Although Rush's current tour is not officially being billed as its last go-round, that notion was certainly on the crowd's mind Tuesday night when the Canadian rock trio returned to Xcel Energy Center. As if fans didn't already have enough to think about, between trying to copy Neil Peart's intricate drum parts with their air-drumming and remembering all the deeply philosophical lyrics in "Cygnus X-1, Book II: Hemispheres."
It's no secret: Rush concerts are fanatical affairs. The fantastical prog-rock group's current R40 Tour — coming 40 years after their first album — has been turned all the more fervent and emotional with hints that Peart may not be able to tour anymore due to a worsening case of tendinitis.
Either because of the farewell talk or the promise of an all-eras set list this time, Rush saw its attendance spike from its last local show in 2012 by a few thousand fans, to about 13,000 on Tuesday. The band, in turn, gave them two unique sets that clocked in at almost three hours total. Heck, there was even time for both parts of "Cygnus X-1."
"As usual, we have a lot of music to get to," frontman Geddy Lee said/warned in his unmistakable shrill voice (yes, he talks that way, too).
For its hourlong opening set, the trio played an almost entirely full-bore, hard-rocking batch of tunes as if wanting to prove it can still get heavy in its old(er) age. And indeed it can. A string of songs from the most recent album proved as much in opening the show, including "The Anarchist," the title track "Clockwork Angels" and the epic rocker "Headlong Flight."
Peart had already slipped in a drum solo by that third song. Which made sense, since he had two more solos to go.
Other recent (as in post-Reagan era) deep cuts filled in the first half such as "One Little Victory" and "Animate," each furthering the fiery and feisty mold. Lee hammered away on his bass and barely touched his keyboards until the last song before the break, "Subdivisions," while guitarist Alex Lifeson delivered some of his most wicked licks in "Far Cry."
The start of the second set could have been mistaken for an encore, with the mega-hits "Tom Sawyer" and "The Spirit of Radio" kicking things off in high-adrenaline fashion. But the band had a loooong way to go from there, and a lot of wonky turns to make.
![Rush bassist Geddy Lee sang on the band's second song Tuesday night. ] JEFF WHEELER ï jeff.wheeler@startribune.com Canadian rock gods Rush performed at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Tuesday night, May 12, 2015.](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/TWEI6DD2Z3FVWXLFI4CPQ44FWY.jpg?&w=712)
