RockScotland

I think this had to be one of the most anticipated gigs on the Rush tribute scene (is there a Rush trib scene?) for a long while. The Tom Sawyer split into Sawyer and Rush-UK was relatively public and developed into various online slagging matches between various members and ex-members on the Rush related forums and certainly got a bit heated at times.

However, I don't think that any of the publicity did any of the bands any harm and only helped fuel the level of interest into what band was going to come out on top. Sawyer were obviously the first band to come out of the gate and had 2 Ferry shows under their belts before anyone got the chance to see Rush-UK. While Sawyers first Ferry show was a bit rough & ready with new guitarist Matt Sutton finding his feet, their 2nd show on the 2nd October certainly showed that they're still a force to be reckoned with and they played a well-received gig to an enthusiastic crowd. But now the bar has been raised by Rush-UK and certainly the Sawyer boys will have to watch out as this was a top-level professional show.

Hamilton was always going to be a bit of a gamble as I'm sure everyone knows the level of apathy towards live music that has set in in Lanarkshire over the last few years with even well known touring acts playing to empty venues - Zico's in Wishaw being the classic example. However this venue - Hamilton Town House, recently completely refurbished and simply superb, certainly one of the best venues I've ever seen and there's no doubt that there's certainly not anything in Glasgow to match this. Three levels of seating, a huge stage (very high like the old Glasgow Apollo) and a respectable in-house sound and lighting system. A "proper" venue rather than a pub!

Unlike Sawyer's self-financed gigs in the old Ferry, this was a gig promoted (albeit with very little advertising) by the Town House and Rush-UK were one of the first rock bands to play the venue. With a crowd(?) of around 100 this may have seemed like a poor turnout but considering the location (and the fact that it was a rock gig) this was actually quite good for the area. Certainly given the quality of this show and the quality of the venue then I'm sure that once the word of mouth gets out we can expect a lot more at the next one.

The gig kicked off with the ubiquitous Harry Satchel and the What's That Smell video intro which was quickly followed by a superb rendition of Working Man. The second surprise of the night (apart from the quality of the venue) was the appearance of guitarist Ian Butters replendent in a "Lifeson" wig and bearing an uncanny resemblance to the great man himself. Ian has been very lucky to find himself musicians of such a high calibre of musicianship, especially with Conal Duffy taking over the Geddy Lee roll. The chances of finding someone who can play bass & keyboards (at a Rush level) while also handling the vocal duties is very unlikely - but fortunately for us, Ian appears to have done it. Rick Hughes has taken over in the Neil Peart chair and seems to manage the drum parts with ease. With a few of the Rush tribs having 4 and 5 members, it's a great testament to the ability of these guys that they can pull it off with the standard three members.

I was so engrossed in the show that I totally forgot to note down the set-list but this was again a more balanced show than the recent Sawyer gig with more emphasis being placed on older "classic" material than trying to play the newer S&A stuff. At the end of the day I don't think that there's a Rush fan in existence who wouldn't rather hear the older stuff - you know I'm right! Certainly the standout track for me came just before the interval with a superb rendition of Roll The Bones with Conal applying his own vocal style rather than going for the straight imitation of Geddy Lee (which nobody can do anyway - except perhaps Ian Tait from Chasar).

Second-half kicked off after the Plane Of Dharma video intro and again we were treated to another classic selection of Rush. A few technical problems hampered the start of 2112 when it looked as if Ian had stepped on his guitar lead, pulling it out at a critical moment. Unphased Rick counted them back in and they went straight back into the faster section of the "Overture". Nice bit of acoustic from Ian introduced the Trees and this was the stand-out track for me for the second-half.

Not being one for drum solos (or any solos for that matter) I was surprised that Rick's drum solo managed to hold my attention and the enthusiastic crowd, many of whom had now moved down to the front of the stage, seemed to confirm that this was well above your average solo. Second set ended with Limelight and the band left the stage only for the crowd to demand more and returned to play a well deserved encore (which I can't for the life of me remember what it was as I was too busy enjoying the gig to be critical).

Sawyer will have to take note and re-evaluate their game plan if they want to compete with shows at this level. Certainly they need to be looking at moving away from the "cabaret" style venues like the Ferry and get themselves into a proper venue with lighting and sound - which a Rush style show deserves.

I can't emphasise enough how surprised I was with the Town House as a venue and I think that the only thing preventing this gig from being better was that the band need to get dedicated sound and lighting guys who know the material and can adapt to suit the changing demands of the material. Certainly the council "technicians" seemed to be trying to use as much of the lighting rig as possible but unfortunately they managed to make the number 1 mistake in stage lighting - you need to light the band first and then concentrate on using the fancy effects lights later. The band were in silouette for most of the gig if they moved from their spots directly in front of the microphones as much of the lighting was back lighting.

Still, this is only a minor criticism and this gig has quite firmly set a new standard for Rush tribute acts which will take a lot of beating.

digital_man

Fantastic gig! Fantastic venue!

The rest of the photos from this gig will appear on www.musicpro.co.uk in due course!


RUSH-UK - Hamilton Town House, Friday 9th October 2009