THE CANADIAN MUSIC SCENE

RUSH 2004 UK Tour Part 3 "Green Rolling Hills, The Macallan, Rockfield, and Home..."

Time to head north to Scotland. Back on the M602 out of Manchester to the M60 north, then on the M61 northeast until it junctions with the M6 north. Straight forward from here, just keep heading north on the M6 past Lancaster, Carlisle, to the Scottish border. You hear stories about how it is much colder and the weather much nastier in Scotland but I swear to God, as soon as passed into Scotland the weather changed. The wind picked up to the point that they have warning signs, the temperature dropped 10 degrees and the rain started. The rain didn’t last but the rest did. As you head north on the M74 (M6 becomes M74 in Scotland) in a short time you see a sign for Lockerbie, one cannot help but remember the tragic terrorism act and to pay your respects to those that died. Now I have bad mouthed Scotland on it’s weather but the country is beautiful. The small rolling mountains covered in lush green grass and a multitude of white dots. Of course these white dots turn out to be hundreds, no make it thousands of sheep wandering the hills of the countryside. As you approach Glasgow you need to join the M73 north for a very short distance and then merge onto the M8 west that takes you right into the heart of the city. Again I am looking for the Holiday Inn Express located right down on the River Clyde on appropriately enough, Clyde Street and Stockwell Street. You could take the exit at junction 15 but I decided to keep on the M8 as it looped south to the river and exit at junction 19 taking Anderston Quay west to the SECC (Scottish Exhibition Conference Centre). SECC (Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre) SECC Armadillo SECC Actual Hall where RUSH Played The way to the Holiday Inn Express was quit simple, just keep heading east along the Clyde River. One thing you will notice is that the road is the same but the name changes and not just once. From the SECC to the Hotel might be a mile and a bit. The road name changes from Lancefield Quay to Anderston Quay to Broomielaw to finally Clyde Street. This seems to be the norm for streets in Glasgow. Holiday Inn Express - Glasgow After parking my trusty stead and checking in I decided to wander around the streets of Glasgow. Just to the north is an area referred to as St. Enoch. St. Enoch contains a large enclosed shopping center. As well, many of the streets are blocked off from vehicular traffic forming an outdoor shopping area containing many high end stores. St. Enoch Shopping Centre Clyde River Glaswegian Architecture South Of The Clyde Revamping Some Of The Old Architecture - Double Decker Roofless Bus Glasgow Science Centre Glasgow Science Centre This was an off day for RUSH concerts. As I was heading back to the hotel I was wondering what to do with myself especially for dinner. As I got back to the hotel who would be there, The Stalkers! Turns out that they were all heading out for some curry to a place called, Crème de la Crème. We called for several taxis to pick us up. Waiting in front of the hotel a few showed up when all of a sudden this one cab comes flying around the corner heading up the street the wrong way! For reasons unknown or maybe the adventure in me, I decided to take this guy, so a couple of us jumped in. What an experience! The trip started by the cab driver spinning the car around in a 180 degree motion. It was obvious that the rules of the road really did not matter with this fellow. He had some heavy metal thundering in the cab, something barely audible but the few words you could understand were about death, depression, your anarchy type stuff. He asked if liked the music, what is one to say, sure it’s great! Well in no time at all we were at the restaurant. I have to admit it was entertaining to see Glasgow at 100 miles per hour and traveling in directions that you shouldn’t. The Stalkers Cheers from the Stalkers Some like to call it fate, some just a coincidence, but as 30 plus RUSH fans gather for dinner at Crème de le Crème who do we see as we walk in but Howard Ungerleider and David Davidian. I have had the pleasure of meeting Howard a few times and he was our guest speaker at RUSHCON III. I suggested that we not disturb them during their dinner but send a round of drinks over to their table and I was sure they would appreciate that and that they would drop by after they were finished to say hello. This was indeed what happened. Howard entertained The Stalkers and myself with some stories and it was a nice little highlight to add to the trip! David Davidian and Howard Ungerleider I had come up with an idea ever since RUSH announced the UK tour dates. We all know that Neil loves the Macallan. So I decided to contact the Macallan to mention how much Neil promotes their products in his books and that he has turned many new comers on to their product. I mentioned the dates that RUSH would be in the UK and suggested they offer a special tour and bottle to Neil for his promotion