Rush | By Tor, In The End, In The Mood, 2112 Medley (First Time Hearing) Reaction

[@AceofBadeReacts]

Did we get everything right? Were we wrong about anything? Do you have a favorite Rush performance?

[@signals-72]

My favorite is from the same show, "The Trees/Xanadu" 1981, upload by Stickhits.

[@Gary-zq9dr]

My favorite is Working Man live in Cleveland!!!!

[@cityhonors1]

🤗 Every Rush show I've ever been to for over 40yrs are my favorite performances. 🤔 But if I had to choose one to watch... 😊 YYZ live in Rio, La Villa Strangiato off Exit Stage Left & Working Man live in Cleveland. 🥰🐰

[@michaelweigand8643]

At 8 minutes they were still on the first song, By-Tor and the Snow Dog.

[@AceofBadeReacts]

@@michaelweigand8643 so by-tor has a longer name?

[@gold98gtp]

Three of the most talented musicians, ever.

[@AceofBadeReacts]

Agreed

[@guyshort9663]

Unquestionably

[@gold98gtp]

When the guitar came in just after you stopped is the start of In the End; when the cowbell started is In The Mood then the Grand Finale of the song 2112.

[@AceofBadeReacts]

Ok good so there are easy ways to tell

[@juliebrockett3471]

Best band EVER!! Be well and God bless… from Texas!!

[@AceofBadeReacts]

Coincidentally I am also in Texas

[@juliebrockett3471]

@@AceofBadeReacts doesn’t get better than TX does it?!!

[@lindaward5376]

2112 was basically their way of saying "stick it up your @$$" to record execs who were threatening to drop them after their third album if they didn't come up with more short, radio-friendly songs, and its success gave them the freedom to chart their own musical course. The instrumental part you heard at the end was Part 7: Grand Finale; if you'd like to see them perform all 7 parts, be sure to check out the 1997 performance at Toronto's Molson Amphitheater. Cheers from Toronto! 🎤 🎹 🎸 🥁 🎸 🐐 🐐 🐐

[@AceofBadeReacts]

I've seen a couple of bands that have done that, another one being Heart. I'll add it to the list. I have a feeling that will be a commitment since it's over 20 minutes, so it may be a while

[@apctest8359]

20 Minutes well-spent. Trust me, it will fly by. It really is an incredible performance and incredible to see in it's entirety @@AceofBadeReacts

[@AceofBadeReacts]

@@apctest8359 I'll see if Brando is up for it when we do another recording

[@michaelzilkowsky2936]

Rush was incredibly lucky even in such things as the commercial unsuccess of Caress of Steel. Specifically, their lack of success at getting a Canadian deal led to them striking when the iron was hot the day that Cliff Bernstein heard the album upon the recommendation of Donna Halper. I don't know whether they signed a 4 or 5 album deal, but the important part was that it was a distribution deal, meaning that Mercury was not on the hook for recording costs; Rush's own label paid for everything and they turned over a finished product for Mercury to distribute and promote. Also, the band (and Ray) owned from Day One all of their masters and publishing (and according to a 1978 MacLeans magazine profile, they had one of the highest royalty rates in the music business at the time). How many news stories have you read about bands trying to get control of their masters or renegotiate their publishing deals because they were getting hosed.....? Hats off to them for the business savvy to pull off those crucial early victories.

[@AceofBadeReacts]

@@michaelzilkowsky2936 Yeah they definitely lucked out

[@AaronWhite-s1i]

Rush goes batshit on By-Tor, Rush gets heady on In The End, Rush gets cheesy on In The Mood, Rush goes batshit and raises 6 middle fingers to the establishment on 2112. Perfection.

[@AceofBadeReacts]

It's a great combination

[@jackballjohnson3468]

All that sound from 3 guys!

