← Behind The Song: Classic Rock Chronicles
Behind The Song: Classic Rock Chronicles
Rush Fifty Something: A Night To Remember in Chicago
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This message is brought to you by the Capital One Venture X Card. Venture X offers the premium benefits you expect, like a $300 annual Capital One travel credit for less than you expect. Elevate your earn with unlimited double miles on every purchase, bringing you one step closer to your next dream destination. Plus, enjoy access to over 1,000 airport lounges worldwide. The Capital One Venture X Card what's in your wallet? Terms apply. Lounge access is subject to change. See capitalone.com for details. 971 EFF presents the behind the Song podcast, taking you deeper into classic rock's most timeless tunes. Here's your host, Janda A Monday Warrior
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Mean Me Stride Today's Times Sawyer Mean Me Pride I'm Janda, and in this bonus episode of behind the Song Powered by Chick Fil A, I want to share my thoughts on what was for me, the concert event of the summer so far. Rush at United center in Chicago Night One Thursday, July 16, 2026 there will be spoilers here if you have not seen Rush on this tour yet, so if you don't want to know details until after you've seen the show, bookmark this episode and come back to it. Otherwise, if you like it, you know what to do. Give it a like and hit. Subscribe to rush fans the 50 Something tour, celebrating 50 years of the music of Rush and the life of Neil Peart, was something we thought we'd never see happening. No Rush fan ever thought there would come a day when Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee were on stage performing the songs of Rush after Peart passed away in 2020. But they found a drummer who could hold down the incredibly complicated drum parts that he'd written. And she won over skeptical fans from the very first concert of the tour in June in Los Angeles. When she nailed that one part in Tom Sawyer, clips of Annika Niles killing that moment live immediately made the rounds. And I believe it was the thing that convinced people who were curious about this whole idea of Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson touring again to go ahead and buy the ticket for the tour. Rush fans needed to see what she could do. Because Neil Peart was so hugely important to the band, he wasn't just one of the most skilled and talented drummers who ever lived. He wrote the lyrics, and in so doing, he built a truly fantastic world with layer after layer, both sonically and in the subject matter that he frequented. How to make the world a better place. How to be better humans. How to be okay with your own thoughts and deeds. They did not call Neil Peart, the Professor for nothing. So the concept of a Rush tour after his passing was just something no Rush fan ever dreamed of at all. But one thing Rush always did well is that they have never underestimated their audience, never pandered, never compromised their sound in order to be more commercial, never asked fans to accept anything, sonically or otherwise, that they couldn't deliver on and then some, no matter how lofty it was. And boy, are they delivering now with all the musical excellence, the humor and the camaraderie that Rush fans have adored for well over 50 years. And just to stay on Rush fans a minute longer. It's an important byproduct of being a fan of this band that you tend to develop a kind of pride in them, because Rush's music is not for everyone. It's not typical. It's Prague, it's metal, it has more time changes than a watch factory. Geddy Lee's voice isn't that of a typical classic rock singer. So super intricate parts to the music, and that's part of it. It's fantastic to see this music performed live because sometimes when you're listening to Rush songs, you find yourself in a kind of disbelief that three people can make these sounds together and have it all make sense. It sounds impossible to pull off and it would be in lesser hands. It's completely unique. Rush fans know this and so wear their fandom almost like a badge of honor. Is it's an I understand this music and it's okay if you don't kind of thing. I've seen Rush twice now. The first time I saw them was in 2015 at the forum in Los Angeles at what would turn out to be the last time Neil Peart ever played live. Although no one knew that then. It struck me that night about the energy of the fans in the room, awaiting every thrilling moment during the concert with bated breath, exploding with response, completely immersed in the world that rushed built. And it felt that way at night. One of the Chicago run on the 50 Something tour too, mixed with a real heartfelt tug of emotion because someone important wasn't there anymore. But if such a thing exists, I do believe the spirit of the professor was there. In United center, there were tributes that gave me chills, three of them all throughout the show. In one tribute, Peart's voice could be heard over photos of him throughout Rush's career on the screens above the stage, talking about life, music. At one point, he equated getting the good out of both by having a well packed suitcase. That one gave me chills. He was a smart, fiercely talented and fiercely private person, and as any Rush fan knows, he took to his motorcycle to take solo road trips for thousands of miles as a way to cope from personal tragedy traveling over north and Central America alone and after his daughter and wife passed away in the late 90s. So hearing him talk about that concept of having a well packed suitcase to get through life was deeply profound to fans and it moved me for sure. Basically, I was a goner from the jump. The concert opened with that trademark Rush humor, a comedy skit on the jumbo screens over the stage starring Paul Rudd, Jason Segel and South Park. There's a quest involved in that skit in a search for the band because they haven't toured for over a decade, Rudd and Siegel revisit their slap it a bass days when they co starred in the movie I love you man in a bonding over Rush moment. It was a sweet, funny callback that said something about the friendship of the band itself. Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee are lifelong friends and the friendship and respect among them, and Peart was deep and obvious in this concert and the set list has changed over the tour. Night to night, the band launched into Xanadu, followed by one of their hits, limelight. Here we in the crowd got to see Annika Niles in real action for the first time when the news about the rushed 50 Something tour was announced in the fall of 2025. I was so curious about Annika Niles that I produced an episode about her in this podcast. She's German, a drumming educator and composer who got her start releasing YouTube videos about drumming and who ended up playing with no less than the late Jeff Beck on his tours in 2022, and who was brought to the attention of Geddy Lee through his bass tech who also worked with Jeff Beck. You can pull up any of her videos on YouTube or any clips of her performing to see why she's so special as a drummer. She isn't Neil Peart. No one could be. But she is a ferocious talent, a powerful drummer who's able to hit the benchmarks that Peart wrote for his songs and offer her own nuances to the music performed live in concert. I have to say too that I think it's important that she's a woman. There's something about seeing Rush a band with a really heavy male leaning audience. So much so that there's a joke that's been going around for decades about how at Rush concerts there's no line for the women's restroom because, well, there aren't any women. To see a woman behind the drum kit deftly handling the performance with precision and power was truly a sight to behold. I had the thought during the concert that she was surely earning a coronation of sorts, not as a replacement for the irreplaceable, but as the perfect choice to help bring the music of Rush live to fans again. And it must be said, it was obvious at this show that Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson were having the time of their lives. So much energy, such impeccable playing by both. Lee's voice sounded better than when I saw my first Rush concert back in 2015, over a decade ago. Even after he had to fight off a bout of laryngitis shortly after the tour opener in la. Another great new addition to the lineup for this tour. Lauren Gold handled keyboard duties in, you may have seen him performing with the who in Chicago and that let Geddy Lee focus on the bass and the vocals. It was obvious to me that everyone had put in the work, practiced and trained for this tour. Nothing was done half heartedly. Rush came to kill it, and that's exactly what they did. Far Cry Subdivisions and Free Will were all included in the first set. The first Neil Peart tribute collage was shown on the screenshot, followed by Bravado, Caravan and La Via Strangiado, complete with Pyro. Then it was on to Vital Signs, a high water moment with a fantastic light show. Spirit of Radio concluded the first set of songs performed, and when Geddy Lee sang Concert hall in the song, every voice in the arena, including mine, sang it right along with him. After the first set, a countdown clock appeared during the intermission, which ended on the number that delighted every fan in the room. 2021 12. It was this part of the show that really wowed me the most, because when they lit into the 2112 Overture, the Temples of Syrinx and the 2112 Grand Finale, the 2112 logo appeared over the stage accompanied by giant druid looking priest statues. That was just so very 70s arena rock rush that I almost didn't know what to do with myself for a minute. It was just so fantastic to completely abandon reality for a while and be completely immersed in this world that Rush has built. Distant Early Warning came next, and then Red Barchetta, complete with a really cool graphic of the car seemingly coming straight at you out of the screens on the stage. Dreamline, Natural Science Time Stand Still, Red Sector A YYZ and then the Garden with such Beautiful, whimsical floral graphics on the screens that I thought to myself, I I hope if there's a heaven up there, that that's what it looks like. Every detail of the stage production was flawless and struck the right chord with every song. And with respect to the band and especially to the professor, who was a benevolent presence looming over the entire show. Then came Tom Sawyer, the finale of the second set. Here, just as in the clips that were circulated from the first show of the tour, Anika Niles nailed that one drum part, the one that Neil Peart himself said was the hardest one to play. The crowd went insane. This was the moment when we all came together in such real joy. Happy to be there, happy for Alex and Getty, and happy for Anika, and happy for Neil Peart, who I believed would definitely have approved of Anika's performance. And then came the encore. In a supremely classy move, Rush also paid tribute to their first drummer, John Rutze, who was a founding member of Rush and performed on their first album. The screens on stage flickered with pictures of Rutsy and the band lit into by tour and the Snow Dog from that album. It delighted Die Hards and was a great performance. The night ended with a killer performance of Working Man. By this point, everybody was on their feet. Everybody was happy. I don't think anybody left before every note was played.
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One more Neil Peart tribute from Paul Rudd and Jason Segel was shown to conclude the show and. And Night One was done. I still can't stop thinking about it. It was a triumph in so many ways. A real connection between the band and the audience. I like to buy concert posters as souvenirs and I bought the Chicago specific one that night. It shows a Dalmatian dog sitting in an empty parking lot looking at United Center, a direct nod to the band's Signals album cover, which also had a Dalmatian on the COVID I am so glad that I bought it. And that's what the point of this episode is all about. We get so little magic in this world. And music, live music well played that moves you is one way to mainline a little bit of magic directly into your soul and ride that high for days afterward. Buy the ticket, go to the show, get the poster or the T shirt, take the trip, pack the suitcase well, as Neil Peart advised, live life and enjoy it as much as you can for as long as you can. And if you can, go see rush on the 50 something tour. I am so glad that I did. I'm Janda and thanks for listening to this episode of behind the Song. I drop a new episode every Wednesday. If you like it, please share it with a friend because that's always the best way to share me. And on the way, much more classic rock and roll. Hey Chicago Chick Fil A catering makes summer party planning easy. Choose from a variety of trays, including Chick Fil A nuggets, Mac and cheese and chocolate fudge brownies. These party favorites are perfect for your summertime gatherings. Place your order through the Chick Fil? A app online or by calling ahead to pick up your order at your local Chick Fil? A restaurant or get it delivered directly to your door. Take cooking off your plate this season and enjoy Chick Fil A catering Availability and order Requirements Var C Restaurant for details Chickfila Eat more chicken.