That's amazing! I thought it was a joke all the way! It's a great way to honor Neil in front of the fans! I thought they were done for sure. Alex's tendonitis must be manageable still. I never would have expected this...ever. And, Fort Worth is my back yard and they are playing here twice.
My phone's been blowing up all day. I thought it was a joke at first. Not sure how I feel about this though. It's their music and they've more than earned the right to do whatever they want with it but....just doesn't feel right to me. Maybe call it something besides Rush. Like "A Night with Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson" or something like that. Maybe I'm just jealous that they didn't call me first.
My son TEXTED me to see if I was interested to see them in NYC. As much as I love Rush. If it ain't Neil it ain't real. Except one album with Rutsy
Can't fault the guys for still wanting to play their tunes live. They miss playing them. I'm sure Neil would approve. I would have created the show around a holographic Neil personally. Lord knows there is more than enough footage to recreate him. It's not like they are making new music. Will we miss Neil? Of course and badly. But, something is better than nothing imo. I think it will be cool to see someone else play Neil's parts in a whole set. No sense in trying to play just like Neil exactly. Let your own personal style shine through. They actually might want to consider situations where Neil is playing along on the big screen behind them or even having him play one of his signature drum solos on the screen as they take a break.
If you're going to do this, maybe go the Journey route and pick a superfan from YouTube. Brandon Toews is a huge Neil Peart fan, so as a tribute to The Professor, he put together this drum medley over the course of 10 weeks. He recorded full takes in their entirety (nope…we didn’t just piece this together song by song). The setup Brandon used for this performance incorporates different elements from the drum kits Neil used over his 40 years with Rush. This includes the legendary tubular bells, gong drum, and electronic pads. Enjoy this Rush medley in memory of Neil Peart and original drummer John Rutsey.
The "Not 'Rush' without Neil" a-holes are out in full force all over. It's a tribute tour as an excuse to play their music while honoring Neil. Duh. They didn't get a proper tribute to Neil before because of COVID. Obviously, these purists are not going to the shows then. So, maybe easier to get better seats? lol As a joke, I would call the band 'Rash' to appease the "Not 'Rush' without Neil" asshats. Rash where the 'a' is for Anika! Rash has always been a running joke. Ged even wore shirts with Rash on it.
I gave in. My son got us on the presale list for the shows at MSG next July. I hope I don't go broke. Hopefully the live nation/ticket master situation gets sorted soon.
