Rush delivers a knockout show at Summerfest
Rush, pictured in an earlier concert, played Friday night at Summerfest.By Val Ulicki, Special to OnMilwaukee.com
Published June 28, 2008 at 5:25 a.m.
Tags: rush, summerfest, marcus amphitheater
There was no scantily-clad Annie Leibovitz photo shoot hubbub, nobody got pulled on stage for beating up a woman and not a single person wondered if the lead singer had officially changed his name back to "Puff Geddy" from "P Giddy".
All we had was music.
Three hours of rock from a group who has managed to last 34 years and can still rock out with their hen out (more on that later). Rush doesn't just endure; they thrive, wow, amaze, and time after time show why the term "power trio" should have been coined just for them.
Touring in support of their first new album in 6 years, "Snakes and Arrows," Neil Peart, Alex Lifeson, and Geddy Lee drifted back to an older style of Rush. The music was little more edgy, a little harder. Lee's voice was in fantastic form, holding out song after song and allowing him to sing virtually the entire show in the same key as he originally recorded the pieces. I had never heard them perform "Limelight", the opening song, without dropping an octave for the vocals. It was a strong showing for a guy just days shy of his 55th birthday.
From the new album we were shown "The Main Monkey Business," "The Larger Bowl," "Far Cry," "Workin' Them Angels," "Armor and Sword," "Spondrift," "The Way The Wind Blows," and "Hope." It is impressive to witness a classic rock band perform new material without being booed off the stage ("Dude, play "Freebird!").
With more than three decades of material from which to draw, the band also pulled out more rare songs like "Entre Nous," "Natural Science," and "Dreamline." Never ones to short-change the crowd, Rush rounded out the almost 30-song set list with such perennial favorites as "Tom Sawyer," (introduced by "South Park" stars Stan, Kyle, and Cartman, no less), "Free Will," and "YYZ."
I sat next to a man who was seeing Rush for the first time. Several times, he referred to it as a "bucket list" item he could now cross off. He had missed them playing in the early 70's at a high school in Wausau. Nobody knew who they were. Several times during the show, I looked over at him and saw the happiest face. All he could talk about during the first intermission I have ever seen the band take was how the next time Rush came to town he would have to bring his wife.
We both puzzled over the poultry theme running throughout the show. Onstage were three tall rotisserie ovens labeled "Henhouse," each containing several dozen fake chickens, which slowly turned the entire time.
Many of the screen animations featured chickens and chicken-themed skits, too. It was far less distracting than previous shows, which had, among other things, vending machines and washer/dryer pairs. It still left us wondering and occasionally realizing that instead of paying attention to the music we had been staring at prop fowl.
That is all part of Rush. It might help explain why they are one of the only successful and relevant bands from the early 70's who can sell out an arena yet fly under the radar when they are not touring.
As I was walking out, another fan caught a tech's attention when we walked past the soundboard. He said, "Awesome show, man! Awesome sound!" The tech replied, "I know! That kicked ASS!" And that very well sums up the evening...Rush delivered the absolute best show I have seen perform.
OnMilwaukee.com Summerfest Guide: Rush delivers a knockout show at Marcus
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