It's difficult for this review not to simply consist of the words "Fuck yeah, Rush!" That's pretty much the reaction one has after a full three hours of Canadian progressive rock, especially when done as well as this particular threesome does.
Rush played on what had to be one of the most beautiful nights one could hope for a show at Starlight. The performance was worthy of the weather, and vice versa, really. Geddy Lee and company managed to do that rare thing at Starlight last night: get an audience jazzed about new stuff. The band has an album "way, way forthcoming" next year, and it played two songs off it. The first, early in the night, was called "Brought Up to Believe" and was heavy as all hell, with a video projected on the giant screen behind them as they played that looked like the opening credits to Seven.
Rush had the wise idea to immediately follow the new and rather bass-heavy slight downer (still rocking, however) that was the new tune with the upbeat and positive hit, "Freewill." They pulled a similarly savvy move by following up the other new track, "Caravan," with Neal Peart's drum solo. Peart's solo went from standard rock drum solo to something that was a vaguely Middle Eastern piece evocative of something that would accompany Neusrat Fateh Ali Khan, to end with a sound that was all Buddy Rich and Gene Krupa. From there, we got Alex Lifeson on the twelve-string, with a gorgeous acoustic solo that led into "Closer to the Heart." Like I said -- savvy.
The highlight of the show was, of course, the band playing all of their 1981 classic, Moving Pictures. The album sounded stellar, although certain tracks, especially "Limelight," came across as slightly plodding and not as energetic as their studio counterparts. The reggae intro to the encore of "Working Man" also served to further highlight the slightly slowed-down nature of that track.
Honestly, however, the band is showing itself to be no worse for wear after over thirty years together. Lee's voice has held up rather well, and the instrumentation is spot-on, aside from the aforementioned slow downs. "Red Barchetta" absolutely smoked, and left me feeling like I'd been thoroughly pummeled.
The rest of the audience felt it, too. There were middle-aged women rocking out harder than I've seen teenage metalheads at a Slayer concert. I've never seen 11 year-old kids lose it during a bass solo. Rush draws a diverse crowd, and I think my buddy Jason put it pretty well when he said that it seems like they're playing to bigger crowds than they have in years. The nearly sold-out Starlight certainly was a testament to their diverse and enthusiastic fanbase.
Plus, what other band ends their show with a short featuring Paul Rudd and Jason Segel reprising their I Love You, Man characters backstage at the concert? Only Rush, that's who. Fuck yeah, Rush, indeed.
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Great review and awesome photos! I just saw the band last night and posted a review with almost 30 minutes of video at bit.ly/cVgo5s. Enjoy!
Great review. Looking forward to seeing the band again at Shoreline San Francisco Bay and Red Rocks.
We went down and saw them get their Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and that was a treat.
Afterwards they did a special showing of Rush:Beyond the Lighted Stage at Mann's Chinese Theatre so we got to see that again on the big screen.
With all the really petty and out of touch reviews in there, I have to think of "AH MIke Judge" and his review in the Star on Friday. He is one stuck in the past.
Excellent review; dead on. This is the show I saw; rather than the tripe the KC Star curmudgeon wrote. 'Deez guys were AWESOME....
Nick's enthusiastic review is spot-on. Alex, Geddy, and Neil turned the Starlight into the church of Rock 'n' Roll last night. I'm so glad that KC fans showered them with the attention, applause, and excitement that was deserved. Then again, experienced fans know better than to expect less than an amazing performance from RUSH.
Nick, nice and honest review. Much better than the AH Mike Judge on The Star this morning. Keep up the good work.
Going to see them at Red Rocks next month in Denver. My 6th show. They were my first show ever on Signals tour in 1981. 20 years on, I still love 'em and I can't wait to rock out to Moving Pictures in the mountains!
That was my 14th Rush concert and it surpassed all my expectations. Definitely more crisp and energetic than both Snakes and Arrows shows last year. YYZ and La Villa made the night complete. Being just the 2nd show of the tour allowed Geddy to reach back into his youth to hit many of the high notes!
There is a reason that Rush's sales statistics place them third behind The Beatles and The Rolling Stones for the most consecutive gold or platinum studio albums by a rock band. Long live the triumphant legends!
I couldn't agree more. The venue was at her best, the weather was the epitome of perfection, and it was CANADA DAY!! Without a doubt, one of the best shows I've seen in the last 2-3 years and the best Rush show I have ever seen since following this band's 1976 release of 2112. And what about the light show? UNFREAKIN BELIEVABLE! I can't imagine the money, the design, the setup and the software involved in getting that contraption to work so flawlessly. And yeah, the geeks in the red jump suits who were somehow able to get front and center seating was an interesting twist to a wonderful night of PROG in KCMO.
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