Rush's 30th anniversary tour came to Northeastern Ohio yesterday and despite being at one of my least favorite venues (Blossom), I went and had a great time. The weather was dreary so I was glad that I had a pavillion seat. The seating and the acoustics are fine at Blossom, it's just everything else that sucks - the ticket prices are too high ($70!), you usually have to park in the grass (several people were getting stuck trying to get out last night because of the wet ground) far away from the venue itself, there are only a few exits so getting in and out is a pain, the beer costs $8.00, etc. Rush is the only band I'd ever bother seeing at Blossom.

They started promptly at eight and opened with a retrospective medley of songs from their first 6 albums, performed in front of a backdrop of old and rare photos of the band from the early days. They then proceeded to play a variety of songs from all of their 17 studio albums for the next 3 hrs with a 15 minute intermission.

To celebrate their 30 years together, they did something very uncharacteristic for Rush and decided to put out a covers EP of songs from the late 60s that they used to play when they were first starting out - the EP comes out at the end of this month. They played a few (4) of these throughout the night. By far my favorite was their cover of The Who's The Seeker. It was weird seeing Rush perform someone else's music, but I loved it.

Much of the format, song selection and videos were the same as from the last tour, but they changed a few things around and the addition of the cover songs really made it interesting. I think Neil's drum solo was the same as from the last tour - and it was incredible as usual. Everyone stood up and cheered when he began. At most shows when a drum solo begins, people take the time to go to the bathroom or get a beer - not at a Rush show. Seeing probably the best living drummer alive is not something to be missed.

I'm anxiously awaiting the release of Rush's EP, Feedback at the end of the month. They also plan to head back into the studio soon - which means they'll be touring again in a couple years. Cool.

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