Craig's Blog of Destiny

The Venues: 

We started by taking the whole family to the White River Amphitheater in Seattle.  We had great seats, just behind the boxes, just to the right of center.  Sam and J’Neil had a great time with us, although I’m a little worried about Sam’s reaction.  After the show, which was his first concert ever, I asked if he was now thinking he’d like to go to more concerts.  He said, “no, after seeing Rush what would be the point of seeing anyone else.”  He also said that he was worried about going home and listening to Spindrift (from the new album) again, because it just couldn’t compare to hearing it live.  That started a tradition that we kept up through the remaining shows of calling Sam during Spindrift and letting him listen to the live performance over the phone.  It was a big night for us as after the show we went right to Wal-Mart to pick up copies of the last Harry Potter book, released at midnight that night!

Next I was able to see them at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.  Right downtown in Los Angeles; just blocks from Hollywood and Vine.  I actually parked just off  Hollywood, and walked up the sidewalk with celebrity stars on it.  On the short 150 feet that I walked on Hollywood Boulevard I saw several of the Hollywood Stars but no one that I recognized.  The Hollywood Bowl itself was a little older and run down than I expected, the wooden benches were much more reminiscent of old weathered park benches than of stadium seats.  It’s also set on a hillside that you have to hike up to get into, even had some escalators going up the last section.  I had a great seat, right on the aisle, so there was no one in front of me the whole night.  Right behind me at the Hollywood Bowl was the first repeat fan I met this time around.  He was going to four of the California shows, this was his first.  He asked a lot about the Seattle show that I had already seen and was surprised I hadn’t gone to the Portland show just two days before (and one day after the Seattle show).

I then found myself in San Diego, where I was able to see Rush at the Coors Amphitheater.  On the drive there I got a little sidetracked looking for a convenience store:  I was worried I would need to pay for parking and needed an ATM  It was a little disturbing as I found myself wondering through an area of junk yards and body shops all with signs in Spanish out front.  Indeed, the amphitheater in San Diego is just across a gully from Mexico, I may have been able to through a rock into Mexico from where I was.  Turned out I didn’t need to pay for parking, there or at any of the rest of the venues:  the Hollywood Bowl in LA turned out to be the only one.  In San Diego I was eight rows back, again right on the isle.  I took the most pictures in San Diego, as being eight rows back it was easy to hold my phone up inconspicuously and being on the isle had a clear view to the stage.  So here are some of the pictures I took that night. 

From San Diego, I flew up to San Jose, where I met up with Kris for the show at the Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, just south of San Francisco.  Oddly enough, I remembered more of the Shoreline from the previous tours than I had some of the other venues, so it had a sort of “home” feel to it.  Kris and I stayed just up the road at a Hampton Inn, where I was treated as the frequent hotel guest that I am.  That day we spent having a leisurely lunch and checking out old record stores.  There was a great one there in San Jose where we saw some great T-shirts and challenged ourselves to get out of the place while something good was on the PA so the crap that was on at times wouldn’t be in our head when we left.  I also talked Kris into going to a Guitar Center, never a pleasant experience for her, where we saw this drum kit: it’s the set Neil used on the 30^th Anniversary tour, complete with gold plated hardware.  Actually, it’s only half the set, as it didn’t include the back set of electronic drums that he rotates to for some of the songs and during his solo.  They had it behind glass, and the price tag was $30,000.  I don’t know why Glenn doesn’t get one for our Four Rivers gigs. 

Kris and I enjoyed the Shoreline show, watching from the lawn area, where the sound actually arrived just a little later than the visuals.  It was hard to watch the big video screens and listen at the same time as the actions that produced the sounds could be seen just minutely before the sound would be heard.

Next time:  The Venues continued

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Wond’ring Aloud, by Jethro Tull

Ok, so here’s a little something (that’s not Rush) I’ve been singing to myself the last couple of days.

