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Found On The Studio Walls And In Concert Halls By Ray Wawrzyniak, with contributions from Mark Irwin and Patrick McLoughlin December 2021 |
Over Rush’s long 45+ year history, they played everywhere from “drop-ins” in suburban Toronto to the largest stadiums across the world. Along the way, many bar owners, local newspapers, club designers, and large entertainment conglomerates advertised these shows, these “gigs”- in magazines and marquees and myriad other places.
Within these pages, you’ll learn about the first time Neil Peart ever took the stage with Rush, how Santa Claus (!) opened for Rush, and just how extensive their touring really was. You’ll see ads and gig posters promoting everything from Rush’s first concert in America to the largest crowd they ever played (a benefit show in Toronto) to their final act, at the fabled Forum in Los Angeles. A must for fans of one of the most storied rock acts of all time, Rush.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The publishers would like to thank Ray Wawrzyniak, Mark Irwin, Patrick McLoughlin, Abdi Moshiri, David Lomeli, and Katherine Strohlein for their hard work and dedication in putting this book together.
Thanks also to the innumerable opening acts, countless clubs, music halls, auditoriums, amphitheaters, and stadiums across the globe.
Additionally, a salute to all the designers, poster-makers, home press-ers, and assorted other graphic impresarios who lent their talents over the years to making sure people knew about upcoming Rush albums, concerts, and tours.
Lastly, a thanks to Geddy, Alex, and Neil for not only creating the timeless music and live experiences that inspired the imagery in this book, but for inspiring us all as fans to collect and follow.
INTRODUCTION
The countdown toward an upcoming Rush concert was an exciting time for any Rush fan. Local
rock radio stations would feature extended sets, dedicated to Rush music only, in the days and
weeks leading up to a show. Often, interviews with Geddy, Alex, and/or Neil would also be
broadcast on those same stations, heightening the excitement for the forthcoming show.
In addition, magazines and newspapers would promote an approaching show, or tour,
with full page color advertisements that served to fuel that pre-show frenzy. Occasionally,
promoters would use a larger, poster-sized canvas to advertise an upcoming gig. These
concert ads, or concert posters, contributed to the buzz leading up to a Rush concert. As
was the case with a ticket stub, or tour book, or concert t-shirt, these gig posters inevitably
became keepsakes for fans who wanted something tangible to commemorate the experience
of a live Rush show. While you, like I, may have kept and cherished your collection of Rush
concert ticket stubs, tour books, or t-shirts, you may not have been able to secure the gig
poster that promoted your first show, or your favorite show, or your final Rush show.
Thankfully, so many of those very gig posters, or gig-specific ads, have been kept over
the years and are now collected in this very book, “Rush Gigs: Found On The Studio Walls And
In Concert Halls”. Now, you can revisit the gig poster you saw hanging in your local shopping
mall, in your favorite record store, or outside the venue, which helped to promote a
benchmark show in your Rush concert-going career.
The show comes back to you as you flip the pages of this incredible collection. As you
stare at the poster of the concert you may have seen at the Hammersmith Odeon in 1977,
you can’t help but immediately be reminded of the Rush music that echoed throughout that
storied venue. You can harken back to the aroma inside the building, or the thrill you felt as
the lights went down and the band took the stage. Or, looking over the gig poster that
promoted the band’s stop in Dusseldorf in 1983, you might instantly recall the setlist played
on that tour, the seats from which you enjoyed the evening’s festivities, or the friends who
joined you. Staring at the gig poster that advertises their first show with Neil, in 1974, you
can’t help but wonder, too, if those in attendance that night were aware of how fortunate they
were to be witnessing such a historic event.
Included here, too, is the gig poster that promoted Rush’s appearance at the memorably
massive SARS show in their hometown of Toronto in the summer of 2003. While you can use
the poster of that concert to engage in the obligatory reminiscing, you can also use it to
prove to your friends that yes, there was, in fact, a show that featured Rush on the same bill
as AC/DC, The Rolling Stones, and — Justin Timberlake!
These concert posters and ads remind you of some of the notable bands — and the longlost
bands — that had the honor of opening a Rush show, or perhaps opened every show on
an entire leg of a tour. Marvel at bills that included the likes of Marillion, Steve Morse, UFO, or
Primus as the opening act. Perhaps no other opening act was more notable, though, than the
one who opened the show on December 28th, 1976: the one and only…Santa Claus?!
On the other hand, you may look at a gig poster found here and wonder what became of
other opening acts that shared the bill with Rush, such as Tyla Gang, Reign, or Wild Horses.
Or why, in fact, did Rush open for… The New York Dolls?!
Some graphic designers seemingly took advantage of their creative freedom, too, when
designing some of the posters and ads found sprawled across these pages. While various gig
posters predominantly featured the iconographic and inspiring images that were the brainchild
of Rush artistic collaborator Hugh Syme, other posters found here demonstrated a more…
shall we say, daring approach. Perhaps there is no greater example of a bold approach than
the band’s December 3rd, 1978 show poster in Toledo, Ohio, which features, apropos of
absolutely nothing, a crudely drawn naked woman.
What’s notable, too, are the prices Rush fans once paid to see Geddy, Alex, and Neil
perform live. It’s not uncommon in late 2021 to pay in excess of two hundred dollars to see a
band or artist perform live. Gig posters found here at your fingertips remind you that before
we all became used to paying top dollar to see Rush perform live, there were, in fact, shows
for which we had to pay a mere three dollars…or four dollars…or five dollars for the thrill of
seeing the band live, onstage.
While looking through this incredible collection, one of Neil’s lyrics seemed to resonate
quite profoundly. In “Mission”, from ‘Hold Your Fire’, Neil wrote, “We each pay a fabulous price,
for our visions of paradise…” That lyric was recalled while looking at a gig poster that
advertised an exhausting run of dates the band played in September of ’77. That same lyric
echoed once again moments later while studying another epic string of dates on a gig poster
from 1978, and then another from 1979, and yet another from 1980. Certainly, Geddy, Alex,
and Neil’s talent, drive, and integrity were characteristics that contributed to their long and
successful career. But looking at the gig posters and ads just referenced, and considering the
sheer number of dates the band played, one can’t help but conclude that their physical
stamina had to have been put to the test multiple times over the course of a forty-plus year
career. While news of the band’s retirement was likely a difficult pill to swallow for their legions
of fans, Rush and their crew most definitely paid a “fabulous price” while playing as many
dates as they did in a month, or in a calendar year, or during a particular tour. Looking
through this book and staring at date after date after date, year after year after year, you will
likely conclude that a lifetime spent on the road, away from home, brought them a retirement
that was certainly well-deserved.
You and I, and our fellow Rush fans worldwide, undoubtedly miss the thrill of seeing Rush
perform live. While we have the LPs and DVDs to help us fill that void, “Rush Gigs” offers us
the opportunity, seemingly, to “live it all again”. The posters, tickets, and ads presented here
remind us of the unparalleled excitement of seeing Rush live onstage. I’m sure the memories
will come flooding back to you, as they did for me.
Ray Wawrzyniak, Fall, 2021
THE GIGS
Rush Gigs: Found On The Studio Walls And In Concert Halls