2011年 May 27日 Friday, 19:15

Fri 27 May – Time Machine Tour 2011 - An Evening With Rush

On May 27th I went to see Rush for the first time in Ahoy in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Having been there to see Peter Gabriel as my first concert ever in 2003, it was good being back after eight years. This time I had field tickets of course, and I was in the almost exact middle of the field, which provided a great view and perfect sound.

And boy was the sound good! It was incredibly loud though. I've never been to a gig where the sound was so loud. Aptly titled, the Time Machine tour started, in true Rush style, with a cinematic about a polka band in an eastern European restaurant, with the band members starring as characters in the movie. The theme of the evening was obviously a trip through time, as the projections and machines on stage would demonstrate. Where one could see washing machines on one of the latest Rush tours, this time around they flaunted huge steam engines, a gramophone player and a stunning light show with fireworks that would scorch your eyebrows from 60 feet away.

As Rush started their tour in 2010 in America and have played over 70 gigs since, the show was well polished and no changes in the setlist where made. This was no problem though, as their choice of songs was great! The show started off with the fantastic The Spirit Of Radio, which set the benchmark for the next hour. They mostly played songs from their eighties period, with some great tunes from Snakes and Arrows thrown in. Highlights for me personally where Leave That Thing Alone, the bass solo on Freewill and Geddy's awesome sounding synth on Subdivisions.

After a short intermission, things got goofy again with another lengthy cinematic introduction to Tom Sawyer, which meant the start of the Moving Pictures album. They played Moving Pictures in it's entirety, which meant 40 minutes of awesome music. To me, YYZ is one the most quirky, extravagant, well thought out instrumentals ever written. One could really see how much the band enjoyed being on stage, which in turn showed in their playing.

Of course the obligatory drum solo by Neil Peart wasn't left out. Just when I thought it started dragging on for a bit, Neil stood up, his kit turned around a 180 degrees and he started playing another tune on a different set of drums, to a different video. All in all this turned out quite well and brought a smile to my face.

After this things took up again with Alex playing a beautiful intro to Closer to the Heart on his 12-string guitar. Just when you thought it couldn't get any better, the opening notes of 2112 sounded and they played parts 1 and 2 from this epic track. The band finished the main setlist with Far Cry from the Snakes and Arrows album, which works great live.

As an encore, we got another crazy cinematic with a polka variant of La Villa Strangiato. The band soon switched to full gear and Alex really made his guitar shriek and sing during this song. Rush finished the gig in style with Working Man, sporting a reggae intro and another fabulous bass solo.

All in all it was one of the best gigs I have ever attended. The band were incredibly tight, the choice of songs was excellent and the sound was really good. If I have to complain about anything, I would say that the sound was too loud and I'm not too keen on the new songs yet, though that might have been related to me not knowing the material beforehand. If you have the chance: go see them!

Setlist:

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
9. Freewill
10. Marathon
11. Freewill

Intermission

12. Tom Sawyer
13. Red Barchetta
14. YYZ
15. Limelight
16. The Camera Eye
17. Witch Hunt
18. Vital Signs
19. Caravan
20. Drum Solo
21. Closer to the Heart
22. 2112 Part I: Overture
23. 2112 Part II: The Temples of Syrinx
24. Far Cry

Encores:

25. La Villa Strangiato
26. Working Man