On Thursday, May 7th 2015 I got on a plane in Montreal and roughly 6 hours later got off another plane in a city I never thought I would ever in a million years visit; Tulsa, Oklahoma. I didn’t / don’t have anything against Tulsa, I just never thought it would be somewhere that I would pass through. Clearly, I had a reason to pass through this time, and it was to see the first show of Rush’s R40 Tour. In addition to being a fan of the band, we’ve also been working on Rush.com, so I’ve become intimately involved for the past 6 months in all things Rush. Over that time I’ve also been able to collaborate with Happy Cog on the project and become friends with HC’s founder Greg Hoy, the biggest Rush fan in the whole world.
On Friday, after a few hours of working with the team, we got a few late afternoon, pre-show treats. First, we were able to attend the sound check and listen to the band get ready for the evening. We as a result also got a sneak peek into some of the special songs they were going to play that evening. Second, we were invited to the meet and greet and got a chance to say hi to and get our photo taken with Alex and Geddy. Finally, we got our seats upgraded and ended up with a killer spot (as you can see by the photos in this post).
If you are planning to see the band this year and don’t want to know want to know what the show is going to be like then STOP READING RIGHT HERE.
To celebrate the 40th anniversary of Neil Peart joining RUSH, the band decided to play their show as a kind of trip through time. They started with their most recent material and gradually moved backwards through the years. The set up on stage also changed reflecting the different periods of the songs. The stage went from full on steam punk gear from their last tour to two amps on a gymnasium chair. Set One went from Clockwork Angels to Signals and Set Two went from Moving Pictures all the way back to their first album.
Set One
Video: The World is … The World is > Clockwork Angels > The Anarchist > Headlong Flight (with mini drum solo) > Far Cry > Main Monkey Business > One Little Victory > Animate > Roll the Bones > Distant Early Warning > Subdivisions
Set Two
Video: No Country for Old Hens > Tom Sawyer > Red Barchetta > The Spirit of Radio > Jacob’s Ladder > Cygnus X-1 Book Two: Hemispheres – Prelude > Cygnus X-1 Book One – The Voyage: Part 1 > Drum Solo > Cygnus X-1 Book One – The Voyage: Part 3 > Closer to the Heart > Xanadu> 2112 Overture / Temples of Syrinx / Presentation / Grand Finale
Encore
Video: Mel’s Rockpile starring Eugene Levy > Lakeside Park > Anthem > What You’re Doing > Working Man > Video: Exit Stage Left
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