So, a friend of mine and I had been planning on road-tripping up to Madison Square Garden for the past month or so. Aside from being another major Rush fan (he first saw the band way back in November, 1981, on the "Exit...Stage Left" tour, when he was only 13), my friend is in the music industry and has some connections. He had asked Atlantic for tickets and passes, but we thought only the tickets would come through (NYC shows are typically a complete ZOO, since so much of the music industry is based there). Then, three days before the show, he got the word -- we’d have laminated VIP passes. The deal with these is that you are allowed to go anywhere except the actual band dressing room i.e. their personal space.

I travelled up to NYC on Monday, met up with my friend, and we headed to will call at 7 pm. Unfortunately, the band had not sent tickets or passes up yet, so we had to wait in line for a while. Finally, at around 7:20, we got the passes and headed down toward the stage. Since it was supposed to be an 8 PM show, there wouldn’t be a whole lot of time...

We headed backstage and found Pegi from Anthem. My friend knows her well, and I’d been acquainted with her a little since 2002 and the launch of the petition site. We chatted with her for a while. In the background, we heard Neil warming up in the "Bubba Gump" room -- there was even a "Bubba Gump" sign on the door. Needless to say, we never bumped into Neil at any point. Knowing his feelings on "fame", as expressed in his books, even if I HAD bumped into him, I don't think I would have said anything.

On a general note, it’s fairly amazing what goes into a show this large and complex. The staging is just enormous, with all the lighting trusses, etc etc etc. It blows my mind to think that these guys have to set the whole thing up - and then tear it down again - every day! At one point, crew members were rapidly moving large equipment cases down the hallways, and Pegi called out a warning to some people standing in the hall "Watch out! These guys will run you down! It’s actually ‘sport’ to them!"

After chatting with Pegi for a while, we wandered down the hall and watched the "meet & greet" with Geddy and Alex take place. We didn’t bother lining up for that, having done it a couple times before on previous tours. In retrospect, it’s interesting that I went through this whole experience without getting any picture of - or with - the band. In fact, I only took 2 or 3 photos all night. While it would have been very cool to shoot "behind the scenes" stuff, I didn’t want to risk being obnoxious or obtrusive. It was much more enjoyable to blend in with the backstage happenings and just take everything in. When we were talking with people, we weren’t really treated like fans or someone who was intruding, and so I didn’t want to negatively impact that genuinely friendly vibe. Everyone we spoke with was really nice, and I didn’t want to place myself in the category of "annoying fan" by snapping a bunch of photos. (Probably just as well, as the few damn photos I did take that day all came out BLURRY anyway!)

We chatted with Karin Blazier, the Production Assistant (and wife of Craig ("C.B."), Production Manager) for a while. Really nice lady. I also got to (briefly) meet Ray Danniels, Rush’s manager of more than 30 years. It was just a very brief "hello" type introduction, as my friend chatted with him, but he seemed like a nice guy. Given my own interest, and low level involvement, in the music industry (www.bosmusic.com), I would have loved to pick his brain for hours, but it just did not feel like the right time/place to attempt any longer conversation.

Anyway, as showtime approached, we headed up to some private seating just off of stage left (beyond the barricade from the general public seating). We sat right behind Russ Ryan, Geddy’s bass tech. It was fairly interesting to watch him at work throughout the night. In addition to keeping Ged’s basses tuned up, and handing him new ones at appropriate points throughout the show, he is also responsible for manually scrolling the lyrics on the teleprompters that are on stage for Geddy and Alex (can you say "tedious"?). Interestingly enough, it looks to me like Geddy rarely, if ever, uses the prompter. But I guess the theory here is - better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.

At about 8:15, the lights went down, the intro video starts, and Neil and Geddy come running by - about 10 feet away - to climb the stage ladder (Alex was already on stage, having gone up from stage right). The show itself was amazing, of course. I won’t go into the details of the actual show, as I don't want to "spoil" anything, and it’s been well chronicled elsewhere. Definitely a nice set this time around though.

