Saturday, June 25, 2011 | 2:22 p.m.
Rush at MGM Grand Garden Arena on June 24, 2011.
Rush at MGM Grand Garden Arena on June 24, 2011.
Rush at MGM Grand Garden Arena on June 24, 2011.
Rush at MGM Grand Garden Arena on June 24, 2011.
In the ringing aftermath of the Rush concert at MGM Grand Garden Arena on Friday night, I slipped into a haze, probably falling victim to the thin layer of smoke filling the arena from the show’s bracing pyrotechnics.
There, I met me. A Rush fanatic at age 18.
Evidently, Me at 18 was just coming out of a deep slumber, having drifted off while watching “Back to the Future” on the family’s VCR. We had quite a talk, Me Now and Me at 18, about Rush then and now and the years between:
Me at 18: (Groggily) What happened? Who are you? One of Dad’s friends? Hey, there’s a sale on Grecian Formula down at Holiday Market.
Me Now: Funny. No, I am you …
Me at 18: And you are me, and we are all together!
Me Now: We must be listening to “Magical Mystery Tour,” eh?
Me at 18: I just took it off the turntable. “Permanent Waves” is under the needle right now. What is going on here? Am I grounded again?
Me Now: If we are a teenager, probably. But it is good that we’re both in Rush mode at the moment.
Me at 18: We’re in Rush mode? I mean, as grown-ups?
Me Now: Totally.
Me at 18: Wow! I’ve fallen! And I can’t get up!
Me Now: Good Lord. Well, yes, I saw Rush in concert last night.
Me at 18: What! What year are we in, Daddy-O?
Me Now: It’s 2011.
Me at 18: And you saw Rush?
Me Now: This is true.
Me at 18: And you saw them in concert? The original band? Geddy, Neil, Alex? All of them? Or was this a tribute show?
Me Now: The full band, the original lineup.
Me at 18: Where are they playing now? Please don’t tell me in a retirement community rec room.
Me Now: Place called the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. It’s like the new Arco Arena, more or less, but in a hotel-casino.
Me at 18: And we are living in Las Vegas, then?
Me Now: Yep, and seeing the show was part of my job.
Me at 18: Wow! We’re pretty friggin’ lucky!
Me Now: More than you can imagine.
Me at 18: This is unbelievable. Rush, still going. How’d they look? Are they still ambulatory? I hate to be cynical, but I can’t envision them even walking onstage. Even The Stones are getting a little rickety these days.
Me Now: Interesting point. Well, Geddy, Neil and Alex all look like they are in their late 50s. That is, they look like rock stars in their late-50s. Geddy’s a little thicker in the middle. Same with Alex and Neil. Thick in the middle, thin on top.
Me at 18: That’s crazy. Geddy, he weighs about 95 pounds. He doesn’t look like he’s even heavy enough to donate blood.
Me Now: Well, physical appearance has never been the band’s strengths. I took some pretty fun photos of them with my iPhone.
Me at 18: Your what? This is a phone attached to your eye or something?
Me Now: It’s a new piece of communication technology. You’ll love it.
Me at 18: I’m still relegated to the “ear phone.” And my Kodak Instamatic. But the guys, they never grow into heartthrobs, eh?
Me Now: Sadly, no.
Me at 18: Our basketball cheerleaders hate Rush.
Me Now: It doesn’t get any better.
Me at 18: How’d they sound? That’s the important thing. I can’t imagine Geddy is hitting the high notes at, what, 57? He must be crooning old standards by now.
Me Now: If you consider the “2112 Overture” and “Temples of Syrinx” standards, you would be right.
Me at 18: They are still playing “2112”? In their late 50s? That is way gnarly!
Me Now: Oh man. I said “gnarly,” didn’t I?
Me at 18: What?
Me Now: Nothing. But let’s see, the stuff you’d recognize was “Moving Pictures.”
Me at 18: Naturally. Which songs?
Me Now: All of them.
Me at 18: They played all of “Moving Pictures?” How cool! So it was, what, “2112” and “Moving Pictures,” then they must’ve called for the amyl sulfate, right?
Me Now: Not even close. It was a three hour show. They played “The Spirit of Radio,” “Freewill,” “La Villa Strangiato,” “Working Man,” “Closer to the Heart.” Oh, and “Subdivisions,” too, one of our favorites.
Me at 18: Be cool or be cast out.
Me Now: It is still our mantra, try as we might.
Me at 18: Neil still plays the drum solo?
Me Now: Indeed, and it's still the only drum solo you need to hear. Unbelievable.
Me at 18: And they’ve still been making music all this time?
Me Now: Definitely. They’re still musically curious, imaginative. They’ve used gambling and magic as powerful metaphors. They still have a sense of humor, too. They play goofy videos before and after the show, poking fun at themselves and their fans.
Me at 18: They came onstage at the Cow Palace to the theme of “The Three Stooges.” That was great.
Me Now: Same type of thing. They play a polka intro to “La Villa.” But their music is still seriously complex, and their last two CDs were really strong. There is one due out this year, called “Clockwork Angels,” and they played two songs off that. Strong as ever.
Me at 18: It’s all about CDs, eh?
Me Now: I’ll just say that, today, there are many ways to listen to and own music. But save the vinyl. Save it now, and thank me later.
Me at 18: Amazing. I have to retire to the boodwah to be one with “Permanent Waves,” drive Mom and Dad crazy again.
Me Now: Go for it. I do hope you enjoyed the download.
Me at 18: The what?
Me Now: The conversation, I mean. The information.
Me at 18: Oh, totally. I’m stoked. Gives me something to look forward to, musically and in life. Next you’ll tell me you saw Paul McCartney in concert this month!
Me Now: Well, now that you mention it …
Follow John Katsilometes on Twitter at twitter.com/JohnnyKats. Also, follow "Kats With the Dish" at twitter.com/KatsWithTheDish.
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