Rush at Red Rocks - August 8, 2007
by erick Von erich
You didn't think I'd miss a concert by the guys who did Kerry Von Erich's theme music, didja'?!
Rush certainly has enough to be proud of. Their pride and passion for their music catalog was certainly displayed as they came through Red Rocks, last night. Once again, the members of Rush are touring without an opening act. Something that makes their fans happy and leaves the members of Mr. Big still pining for steady employment.
The band is officially touring to promote their new album, "Snakes and Arrows", but try telling that to the majority of the crowd that gathered just west of Denver to see them play. Rush has endured not with their modern work, but with the relevance of their older work. Work which still holds its relevance and importance today. Simple cuts like "Fly by Night" or expansive epics like "2112" are still gaining as many new fans as they were 30 years ago. Roughly 1/3 of the audience was probably born well after the Moving Pictures album was released, yet they were familiar with the early pre-epoch Rush stuff.
I've babbled enough about Red Rocks' ambiance and spectacle in several old reviews on my other site, so it's okay to jump right into the show, itself. It started with another questionable "comedy" video piece, featuring some dweeb in a Scottish kilt. I'm sure this crap was incredibly hilarious to Geddy Lee and Neil Peart when they filmed it... but I didn't get the joke or see the humor in it. Alex Lifeson then walked out onto the stage with the opening riff of "Limelight", with a late-arriving Geddy Lee walking out to kick off the song. Oh yeah, that guy that plays drums also joined them on stage,
In past tours, the video screens displayed behind the stage has shown imagery or video clips related to the song. Like a Rohrschach test of a housing development while "Subdivisions" played, or some high speed road racing footage for "Red Barchetta". However, this time the screens would display simple camera close-ups of each musician playing his instruments. It sounds boring, but it was choregraphed very well and boosted the show's appeal. A lot of Rush fans have always been interested in who's playing what during the show-- or what type of instrument they're playing-- and this helped. I also about creamed my pants when they showed Geddy Lee playing his foot pedals, as he was wearing the same black Chuck Taylor hightops as I was. Me n' Geddy have the same footwear.
After the opening tune, they went right into "Digital Man" and a somewhat unexpected set list. A welcome change, since, aside from a few modifications, Rush has basically been playing the same setlist since about 1997. You pretty much knew which oldies they would play and when the obligatory "here's something off our new album" would surface. They mixed that formula up, as certain oldie staples like "Closer to the Heart" or "Roll the Bones" were left home. They dusted off some obscure tunes that haven't been played much, like "Circumstances" or "Witch Hunt" (which sounded heavy as all fuck, live). Hearing Rush play 4 or 5 new tunes and their "Greatest Hits" had to have become redundant for fans and the band, themselves. Sure, they still played stuff like "YYZ" or "Dreamline", but the variety was nice. Without sounding too pretenious: if you want to hear 5 new songs and the same old classics, I'm sure there's a DVD readily available for you. If you have 10 or 20 Rush tunes on your iPod, this probably isn't the show for you. But if you have a buncha' Rush albums, then this will be right up your alley. Mixing it up shows that the band's not sitting around and falling into the formula of other dinosaur rock acts.
Rush makes no excuses for being "dinosaurs". Several times, Geddy Lee would poke fun at how long the band has been around, saying they've just released their "six millionth album" and joking about their "advanced age". Perhaps as part of this, Alex Lifeson had two plastic dinosaurs on either end of his amplifier stacks.
| Limelight Digital Man Entre Nous Mission Freewill The Main Monkey Business The Larger Bowl Secret Touch Circumstances Between the Wheels Dreamline ---Intermission-- Far Cry Working Them Angels Armor and Sword Spendrift The Way the Wind Blows Subdivsions Natural Science Witch Hunt MalNar Drum Solo Summertime Blues Spirit of Radio Tom Sawyer --encore-- One Little Victory Passage to Bangkok YYZ |
On two other instances, the video screens ran some humorous skits from famous comedic performers. Not to give to much away, but one was a real beauty, eh...and the second was fronted by a "dumb fat-ass". The latter even invented alternate lyrics for "Tom Sawyer". "Neat, neat guy--- floated down the river on a raft with a black guy! Da-na-na-nerrrrr!"
The music was certainly the main attraction, though. Lifeson still doesn't get enough credit, but considering the company he keeps, it's understandable. The band's new stuff was placed well in the show's first half. Their new instrumental, "The Mean Monkey Business" went over well. Fun song, since there's no real confusion over what it's about. It's about monkeys. Let's jam about monkeys. Everyone likes monkeys. No metaphor or symbolism-- it's monkeys! Maybe a few apes, here and there, but mostly monkeys. They also played another new instrumental which can only be described as "Les Claypool's Wet-dream".
Here's another SHOCKING SPOILER:..... Neil Peart plays a drum solo. Seemed to be a slightly different composition from his usual "Rhythym Method" performance, though.
The second half (more like the final 60%) featured a larger majority of their new tunes. This seemed to wane on the audience for a bit, especially a song that featured videos of an armored knight. Dio is reportedly upset that Rush has borrowed some of his old diaromas. The set was closed out with some old favorites and an encore that sent everybody home, satsified. Well, except for the drunks who puked all over themselves and did a face-plant down the stairs.
As far as I know, Rush has no plans to fade away. And they shouldn't. Each member is a highly proficient musician and I don't see how someone can be expected to give up their art simply because they're past 50. I mean, Les Paul is still performing and he's 92. These guys are rightfully proud of what they've accomplished. Three guys who like to play music. They'll do it as long as they can.
It's a beauty way to go.
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