[@AceofBadeReacts]

It's absolutely bonkers

[@richardmathews6236]

Xanadu off exit stage left is astounding … and you get to see NP hit other stuff other than drums too

[@AceofBadeReacts]

That sounds awesome. As soon as I am able to sit down with Brando and do some reactions, this'll probably be one of the ones we do

[@richardmathews6236]

@@AceofBadeReacts cool, look forward to it

[@jimtatro6550]

I was a 15 year old school band drummer in 1982 when I saw my first concert, Rush: Signals tour. My life changed that night and I was lucky enough to see them another 14 times through the years. R.I.P. Neil, gone but never forgotten.

[@AceofBadeReacts]

That's a lot of times

[@SnowDogisVictorious]

I was 14 in 1982, so 1984's Grace Under Pressure tour was my first Rush concert. I'm around 10 shows.

[@BlazinRiver1]

Sept 30 1974....I am 16 going to my first concert. Billy preston and two unknown bands. We had never heard of Rush but our bass player get their RUSH album on 8track. Neil had only been in the band a couple of months and wasnt even on the 8 track we had. We listened to it on the way to the show. We thought wow this band is good! So I am on the front row stage right just a couple of feet from the stage. Rush starts the concert.....they come out with Finding My Way.....They blew everyone away. Then the second unknown band came out. People freaked out....there was this 8 foot demon playing bass right in front of me.....later hit spit out fire and blood. They rocked out too....LOL

[@jesseburr9211]

Check out the Rio concert. The audience sings along EVERY tune, some 80,000 or so, an amazing experience. Xoxo

[@AceofBadeReacts]

I do have a couple of songs from Rio written down

[@SnowDogisVictorious]

It was called the Forum, which is where the Montreal Canadiens played. It was replaced in 1996. It was a distinct pleasure to attend the storied Montreal Forum in the 80's and 90's - a place that no fewer than 25 Stanley Cup champions called home from 1924 to 1993. PS - Rush had 18 studio albums and 11 live albums/DVDs.

[@AceofBadeReacts]

What was it replaced with? Is it a bigger venue now?

[@SnowDogisVictorious]

@@AceofBadeReacts , it's called Place Bell. Bigger and better, etc., but much less character - and only one Stanley Cup since the move!

[@randyhenderson6166]

RIP Neil Peart, the Professor. These guys are the masters.

[@AceofBadeReacts]

A great percussionist

[@jeankutzer1556]

Alex started a new band, Envy of None, with Maih Wynn. (Probably spelled her name wrong) Alex has also been a guest guitarist on one of Rik Emmett's solo albums. (Rik Emmett of Triumph, another Canadian power trio, two of which sing)

[@AceofBadeReacts]

That's cool that he continued with music

[@ilionreactor1079]

Do you know why they're all great musicians? Because they made a conscious group decision that they were going to put in the work to get there. It wasn't happenstance, they made it happen.

[@AceofBadeReacts]

Don't let your dreams be dreams. Just do it

[@BalokLives]

The crazy Bass and Guitar duet is supposed to represent the battle between good and evil (By Tor vs. The Snow Dog). Difficult to hear live because they can't represent it the same as they did on the album. I would highly recommend you listen to the album version. "They are very into medieval and nerdy sci-fi." Early in their career they were but as soon as Neil realized he was able to just write about whatever issues were on his mind it opened a whole new world for them.

[@AceofBadeReacts]

I may check it out in the future, especially since we only heard parts of each song

[@BalokLives]

@@AceofBadeReacts Normally, I don't recommend the album versions because IMO Rush should always be heard live. But By Tor and 2112 are an exception. Not that they aren't amazing live, but they have a whole different thing going on with the album. They were really not performed live very much because of their complexity.

[@AceofBadeReacts]

@@BalokLives ah I see. That's understandable

[@apctest8359]

The story of By-Tor and Snow Dog came from one of their friends (manager?) had two dogs, one was white, one was a "biter" and they decided to make up a story about them. Also, if you liked hearing Neil's use of percussion here, watch Xanadu from the same show. He puts every one of those things to use (masterfully, of course)

[@AceofBadeReacts]

ooh see now that makes sense. Thank you for sharing that. That would be cool to see. I'll add it to the list.

[@edgarpacifico3421]

Spot on!

