So I went to see Rush on Thursday; on the “Fifty Something” tour, with Annika Niles as the drummer. I’ve never seen them before, and I’ve been a fan for decades, albeit a pretty lapsed one since high school. It was phenomenal! One thing I wasn’t ready for was how funny and emotional it was. Obviously, Lee and Lifeson have 50+ years of history with Peart, but Rush is perhaps the most singularly humourless band in history, so the looseness was unexpected. They can’t swing, but they can joke!

Here’s the setlist; it was much more emotionally laden and complex than I was expecting. They did a tribute to Rutley! They played “Working Man” for him! Obviously, I get it – that much time in a van, travelling around, you have strong emotional connections, you build these complex relationships, you obviously love the other folks. But the music is just so dour! It made me simultaneously delighted I got to see them, and kind of sad I didn’t go earlier?

One thing about Rush is clearly that the band is a lot less incel-chuddy than loads of their fans, and so, I bought a t-shirt, designed to make the chuds angry. It was designed by Alex for Geddy’s birthday! And then they made it part of the official tour merch!