When I was in tenth or eleventh grade, my older brother asked me if I wanted to go to a Rush concert with him and some friends. Being invited into the world of post-high school guys was something you just didn't pass up. I was excited to be included. And though I'd seen one show before when my buddy's sister gave us free tickets to a Genesis concert, this performance was by Rush... bound to be infinitely cooler than the "Invisible Touch Tour."
My brother had been listening to Rush for a number of years. I'd heard the strains of "Tom Sawyer," "2112," and "Limelight" many times coming out of his stereo. Rush was definitely an acquired taste, but the grandiose tales of fantasy and futuristic narratives mixed with philosophical underpinnings... all filtered through Geddy Lee's shrieking voice made Rush quite unique. Throw in three of the most incredible musicians you'll ever hear and you have quite a combination. For me, I think those lyrics just always made Rush interesting. They weren't singing about getting wasted and banging chicks. They were throwing out these epics suites about spaceships, mythical battles, witch-hunts, and all kinds of other crazy things. I felt a lot smarter listening to Rush than I did hearing all of the hair-metal garbage coming our way in the mid-eighties. My tastes have changed a lot over the years, but I always get a little nostalgic whenever I hear the opening notes of one of their songs.
Prior to going to that first concert, my brother gave me a bunch of Rush's albums and said, "Study these." One of the first songs that really stuck out to me was "Fly By Night." Listening to it now, I still think it's their most radio-friendly song. It's short, which is not something you say about many Rush tunes, and has an almost catchy melody and chorus. I love Alex Lifeson's guitar solo in it too. He gets totally overshadowed by Geddy Lee and Neil Peart, gods of their respective instruments, but Alex would be a guitar god in any other band. There's a cool percussive part right near the beginning of it... three tinny hits on something. Knowing Neil Peart, it could be a 2x4, a metal plate, a glass tube... who knows, but everytime I get to that part I have to air-drum those three hits. It's a great song. Thanks, big brother, for the introduction.
My brother had been listening to Rush for a number of years. I'd heard the strains of "Tom Sawyer," "2112," and "Limelight" many times coming out of his stereo. Rush was definitely an acquired taste, but the grandiose tales of fantasy and futuristic narratives mixed with philosophical underpinnings... all filtered through Geddy Lee's shrieking voice made Rush quite unique. Throw in three of the most incredible musicians you'll ever hear and you have quite a combination. For me, I think those lyrics just always made Rush interesting. They weren't singing about getting wasted and banging chicks. They were throwing out these epics suites about spaceships, mythical battles, witch-hunts, and all kinds of other crazy things. I felt a lot smarter listening to Rush than I did hearing all of the hair-metal garbage coming our way in the mid-eighties. My tastes have changed a lot over the years, but I always get a little nostalgic whenever I hear the opening notes of one of their songs.
Prior to going to that first concert, my brother gave me a bunch of Rush's albums and said, "Study these." One of the first songs that really stuck out to me was "Fly By Night." Listening to it now, I still think it's their most radio-friendly song. It's short, which is not something you say about many Rush tunes, and has an almost catchy melody and chorus. I love Alex Lifeson's guitar solo in it too. He gets totally overshadowed by Geddy Lee and Neil Peart, gods of their respective instruments, but Alex would be a guitar god in any other band. There's a cool percussive part right near the beginning of it... three tinny hits on something. Knowing Neil Peart, it could be a 2x4, a metal plate, a glass tube... who knows, but everytime I get to that part I have to air-drum those three hits. It's a great song. Thanks, big brother, for the introduction.
My introduction to Rush was the Grace Under Pressure tour which involved imbibing a Foster's tallboy chug. Talk about burbs haha.
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