And our vantage point was quite unique. It pretty much felt like we were ON the (side of the) stage. It was also neat to be right next to the ladder that the band uses to get on/off stage. We were actually about even with Neil, and *behind* Geddy and Alex. (A couple times during the show, Geddy walked right over in front of us and "hammed it up" for the VIP section).

At intermission, we went back stage again for a few minutes and then wandered out to the soundboard (again - an unreal set-up), before heading back to our seats for the second set. We were so close that when some of the pyro type stuff went off it was very startling.

I saw Michael M. standing right in front of our section at one point during the show, so I tapped him on the shoulder and said 'hello'. He seemed nice enough, but obviously was busy attending to work and didn't know me...so there wasn't really much more to say.

After the show, I went out to briefly chat with Al Horta, my partner in rushpetition.com. He was talking with a couple of other long-time fans, including the B-Man (Bill Banasiewicz, author of "Visions"). This was Bill’s 199th Rush show, going all the way back to his first in 1977 (I believe). He was going to hit 200 in Toronto later this week.

I then reconnected with my friend and we headed backstage. We found Pegi again and chatted for a few minutes. Then Andy Curran, from Anthem, came by and we followed him to the (very small!) reception room set up for Atlantic folks. We drank a couple beers and made small talk in there.

A few minutes later, Geddy rolls in with a glass of wine, wearing a "Twister" t-shirt (the back said "get bent"); and Alex with a glass of champagne. Geddy’s first comment, in typical fashion, was "geez, I’m glad they found a really nice, big room for you guys". He has a very dry sense of humor.

The next half hour was very very cool, and the high point of the whole trip. Geddy and Alex just hung out and shot the breeze with us for about a half hour. I’d met both of them before, very briefly, at meet-and-greets, but those things are over so quick you can’t even do anything beyond say "hi". I’d frankly always had the impression that Geddy was a little stand-offish at those things. He’d quietly say "hi" and "thanks" and would lightly shake your hand, but that was about it. Not that I'm not *appreciative* of having had those experiences. However, in the post-show setting, where we were all just hanging out and actually had some time, he was amazingly nice, relaxed, and entertaining. It was basically a half hour of us all trading stories and laughing...

A couple of people told stories about their first Rush show, but my friend had the trump card. He said "I can beat that - at my first Rush show, in 1981, we got TEAR GASSED!" Geddy looks at him and goes "Miami!" Geddy and my friend then related the story to the rest of the room - it was the first show after the band had been on a break, and Neil was flying in from the Caribbean but his flight got cancelled. They had to charter a helicopter for him, but he was going to be late. The promoter didn’t want to open the doors until Neil was in the building, for fear that "the fans would rip the venue apart" if the show ended up cancelled. So, they kept the gates closed and the fans outside started getting impatient. At some point, the cops were called and the cops ended up tear gassing the crowd (!)...

Geddy then said: "I’ve actually got another funny story about that show. I was in France a couple years ago, vacationing with my wife. We were out at a wine tasting one night. We ended up meeting some folks and sharing a car back to our hotel. I’m crammed in the back of this car between these two guys, and we’re all three sheets to the wind, and a Rush song comes on the radio (very rare in France). One of the guys in the back seat says ‘I saw this band 20 years ago in FL, and there was almost a riot - the cops tear gassed us!’. He didn’t realize that this guy crammed in the back seat with him was in the band, so I just said 'yeah? I was at that show too!'"

My friend talked baseball with Geddy for a bit (a conversation lost on me). I asked Geddy if he still took batting practice with any teams and he says that he still "has some friends in the game" and they always ask him, but he said "I’m too old at this point and I just look ridiculous up there! It’s nice of them to always ask and it makes me feel good - but I prefer to just watch the game at this point."

I then commented that it must have been a lot of fun to play those huge soccer stadiums in Brazil, and he talked a bit about how they’re basically 'shrines' to the game down there. He talked about how intense soccer fans are about the game, and how he was advised not to wear any of the jerseys that fans gave him, because fans of the other teams "would really not appreciate it".

My friend recounted the story about when he went to a webcast at the Atlantic office in ’98, with his wife, and Geddy looked over at her at one point and said "you look bored as shit!" That brought a big laugh and led to a discussion about the dearth of female Rush fans. Geddy indicated that that seems to be changing and he said he’s been seeing more and more female fans at shows - and they’re singing along with all the new songs. He joked: "Some of them look pretty nice too! I’m like 'why NOW? Where were you 30 years ago baby!?'"

