It”s been twenty five years since RUSH last graced the Halifax Metro Centre stage on November 2, 1987.
The long hiatus seemed to be forgiven with tremendous applause when bassist and frontman Geddy Lee addressed the sold out crowd of nearly 10,000 in Halifax on Friday night.
Beginning their first set just after 7:30pm, the group, which also features Alex Lifeson on the guitar, and Neil Peart on drums, opened up with “Subdivisions”, a staple song off the “Signals” album which deals with the group’s days in high school.
As the rock n’ roll continued, the boys explored many of their popular hits such as “Limelight” which had many crowd members playing “air” to Peart’s perfectly precision drumming.
Fan favorites such as “The Big Money”, “Force Ten” and “Grand Designs” also echoed through the Metro Centre.
Newer RUSH tunes could also be heard through set one, with “Far Cry” from 2007’s Snakes & Arrows finishing things up with loud and fire-ridden pyro.
If set one wasn’t enough, there we’re no signs of stopping as the group entered set two at 9:05, right on time, making up for the late show start like a flight in headwind.
The most exciting part of the set was the presence of the “Clockwork Angels String Ensemble”, a first for the group who have eyed the idea for many years.
With the help of violins, cellos and more, the band tore through songs from their new album such as “Headlong Flight”, “The Wreckers”, “The Anarchist” and more, featuring many drum and guitar solos, a favorite among RUSH fans.
To close set two, Geddy & Co again had the crowd playing air guitar and drums to smash hits “YYZ” and “The Spirit of Radio”.
Perhaps one of the most exciting times was the 25 minute encore which featured “Tom Sawyer” as well as several parts of the 2112 Overture including the “Grand Finale” to end another amazing night of rock in Halifax.
With Halifax being the sole East Coast city for the tour, fans came from everywhere, including Newfoundland to witness a show two decades in the waiting. Many celebrities were also in attendance including the stars of “Trailer Park Boys” in which members of the band made several cameo appearances.
The message is crystal clear that Halifax LOVES Rush, and to celebrate, the band play a second show Sunday night with tickets still available as of publication.
Tickets to the July 14th show can be obtained through the Ticket Atlantic Box office, ticketatlantic.com, by phone at 451-1221 and at any Atlantic Superstore in HRM.
