The crowd at the Garden ate up every minute of the show. My seat was located towards the back of the loge, where I had a birdseye view of the crowd on the floor. It was incredible to look down during the Limelight opener and see thousands of dudes air-drumming away. Rush has a dedicated audience, and these guys knew every note of every song.
Photo by tomdabombb
Not being all that familiar with the intricacies of Rush’s repertoire, I only knew the classics. But that didn’t stop me from getting into nearly every song they threw at me. Sure the lyrics are uber-cheesy, but the music is pompous arena rock at its best. I’m used to seeing bands improvise, so it was refreshing to see a band play a whole show of difficult composed material. Rush doesn’t change their setlist from night to night, they just get better at playing the same show.
Whenever I was bored with the music, which only really happened during the string of five new songs that opened the second set, I could always amuse myself by watching someone in the audience air-drum.
Speaking of drumming, Neil Peart put on quite the clinic throughout the evening. Peart absolutely blew my mind during a nasty 10-minute solo in the middle of the second set. Neil plays a huge drumset that features drums completely surrounding him. I’ve never seen a human being move their arms as quickly and furiously as 55-year-old drummer did that night. I’m usually ready to poke my eyes out halfway through a drum solos, but I never wanted Peart’s solo to end. Truly amazing.
Photo by Jay West
The whole Rush experience was thoroughly entertaining, and I knew I got my money’s worth even before they busted out the big guns. And boy did they ever bust out the big guns towards the end of this show. Spirit of the Radio and Tom Sawyer closed the second set with a one-two punch that would have made Mike Tyson jealous.
You haven’t lived until you’ve seen everyone at Madison Square Garden on their feet getting down to those two classics. For a trio, those boys sure have a full sound. We got another treat when Rush came out for a triple encore that included an epic YYZ. The show was well over three hours long including the setbreak, a fact that pleased the loyal devotees in the crowd. I’m so glad I finally saw Rush, and now I’m just hoping they come back in a few years so I can see Closer to the Heart!
Photo by t4el
Rush
September 17th, 2007
Madison Square Garden
NYC, NY
Set 1: Introduction Video – Dream Sequence with Alex and Neil followed by Geddy and his Scottish Counterpart, Limelight, Digital Man, Entre Nous, Mission, Freewill, The Main Monkey Business, The Larger Bowl (with Bob & Doug McKenzie introduction), Secret Touch, Circumstances, Between The Wheels, Dreamline
Set 2: Introduction Video – The Alex/Leela Board Rant, Far Cry, Workin’ Them Angels, Armor And Sword, Spindrift, The Way The Wind Blows, Subdivisions, Natural Science, Witch Hunt, Malignant Narcissism, Drum Solo, Hope, Distant Early Warnings, The Spirit of Radio, Tom Sawyer (with South Park/Lil’ Rush introduction) Encore: One Little Victory, A Passage to Bangkok, YYZ
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In general, not a fan of drum solos at all, but Peart can play them as long as he so desires. . .
Another great review B.
What about the voice of Geddy Lee, how did it get so high? I wonder if he speaks like an ordinary guy?
Uber cheesy lyrics? I bet your favorite band is Coldplay.
“Wide-eyed armies of the faithful-From the middle east, to the middle west-Pray, and pass the ammunition”
I love when fans pick apart a positive review of their favorite band….