It’s been no secret that here at SRG we have an unbridled hatred of the White River Amphitheater, especially following our last run-in with the fascists that call the shots over there. White River is the worst venue in the Northwest. The sound is sub-par, the parking lot is a complete fucking nightmare and prices for concessions invariably cause anal bleeding. The whole thing is a corporate disaster.
There is a huge problem with declaring war on White River, though: kick ass bands still play at White River. It’s enough of an issue to make SRG’s war completely silly. No matter how badly the venue sucks and we despise the mutant scum that run security we’re pretty much a captive audience when it comes to great bands rolling through town.
Case in point: Rush.
Yeah, Rush. One of the biggest names in rock, who after thirty years are still kicking serious ass. Rush, fathers of prog-metal as we know it. Rush, with god damn Neil Peart on drums! So what am I going to say when Nik calls me up and asks if I would be down to review the show? No? Fuck that.
So I sucked it up and made the short drive from my Auburn compound on a rainy Saturday night and found myself sitting center stage about thirty feet back. Not bad for a hack! Despite being in the belly of the beast, the smell of ass-kickery was wafting through the air.
Soon the house lights dimmed and a video began with the members of Rush playing goofy characters and telling the story of a time machine-like device called the Gefilter. This led into the band storming the stage and breaking into “The Spirit of Radio” amidst an intricate stage setup of Gefilteresque machines.
For the next hour Rush displayed nothing but masterful musicianship and poise. Each member of the band looked and played great, something not necessarily a given with the barrage of reunions and never ending tours from veteran acts. Each song had thematic video and lighting to accompany it which added a visual layer to Rush’s sonic barrage.
After a short intermission and another goofy video the band returned to the stage with “Tom Sawyer”. What followed was a note-for-note performance of 1980’s ‘Moving Pictures’ in its entirety. The show had already been treading on legendary territory, but this brought it up to a truly epic level. Hearing the songs live, with a mixture of classic and updated sounds, was an amazing aural experience.
'Moving Pictures’ segued into solos and more classic Rush tunes from their thirty-five year career, and which point my mind was thoroughly blown. Everything about the band and the set was pristine - they even managed to pull amazing sound out of White River’s bootleg PA system. Rush is among a very short list of elite bands who deliver both on record and live every single time. They are a band that cannot be missed every time they grace us with a tour stop.
Words and Photo by Matt Abramson
I was at this show and posted a review with almost 30 minutes of video at bit.ly/cVgo5s.
ReplyDeleteI could not agree with you more re the parking situation at the WRA. I have been to tons of shows there, having to drive all the way from Portland while we have the similar Sleep Country Amphitheater right in our back yard, dammit. Credit given, though, that Rush has played there a few times too. Just not this time.
Anyway, my friends and I have taken to leaving concerts a minute before the last song ends to beat the traffic nightmare. For Iron Maiden, we skipped Running Free and got out of the lot with no issues. Our friend who did not do this spent and hour and a half getting out. No one is in charge and no one knows how to get out. It's the worst parking on the planet.
Rush was pretty good though, eh?
RUSH WAS EPIC!! The lines waiting to take the shuttle bus back to the Supermall parking lot were epic too :-) What's a little patience eeh?
ReplyDeleteRUSH ON!
It takes longer to get to WRA (40 miles and 3 HOURS!!) from Seattle than it does the Gorge (150 miles and 2hr 30min). WRA should be 45 a minute drive. If bands that aren't playing Portland and Vancouver play WRA because they think it's a shorter driving distance than the Gorge.... they are correct. But, time is another story. I don't know why bands play there. Must be $$.
ReplyDeleteRUSH WAS GREAT!!!!
When their contemporaries and new modern chart-topping pop bands are canceling shows and tours for the summer because of poor ticket sales, RUSH is selling out venues and showcasing their excellent virtuosity and tightness on their instruments and the intelligence in the lyrics. Something that the bands of today just cant hope to hold a candle to.
ReplyDeleteThe critics of RUSH have been proven wrong time and time again. They continue to be snubbed for the Rock and Roll hall of fame. RUSH is 4rd, behind only the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and the Who for most consecutive gold/platinum albums.
For reasons of distance and money, I hadn't seen a Rush show in a long time. So long that my 12-year-old son, who got his intro to the best band in the world at this show, wasn't even born the last time I saw Rush.
ReplyDeleteAgreed, the parking and travel situation at White River is seriously fucked up. I'd never been there before, so I allowed an extra hour and a half to get there, figuring I'd probably be an hour early and just relax and drink it all in, but I barely made it to my seat in time. No leaving the show early for me (sacrilege!!! this is RUSH,for God's sake!). I was fine just hanging in the parking lot while everyone else wasted fuel; when the lot was empty, I had a nice, easy late night drive with no traffic to ruin my Rush high.
And that concert was epic. EPIC. Been to a lot of shows in my time, including several great Rush concerts back in the 80s/90s, and this was one of the best I've ever seen. I'm glad my kid got to see it, too. He'll remember this forever. It was the best band of all time playing one of the best shows they've ever done.
My first show at the WRA. We took a limo so didn't experience the wonderful parking situation- I highly recommend. The sound system is lame and poorly designed for that big of a venue, and everything is a mile from everthing else, and ridiculously expensive. Not impressed with WRA
ReplyDeleteHowever as mentioned in other posts, RUSH was fantastic, maybe the best of the 6 Rush shows I've seen.
