I got an early birthday present! My favorite Canadians were in town, and Danielle loves me enough that she came with me and partook in the awesomeness. And 'twas awesome. Geddy, Alex, and Neil remain top-notch musicians and performers at sixty years old. Seeing them live is like seeing three grand masters at chess elucidating complex strategy, only with indoor pyrotechnics and a stack of speakers the size of a bus. I felt very privileged to bask in their musical glow once more.
Set 1They started off with the sonorous synth power of "Subdivisions", and people went wild. Then the '80s continued with "Big Money", "Force Ten", "Grand Designs", "Limelight", "Territories", and "The Analog Kid". Holy cats, were they rocking! They stayed fairly true to the studio versions throughout (except for a cool little electronica/guitar break in "Force Ten"), but the power of the songs needed little embellishment anyway. It was particularly stunning to see "Territories" live, one of the hardest rocking anti-war anthems out there, and then followed up by "The Analog Kid" at least five clicks faster than the already blistering original! Alex pulled off the knotty, looping guitar riff with nary a hitch.
Geddy's bass was spectacular throughout, Alex's harmonic-laden '80s soloing was in full flourish, and Neil kept things tight on his massive electro-acoustic drumkit. After The Kid, they slowed things down a bit for the emotional "The Pass", and then Geddy started going wild on that bass. I wish I could do justice to his solo - short, sweet, fat, and fleet, I was slackjawed in amazement and wondering what song this was, when the guitar kicked in and it was... yes, it was the fine instrumental "Where's My Thing?" from 1991, complete with a visit from a man in a gorilla suit and an extensive drum solo from Mr. Peart, who flexed every sinew of his kit. Any other sixty-year-old would need a defibrillator by the five minute mark, but he kept on going, more powerful than ever. They blazed through the hard-edged "Far Cry" from 2008 before taking a break. As Geddy explained before they left the stage, "We really are quite old, and need a rest."
Set 2
They were gone barely 20 minutes before the second set started up. (Granted, they showed a little movie with bizarre Canadian humor which gave them a bit more of a breather...) Accompanied by an eight-piece string section, the band launched into their new album, Clockwork Angels. The songs translated very well on stage, and there were a few surprises along the way. "Caravan" featured fireworks, flames (a little close to the string players, yikes!), and a hungry solo from Alex. It transitioned well into "Clockwork Angels", a mini-epic delivered with aplomb, and with Neil's drum kit spinning around a few times, just for fun. On to "The Anarchist", where the strings complemented the band's muscular arpeggios. Next we saw "Carnies" and "The Wreckers" - two songs I hadn't gotten into as much on the album, but live they were fantastic, with another lightning-fast solo from Lifeson during the latter tune. "Headlong Flight", another excellent epic, featured a second (brief) drum solo from Neil and insane guitar/bass interplay. Alex got a calm fingerpicking moment to introduce the uptempo ballad "Halo Effect". Finally, they ended with the rocking "Wish Them Well" and the beautiful "The Garden". To close out the set, the guys put together a generous coda of fan favorites: "Dreamline", an excerpt from "Mystic Rhythms" (yes, a third drum solo, this one almost exclusively V-drums and quite melodic), "Red Sector A", "YYZ", and "Spirit of Radio". All were excellent. "YYZ" was another jaw-dropper as it always is, and it featured some more fun and games with the string section doubling the main riff, various people roaming the stage in costume, and actor Paul Rudd showing up to do some air bass and take over the role of string conductor. For encore, we got "Tom Sawyer" (of course) and - be still my heart - parts I, II, and VII of "2112"! After three hours of playing, I can't believe those guys pulled out another epic piece at the end. It was the perfect way to wrap it all up.
Arbitrary rating: 5 out of 5 grand masters
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