Freak By Night

Ollie, your video work is excellent.

I don't mind the the venue. The only bad thing is the location. But they seem to have solved the parking lot exit problems that pissed everyone off so much in the past. You're right though, the staff are top notch.

We'll be there!

Have fun at that show. I'll have to wait until a full tour if that does happen.

I heard good things about the new Barclays Center. Fans on a Rush site I visit once in a while were very happy with the new venue when Rush played there a few weeks ago.

Alright, I was lying, you got me!

Seriously though, my friend said the lower priced options were greyed out in the select box when he tried.

Tickets cheaper than $800 weren't offered in the amex pre-sale. I guess they figure if you've got an American Express card, you can afford more than $300 for a Stones ticket!

How much were the tickets if you don't mind me asking?

My friend got in on the AMEX presale, but bailed when informed a pair of average-ish seats totaled in at over $1600.

Nope, the show with the Foo Fighters opening was in 2006. And that was amazing.

The 2008 show was also here, but wasn't that memorable.

Big fan of both, but I'm sitting this one out. Have fun!

Just realized it was four years ago tonight when I last saw ol' mumbly in concert.

I like it.

I sure miss going to see nero almost every Tuesday night (or was it Wednesday? - too old to

remember) at the old Whipping Post. So these occasional shows over the past few years are extra special.

I'm now part of the "less is more" school of thought!

My wife and I were at the airport in Ottawa yesterday, checked in and through security in plenty of time for the 2pm flight to New York.

I then got word that the event we planned to attend Sunday evening had been re-scheduled to next week, due to the forthcoming storm and subway shutdown.

We did not get on that plane. So glad I found out about the cancellation prior to boarding.

Air Canada allowed us to re-schedule for next week with no additional charge.

Stay safe Jay! All the best to you and your family.

True - three years, or even more - depending on how long it takes to solve the NHL's labour impasse!

I think Bouche stole show in his Bert Convy outfit.

After reading that article, it's obvious why the Isles are moving. There will be an immediate bump in attendance - a lot of people will take in a hockey game just to see the new building.

Of course that assertion would have a lot more weight if not for the lockout.

Remember back in the 70s when the Islanders were a dynasty? Many a commentator made such a big deal of how modern the Nassau Coliseum was. Now I can see it being razed in the not-too-distant future.

"The Brooklyn Dodgers" has a nice ring to it.

I'll be there, entourage in tow.

Thoroughly enjoyed that! Great to see all you folks there too.

Keep Rockin' Kev! Happy birthday.

The show Thursday night in Montreal was amazing.

The proper way to do a Rush concert is to enjoy a dinner of delicious borscht and perogies at the Euro Deli before the show. In honor of Geddy's Polish heritage of course.

Had excellent seats right up front on the side. I agree, the sound wasn't so hot right of the bat. It was a bit thin.

I've been catching this band every tour since the early 90s, so I found the setlist to be well-chosen and refreshing. In Montreal this evening, of the two setilsts they've been rotating, I got the one I preferred with 'Bravado' instead of 'The Pass' and also an old fave 'Body Electric' instead of 'Middletown Dreams'.

Attentive Expos fans cheered as they caught Geddy's subtle nod to the now defunct baseball team in 'The Analog Kid', a song from 1981 resurrected for this tour.

By the 2nd set all the sound issues had been sorted out and the rest of the show sounded very big. Accompanied by a string section, they played most of their new album followed by some old classics. Not all of the new songs are great, but a few of them are real gems, like the riff-tacular 'Seven Cities of Gold', and 'Caravan' and the mellow song 'The Garden'. Geddy was in excellent voice for the rocker 'Headlong Flight'.

I thought the string section was a nice addition. They knew when to give and when to take and added a nice visual element.

I enjoyed the way one long drum solo was divided up into 3 smaller ones. Neil's third solo featured some sounds that reminded me of many a 'drums' performance at Dead shows.

I posted some photos on facebook if you'd like to check 'em out here

Not sure about that FBN - otherwise you'd hear subtle rewrites of Happy Birthday all the time.

Ever notice how you never hear Happy Birthday on tv? Or say you're at The Keg; the employees always have their own birthday song.

If you sing Happy Birthday you gotta pay royalties.

Yep. I knew about the 'Happy Birthday' royalty thing. 'The Simpsons' even made a joke about that IIRC.

The restaurant where we celebrated my grandmother's 101st birthday almost killed her when they came out hootin' and hollerin' with their own birthday song. Poor old girl almost had a heart attack.

Back to the Hip though, this whole thing is kind of strange. I'm having a hard time believing they'd allow their song to be used in this manner. I'd like to find out what comes of this, and I'm sure you great folks will keep me updated.

Very interesting to see these two opposing viewpoints posted side-by-each!

Rush, much like Phish, is certainly not for everyone.

I didn't go to either of the Toronto shows, but I'm going tomorrow night in Montreal. As a long time fan I can already tell you that my review is going to be more like Kev's that kooky's.

I think that if somebody doesn't use the original recording and changes the music just enough, they don't have to ask permission or even pay a cent to use that song in an advertisement, movie, tv show, or whatever.

No Ottawa show?

Now for Plan B!

Ha Ha! I finally got around to reading those. What a hoot!