"R & R"

The Bald Monkey: Well, you've been doing a lot of running around lately, huh?
Mumi: The usual Bubala and Mumi R & R stuff. I'm a relatively mellow kind of guy, because I'm old now.
The Bald Monkey: R&R? Rest & Relaxation? Rock & Roll?
Mumi: Yeah, all of those, but I think we prefer RUSH and Roller coasters.
The Bald Monkey: Oh, I see. More of that shite again. Don't you get tired of it all?
Mumi: Well, yeah. The roller coaster thing is kind of getting old. On the other hand, I went to my 35th RUSH concert at Madison Square Garden in NYC last Monday night.
The Bald Monkey: And, how was it?
Mumi: They played better in Ohio a few weeks ago. It's the last few dates of the third leg of this tour. They could use some R&R before heading to Europe next month. The show went well though. The energy level from the band is always very high even though they are all in their mid 50's. They still rock out in all the odd time signatures the same way they have always done. They even rock harder now than I think a lot of their audience can keep up with. Not the real fans. They are always nuts. Because RUSH plays such big venues, however, a lot of the folks that show up are just there to see a concert. I watch these "fans" sometimes during the second set, standing there, arms folded, occasionally looking at their watches and wondering how much longer RUSH can possibly play and wishing it was all over so they could just go home. Then, next day they can go to work and brag about how they saw a RUSH concert and, "man they were awesome!"
The Bald Monkey: And you?
Mumi: I am a frantic monkey. From the time Neil hits beat one until the final crash of the last song, I don't stop dancing. I just wish I had more room to dance on Monday. There was a whole lot of "I'm going to bring my girlfriends" there. Everyone knows that most girls hate RUSH. Their audience has always been at least 80% male, so all of these guys end up bringing their wives and girlfriends who don't always rise to the beat that continues for a 3 hour total assault on your senses. If you keep up with it like I do, at the end you usually are ready for a little R&R before the next show.
The Bald Monkey: Are there are a lot of old farts like you there?
Mumi: It's strange. The core audience will always be the guys like me who grew up with RUSH. Most of us are between 35 and 50. There are also a few woman like us. Of course, we all bring our spouses. RUSH has become very multigenerational though. There are a lot of young kids who started listening to RUSH either through their parents or on their own. I've seen lots of fathers and sons and families and even groups of teenagers at RUSH shows. Some of these 10 year old kids know the words better than I do, and I've been singing them almost all of my life. So, their audience is still evolving after 33 years.
The Bald Monkey: So, does Bubala get into it?
Mumi: No, not really. He's more like the wife who stands there looking at his watch and wishing it was over. He has other responsibilities though. He's not there just to see a RUSH show. He has to set up my air musical gear, buy RUSH swag, take pictures and observe everything that I can't because my level of concentration is on a completely different plane.
The Bald Monkey: Does that mean you smoke a lot of reefer during RUSH shows?
Mumi: Dude! Are they are playing "Bangkok" on this tour?
The Bald Monkey: No way. They never play "Bangkok."
Mumi: Dude. This tour, they are playing "A Passage To Bangkok" in full for the first time since 1980. (My first RUSH tour.)
The Bald Monkey: So, you are smoking up?
Mumi: Yes. A lot of us are. The floor of MSG smelled just like a big old skunk farm Monday night.
The Bald Monkey: Well, alright! That's kind of cool in a retro kind of way. Being at MSG at a RUSH concert and everyone is high and singing.
Mumi: Yes sir!
The Bald Monkey: Did any thing else exciting happen?
Mumi: Yes. I have to tell everyone that I have the absolute best ever husband in the whole entire universe. Better then anyone else's ever in all of time.
The Bald Monkey: Why is that?
Mumi: Because not only does he do all of that stuff up above, but last night, he scored one little victory and caught one of the special limited edition RUSH T-shirts that the band throws out during the encore. He caught it directly from HRH King Lerxst himself.
The Bald Monkey: Really? That's great.
Mumi: Yeah. They must have known that it was going to be my last show and so Lerxst threw it right to Bubala.
The Bald Monkey: What does it say?



Mumi: Well, first let me explain. A few tours ago, Geddy Lee realized that in order to get the warm and dry bass sounds he desired, he should use a few Maytag dryers with microphones in front of them. The dryers were filled with special Limited edition T shirts that the band would throw out to the audience at the end of each show. Even though I was right down there in the first few rows on the Vapor Trails tour and the 30th Anniversary tour, I never caught one. On this tour, Ged decided that in order to get that perfect bass tone, the dryers were all dried up and he was looking for a more flavorful, tasty tone. So, playing his bass through three rotisserie chicken ovens full of cooking chickens that are basted regularly throughout the show has done wonders for the tenderness of his bass parts.
The Bald Monkey: I see. So, what is your T-shirt like?



The Bald Monkey: So, does this do it for the RUSH shows?
Mumi: Well, I would say until the next tour, but I have heard rumors that this tour will resume in the early spring of next year. Rumor is that the band will do some more U.S. east coast dates. So, who knows. The ceiling is unlimited. Until the time is now again, trust me I'm a man of GED.