Hey, this is a great post. I am 54, and a Rush fan since 1987, sophomore year in high school. I recall an older kid in the hood, probably in the Moving Pictures time frame, calling radio stations and requesting Tom Sawyer and Queen's Another One Bites the Dust, so that's my first Rush memory. But I had started playing bass guitar in 1985 or so and in high school, I started listening to Rush.
My first Rush tape was Hold Your Fire, and after that, I just deep dove on whatever I could get. Back then, no internet, so finding any non-official recordings was wild. Any concert footage was whatever I could find on VHS, and, at that time, it was Exit Stage Left. I had that on cassette tape as well and I'd spend hours in my room with my Steinberger knock-off Hohner bass hitting Play, Stop, Rewind and then Play again, trying to figure out riffs to YYZ, or The Spirit of Radio, or the Trees, or La Villa Strangiato.
I could never do what Geddy does, I learned so much. I learned how a bassist and drummer need to sync. I learned that bass is not just all root notes. I learned what it felt like to be quirky without knowing it. Rush was all those things to me.
When I picked up some bootleg CDs in Victoria, Canada, while on a high-school band field trip, I was like, "wait, they make mistakes in concert? NEIL makes mistakes?" I was floored. I thought "professional" bands didn't make mistakes. Ah, youth!
My first concert was Presto, in Seattle. A few years later, it was Roll the Bones, when me and a friend, all of 16 or 17 at the time, drove from Seattle to Vancouver, BC, as Seattle wasn't announced yet... and then, of course, it was. Over the years, I saw them at the Gorge for Test for Echo, and then twice at the White River Amphitheater, once for R30 and then for Snakes and Arrows.
Over the years, my tastes changed. I discovered other music and artists, bands like Fountains of Wayne, Muse, the Hold Steady, while still doing deep dives on stuff Rush would release. I didn't see them live anymore and come 2020, though I had moved on from obsessing about Rush, I was still shocked and so saddened by Neil's passing.
A few years after that, maybe still during COVID lockdown, I had turned on one of the official concert videos and found myself getting totally choked up. I was super surprised and didn't know what to make of it.
Fast forward to the past few Rush performances without Neil over the years. The one with Dave Grohl playing 2112. The one at Taylor Hawkins' memorial. Decent, but simply Rush without Neil and a reasonable substitute.
Then last year they announced Anika. And a tour? I didn't know what to think, but my buddy bought a ticket for Seattle and so did I. It went on the backburner for a few months until somewhere I heard they were playing for the first time at the Juno awards in Canada. All of a sudden it was like I was in high school again. No announcement, no leaked videos, simply hearing somewhere that it would be on YouTube soon.
And then that night, I watched them play Finding My Way and I was amazed. Not only was I choked up all over again, but it was Rush. It wasn't Rush with a special guest or anything like that. It was Rush with their new drummer and my god, she was great.
That stoked a huge interest in me, but after watching it a couple dozen more times, I was done for the moment. Until last week. I knew Rush was kicking off at the Forum. Didn't see any sound check videos or anything and like some sort of dork, I said, "no spoilers for me, let's hold off," but that lasted all of until the first videos started to show up on YouTube.
Like the rest of you, I watched TapeHeadToo's viral post of the Anika Cam video. I caught the Xanadu stick drop and was like, "did I see what i just saw?" Had to rewind and yup, it was, and she handled it like the pro she is.
More and more songs went and each time, I was grinning ear to ear. Did I miss Neil's signature ride pattern in Subdivisions or Sprit of Radio? Absolutely. Did she play some fills differently? Was it purposeful or did she do it wrong? I'd say all purposeful; she's too good to do it "wrong."
Throughout some other videos, I'd get caught in my nitpicking of Alex missing notes and/or whole parts (end of Anthem one night, he forgot the hits at the end, leaving only drum hits), and Geddy's overplaying nearly on every song (end of Red Barchetta anyone?). And don't get me started on the flamenco strumming he does (hate it).
But then the camera would come back to Anika and I AM HERE FOR IT. I love Neil, but as good as he was, I am now realizing that to him, Rush was so demanding, that it seemed to suck any joy he got out of it. Maybe it was the rigors of touring, his health, being away from family, etc, but he looked to be on autopilot.
Seeing Anika smile after hitting the Tom Sawyer fills, or her incredibly cool charisma when blasting through the 2112 finale, or the Bytor battle fills before the breakdown? Worth the price of admission. And as the OP says, the "older brother" energy from the boys to her during the songs is so damn endearing!
I have noticed that Geddy is all about checking in on her, watching her/ giving her cues, while Alex is almost always with his back to her, really clocking his guitar neck. Watch as they hit the first unison run in YYZ. It's never tight and almost always a minor train wreck (IMO), but Geddy and Anika are at least close; Alex, well, see for yourself. I don't think he's ignoring her, he's just hyperfocused on his own parts.
But despite all the nitpicking, they are enjoying themselves so much and I am loving seeing their reactions, interplay and hearing the songs I grew up on. I am grateful for all the attendees recording their videos and posting for us to see.
My nerdier side wants to see only Anika drum vids. The power and precision she gives is intoxicating. I've seen Alex and Geddy do their thing long enough. I want to consume all of the drum videos I can, and I'm not even a drummer! I'm watching other YT creators dissecting her playing and it is so cool to see.
I did enjoy the renaissance Rush had in the 2010s with their pop culture relevancy and was always a bit bummed it was during what I found to be their most meh recordings. However, one side of me also loved that they never found super mainstream popularity, that they were our little secret.
These days, with Anika uniting our country (/s), let their popularity grow. Let them bring organic, instrument-driven rock back to the masses. Let them show that a couple senior citizens can still play circles around most bands around. Let them get their flowers and everything that's coming. I am here for it all and I am so proud to be a life-long Rush fan.
Sorry for hijacking, but I loved the OP's post and I've been thinking about this all week.
