First Date of the Rush R30 Tour!!! Nashville - 5/26/2004
Jun 05 '04
The Bottom Line Excellent show! This was the first date of their 30th Anniversary Tour (R30), and it ROCKED!
I'd never been to the very first date of a tour before, so I was thrilled and jumped at the opportunity to see my all-time favorite band, Rush, kick off their "R30" 30th anniversary tour in my home town of Nashville, TN (or rather in Antioch, a suburb of Nashville). I might be a bit biased and all, but THEY ROCK!!!
I've seen them in tour every chance I could since I was in high school in 1987. Most recently I saw them 2 years ago on their tour to support their latest studio album, Vapor Trails. This time around, their R30 tour is in celebration of their 30 years together as a band, as well as to support the upcoming release of a new EP titled "Feedback". "Feedback" will feature Rush doing something I'd never heard them do before -- cover other bands' songs from the sixties. As Geddy explained during the concert, for them it is a step back into the days when they were just starting out, covering the songs that they loved to listen to back then. At first I didn't really think I would be interested in hearing Rush cover other people's songs, but this concert helped change my mind.
Pre-show observations:
There was plenty of merchandise if you wanted to part with your cash, including some stuff I had never seen before (most notably the cool Rush babydoll t-shirt that I simply had to have, and some adorable bobbleheads of Alex, Geddy, and Neil that I might have gotten were they not $60). T-shirts generally ran at $30, although there were more expensive long-sleeved shirts and baseball jerseys. I also got the tourbook, which was filled with shots from throughout their 30 years together.
Our seats were decent, but not as close as I would have preferred. The stage set-up was similar to the Vapor Trails tour, including 2 dryers (and occasionally an attractive woman would come out and put a few more coins in the machines to keep them running). A new addition was a vending machine with rotating merchandise -- whenever the lights were down you could see the cool blue glow from its window. There was a large video screen behind the stage with strips of screen on either side (which were sometimes used for cool effects during the show). Additionally there were 2 more large video screens on either side of the stage, as well as some large projection tv's set up on either side of the stage in front. As with the previous tour, there was no opening act -- this was to be another "Evening with Rush".
As usual at Rush concerts, the crowd seemed very diverse. I would guestimate that the crowd consisted mostly of people in their 30's and 40's, although I think just about every age was represented in the audience from the very young to the very old. I saw a mother and father taking their seats along with their two teenaged boys and wondered who out of the 4 of them were the real Rush fans – or was it all 4 of them? I certainly hope Rush will still be touring when my toddler gets old enough to attend.
I should note that some aspects of the show were similar to the Vapor Trails tour from roughly 2 years ago, and I may reference that concert here and there throughout my review. You can read my write-up for that tour here.
Let the show begin:
It was still daylight when the concert began at 7:30, which was a bit weird to me because I'm used to the lights going down and the crowd going wild, etc. When the incidental music stopped the crowd went nuts and the center videoscreen sprang to life. What it displayed was an amusing video montage that combined all of the many album covers throughout Rush's career, with clever transitions between each cover. It was all there, including the naked guy in the star from 2112, who then picks up a hat (that was covering his privates) and throws it to a suited gentleman (thus completing the picture from the "Hemispheres" album cover). The final transition was from the 3 balls of "Hold Your Fire" into 3 eggs that hatched baby dragons who popped out to the familiar 3-Stooges "Hello, hello, hello" sound byte that Rush has been using in their intros for a while now. Instead of Rush coming out then, however, the video switched to Jerry Stiller (Ben Stiller's dad, who played George's father on Seinfeld), who was wearing a Rush tour shirt. He acted like the video montage had been a bad dream, then he started yelling for the guys to take the stage (including calling them by their nick names: Lerxst, Dirk, and The Professor). Rush finally did take the stage then...
The First Set:
-- Medley:
This particular medley rocked, and was one of my personal favorites of the evening. They played amazing instrumentals from various songs off of their first 6 albums. The songs included selected bits from "Finding My Way", "Anthem", "Bastille Day", "Passage to Bangkok", "Cygnus", and "Prelude". During the medley a montage of images of the group throughout the past 30 years played on the video screens, at times interspersed with video of Jerry Stiller dancing and head-banging to the music. I loved this intro, although the lack of vocals prompted my husband to ask if they had given up singing for this tour...
