Rush "Time Machine Tour" concert on Saturday, April 2, 2011 at the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, NC
There were three negatives going in. One, I knew I had to be a ticket scalper since one of the guys I bought a ticket for backed out on me a few weeks ago. I told him I'd try to sell his ticket at the door, but if I couldn't, he'd owe me the price of the ticket. Two, since this show was inexplicably rescheduled from Friday, April 1 to Saturday, April 2 sometime earlier this week, it meant missing the Final Four. Three, I knew what they were going to play before I ever even entered the coliseum. I don't think the set list has changed once since the start of the first leg.
Rush Setlist:
1. The Spirit Of Radio
2. Time Stand Still
3. Presto
4. Stick It Out
5. Workin' Them Angels
6. Leave That Thing Alone
7. Faithless
8. BU2B
9. Freewill
10. Marathon
11. Subdivisions
- - - Intermission - - -
12. Tom Sawyer
13. Red Barchetta
14. YYZ
15. Limelight
16. The Camera Eye
17. Witch Hunt
18. Vital Signs
19. Caravan
20. *Drum Solo*
21. Closer To The Heart
22. 2112 (Part I: Overture & Part II: The Temple of Syrinx)
23. Far Cry
Encore:
24. La Villa Strangiato
25. Working Man
Three men on a stage have never produced such a sound. It was the best classic electric rock vibe I've ever heard live. These guys can PLAY. Peart delivered an awesome drum solo, as I expected him to, complete with a rotating "time machine" drum kit. This concert went on and on and on and on and on, it clocked out after at least three hours. After Subdivisions, Geddy said "were old men… we need a break." A twenty-minute intermission ensued.
Rush has experimented with different sounds throughout their career, and the purpose of this tour, as presented in the title of the tour, was to take the audience through the decades to experience their prowess and amazing repertoire. Many think of Rush as a very serious band that's all music and no play, others as some type of alternative heavy metal; but they are neither. They are a fun-loving progressive rock band, and they smiled often and danced around on stage simply having fun while displaying amazing musicianship. The first set had some great stuff, including one of my favorites, "Leave That Thing Alone," an instrumental with some really catchy guitar work. "The Spirit of Radio," "Time Stand Still," "Freewill," "Marathon," and "Subdivisions" are all great songs. There was a large screen behind the stage they played films on. Often it was a clock counting down to a particular year - usually signifying the year of a particular song release of the song getting ready to be played, or in one case, an album release. During the intermission, the clock counted up to 1980, the year Moving Pictures was released. At the start of the second set, "Tom Sawyer" came on and they played Moving Pictures in full.
They also played some material from their upcoming release, Clockwork Angels, notably, "BU2B," and "Caravan."
They only played the first two parts to 2112. I would've loved to see the whole thing played. But it is a twenty-minute song… and they played for over three hours as it was… I guess these old men can only do so much.
But for old men, they still rock pretty hard.
Three men on a stage have never produced such a sound. It was the best classic electric rock vibe I've ever heard live. These guys can PLAY. Peart delivered an awesome drum solo, as I expected him to, complete with a rotating "time machine" drum kit. This concert went on and on and on and on and on, it clocked out after at least three hours. After Subdivisions, Geddy said "were old men… we need a break." A twenty-minute intermission ensued.
Rush has experimented with different sounds throughout their career, and the purpose of this tour, as presented in the title of the tour, was to take the audience through the decades to experience their prowess and amazing repertoire. Many think of Rush as a very serious band that's all music and no play, others as some type of alternative heavy metal; but they are neither. They are a fun-loving progressive rock band, and they smiled often and danced around on stage simply having fun while displaying amazing musicianship. The first set had some great stuff, including one of my favorites, "Leave That Thing Alone," an instrumental with some really catchy guitar work. "The Spirit of Radio," "Time Stand Still," "Freewill," "Marathon," and "Subdivisions" are all great songs. There was a large screen behind the stage they played films on. Often it was a clock counting down to a particular year - usually signifying the year of a particular song release of the song getting ready to be played, or in one case, an album release. During the intermission, the clock counted up to 1980, the year Moving Pictures was released. At the start of the second set, "Tom Sawyer" came on and they played Moving Pictures in full.
They also played some material from their upcoming release, Clockwork Angels, notably, "BU2B," and "Caravan."
They only played the first two parts to 2112. I would've loved to see the whole thing played. But it is a twenty-minute song… and they played for over three hours as it was… I guess these old men can only do so much.
But for old men, they still rock pretty hard.
