Words and pix by Sam H
Here we are roaming around the city of angels with thousands of others. The crackle of anticipation is palpable; something is definitely happening in town.
It sure as hell is, it’s the return of the legendary band RUSH. Yes, they are back, and we are here. The excitement around the venue is incredible, the conversations are mixed between “oh my god I never thought I’d see them live” and “I hope Anika rocks this”.
The doors open, the house lights are crackling, and the crowd swells. And then the lights go down, and with that, the “Where’s RUSH” prologue starts, tongue in cheek and fun. Then we hear it, the sound we’ve all been waiting for, but wait, holy hell, it’s Xanadu never used to open a show before. And what a start, Anika, wow, Anika, what a statement!
You could see the pure joy on both Alex and Geddy‘s faces as the trio ripped into a blistering set. One thing RUSH fans have always done is sing along and air drum. The non-drummers who air drum know the fills; we’ll come back to that in a bit.
Anika‘s drum style and sound are her own. The snare drum sound was incredible, and toms rang with a slightly deeper tone and in my opinion, that is a good thing. Anika played every song with classic skill, perfect feel and incredible precision in her own style but with a few nods to the professor. Geddy and Alex grinning at each other was something we’d been waiting to see for years.
Little dances, jumping around like kids, brilliant to see. The way the band played and interacted with each other was a joy. We must mention Loren Gold, who took on keyboards and also played a cracking set. This gave Geddy a bit of space and allowed him to enjoy his playing and interact even more. Alex, as always, played with such precision and skill that you’d definitely not think it’s been 50 years. RUSH are back, and with this showing, they are a tour de force.
Let’s go back to the air drummers and singers. All fans like to sing along and be part of the show, and certain songs have a place in people’s hearts. One such song is Tom Sawyer. Anika‘s playing was faultless all night, but this one song, this classic, was yet to come. Neil always said it was the song he dreaded playing, because you all know it so well. And as the initial bars opened, we waited, and then the big fill came and oh did Anika nail it, hell yeah, she did, and every single person in the forum cheered and applauded, welcome home Anika Nilles.
RUSH are a triumph, and from this night on, they will only get better. We are in for one hell of a treat. And who knows, we might even see new music.
