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RUSH LG Arena Birmingham, 22 May 2011

Photo Gallery by Lee Millward

Would it be fair to say that on arrival I was greeted by cliché prog rock fan?

In fairness no, not at all, one thing that Rush always seem to pull off is maintaining and progressing their fan base. From the moment of arrival you could tell something special was about to take place. As the LG Arena filled up you could feel the buzz and excitement build. As the house lights went down and the HD screens crackled into live it was showtime.

The on screen introduction was a piece of pure kitsch genius, based in a diner with the house band doing wonderful reggae and disco covers of some classic Rush tracks, a great fun way to start. The opener was the evergreen 'The Spirit of Radio' followed by 'Time Stand Still' setting the tone for the night.

Instantly you could feel this crowd were in sing a long mode, well I say singalong I could even say bandalong if that even exists, with airdrums, air guitar and of course airbass this is crowd participation on another level – amazing.

As Rush got into their stride it became obvious that they are with out doubt a complete class act who as a trio outplay and outrock most bands on the planet. The technical skill of all three, Geddy, Alex and Neil, is quite simply amazing and by the looks on their faces they still enjoy every minute.

The set list reached back to the band's first offering in 1974 right up to date with tracks from the as yet unreleased album 'Clockwork Angels'.

What a lot of people had been looking forward to was the complete play through of 'Moving Pictures': 30 years ago this was released and contains some of the band's best loved tracks. It was a rare treat to here the camera eye played live.

This truly was a moving picture, a master class in playing our beloved music and a night that those in attendance will not forget for a very long time. 

Oh and of course the new working of 'Closer To The Heart', did it work? Damn right it did! In fact this old rocker was grinning like an idiot all the way home...pure class.

 

Review and photos by SamH

Photo Gallery by Lee Millward