(Only later did I think of this, but an appropriate reply might have been: "Well Geddy, perhaps you guys were being a bit too overt back then, with lyrics like 'Hey baby, it's a quarter to eight - I feel I'm in the mood!'")

Talk briefly turned to upcoming plans - Rush plays two Canadian dates this week and then heads to Europe in October. The band will then take a little time off, before returning to the U.S. for some more dates beginning in April, 2008.

After some more small talk, Andy came back in and said that the band had some friends and family who wanted to say goodbye, so we all said our farewells as the guys headed out. I got a couple minutes to chat with Alex on his way out of the room. He too was very friendly and genuine. I gave him a disc by a band that I manage, and asked if he was doing any production work these days. He said it really depended on scheduling and asked about the band, so I explained the sound. When I said it’s "four piece rock but with a really unique banjo instead of a lead guitar", he seemed genuinely intrigued and interested. Not holding my breath for a phone call, but a cool conversation...

We said our goodbyes to Pegi and Andy, and then started looking around for the way out (we even briefly experienced that Spinal Tap moment of feeling lost in the maze of backstage passages). We ended up riding down in the elevator with Howard Ungerleider, and helped him carry a couple boxes out. Seemed like a great guy, very friendly...

By now it was about 1 AM, so time for the quick walk back to the hotel and a few hours sleep before my 7 AM train back to DC the next morning...

All in all, a very fun time. After 20 years as a HUGE fan, this whole experience was just a blast.

-Skip

best post I've read in some time...

Wonderful story! Thanks for sharing it.

Wow. Thanks for sharing. I hope I get to meet them some day, even if just the M&G deal.

Holy shit!

What an amazing story.

Something tells me that nothing like that will happen to me at the show tonight. :-(

Awesome! Thanks for this!

Wow -- what a great story!!

Coolest story EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That means YOU Rushgirl!!!!

He joked: "Some of them look pretty nice too! I’m like 'why NOW? Where were you 30 years ago baby!?'"


My God that is so funny!

Wow. Great story. Also this:



That looks like confirmation to me!

Let's not go citing me as a definitive source of confirmation on the '08 dates or anything. Merely passing along what I heard, i.e. that this is the current *PLAN*...

What he said. Unofficial. Still nice to hear it from another source. Still a rumor, however.

I'm SO THRILLED to see that Geddy really DOES NOTICE US FEMALE FANS...........SINCE WE SURE NOTICE HIM!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE Geddy's sense of humor, and his obvious APPRECIATION FOR WOMEN!!!!!!!!!

Click to view attachment
here's an image (I think, if I'm doing this right) that shows the view from our seats...

I will agree with this statement

One question though - Where is Neil during the intermission? Unless I missed it or you mentioned it as it was during the drum solo, but I don't think you mentioned that Neil was in the same room as geddy and alex along with you and your buddy. I always wondered what they all did during intermission. I figured that they all just went back to a closed off room to play a little grab ass j/k
Does Neil hang out with Lorne somewhere else?

Anyway great great story - those are the ones you remember for your entire life and will always make you smile whenever you think of them

The honest answer is "I don't know." My observation was that the band hung out back in their dressing room during the intermission. The only one of them that I saw during intermission was Alex --- he came in to talk with Karin about something (I think it might have had to do with a ticket snafu involving some friends of his or something?). I can only presume that Neil was either in the "Bubba Gump" room, or else hanging with Geddy and Alex in their room. As for AFTER the show, when we were in the Atlantic reception room with Geddy and Alex, I *presume* that Neil had already left the venue by that point...?

Again, I had pretty much made up my mind that I wasn't going to even try to meet Neil, as I respect the fact that the guy just is not into "mingling" with strangers. To each his own.

Great Post - My good friend that I've been with to three shows on this tour was also at the show in 1981 and was tear gassed. It was near Miami, but that show was actually at the Hollywood Sportatorium (well North of Miami.) My buddy said it was just outrageous that the cops took that action (hey, there's those S. Fla cops again....) but the crowd was getting a bit out of hand. Interestingly, I think the opening band was called "Riot"

You're correct, it was actually Hollywood, CA.

