Seeing Rush
The first time I saw the Canadian trio they'd been around for 14 years, hugely successful despite being relentlessly unfashionable and having grazed the singles charts only twice in all that time which, back then, seemed like a prodigious feat of endurance. That was almost 20 years ago.
Currently touring their 18th studio album with a lineup unchanged for 33 years, Rush are the last of the progressive rock bands from the '70s still standing, which may go some way to explaining the row of plastic dinosaurs lined up atop Alex Lifeson's guitar amps and the Spinal Tap-esque mini Stonehenge on Geddy Lee's keyboard. An outsider who knows them only through their music may think that they're unbearably straight-faced and serious, but this impression won't last 5 minutes in concert. It doesn't even make it past the opening bars of Limelight, after which Alex has to stop and wait for Geddy to wander onstage and collect his bass from a roadie. Only after a mock argument off the mic between the two, conducted for our benefit in what-time-do-you-call-this tappings of the wrist and other expansive gestures, do they actually get back to playing the song.
It's also noticeable that where Alex has a row of guitar amps, Geddy has a wall-to-wall rotisserie full of chickens on spits. And that Tom Sawyer is introduced by an animated video of the characters from South Park attempting to play the same song, vocals by Eric Cartman. And plenty more silliness besides.
Rush were my favourite band back when I first took up the drums; Neil Peart's drumming made a huge impression on me then and still does. It's an inspiration and a joy to see them still having fun playing together after all this time, still rocking out, and still gleeful at being able to goof off in front of 10,000 people. Hats off to 'em.
Currently touring their 18th studio album with a lineup unchanged for 33 years, Rush are the last of the progressive rock bands from the '70s still standing, which may go some way to explaining the row of plastic dinosaurs lined up atop Alex Lifeson's guitar amps and the Spinal Tap-esque mini Stonehenge on Geddy Lee's keyboard. An outsider who knows them only through their music may think that they're unbearably straight-faced and serious, but this impression won't last 5 minutes in concert. It doesn't even make it past the opening bars of Limelight, after which Alex has to stop and wait for Geddy to wander onstage and collect his bass from a roadie. Only after a mock argument off the mic between the two, conducted for our benefit in what-time-do-you-call-this tappings of the wrist and other expansive gestures, do they actually get back to playing the song.
It's also noticeable that where Alex has a row of guitar amps, Geddy has a wall-to-wall rotisserie full of chickens on spits. And that Tom Sawyer is introduced by an animated video of the characters from South Park attempting to play the same song, vocals by Eric Cartman. And plenty more silliness besides.
Rush were my favourite band back when I first took up the drums; Neil Peart's drumming made a huge impression on me then and still does. It's an inspiration and a joy to see them still having fun playing together after all this time, still rocking out, and still gleeful at being able to goof off in front of 10,000 people. Hats off to 'em.