Rush Live Tourography - The Permanent Waves Tour (REVISITED - World Tour 1980)

[ytserush]

Thought I throw this here.

I can appreciate it much more now beyond its historical significance than the previous versions that made it out there.

Fasten your seatbelts. The intensity is an order of magnitude higher. Blows my DVD away.




https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJo3aVTRi61AXWGPRuTGXNFFCOBXc3ZAO

[The Letter M]

I watched some of that the other day. GREAT stuff, but I just haven't had the time to watch all of it quite yet. Good video and sound, though! I love it when stuff like this comes out of nowhere!

Also, way to resurrect my old thread! I may go ahead and start this back up. After seeing Rush last week, I've been listening to my Live Rush series a lot lately, and with renewed interest in it, (and a soon drop-off in work load), I'll have some more free time to invest in this thread!

-Marc.

[The Letter M]

The Tour Of The Hemispheres began October 14, 1978, two weeks before the album Hemispheres was officially released, and ended on June 4, 1979, with nearly 9 months of solid touring taking them all over North America and Europe.

Opening Bands: Max Webster, Ambrosia, April Wine, Golden Earring, Madcats, The Good Rats, Head East, Molly Hatchet, Pat Travers, Starz, Saxon, Wild Horses, UFO, Streetheart

The setlist remained the same throughout this tour until "Circumstances" was dropped during the UK dates. In addition to "Circumstances", "Something for Nothing" and "Cygnus X-1" were dropped from the setlist for the remaining dates of the continental European tour. Rush closed the tour with a performance at the Pink Pop Festival where they played a unique ten song set.

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

For my representation of this tour, I chose a whole show, and arguably the best Soundboard Bootleg of the whole tour, "A Desert Passage PE", from Tucson, AZ. Their first show there, but it's a complete setlist, with one substitution to fill in a cut during "Hemispheres", but otherwise, it's a great combination of completeness and sound quality.
Thanks to NICK for uploading the show:

www.nickeh.com/botm/rush1978-11-20.rar

Rush - Hemispheres Tour - 121:16
(Live In Tucson, AZ on 11/20/78)
(A Desert Passage PE - SBD)

Disc 1 - 69:00
 1. Intro          0:54
 2. Anthem            4:18
 3. A Passage To Bangkok      3:54
 4. By-Tor & The Snow Dog      5:20
 5. Xanadu           12:18
 6. Something for Nothing      4:30
 7. The Trees            4:39
 8. Cygnus X-1        10:45
 9. Hemispheres         18:58
10. Closer To The Heart      3:24

Disc 2 - 52:16
 1. Circumstances         4:37
 2. A Farewell To Kings      5:35
 3. La Villa Strangiato      10:05
 4. 2112            19:12
 5. Working Man         3:09
 6. Bastille Day         1:43
 7. In The Mood         2:41
 8. Drum Solo            5:14

NOTE - During the show, there was some of Geddy asking the audience to calm down as they were pushing against the stage. In my version, I edited out all of his banter to the audience about calming down, just to create a smoother show, so the track times are different above than the normally released show. Read more about it here: https://www.digitalrushexperience.com/database/review.php?RecordingID=31
   
For me, the Tour Of The Hemispheres was one of the band's greatest setlists (that is, until a COS Headliner show surfaces ). They play ALL FOUR songs from their new album, most of their previous album (four songs from AFTK), the longest version of "2112" they've played to date (and what amounts to about half of the album 2112), and the rest of their best-of from their first three albums (despite COS's only representation being a snippet of "Bastille Day").

Also, once again, the song "Nights, Winters, Years" by Justin Hayward and John Lodge (of The Moody Blues) is used as the Intro Tape music before the band came on stage, and on this show, you can hear Neil and Alex 'warming up' over the track before they start the show. It's fun to hear Neil just rock out with some crazy drum fills!

The show begins with a truncated version of "Anthem" (with the 2nd verse missing), then moves to a rousing performance of "A Passage To Bangkok". Then we are treated to the wonderful medley of "By-Tor" and "Xanadu", followed by the closing track from 2112. Next comes an unstoppable run of songs that close out the first disc of the set with "The Trees" seguing into "Cygnus X-1", and "Hemispheres" seguing into "Closer To The Heart".