Cygnify, you are right. Hollywood Sportatorium/Opener: Riot. I was there too. I was 15 years old at the time and my mom drove me, my two brothers and two friends and she got so freaked out by the tear gas, that she made us leave and drive home w/o seeing the concert ( We live about 2.5 hours north in Vero Beach and needless to say, it was a very long, sad drive home. My older brother, who turned me on to Rush (saves all of his ticket stubs) tore that one up because he was so mad. Needless to say, I don't blame my mom for her decision. The tear gas was painful and it lingered for a long time. I think she made the right decision.

sdaly: GREAT POST ....thanks for sharing your VIP experience. I was dying to be there but stuck in Florida and our violent police force !!

Thanks for the chronicling of the experience ! Thoroughly enjoyed the read.

I'll have to hope like everyone else the the continuation of talk about '08 shows pretty much confirms the intention is there ! I think they are having as much or more fun with this tour than in the past and it shows in their stellar performance.

After all these great tour stories I'm really looking forward to taking advantage of seeing the guys at least one more time. (Once is just not enough)

PEACE

Great post...thanks for the detail. What a great experience!

Absolutely incredible story......

Just to clarify about the B-Man, he is actually approaching 300 shows this week in Toronto...

He showed me his list of shows recently, it is so incredible, imagine seeing Rush in Japan, Hawaii, Europe, an incredible journey and a great guy as well.......

Amazing story, and thank you so much for sharing it with us. I've had two M&G's with Rush over the years, but nothing approaching what you told us about. Awesome tale, my friend.

I think you have the best story now among us fans. Thanks for sharing. Felt like I was there with you.

awesome story..............congrats and thanks for sharing

Wow, great post. Thanks for sharing.

Great story! You would think after putting on the kind of show they put on, the last thing they'd want to do is go and have to be social and entertaining and all that. Shows what a class act they still are!

My friend and I had this EXACT conversation as we were walking back to the hotel at the end of the night. Especially when you take into account how many YEARS they've been at it.

And the thing that really struck me about the time we spent with them was how GENUINE they both were. It was all very relaxed and just downright fun...

Of course I'm sure it helped that nobody was "gushing" or being a complete "fanboi" about things. It felt like just a few guys hanging out in a room together sharing some stories and laughs. And that's what made it so cool.

Skip it was really awesome meeting up with you face to face after all these years of having the rushpetition.com thing going. It was truly a pleasure meeting and hanging out with a bunch of people. I was sitting next to B-Man all night so we shared a couple of cool stories and such.

As for the show, it was an incredible performance from the guys. I think it was a very magical show IMO. I wish it was professionally filmed. I heard that it was filmed by a few audience members so a boot of the show should pop out soon.

I think Sdaly is a class act as well. Being cool and not acting like an idiot is a good way to ensure you're invited again. Great story - thanks for taking the time to post!

Wow, that's a hell of a story!!


.......I wonder if MY petition will turn out the same way........

Actually, the Hollywood Sportatorium is in Florida - but well north of Miami

Freakin' SWEET!!!

All I can say is WOW!!!!! What an amazing experience!!!! And thankfully Geddy is noticing us female types in the audience!!! BTW...30yrs ago....I was still sucking my thumb. :0) I wouldn't have been his type back then.

What an awesome story! I love Geddy's comment about women at shows vs. 30 years ago. Um, I first saw them in 1976 but I would've been jailbate then.

Great story Skip! Thanks so much for sharing that.

What a great read...

I'm proud to be one of those female fans Geddy might've noticed...I was 2nd row (and 1st row for a while) in Cincinnati - and sung every song.

Skip, this is a GREAT story!!! Thanks so much for sharing it!!!

I'm pinning this BTW. This is something that the lot of us should read!

Geddy says "yeah? I was at that show too!" That is the funniest thing I've read in weeks!



Congrats Skip, you deserved it!

most excellent. seems like you handled the situation really well!!!

.

tee hee