An Evening with Rush at the House that Michael Built was a fun time. I bought my ticket the night before, ended up in a section at stage left (Rush geek reference!). Ticketmaster had text that read, "WARNING: This seat is next to the stage!" so I wondered if my view might be blocked by a curtain, or some equipment, but no, I had a very excellent view of the stage and the band. Section 120, Row 10, seat 14, if you've ever been there.
I did not take notes on the set list. I'm sure you can find it online someplace if you want to know. Rush did a cool rocked up arrangement of "Presto" that I enjoyed a great deal. I was also happy to see that the newer material did not provide an excuse for most people to go the rest rooms - they stayed and appeared to know and enjoy the newer stuff. You don't see that with a lot of older bands.
Ged did some "slappin' da bass" during the outros of “Leave That Thing Alone” and "Red Barchetta" that was very impressive. Alex did a new solo acoustic piece, instead of "Hope", which segued into "Closer to the Heart". Neil's drum solo was also new - I noticed he's actually dropped a few bits that he's done for years!
I must say that I think Neil's drumming is better than it's ever been. When Neil first began taking lessons from Freddie Gruber I didn't like the resulting change in his drumming style (as heard on Test for Echo). But I love what's happened since, and especially post-S&A. His drumming just swings! It’s very open and jazzy, and he makes it look effortless. His old material sounds so stiff compared to where he's at now.
Ged made a crack about the Blackhawks. "Isn't Chicago the home of the Stanley Cup Champions? I thought that was Toronto. Enjoy it while you can" or something along that line.
As usual, they came out and went to work and didn't disappoint.