And speaking of segues, "A Farewell To Kings" goes right in to "La Villa Strangiato", and then the main show ends with one of my favorite recorded versions of "2112" (right up there with St. Louis '80, and of course, the one from Different Stages). The "Working Man Medley" continues to be the encore, and instead of including "Finding My Way" or "Fly By Night", a bit of "Bastille Day" makes an appearance, and of course, the show closes with The Professor on the Drum Kit.

If you've never heard a show from this tour, or this show in particular, GET IT. It's one of the best Rush ROIO's out there, and if I had to give anyone a few shows to start with collecting bootlegs, this would be one of them!

-Marc.

[Jaq]

Man, I need to download that show when I have the time. That's an awesome set list. 

[Big Hath]

there are some great boots from this tour.  The one linked above is awesome.  I'll try to post more after work today.

[The Letter M]

Man, I need to download that show when I have the time. That's an awesome set list. 

Of the band's 70's Tours, this is my favorite based on the set list alone. We're treated to a barrage of epics (Xanadu, CX1 Books I and II, 2112, and LVS, as well as half of By-Tor), the best of their short songs from their first few albums, and a good encore medley.

-Marc.

[Nick]

Man, I need to download that show when I have the time. That's an awesome set list. 

Of the band's 70's Tours, this is my favorite based on the set list alone. We're treated to a barrage of epics (Xanadu, CX1 Books I and II, 2112, and LVS, as well as half of By-Tor), the best of their short songs from their first few albums, and a good encore medley.

-Marc.

Just for Xanadu, CX1, Hemi, and 2112 all on one tour this is and will likely always be my favorite tour setlist. 2nd may be Power Windows, and honestly the current tour would rank up high after that.

[KevShmev]

It's hard to beat the Moving Pictures set list, but we can address that more when we get there.

[The Letter M]

It's hard to beat the Moving Pictures set list, but we can address that more when we get there.

That set list is pretty good, too. It's a natural progression from the PEW set, especially opening w-... yeah, you're right, we'll address that more when we do get there, maybe in a week or so.

-Marc.

[KevShmev]

Pretty good?  Just pretty good?

[The Letter M]

Pretty good?  Just pretty good?

Well, compared to the Hemispheres Tour, it's a notch below. But you're right, they did play 6/7ths of MP, as well as parts of their epics "2112" and "Hemispheres", but I still enjoy the Hemispheres Tour a bit more.

-Marc.

[Nick]

Moving Pictures has nothing on the Hemispheres tour. The MP tour while great, features too many songs that have since been beaten to death several times over which, in hindsight, makes it not stand out as much as it should.

[KevShmev]

The MP tour while great, features too many songs that have since been beaten to death several times over which, in hindsight, makes it not stand out as much as it should.

That makes zero sense.  At the time, those songs had not been played to death.  That's like saying, "Stairway to Heaven is no longer a great song because I've heard it too many times."  It makes no sense.

[Nick]

The MP tour while great, features too many songs that have since been beaten to death several times over which, in hindsight, makes it not stand out as much as it should.

That makes zero sense.  At the time, those songs had not been played to death.  That's like saying, "Stairway to Heaven is no longer a great song because I've heard it too many times."  It makes no sense.

At the time it would make no sense, but now it certainly does. If you look back and evaluate each setlist through hindsight the songs from Moving Pictures lose value in each individual set because they appear so often. YYZ, Tom Sawyer and Limelight are great, but seeing them in a set is hardly anything special. What makes a set truly great, aside from some of the obvious choices are some gems, only played for a tour or two that allow it to break out and above the ordinary and mundane. MP tour had a good deal of that, but not nearly to the degree of some others.

[KevShmev]

I disagree. It might make the set lists on future tours look less special, but not the first tour to feature them. 

Plus, I could nitpick and say that while the Hemispheres set list is stellar, the appearances of Circumstances and Something for Nothing (two songs I would call good, but not great) takes away from it just a tad in comparison to the Moving Pictures set list, which is pretty much nothing but one awesome song after another (except for Working Man, another song I would merely call good, but it is on both set lists, so it is a wash).

[Nick]

You are looking at things through the eyes of someone seeing those tours for the first time, in which I agree. But it you take this all as history, which it is now, throw all the sets into a big hat and pull them out not knowing which came first, second, and so on, then it's a little bit different.

