Rush in Concert 7/20/02

It has been over 5 years since Rush last played in the Chicago area. After the personal tragedies in Neil Peart’s life, I was wondering if they would ever return as a trio. Fortunately they came back stronger than ever. From the 4 times I have seen Rush perform since 1992, this was by far the best. Not only did they put on 2-1/2 hours of music, but the diversity of the set made it really special.

The stage setup seemed simple compared to the prior performances, with the exception of 3 clothes dryers beside the drum platform. What seemed even weirder is that there were clothes spinning inside each of them. A large video screen hung in back of the stage, with 2 smaller screens on either side. Neil’s drums were red, with gold trim, on a red octagonal platform, also trimmed in gold.

Looking around before the show, I saw the pavilion packed full, and the lawn roughly 2/3 to ¾ full. Most of the audience seemed to be in their 20’s and 30’s, with a few gray-haired older fans scattered throughout. Once the roadies emerged to do a final instrument check, they were greeted with a lot of cheering. I could tell these people were Rush-starved for the past 5 years.

Then I heard the familiar 3 Stooges theme and everyone rose to their feet. That’s where everybody remained till the end of the show. For those unfamiliar with Rush, this is never a sit-down concert. Geddy Lee came out wearing a red tank top and jeans, Alex in all black, and Neil Peart wore his usual black embroidered cap. Rush opened with “Tom Sawyer,” a piece typically reserved for the second half of the show.

Throughout the concert, I paid close attention to the way the drum and bass interacted. Geddy Lee and Neil Peart have never sounded better together live than this time. Not playing for 5 years, I had some concerns that the musical rapport among the trio would be rusty. No such thing happened. Peart drumming sounded sharp, hitting hard, with occasional “rolls” across a series of drums to produce a more dramatic effect. Lee kept switching from bass to keyboards and did both very well. Alex Lifeson was his usual self on the guitar, occasionally strutting across the stage to show off to the folks in the front row.

There were several songs I did not recognize because they were from the new CD, which I don’t have. Still, the broad variety of music they did had to appeal to old and new fans alike. The new material seems to be more guitar & bass driven, rather than the synthesizer-flavored Rush from the early to mid-80s.

Early in the show, Lee’s voice seemed muddy due to the overpowering sound of the drums and guitar. It got better as the show went on, but this is a problem at the Tweeter Center I have heard before. Rush played continuously, not pausing to talk between songs till almost 20 minutes into the show, when Lee greeted Chicago and said, “We will reward your patience [waiting 5 years], by punishing you with a lot of music.”

Another early surprise in the show was “YYZ,” the drum-laden classic that became one of Peart’s signature performance pieces. Just for the record, Neil can still twirl drumsticks behind his back and catch them over his shoulder, drawing loud cheers each time he does it. The surprises continues with “The Pass,” another old favorite of mine Rush hasn’t played since the “Roll the Bones” tour in 1992.

For “Big Money,” Matrix-style numbers trickled down the video screens. In another twist, the band broke into an extended instrumental jam in the middle of the song. The depth of their musical selections became even more interesting, as Rush closed out the first half of the show with “Vital Signs” and “Natural Science.” While I got to hear “Natural Science” in 1997, I don’t think I ever saw them do “Vital Signs” live.

During intermission, the band treated the audience to video footage of a sunset in the mountains, while the sounds of chirping crickets echoed through the venue. When the crickets stopped, the band returned to play one of the new songs. On the video screen, a computer-generated dragon lit up a cigar and a huge blast of flames appeared behind the band. Throughout the song, the animated dragon kept trying to disrupt the band by setting more fires, even burning a backstage pass in its claws. At the end the dragon tried to set the stage on fire one more time but passed out and ultimately surrendered by waving a white flag and flying away.

“Driven,” “Ceiling Unlimited” and “Secret Touch” were among the newer songs the band played in successive order. Red and green lasers streamed across the pavilion during “Dreamline.” That was followed by another surprise: “Red Sector A,” also a song I never saw Rush perform.

Rush did a new instrumental, during which a dancing spotted seahorse and a dog-like creature danced and bobbed on the screen in a cartoonish way, while psychedelic colors swirled behind them. The instrumental led to Peart’s big moment: his drum and percussion solo. The drum platform came to life and spun around a few times. Neil once again showed off his ability to twirl drumsticks over his shoulder and behind the back.

Following the drum solo, Alex and Geddy sat down on stools and looked at each other asking, “So, what should we play now?”

What they ended up playing was an acoustic piece I have not heard before, so I presumed it had to be from the new CD. After a soothing acoustic piece, Rush returned to their powerful roots by playing “2112”. Another crowd-pleasing favorite was “Limelight,” which turned into a great singalong.

The surprises continued when the band reached in deep for “La Villa Strangiato”. As an added touch, Alex did a brief rant at the end of the song, telling a silly story of how every piece of food he ever had was chasing after him (including Krispy Kreme doughnuts). They closed with the mandatory “Spirit of Radio,” a song often saved for the encore.

What Rush did for the encore came as a HUGE shock. I was thinking “Closer to the Heart,” but the band skipped it entirely. Lee and Lifeson ran out on stage and opened the 3 dryers to check their laundry. They pulled out T-shirts from each of the dryers and tossed them to the audience. Then Lee announced, “We will now go to the ‘Tobes of Hades.’” The audience roared in applause and the band played “By-Tor and the Snow Dog”. It has to be at least 20 years since they did that one in concert. As a finale, Rush played “Working Man” and got plenty of singalong help on it too.

The show left me breathless. I have not seen Rush this sharp and diverse at the same time. For those of you who have a chance to see them in 2002, you will be richly rewarded for the “punishment” of Rush’s music.

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