Rush in Helsinki

Unstable condition,
A symptom of life
In mental and environmental change.
Atmospheric disturbance,
The feverish flux
Of human interface and interchange.

A tired mind become a shape-shifter,
Everybody need a mood lifter,
Everybody need reverse polarity.
Everybody got mixed feelings
About the function and the form.
Everybody got to deviate from the norm.

– Rush, “Vital Signs”

Rush were in Helsinki for the first time ever yesterday, and it was a great concert; I liked it better than the previous (and only other) time I’ve seen them, in Stockholm. The guys played hard and long, clocking at about 3 hours of music with a 20 minute intermission. The setlist was great, with songs taken from albums spanning 1978’s “Hemispheres” to the latest “Snakes and Ladders”. The new songs, played after the intermission, worked the least well, but that’s the way it always is with new material (they weren’t bad by any means, just lacking in comparison to the classic stuff played before and after them). On the other hand, Janka likes their new stuff more than their old, so something for everyone.

The surprise of the evening was “A Passage To Bangkok”, played near the end of the set. Wasn’t expecting to hear that marijuana/hash-drenched song played live. No complaints, it’s a fun piece.

Neil’s drum solo was… most impressive. It’s a new one, from the new album, and… wow. Just wow.

Their newer albums are hit and miss, like most people I like their older material more – or maybe their “mid period material”, to be more exact. “Moving Pictures” is the undisputed classic, of course, and another personal favorite is the dark and apocalyptic “Grace Under Pressure” – an album that I’ve grown to appreciate hugely, despite being lukewarm towards it initially. Of the newer albums, “Counterparts” was pretty good. I’m not too wild about “Snakes and Ladders”, but that may change with more listens. “Armor and Sword”, from that album, is great though.

0 comments »

• No comments

Comment Rush in Helsinki