[@AceofBadeReacts]

@@edgarpacifico3421 That's such a creative way to name a song

[@kennethcox2224]

Check out The Necromancer off of Caress of Steel

[@kennethcox2224]

Neil wrote 98% of the lyrics and over 50% of the music

[@cityhonors1]

🤗 Subbed for Rush! 🙋🏿‍♀️ 40 yr fan here. 😒 Went to a KISS Concert in JHS 🤩 and fell in love with the opening act, Rush and never looked back. 😂 Just know I only got a job so I didn't have to ask mom for $ for shows! 🥺 Unfortunately I had to sit thru class watching kids do the 'Jimmy Page Point' singing Zeppelin cause they were at the MSG show! EVERYBODY played Madison Square Garden, The Coliseum, Giant Stadium, The Meadowlands or Atlantic City! In NYC 🤯 you could literally see 3, 4 major acts perform in a week, then spend weekends at CBGBs as the Ramones, Blondie, Joan Jett were becoming more & more famous ever day. 🤭 They called us #ClubKids. We were different from the #BridgeAndTunnelCrowd cause we actually lived in Manhattan. Everything was a 15 minute bus/train ride away. 😏 We didn't have Internet, so we would just hang in front of the Dakota to see John & Yoko go in-and-out trying to identify who was with them. Same with Andy Warhols Factory. 😁 Just hang across the street waiting to see Lou Reed with Sweet Jane (😏 she was a REAL person). 😳 Then things got weird as the group split and sides were chosen. 😒 We stayed at CBGBs & didn't go with the 'Crazies'. Probably why I'm alive today. (See the Movie, Party Monster with Seth Green who did an AMAZING job). It wasn't always like that. 🤗 Hoping for more Rush and 🤔 maybe Steely Dan. About to check what you have on your Channel as I'm new to it! 🤦🏿‍♀️ Retired folks like me genuinely have too much time on our hands these days! 😂🥰🐰

[@AceofBadeReacts]

The 70s and 80s were just the golden age of concerts. I always like to hear stories from back then. So glad the videos got better and better and technology nowadays is able to upscale the quality of at least some of those videos so we can see them much better. I haven't heard Steely Dan in forever. If you have a song that I should start with, that would be cool. If not, I can just pick something

[@cityhonors1]

@@AceofBadeReacts 😍 Anything off of AJA (pronounced Asia). Peg or the title track, AJA. 🤗 Just found out Eagles extended their Final Tour to include Steely Dan and waiting to hear when the Tri-State (NY/NJ/CT) dates are. 🤔 Praying for MSG or Radio City Dates and not 😒 Jones Beach which is a bummer to get home from. 😂 I'm still that #ClubKid at heart 🤗 except retired now, so I don't have to worry about school/work the next day. 🤯 There were actually MSG shows mom said no to, 😒 because I had test the next day... 😒 Which sucked! 🥰🐰

[@AceofBadeReacts]

@@cityhonors1 understood. I hardly ever went to concerts growing up, but ever since high school I tried to go to at least 1 a year

[@cityhonors1]

@@AceofBadeReacts 🤣 In Manhattan, you step off a curb and run in to a show! Bands/Artist would book Late Night/Daytime TV to promote a new song, Album, etc then play that night. With MSG, Radio City Music Hall, The Beacon & The World Famous Apollo Theater all a 15-30 minute train ride away. You could have class, 😏 cheerleading practice, see a 7 or 8pm show & make it home before the 11 o'clock news. That was a typical day for NYC Club Kids! 🤗 On the weekends were early Shows at CBGBs, The Ritz or Irving Plaza, then hit Rocky Horror Picture Show at 8th St Playhouse at Midnight on Fri & Sat nights. Then do NYC Hardcore Matinee Sundays at CBGBs. They'd start at 3pm because they were all ages shows and 😌 we all had school Monday. 😒 I lived this schedule until CBGBs closed. 🥰🐰

[@AceofBadeReacts]

@@cityhonors1 New York is just different than Texas

[@bronxbrothers121]

Xanadu live 1982... incredible

[@AceofBadeReacts]

Believe it or not, I just finished editing that one. Scheduled for later in February

[@stephenpublicover8818]

Hey Ace, great choice of video, I saw RUSH in 1988, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada! RIP Neal Peart! (Drummer)

[@AceofBadeReacts]

Thanks! That is awesome!