And on the other point I actually think those are both fantastic songs, and reasons I love that tour.

[KevShmev]

Oh, so you are ignoring context? 

[Nick]

Oh, so you are ignoring context? 

I could really say you are doing the same, and at the end of the day we're just looking at it from two different angles.

[KevShmev]

That is obvious, but no, you are the one who is ignoring context.  Saying you have to look at every set list and then judge them without considering when they happened is like saying, "Well, the Beatles music was ground-breaking and all that, but if you ignore context and just focus on what bands did what and ignore when they came out, it really doesn't look as impressive since other bands have done similar things."  Context matters.

[Nick]

Yes, and you are ignoring the context of having all available info and judging it against one another fairly and subjectively without adding the emotion attached to the time they debuted.

[KevShmev]

Your view has everything to do with emotion, like when you specifically said, "YYZ, Tom Sawyer and Limelight are great, but seeing them in a set is hardly anything special," which is your emotional reaction stemming from the fact that you are tired of seeing them in set lists. 

[Nick]

Um, duh? I didn't say having an emotional reaction was wrong, but simply pointed out that the way you were approaching things brought forth a very specific one.

[ytserush]

The Tour Of The Hemispheres began October 14, 1978, two weeks before the album Hemispheres was officially released, and ended on June 4, 1979, with nearly 9 months of solid touring taking them all over North America and Europe.

Opening Bands: Max Webster, Ambrosia, April Wine, Golden Earring, Madcats, The Good Rats, Head East, Molly Hatchet, Pat Travers, Starz, Saxon, Wild Horses, UFO, Streetheart

The setlist remained the same throughout this tour until "Circumstances" was dropped during the UK dates. In addition to "Circumstances", "Something for Nothing" and "Cygnus X-1" were dropped from the setlist for the remaining dates of the continental European tour. Rush closed the tour with a performance at the Pink Pop Festival where they played a unique ten song set.

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

For my representation of this tour, I chose a whole show, and arguably the best Soundboard Bootleg of the whole tour, "A Desert Passage PE", from Tucson, AZ. Their first show there, but it's a complete setlist, with one substitution to fill in a cut during "Hemispheres", but otherwise, it's a great combination of completeness and sound quality.
Thanks to NICK for uploading the show:

www.nickeh.com/botm/rush1978-11-20.rar

Rush - Hemispheres Tour - 121:16
(Live In Tucson, AZ on 11/20/78)
(A Desert Passage PE - SBD)

Disc 1 - 69:00
 1. Intro          0:54
 2. Anthem            4:18
 3. A Passage To Bangkok      3:54
 4. By-Tor & The Snow Dog      5:20
 5. Xanadu           12:18
 6. Something for Nothing      4:30
 7. The Trees            4:39
 8. Cygnus X-1        10:45
 9. Hemispheres         18:58
10. Closer To The Heart      3:24

Disc 2 - 52:16
 1. Circumstances         4:37
 2. A Farewell To Kings      5:35
 3. La Villa Strangiato      10:05
 4. 2112            19:12
 5. Working Man         3:09
 6. Bastille Day         1:43
 7. In The Mood         2:41
 8. Drum Solo            5:14

NOTE - During the show, there was some of Geddy asking the audience to calm down as they were pushing against the stage. In my version, I edited out all of his banter to the audience about calming down, just to create a smoother show, so the track times are different above than the normally released show. Read more about it here: https://www.digitalrushexperience.com/database/review.php?RecordingID=31
   
For me, the Tour Of The Hemispheres was one of the band's greatest setlists (that is, until a COS Headliner show surfaces ). They play ALL FOUR songs from their new album, most of their previous album (four songs from AFTK), the longest version of "2112" they've played to date (and what amounts to about half of the album 2112), and the rest of their best-of from their first three albums (despite COS's only representation being a snippet of "Bastille Day").

Also, once again, the song "Nights, Winters, Years" by Justin Hayward and John Lodge (of The Moody Blues) is used as the Intro Tape music before the band came on stage, and on this show, you can hear Neil and Alex 'warming up' over the track before they start the show. It's fun to hear Neil just rock out with some crazy drum fills!

The show begins with a truncated version of "Anthem" (with the 2nd verse missing), then moves to a rousing performance of "A Passage To Bangkok". Then we are treated to the wonderful medley of "By-Tor" and "Xanadu", followed by the closing track from 2112. Next comes an unstoppable run of songs that close out the first disc of the set with "The Trees" seguing into "Cygnus X-1", and "Hemispheres" seguing into "Closer To The Heart".

