This would be the 5th and final time I saw Rush as they unceremoniously rolled out a final tour in 2015. They did highlight it as a 40th Anniversary tour, but not publicly as a final one. So polite and Canadian to the very end. Any American/British act would have milked a farewell tour for 2 decades. Onto my experience!
It was a Tuesday, and I left work a little early to get the edge on Atlanta area traffic. Unfortunately, the traffic wasn’t the only obstacle. I was maybe half an hour away from the venue when a nasty thunderstorm rolled in. It was heavy and black, and most traffic came to a standstill on 285—hazard lights everywhere with a massive downpour. In the midst of that, I received a call from my boss. His power was out due to the same storms, and he desperately needed me to change some graphics for “ANONYMOUS BUTT ROCK BAND” that we were currently working with. I explained I was not in the office but on the road. So, now work anxiety has become the meat in a weather/traffic anxiety sandwich. My boss had to take a laptop to McDonald’s to finish the task, and I had to get to Rush!
The weather recedes and traffic returns to its standard congested self. I arrive at the venue in Alpharetta, and things are still overcast and chilly after the storm.
My mood starts to turn a corner when I run into fellow musician/designer Dan Roth. There are some people I could also count on being at a Rush show, and he was one of them. We share some pre-show excitement as I explain that I have avoided all setlists and tour rumors on the internet. So truly excited to see which songs end up on the career-spanning set. I also exchanged texts with my friend Ben. He was a member of the High School edition of the All-Star Horsement Band. Our first Rush concert was the Counterparts tour in 1994.
I track down my seats. There were rumors that this could be the last tour, so I spent extra on nice seats. My view was great, and after a pre-show video, they opened with The Anarchist from Clockwork Angels. Followed by the Clockwork Angels title track and Headlong Flight. These are great heavy tracks, and they had just played the whole album on tour a few years ago. The first curveball was a short drum solo in Headlong Flight. It was very unusual to see Neil take a solo this early in a show.
Far Cry from Snakes and Arrows was up next. I had a slight inclination now that they were leaning the recent era pretty hard. Not a problem, though, this is a good track. Main Monkey Business follows from the same album. Again, it seems odd to have an instrumental showcase this early. Something seems … inverted?
One Little Victory from Vapor Trails was up next. This included some insane Pyro that felt like an open oven even back in the seats. Furious Neil drumming intro. How can they still play with so much musical fire after all these years?
Animate from Counterparts -HOLD THE FUCKING PHONE MARGARET – ARE THEY PLAYING THEIR CATALOG IN REVERSE? Clockwork Angels 2012. Snakes and Arrows 2007, Vapor Trails 2002, and now we are in 1991 with Counterparts. My brain was spinning with possibilities now that I had unlocked the code. I was so deep in thought that I did not notice the next song was Roll the Bones from Roll the Bones. I was quietly dreading the skeleton rap, but to my surprise was greeted with a video of celebrity Rush fans providing a lip sync, including Les Claypool, Paul Rudd, and Peter Dinklage. Quite funny.
The next time jump was pretty big as we went back to 1984 with Distant Early Warning from Grace Under Pressure. One thing that also came to light was that the gear and stage setting were changing with each shift in time. It was a delight to watch Geddy and Alex cycle through various instruments of the era. The best was yet to come.
The set ends with Subdivision from Signals. My goodness, what an anthem for High School weirdos everywhere. I also realized I was amongst thousands of those weirds, including the band. Comforting, outsider convention.
Setbreak, must piss, race to the stalls…. lines, smelly, eternity, This takes the entire intermission, I make it back to my seat as the next intro video plays. Count off into Tom Sawyer. Just do it. It’s THE fucking song that changed the band. Moving Pictures, 1980. I’m here in the classic era, life is amazing. Any song played now is guaranteed solid gold. Red Barchetta is next from the same album. Those harmonics at the beginning. Neil’s story of driving and how it connects us to a special type of freedom. Spirit of the Radio is next from Permanent Waves. Another radio hit that feels a little strange this early in the set. Both this and Tom Sawyer usually live near the end/Encore portion. Rush delivered one more track from that album that came as a genuine surprise, Jacob’s Ladder. This coincided with a metaphysical experience. The weather had stayed overcast right until the time Geddy sings a line” and now the clouds have parted”… and I shit you not, the clouds actually parted and one last beam of sunlight blazed over the hillside. Can Rush control the weather?
I was still warm in the glow of this rare track, making an appearance when the next song came blasting out of the void, Cygnus X-1 Book II: Hemispheres Part I: Prelude from Hemispheres. We were now firmly in Rush fan fantasy territory. Rush became self-conscious about their Prog era when that style fell out of public favor in the 80s. So these tracks were rare, dropped, or usually truncated. But here we are in Hemispheres! It was in a dropped tuning because the original was in a key that Geddy never felt at home with. Modified it or not, I was happy to be here.
The next song delivered us even deeper into the Dungeons and Dragons era by sending us into the Black Hole of Cygnus X1 from Farewell to Kings. Speechless as they tore through the first section of the song into a second Neil Peart drum solo before landing in the third section. The anthemic Closer to Heart came next. It was nice to get to a more song-sized piece after all that interstellar travel. This song has been a Rush staple since it debuted. Well written and well played. I was certain this had to be the last selection from Farewell to Kings and then I heard that low synth note…. It’s XANADU. Complete with Geddy and Alex on the double-neck guitar and basses. This song was a gateway for many herbally enhanced headphone journeys over the years. Again, a treat of a concert.
Where to next? Swirly Space Sounds, Naked Star Guy on the video screen…. 2112. A nice chunk too, parts 1, 2, 4, and 7. We typically get 1 and 2 at best. The set ends. What’s left?
Sometimes at a big shed or arena show, I will bail during the encore to get a head start on the post-show parking lot. That was not an option here. I did start to feel a little melancholy waiting for them to return for the encore. Is this it? It seems like a ballbuster of a way to go out.
Another short video intro and Lakeside Park from Caress of Steel. The band is now under a tiny disco ball, playing small gear in a huddle together up front. The whole presentation is in a high school gym. I’m a lot emotional now. I did not have anything from this album on my bingo card. Rare, rare, rare. Plus, the intimacy of the setup just drove home the tightness of the band, both musically and as friends.
Anthem is next from Fly by Night. Again, I am floored by the history of this band and shocked to hear this ancient track.
What You’re Doing and Working Man from Rush self-titled. Another rarity that has been in storage since the mid-seventies, and the only song they could have ended with. Working Man broke them on American radio and laid the groundwork for the 40 years to come. They stomped it, it came to life, and they stomped again.
It was over, I was vibrating with RUSH! Thank you for one of my top ten concerts ever.
