On January 1, 1980, Rush released Permanent Waves:
My older brother Nate had introduced me to the band with classic albums such as 2112, Fly By Night and All The World's A Stage. When this album came out, I was 13 years old and really getting interested in not only listening to exciting new music but also performing it, alone and with various musicians in various band lineups. I clearly remember my friend Will and I listening to this album a lot and discussing the creation of it, the production, the awesome playing on it- Alex Lifeson's energetic fret work (we were both guitarists), Neal Peart's amazing chops on the drums (no one played like him back then AT all! NO ONE!), and Geddy Lee's incredible bass playing and unbelievable vocals (no one sounded like him AT all!).
What was so attractive about the album was the band's fearlessness in their playing and writing. That was even reflected in many of the songs' lyrics, but most especially in "The Spirit of Radio." Not only were they not afraid to be different, they reveled in it and didn't seem to be too interested in just crafting a "single." The lyrics spoke of "integrity" and that was very appealing to this young teen who wanted musical heroes to look up to and emulate. The music was indeed technical but it was also very radical and rebellious in its own special way.
Will and I (and another friend Jeff) went and saw Rush on this tour of their album Permanent Waves. It was my very first rock concert (Will's too, I believe, but not sure about Jeff's), and, aside from drunk people (including Jeff, who threw up on the guy in front of us!) and the strong smell of pot throughout the venue, the concert was exciting and a lot of fun! The concert was on Tuesday, May 20th, 1980, at the New Haven Coliseum in CT. The band opened with the "2112" overture and then went right into "The Temple of Syrinx."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QweELF7Sp0k(The Temples of Syrinx 1980)
The band played a lot of great songs that I was familiar with, including "Cygnus X-1" from an album I had purchased recently, "A Farewell To Kings." When the band finally got around to playing the lead off track off of their newest album, the crowd went crazy, as did I!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWLdeXbbfoA (The Spirit of Radio Live 1980)
It was a great first concert for this young lad! I would eventually see them more than any other band (to this date), having last seen them when I worked as an usher at Great Woods/Tweeter Center/Comcast Center a few years ago.
Will and I (and another friend Jeff) went and saw Rush on this tour of their album Permanent Waves. It was my very first rock concert (Will's too, I believe, but not sure about Jeff's), and, aside from drunk people (including Jeff, who threw up on the guy in front of us!) and the strong smell of pot throughout the venue, the concert was exciting and a lot of fun! The concert was on Tuesday, May 20th, 1980, at the New Haven Coliseum in CT. The band opened with the "2112" overture and then went right into "The Temple of Syrinx."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QweELF7Sp0k(The Temples of Syrinx 1980)
The band played a lot of great songs that I was familiar with, including "Cygnus X-1" from an album I had purchased recently, "A Farewell To Kings." When the band finally got around to playing the lead off track off of their newest album, the crowd went crazy, as did I!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWLdeXbbfoA (The Spirit of Radio Live 1980)
It was a great first concert for this young lad! I would eventually see them more than any other band (to this date), having last seen them when I worked as an usher at Great Woods/Tweeter Center/Comcast Center a few years ago.
Hi Jamie -
ReplyDeleteGreat concert, vomit and all. Also great was walking into school with my first concert shirt the next day. That's all it took to be cool in 9th grade; life was so easy then.
I just watched the documentary Beyond the Lighted Stage, and it inspired me to dig out all the old Rush stuff I haven't listened to in years. I still like all the really old stuff (70's and early 80's) but PW is my favorite.
The PW liner art always stuck with me. Pictures of the guys smiling and having a great time… it didn't strike me then how unusual it was to see a band made up of normal guys just being happy and not getting wasted all the time. It's cool in BtLS to see that they're still just a bunch of goofball geeks.
-Will