RUSH Live - YYZ & Neil Peart Drum Solo - 2022 Deluxe Remaster - Birmingham, 1988

Oh man. So I didn't discover Rush until I was 19 in 2015ish and it was through Trailer Park Boys. But as a chick who's been on the trap set since 2007ish, this man instantly became my hero.

A now-ex and I were planning a train ride to Chicago and trying to figure out which of two weekends we should go. So I googled events going on in Chicago on those weekends and wouldn't ya know? Rush was on their R40 tour and would be playing the United Center on one of those weekends. So, naturally, we jumped at the chance and immediately bought concert tickets (before our train tickets if I recall correctly lol.)

We had balcony seats off to stage right. The show was absolutely amazing. I couldn't believe I was seeing these guys live. I kind of felt like a phony tbh because, just by the atmosphere, I became aware of the fact most of these people attending were hardcore lifetime fans and here I was, a young, starry eyed fresh fan.

Anyway, I got a shirt of course, and the next day the Chicago Blues Festival was going on near our hotel so we went and walked around. The amount of people who came up to me and geeked out over the show was mind blowing. Most were like "how many shows have you seen?! I've been to *insert >20 double digit number here*" and I felt even more phony. BUT every single one of those people were so stoked that I had just gotten to see my first show and were some of the friendliest people I have ever met. Rush really does have a pretty unique and welcoming fan base (from what I experienced anyway.)

Easily one of the cooler nights/next day of my life. When Peart died, I cried. I became a serious fan over the years and when I found out he had been diagnosed with brain cancer at the start of that tour, I realized just how lucky I really was to have been able to witness the master in person.

RIP sir, you left an unbeatable legacy of masterful lyrics and drumming skills that would rival a computer/robot.

EDIT: that video brought me to this one, and seeing the crowd as excited as they are right at about 0:58 gave me full body goosebumps. What an experience.