I think we may have another Rush fan in the Feary clan.  Hale caught her first show last Saturday.  The Canadian trio played Jiffy Lube Live in Bristow, Virginia September 18.  We drove up in the morning for a day of festivities rounded out by the show.

Yes, we took in a little history making sure we were one of the few who got into the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center when they opened at 10am.  After a quick check-in at our hotel and lunch, we scooted over to the Manassas Battlefield Park to check out Stonewall.  It was a productive day and one we won’t forget for a while.

The main attraction no doubt was Rush.  After Hale showed an interest in the band weeks ago, I secured tickets online.  Hale was sporting her Fly By Night tee with matching Rush shoe laces on her Chuck Taylors.  I donned my R30 tee from 2004.  We were quite the pair.

Hale was releived to see lots of kids her age, excuse me ,”people of her generation”.  Maybe it was the 300 level seats, or maybe it was a bunch of old Dads like me trying to pass something along.  I dunno but it made Hale more relaxed and that made me confident I would see an entire show without interuption.

And I should give Hale credit.  She was a trooper.  As a matter of fact I don’t think I’ve seen her smile so wide and for so long in a while.  If anything it was worth it just for that!

So onto the show eh… Rush.  These guys have played all summer long and they sounded like it.  I think this is the first show in a couple of decades where I didn’t think they sounded better than the last.  It may have been where we were seated/standing.  It certainly could have been the way the show was mixed.  The self-restricting flow of tall boys may have damaged my ear drums too.  As much as I love Rush it pains me to say that this wasn’t as good as shows past.  But there were plenty of highlights.

I don’t believe I have ever heard YYZ or La Villa Strangiato played as fast.  Wow.  Machines were on fire.  The front row had eye brows seared away.  The blue jays in the forest were eating scrambled eggs.  For music that supposedly was beyond their talents, Rush demonstrated mastery of their writing in playing these instrumentals.

Hale was leaping for joy upon hearing Spirit of the Radio and Tom Sawyer.  She also was happy to hear several songs off my recent mixes.  Faithless, Freewill, Presto, Stick It Out, and Red Barchetta were all tunes I passed along to her iPod.  I was just as happy to hear them as she was.

Although Time Stand Still wasn’t as polished as I would have expected, I was pleased to hear that tune. My late brother Dwan gifted me the album that featured the single.  I recall listening to the cassette while driving through the Morgan County moonlight just minutes after unwrapping it.  I still have that tape.  Thanks Bro!

I was curious to see how playing the entire Moving Pictures album front to back would work.  I enjoyed it but it lacked the gusto down the stretch that I was expecting.  Even Geddy Lee pronounced, “that was the Moving Pictures album, the whole damn thing.”  Just once, one tour, I would like to see these guys come out and play unique set lists each show.  Forget the production, the video, and the effects.  Just play one unique set list after another.

Still, in a time where the bee-boppers only can lip-sync for an hour or so, you can’t deny three guys playing 26 songs over a couple of hours.  There is no one like Rush and most likely never will be in my time.  They have an album being released soon, me thinks.  If you missed them this time around, don’t be left out next time.

Peace…