[@brasco96wired67]

Listen to that freaking bass, it's just blowing during the solo part of Bytor.

[@AceofBadeReacts]

It was an impressive medley for sure

[@jerrypilarz3076]

It's insanely awesome that this was your first exposure to Rush. 😎

[@AceofBadeReacts]

Well, barring Tom Sawyer and Spirit of Radio on.. well the radio

[@matthewpettengill3008]

Attention all planets of the solar federation 😮we have assumed control

[@AceofBadeReacts]

I don't get it, but I'll just agree with it

[@jacquesjrviens3384]

Natural science - (Studio version)

[@AceofBadeReacts]

I'll add this one to the list as well. The 1997 concert is already on there

[@G-MAN1958]

🏆🏆🏆🏆! Great selection for a RUSH reaction. Brando was pretty accurate with his RUSH facts,( one small correction is that Geddy and Alex met in Middle School). Also, Neil was not the original drummer for RUSH. He replaced original drummer John Rutsey in 1974, after the release of their first album. Enjoyed this very much! More RUSH please.

[@AceofBadeReacts]

Thank you for the information. I think there will be more Rush in the future

[@SnowDogisVictorious]

ByTor & the Snow Dog was the first tune. It was just finishing when you took your first chat break. Afterwords, the next four song 'chunks' came fast and furious, starting with In the End. Speaking of your first chat, both Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee used pedals to trigger sounds they couldn't play simultaneously with their guitars. Alex even had his own set of keys for their second-last tour in 2013. There was also a three year period when they stopped recording and touring, by the way. It was between 1997 and 2000, in the wake of twin tragedies suffered by Neil Peart (first, his daughter died in a single car crash on the way to university, with her mother, his common law spouse, dying just 9 months later from cancer). At the time, it was completely up in the air whether Neil would ever play again. Oh, and they basically dropped the fantasy oriented songs by 1979.

[@SnowDogisVictorious]

You should look into another video of Rush playing a medley of 7 songs live, roughly two decades later. You can find it in KZbin by searching for "Rush" and "Best Intro ever". The 7-song Melody flows right into the opener for that particular tour, their classic banger, The Spirit of Radio.

[@AceofBadeReacts]

That is an awful experience to go through. He probably kept going in their honor.

[@bluesaloon]

Alex had a set of keys back in '87 on the Hold Your Fire Tour. He played them on "Time Stand Still" for the chorus when Amiee Mann's voice comes in.

[@donhadfield2835]

Not only did Neil hit things better than just about anybody else, In later years he even had keyboard triggers on his drum kit. BUT he wrote some of the most intelligent inciteful lyrics in rock. Rush has distinct phases Metal/Power Prog (like you just heard), Prog (Tom Sawyer/Spirit of Radio are best known), 80s Synth is a lost era for many but there are great songs (Subdivisions/Distant Early Warning) and the later years where they came back to pretty straight ahead rock. If you want to see music mastery and how three musicians can sound like eight, check out Xanadu (Exit Stage Left)

[@AceofBadeReacts]

That's great that they evolved with the times

[@countseelore]

Bloody hell that went on for ages. Didn't particularly enjoy it but didn't hate it either.

[@AceofBadeReacts]

Don't let the rush fans hear you say that. Keep in mind a lot of their songs go on for 8+ minutes

[@countseelore]

@@AceofBadeReacts Yeah thought that as I was typing it lmao. They may be called rush, but they don't rush to finish a song lmao

[@ChronicExcessiveManliness]

Check out Rush's "Best Intro Ever"...for a medley of songs that ends with Spirit of Radio.

[@AceofBadeReacts]

Sounds good. I'll add it to the list

[@brasco96wired67]

At RUSH's peak they would sell out the arenas in the biggest US cities 3 nights straight.

[@AceofBadeReacts]

That's awesome. When was their peak?

