My son and I had a blast at the Rush concert. And so did a whole lot of other people who packed the Shoreline Amphitheater on a weeknight. I actually knew a number of people in attendance; great minds think alike. I bumped into some friends I hadn’t seen in a long time, including one from high school who was not far from me in the vast lawn area (I much prefer the lawn at the Concord Pavilion, which is closer to the stage and sloped much better for visibility).
The music was great, as to be expected. It’s so inspiring to see the band in such great shape and still rockin’ out after more than 30 years of performing. It looked like they were having a great time and still loving what they are doing. I think it’s because they always stayed true to themselves, even when things were not going well in the earlier years. They faced a lot of pressure to become more commercial in order to survive as musicians after Caress of Steel’s disappointing tour and album sales. Instead, they took a big gamble by following their hearts and ended up producing the masterpiece that is 2112. And it still sounds great in 2010!
There was a distinctive “Passage to Bangkok” scent in the air that night. The weed smell was so obvious that I felt compelled to give my son a fatherly “don’t do drugs” speech. He replied that he had no idea what it was other than "those were the best smelling cigarettes he’s been around." Oh, boy.
My son was a trooper as we made it an extra late night by going out to eat with some friends after the show. These friends sat really close to the stage and got some fantastic concert photos. Some people have a real knack for taking good photos (a “Camera Eye”?), no matter how cheap or little their camera is. That picture in this blog of Geddy and Alex is one such photo.
Lastly, if you’re a fan of I Love You Man, then you would have gotten a real kick out of the video that played at the end of the concert. That' the first time I've ever seen a video at the end of a show. Too funny!
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