Live In Atlanta

Hi-Fi Buys Amphitheater

June 13, 2007

As we arrived in the amphitheater, King Crimson’s "In the Court of the Crimson King" was playing on the PA, a good sign that a prog-rock show would soon begin. There would also be Pink Floyd and Yes to get the near-capacity crowd in the mood. I was pleased to see this large of a turnout, having seen or heard no local advertisements for this show on radio, TV nor print. In fact, I don’t believe that there is a local radio station in the Atlanta market that even plays Rush music on a regular basis.

At about 7:45 (15- minutes past schedule), the video screens came to life with a series of snake-like images that concluded abruptly with a scene of Alex Lifeson waking-up in a cold sweat and saying something like "Honey, wake-up, I was just dreaming about snakes!" But who is in bed with Alex? His wife? No! It’s Neal Peart! The video continues to a humorous Scottish character waking up Geddy Lee and telling him to get his ass on the stage!

The next thing we hear is Alex playing the opening riff to "Limelight," on a beautiful black Gibson Les Paul, equipped with a whammy bar (looked to be a Floyd Rose type). A series of Les Pauls would be Alex’s guitar of choice throughout most of the show, with occasional exceptions. All 3 are in T-shirts & jeans. Behind Geddy (using his black Fender Jazz bass for the vast majority of the show) we have 3 large cabinets with red-lights labeled "Henhouse" looking like a cross between the infamous dryers and speaker cabinets (couldn’t see exactly what they were from my distance). Neil is situated on a short octagonal drum riser in red with yellow trim, and the drums are also red with the yellow circle & arrow motif on the bass drum-head (this motif is apparently repeated on his ever present cap).

Limelight is played well by all 3 and the sound mix is very well balanced and crystal clear throughout the show, but could have been a bit louder. There are a few scary moments in the vocals, however, when Geddy goes for some of the high notes in "Limelight." This seems to be only to be due to the fact that it was the 1^st song on opening night and he isn’t quite warmed up yet, as his voice steadily improves as the show progresses.

The opening set continues with a trio of songs that have ether never been played live or at least haven’t been played in many years: "Digital Man," "Entre Nous," (mounted acoustic guitar on the choruses) and "Mission," on which Alex trades the Les Pauls for a black Paul Reed Smith. All three are flawless and are well received by the crowd. "Freewill," comes next and is a definite audience favorite, despite Geddy having to use a lighter falsetto voice on the stratospheric bridge section.

The debut performances of songs from Snakes and Arrows follow with a blazing performance of "The Main Monkey Business," introduced by Ged as "The Main Business of Monkeys." Lifeson used a Gold-Top LP, with an acoustic 12-string on a stand. The complex instrumental is accompanied by many humorous images of various primates on the 3 screens overhead. (The amphitheater also has 2-screens on the walls on ether side of the stage.)

The tune is rewarded with an overwhelmingly strong ovation. Next we have a short "Bob & Doug McKenzie," video to lead us into "The Larger Bowl," with Alex on a Tobacco-Sunburst Les Paul equipped with peizo-acoustic pickups to facilitate the different guitar sounds on the same instrument. Images showing the juxtaposition of the "haves & have not’s" are on the screens. The audience reacts with strong approval to this as well.

The opening set continues with "Secret Touch, " followed by another rarity, "Circumstances!" Although it is played in a slightly lower key (to my ears) to accommodate Geddy’s lower vocal range, it is still superbly executed and earns thunderous applause. This was one of only 2 times that Geddy switched basses, to a red Jazz Bass, possibly tuned down. Next we hear the ominous opening synthesizer riff of "Between the Wheels," another rare gem! The opening set concludes with an energetic "Dreamline." If the show had ended here, the audience would have gotten their money’s worth by many band’s standards, but the best was yet to come.

Set two begins with another video that shows a board with numbers and various phrases such as "Plane of Consciousness," "Astral Plane" etc. As we randomly travel to different squares, a man comes out and tells us about each one in a light-hearted manner. This follows with several selections from S&A. "Far Cry," is an instant concert classic! There was pyro and a video with the baby carriage and lightning etc. The song was meant to be played live! "Workin’ Them Angels" is next, with a nice Bouzoki solo from Alex. "Armor & Sword," "Spindrift," and "The Way the Wind Blows," were all played extremely well (I especially love the blusey bits on "TWTWB,") but, it may have been too many songs in a row from the new album for the overall audience, as many people started looking a bit restless.

"Subdivisions," definitely brought everyone back! The reaction was thunderous! Next came the best song of the night in my humble opinion: "Natural Science!" The 1979 epic was even better in 2007, and the band really seemed to enjoy playing it, as did the audience. "Witch Hunt," followed with pyrotechnics and a great Lifeson solo. "Malignant Narcissism," came next, wonderfully played, featuring Geddy on fretless bass. After that was Neil’s unparalleled drum solo, and Alex’s fantastic new acoustic 12-string solo, "Hope." "Summertime Blues," was a crowd-pleaser, although I would have preferred another of their own classics ("The Trees," or "Xanadu," perhaps?).

A powerful "Spirit of Radio," led into a hysterical "South Park" video introduction for "Tom Sawyer," which concluded the second set.

The encores saw Alex switch to a white Gibson 335, for a searing "One Little Victory," complete with pyro and the dragon video. The long dormant "A Passage to Bangkok," was next with only one little out of synch moment between Neil & Alex on the little "Chinese" riff that concludes the guitar solo. The show concluded with a note-perfect "YYZ," and frenzied crowd response. The Scottish character from the opening video sequence jokingly told us it was time to go home, and the incredible opening night had ended!

I believe that anyone who likes Rush will enjoy this tour, and encourage everyone to post their own reviews!