Rush Saturday

Here is my review for Chron.com & 29-95.

http://www.29-95.com/music/story/rush-offer-generous-mix-old-and-new

It was quite a week for Hugo Hinojosa and his brother Hector. They saw Rush in San Antonio on Wednesday, Houston on Saturday, and Dallas on Sunday. Since 1997, they haven’t missed one Rush show in the state of Texas.

"My wife told me, 'I don't understand, but go,'" Hugo said prior to seeing the band at the Cynthia Wood Mitchell Pavilion on Saturday.

Rush performed their Time Machine tour to a nearly sold-out crowd in the Woodlands, tearing through a three-hour mix of material spanning the band's 40-year career, including the multi-platinum album Moving Pictures in its entirety.

Not content to live off of past glories, Rush played half of the songs in the set from records released well after the band’s heyday as they ping-ponged back and forth between old and new, echoing the theme for the night.

Fans, a diverse mix that included middle-aged men in golf shirts with their sons and teenage girls with nose rings in concert tees, were as responsive to new material --including BU2B (short for Brought Up to Believe) and Caravan, two songs from Rush’s yet-to-be-released new album -- as they were to hits like Spirit of Radio, Freewill and Tom Sawyer. To say they’re devoted to the prog-rock outfit is an understatement.

Rush is known for dexterous instrumental skills and complex musical arrangements. That may not have led to critical acclaim or recognition (despite the group having more platinum albums than anyone save the Beatles, they have yet to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame), but it has inspired an incredibly loyal following among fans who seem to share not just a love of music, but a similar sense of humor.

Two videos displayed on a massive screen behind the stage featured bassist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson and drummer Neil Peart as characters in the telling of the “real story of the band, Rash.” A third video included Paul Rudd and Jason Segal reprising their characters from the movie I Love You Man, sneaking backstage at a Rush concert with phony all-access passes. The final video gave the guys in the band a chance to poke fun at themselves, discussing how the nine women they saw in attendance “must be a record.”

But it wasn’t all fun and games. This is a well-oiled machine, and the skills of each member were on full display. The high point was clearly Peart’s extended drum solo, Love 4 Sale, complete with up-close video displays of his hands and feet that had the feel of an instructional video.

Peart, Lifeson and Lee, all three pushing 60 years old, are boundlessly energetic and clearly have not seen their talents wane. Peart, widely considered one of the best drummers of all time, is arguably better now than ever, having re-tooled his drumming method over the last decade much the way a golfer overhauls his swing.

The skills of all three were particularly evident on instrumentals Leave That Thing Alone, YYZ and La Villa Strangiato, which they ripped through with frightening precision. Very few Rush songs are without intricacy, and songs like Far Cry and Subdivisions were flawless. Even the often-requested, 11-minute Camera Eye felt fresh despite the fact that it hasn’t been performed by the band since 1983.

Even for casual fans not impressed by musical wizardry, the layered videos like the high speed black and white montage of London and New York for Camera Eye and the vintage magician footage during Presto provided plenty of eye candy.

Rush closed out the set with a reggae-style Working Man that quickly morphed into the classic rock anthem before finishing in typical Rush fashion, with the members huddled together in the center of the stage egging each other on and laughing before pounding out the final notes. If it wasn’t clear before this point in the show, it became obvious that these middle-aged rockers remain very good – and still love the hell out of what they do.

As fans filed out to a polka version of Closer to the Heart playing over the loud speakers, it was clear that pyrotechnics, high tech lighting and loud guitars aside, this was not your average rock show. It was more than that, and fans like the Hinojosas knew it.

Yet critics still don’t like Rush.

“Yeah,” said Hugo Hinojosa, “and we don’t care.”

 

And here are some photos I snapped with the point and shoot.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffbalke/sets/72157624922255185/