RUSH!

Following are some images of the RUSH show I took in two nights ago. Pertaining to bike content, I rode the SSFrankenTrek down to the show, only to feel the spongy sadness of a flattening front tire about 1m from the YUM Center on Main St. I got to the show, locked up conspicuously in front and found my seat #2 near the end of the row- easier to buy beer and hit the head if needed.

I'm actually not very good at remembering set lists and never have been. They opened with 'Spirit of Radio', an obvious choice and then used the first set to explore a wide range of their catalog including known tracks like 'Freewill' and 'Subdivisions', late-80s track 'Time Stand Still' with a mysterious Aimee Mann *not* in the house, and a couple new tracks which we decidedly heavier than their long-time foray into that synth sound. The crowd was enthusiastic and around me not too obnoxiously drunk yet.



The show opened with a funny video with Geddy, Alex and Neil playing characters talking about a musical invention and an earlier incantation of the band. Comparable characters showed up in the intermission video found below. That's Alex Lifeson in the fat suit.




The 2nd set began with the Main Course, a complete replay of the classic 'Moving Pictures'. My aunt Jan gave me that album for a gift of some sort. I had some other vinyl, but MP became THE goldstandard of my early rock education. I know every word, every drum fill, every sound effect, and I think it holds up well too. 'Tom Sawyer' is fine, but I was looking forward to 'Red Barchetta' and 'Camera Eye' more. The image below is of 'Red Barchetta'. Get it, with the road? It's not a good image, but it was a great concert cut. Even better was 'Camera Eye'. It's the 3rd image below and you can make out the photo of a subway entrance on the screen. The concert cut effectively interspersed city images of NY and London as in the track with a tight, rockin' performance. The highlight of the night for me, although XYZ was pretty good too. All their instrumental work was very, very solid. Take that hipsters!





Late in the 2nd set the brought out some of the oldies in the form of  '2112: Overture and The Temples of Syrinx' with the classic image found below. Cool! I would've liked to hear 'Fly by Night' just for kicks, but that's alright.




After a very mutated version of 'Working Man' the show ended after nearly 3 full hours of music and accompanying videos. I then had a flat tyre to deal with. I hadn't brought my tools because I was worried about theft downtown in front of the arena and that decision had come back to haunt me. During the intermission I used the phone to research bus lines and found a late bus on the #23 which would put me near the house. As best as I could tell, it would be the *only* available bus into the neighborhood. I rode the flat tire to Broadway and waited the 35 or so minutes and the bus was right on time. I took it down B'town and got off at Kroger for a snack before walking/riding home. An interesting experience top to bottom. And I *finally* saw my teenage fav RUSH.


Set 1:

Video Intro (Rash: The Real History of Rush Act 1)
The Spirit of Radio
Time Stand Still
Presto
Stick It Out
Workin' Them Angels
Leave That Thing Alone
Faithless
BU2B
Freewill
Marathon
Subdivisions

Intermission

Set 2:

Video Intro (Rash: The Real History of Rush Act 2)
Tom Sawyer
Red Barchetta
YYZ
Limelight
The Camera Eye
Witch Hunt
Vital Signs
Caravan
Drum Solo (Love 4 Sale)
Closer to the Heart (with Alex acoustic intro)
2112 Overture/Temples of Syrinx
Far Cry

Encore:

La Villa Strangiato
Working Man
Video Outro (I Still Love You Man)

Comments

Doug said…
Great concert report! Makes me want to see Rush again. Great job seeing a concert by bicycle and getting through the flat tire issue.
Apertome said…
Looks like a blast! I've never seen Rush, but I did see a video of them. It was illuminating to say the least. Great concert report, really enjoyed seeing the images.

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