Rush's First Bar Gig: The Gasworks, Toronto, Ontario, Late Spring 1971

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"During the late spring the band was helped by a new provincial law. The Province of Ontario lowered the legal drinking age from 21 to 18. This opened up a whole new range of possibilities for Rush. They could now legally perform in bars, although it wasn't easy to find a place that would hire them. 'I remember the first bar gig,' says John [Rutsey]. 'It was really something else. We were suburban kids. None of us had really gone out drinking in bars. Ray got us a job at the Gasworks. I was petrified because this was playing for grown-up people. Everybody in those days had really lame equipment when you come to think of it. Terrible stuff. Cornball lighting, Christmas tree lights like you use in your front yard. Ian Grandy and the other roadies would painstakingly put it together. That guy did a lot of work for the band. He also helped us out at that first gig. We played really low because we thought the audience would throw beer bottles at us. We got a kind of muted reaction during the first set. Ian came up to us and said, 'Turn it up'. I was really shocked. So the second set we took his advice and went over pretty well.'" - Visions

John Rutsey at the Gasworks, pictured with Ross Symons and Kenny Webber, date unknown: