Limelight

This weekend ought to be a blast. Fresno friends Steve, Chris, and Scott are driving up on Saturday so we can go see RUSH at the Concord Pavilion. Rush is one of my all-time favorite bands just because I've been aware of them for so long. I would say that I've been an active fan since 1989 as I began to expand my musical horizons. 2112 and Moving Pictures, which are probably the two albums that hook most fans, were the two that did me in. Then, the (at the time) new Presto was released, then I caught the band live in March of 1990 with 7th row dead center seats. Whenever Geddy Lee struts to the edge of the stage and nods and smiles directly at you in the middle of Red Barchetta, you realize that you're hooked for life.
To reveal a bit of my weirdness, I know that I've been consciously aware of the band Rush since 1981. Not that I was a fan, but that my friend's older brother was. My best friend from childhood, David Gerry, would always have me over to stay the night on weekends, and I'd always return the favor as well. Remember when sleeping over at a friend's house in elementary school was the best treat in the world? Anyway, David's older brother by five years, Scott, was the local Dungeon Master for his group of friends. They would be playing Dungeons and Dragons until the wee hours of the night, casting spells, slaying orcs and goblins, getting lost in enchanted forests, and listening to a lot of music. In the early 80s there was the obligatory Judas Priest, Ted Nugent, Boston, and the like, but what I always remember was Scott's Rush albums. ALBUMS. The only way to listen to music of that era. And it was Exit...Stage Left that always caught my eye. Maybe because the cool gatefold picture had a pretty girl on it. I don't know, but I do remember the other album with the red pentagram on it (oh my gosh, are they really 'Rooks In Satan's Honor'? Not a pentagram, by the way, but man, that first couple of minutes of 2112 still cooks.
Enough reminiscing, but I had the chance to catch Rush on each of its three tours in the early 90s. The band took a couple of years off and in the mid-90s I was living in Fresno, which, by the way, isn't the rumored art and music mecca of North America. I had to miss Rush on its last two tours, which was a major bummer. Saturday will make my fourth time seeing the band which is promoting its 30th anniversary. I'm looking forward to some great tunes. Full report due Sunday morning.