And speaking of segues, "A Farewell To Kings" goes right in to "La Villa Strangiato", and then the main show ends with one of my favorite recorded versions of "2112" (right up there with St. Louis '80, and of course, the one from Different Stages). The "Working Man Medley" continues to be the encore, and instead of including "Finding My Way" or "Fly By Night", a bit of "Bastille Day" makes an appearance, and of course, the show closes with The Professor on the Drum Kit.

If you've never heard a show from this tour, or this show in particular, GET IT. It's one of the best Rush ROIO's out there, and if I had to give anyone a few shows to start with collecting bootlegs, this would be one of them!

-Marc.

Ah yes. The Tucson show.  It's been almost 20 years since first surfaced. it was considered kind of a holy grail when it was "unearthed." At the time there were higher generation soundboards like Fresno or Chicago and a handful of other pretty amazing Hemispheres shows like Vancouver and Toronto (where they play auld lang syne..cool show but it doesn't sound that great)

Since then of course there have been really great sounding Hemispheres shows (some full and some partial) from Detroit, Boston Frankfurt, Oslo, Pink Pop......

Easily a top five tour based on the set. Only a few songs we'd ever see the likes of again for obvious reasons as they took it as far as they wanted.

This is the definative Rush set for the 1970s. No other set comes close. Everything you want is here. It would never happen again. I hope there's something in the vault that will see the light of day at some point. I mean the third disc of Different Stages was a godsend, but it's still no Hemispheres Tour.


The Archives Tour is nothing to sneeze at either, even if it's similar to the A Farewell To Kings Tour. The Niagra Falls show is probably the best representation of that.

[The Letter M]

As a heads up, I'll be posting about the PEW Tour tomorrow. And as hinted at, I do use the well-known and highly regarded St. Louis '80 show as the basis for my Compiled Live show for this tour, as well as the PEW Tour songs used on Exit...Stage Left (with the rest filled in from a good AUD bootleg).

-Marc.

[The Letter M]

The Permanent Waves Tour began 16 days after the album's release (a first, I believe, as their previous tours began BEFORE an album release after their debut), starting on January 17, 1980, and lasting about only 5 months til June 22, 1980. Once again, they toured most of North America and the U.K., including a five-night stay at the Hammersmith Odeon and two nights at The Apollo in Glasgow, Scotland, where songs for their next album were recorded.

Opening Bands: Max Webster, .38 Special, Saxon, Quartz, Roadmaster, Saga

"Geddy added that a slide display to coincide with ['Natural Science'] is being planned. 'We're expanding to a few other sequences which are going to be a little different. They feature a series of paintings by someone who actually lives in the Cleveland area. He's a fan of ours, and showed us his work the last time we were in Cleveland. We've kept in contact with him and we've now hired him to do a number of scenes. We'll sync the film with the music, like last year. Films are something we've always wanted to do, but it's all dictated by cost. Even now, although we're doing very well, there remain certain costs which are prohibitive. There's a lot of cities on the last tour that didn't see our film projections because they were still being made. Your're always catching up to yourself-you want to make sure it's right and put as much as possible into it. We've expanded somewhat on our lighting: it's an elaborate system already and is hard to add to. So, we maintain the quality and make subtle changes." - Geddy Lee, Northeast Ohio Scene, February 14-20, 1980

"Whenever possible, after each show, Rush and their road crew head for a nearby ice hockey rink for a late-night game with real sticks (contributed by some friends on the Montreal Canadiens team), real uniforms, and real body checking. In warmer climes, they're fond of the mini-auto race tracks in amusement parks." David Fricke, Circus Magazine, April 1, 1980

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

The set I have listed below is a compilation of THREE shows, but only 33 minutes (about a 1/4th of the set) is not soundboard-quality. Linked just below is the astonishing "St. Louis '80 Remastered" show!

www.nickeh.com/botm/rush1980-02-14.rar (Just the St. Louis '80 show)

Rush - Permanent Waves Tour - 122:19
(Live In St. Louis, MO on 2/14/1980)
(St. Louis '80 Remastered - Broadcast)