-- The Spirit of Radio
A big favorite and excellent concert song. They did an excellent job. As I mentioned above, it was still daylight outside so the lights coming on to highlight the crowd during the "concert hall" line was a bit lost, but the crowd still dutifully shouted at their appointed time.
-- Force Ten
I love the entire "Hold Your Fire" album, so I was thrilled to hear "Force Ten" in concert again after its absence from the Vapor Trails tour.
-- Animate
Another good one that I hadn't heard in a while. It had a slower tempo than the previous songs, but no one in the crowd took their seats, which is always a good sign.
-- Subdivisions
One of my favorites, which I had really missed when it was not in the last tour. Excellent job (although there were a couple of interesting keyboard, um, differences). It was yet another concert high-point for me, because I really love this song.
...I should note here that Geddy addressed the crowd and re-iterated the fact that this was the first date of the tour. He apologized if they made any mistakes and asked that we please ignore them, which was good timing on his part...
-- Earthshine
This song from their most recent album fascinates me. The time changes in it are nearly impossible. I've listened to it over and over trying to figure out how I would write the sheet-music for it, if I had to do so. I am downright fascinated by the song, which is why I was also a bit fascinated when the band got off just a bit during the first chorus (which has different time-changes than the other instances of the chorus). I should state that I have been attending Rush concerts since 1987, and I've really never picked up on a flub before. If anything I feel downright privileged that I got to hear the kick-off concert before the set became the finely-polished perfection that I'm so used to hearing. The flub was handled well and they got right back into synch, which also speaks to their professionalism and skill.
-- Red Barchetta
Another crowd-favorite that had been missing from the last tour. It rocked hard and was a great addition.
-- Roll The Bones
A fun song that includes a clever "rap" section while an animated skeleton performs on the video screens.
-- Bravado
Another slower song from the "Roll the Bones" album. It's a lovely long, but both this one and "Roll the Bones" were played at the last tour, so I was kind of hoping for something different. They did do an extended jam at the end though, which was very nice.
-- YYZ
A definite favorite and a must-see experience for anyone who even remotely likes Rush. The song shows off the formidable skills of each band member, and is simply a lot of fun!
-- The Trees
Another of my favorites, this time they worked a bit of "Day Tripper" into the end of the song, which was a real surprise!
-- The Seeker
The first "cover song" of the night was of The Who's "The Seeker". It was a really brilliant rendition as well. I hadn't been looking forward to hearing Rush cover other bands' music, because I love the complex compositions and deep, meaningful lyrics that are a basis of every Rush song -- however hearing them rock to "The Seeker" was a lot of fun and my mind started to change.
-- One Little Victory
Another song from the most recent album, "Vapor Trails", it included the cool dragon animations from the 2002 tour as well as the pyrotechnics that were synchronized with the video. A very cool song with a very cool video (to read the specifics you can check out my write-up on the Vapor Trails tour here). Whereas it kicked off the second set in 2002, in 2004 it was a fitting ending to the first set.
Geddy announced that they would be back after a (much deserved) 20 minute break. My hubby went to get refreshments as I hung out with my friends from work a bit. The video screens did eventually start showing the same video from the intermission on the last tour -- which was weird because we had just seen some of it at the end of the first set. The cricket sound effects started up as well. When the 20 minutes passed people were starting to get confused as to why the same video was starting again, and why it was the same as the last tour. Of course that's when it all changed... the screen went to fuzzy static for a few seconds, then we saw the dragon kicked back in a recliner, eating popcorn and flipping through the tv channels with his remote control. All of the programs were dragon-related, then he selected a show that featured a puppet-dragon and the 3 Rush bobbleheads! The show was very Thunderbirds-esque and funny, with the bobbleheads in a spaceship fighting off the dragon, and the dragon threatening to burn up all of the Rush merchandise.
The Second Set:
-- Tom Sawyer
What is probably Rush's biggest hit, "Tom Sawyer" was an excellent way to kick off the second half of the concert. This song used to always be the last song of the night, so I love the fact that they've switched it up into the show now.
-- Dreamline
Another song that they've played in the past few tours, but I don't mind because it is a great concert song. It really encourages the audience to sing along.
-- Secret Touch
The 3rd song from their most recent album (Vapor Trails). I didn't really appreciate this song until I heard it last year in concert -- it really is a rockin' song and great concert tune. They changed the ending this year to go out big (rather than the mellow ending it has on the album). I like it a lot.
-- Between The Wheels
A real concert highlight for me! I cannot remember if I've heard it in concert before, but it was an excellent rendition from an excellent album (Grace Under Pressure). I loved it!
