A TRIP BACK THROUGH THE HITS

June 30, 2011

Returning to Vancouver, their Time Machine Tour in tow, the legendary rock trio Rush kicked off the Canada Day Long weekend with thousands of fans at Rogers Arena Thursday night.

Filled with rotating coloured lights that swept across the packed stadium like fireworks, live music, and Canadian icons, it was a show for the ages. Certainly one worth reliving if time travel becomes a reality.

Following a funny video introduction featuring a band called Rash, the iconic group of Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and Neil Peart, took the stage to the opening strums of "The Spirit of Radio", forcing the crowd to their feet.

"Time Stand Still", "Stick It Out", and "Leave That Thing Along" followed, propelling the crowd into a Rushified state of being.

Born out of the Toronto neighbourhood of Willowdale in 1968, over the years Rush has carved out a name for themselves with prolific talent, complex compositions, and diverse lyrics.

Paul Rudd and Jason Segel—the pair made a concert cameo in one of the night's comical videos—summed it up best in the film I Love You Man when they dubbed the band the "Holy Triumvirate".

Over the past forty years the group has established a religious following that has launched them into the territory of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, the only rock bands they trail in terms of the most consecutive gold or platinum studio albums.

The stage setup was simple and classic. A glistening drum kit stood between a set of old fashioned radios. The screen behind the stage projected grainy black and white images, playing into the time travel theme as multi-coloured lights lit the stage from all directions in contrast.

Sounding phenomenal, the progressive rockers threw a couple songs off their upcoming album Clockwork Angels into the mix, including the hard rocking "BU2B".

Recognized as one of the most inventive bands in rock history, the trio are also known for their being master musicians, which was on full display tonight. The second half of the three-hour show was about as chalked full of quality sound and impressive craftsmanship as one could hope for.

After the intermission, the dial on the time machine began to rapidly spin, changing the band members in the video from seniors to babies to cavemen to wizards, before sticking on 1980, as the real group ripped into the classic, "Tom Sawyer".

The power trio continued to play the entire track list from 1981's quadruple-platinum album Moving Pictures. From "Red Barchetta" to "Limelight", the crowd ate up every note.

Punctuated with an epic drum solo from Peart, the band sounded incredible tonight. The show was a perfect selection from a hall of fame career.

After an encore of "La Villa Strangiato", and "Working Man" off the Canadian rockers' self-titled debut released in 1974, the crowd began to slowly file out of the stadium, bursting with patriotic pride. What a rush.