{"id":725,"date":"2013-05-04T16:11:58","date_gmt":"2013-05-04T20:11:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.alanporter.com\/?p=725"},"modified":"2013-05-04T16:11:58","modified_gmt":"2013-05-04T20:11:58","slug":"rush","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alanporter.com\/blog\/2013\/05\/04\/rush\/","title":{"rendered":"Rush Concert"},"content":{"rendered":"

I saw my first rock concert in November 1986… Journey, Greensboro. But that is another story.<\/p>\n

A year later, my second concert was Rush in Charlotte. My friends and I drove down from NC State to see their “Hold Your Fire” tour. \u00a0An excellent show, and one that left a memorable impression.<\/p>\n

Shortly after the show, the band announced more tour dates, including one at Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh, just a few hundred feet from my dorm room! \u00a0So my friends and I got tickets for that one, too. \u00a0On the day of the show, I won 2nd row tickets from our campus radio station, WKNC. \u00a0We were so close, I felt like I could high-five Geddy Lee.<\/p>\n

Fast forward 25 years, and now I have a family. \u00a0I don’t listen to classic rock that much, but I do try to raise my kids right, teaching them to pick out the important bands like Rush or Van Halen just from their style. \u00a0My older daughter has a good ear for that sort of thing, but my younger one simply guesses the same names for every song: Beatles, Prince, Van Halen. \u00a0Prince?? \u00a0Really?<\/p>\n

\"IMG_1598\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Last night, Rush came to PNC Arena in Raleigh as part of their Clockwork Angels tour, and I brought the family to see these legends of rock-n-roll. \u00a0We were not quite “high-five” close, but we had great seats — 18th row beside the stage (on Geddy Lee’s side, of course).<\/p>\n

For a bunch of 60-year-olds, the trio put on a great show. \u00a0Geddy Lee couldn’t hit the high notes that he could in the 80’s, but that did not slow them down at all.<\/p>\n

The stage was decorated in a steampunk theme, with lots of mechanical gear, and even a popcorn machine (at one point, a stagehand snuck on stage and grabbed some popcorn).<\/p>\n

The show was divided into three sets: two halves and a so-called “encore”.<\/p>\n

The first set was mostly from Moving Pictures, Signals, Power Windows, and Hold Your Fire (1981-1987). This was the Rush that I came to see.<\/p>\n

The second set dove into a lot of new stuff from the last 10 years that I am not really familiar with. \u00a0It was enjoyable, but not epic. They spiced up this part of the show, first with a hard-rockin’ string ensemble backup, and then later with some surprise pyrotechnics. Towards the end of this set, Sydney actually drifted off to sleep… at a rock concert.<\/p>\n

They finished up with an encore set of classics from Moving Pictures and 2112.<\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n

Play List<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
S<\/strong>et One<\/strong><\/p>\n
    \n
  • Subdivisions<\/li>\n
  • The Big Money<\/li>\n
  • Force Ten<\/li>\n
  • Grand Designs<\/li>\n
  • The Body Electric<\/li>\n
  • Territories<\/li>\n
  • The Analog Kid<\/li>\n
  • Bravado<\/li>\n
  • Where’s My Thing?<\/li>\n
  • Far Cry<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n
Set Two<\/strong><\/p>\n
    \n
  • Caravan<\/li>\n
  • Clockwork Angels<\/li>\n
  • The Anarchist<\/li>\n
  • Carnies<\/li>\n
  • The Wreckers<\/li>\n
  • Headlong Flight<\/li>\n
  • Halo Effect<\/li>\n
  • Seven Cities of Gold<\/li>\n
  • The Garden<\/li>\n
  • Manhattan Project<\/li>\n
  • Drum Solo<\/li>\n
  • Red Sector A<\/li>\n
  • YYZ<\/li>\n
  • The Spirit of Radio<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n
Encore:<\/strong><\/p>\n