Recently nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Rush brought their talents to the First Niagara Center this past Friday. Still a solid trio consisting of Neil Peart on drums, Geddy Lee on bass and Alex Lifeson on guitar, the band played two (2) fantastic sets encompassing their entire career.
The first set was mix of songs, while the second set focused on new material from their recent album “Clockwork Angels.” Rush’s stage setup always makes for good conversation and this tour’s stage was no exception. Circular LED screens shaped like tweeters and old jukeboxes with a popcorn machine filled the background. Also, plenty of lights and, yes, some pyro complete with explosions were included in the set as well.
To me, Peart’s drumming is worth the price of admission alone. Playing effortlessly throughout, he even added some digital beats to his second solo and it went over very well. Lifeson does more with one guitar than most bands do with two axemen. His playing on “Force Ten” and “The Analog Kid” was spot on. Lee, at times, struggled vocally with some of the older material but flourished on all the new material, especially from “Clockwork Angels.” He went between the keyboards and bass the entire night. Lee’s energy seemed to propel the band throughout the show.
The band had a string ensemble that accompanied them throughout the second set. They were kind of hidden behind Peart’s drum kit and I would have liked to have seen them placed on the side instead. I liked how the band is trying to keep things fresh and bringing along the string section was a great idea for this run. All of the new songs went over well and the highlight for me was “The Garden.”
Coming out for an encore, the band threw t-shirts into the crowd with Peart using a bazooka to launch one. Closing with one of my favorite songs in “2112 Overture,” Rush sent away most of the fans with everlasting smiles on their faces!
Set List:
Set 1:
Subdivisions
The Big Money
Force Ten
Grand Designs
Limelight
Territories
The Analog Kid
Bravado
Where’s My Thing? (with Drum Solo)
Far Cry
Set 2 (With the Clockwork Angels String Ensemble):
Caravan
Clockwork Angels
The Anarchist
Carnies
The Wreckers
Headlong Flight (with drum solo)
Halo Effect
Seven Cities of Gold
The Garden
Manhattan Project
Drum Solo
Red Sector A
YYZ
The Spirit of Radio
Encore (Without the Clockwork Angels String Ensemble):
Tom Sawyer
2112 Part I: Overture
2112 Part II: The Temples of Syrinx
2112 Part VII: Grand Finale
