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What's the Rush?

Posted at 1:03 AM on March 28, 2007 by Jill Riley (9 Comments)

Any Rush fans in the house?
They're coming to the Twin Cities!
I'm not that great on a drum kit, but you should see me air drum along with Neil!
"Free Will" is my favorite Rush song, only because I used to sing it as "Free Jill".

Comments (9)

He's not only an amazing drummer, but he writes the lyrics, which are quite beautiful.

I saw RUSH on the Presto tour in 1990, and there's something to be said for the spectacle of a pair of three-story tall inflatable bunnies. Needless to say, they put on a great show.

I'm not a die-hard fan, so I don't own much of their catalog. However, I have to say that YYZ is not only one of the best songs they recorded, it's also one of the toughest tracks on Guitar Hero II.

Trivia: There was a cut scene from the movie Fight Club where one of the homework assignments was to find a YES fan and tell them that RUSH was better. :)

Posted by Michael Wells | March 28, 2007 8:48 AM

In high school, I was a HUGE Rush fan. I saw them on the Moving Pictures tour with Joe Perry Project opening. It was a amazing. I became tired of them after Signals came out. I still love them, though, and whenever "Spirit of Radio" is played, I MUST play air guitar to it.

My friends and I used to jam at lunch time before Jazz Ensemble practice and we'd do RUSH medlies starting with Working Man, then to Fly By Night, bits of 2112, The Trees, Closer to the Heart, bits of Hemispheres, Spirit of Radio, Red Barchetta, Witch Hunt and end up with YYZ

We'd even stay after school and my drummer friends used to bring in their kits, and we'd combine them with the school drum kit and percussion to make a Neil Peart kit complete with timbales, gong, tubular bells, etc. We'd even attempt to do "Swing Rush" songs and play things like Sprit of Radio in swing time.

It was some of the best training we ever had to deal with mixed meters, stylistic changes, and technique. Alas, I was NEVER anywhere close to being as good as Alex Lifeson, but I did learn how to re-create his guitar sounds as best I could.

Would I see them now? Probably not, but I'll have to dig out my Rush songbook and see what I can remember.

Posted by Frick | March 28, 2007 9:53 AM

Rush kick so much a**, and anyone who is hesitant to admit it thinks they're too cool for school. I was once one of those people, until my big sister dragged me to see them live for their Roll the Bones tour. I was humbled. "The Analog Kid" is my fave.

Posted by Jacquie Fuller | March 28, 2007 11:04 AM

But, I like Asia (the band), too. So I probably don't know what I'm talking about.

Posted by Jacquie Fullerq | March 28, 2007 11:05 AM

Don’t feel bad Jacquie… I saw Asia at the Orpheum theater in support of their first album. I was about 10 rows dead in front of Steve Howe. My jaw was on the floor the entire time. My best friend who went with me was a drummer so his jaw was on the floor watching Carl Palmer bash the skins all night long.

My favorite memory of the Rush concert I saw was Alex Lifeson broke a string in the middle of a song, I could see him mouth an Effenheimer, and he simply raised both arms in the air, his techs came running out, removed the guitar and replaced it with another in a matter of seconds. He barely missed a note. Take that NASCAR tire changers!

Posted by Frick | March 28, 2007 11:45 AM

In my opinion, you should never be ashamed of any music you like. Considering the personal nature of music overall, it doesn't really matter what anyone else thinks about it. Your mileage may vary.

Posted by Michael Wells | March 28, 2007 1:17 PM

Right on, Michael Wells! Music, to me, is so much about context and everyone has there own map...

Posted by Wells T. | March 28, 2007 1:54 PM

I have seen them on each of their tours going back to the late 80's, and I can say that they haven't lost a thing. They are playing longer now and sound as good as they ever have. I have to admit their last couple studio albums haven't really appealed to me though... I encourage anyone thinking of going to the show on Sept. 9 @ the X in St. Paul to check them out.

Posted by Andy C | March 28, 2007 2:07 PM

i've seen Rush a number of times and even met Geddy and Alex on after the "Vapor Trails" show last time they were in town.

i have been loving Neil's books as well lately. he has an interesting take on life and has gone through quite a bit with tragedy in his family that he has overcome.

i will be there Sept 9 fo' sho'!

Posted by Danny Sigelman | April 3, 2007 11:06 AM

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