Line-up
- Kim Mitchell : Vocals/Guitar
- Mike Tilka : Bass
- Paul Kersey : Drums
- Terry Watkinson : Keyboards
Bands
- Rush
Setlist
- Only Your Nose Knows
- Toronto Tontos
- Hangover
Photos
Photos © Neil Park.
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Articles
Fan Stories
Doug Schober
The Gardens, as we called it, was a smallish venue that held about 2,500 people. I'm not sure if it was sold out, but it seemed pretty packed. Max were opening for Rush on their All The World's A Stage tour. I was 16 and had just gotten into Rush. We were so excited to see them. Through the live album, we discovered the greatness of 2112 and the band in general. Needless to say, I became a lifelong fan.
Surprisingly, the performance of Max caught my attention right from the start. They were quirky, funny and highly energetic. Kim was all over the stage, leaping high with his scissor kicks, doing the splits in mid-air and twirling around while doing amazing solos. His song intros were irreverent and often hilarious. I remember getting a kick out of his intro to Only Your Nose Knows. They were very distinctive. In fact, even though I went on a Rush kick immediately, the Max sound stuck in my head. The following May (1977), I was in A & A Records on Granville Street in Vancouver when one of the staff started playing the High Class album, which had just been released. Immediately my head snapped up and I thought, hey, that's the band that opened for Rush last year. Sure enough, when I went to the counter, the brand new album was there on the "Now Playing" shelf. I grabbed it and have been a fan ever since. High Class is still my favorite Max song, even though many others are probably better. It's the one that brought me into the fold.
As a side note, the next year Rush and Max moved up to the 15,000 seat NHL hockey rink, the Pacific Coliseum. Sadly, only about 3,000 people turned out, which was probably just a couple hundred more than had been at the Gardens. It looked pretty weird being so empty. Still, those were good times.