This is a review I never thought I’d be writing. I had assumed, along with just about everyone, that with the passing of Neil “The Professor” Peart in 2020 that the days of RUSH on stage were over forever.
Imagine my surprise when I heard they were hitting the road again.
Now, I have seen RUSH 3 times prior to this engagement, and I considered myself fortunate to have been there, but I did not realize the last time I’d seen them I was saying goodbye, so to speak. I wasn’t ready for there to be no more RUSH.
And while I had always considered myself a fan of RUSH, taking into account what I’ve learned in the lead-up to this show, I may have to downgrade myself to merely an appreciator of the band. Their die-hard fans are so off the hook with their granular knowledge of the band and their music, I don’t think I qualify as a fan in this day and age. Nonetheless, I was very excited to see this new version of the band and to put a final bow of the present of RUSH’s live music experience.
I’ll admit right up front that I was skeptical when they announced Anika Nilles as Neil’s understudy. I was familiar with her work prior to RUSH, and while she’s extremely proficient and talented technically, I had my doubts as to whether she could fill the absurdly enormous shoes Neil left behind.
While I can’t really say Neil was a direct influence on my playing as a drummer, I am, and have always been, a great admirer of his. And I regard him with the utmost respect as a musician, a lyricist and simply as a man. He was not only wildly skilled on the technical side, he was also a very “musical” drummer – his drum parts were always so much more than simply a beat. And on top of all that, he was incredibly powerful. Not just loud, powerful. He played with an authority, a conviction that absolutely did influence me directly. And based on the interviews I’ve read over the years, and what everyone said about him after his passing, and in the recent documentary that was released about him, he just came off as the genuine article. A serious man, with a serious work ethic but also a great sense of wonder and a desire to learn. And a goofy sense of humor as the cherry on top. So like I said, massive shoes to fill for this young lady.
I did not honestly expect that I would be able to get tickets to this show, nor did I expect the Mrs. to be enthusiastic about attending, but much to my surprise, both items worked out better than anticipated. The Mrs. has seen them once before, and it was before she and I were an item, so tonight was her first show with RUSH in nearly 40 years!
The SAP Center, home of the San Jose Sharks hockey team is a pretty decent place to see shows. Generally speaking I try to avoid arenas and stadiums, but every now and again, you have no other choice. I’ve been to probably a dozen or so concerts and other events at SAP (though it’s changed names so many times since it was built, who knows what it was called for all the others… We locals refer to it as the Shark Tank. Not that I’ve ever seen a hockey game there. But I digress.) I’ve seen The Who, the Rolling Stones, Imagine Dragons, Parliament Funkadelic, Duran Duran, and RUSH there before (amongst others I can’t recall) so there was no mystery or anything new and exciting about the venue. The good points for me are that it’s close to home. And generally speaking it’s easy to find a parking spot, though what they charge for parking is borderline criminal. It is what it is.
The show’s start time was listed as 7:30pm, which honestly is awesome for us old geezers, especially on a school night. (If I haven’t mentioned it before, the Mrs. is a school teacher, this isn’t simply a turn of phrase!) But it didn’t exactly start on time, and they played a full set, took an intermission, and came back for another full set, followed by an encore! An early night was not in the cards!
Overall, the show was fantastic. The band played a bit of everything from throughout their career, but thankfully they seemed to lean heavily towards the classic RUSH era – 2112, Moving Pictures, A Farewell to Kings, Permanent Waves, Hemispheres… It was a great selection of music, and performed extremely well. Geddy and Alex both seemed to be having the time of their lives, and you would never guess both these guys are now in their mid-70’s by the sound and energy coming off the stage! Honestly, they played every bit as well last night as they did the first time I saw them back around ’87 or so. It was an inspiration!
The lighting and the artistic visuals were all top notch, not that I’d expect anything less from a RUSH show!
As for Anika on drums… She nailed it. Her playing was absolutely precise and you could see from the very first note, that she was completely locked in, 100% concentration. There was no room for fun, she was at work, and work she did! Was her performance as good as Neil? No. There is a difference when playing a part you personally brought forth from the Ether and playing a part you’ve memorized. She played everything nearly as close to note-for-note as any human could. It was dang near perfect. I could find no fault in her playing whatsoever. But despite that, it just wasn’t quite the same. Neil would add to the magic of what was on the records, Anika played what was on the records, pretty much exactly as they were recorded. Which is highly impressive, don’t get me wrong. Those are some of the most difficult drum parts ever conceived, and she executed them like an absolute, stone cold professional. She truly was great. But no, it’s not the same. It was however, better than I anticipated, and undoubtedly better than I could do in her shoes!
The one and only thing that besmirched the evening was the sound system. It was, if I may be so bold, atrocious. Seriously, the WORST sound I’ve ever experienced at a RUSH show. The first few songs or so were positively excruciating. They had the kick drum turned up so high in the mix that it felt like getting punched in the chest by a heavy-weight boxer with each and every bass drum note. Seriously, it was painful. The first 20 minutes felt like a physical assault. And to make matters worse, the drum mix overall was just lousy. There was good definition when she played the high pitched concert toms, but the moment she dropped to the lower pitches, it just turned into auditory mud. Which is a shame really, here she is, giving these ultra complex parts her all, and the audio guys are asleep at the wheel. There were other problems here and there when Geddy would swap to a new bass – one Fender Precision in particular just sounded god-awful. Not sure if the bass itself was having severe problems or if it was the Front of House mix, but it was in the Top 3 worst basses I’ve ever heard at a live show. Thank goodness he only played it on one song! And the overall muddiness had a tendency to swallow the guitar here and there.
But like I said, overall it was a great show. The Mrs. and I were very glad we went, we were very impressed with the playing, the energy and just the overall vibe of the show. In all likelihood, it will be the last RUSH show of my lifetime, and I’m perfectly OK with that. Nothing wrong with going out on a high note! I’m grateful that Alex and Geddy persevered and gave it another go-round. It was clear watching the crowd that this music means a great deal to a great many fans, and this show was a real cathartic experience for a lot of people. While I’m sure they both had some self-serving reasons for embarking on this tour, the impression for me was that this was a big Thank You gift to the throngs of fans they have all around the world, as well as a fond farewell and a celebration of The Professor. And I’m grateful that I could be part of it.
I don’t know how much longer the tour is continuing, but if you like RUSH even a little, it’s worth your while to check out what could possibly be the very last time they grace the stage!
Thanks for stopping by!
