Rush Newcastle City Hall 24th April 1979
Newcastle City Hall. 24th April 1979. Mystical rock gods Rush come down from the skies once again to sing and play songs of gods, mythology and joy to the northern rock fans. We were hungry for music of the highest order, and that hunger could only be satisfied by our three superheroes. For nights the City Hall once again became a magical temple for the music of Rush. The god that is Geddy Lee amazed us with his soaring voice and his sweet bass rhythms. Twin guitar axe hero Alex Lifeson left us speechless, stunned by his virtuosity. And drum master Neil Peart, perched behind the biggest kit ever to grace Olympus drove the band and the rock textures forward. We cheered, we shouted, we sat in awe. We listened, we imagined, we dreamed. We talked about the magic of the event for weeks before, and months after. Support came from Max Webster.
Setlist: Anthem; A Passage to Bangkok; By-Tor & The Snow Dog; Xanadu; Something for Nothing; The Trees; Cygnus X-1 Book II: Hemispheres Parts I to VI; Closer to the Heart; A Farewell to Kings; La Villa Strangiato; 2112 Parts I to VII; Working Man; Bastille Day; In the Mood.
‘To seek the sacred river Alph
To walk the caves of ice
To break my fast on honeydew
And drink the milk of Paradise…’
I had heard the whispered tales of immortality
The deepest mystery
From an ancient book I took a clue
I scaled the frozen mountain tops of eastern lands unknown
Time and Man alone
Searching for the lost Xanadu
Xanadu…..’
(Xanadu, Rush).
Vintagerock's Weblog. 
Posted by classicrockjim on April 4, 2014 at 1:14 pm
Magic. That’s what the concert experience should be all about, and you capture it perfectly.
Posted by vintagerock on April 4, 2014 at 1:47 pm
Hi Jim Many thanks Pleased you like it Cheers Peter
Posted by classicrockjim on April 4, 2014 at 1:25 pm
Reblogged this on classicrockjim and commented:
Capturing the magical experience of a rock concert…
Posted by vintagerock on April 4, 2014 at 1:47 pm
Thanks Jim Best wishes Peter
Posted by Peter McCluskey on November 8, 2014 at 9:44 pm
just found your blog whilst looking for acdc history and the Mayfair. This rush gig introduced me to the excellence of Max Webster. They spilt but Kim Mitchell still tours to this day and for the first time since that night i am going to see him. I am on holiday in canada next month and have arranged to meet Kim Mitchell at his day job as DJ on Q107 Toronto. This blog is a work of art and I think I have a lot of memories to catch up in its pages…. thanks
Posted by vintagerock on November 8, 2014 at 10:07 pm
Thanks for your support Peter Pleased that you like it Best wishes Peter
Posted by Ian on October 17, 2015 at 10:30 pm
Great shows: I remember being front row in front of Alex Lifeson the second night. After the support act the roadies would unroll the white shag carpet that Rush used to play on back then. Alex was wearing a green Kimono top, I can still feel the heat from the flash bombs ! Over the years I’ve seen Rush 15 times and I think this was probably one of the best. It was the beginning of the end of the epics: Xanadu, 2112, Cygnus i and II. We went down to Bingley Hall for the shows the following September and were shocked that two of the new songs: Freewill and Spirit of Radio were less than 5 minutes long! Not only that, Alex had cut his hair !
Posted by vintagerock on October 18, 2015 at 7:28 am
Great concerts Ian Many thanks Peter