On their 40th anniversary tour, Rush came to Dallas with energy and a set that ran the gamut of their career. This seems appropriate considering that before the tour began, the members concurred that this tour would likely be their last, particularly because of drummer Neil Peart’s chronic tendonitis (and if you’ve ever seen what he does, it’s understandable how he contracted this injury). Luckily, I was able to attend what could possibly be their final show in Dallas. And boy, was I happy I went.
The band pulled out all of the stops for this tour. From the song selection, to the light show, to the videos before and after each set, to the ever-changing stage, the atmosphere and performance was absolutely electrifying. The members showed no signs of old age, as each member amazed the audience throughout the show. Geddy Lee never seemed to have lost his immense vocal range, hitting and holding high notes that didn’t seem human, not to mention his fast-paced bass-playing that wowed the crowd. Alex Lifeson shredded his way through a multitude of guitar solos throughout the night, exemplifying why he is one of the most underrated guitar players of all time. Finally, the great Neil Peart played his drums at lightning speed, always keeping the beat but throwing in plenty of his signature fills as well. It is evident that the musicianship of the band was one of the highlights of the show, a factor that most bands today do not pay much attention to.
Rush played two sets, and shortly into their first I noticed that they were going to play a few songs from each era of their career. The set reflected each era very well, an effect that made me feel as if I had attended a concert in every era of Rush.
Similar to other shows of recent years, it began with a movie of the history of the band, the members each represented as cartoons going through the phases of their career. Then, the screen rose, and the band walked out playing their opening number, “The Anarchist,” from their latest album Clockwork Angels. With props such as a popcorn machine and a human brain in a jar behind the band, they rolled through the title track and “Headlong Flight” from the new record. The band continued through the 2000’s and into the 90’s with “Far Cry” (complete with pyrotechnics at the end), “The Main Monkey Business”, “One Little Victory,” “Animate,” and “Roll the Bones,” which featured a video of a number of celebrities including Paul Rudd, Peter Dinklage, and Bubbles from Trailer Park Boys singing along to the refrain.
As Rush played through their set, men dressed in red jumpsuits with “R40” written on their backs came onto the stage and switched around props to reflect each period of the band’s history. For instance, Geddy’s strange gadgets associated with Clockwork Angels were transformed one-by-one into the washing machines from the Vapor Trails tour. The first set ended with two more well-known crowd favorites, “Distant Early Warning” and “Subdivisions,” prompting everyone in the arena to go crazy.
Like the first set, the second set began with another video, but this time it was more of a blooper reel from their previous videos, which was hilariously entertaining. After the final clip of South Park acting as Rush, the band launched into their signature song, “Tom Sawyer.” As the video screen lifted, I noticed a significant number of changes to the stage setup. First, Neil Peart was playing behind an entirely different drum kit, complete with double bass drums. Also, the gadgets and washing machines were replaced by stacks on stacks of empty amplifiers, a sign that the concert was now gearing towards the mid to earlier days of Rush. After the crowd’s very loud and joyful applause, Neil Peart immediately launched into “YYZ,” a song from the Moving Pictures album that is very popular with audiences. Since the song had no lyrics, I took careful notice of the band member’s attitudes. Geddy seemed to be having the time of his life, interacting with the crowd as he walked around stage. Alex, although seemingly a bit more concentrated on his playing and less energetic, still seemed to enjoy the show. For Neil, well, I couldn’t tell. From his facial expressions, he was totally concentrated on his playing, but he obviously loved to play.
After one more crowd-pleaser, “The Spirit of Radio,” Rush launched into multiple deep cuts from the Permanent Waves and Hemispheres albums, including “Natural Science, ” “Jacob’s Ladder,” and “Cygnus X-1, which, in addition to Geddy’s awesome bass intro, included a Neil Peart drum solo that brought down the house. As the stacks of amps began to disappear, the band played another crowd favorite, “Closer to the Heart,” and one more deep cut, and my personal favorite from the show, “Xanadu,” complete with double neck guitars. With the stage almost barren except for a few stacks, the band finished their second set with their ten-minute opus “2112” ending with the “Grand Finale,” as the audience stood on its feet applauding.
After a short break, Rush returned to play their encores, and by now, they were down to their first three albums. “Lakeside Park” was the first to be played, followed by “Anthem.” Finally, the last two songs were from their self-titled debut album Rush and the only items behind Geddy and Alex were two very small amps on top of chairs, as well as a screen behind the band projecting a high school gym with a disco ball to really give the audience an idea of the band’s first few shows. The final songs played were “What You’re Doing” and the classic anthem “Working Man,” and as the band hit that final chord and Geddy sang the final high note, the crowd screamed and shouted their praise and fiercely applauded the band that has impacted their lives.
My final thoughts on the show: 1. The energy and pure musicianship from that show ranks it as one of the top ten concerts I’ve been to; 2. They’ve been together for forty years, yet they’ve managed to retain their reputation as a great band and still sell out arenas throughout the world; and 3. They never said this would be their farewell show, so who knows what the future holds?
Also, if you want to hear your teachers’ opinions on the show, Mr. Civello, Mr. Dondis, and Dr. Gruninger all attended.
One final note: If you’ve never heard of Rush, go check them out. You’ve been missing out.