[@TheMrcfulford]

Cool reaction!! Rush was formed in 1968 and officially retired 2018. They have 19 studio albums not including the live albums. Also have 24 gold albums,14 platinum albums and 3 multi-platinum albums. There are known as the most humble, funny and respected bands out there. Once again cool reaction!!

[@AceofBadeReacts]

They did a lot it in 60 years looks like

[@wellstrung2]

Neil Peart wrote all the lyrics. 2112 is the name of the album but the song is one whole side of the album and what you heard in this medley was just the very ending of that side of the album

[@AceofBadeReacts]

That's awesome he was able to write all of that on his own

[@enriquedassaro270]

Ufffff cuánta música!!!! Cuánto talento!!! RUSH!! La mejor banda de rock progresivo!!! Lejos!!!!

[@AceofBadeReacts]

Si muy talentoso

[@mattbaker5757]

19 original work studio albums spanning 1974 to 2012 (band continued to tour through 2015 then retired. Neil died in 2020) and 1 60's classic rock tribute album to their favorite songs growing up, called FEEDBACK that was released in the mid 2000's. Several "greatest hits" album releases also between the two major record labels the were published through, Mercury Records and Atlantic Records and later through their own label Anthem, IIRC. Plus numerous album and multi-album live recordings and about a half-dozen live video performance recordings from tours spanning their career on media formats from the 70'/80's like VHS and Laserdisc, later on DVD and Bluray through the end of their career.

[@AceofBadeReacts]

They have one heck of a career right there

[@willymaykit1482]

I know practically everything about Rush. I wish I was in this conversation.

[@AceofBadeReacts]

I also like learning from the comments

[@willymaykit1482]

@@AceofBadeReacts Their first album came out in 1974.

[@AceofBadeReacts]

@@willymaykit1482 Oh ok. That would explain the Led Zeppelin a bit

[@enriquedassaro270]

RUSH Argentina!!!!

[@AceofBadeReacts]

Will do

[@marnav9205]

Exit Stage Left album, 1981. You guys should try All the Worlds A Stage. They are around 25 years old here. The medley on R30 is great too. Rush were masters at time sig changes, making them sound cohesive. Rush was always a fav for me.

[@AceofBadeReacts]

I'll plan to do some more Rush in the future and I'll add that to the list

[@johnzarate9212]

Good call I've been blessed to have seen every tour from All the Worlds a Stage to R40 that R30 intro sticks out as one of my favorite intros of theirs!

[@johnzarate9212]

Great great reaction! More more Rush please!

[@thatsnice99]

This example of Bytor is the best example of their musicianship of any song from Rush . Nothing surpasses this song.

[@AceofBadeReacts]

Maybe I'll have to react to that song on it's own in the future

[@thatsnice99]

@@AceofBadeReacts oh no. This example you played is it. Nothing matches it. You can do FREEWILL from this concert. The instrumental in Freewill is just as good as Bytor.

[@jewel_laughs]

Best live Rush performance ever: Working Man in Cleveland, please check it out!

[@AceofBadeReacts]

I'll add it to the list

[@iRenegade164]

Other song suggestions?? Anything from Moving Pictures, The Spirit of Radio, Free Will, Natural Science, Subdivisions, 2112, Cygnus X-1 Books 1 & 2, La Villa Strangiato, and the list goes on, and on,.......

[@AceofBadeReacts]

I think all of those have been added to the list already

[@aaronswartz4788]

Watch Neil's drum solo live in Frankfurt. The man isn't just a drummer and percussionist, he's a composer. Listen to his drum solo & tell me otherwise.

[@AceofBadeReacts]

I'll add it to the list

[@EdwardRushMan]

You should check out: Rush: By-Tor & The Snow Dog (Lyrics) Don't watch the live version, because they cut half the song. The song is about the producer's two dogs: a German Shepherd nicknamed By-tor (biter) and a poodle nicknamed Snowdog - the song is about the two dogs playing in the snow. You can hear a representation of the Shepherd growling and the poodle yipping - it is hilarious. Neil Peart created an entirely new mythology with the lyrics of this song. kzbin.info/www/bejne/l2LZnatolsSUeqc

[@AceofBadeReacts]

It is on the list. I'll be sure to do the lyric version when I get to it

[@scott4482]

Each of these songs is not only better on the studio versions, but also better on ATWAS too.

