31 December 1976 - Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, Ontario [Audio - Audience]

[By-Tor X-1]

Downloads:

1976-12-31 - Toronto, Ontario *recommended*
Auld Lang Syne
In The End
Maple Leaf Gardens (sunvenusmoon)

Track Listing:

01 - Bastille Day
02 - Anthem
03 - Lakeside Park
04 - 2112
05 - The Twilight Zone
06 - Something For Nothing
07 - Best I Can
08 - Intermission: New Year 1977
09 - By-Tor And The Snow Dog
10 - The Necromancer
11 - In The End
12 - Working Man
13 - Finding My Way
14 - Working Man (Reprise)
15 - Drum Solo
16 - Fly By Night
17 - In The Mood (cut)

Notes:
This recording features one of only two known rare live recordings of The Twilight Zone, which was soon after swapped with an early Xanadu around April 24 of 1977.
This recording also features one of eight known rare live recordings of The Necromancer.
There's a brief intermission following Best I Can to welcome in the New Year of 1977 with a countdown at midnight.
Best I Can is played much earlier in the setlist in comparison to later headlining dates of this tour, which feature it at the very end of the second encore.
This recording cuts off about a minute into In The Mood, so is missing What You're Doing from the second encore.
The beginning of the recording starts off slightly distant/muffled, but it becomes clearer by the end of Bastille Day.

The recommended download is a different source than the "Auld Lang Syne" and "In The End" bootlegs many of us are familiar with, even though all come from the same master recording.
This version does not cut out any of Geddy's between-song comments, and most importantly, this version is not layered with the terrible processed sound and actually sounds much better, despite it still having the same flaws of the audience recording itself. I can hear comments from both Geddy and the audience much clearer and understand what is being said.

YouTube:

 

[Greg_in_Ohio]

This recording may be the first to capture both Geddy and Alex using double neck guitars. It sounds like Alex uses one on The Twilight Zone, and it sounds like Geddy plays rhythm guitar during the end portion of The Necromancer. Additionally, you can hear the Eventide Harmonizer on Alex's guitar during portions of The Twilight Zone. This is more indication that Rush were adding more technology to their touring gear in late 1976, after adding Taurus Pedals to Lakeside Park a month earlier.