Rush - 15 May 1974 - Laura Secord Secondary School, St. Catharines, Ontario [Pro Shot Video]

Rush live at Laura Secord Secondary School in St. Catharines, Ontario during an early gig supporting the release of their debut album. This is the earliest known live recording of Rush, coincidentally for both audio and video. This is the only known live recording to feature John Rutsey on drums. This is the only known live recording of Before And After, and the only known recordings of non-album Rush songs I've Been Runnin' and The Loser. This is also the earliest known performance of Best I Can, stated to be a song they wrote "a few weeks ago", proving just how early the near-finalized song predates Neil's arrival. It is likely that this recording is missing a few songs from the entire setlist performed. This is easy to conclude, based on the announcer stating "once again... a big hand for Rush" at the beginning, as well as Need Some Love being an unusual opener. I would suspect Finding My Way opened the set, then perhaps one other song that followed. There could've also been another song after In The Mood. A newspaper review tells us that Rush's performance took place within one hour, while another band "Abraham's Children" performed during the second hour. This concert was videotaped by CKCO-TV for the "Canadian Bandstand" program, and televised on June 1st 1974. This concert sometimes circulates with the erroneous date of April 1st 1974. However that date is incorrect, something someone had picked as a placeholder. For a long time the date couldn't ever be properly determined, due to poor documentation of early gigs. Most touring history sources had instead settled with "Spring 1974" for the closest possible accuracy, however as of 2024 he have finally discovered the true date thanks to a contemporary newspaper. Track Listing: 01 - Need Some Love [0:00] 02 - Before And After [3:26] 03 - Best I Can [9:28] 04 - I've Been Runnin' [12:49] 05 - Bad Boy [18:43] 06 - The Loser [24:06] 07 - Working Man [27:14] 08 - In The Mood [35:51] Downloads: rush-archives.net