Disc 1 - 60:55
 1. 2112         14:51
 2. Freewill*          5:52
 3. By-Tor And The Snow Dog      5:14
 4. Xanadu            12:29
 5. The Spirit Of Radio      5:07
 6. Natural Science         8:20
 7. A Passage To Bangkok^    3:57
 8. The Trees*          5:05

Disc 2 - 61:24
 1. Cygnus X-1*          8:18
 2. Hemispheres*      14:17
 3. Closer To The Heart*^    3:05
 4. Beneath, Between, Behind^    2:26
 5. Jacob's Ladder^       8:35
 6. Working Man         3:30
 7. Finding My Way Intro      0:23
 8. Anthem            1:40
 9. Bastille Day         1:28
10. In The Mood         2:39
11. Drum Solo            5:12
12. La Villa Strangiato      9:41


^ - Exit...Stage Left (Official)
    Live In Glasgow, UK on 6/10-11/80
* - Timeless Wavelength PE - AUD
    Live In Fort Worth, TX on 2/2/80

St. Louis - New Peak Amp 6db
ESL - New Peak Amp -2db

33:32 - Non-SB Sourced

When I compiled this set, I knew immediately I would have to start with the acclaimed St. Louis bootleg. It is another Holy Grail-type recording, being a super clear, super crisp soundboard-quality pre-broadcast audio show. That show itself has a LOT of great songs, including a good chunk of "2112", the popular "By-Tor/Xanadu" medley, a hard-rocking version"Natural Science", the ever-changing "Working Man-Medley" to close the main set, and a great version of "La Villa Strangiato" as the encore. While it's not a COMPLETE show, it's one of the BEST sounding bootlegs out there. Another highly-recommended show for any Rush fan. The show itself is only about 73 minutes long, and as it'll fit on to one CD, it's great to have around! But of course, this didn't satisfy my needs for this tour...

So I filled out my set with the PEW-Tour songs used on Exit...Stage Left. Like when I used Different Stages Disc 3 and All The World's A Stage to represent those respective tours, I decided to use the four tracks from ESL to fill out the St. Louis show. Luckily (or ironically), those four tracks weren't doubled with any tracks on St. Louis, so between the two, I got a good chunk of the PEW set list in GREAT audio quality! ESL-fans will know how good these tracks sound, so I won't discuss them here. But still, I was missing "Freewill", "The Trees", and both Books of "Cygnus X-1" (both abbreviated)...

Which is where the semi-well-known "Timeless Wavelength PE" Audience bootleg came in. It's one of the better Audience shows from the PEW tour, and more complete. I used this show to fill out the missing 33:32 of the show. It's sad that there's no higher quality boot that includes these songs, although I'm okay with them being less-than-top-quality since the "Trees"/"Cygnus X-1" sequence was done on the prior tour, and in FULL versions, too. They're just included here for completion's sake!

-Marc.

[KevShmev]

Why is the St. Louis bootleg infamous?

[The Letter M]

Why is the St. Louis bootleg infamous?

Maybe my word-choice is wrong? I've been tired all day... maybe I meant more like acclaimed or renowned. Yeah, we'll go with that. My bad!

-Marc.

[Big Hath]

Going back to the Hemispheres tour for a moment, some other outstanding boots I go to often are Waltz of the Shreves (really good audience recording from Vancouver), and the previously mentioned soundboards Buenas Nochas! Motor City and Black Forest.



St Louis '80 Remastered, first bootleg I ever got.  Wow, what an awesome boot and show!

[ytserush]

Going back to the Hemispheres tour for a moment, some other outstanding boots I go to often are Waltz of the Shreves (really good audience recording from Vancouver), and the previously mentioned soundboards Buenas Nochas! Motor City and Black Forest.



St Louis '80 Remastered, first bootleg I ever got.  Wow, what an awesome boot and show!

Gotta give some love for the Semi Tour of Some of The Hemispheres which was essentially a warm up tour to get ready to record Permanent Waves in the studio where the band road-tested pre-recorded versions of The Spirit Of Radio and Freewill (fluid guitar solo)

One of the better recordings of this period is the 9/12/79 Allentown Fairgrounds show. Also of note is the 9/8/79 Alpine Valley show.

An although the sound is quite what most would call up to snuff, there's about an hour soundcheck from 8/31/79 in which Entre Nous was played.

