Rush Setlist at Jiffy Lube Live, Bristow, VA, USA

Did they play all of 2112 or just Overture/Syrinx?

The show just started 1 hour ago

Ha! Thanks. I was suckered by the early setlist.

The setlist A & B are known. http://www.2112.net/powerwindows/tours/120907setlists.jpg

Does the night a and night b thing mean that they alternate nights or they will decide which setlist to do before the show?

just waiting to see if 2112 will be all the parts,

My guess it will be Overture/Temples/Grand Finale

Can't wait to get some bootlegs from thius tour. This is a great tour for fans of the Power Windows album, stuff that hasn't been played in almost 25 years.

One song from the seventies? Nothing from Permanent Waves? Weak.

I was there. Big fan since 1981, my first time seeing them. It was very disappointing. I'm not a fan of the Power Windows era, they lost me between Signals and Presto. And that's where most of the show came from other than the new album (which isn't bad).

Quit being a little bitch about the setlist. Rush has a large and varied discography, so they change it up.

As paying customers we have every right to bitch. I understand they want to play obscure stuff but some of is is obscure for a reason. "Middletown Dreams"?, "Grand Designs"? Please. I feel with what they charge for admission they should feel obligated to play "Closer To The Heart", "Freewill" and "Limelight" no m,ateer how sick of them they are.

I was actually surprised by the setlist! I brought 4 friends and we all agreed that it was nice to see that it wasn't a greatest hits show. I've seen Rush do plenty of those. It was refreshing for a change. That was my 12th show since 1996! I have to say that 3 drum solos was a great idea. My friend (who is also a drummer) got up and missed the 1st drum solo and I thought it was short, but then he did another and my friend got to see it and I was happy. It was also a cool change.

Doing a double edit to make this appear in the stats again. Ignore this.

Excuse me, Power Windows hater kosterhaut, that was a great album and great tour. Obscure? Maybe in your mind. You think you have a "right" to hear Freewill, Limelight and Closer To The Heart at every show you attend? That's as ridiculous as your "I'm a paying customer" premise being construed as a right to complain about a set list for a band with so much material. How about staying home? I've personally heard Red Sector A played so many times that it became my bathroom break song - but I'm not complaining. Frankly, I'd like to complain about hearing people complain about set lists. At every show, whether it's while I'm in the bathroom or walking to the car, I always hear some baby whining that they didn't play song X or Y. Get over it!

I respect everyone's opinion and I wouldn't expect to hear all my favorite songs (I've been attending Rush concerts since 1981), but to simply ignore well worn classics in favor of bottom of the barrel dreck is unforgivable with the escalation of ticket prices. I'm glad I waited to see the setlist before buying tickets.

I think calling it bottom of the barrel dreck is quite harsh... The PW album is not my fav either (Big Money crawls right up my spine...) but this show will definitely be worth it for the 2nd set alone.

Yes it's harsh but I can't think of anything in their catalog that's much worse. I haven't been able to absorb Clockwork Angels. Maybe if I was still 14 and listened reading the lyric sheet over and over.

It's a shame - Clockwork Angels is probably one of their best albums.

Personally, I couldnt care less if I ever heard those "well-worn classics" again. When they play Tom Sawyer, CTTH, etc, at just about every show, they get completely worn out. I personally am thrilled to be seeing them with a lot of deeper cuts this time around.

I think I'll throw a tantrum because Bastille Day is never in the setlist anymore. :)

I've never heard them do "Bastille Day" except as part of the R30 Overture. That would be a cool song to bring back.

The last time they played Bastille Day was on warmup dates for the Moving Pictures tour. Hopefully they'll dust it off some day, if Geddy still has the capacity to sing it.

"In the End" remains high on my wishlist, saw them do it in '82. And of the course the full Hemispheres.

Great setlist. If I hear closer to the heart or limelight which geddy struggles with I am going to throw up. Middletown and grand design are amazing songs. Now I need to upgrade my ticket.

