Normal Goings-on

[Vyn]

I'm jealous! Not sure what I'm doing tomorrow - not sure I actually know what day it is even LOL

I do know I won't be seeing Deep Purple in concert. Speaking of which, I'm seeing the buzz online that Rush's tour has kicked off with a bang and is going very well with their new drummer.

[KiloDeltaCharlie]

I've seen a bunch of stuff about the Rush show and what I've seen let's me believe they don't have a problem with the new drummer... she nailed it. I'm less convinced about Geddy's vocals... I've heard people say he's doing ok... but I don't know, he seems to be struggling hitting notes of even singing in tune.

[Vyn]

Same here. I've watched a few videos and Geddy is doing, just "ok". Alex seems to be a bit better than that guitar-wise, and it's hard to discern from an iphone video someone took, but he seems to having a bit of a struggle here and there with some runs and quick chord changes. Word is that he has arthritis in his hands prety bad, has been taking some treatment for them.

Their drummer, Annika, is just so on-point. Her level of playing makes the challenges the other two guys face stand out even more.

However, all three of them seem to be having a lot of fun and there seems to be real chemistry between them.

[Vyn]

Here's a pretty good comparison. Obviously, the studio version has been mixed, mastered, processed, etc. But is still a valuable artifact indicative of how well Geddy was singing and Alex was playing that geetar. Annika clearly has her own style, but keeps it tight to the source.

The last video is a brief edit showing only the drum fill part, shot up close from the front so you can see her clearly. Her breaking deportment and smiling when the crowd cheered her is fantastic, she was having a great time.


Official video of Rush playing Tom Sawyer back in the day at LeStudio:

Rush performing Tom Sawyer live on June 8th, 2026 in Los Angeles:

Short video of Rush's new drummer:

[KiloDeltaCharlie]

That was a better vocal from Geddy, not great, but not as bad as some songs I've seen.

[Vyn]

Good point about "songs". I heard him singing Closer to the Heart and it sounded like Closer to the Geriatric Farm. I'd say this is probably the last tour for him if he doesn't want to end up being a laughing stock. Wife and I saw Ronnie Milsap at a local place a few years ago, and it was horrible. Back in the day, he could sing like a bird, when we saw him he had a range of one half octave and could hit mabe two notes.

But then you consider someone like Willie Nelson, who I have never thought could sing for shit. A lot of people feel differently, but when I hear him at 90 years old out there singing, he sounds just the same as he did in 1975. Because it always sucked lol

[Zzzptm]

Johnny Cash knew age was advancing on him... but he responded masterfully, going to lower registers and taking up material where a crack or break in the voice would add to the interpretation instead of breaking it.

[Charger]

Just got back from the show...

In a word:

AMAZING!

I'm gonna go through my pictures tomorrow and post some.

We got both new singles Arrogant Boy and Diablo and both sounded KILLER live. The band was firing on all cylinders!

[Zzzptm]

Oooooh that is so good for ya, and good to know for the upcoming album!

[Vyn]

One song, four dogs and a jet plane.