Listening to Rush perform live, it’s impossible to not search for extra musicians adding to the sound. So much precision and energy can’t possibly be coming from a three piece band! 

Nope – that’s just Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and Neil Peart, setting the bar for all other rock musicians. Anyone starting out has surely learned a lesson or two from “YYZ.”

This past Saturday, May 30th, Rush brought their 40th anniversary tour out to Jiffy Lube Live in Bristow, VA, and once again they continued to blow down the doors. In reverse chronological order, the band performed twenty-four songs during the course of the evening, including the first half of side one of their most well known album, 2112.

The set list showcased their longevity as well as their musical diversity, and included material from their latest effort, Clockwork Angels (2012), all the way back to their humble beginnings, “Working Man” from their self-titled debut, Rush (1974). Progressively, their stage set up dwindled as they went through their sets, starting with the modern day laser light show, Marshall super stack set-up, to finally a red curtain backdrop with single guitar and bass rigs.

“It’s hard to decide what to play each night when you do a tour like this,” exclaimed Geddy Lee as the band began their three hour performance.

Sure, there were the standards such as “Tom Sawyer” and “Closer to the Heart,” but there was also the somewhat obscure additions like “Animate” and “Natural Science.” Geddy Lee proved to be almost ageless as his dynamic vocal range has lost little, if anything, over the past forty years.

Collectively, the band effortlessly rumbled through two sets, proving in the process that they haven’t lost their chops and are still very much at the top of their game. Geddy Lee, Neil Peart, and Alex Lifeson are rock virtuosos that continue to be some of the very best at what they do.

Setlist: Rush at the Jiffy Lube Live in Bristow, VA, May 30th, 2015

Set I:
The Anarchist, Clockwork Angels, Headlong Flight (w/ drum solo), Far Cry, The Main Monkey Business, One Little Victory, Animate, Roll The Bones, Distant Early Warning, Subdivisions

Set II:
Tom Sawyer, YYZ, The Spirit of Radio, Natural Science, Jacob’s Ladder, Cygnus X-1 Book II: Hemispheres (Part I), Cygnus X-1 Book I: The Voyage (w/ drum solo), Closer To The Heart, Xanadu, 2112 (Parts I, II, IV, VII)

Encore:
Lakeside Park, Anthem, What You’re Doing, Working Man