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TIME MACHINE TOŒR PICTURES
TD Garden - Boston, MassachusettsTIME MACHINE TOŒR PICTURES
September 14th, 2010
The "Time Machine 2010-11" Tour spanned from June 29th through October 17th, 2010 and March 30th through July 2nd, 2011
| Tour Dates | --- | Set List | --- | Tour Book |
"Concert Hall Echoes with the Sound of Excellence as Rush Wows Fans at Garden"
More than 40 years after their start in Toronto's bar scene, Rush might have become a clunky, decadent relic of classic rock, and might have done so several albums back. And their fans - which may rate as the most loyal fans any band has ever enjoyed - would probably forgive and understand.
But at a concert clocking in at more than three hours Tuesday at Boston's TD Garden, they took a different tack -ripping a path of fire through space and time.
If bassist and vocalist Geddy Lee joked that the band had "about 400 songs" to play and had to take a short break "because we're all about a thousand years old," time and age have not given Rush a nostalgic blear. Instead, they played harder and cleaner than ever, and as a band not historically prone to taking themselves too seriously, they seemed to be having more fun as well.
The concert - part of the final leg of the "Time Machine" tour - was all of what Rush is known for, only stronger -- slick sets, and an extravagance of sights and sounds, not to mention the unceasingly astonishing armory that is Neil Peart's ever-evolving drum kit and percussion arsenal.
But it was the unmatched musician's craft that set the tone for the night. The band finessed a remarkable number of songs from a long and rich catalogue of work, including two new songs -- "BU2B (Brought Up to Believe)" and "Caravan" -- from the forthcoming album "Clockwork Angels."
The melodic "Closer to The Heart," a perennial concert favorite, prompted a multi-voice choir from the audience.
Well, sure, that's one of the shorter ones.
But they also sang along when the band played the entire "Moving Pictures," marking the 30th anniversary of the 1980 album that featured the power-driven "Tom Sawyer."
Video skits - in which the band members themselves played several goofy characters -- took a playful poke at all things Rush -- their hair, clothes, and even their band name (which mutated into "Rash," and which Lee sported on a shirt during the first half of the show.)
Even with the technical precision that is their signature in live performance reverberated with a feeling of spontaneity. The 1982 hit "Subdivisions," from the synthesizer-heavy "Signals," pulsed with a chillingly contemporary edge, with lyrics that remain both moving and prophetic.
A reported technical glitch probably won't linger in concertgoers' minds, except perhaps for the quick recovery.
Anyone present might have had strong feelings about what marked the show's best moment.
This is mine - the band's "star man" logo on the back screen, followed by the satisfying blast of guitarist Alex Lifeson's opening chords of the dystopian "2112" - and the crowd's elation.
To quote from the concert opener, "The Spirit of Radio," all this machinery making modern music can still be open hearted. And, it is -- even more so now.
-Margaret Smith
The following photos from the September 14th, 2010 Boston, MA show are courtesy of Kathy Hicks-Murray
