Time doesn't stand still for Rush fans

REVIEW: Geddy Lee & Co. drew 12,000-plus to the Xcel Center and kept them there for three long hours.

By Chris Riemenschneider, Star Tribune

Last update: September 10, 2007 - 1:55 PM

There's really no such thing as a casual Rush fan. There are only diehards -- mostly late-30s to mid-50s men who just can't get enough abrupt time-changes, arty video montages, virtuosic guitar solos and air-drumming. You've never seen so much air-drumming.

The 12,000-plus fans on hand Sunday had to be all this and more to enjoy the Canadian trio's show at Xcel Energy Center.

Drawing an impressively large audience despite its long fade from the mainstream, the band tested its crowd's devotion even more by performing a whopping 27-song set that clocked in at close to three hours, not counting intermission. No wonder there wasn't an opening band.

The marathon effort was made even more challenging by a set list that left out many of Rush's best-known radio hits, including "Closer to the Heart,"Fly By Night" and "Time Stand Still."

To the credit of frontman Geddy Lee and his original bandmates Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart, they never lost the crowd. There was certainly no danger of this early on, as they opened with the fan favorite "Limelight" and soon tore through one of the stormy 1982 tunes, "Digital Man."

As with most albums in Rush's nearly four-decade-long career, its latest CD, "Snakes & Arrows," is laden with social commentary and libertarian themes.

Things got a little highfalutin' in the first half of the show, when big-screen images of impoverished children and caged monkeys rolled along to "The Larger Bowl" and "The Main Monkey Business."

The band fared better when it stuck to its mega-hi-fi light show in old psychedelic songs such as "Between the Wheels" and "Circumstances." No kidding, this tour's ginormous lighting rig must have cost as much as the Hubble space telescope, and probably churned out better imagery.

Lee & Co. wisely lightened up the concert's mood here and there, starting with a video that showed Lifeson and Peart frighteningly waking up in bed together. Three giant ovens full of rotisserie chickens inexplicably stood in onstage for Lee's bass amps throughout the show. Occasionally, a roadie dressed as a chef came out and basted the birds. Oh, those kooky Canucks.

The best bit of comedy came at the end of the second half, when the cartoon characters of "South Park" appeared onscreen to debate the lyrics of "Tom Sawyer." Once the song began, though, there was no fooling around. The concert got as serious as the benediction at a church service, and -- save for Peart's insanely elaborate drum solo -- the crowd was at its most devout then.

As with any benediction, "Sawyer" at least signaled to the non-zealots in attendance that the show was finally winding down.

See Rush's set list and fan comments at www.startribune.com/poplife. Chris Riemenschneider • 612-673-4658

Chris Riemenschneider • chrisr@startribune.com