SHARING THE SHOWS
So I spent a nice few days in New York with my family for Thanksgiving, which was a wonderful experience marred only a back injury. Otherwise, it was great seeing my Mom, brother, and many family members and friends.
After some delays, my flight landed in Norfolk a little after 7. Maggie picked me up from the airport and after picking up my boy Chester and dropping him and my luggage off at my domicile, we headed to the Vanguard. I debated whether I should go due to my back, but ultimately, I decided I’d regret not going. After all, it’s fucking Rush, and this is the first time in my five years in Hampton Roads I heard of a Rush tribute coming. And they don’t involve much dancing. I figured I could stay close to the back. As we enjoyed our burgers, preceded by a site of pita bread and pimento cheese, the band opened with what appeared to be a mashup of a few tunes from Caress of Steel, most notably “Bastille Day.” It felt like dinner theater. We finished our meal and headed to the stage as “Freewill” graced the stage. And yes, the singer, Mark sounds exactly like Geddy and he has his hair done the way he did in the 70s (see the Exit Stage Left video for a comparison). I can only imagine the training the singer from Kix put his voice through to get his octaves up that high. The next bunch of songs were samples from a variety of their albums, mostly ones never played on the radio. In the spirit of Rush fan geekdom, I’m going to bullet this list of songs played during the first set and the albums from which they’re drawn:
During setbreak, we ran into Dean and took the fabulous picture you see above. We also heard snippets of “The Garden,” “Available Light,” and “Leave That Thing Alone.” “Tom Sawyer” opened the second set; thanks to I Love You Man, I think of this virtuoso sequence every time I heard the song. I love that movie; it gave Rush more credibrolity than it had (Mark and Drew, that was for you). “The Spirit of Radio,” a classic, also brings Jason Segel to mind with his performance from Freaks and Geeks in a heartbreaking contrast between adolescent fantasy and adult reality. “The Trees” was next, followed by “Dreamline.” “Animate” was the first Rush song I ever heard. At 16, I used a bunch of the tip money I earned from delivering newspapers to invest in rock music, and I had heard good things about Rush from Mr. Rapeleye, my high school tennis coach, so I bought Counterparts. I wasn’t overly impressed upon my first listen (especially when I became exposed to the likes of Permanent Waves, Moving Pictures, and 2112) but over time, that album’s earned a special place in my heart. “La Villa Strangiato” was described in Beyond the Lighted Stage as one of the toughest songs to play on guitar, and it apparently inspired Metallica’s Kirk Hammett in his playing. “Subdivisions” closed the set; earlier that day, I saw the Dogs’s recreation of that video. Reader, what Rush fan has not felt like the kid in that video at at least one point in their life? The encore consisted of “Bytor and the Snow Dog,” an extended solo by Andy (Neal), and Maggie’s call, “Limelight.” I was a little bummed nothing from Power Windows or 2112 made the set, but I ain’t complainin’. After Maggie and I parted ways, I decided one Rush experience wasn’t enough, so I popped in the DVD of Time Stand Still, a documentary of their final tour in 2015. Side note: one of the biggest regrets of my life was not seeing them at MSG during that tour because I was trying to save money for a trip to Ireland. I was so young back then. I couldn’t miss this tribute because that would make two regrets. I fell asleep somewhere around the 30-minute mark and woke up to the end credits. All in all, a helluva night and an even better weekend. And Maggie informed me she, Dean, and I are on their Facebook page thanks to a picture from last night’s show. That’s me in the middle with the Ivy League hat with my hand next to my face really trying to hear beyond the music. All in all, a great night. Glad I sucked it up and went.
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