Well, that was great. Anika is a very proficient and powerful drummer, and learning Rush’s complex songs in the first place must have been very challenging. Certain elements can’t really be dispensed with (as they’re permanently a part of the songs), but then she also brings her own style to it. Loren played keyboards in a few more songs than I expected, and he and Alex also did occasional backup vocals. Geddy’s voice was pretty strong, especially given that he’s 73 and that he recently had a brief setback. We found the mix to be heavy on Geddy’s bass (and on his occasional keyboards) and on Anika’s drums, although Alex’s main riffs and solos were balanced in reasonably well.
We heard the setlist with side one of “2112” (the whole suite) and all of side one of “Moving Pictures” (just not in the album order), plus side two’s “Witch Hunt” and a nice variety of other material from 1974 to 2012. Other highlights for me were the opener “Xanadu,” the two instrumental pieces (including “YYZ”), “The Trees,” Geddy’s story of day one with Neil as an intro to “Anthem,” Alex’s hilarious intro to “A Passage to Bangkok,” “Time Stand Still” (Aimee Mann’s guest vocals were on video), and “Caravan.”
The video elements were impressive and extensive, and they included several, nice tribute moments of Neil Peart speaking from interviews. The encores of the two earliest songs also highlighted images with original drummer John Rutsey.
We ended up getting much better seats at the 100 level rather than our original back-corner 300-level nosebleeds, thanks to some kind-soul young man from Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena staff, who said it was our lucky day! Some photos thanks to Vicky.
Durrell Bowman 