I've seen Rush 4 times, NEC 3 times, O2 once. Them being Canadian you have to wait for them to do a world tour and come over here, which isn't very often.
The first time - Counterparts tour- the music was great but the whole experience was somewhat clouded by the fact by the time I got home I only had 2 hours for sleep before having to get up for work.

The second time - Vapour Trails tour - the music was great but (as is the habit for a band with a much respected drummer) a lot of the fans were air-drumming ineptly along to the songs and the guy stood next to me spent the WHOLE GIG flailing about with his arms, in my face, shaking the NEC stack seating with his stamping feet and making me scared the lot was going to fucking collapse.

The third time - Time Machine tour - the people at the front stood up so everyone else behind on the tiered seating had to stand up to see, and so did the next and the next and the next- the guy directly in front of me stood his kids on the seat to see so I couldn't see fuck all, and the guy behind me was forced to stay seated because of a broken leg so if I stood up he'd see nothing... I wouldn't have minded so much but the kids had obviously been dragged along unwillingly and spent most of the performance texting mates.

Fourth time- Clockwork angels, thank fuck for that, Perfect.

We also went to see a band called Kyrbgrinder (Prog/Funk/Metal) with a singing drummer for a front man (multi tasking, impressive! and friends of the Mrs), a medium sized gig at the Old Bell in Derby. Again, the music was great and the performance very tight but there were some pogoing arseholes who were trying to mosh - it wasn't that kind of gig - but as the final piece their signature track 'My Heart Bleeds' has one of those anthemic chorus lines that everyone like to join in with.

The drummer/frontman invited the audience to come up on stage and yell the refrain of the chorus into the 2nd vocal mic and up surged the arseholes. Indicating to me with his sticks he said 'How about you too? and then sotto voce said '...keep an eye on them, will you?' so I complied.

Unfortunately one of the arseholes decided to stage dive and managed with unerring accuracy to leap off and crash into my girlfriend, knees-first into her ribs and knocked her over. I saw this and leaped off the stage by the side steps, went over on my ankle and sprained it badly. A perfectly good gig ending in both of us hobbling up the road, fucked.

Wankers.
( Rotating Wobbly Hat That's not a banana. THIS is a banana., Thu 25 Jul 2013, 19:09, 2 replies)

Seen rush once...
Probably in 81 aged 16, stafford bingly hall, being that age it was fucking awsome, the band was fucking ace as well!
(The invisable man Is having a long lazy soak in search, Thu 25 Jul 2013, 19:42, closed)

Mate told me about Kyrbgrinder
Sounded a\esome, but couldn't remember the name so thanks for that. As you may know, the Bell has been shut and reopened as another trendy wine bar. Fucking miss that back room, it was perfect.
( Greenbat, Thu 25 Jul 2013, 20:19, closed)

They had a hiatus and now are recording again with Aaron Waddingham back in the guitarist spot
I liked Tommy but if you're going to go back, AW is the man. Add 'em on Facebook :-)
( Rotating Wobbly Hat That's not a banana. THIS is a banana., Thu 25 Jul 2013, 20:43, closed)