30 May 1976 - Nelson Center, Springfield, Illinois [Audio - Soundboard]

[By-Tor X-1]

Downloads:

1976-05-30 - Springfield, Illinois *recommended*
Springfield, Illinois (SB GenM 16 44 RMCH) *recommended*
Springfield, Illinois (SB GenM 24 48 RMCH) *recommended*
One Hot Night
Tuning Man
We Are The Priests

Track Listing:

01 - Bastille Day
02 - Anthem
03 - Lakeside Park
04 - 2112
05 - Fly By Night
06 - In The Mood
07 - Something For Nothing
08 - By-Tor And The Snow Dog
09 - In The End
10 - Working Man
11 - Finding My Way
12 - Working Man (Reprise)
13 - Drum Solo
14 - What You're Doing

Notes:
This is one of only three known shows recorded from the 2112 tour (four counting the official ATWAS live album, which was recorded on June 11, 12, and 13 of the 2112 tour).
Despite that, the succeeding ATWAS tour could also be considered the second leg of the 2112 tour.
Some old bootleg releases incorrectly state the performance location as Washington, D.C.
Once you get past the slight muffle at the beginning of Bastille Day, this remaster blows all the older bootleg releases away, as it comes from the master source tape itself.
The vocals are clear and unmuffled, and the recording is not buried in tape hiss, pops/clicks, distortion, or interference like the others.
It features much more of the 'Nights, Winters, Years' intro theme, and the entire setlist (some old releases are missing Something For Nothing).
Despite this being the current definitive version of this recording, a better transfer of the master tape would offer room for even more improvement.

The person who recorded this show also conducted an interview with the band following the performance, however there is a lot of static and muffle that makes most of it hard to hear.
You can read my current attempt at transcribing the interview at the link above, which is by no means complete.

On YouTube there is an alleged 22 Sept 1976 recording ("Bastille Nights") from Henrietta (Rochester), New York, but it is actually just a lesser quality version of this soundboard with a few segments between songs cut out.

YouTube:

 

[By-Tor X-1]

Notes from Original Taper:

The recording was made on a white mono Scotch portable recorder with attached microphone and cord. From 1974-1977 I used this rig almost exclusively. I would go for soundboard patches, carrying an accessory cord with micro plug jacks at the ends and a 1/4" phono jack for the patches. I would normally plug into the soundboard using the aux jack of the unit.

I wrote for a Springfield, IL newspaper while going to college there. Earlier that year (April 11, 1976) Rush played with Starcastle in the Waukegan ice rink, my home town. I taped Starcastle from the board (which their road manager later stole) but I was not able to record Rush that night. As for this Springfield Nelson Center show, I don't remember if the local production company (Hawkins) was there but Rush's team was at FOH for their set. I was not familiar with the band or their music. I actually pursued taping them just because of the missed chance in Waukegan.

When Rush was ready to go on stage I asked for permission to plug in and was told "yes." Somehow they had the idea that I had driven all the way from Waukegan to see them...what a fan. On some versions of my recording, what is sometimes described as "CB chatter". This is actually the sound of a crew member saying "Yeah it's the guy from Waukegan". It was recorded over but could still be heard in a previous transfer of this tape. It is less pronounced now but it’s still there.

The show wasn't very interesting to me except the song By-Tor and The Snow Dog. I thought that was outside their normal boundaries and sounded great. I eyed the deck for the tape during that song and found that it had run out so I flipped it as quick as I could. During that song Alex and Geddy sat on the risers playing with the building's acoustics. Working Man was also a surprise as everything seemed to catch fire and perk up during that song.

As for transfers, only two copies were ever made. This Rush tape has only been played a few times and then stored. As for storage, I take care of all my media and give it a good room in every house I've lived in (i.e. the recording has survived two floods). This transfer was done on a media lab deck. The tech turned off NR, Dolby, and chrome settings. It was run at 96000 Hz in Audacity. The tape broke with 3 min left on side 1. Upon opening the case there was an old splice from 19 years ago in the same spot. Once repaired it played to the end and then all of side 2 was transferred without a problem.

After the show, I went into the bowels of the arena, to the dressing rooms to conduct the interview. Unfortunately, there were mic problems which produced a lot of static and made this part of the recording difficult to hear clearly. Still, I should say that the Rush guys were very gracious and nice gentlemen, all three of them.

Regarding this remaster, I think it is superb and I thank the individual(s) responsible for it. There is detail in the sound that I have never noticed before, especially the foot pedal work on the drums. Peart was an interesting timekeeper, and also very kind when we spoke that evening. Funny, how you meet somebody once and…He can be heard at the end of the interview…articulate as always. Thank You to him, the rest of the band and the team that has brought this recording back for many to now enjoy.