(ED NOTE: Look, the R30 Party is almost over. Like, in a couple of days, the band wraps up it's entire tour, and then it's done. Which to me is a sad thing since I've been so involved from the moment Rush went on tour. Quite possibly the most spectacular tour experientially for me - ever. So in honor of the end of the tour, here's a little thing that's been in the works for a while. Dedicated to Rush and to the fans of their music, here's an end of the tour tribute/wrap up that I hope everyone will like).

By jman2112
echoesofoldapplause.com

Money. Cash. Dough. Scratch. Change. Bucks. Chump Change. Pounds, Dollars, Yen and Euros. You know what it is. Green. And everyone wants more, more, more. We earn it, steal it, trade it for stuff, buy stuff on Ebay with it, conterfeit it, stash it, cash it, send it, wire it, spend it, save it, invest it, launder it, donate it, find it in the lint trap of the dryer, bet it, lose it, find it, write about it, read about it, exchange it, get it as a gift, collect it (bills and coins), collect it (as in debts), write checks (paying for the checks, of course), use credit cards (assumed money), pay bills with it..you get the idea. Money is EVERYTHING and money is EVERYWHERE.

Rush has written a song about money and so has Pink Floyd and probably a bunch of other bands have, too. I got asked about money a lot during this tour and it got me to thinking about some stuff. It got me thinking about money. And it got me very curious. And the questions were, how do you afford it all? Where do you get the money to do all this? How much did all this cost? I pretty much deferred all the questions. Besides being the "root of all evil" money also seems to be a pretty private matter, now, doesn't it? Is there an object or something else on the face of the planet than money that has that has so many uses, so much value or causes so much pleasure, pain or emotions (anxiety, depression, elation?). Sex?

So I have a few questions of my own to ask everyone. And then I'll have a whole bunch of awesome and interesting answers and observations that aren't all about me - they are about your favorite band. And I know a lot about where YOUR money went this tour, too! Now that's scary. But don't worry. You'll learn about me and my money, too. Because there's not much to say!

Let us start this interesting analysis with a few simple questions:

1. How much money do you have in your purse or your wallet right now? C'mon, how much you got? I know for a fact that I don't have a single dollar because I got a car wash, filled up with gas and went to lunch today and ended up raiding the change in the truck just to buy a Single Combo with a Frosty at Wendy's, which was my last stop during my lunch break. Zero. Zilch. Nada. I don't have a cent in my wallet right now.

2. How much money do you make in an hour, a shift, a week, a month, a year? I gross $35,000 a year and that translates after taxes, pre-tax expenses and investments to having about $26,000 a year. Which pretty much sucks. So think about your own situation and get your own numbers in your head.

3. What is the comparitive cost of a Rush ticket that you bought this tour to say, a speeding ticket? A trip to the grocery store? Another concert you may have seen? A movie ticket. Got those numbers ready?