Audio 12 May 1983 - Forest National, Brussels, Belgium [Audience]

[Rush Archives]

Downloads:​

• Belgian Delights

Track Listing:​

01 - Tom Sawyer​

02 - Freewill​

03 - Digital Man​

04 - Subdivisions​

05 - Vital Signs​

06 - Closer To The Heart​

07 - The Analog Kid​

08 - Broon's Bane​

09 - The Trees​

10 - Red Barchetta​

11 - The Weapon​

12 - New World Man​

13 - Limelight​

14 - The Camera Eye (?)​

15 - Encore Intro​

16 - YYZ​

17 - Drum Solo​

18 - YYZ (Reprise)​

Notes:​

• This is one of only two times Rush ever played in Belgium, the other being in 1979 during the Hemispheres tour.
• This recording is missing The Spirit Of Radio, which would've preceded Tom Sawyer.
• Chemistry was dropped from the setlist for the remainder of the tour beginning on May 6.
• It appears that Countdown and the 2112 medley were either not recorded, or omitted from this performance. Since it seems possible that Countdown may have been omitted on three of the five German dates that preceded this one, it could also be the case here. It is hard to say with certainty. Omitting the medley of 2112, Xanadu, La Villa Strangiato, and In The Mood would be unprecedented during this tour, however the placement of The Camera Eye and being the unabridged song could have been done instead for a special occasion.
• The Camera Eye was temporarily dropped from the setlist for all of the five preceding dates in Germany. What we are presented with here would initially seem like an obvious fake and edited setlist due to The Camera Eye not being in its usual setlist placement, and due to the fact it is the complete song with both the "New York" and "London" sections. During the Signals tour, the "London" section was omitted for all shows outside of Europe, while all but one show in the UK would feature the "London" section played instead of "New York".
• Not only would this setlist be completely unique, but it would be the only show of the tour where The Camera Eye was played in full. While there is a cut before The Camera Eye which could suggest an edit from another source, the tape could have just ran out or been stopped temporarily as usual with audience recordings. This could also explain the omission of Countdown. While there is also a cut after The Camera Eye, it isn't unusual for a tape to be stopped while an audience is cheering for an encore.
• The reason why we are considering this setlist and recording to be possibly legitimate is due to analysis of the audio itself. During The Camera Eye and other songs, you can hear a fairly distinctive voice in the audience that seems to match, implying that this is the same concert. Also, during The Camera Eye, this same voice appears to say "I love you Rush" with a French accent, which would further imply it is indeed Belgium. The kicker is that upon analysis of every single circulating recording that features the complete Camera Eye, not a single one matches the version in this recording. So if this is an edited recording, where was The Camera Eye sourced from?

Preview:​

COMING SOON​

 

[Grace :)]

This is one of the most bizarre and confusing recordings I've ever listened to before. I have all the reason in the world to believe that this is, indeed, a fake/modified recording, but I don't really think there is any way to tell without a new recording showing up or more information coming to light.

 

[By-Tor X-1]

This recording is very weird, I've sat on it for a long time because I can't quite figure it out. If anyone has any historical knowledge about this recording, or this concert in general, PLEASE let us know.

 

[Hayden Martin]

I'm thinking that the "Camera Eye" performance was from one of the England dates on the ESL tour. Geddy's vocal tone sounds closer to how it was in 1981 than in 1983. Also, the strong audience reaction when Geddy sings "London" and "Westminister" doesn't seem like the sort of thing that would happen in a Belgian concert.

The old Ron's guide on "Digital Rush Experience" claimed the performance was likely from the London concerts on 11/5/1981 or 11/6/1981.

 

[Grace :)]

I'm thinking that the "Camera Eye" performance was from one of the England dates on the ESL tour. Geddy's vocal tone sounds closer to how it was in 1981 than in 1983. Also, the strong audience reaction when Geddy sings "London" and "Westminister" doesn't seem like the sort of thing that would happen in a Belgian concert.

The old Ron's guide on "Digital Rush Experience" claimed the performance was likely from the London concerts on 11/5/1981 or 11/6/1981.

By-Tor checked all of those UK dates (and all European dates) from the MP/ESL tours and couldn't find a single one that matched the audio from this show.

 

[Kevtheredbaron]

I was at this show. The reason why there is some possible confusion around The camera eye recording is the following.
Back then the British music press regularly advertised European concert bus trips. I went on a few of them and one was to this gig. There were two coaches full of British fans at the gig which means about 100 of us and we all congregated at the front on the floor. I had a Union Jack with me too. When during Camera eye, English rain and London are mentioned obviously we made a lot of noise which is the reason for the confusion.
I hope this resolves the issue.
Cheers Kev

 

[By-Tor X-1]

All these years later since I first dug into this one, and I'm still feeling convinced they did indeed play the FULL song at this concert, which is what we're hearing. Though I'm still perplexed by the accuracy of the setlist placement of The Camera Eye, and whether or not they dropped Countdown and the 2112/Xanadu/La Villa/ITM medley for this one show to compensate. That part could've just not been recorded, but for some old bootlegs people occasionally would mess around with the placement of songs so that's in the back of my mind. Yet there's no cut where The Camera Eye would normally be slotted, so I suppose all is as it should be.

Over various tours it seemed common for Rush to temporarily drop songs for continental European shows and/or German dates (eg The Camera Eye in 1983), so I suppose here in Belgium they dropped the medley instead and played The Camera Eye in it's place.

This whole setlist is very unique and there's nothing else to compare it to unless a raw or different source turns up.