Snakes and Arrows Tour

Last night I was blown away by the sheer force of a much neglected band that has probably been around longer than you have. It was the opening night of Rush's 2007 Snakes and Arrows tour and the venue was packed with anxious fans. The combination of their new album and their absence of three years from the music world really elevated the excitement. Unfortunately, the gates were opened 30 minutes later than expected but, when they did open, the crowd of people gathered outside them went wild.

One purchase of a T-shirt and tour program later, I was seated. Although my view was not the best in the venue, I could catch glimpses of Geddy, Alex, or Neil passing through an opening backstage every once in a while, which would always be followed by an uproar from the crowd. Finally, after what seemed like days of anticipation, the drum set was revealed from under its black veil, with its shiny new red finish adorned with the snakes and arrows logo. Two rotisserie ovens were also revealed which preceded a short laugh, knowing these were Geddy's new amps (replacing the Maytags from last tour). The crowd came to its feet to also see Dirk, Lerxst, and the Professor emerge from their backstage room. Immediately, Alex tore into the opening riff of "Limelight" followed by an uproar of satisfaction from the crowd, and the night began.

After the surprise of "Digital Man" and "Entre Nous" (two rarely played live songs), the emotional song "Mission" from Hold Your Fire (1987) brought some almost to tears, shortly followed by the tour de force that is "Freewill". Following it, was a new instrumental by the name of "The Main Monkey Business", which was at least 10 times better live than on the new CD. They then played their upcoming second single from Snakes and Arrows , "The Larger Bowl". The song was accompanied by moving pictures (pardon the Rush pun) of discrimination and poverty in this world. Shortly afterward though, the crowd got into its energetic mood again, when they announced they were going to play "Circumstances", a rare concert song from their '78 album Hemispheres. As expected, it was tuned down to fit the Geddy's deepening voice.

After "Between The Wheels" (which was accented with a brief guitar malfunction) and "Dreamline" (an awesome first set closer) we entered the first intermission, a chance for some to just sit down, and some to hit the restrooms. Soon we began to hear a sound like a storm coming on, speculation ran through the crowd about this being the opening to "Cygnus X-1" or "2112", but it was actually preceding a short video production, leading into the new single "Far Cry", which with its blisteringly heavy opening riff, brought the crowd to their feet and tempted even the most reserved music fan into pursuing the art of head-banging. This and the four other new songs from Snakes and Arrows that followed were accompanied by awesome video arrangements in the background (the "Far Cry" video was particularly great).

After five new songs though, the crowd began to get a bit antsy. Lucky for us, Geddy manned the keyboards and the band brought out the song I wanted to hear most: "Subdivisions". And as if that wasn't enough, Dirk took the microphone and announced they'd be playing the epic "Natural Science" from 1980's Permanent Waves, and they did not shorten it either.

This surprise was only followed by another when they began the much neglected "Witch Hunt" from their most popular album, Moving Pictures (1981). The song was accompanied by pillars of fire and creepy video.

We were then brought into an instrumental section consisting of the very catchy "Malignant Narcissism" (which featured Geddy on a fretless bass), a Neil Peart drum solo (which will tame even the most anxious of fans, unlike other drum soloists), and the acoustic solo "Hope" by Alex Lifeson.

Following the instrumental section was the only song I thought was a bummer, "Summertime Blues", which is a good song, but not necessary for Rush. Although this brought the excitement level down a bit, it was followed by none other than "The Spirit of Radio", which brought on the loudest uproar of the night. This and "Tom Sawyer" (preceded by a hilarious South Park video intro) closed the second set.

Of course, as all Rush fans know, you can always expect an encore, and it was so. They started into the lightning fast "One Little Victory" which was accompanied by an ending of multiple huge pillars of flames, and another surprise exploded through the amps, as they started "A Passage to Bangkok" which is rarely played any more. The only downside to this song was Alex coming in too early with the second "Asian fill" but, being the fantastic band they are, Dirk, Lerxst, and Pratt regrouped quickly. Finally the ever-pleasing ringing of the cymbal intro to the epitome of Rush instrumentals, "YYZ", rang out through the crowd and when it's abrupt ending came, our evening with Rush ended, leaving us wanting more.

In conclusion, this band of "musician's musicians" is still going strong with their new album. It's funny that although they've never been mainstream, they are still around after these 33 years, and have all their original members (something rarely seen in classic rock bands). This rock trio will continue blowing minds away for years to come, I'm sure, and the people seeing their next show on the tour are in for a treat.

JJ Posway, Age 15
RUSH concert Review
Atlanta, GA June 13 2007
Snakes and Arrows Tour

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