WOW

Phenomenal

Can't wait for June 28th. I'll be there with my wife, son and daughter-in-law.
Based on the comments about the Neil tributes, I just hope nobody's cutting up onions or it's not too dusty because only my wife has seen me cry in the last few decades.

Anyone else fired up for maybe new music after this tour? Watching those guys they are just too young to be done. When McCartney is touring at 84 and Mick and Keith at 82. Geddy and Alex are 72 and watching those shows they can still do it - maybe with a little help like a keyboardist.

I know Neil was the primary lyricist (and the best) but there were some written by Geddy and/or Alex.


But actually I would love an instrumental Rush album too - they have many great instrumentals and I was kind of hoping they were secretly working on a few tracks like that - maybe even just an EP of 4 songs.

Call it Rush 2.0 (although yes technically it is 3.0) or something.

Maybe it's just me.

Yes please.

50 years apart - on Xanadu by the way. Maybe they open the show with it so they can lift those behemoths.

I swear we are living in bizarro world right now - Rolling Stone magazine has put out back to back articles praising the first two Rush shows. The publication that used to mock and revile the band is now touting this as as triumph and calling it a miracle.


https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-live-reviews/rush-tour-night-two-review-setlist-2112-1235575587/

It is paywalled but for some reason I am seeing it for free so I'll post snippets.....












The article about the first night is just as effusive but is more about the emotion of that night and Geddy almost cracking a few times while praising Anika's play in what they say is the hardest job in all of live music right now.

And this made me laugh

Regarding the Rolling Stone articles, I assume it's a slow news day for them and they need clicks. And since my boy Bad Bunny isn't touring the USA (LOL), this Rush tour is the biggest live show going right now.

One question that screen shot you shared raised is, they referred to Anika as a "touring drummer".

I've had friends of mine tour with bands who weren't really in the band permanently but that's not how I think of her.

My assumption is that Anika isn't a hired gun for this tour but rather that she's fully in the band - similar to Arnel Pineda joining Journey.

Now will Rush ever record new music again, frankly, I hope the answer is no. But, if they went out on another tour in 2028 or played a residency at The Sphere in Vegas in 2029 or something, my expectation is that Anika is the drummer.

They put a year into this, both for themselves to relearn the songs to their technical level but for importantly for her to learn the songs to play at this level. And they will now tour for a year.

There is 0% chance anyone else sits in that seat. I'll go on a limb and say no one ever again. Forget the time investment, I'm not sure what the fans would do if they treated that seat as a random fill in. It would diminish Neil in a bad way.

Was she a session drummer a year ago? Yeah. Is she now? Not anymore. It's her seat. She earned it and the fans accepted her and for this band that is massively important. Maybe more than any other band. She is the drummer for Rush.

I never expected to see them play again, other than the random stuff like the Hawkins tribute or at the RRHOF. Not after this length of time. I'm glad they didn't just immediately find a drummer to replace Neil. They were done. But they clearly had it in them to go back. Did they need Macca telling them that? Maybe. Grohl? Maybe. Whatever it was we are blessed for it. Seeing them enjoy the stage and embrace her on stage is a gift.

The question of contracts is a different thing. I feel certain Loren Gold is getting a flat fee to participate. He is a session keyboardist. I'll bet she is getting more than a flat fee. Is it an equal split? Probably not. But I bet she's getting points.

I think maybe they referred to her as a touring drummer since she's done that before for other bands as well.

And we dont know what's beyond this if anything.

But I fully agree she earned that seat and more of a status than that but I'm not sure she's in the band either. When this was announced it was simply said this way:

For Fifty Something, Lee and Lifeson will be accompanied by German drummer, composer, and producer Anika Nilles, who has performed as Jeff Beck's drummer for over 60 shows and has released four solo albums.

I dont think it's meant to insult but touring drummer does come across that way. For me though until she records with them and it's just playing music from the Neil era then she isnt in the band. Or if they make that announcement.

HollywoodBQ said:

---

Regarding the Rolling Stone articles, I assume it's a slow news day for them and they need clicks. And since my boy Bad Bunny isn't touring the USA (LOL), this Rush tour is the biggest live show going right now.

One question that screen shot you shared raised is, they referred to Anika as a "touring drummer".

I've had friends of mine tour with bands who weren't really in the band permanently but that's not how I think of her.

My assumption is that Anika isn't a hired gun for this tour but rather that she's fully in the band - similar to Arnel Pineda joining Journey.

Now will Rush ever record new music again, frankly, I hope the answer is no. But, if they went out on another tour in 2028 or played a residency at The Sphere in Vegas in 2029 or something, my expectation is that Anika is the drummer.

---

Brian Hiatt is a massive Rush fan, and has written 2 other feature articles about them for RS. Like most of us, he was a fan before he was a teenager. (I was 12 when I bought All The Worlds, Hemispheres the next year).

I still think it's kind of weird for a 13 year old listening to that album.

The Story Behind Rush's Greatest Song "Tom Sawyer"

If you're posting on this thread, you know this already, but still, nice to see the attention.

BTW, I'm listening to Countdown in Dolby Atmos right now. That song was sick enough already, but man. I totally agree with the poster above that they should dust this one off. Loren would kill the synth parts.