Rush
Mohegan Sun
Uncasville, Connecticut
July 19, 2010
Eric Paradis and Tony Pijar
The ‘Time Machine Tour’ hit Connecticut on a Monday evening and the crowds came out for a journey back and forth in the Rush timeline. Starting of with some ‘homemade’ movies making fun of their own history, Geddy, Alex and Neil began with “The Spirit of Radio” which commenced the synchronized air drumming! Their first set was a trip back into time as they weaved their way through the 80s before locking into almost-present time with “BU2B”. Alex’s guitar work was exemplary throughout as his solos filled the air. Several tracks from their last album, “Snakes and Ladders”, including “Faithless” brought us back to the present for a brief moment before returning the 70s and 80s to close out the first set.
Opening the second set, another ‘history of Rush’ video was shown, once again poking fun at themselves. They then launched into the entire “Moving Pictures” album in order. While the classics from that release were fun to hear, the crowd was keys up for the second side of that record and the band came through on “Camera Eye” which had not been played in close to 30 years! The songs were played with precision and tightness that Rush fans have come to expect. Coming back to the present with “Caravan”, it’s very clear that these guys love playing with each other and for their fans. Neil’s solo during “Love for Sale” showed that the drum master is still thinking big and breaking new ground with his work. Leading off the encore portion of the show with “La Villa Strangiato” might be risky for some bands, but this song really amped up the crowd. They finished off with “Working Man.”
The stage set was reminiscent of a Jules Vern novel: customized amps behind Alex and a very strange sausage grinder behind Geddy (!). That combined with the ongoing, innovative video backgrounds kept the time machine theme at the forefront. While many nostalgia tours just hash out their old hits, Rush continues to look into the future and like the song, their caravan keeps thundering onward.
