The First Of Many RUSH's

While working near Port Aransas TX in the summer of 1976 I was able to attend the first of many RUSH concerts in the 1970's. The show was at the Ritz theater in Corpus Christi TX on 7/8/1976. It's located on chaparral in downtown. It was originally a movie theater that held approximately 200 seats. For concerts the floor seats had been removed, so i'm guessing that this show had about 300 fans in attendance. In other words; its was a small venue. The backup band was "TOO SMOOTH" from the Beeville TX area. RUSH was touring for the 2112 album. This tour is documented on the "All the Worlds a stage" album. The set list was exactly the same as on that release. To see this band in such a small venue was pure heaven. The sound quality was very good and there were no bad seats in the theater. I was amazed at how professional these guys were. Geddy Lee sang high enough to be heard in the stratosphere, and his bass playing was mind-boggling. Alex Lifeson mesmerized everyone with his style and range, and Neil Peart flabbergasted the audience with his ability. He and Keith Moon have surely influenced more drummers than anyone else in rock history. (No offense to Carl Palmer)... This was the first of many RUSH concerts that i attended. They all were excellent shows, but this one is my favorite because of the RITZ being the venue. I hope the theater has been restored, because it's a real Texas treasure.....