Wembley Arena, London

Can't believe it's taken me 30 years to get around to seeing these guys live. For various reasons, either scheduling conflicts, work commitments, financial issues etc I have managed to miss every damn tour they have done in the UK. So I was absolutely determined to catch this one - especially as I hear rumours that they may not tour outside the US in future. Hope that's not true, because I want more.

A good mate of mine Tommo has been to see practically every Rush gig on their UK tour, and even went to Canada to see them last month. I thought he was mad... until I actually saw them myself that is.

Rush are one of the few bands that live up to the hype, who deserve their reputation as one of the best live bands around. I have all the live DVD's, but they don't really prepare you for the full-on onslaught of the live experience.

OK, I cannot say that the more recent recorded material has impressed me that much (though Snakes and Arrows was a vast improvement), particularly the late 80's/90's material. But they have always been considered a force to be reckoned with as a live band.

Wembley Arena does have a bit of a reputation for lousy sound, and true to form for the first couple of numbers it was not that great - in fact on the third song in it took me quite a while before I recognised it as Digital Man. Thankfully things improved after this.

What you get is a solid, almost 3 hour journey through Rush catalogue, with a lot of old faves, some rarely aired songs and 9 tracks from the new album. The new material, particularly The Main Monkey Business and Malignant Narcissism, really impressed, and it's good to see a band with such a wealth of older material put such emphasis and indeed faith in their new material. A greatest hits band Rush are certainly not.

Old faves? Yes, we get them too - Natural Science, Spirit Of Radio, Free Will, Hold Your Fire, Limelight, Tom Sawyer, Witch Hunt and many more.

The stage show is an interesting mixture of the old and the new - video screens, lasers, fireworks, flame jets, and an impressive set of 4 separate lighting rigs that would descend and move around the various band members, looking for all the world like the small spaceships that swarm around the mothership in Close Encounters. The video screens are very well utilised, at various times showing all 3 band members in crystal, digital clarity, or for various themed, mini-movies to go with the song being played. And then of course there are the little comedy moments, such as the hilarious South Park animated intro to Tom Sawyer, and Geddy Lee's bank of rotisserie ovens behind him full of roast chickens in place of amplifiers - they even have chef's come on stage occasionally to baste them!

Other highlights are YYZ - perhaps the only time I have ever heard a whole audience sing along to an instrumental, and Neil Pearts drum solo.

Yes, very glad indeed I caught this show, and looks like I may become a bit of a nutter like Tommo and follow them to the US or Canada on the next tour.

Share on Facebook