and the fact that I figured Neil might enjoy a nice special bottle of the Macallan. Now don’t jump all over me, no I don’t know Neil and do not presume to, I was just doing this as fan thinking that it might be something that Neil would enjoy and something that I could help give to him for all that he has given us! Neil did not want a big event made out the presentation but was willing to receive a bottle around the concert in Glasgow. I got in touch with Sharon at the Macallan and it looked like I was invited to come along to present the bottle to Neil. Well this is great, what more can a RUSH fan ask for. Anyway as the day progressed I kept in touch with Sharon right up to show time but it appeared that the presentation was not to happen. This was disappointing to say the least, I was hoping Neil would get the bottle, Sharon is a big RUSH and Neil fan and would have loved the opportunity to say hi to Neil and present him with the bottle of Macallan. I called Sharon the next day to say how sorry I was that she couldn’t present Neil with the bottle of Macallan but much to my surprise, indeed she did manage to present Neil with the bottle as the picture below attests to. Sharon from The Macallan Presenting Neil with a Special Bottle of The Macallan I have to admit, at first I was a little surprised and very disappointed that I was unable to be part of the presentation. But I am happy that my original intent to have a special bottle presented to Neil did take place and I am happy for Sharon that she had an opportunity to present it to him. The second set opens up with another short animated feature. This one featuring that Darn Dragon and the RUSH hero bobble heads. That darn dragon decides to go for a romp through the city destroying things at will (although it took a few tries to destroy the asbestos factory). A 2112 Star emergency beacon signals our bobble head heroes that they are needed to save the city. Geddy is signaled while using belt massager at the seniors home, Alex while playing his double-neck surrounded by chickens at his range, and Neil while riding his motorcycle loaded with drums. The three jump into their rocket ship Cygnus X-1 to face that darn dragon. The dragon is still standing after a view valid attempts to destroy him but asks for it as he heads to destroy the RUSH merchandise stand. This calls for the secret weapon, the 2112 star beam. As Geddy, a sweaty Alex, and Neil launch the star beam, the dragon is pinned against a hydro line finally meeting it’s demise and as the guys burst into Tom Sawyer. Tom Sawyer followed by Dreamline, Secret Touch and Between the Wheels has to be one of the best barrage of songs to start a set that I have heard in a long time. The music and lighting gives you 20 plus minutes of heart pumping excitement. Neil’s stage rotates around to focus on his e-drums kit and Mystic Rhythms. I don’t know why but it has taken a long time for me to like this song yet I am totally captivated by the mechanical yet perfect drumming involved with this song. This leads into Red Sector A which Howard gets to show off his laser light show and Geddy actually only plays the keyboards, no bass to be seen. As this song draws to a close, first Geddy exits the stage and then Alex as the Professor rips into his drum solo. Being a drummer I could watch this spectacle night-after-night for as long as I live. I think it was in the second Wembley show that during the solo Neil actually dropped his drum stick when hitting his floor-tom and tympani. What I found even more amusing was that after very quickly retrieving another stick and continuing he went right back to those two drums and laid a beating on them with a devilish grin! Time for Neil to have a much deserved break. Alex and Geddy come out for a little unplugged version of Resist and Heart Full Of Soul which Neil joins in half way through. Time to get the crowd on it’s feet. 2112. This song always draws the greatest crowd response with it being the unofficial anthem of all RUSH fans. A pirate twist had worked its way into the song for this tour with Geddy accompanied by his trusty pirate’s parrot. The Priests were replaced by pirates and a pirates flag was unfurled each night. 2112 was the start of another get on your feet and get ready to be rocked set of songs, followed by La Villa Strangiato, By-Tor and the Snow Dog, Xanadu and Working Man. La Villa Strangiato as most are now aware is Alex’s turn to grab the spotlight and produce his nightly ramble. You really have to be there to fully appreciate this event and to see the laughter it brings to the whole band which in turn makes it that much more fun for the audience as well. By-Tor has become a nightly fun song as well. With Alex and Geddy clowning around with mock fights and chasing each other around the stage. Both Alex and Geddy try to throw Neil off during the syncopation battle or part of the song. Sometimes Neil had to try and turn away from them to which they would move around him still trying to disrupt him. What was fascinating