Sigh.
The first time I saw Rush was on the Power Windows Tour in 1986. They made an impression.
I saw them during the Hold Your Fire Tour in 1988.
I saw them during the Presto Tour in 1990.
The Roll the Bones Tour in 1992.
And Counterparts in 1994.
And then ... nothing. Test for Echo landed in 1996, Vapor Trails in 1992, Snakes and Arrows in 2007 and Clockwork Angels in 2012. I fell off the radar. Or Rush fell off mine.
Rush did Rio ... and I thought they would always be there when I was ready to return.
And then, Neil died.
When I heard that Rush was going to tour with a replacement drummer i expect my reaction was not dissimilar to many Rush fans. I wasn't sure how to feel about it. Rush is a trio. If it was a member of The Allman Brothers Band passing away and being replaced. They carried like 15 regular players or something. But in a trio? And a trio with arguable the most iconic member being replaced? Would it be worth it?
When the tour launched there were no Houston dates. The only Texas dates were in Fort Worth. I decided we could make it a two day event, staying at the grandparents overnight after the show. Deege was not interested in going so I got 5 tickets to one of the last Fort Worth dates. Then I noticed that this date was happening when Brenna and I would be at summer camp with the kids from The Creek student ministry. I didn't consider that a problem as I thought I could easily sell the tickets online, last minute and "probably" make money on them anyway. I bought tickets for a date earlier in their Fort Worth stop that would allow Brenna and I to get back to Houston in time to get to camp.
Actually,
In the Vivid Seats App (on Diedre's account), on Oct 17, 2025 I ordered 5 tickets for the 6/30/2026 show in Fort Worth. IIRC I sent these tickets to the girls and they accepted them. Total cost $2685.74 (Order #76192943 Section 107 Row 21 Seats 6, 7, 8, 9, 10). This show would eventually get rescheduled to (I am unsure of this: a date in early July that I am unsure of and then rescheduled again (because Geddy got laryngitis)) to 7/11/2026. I would be in Guatemala on that date. But I figured I could sell these tickets anyway. We were on our way to Fort Worth on 6/24 when we found out this show was cancelled and would be rescheduled. the reason the show was cancelled was because the band made it to Forth Worth but not their equipment - it got hung up in customs or something. We wound up visiting the in-laws anyway. I see that I transferred these tickets to the girls on 10/17/2025.
On 11/16/2025 I figured out the timing problem. I went back to Vivid Seats App and purchased 5 more tickets for the 6/24/2026 show (Order 76675530 Section 114 Row 19 Seats 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 for $2041.54). This would allow us to catch the band on 6/24, stay the night, drive back to Houston on 6/25 and leave for camp on 6/26. But this show which would get rescheduled to 7/2/2026 due to Ged's Laryngitis and then eventually 7/13, again, when Dan would be in Guatemala. I believe these were the tickets that I lost. I also bought parking on 11/18/2025 for $46.17 Order #76709744.
Talking to Vivid Seats for their failure to deliver the purchased tickets resulted in no action. Talking to Ticketmaster about their failure to pay me for the tickets I sold on their platform did not result in any action. All told I spent over $1000 per person to see Rush and purchased 3 complete sets of tickets but only used one set.
Anyway.
We grabbed dinner at Mi Tierra in the Market Square and then sent to the venue - Frost Bank Center. I had never been there but Google maps got us there roughly on time. The line to get in was fairly long and it took a while to clear security but we made it to our seats by about 7:30 p.m., which was when the show was scheduled to start but everyone knew it would be 8:00 p.m.. Autumn had to lose her wallet chain at security - they would not allow her to bring it in.
We found our seats and waited for the show to start. During intermission Cil went and got a t-shirt and a poster. Nobody else was into the merch. Even I skipped it. Nothing looked appealing.
The show started with a video that was billed as "Xanadudes". It was cringe and according to Autumn, destroyed the entire vibe of the evening. But it was classic Rush. They opened with Xanadu. There was a Neil tribute video that was well done. According to Grok, this was the set list:
Intro video (Xanadudes)
- Xanadu
- Dreamline
- Subdivisions
- Headlong Flight
- Bravado (Neil Peart tribute)
- Red Sector A
- La Villa Strangiato
- A Farewell to Kings
- New World Man
- The Spirit of Radio
- Tom Sawyer (with Lil’ Rush / South Park-style intro)
- Red Barchetta
- YYZ
- Limelight
- The Camera Eye (Loren Gold piano intro)
- Witch Hunt
- Vital Signs
- Time Stand Still (Neil Peart tribute)
- Closer to the Heart
- 2112 (Overture / Temples of Syrinx / Grand Finale)
- By-Tor and the Snow Dog
- Working Man
- Outro video (Jason Segel and Paul Rudd reprise)
The only song I had not heard was "Headlong Flight". It seemed to me that Geddy took a little more time than usual between songs to talk about stuff. I noticed that the band did not use much of the footage form their videos in the presentation that night. Rush music videos were notoriously cheesy. But there was something to them that always resonated. Subdivisions is a good example of something I wish they had incorporated into the stage show.
Rush hired a keyboard player for the tour. This allowed Geddy to focus on bass and vocals. I guess he got tired of multi-tasking night after night on tour. Anika did a decent job. To their credit the band did not belabor the whole "replacing Neil" thing. When they showed Anika you could see the concentration etched on her face. Neil had a similar look when he played, but there did appear to be a difference. But at no point did I hear myself noticing a significant drop off. I have to assume some did - either real or imagined.
During the Encore they also played a mini-tribute to John Rutsey. Which was nice to see. Rutsey passed away in 2008.
We left and drove back to Houston. We pulled into the driveway at about 1:35 - I made about 25 minutes by speeding most of the way home. Which was sort of my way of paying I-10 back for the stop-and-go conditions on the way to San Antonio.
Sitting in Frost Bank Center, hearing that music, made me feel like a kid again. I think my three oldest daughters were humoring me, but they genuinely seemed to enjoy themselves. When Rush played "La Villa Strangiato" they would turn to gauger my reaction. When they played Limelight, they would turn. When they played just about anything, my girls seemed to want to know that I approved and was enjoying myself ... with them ... at a Rush show.
All of the girls liked what they saw and were glad we went. I was sort of dreading the show but in the end it was a reminder of something that I have lost as I am getting older - that sense of wonder in music. I barely listen to music anymore. It just does not land the way it used to. but something stirred as I was sitting there. I suppose, that will always be the case.
On Sunday I asked my 7th grade boys and my 12th grade men if they had ever heard of the rock band Rush. Not a single one had. I am an anachronism. But at least I am an anachronism with great musical taste.
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