Rush, July 28, MGM Grand Garden Arena
How many bands can cap an encore with an instrumental number and impel fans to chant along, without ever asking? Or dabble with synths, lasers, pyro and an on-screen dragon but not seem the least bit outdated? How about bringing tag-along wives out of their seats for, of all things, an extended drum solo? About the only imperfect move Rush made during its latest Vegas visit came when the trio returned from its intermission with five straight cuts off latest disc Snakes & Arrows (the band’s “500th album,” according to teasing frontman Geddy Lee), temporarily impeding an otherwise satisfying flow of radio staples (“The Spirit of Radio,” “Subdivisions”), diehard faves (“Circumstances,” “Natural Science”) and the compulsory new material. Though it won’t go down as the Canadians’ most stupefying Vegas visit (that would be 2004’s 30th-anniversary celebration), Saturday’s concert provided yet another strong dose of evidence that Rush functions as a “guilty pleasure” act—as rollingstone.com laughably suggested recently—only in the minds of those who’ve never bothered to catch the live show firsthand. –SP