I had never been a fan of the Canadian power trio, Rush, until my brother Charlie turned me on to them. Ironically, it took him a while to warm up to their sound as well. But, all doubts were disproved when Charlie, myself, and a friend of his saw the band play at the Minnesota State Fair for their Time Machine tour in 2010. The stage was set up to look like a giant time machine with the amplifiers enclosed in boxes that looked like how a time machine would be envisioned in a book or something. Bassist Geddy Lee used to use these Maytag coin operated washing machines as amps, somehow, some way. They were probably stage props. How on earth can you amplify a bass by substituting a washing machine for an Ampeg SVT? I haven't a clue.
At any rate, Rush's unique musical sound spoke for itself. They are bluesy and yet have a very heavy sound with profound lyrics in their songs. It's all very musical, though, I still have my reservations about Geddy Lee's voice. Nonetheless, the trio of Alex Lifeson on guitars, Lee on bass, and phenomenal drummer Neal Peart, is something to behold in a live concert setting. Whether or not Lifeson actually ate a couple of giant sized State Fair food staples offered to him during the gig (a giant pronto pup and a giant pork chop on a stick, I vouch for, yes to both), we'll never know. ...And the array of guitars he possesses is staggering as he seemed to change guitars for nearly every song from a Gibson Les Paul Standard to a Les Paul Custom to a few Paul Reed Smiths, a Fender Telecaster, and even a mandolin, was pretty cool.
The whole set list was built around the 1981 Rush record "Moving Pictures" which took precedence in the second half of the gig. It was set up this way for most of the tour in both 2010 and 2011, before the band released their latest album called "Clockwork Angels", this year, (2012). At any rate, here's the set list from the memorable 2010 performance at the Minnesota State Fair.
Set 1:
Intro video: ("The Real History of Rush, Episode 2: "Don't Be Rash")
1. The Spirit of Radio
2. Time Stand Still
3. Presto
4. Stick It Out
5. Workin' Them Angels
6. Leave That Thing Alone
7. Faithless
8. BU2B (Brought Up To Believe)
9. Freewill
10. Marathon
11. Subdivisions
Set 2:
Intro video ("The Real History of Rush, Episode 17: "...and Rock & Roll is my name")
12. Tom Sawyer
13. Red Barchetta
14. YYZ
15. Limelight
16. The Camera Eye
17. Vital Signs
18. Caravan
19. Moto Perpetuo/Love for Sale (Neal Peart drum solo)
20. O'Malley's Break/Closer To The Heart
21. 2112
I. Overture
II. The Temples of Syrinx
22. Far Cry
Encore:
23. La Villa Strangiato (with polka intro)
24. Working Man (with reggae intro)
There was a post show montage of characters from the "I Love You, Man" movie, (specifically, Peter Klaven and Sydney Fife, played respectively by Paul Rudd and Jason Segel), annoying the band backstage after the gig. In this show, Rush demonstrated not only their musical virtuosity, but also that even virtuous musicians can have a great sense of humor. It's hard to describe Rush's music to non-Rush fans. It's something that has to be heard on a recording or in a live concert setting to get the full idea of why it's so unique.
For that reason, Rush fans have been categorized as nerdy or lambasted by the music world and elite critics altogether. But, that doesn't stop me from listening to them and appreciating what they do. The 2010 performance at the Minnesota State Fair certainly proved such a claim that I'd be bold enough to make.
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