Conform Or Yer Outta Here!

C'mon, leather pants?

Though I'd been following Rush's music since the late 70's, it wasn't until the band's Moving Pictures album of 1981 that it occurred to me to go see them in concert. This was partly because I finally met some like-minded people who were willing to make the trek from small town (okay, small city) to the bustling metropolis of Rush's home-base, Toronto. My drummer friend promised he'd get his mom to order tickets for us. Ticket sale day came and went and I was getting nervous about this guy (or his mother) following through. After a lot of grilling, I finally determined that there were no tickets. The exact reason now escapes my memory, but whatever it was, it was frustrating back then. After all, Moving Pictures was a huge album, not just for Rush, but for all of rock music. The album and its singles remained high on the charts for many, many months. This would have been the perfect time to see Rush for the first time. Oh well. 

When Signals, the monster follow-up album, hit the radio airwaves and then store shelves, I had a newer Rush-fan friend who was far more dedicated to attending a show on this tour. So it was decided between us, and he made sure we had tickets to Rush in Toronto. He'd seen the band at least a couple of times before, and he wanted me to finally experience the talented Canadian prog-rock trio's incredible live show. 

My buddy and I had done a lot of preparation for this concert. We designed a very cool banner (pictured below) to parade around the arena during the show. We spent hours on that thing, and though friend-o got to keep the banner (still in his possession, I think), I at least got a photo memory of it. As we toured around the arena before the concert, we received cheers for our banner, which I believe was the best one there that night. 

Four of us drove to Toronto immediately after school finished on a Wednesday afternoon in November. Strangely, that evening at the concert, I felt like I was Rush's drummer, Neil Peart. Don't ask why - to this day, I still don't know why. I air-drummed through that whole show. Manic energy coursed through my veins as I watched my favourite band for the first time. I suppose that had to come out somehow, and so I flailed away with my imaginary drumsticks all night. I was harmless.

Among my souvenirs was a half-sleeve concert tour T-shirt, which I wore until I outgrew it... or it shrunk on me. One or the other. I also picked up a tour program, something that I continued to do for every tour that I saw Rush. Packed with great photos, a funny story by each band member, and the always cool Rush crossword puzzle, the program was a keeper and it still rests in pristine condition in my collection. We Rush fans are like that.