Yup, here’s the headline from the Rangers Orioles game last night.  The most runs by a team scored in a game in 110 years!  That was the first game of a double header, and in the second game the Rangers scored 9 runs – and that – 39 runs by a team in a double header, is the most runs EVER.  A new record!

Yup, I WAS THERE!  After our meetings in Annapolis, Maryland, yesterday about 5 of us managers were thinking of an alternative to the usual bar hopping that the group would be doing that night.  One of the guys mentioned that the Orioles were in town and that it couldn’t be that far a drive up to Camden Yard.  So we got a car and driver from the hotel, piled in and headed up there.  We got there during the fourth inning of the first game, got tickets from the box office and went in.  Our seats were right, and I mean right, behind home plate, about 20 rows up.  Great seats!

When we arrived, the score was 5-3, Rangers.  Notice that through three innings, the Orioles were leading the game, 3-0.  But the Orioles were done.  The Rangers just kept scoring.  We saw two grand slam home runs, two three run homers and a bunch of other runs from all kinds of plays.  At one point, in the 8th inning, Jay, one of the guys I went with, pointed out that the Rangers had scored 25 runs and had been shut out in five of the eight innings played.  The Rangers went on to score five more runs in the ninth. I sent a text message to David, mentioning that the Rangers had scored 30 runs on 29 hits – he thought I had committed a typo!

The crowd, what few of us were there, actually got behind the Rangers (the visiting team!) and at one point even booed one of the Rangers because he struck out:  LOOKING!!  On this night, of all nights, BE SWINGING!  The crowd continued to cheer for more runs throughout the game, only starting to care which team scored them at the beginning of the second game (which the Rangers won 9-5).

Isn’t baseball magical?

One of my Favorites…

Well, I’ve finished the final Harry Potter book and find that I have very little to say about it.  I’m glad it concluded, and in my opinion concluded quite well, though my original assessment of the series remains:  It’s at best a trilogy stretched out to seven books.  At best a trilogy, probably more like two good novels.   So many of the books are the same story told over and over again.  That being said, there is no denying the appeal of taking yourself away to Hogwarts, a place everyone in my family would love to live!  It’s a wonderful place to visit, again and again and again. 

            Although the story started being about Harry, and for the most part was all about Harry, I thought this last book really missed the mark in that it should have been about Snape.  Even considering Ron and Hermione, I feel Snape has become the central character next to Harry.  He was certainly the most complex character and had the most compelling story to tell.  The back story of Dumbledore is very compelling and it does seem to fit very well in the role of filler in the final book.  However, Snape’s back story, told in such a rushed and unsatisfactory series of very short vignettes,  serves only to remind us of  the complexity of the character and leaves a gaping hole that we long to be filled.  Had she written the final book with Snape’s story at its central core, both his history and his role in the final chapters of Harry’s story, it would have been a much better book, both as the end of the saga and standing alone.

            I will continue to recommend the Harry Potter series, particularly for the young and the young at heart, as the great escape that reading can be.  Taken in that vein, as an escape, it’s even good that the series is somewhat stretched from two or three books to seven.

Ok, it’s completely inexplicable, but the song in my head this morning is “I’m Winning” by Steve Winwood.  I don’t believe I even have a copy of that song, but it’s in my head.  Certainly an upbeat, positive song, but as to how it got into my head – I have absolutely no explanation.

Hmmm, Hmmmm, Hmmmm

We had the grill fired up this weekend, so we tried out these pineapple skewers.  Man were they good!  I didn’t have the bean pods (have you priced those lately!) so I just used vanilla extract – about 1 1/2 tsps.  Of course I got the recipe from Alton Brown (who by the way, loves to use real vanilla beans).