This sound check was a much bigger deal before the band dusted off the song for the Snakes and Arrows Tour as there had only been a few soundcheck versions available before that. Still pretty cool if you've never heard a sound check before.

As far as the Permanent Waves Tour goes, aside from the iconic St. Louis 1980 show (which has spoiled many a Rush fan) and the Forth Worth show, there are a few others worthy of consideration here. Most noably the  1/21 80 Montreal show and the last third of a soundboard show from New York (I forget the venue...it wasn't the Garden, but a club/theater show)

Like  the Hemispheres and Semi tours before it, this was Rush at the top of their chops game while losing little of the energy from the '70s tours. The set probable equals the Hemispheres set anythng that was lost songwise was swapped for something more fresh and equally as compelling.

Despite the iconic St. Louis 1980 show, I think this tour is often overshaddowed by the tour the following year.  I think I still prefer this tour over the Moving Pictures Tour. I think there's more energy here on stage based on the recordings I've heard.

I think my top two tours by this point are Permanent Waves followed  very closely by Hemispheres. (or maybe this is a dead heat for me)

[snowdog]

Despite the iconic St. Louis 1980 show, I think this tour is often overshaddowed by the tour the following year.  I think I still prefer this tour over the Moving Pictures Tour. I think there's more energy here on stage based on the recordings I've heard.

I think my top two tours by this point are Permanent Waves followed  very closely by Hemispheres. (or maybe this is a dead heat for me)

I agree.  The Hemisphere's tour is good in that there is almost no truncation of songs.  But the Permanent Waves had By-Tor/Xanadu, La Villa, most of Hemispheres, most of Cygnus X-1, most of 2112, the Trees, Freewill, Natural Science, and Jacob's Ladder.  I'll take all of that over the MP tour any day.

[The Letter M]

The Moving Pictures Tour started 12 days after the album's release, from February 19th, 1981 to July 5th. They only toured North America during these five months, but they would hit Europe on the next tour in support of their 2nd live album, Exit...Stage Left.

They toured with fewer opening bands, at least that I am aware of. According to Eric at the Power Windows website, they opened with FM, Max Webster, and Ian Hunter.

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Linked just below is the well-known Chicago audience bootleg from this tour, which has gone through many versions, but this is the "Definitive Edition" of the show. It's one of the fairly good and complete audience bootlegs from this tour, and any early tour for that matter.

www.nickeh.com/botm/rush1981-03-01.rar

Rush - Moving Pictures Tour - 114:47
(Live In Montreal, QC on 3/24/81)
(Exit...Stage Left Album/Video Source)

Disc 1 - 61:02
 1. 2112 Overture^       4:31
 2. The Temples of Syrinx^    2:11
 3. Freewill          5:36
 4. Limelight          4:32
 5. Hemispheres: I. Prelude*    4:21
 6. Beneath, Between And Behind* 2:51
 7. The Camera Eye*      10:57
 8. YYZ             2:21
 9. Drum Solo          3:12
10. YYZ (Continued)       2:05
11. Broon's Bane       1:37
12. The Trees          4:33
13. Xanadu         12:15

Disc 2 - 54:05
14. The Spirit Of Radio       5:03
15. Red Barchetta       6:37
16. Closer To The Heart       3:28
17. Tom Sawyer          4:44
18. Vital Signs          5:19
19. Natural Science*       7:58
20. Working Man*       1:17
21. Hemispheres: IV. Armageddon* 0:54
22. By-Tor & The Snow Dog    4:05
23. In the End          1:42
24. In The Mood          1:33
25. 2112: VII. Grand Finale    2:09
26. La Villa Strangiato       9:16

^ - Live In Edmonton, AB on 6/25/81
    2112 Deluxe Edition Bonus Tracks
* - Live In Chicago, IL on 3/1/81
    The Definitive Edition - AUD
New Peak Amp for both sources = -3.0

28:18 - Non-SB Sourced

Like with the PEW Tour show I did, I knew I needed to start with the ESL CD for the MP Tour tracks, and then I added the ESL Video tracks, and that gave me a good chunk of the show in great quality! The rest of the tracks I pulled from the Chicago show, which include the 18-minute chunk of "Hemispheres: Prelude", "Beneath, Between And Behind", "The Camera Eye" in the first half, and the 10 minute chunk of "Natural Science", "Working Man" snippet and "By-Tor" in the second half.

