One Week Later...

Snippets From A Recent Conversation...

The Bald Monkey: Well Mumi, are we feeling better this week?
Mumi: Yes, thanks for asking.
The Bald Monkey: You know, in those pictures of you where you are crying, it almost looks like Bubala has his stiff one up there, and you just can't take it and you are crying like a little girly man.
Mumi: You didn't ask me here to talk about that, did you?
The Bald Monkey: Well, no. Mostly, I just asked you here to see how you are. Now, if you would give me the good news first.
Mumi: Oh, okay. Today is Lerxst's Birthday.
The Bald Monkey: Oh really? How old is he?
Mumi: He's 54.
The Bald Monkey: 54? And just think, some hot 17 year old's grandmother still thinks he's sexy.
Mumi: Lots of them still do.
The Bald Monkey: And, are you going to his birthday party?
Mumi: Well, you know how everyone is having those birthday weeks these days, so we are going to go spend some time with him later this week.
The Bald Monkey: So, does that mean that you and Bubala are planning another one of your excellent adventures?
Mumi: Yes we are.
The Bald Monkey: What is this one called?
Mumi: Oh, this excellent adventure has a great title:

Rush & Rollercoasters Book II: The Ohiospheres

The Bald Monkey: Awesome title. What's the plan this time?
Mumi: Well, on Wednesday afternoon, August 29th, we travel on the road to adventure on an open highway, straight to the heart of the sun like lovers and heroes and the restless part of everyone.

Here's the itinerary:

August 30th: RUSH - Cleveland - (13th row Pratt's center)
August 31st: Cedar "Arrow" to ride some roller coasters.
September 1st: "Snakes" Island for more coasters.
September 1st: (evening) RUSH - Cincinnati (11th row Dirk's side)

Then, we come home. We can't do the Columbus show, because Bubala has to work every now and then.
The Bald Monkey: Boy, that sounds like a quite a trip. Didn't you two just see Rush and do some parks only a few months ago?
Mumi: Yes, we did. We saw them in Virginia Beach, VA, Bristow, VA, Pittsburgh, PA and Camden, NJ. And, we did some amusement parks in there too.
The Bald Monkey: Isn't one RUSH concert enough?
Mumi: No! No! No! I'm not giving up on the promise of adventure to sit inside and think of something witty to blog about. Or, worse yet make something up to blog about. Bubala and I are spirits with a vision. That's a dream with a mission and from first to last, the peak is never passed. Something always fires that light that gets in our eyes.
The Bald Monkey: Isn't this all a little extreme though? All of theses RUSH shows and roller coasters?
Mumi: Well, you know, when you're young, wandering the face of the earth, wondering what your dreams might be worth, learning that you're only immortal for a limited time, you tend want to roll the bones a little.
The Bald Monkey: I suppose you have heard that Ohio has been having some inclement weather recently?
Mumi: What is round on both sides and soggy in the middle?
The Bald Monkey: Aren't you a little bit scared that they may get some more bad weather while you are there?
Mumi: Yeah. An ill wind could come arising across the cities of the plain. There would be no swimming in the heavy water and no singing in the acid rain. And, we could get caught in a spindrift. Bubala and I will be workin' them angels overtime, but you know we can only grow the way the wind blows.
The Bald Monkey: Okay... Any main monkey business planned for this trip?
Mumi: Well, just Entre Nous, if the circumstances go well and we don't get caught between the wheels of time, we might be able to exercise our free will and get some of that secret touch.
The Bald Monkey: I see. Well, that's far cry from sitting at home making things up for a blog.
Mumi: Well, you know it's the trips and shows that give us hope. They give us strength, so we hold on.
The Bald Monkey: So, that's why you do it?
Mumi: Yes. Celebrate the moment as it turns into one more. The greatest act can be one little victory.
The Bald Monkey: Well, I wish you a safe journey. You and Bubala are certainly driven.
Mumi: You can do a lot in a lifetime if you don't burn out too fast. First you need endurance. First you've got to last.
The Bald Monkey: Can I ask one last question of malignant narcissism?
Mumi: No, he's only allowed to post the G-rated pictures of me on the blog.
The Bald Monkey: That's not the question I was going to ask. I was going to ask you how you really view life?
Mumi: Oh! Sure, that's an easy one. To me, life is just one big series of RUSH concerts.

• September 26, 1980 Capital Centre, Largo, MD (Permanent Waves Tour 80)
  
• May 16, 1981 Capital Centre, Largo, MD
  
• May 17, 1981 Capital Centre, Largo, MD (Moving Pictures Tour 81)
  
• November 29, 1982 Capital Centre, Largo, MD (Signals Tour 82)
  
• September 27, 1984 Capital Centre, Largo, MD (Grace Under Pressure Tour 84)
  
• December 16, 1985 Capital Centre, Largo, MD
  
• April 17, 1986 Civic Center, Baltimore, MD (Power Windows Tour 85-86)
  
• November 30, 1987 Capital Centre, Largo, MD (Hold Your Fire Tour 87)
  
• May 5, 1990 Capital Centre, Largo, MD
  
• June 4, 1990 Baltimore Arena, Baltimore, MD (Presto Tour 90)
  
• December 4, 1991 Capital Centre, Largo, MD
  
• June 16, 1992 Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, MD (Roll The Bones Tour 91-92)
  
• April 26, 1994 USAir Arena, Largo, MD (Counterparts Tour 94)
  
• November 6, 1996 CoreStates Center, Philadelphia, PA
  
• November 7, 1996 USAir Arena, Largo, MD *
  
• June 20 1997 Nissan Pavilion Bristow, VA (Test For Echo Tour 96-97)

(There were no RUSH concerts between 1998 and 2001)

• July 3, 2002 Verizon Wireless Amphitheater Virginia Beach, VA
  
• July 9, 2002 Nissan Pavilion, Bristow, VA
  
• July 14, 2002 Tweeter Center, Camden, NJ
  
• August 6, 2002 Post-Gazette Pavilion Pittsburgh, PA
  
• October 15, 2002 Baltimore Arena, Baltimore, MD
  
• October 27, 2002 First Union Center Philadelphia, PA (Vapor Trails Tour 2002)
  
• May 29, 2004 Verizon Wireless Amitheater Virginia Beach, VA
  
• June 10, 2004 Blossom Music Center Cleveland, OH
  
• August 3, 2004 Nissan Pavilion, Bristow, VA
  
• August 4, 2004 Tweeter Center, Camden, NJ
  
• August 18, 2004 Radio City Music Hall, NYC, NY
  
• August 19, 2004 Radio City Music Hall, NYC, NY (30th Anniversary Tour 2004)
  
• June 22, 2007 Verizon Wireless Amitheater Virginia Beach, VA
  
• June 23, 2007 Nissan Pavilion, Bristow, VA
  
• June 25, 2007 Post-Gazette Pavilion Pittsburgh, PA
  
• July 6, 2007 Tweeter Center, Camden, NJ
  
• August 30, 2007 Blossom Music Center Cleveland, OH
  
• September 1, 2007 Riverbend Music Center Cincinnati, OH
  
• September 17, 2007 Madison Square Garden NYC, NY (Snakes & arrows Tour 2007)

In 1996 RUSH went from having an opening act and then playing for two hours to dropping the opener and playing alone for three hours.

The * represents Bubala's first show and he's been at all the shows after it.

The last three shows are obviously forthcoming.