How long was the show? I'm going to see it in Irvine Meadows this Friday. Thanks!!
ReplyDeleteShow is three hours with an intermission.
ReplyDeleteshould be Appx 3 hrs. I will be in Irvine as well.....See you there!
ReplyDeleteThis was their best show since the Test For Echo tour in '97. And that one was better only because they did all of 2112. Something they had never done, not even on the 2112 tour...and I saw that one. (along with 16 other tours) The boys were awesome!! All at the top of their game and having a great time themselves. Lots of big shit eatin grins...ever NEIL was smiling!!!! Can not wait until next year when they come back after they release the new disc.
ReplyDeleteAt the end of the above review Matt says: "Rush is among a very short list of elite bands who deliver both on record and live every single time. They are a band that cannot be missed every time they grace us with a tour stop." That covers it, plain, simple and directly to the heart of the matter. Reunion tours aren't necessary when 3 guys stay together for 36 years out of mutual love and respect......and it shows in their music both live and on record. They are as hot right now as they were during the 80s, maybe hotter and they deserve every bit of it. I consider it an honor to have seen them 8 times and hope for more, more, more.
ReplyDeleteAnd yeah, WRA is fucked. Hoping they do Sleep country Amp, Rose Garden and/or Gorge next time. No beer in the seats? Really??!!
Glad to see everyone is in agreement on how shitty WRA is and how amazing Rush is. Thanks all for checking out SRG. We post awesome shit all the time-- so bookmark it!! PS. Nice work Matt as always!
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of WRA's bootleg pa system.... Has anything surfaced? I wanna remember this awesome concert through my earbuds, anyone??
ReplyDeleteI had only seen Rush three times before this show. Twice in the 90s (Presto and Roll the Bones) and the 2008 leg of the S & A tour, which I saw at Sleep Country near PDX. This show was, like many have said, EPIC. Should Neil grace us with another novel (read them now!) I am sure he would label it as a magical one.
ReplyDeleteI am so glad to have my suspicions confirmed that WRA has shitty sound. The first set was so distorted, especially in the low end. Still had an amzing time of course. Much to my surprise the sound was WAY better after intemrission. Rush's crew is top notch.
I bought premium parking for the 2008 show at Sleep Country and leaving the venue was a cinch. Premium parking for WRA is a complete waste of money. Oh well, we just sat in our car in the parking lot. This was my 12 year old son's first show and he was pretty amped about it. After a while we left and headed back to Portland. What a memorable night.
I had only seen Justin three times before this show. Twice in the 90s (Presto and Roll the Bones) and the 2008 leg of the S & A tour, which I saw at Sleep Country near PDX. . I used to get Justin Bieber Tickets easily through Ticketwood.com .I am sure he would label it as a magical one. Believe me, there is nothing like a Justin Bieber show — mind blowing
ReplyDeleteHave to agree on the traffic/parking situation - my guitarist and I drove down from Vancouver BC for the show with our wives, and the first thing he said when we made it back to the truck after the show was 'I don't care if Jesus Christ rises from the dead, hits the road and plays the White River Amphitheatre - I'm never going to see a show there again'.
ReplyDeleteRush FTW. Absolutely epic performance - especially Alex's solo on The Camera Eye.
WRA, however, licks my scrote. Seriously, over a hour and a half to get there from Kent? AYFKM? We wound up going south out of WRA, drove through hell's half acre - I swear I heard banjos at one point - and still somehow managed to make it back to our hotel in Kent in the same amount of time it probably would've taken us to get out of the parking lot. Whoever designed that place should have their fingers broken so they can never plan anything like that again.
Great, great show. Drove from PDX early in the day and got to the venue about 5:30. No problems with traffic/parking that early. Dodged right at the end of the closing vid, and scooted out of there. Not terrible if you time it right, but after several shows at WRA I can sure see how it could get miserable - unless you like to sit in your car in a parking lot for long periods of time in the middle of the night.
ReplyDeleteThe first half of this show was really unbelievable. I have seen Rush a dozen times, but this was about the best I've ever heard them play live. The band sounded really, really tight, right on the money on every song.
In future, I hope they will play the Rose Garden or Sleep Country (note to band - if you play WRA and Sleep Country/Rose Garden, a hell of a lot of people will go to both shows so don't worry about low attendance).
I also laughed the other day when I heard an ad for ZZ Top playing the Oregon State Fair. Yikes!
It will be awesome to see RUSH perform MOVING PICTURES in its entirety. I was able to see Rush 3 times on the original Moving Pictures tour, Max Webster opened for them in Louisville Ky, It was so awesome!! Thanks Ticketwood.com for offering me discounted Rush Tickets . They were using a movie screen behind them that projected really cool images during the show. They were so far ahead of everyone else at the time… and still are.
ReplyDeleteIt will be awesome to see RUSH perform MOVING PICTURES in its entirety. I was able to see Rush 3 times on the original Moving Pictures tour, Max Webster opened for them in Louisville Ky, It was so awesome!! Thanks Ticketwood.com for offering me discounted Rush Tickets . They were using a movie screen behind them that projected really cool images during the show. They were so far ahead of everyone else at the time… and still are.
ReplyDeleteRush in concert 2011! Check out the best tickets @ Total Tickets...http://tinyurl.com/66tx8fc
ReplyDelete