Rush - First Time

Media: 1 CDR
Time: 25:01
Catalog: I-Vent: 0706.33-99
Source: Audience
Date: August 14, 1974
Location: Civic Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA


DISC 1:

01 - Finding My Way   5:07
02 - In The Mood   3:48
03 - Bad Boy   5:26
04 - Working Man / Drum Solo   10:36

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http://www.digitalrushexperience.com/database/review.php?RecordingID=834



Average Rating: Audio: 5


Great Rush Bootleg Series
 

This is Rush?s first show of their first American Tour. It is also their first show with Neil. God only knows who had the foresight to tape it, but we thank them. Quality really rots, but this one is a keeper for it?s "Rush Value." They played this show in opener for Uriah Heep at the Igloo. Neil even mentions it in Thrice Told Tales. As you can see by the set list, nothing special really happened.    (1999-04-01)

Ron's Rush RoIO Review
 

The existence of this show is one of those things we can chalk up to sheer luck. It?s amazing that the tapers even thought to capture this bit of history on tape. After Rush is announced, we hear the taper say: "Who?" Later they poke fun at Geddy?s voice. However, Alex wins the crowd over with the guitar solo at the end of Bad Boy. There is a decent amount of mic feedback throughout the show, and the sound quality is pretty bad. To make things worse, the end of Working Man is chopped off. Still, historical reasons alone demand that this one be in every Rush fan?s collection.    (1999-04-01)

Doctor Wayne
  (Audio - 5)

I have been trying to track this one down for quite some time now. And to tell you the truth, I wasn?t even interested in the sound quality; the venue just means so much from a historical perspective in the annals of Rush. The show documents a 21-year-old Neil Peart?s first performance with the band.

The venue features four songs, including a short guitar solo in ?Bad Boy? and a drum solo in ?Working Man.? There is some minimal crowd talking in the beginning, and an annoying, ugly low frequency that stays throughout. But most noticeable from the get go: the guitar is very loud, and the drums are almost non-existent. The vocals are even a bit low at times?except when Geddy belts. And when he belts, folks, he belts! Ged is doing his banshee wail as I?ve never heard him before. At times I felt his throat was about to rip in two. If you listen carefully, you can hear the tapers mocking his screams (especially in ?Finding My Way? and ?Bad Boy.?); it?s kind of amusing.

Things get a little better sonically during ?Bad Boy,? but not by much. This was obviously made with someone?s bottom of the barrel tape recorder, so ?a little better? is still pretty bad. At about 3:55 into ?Working Man,? the final track, the sound drastically changes?for the worse. The recording becomes entirely muffled as if the taper tried to hide the recorder. Actually, it sounds a little like it?s underwater. Although this IS towards the end of the performance, in my opinion, this is the greatest moment of the venue: it?s minutes before Neil?s first drum solo with the band! But as poor as the sound is, you CAN hear the solo.

This is a simply a must for diehards, and diehards only. Sonically, this is way below average. (Graded VG minus ?and that?s being generous.) I wonder if there is another source out there of this very pivotal performance in Rush?s history ?their percussive turning point. I guess only time will tell.    (2004-04-15)