“Do you not know that a man is not dead while his name is still spoken?“
– Terry Pratchett (Going Postal)
It has begun.
The first dozen or so shows of Rush’s “Fifty Something” tour are now behind us.
And now the vast majority of Rush fans, both casual and obsessive have watched the multitudinous videos and clips of the shows so far, shared endlessly on social media around the world. And We have all arrived at the same conclusion.
Rush still have it. And in spades!
Any worries about new drummer Anika Niles have been vaporised. I always knew she was an incredible drummer and most fans trusted Alex and Geddy’s judgement anyway but, the way she has managed to nail everything Neil composed, and in Neil’s vibe whilst also managing to filter in a certain flair of her own remarkable creativity is staggering nonetheless! This is the hardest throne to occupy in rock music today. The fans adore her. She has been such a revelation.
The cheers of absolute joy she raises from the enraptured audience every time she nails the trickiest of Neil’s drum parts really makes my heart sing. And we mustn’t forget, she didn’t know any of the songs before she was hired. The work she has put in to preparing for this tour must have been phenomenal.
Yet, it isn’t just Anika that has made these four shows blow every single so called “comeback” tour (and for the record, Rush do not consider this a comeback tour but a tribute tour) out of the water and far over the horizon. There are many other factors.
Firstly, it’s obvious Geddy and Alex are having the time of their lives.
The way they both interact with each other, the faces of bliss they pull as they play the music, It’s all smiles, laughing, goofing off. It’s clear they are both thoroughly enjoying themselves. And it’s not just them, the interactions they both have with Anika behind the kit prove that the three of them have formed a profound bond. And this goes on all the way through each concert so far. I realise it’s early days but there are no signs they are getting tired with touring, in fact, quite the contrary! They seem to be enjoying themselves more and more as the tour continues.
There is also the setlist, or rather setlists. There are some songs that make this list every night but about half the setlist seems to be on a four night rotation. In fact, so far there seems to be a pool of forty three songs (counting the parts of 2112 as individual tracks) the band are pulling from each night. We had Natural Science and Caravan on the first night, the entirety of side one of 2112 on the second, the whole of the Moving Pictures album on night three and the tracks The Anarchist and A Farewell to Kings on the fourth. Reports from the Mexico City shows reveal night one was identical to night 3 in LA and night two was identical to LA’s night two. So they are really mixing things up. When anyone goes to a future show, you really are not going to be sure which setlist you’re going to hear.
The playing is also, of course, of the very highest quality. Geddy and Alex would never have embarked on a tour without making sure they could pull off all those tricky numbers with aplomb! And the stage show, too is top notch. Beautiful visuals, depicting scenes from the songs, large retro valves that count up to the number “2112”, a brilliant Red Barchetta races towards the audience, trees appear ominously behind the band and a projectable cage is sometimes lowered around the front of the stage to give wonderful 3d effects.
Kudos also must be given to the keyboardist Rush have brought onboard. Loren Gold stands on the right side of the stage behind his keyboard setup and plays all the tricky keyboard pieces which Geddy would previously have had had to negotiate along with his bass. Loren is carrying more weight than it looks, too. Really filling out the Rush live sound and allowing Geddy to really let himself go.
There have been a couple of hiccups. Problems shipping equipment back from Mexico to Texas and a rather nasty throat infection has led to a handful of postponed shows, but since then (touch wood – maple or oak, you decide) the fab four have been in excellent health!
However, Rush cannot be Rush without Neil. And he is as much as part of these shows as he ever was. His lyrics and drum parts, being played beautifully and intuitively by Anika, ensures his presence constantly fills the venues in which they play. And those two deeply moving tributes, one in each of the concert halves, reduce the audience to tears every night.
And finally, revealed touchingly by Anika after the first show, we found out that Neil is right with them over that drum riser, every night they play.
While Neil’s name is still spoken, his lyrics are still sung, his drum parts are still played, he is still with us. And as long as we continue to keep his flame alive, as Rush continue to do, he will never die.
Elite Dangerous RUSH FLEET 