drums. Geddy runs his sound directly into the PA. It only lasted for a few seconds. In Glasgow I would catch up with Howard and he informed me that some one had tripped on the main power cable to the PA and unplugged it… I wonder if this layout changed for the next shows. Thus ends part two of my tale and the first four UK shows… part three finds me off to Scotland, back to Birmingham and getting a personal tour of Rockfield!