RUSH! No, Really!
Aug. 13th, 2010 10:04 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
elfsSo, Omaha and I went to the Rush concert at the White River Ampitheater near Seattle. We were there for the Time Machine Tour, which is one amazing show, and Omaha scored amazingly good seats too-- far back, but still covered, and absolutely center stage. The ampitheater is partially covered, and it was a rainy day.
The crowd was mostly people Omaha's and my age, with a few youngers and a larger contingent of olders. They were all pumped, though, and enthusiastic as Rush ran through this set:
Geddy Lee's voice was strong and held up well. I wanna look that good and be that strong 13 years from now, when I'm Geddy's age. Alex Lifeson played his guitar as powerfully as ever, and Neal Peart at 58 years of age is still the goddamist hardest working man behind a drumset. (Although the cynical, aging bastard in me snarked, "Damn, Neal's put on weight!") Neal's drum work was astounding, but then it always is.
Part of me can't believe that the last time I saw them I was 19 years old for the Grace Under Pressure tour. That was 25 years ago!
The two pieces they played from their upcoming album, Clockwork Angels, are interesting. Rush seems to be making a recommitment to their atheism, for one thing: "Brought Up To Believe" is a powerful and enthusiastically played stick in the eye of (even compatibilist) religion with it's refrain, "How can the loving watchmaker love us all to death?" The other song, "Caravan," was muddier, but Rush is definitely struggling out of its synthesizer years to come back as a hard rock, guitars-and-drum band. There's a crystalline professionalism to Rush; in the later half of their 50's, the members of Rush are still vibrant, intellectually and creatively active, and that's an excellent place for them to be.
The guy standing behind me and Omaha was smoking some seriously skunky weed. It was in our hair and our clothes, and this morning you can still smell it in my car.
The crowd was mostly people Omaha's and my age, with a few youngers and a larger contingent of olders. They were all pumped, though, and enthusiastic as Rush ran through this set:
- The Spirit of Radio / Closer To The Heart
- Tom Sawyer
- Presto
- Stick It Out
- Workin' Them Angels
- Faithless
- Leave That Thing Alone
- Brought Up To Believe
- Subdivisions
- Red Barchetta
- YYZ
- Limelight
- The Camera Eye
- Witch Hunt
- A very extended drum solo from Neal
- Caravan
- Love For Sale
- Far Cry
Geddy Lee's voice was strong and held up well. I wanna look that good and be that strong 13 years from now, when I'm Geddy's age. Alex Lifeson played his guitar as powerfully as ever, and Neal Peart at 58 years of age is still the goddamist hardest working man behind a drumset. (Although the cynical, aging bastard in me snarked, "Damn, Neal's put on weight!") Neal's drum work was astounding, but then it always is.
Part of me can't believe that the last time I saw them I was 19 years old for the Grace Under Pressure tour. That was 25 years ago!
The two pieces they played from their upcoming album, Clockwork Angels, are interesting. Rush seems to be making a recommitment to their atheism, for one thing: "Brought Up To Believe" is a powerful and enthusiastically played stick in the eye of (even compatibilist) religion with it's refrain, "How can the loving watchmaker love us all to death?" The other song, "Caravan," was muddier, but Rush is definitely struggling out of its synthesizer years to come back as a hard rock, guitars-and-drum band. There's a crystalline professionalism to Rush; in the later half of their 50's, the members of Rush are still vibrant, intellectually and creatively active, and that's an excellent place for them to be.
The guy standing behind me and Omaha was smoking some seriously skunky weed. It was in our hair and our clothes, and this morning you can still smell it in my car.
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Date: 2010-08-13 06:20 pm (UTC)