15. Finding My Way (Rush- Live in Birmingham, 6/20/1980)

We're getting very close to the end of the Permanent Waves tour! I couldn't find the 6/18 show, so we move right along! This is the third to last show on the tour, at the Birmingham Odeon, a cinema! It's very interesting Rush would perform at such a small venue by this time, when their popularity was huge. The show is complete, but the quality isn't very good, with lots of distortion and muffle (Is that an adjective?).

The show is mostly a typical Permanent Waves Tour show, but there are some performances which stick out, for better or for worse, mostly for worse, as Geddy's voice shows significant signs of fatigue from the 6 month tour. And they are...

The "Temples of Syrinx" section of "2112" is a major wild-card as Geddy does STUDIO phrasing, (Though it sounds very airy and weak) "Xanadu" is pretty weak as Geddy struggles on the E5s, (Though the intro is lovely), "A Passage To Bangkok" is one of the worst versions as Geddy falls flat on most of the high notes (Though he does studio phrasing on "FOR THE BEST"), "Hemispheres" is a very strong version with Geddy singing the whole thing very well, plus the instrumental breakdown's incredible, "Closer To The Heart" is one of the best versions on the tour with Geddy embellishing and sustaining strong, and "Beneath, Between, and Behind" is one of the weaker versions as Geddy struggles to hit the E5s. The rest are all typical performances.

ENJOY!