-- Mystic Rhythms
Another good song rarely heard in concert! A great, powerful song with a slower tempo.
-- Red Sector A
Another great song from "Grace Under Pressure". They did play this one on the last tour, complete with the weird and creepy video of some kneeling computer-generated guys.
-- Drum Solo
Absolutely fabulous, as always. At first I was worried because the video screens weren't on, and I couldn't see Neil as well as I would have liked, but by the second part of the solo the cameras were on and you could see every detail. He was amazing, of course. A good 10-15 minutes of magic. It had the same big band finish as the last tour.
-- Resist
Same as with the last tour, to give Neil a bit of a break Alex and Geddy came on with acoustic guitars to do a fabulous rendition of "Resist". As much as I adore the acoustic version of "Resist", I must admit that I was a tad bit disappointed, as I was hoping they might do an acoustic version of a different song. Last tour's "Resist" had been such a surprise and had really felt "special". I'm not really complaining, as I love the song done this way and was happy to hear it again.
-- Heart Full of Soul
This was an acoustic version of The Yardbirds' "Heart Full of Soul". Geddy did a great job with the vocals, and Neil joined in mid-way through the song. It was a great acoustic rendition, which I was happy about after being slightly disappointed that I didn't get a new acoustic Rush song.
-- 2112 (Overture, Temples of Syrinx, Finale)
Another "must see in concert" Rush-song. I was very happy that they included some of the finale (complete with "We have assumed control"), as they didn't include it on the last tour. Absolutely fabulous!
-- La Villa Strangiato
I always love this instrumental song, and like it even more now that it has the obligatory "Alex rant" in the middle. This time he was telling a little story about 2 people flying toy airplanes, except one guy kept crashing them. I also love the fact that they always show the usually-stoic Neil in the background smiling at Alex's antics.
-- By-Tor and The Snow Dog
A great song from their second album, complete with the adorable video from the last concert (with cartoon versions of Geddy and Alex competing against each other, as Neil quirks an eyebrow from the sidelines). I went into detail in my Vapor Trails tour review.
-- Xanadu
Awesome, and yet another tour highlight for me. It was about half the song ("Xanadu" is a very long song), I'd guestimate that they played 5 minutes of it. It was great to hear it in concert!
-- Working Man
Another Rush "must have" song off of their very first album. They did a part toward the end in a very reggae style, which was fun to hear. It was a very fitting way to end the 30th anniversary tour.
...of course it wasn't really the end...
The Encore:
-- Summertime Blues
Rush took the stage again to play a few more cover tunes for us. "Summertime Blues" rocked! I mean it. It was not light and fluffy rendition of this popular Eddie Cochran song -- it was heavy and very, very cool.
-- Crossroads
Another very rockin' rendition, this time of Robert Johnson's "Crossroads". After hearing these 4 "covers" my mind is changed -- Rush can do covers any time they want, because the covers they choose and they styles they play them in are fantastic.
-- Limelight
Ah yes, another favorite that I will never tire of hearing in concert. Simply a fabulous song.
After the left the stage again the crowd still didn't want to go home. They continued to cheer, stomp, and smack the backs of the chairs until the videoscreen came to life again. This time it was Jerry Stiller yelling stuff like "What? Thirty songs weren't enough for you!?! It's over, now go away! Go home!"
Final Thoughts:
It was really, really fantastic. Rush played from 7:30 until 10:45 with only a 20 minute break. They had great energy and played fabulous songs, and it was a big personal thrill for me to see the very first concert of the "R30" tour.
After 30 years and 17 studio albums (not counting concert albums and retrospectives), of course there will be songs that you hoped to hear but didn't -- with that many albums they would have to play all day to hit every song. I think they chose a good mix of "must haves" along with a few rarities thrown in to keep it interesting for everyone, old fans and new. The covers were definitely a new twist, and although I wasn't really looking forward to them they were really great too!
Thirty years. How remarkable is that? And to have been together and actively releasing albums (that rock) the entire time too! I'm so glad that they are celebrating their 30th anniversary in style!
Related Review:
An Evening With Rush - Vapor Trails Tour - August 14, 2002
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
mizgnomer
|
 - Top 50 |
|
Location: Tennessee
Reviews written: 306
Trusted by: 202 members
About Me:
Don't meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you're crunchy and taste good with ketchup
|
|
|
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.