[@AceofBadeReacts]

What does ATWAS stand for?

[@scott4482]

@@AceofBadeReacts sorry, it's common Rush speak for " All The World A Stage ", I probably should have said it that way.

[@AceofBadeReacts]

@@scott4482 haha yeah my knowledge for Rush is pretty limited

[@mdu2112]

This is the old Montreal Forum, home of the Canadiens hockey team where Rush played two nights in a row to a 15000 crowd. Try Xanadu live Exit Stage Left 1981, same show as this. 🍁🔥🇨🇦🎉🤯🌈

[@AceofBadeReacts]

That's pretty cool. Thank you for the info. I'll add it to the list

[@rofavilla]

this trio that sounds like a sextet always impressive live. kudos

[@kennethcox2224]

Check out YYZ Live from Rio. Just remember thats 120,000 Brazilians singing a song that has no lyrics

[@AceofBadeReacts]

South America has some amazing rock shows, that's for sure

[@michaelzilkowsky2936]

1528......... notice Geddy plays that quick lick with only his index finger of his right hand.

[@AceofBadeReacts]

Wow. It's a blink and you'll miss it kind of thing

[@martind9575]

They were inspired by YES

[@AceofBadeReacts]

YES is a band?

[@gregj1295]

Rush never tried to be like Zeppelin but because of Geddy"s voice they were always compared to and people thought they were copying Zep. I like "Lessons" by Rush-another earlier song by them. 74 is when they came out with their first album with John Ruxon?on drums.

[@AceofBadeReacts]

Understandable, like Greta Van Fleet. Of course they actually might be copying Zeppelin. Is John Ruxon the original drummer?

[@SnowDogisVictorious]

Well, to be fair, both Alex and Geddy have admitted in interviews that their first album was largely Zeppelin-derived. As many have noted, the change of drummers fundamentally altered the band's sound. In Neil Peart, Geddy and Alex found a kindred spirit who also wanted to explore the nascent progressive genre of rock & roll. As Alex once explained, he and Geddy were looking to follow the likes of King Crimson and Genesis, whereas John Rutsey was more focused on becoming the next Bad Company.

[@martind9575]

Its bytor and the snowdog

[@AceofBadeReacts]

Yeah I found that out after the fact

[@PaulRobinson-p2v]

Thus is a beaut.

[@PaulRobinson-p2v]

Never replace the Professor.

[@PaulRobinson-p2v]

Just good rock.

[@AceofBadeReacts]

100%

[@PaulRobinson-p2v]

Alex and Getty new each other then they found neil and were blown away.

[@AceofBadeReacts]

In high school right?

[@kennethcox2224]

Picked up on RUSH in 75 three great musicians but Neil Peart is your favorite drummer's drummer

[@AceofBadeReacts]

I've heard he's one of the best, but not according to Freaks and Geeks

[@kennethcox2224]

Freaks and geeks are wrong

[@AceofBadeReacts]

@@kennethcox2224 Well it was more a Dad saying it and Jason Segal's character was vibing out to Tom Sawyer

[@davidcole7788]

if youre going to go down this hole ,please react to studio first. thats the way they wanted it. your life will change

[@AceofBadeReacts]

So far the overwhelming majority says to check out their live shows

[@davidcole7788]

Accually Geddy told me at a book signing that the studio version is his preference. Then enjoy the subtle difference in the live version, plus the sstudio has lyrics clearity. Love all live stuff but studio la villa cant be beat for a beginner. Peace.@@AceofBadeReacts

[@PaulRobinson-p2v]

Dont compare any band with Rush musicianship.

[@AceofBadeReacts]

While I have grown to appreciate Rush not only through their music, but as a band, I will say there are bands that have insane levels of musicianship. To prevent someone from comparing is doing a disservice to music and bands everywhere