Hi pseudonaja,
It's always nice to get a firsthand perspective. I've moved your post to a related thread so it gets more attention.
While I would love to have TGB in the set, how likely was that? That one's even more of a stretch on Rik's cords than NS and the song never got any air exposure at all, back in the day.
Spellbound I can live without, never cared for it too much as a live tune. Follow Your Heart would have seemed a very likely choice, maybe in place of Rocky. I know Rik has done Stranger solo and that would have been a kick ass set number. But Triumph never played it as a band.
I think they were pretty obviously going for all of their most well known songs, given that some people at the festival were only going to be passingly familiar with them. OC12 said BLS got the weakest audience response of any tune and it is the one least likely to be known by those not die hard fans. Well, R&RM too, but any hard rock fan can easily dig that!
It's interesting that those actually at the concert seem to have a better impression of the overall band sound than what people are construing from the Youtube clips. Excitement of being there? Or just indicative of the marginal quality of the clips? Some of both?
Just saw the video of "Never Surrender" and I just can't believe the audience was so subdued. I've seen Rush play to audiences in Europe and it was kind of like that so maybe it's normal. I would have personally been going crazy to see one of my old favorites like that. Maybe most people were there for Priest? Anyway, the boys sounded great, and looked great too! I am so glad they will be on tour next year in the states. Can't wait for that.
I thought that "Edge Of Excess" was an incredible album. I wish Gil and Mike would have been able to continue, but incredibly a lot of people didn't like it. I really don't see how.