Analyzing the songs a band plays in concert might seem dorky, but when the band in question is Rush, well, it’s practically as much a part of the live experience as lasers and pyrotechnics.
Saturday night at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, it was easy to find fault with the setlist, at least for anyone who’d seen the Canadian outfit the last time it played Las Vegas, on July 28, 2007 (and given the fanaticism of Rush’s fans, it’s likely most of the crowd of close to 8,000 had). Although they had 18 studio albums at their disposal—and despite a reputation for altering their playlist considerably from tour to tour—Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart changed only four songs from their last visit to town.
Worse still, the 34-years-and-still-going-strong trio again played nine cuts from latest album Snakes & Arrows, including five straight (!) to open Set 2, even though the disc is more than a year old at this point and failed to make much impact on the charts.
Come on, fellas. We’re not asking for “The Necromancer” and “Hemispheres” here (okay, we are, but we don’t really expect to hear them). We’d just like a little more ingenuity from a band whose loyal followers certainly deserve it.