Originally, I used the Chicago show for the opening "2112" bit, but then the 2112 Deluxe Edition was released and they added tracks from the Moving Pictures Tour on to it, so it was a perfect excuse to add them to the beginning to give the show a more soundboard-quality sound. And so, with less than 23% of this compilation in audience-quality, I was greatly satisfied!

As for the show itself, those with the ESL CD and Video will know how great those tracks are. Obviously, I can't get enough of the "Broon's Bane/The Trees/Xanadu" chunk of songs, one of my favorite runs of songs on this tour. And then there's the outro-medley that starts with "Working Man" (now degraded down to a minute-long snippet), segueing into an odd section of "Hemispheres", then going in to a chunk of "By-Tor" (no longer preceding "Xanadu"). The main show ends with "2112: VII. Grand Finale", in a very fitting fashion as it started with the first two parts. If they wanted to be REALLY clever, they would have thrown in "Discovery/Presentation" somewhere in the middle of the show!". And the encore remains to be "La Villa Strangiato" as leftover from the previous tour.

Overall, it's a good tour, but not as great as the previous two. We do get 6/7 new songs from the new album, including the their 'last epic' in "The Camera Eye", and we're treated to truncated versions of songs, snippets, but it seems like they really tried to squeeze in a lot but shortening things. The previous tour had 20 songs/tracks on it, but this one has 26. It was here that the band started rotating out their epics in favor of shorter songs, and with longer sets, they were able to fit in more songs as the years would go on.

-Marc.

[KevShmev]

Still the best set list ever!

But imagine if they had been doing "Evening With..." shows back then.  Imagine this set list:

Set 1
Hemispheres Prelude
Freewill
Limelight
Beneath, Between and Behind
The Camera Eye
Jacob's Ladder
Tom Sawyer
Closer to the Heart
Broon's Bane
The Trees
Xanadu

Set 2
The Spirit of Radio
Anthem
Red Barchetta
Vital Signs
Natural Science
YYZ
Drum Solo
YYZ (ending)
Cygnus X-1
Working Man (snippet)
By-Tor and the Snow Dog (first half)
In the End (snippet)
In the Mood (snippet)
La Villa Strangiato

Encore
2112

[The Letter M]

Still the best set list ever!

But imagine if they had been doing "Evening With..." shows back then.  Imagine this set list:

Set 1
Hemispheres Prelude
Freewill
Limelight
Beneath, Between and Behind
The Camera Eye
Jacob's Ladder
Tom Sawyer
Closer to the Heart
Broon's Bane
The Trees
Xanadu

Set 2
The Spirit of Radio
Anthem
Red Barchetta
Vital Signs
Natural Science
YYZ
Drum Solo
YYZ (ending)
Cygnus X-1
Working Man (snippet)
By-Tor and the Snow Dog (first half)
In the End (snippet)
In the Mood (snippet)
La Villa Strangiato

Encore
2112

Had they been playing 2.5-3 hour shows back in 1981, you can bet they'd throw in all or most of their epics (probably abbreviated) - 2112, Cygnus X-1, Hemispheres, Xanadu, By-Tor & The Snow Dog, and more of Working Man, as well as Natural Science and The Camera Eye.

Also, all of Moving Pictures would've been played, as well as most of Permanent Waves (with Entre Nous and Different Strings being the ones out).

-Marc.

[KevShmev]

Witch Hunt wasn't played until the P/G tour cause they couldn't play it live until advances in midi and keyboards made it possible - they said so in the Visions book, I believe - so it wouldn't have gotten played on the MP tour no matter what.

[The Letter M]

Witch Hunt wasn't played until the P/G tour cause they couldn't play it live until advances in midi and keyboards made it possible - they said so in the Visions book, I believe - so it wouldn't have gotten played on the MP tour no matter what.

Well I know that, but it would've been neat to at least hear them try to attempt it with the stuff they had back then. They also began the practice of writing a song that would be more of a 'production piece', one song that wouldn't get to be played live when ti came time to tour on their latest album. And for awhile, they did do that, songs like "Different Strings", "Witch Hunt", "Losing It", "Emotion Detector" and possibly a couple more in the following albums (although song exclusions may have been due to having a large back catalog to choose from).

-Marc.