about the ending of these songs is Alex hit a long sustained chord and actually transferred guitars… I for one found this pretty damn cool! During the change to the double neck for Xanadu Neil would exact some revenge. He would pretend to be piddling around and make Alex wait before starting into Xanadu from the sustained chord. The boys come back out for their encores starting with Summertime Blues and Crossroads. Again the graphics in the background and lighting are superb for these productions. The evening finishes with a long time fan favourite, Limelight. That’s all folks! Three hours plus of RUSH, what more can a fan ask for? For me one more show before heading home. Back to Birmingham. This would be the longest drive of the whole trip. Was getting a wee bit tired so the service stops were greatly appreciated. From my experience of driving from Birmingham to Manchester the M6 was under construction everywhere so I decided to take the M6 Toll road. Luck was on my side again, this new toll road was a beauty, I motored my way around Birmingham back to the NEC. Arriving at the Crowne Plaza I quickly found out that there was a business convention as well as RUSH and that there were no hotel rooms to be found. Well there was one at the Hilton for 350 pounds for the night! The guy at the counter did not seem too amused when I asked if that came with a Blonde or Brunette. So off to the RUSH show wondering how cold the car was going to get at night. Fortunately I did find a room, unfortunately is was in Coventry. Well better than nothing, the room was fine and the drive back to Birmingham in the morning was not that busy. I passed Birmingham and headed south, the opposite way that I came up from Wales. My destination was Rockfield Studios. This time they knew I was coming so I managed to get some pictures of Kingsley and the studios. A Farewell To Kingsley! The Actual Studio... Building Housing New Studio New Studio Wonder What Songs Were Written Here... As one can imagine to meet Kingsley and to see the studio where “A Farewell To Kings” and “Hemispheres” were made was indeed a very big highlight to my trip, to use my favourite words of the trip, it was fucking Brilliant! From Rockfield it was back to Aberdare. Along the way I passed this great castle, Raglan. Although a major part of it had been torn down you could look at it and imagine just how magnificent it must have been in its prime. Raglan Castle I arrived mid-afternoon in Aberdare and am proud to say I found Mark’s parents place with no problems at all! Mark’s parents, Lynda and Geraint epitomize the friendliness and kindness of the Welsh people. They had yet to meet me but when I pulled up and told them I was Paul from Canada they greeted me as if we had been best of friends for many years. Geraint drove me all around Aberdare and the surrounding highlands even though the wind was near gale like and the rain was spitting on and off. He wanted me to see Aberdare and I thank him for that. Great people the Jones, and Mark as promised here are pictures of Lynda and Geraint’s house. The Jones Homestead Lovely Garden and Brick Work... Another great evening at the Llew Goch spent with my new friends! After a hearty home cooked breakfast it was time to depart back to London. Geraint was kind enough to show me a short cut heading south on the A4059 until it joins the A470 south. Past such towns as Abercynon and Pontypridd until you reach the M4 east just north of Cardiff. Back to the big city and as you can guess, The Holiday Inn at Heathrow (no I did not recieve any sponsor money but I am open to the idea). This Holiday Inn is unique in that it is circular and not by coincidence the same Holiday Inn I stayed at over 18 years earlier. Avis was just around the block, after checking in to the hotel I dropped off my trusty stead! The afternoon was growing old, the car dropped off, time for a pint. True to how the trip unfolded so far, I was joined shortly by a young couple heading to Australia the next day, and we in turn were joined by an very pleasant American women. Cheer, tales and friendship were shared, a very nice way to end the trip! To all of those who I met on this trip, whether you be RUSH fans or just nice people, it was a pleasure meeting all of you! Mark, Anna, Lynda, Geraint... Stuart Cable and his Cwmaman mates... John Brand... Neil, Mike and Ang from Swansea... All those at the Llew Goch (including the ghost!)... Roger Couhig and Ryan Stuckey... The Stalkers... Stewart and all those at EUCON 2004... Neil (Toronto Maple Leafs Jersey Man) Perriam... my buddies from Ireland who I met at the Holiday Inn in Manchester and hitched a ride to the show with (email me if you read this with your names)... Howard Ungerleider, David Davidian, Sharon McLaughlin... Curt Lother... Alex, Geddy, and Neil... thanks not only for this tour but for the 30 years of influence you have had on my life! This UK tour was just way to much fun, you guys will just have to make another CD and go on another tour so I can do this again!