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 1 vanilla bean
8 ounces dark brown sugar, approximately 1 cup firmly packed
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
Pinch kosher salt
1 whole pineapple
8 (12-inch) metal skewers

Split open the vanilla pod and scrape out the pulp, and add the pod and the pulp to a small saucepan along with the brown sugar, lime juice, and salt. Whisk together and place the mixture over medium high heat and bring to a boil, stirring just until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and allow to sit for 2 hours before using. Remove the vanilla pod. Once cool, place the syrup in a squeeze bottle or other sealable container. Store in the refrigerator. Preheat grill on high.Peel and remove the core from the pineapple. Cut the pineapple into eighths, lengthwise, and remove any prickly brown eyes.Thread the pieces of pineapple onto the skewers lengthwise. Coat the skewered pineapple on all sides with the syrup. Grill on all sides until golden brown, approximately 4 minutes per side, 12 minutes total, or until the pineapple is tender. Serve with any remaining sauce.

As many of you know, I’ve just finished my pilgrimage, my own version of traveling to Mecca, by making my way to seven Rush concerts over the last couple of weeks.  How blessed am I that I’m able to follow them around for awhile.  I’m reminded of one of the t-shirts I saw at one of the shows:  “thank you for being here during my lifetime.”  Also, I have such a great wife that not only allows me to traipse across the country, but also makes so many of the arrangements for me.  She’s a real sweetheart. 

So here’s my review: 

It was very, very good.  They played a good mix of old tunes and plenty from the new album; in fact they did nine of the thirteen songs on Snakes and Arrows.  They opened the show with Limelight, one that everyone knows, then played Digital Man (which prompted me to turn to Kris and say “this would be fun to play, I need to learn it”), then Entre Nous.  Here there was a brief break while Geddy welcomed everyone and thanked them for coming to help celebrate the release of their “millionth album.”  Then they got right back to the music.  I guess I don’t need to run down the whole set list, but the first set highlights included Freewill (still about the best bass solo I’ve ever heard), and Between the Wheels.  It was also great to hear Circumstances (tuned down a little so Geddy could sing it) and from the new album: The Main Monkey Business (or as Geddy introduced it, The MAIN Monkey Business) and The Larger Bowl (introduced by Doug and Bob McKenzie).  Ok, so the only ones from the first set I didn’t mention are Mission, Secret Touch and Dreamline (with those great green laser lights).

After a short break (which they took because as Geddy said, “we’re ancient”) they opened the second set with five straight from Snakes and Arrows, including Sam’s personal favorite: Spendrift, and a great Working Them Angels with a slide show that I really want the pictures from.  I really enjoyed Witch Hunt and Natural Science (another instrumental – they did six instrumentals all together).  It was also particularly great to watch Geddy play Malignant Narcissism on an old, really beat up Fender Jazz Bass.  It sounded great!  Of course, Neil’s drum solo was a highlight, though he’s rewritten it so it wasn’t as familiar as it usually is.  As they often do, they alternated one space in the second set, playing Distant Early Warning one night, then Summertime Blues the next.  I’m always way impressed with Alex’s intro to Spirit of Radio, but this time around I also really enjoyed hearing him all by himself doing Hope on a 12 string Gibson.  Finally, the introduction to Tom Sawyer by the boys from South Park was priceless.

For the encore they did One Little Victory complete with video of the frustrated dragon, Passage to Bangkok (a real crowd favorite) and YYZ.  No, they didn’t even do a little bit of 2112, which may be a first.

The talent of each of these three guys is incredible and to see them perform is a great experience.  Alex is probably underrated as a guitar player, his solos are very emotional, he’s obviously in a zone as he plays.  David mentioned to me he had heard that Neil is the best drummer in the world, and the next closest is about half as good – I would agree.  And his lyrics are exceptional.  Geddy does things with a bass I could only dream of, and he does it while singing!  I have a hard time listening to him and playing the bass at the same time, and he not only plays the bass and sings, he plays keyboards with his feet as well as traditionally with his hands (while not playing the bass).  All three are also triggering the parts of the music that they can’t be playing.  They are very uniquely talented.

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Hope, by Alex Lifeson

It’s been acoustic in my head this morning, with this little dity from Alex Lifeson. Using a Gibson 12 string, he really seems to enjoy playing it in concert, and as he’s pleased to point out on the album jacket, he “did it all by my own self.”