Wow, these comments are amusing. I don't think I've ever been called a 'little bitch' with such irony before. I can respect that someone seeing them for the 12th time would be into this unusual set. I think that most people would agree that playing almost entirely unperformed songs from Rush over the last 25 years for your entire first set save the opener is pretty extreme, no matter how you feel about the band or the music in the set. That's just a fact; you can tell if you view last night's set and compare it to this and see how many of these were last played over 20 years ago. Sure it's cool if you're always going out to see Rush. Here's hoping you appreciate the luxury. But their set here is worthy of being compared to Neil Young showing up with horns and playing R&B covers and unrecorded originals all night (yes that really happened; I didn't mind because it was my nth time seeing Neil. Ask the rest of the audience how they felt when the only recognizable songs were After The Goldrush and Tonight's the Night). I think those of you getting annoyed about criticism of this set need to be a tad more charitable. Some more random facts: the venue holds 25000 people but they only sold about 7500 tickets. Much of the audience consisted of entire families, averaging 2 kids apiece. And as anyone here probably knows, the string ensemble are their first backup musicians ever.

The full Hemispheres woudl be great, but can you imagine how tuned down they woudl have to do it for Geddy to be able to sing it now? A few oldies I think are reasonable for them to bring back would be Fly By Night - he could sing it in a way his voice could handle. Lakeside Park, Countdown, Afterimage, Jacob's Ladder - i was actually expecting to see it this timg since in an interview before the TIme Machine tour Alex mentoned they were rehearsing it.

I love the set list, and I'm glad they didn't spend a ton of time playing their "well worn" radio hits. I didn't need/want to hear "Moving Pictures," Freewill, or Closer to the Heart. As a Rush fan, I have seen them performed live before. What you (kosterhout) refer to as an obscure set list, I view as a refreshing set list.

Of course, there are always my personal favorites that I would have enjoyed hearing as well - (Mission, Afterimage, Prime Mover, etc). But, I don't expect a band with nearly 40 years of experience and a catalog of music reaching near 170+ songs to be able to satisfy everyone with a ~ 30 song set list.

I saw the Time Machine Tour as well, and I would been sorely disappointed if the set list did not differentiate enough from that concert. I commend Rush, their performance, and the set list. The concert was top notch. As a Rush fan in Knoxville TN, it was worth the 900+ mile round trip to me!

I think their problem is they pick a set and stick to it the whole tour. These are songs that absolutely should be played at every show - "Overture/Temple of Syrinx", "The Spirit of Radio", Freewill", "Tom Sawyer", "YYZ" and "Limelight". These should be played on alternate nights - "Working Man"/"Finding My Way", "Closer To The Heart"/"The Trees" and "Subdivisions"/"New World Man". That's a third of the show, another third can go to the latest album and the rest can be deep cuts but really mix it up. Play a song only once or twice, it makes each show unique. I do commend them for eschewing the opening act and playing for three hours lately.

I was at the concert and counted three drum solos also. Does anyone know if these drum solos were repeats of solos that are on any of their concert tour albums? If so, which ones were they?

I also think that Alex did a guitar instrumental from Snakes and Arrows, though I must admit that I'm not sure if it was an actual song from one of the albums or just a "relatively" soft instrumental that he put together just for this concert. I also spaced writing down where it occurred in the sequence. So, does anyone know the name of the piece that Alex played?

I have read the debate above regarding Rush's choice of songs for the set list. If anyone has read the book, Clockwork Angels, you will find (if you look closely enough) that the set list of the tour relates to the book. Hint: page 45

Also setlist haters keep this in mind...they are probably saving up the classics for R 40 in a couple of years ;-)

This is AWESOME!! I have been a Rush fan for 25 years and have seen them well over 30 times. I reached the point a few tours ago where I was just sick of hearing the same songs on every, single tour. Rush, has for the most part largely ignored their music from 82-89 for two decades now. I LOVE this setlist! My only wish would be working Prime Mover in their somewhere. My hope is that for the 40th anniversary tour, they will do 3 one hour sets. First set being early Rush to Signals. Second set from Pressure to Bones and the last set from Counterparts to Angels. Would be epic.

To expand on my comment above, maybe they could do one better. Do what Bad Religion did on their last tour. Play 3 nights in each city. First night was 80s, second night was the 90s and last night was the newer stuff. Rush could easily do this but I dont know how well a show with only material from Counterparts on would do. I would go for sure though.

Interesting set! I can see them doing away with "Limelight" and "Free Will," but not playing "Spirit of Radio" was a bit much to me. They have been known for not including "The Trees" and "Closer To The Heart" from time to time, and one tour they actually didn't do 2112 either....My only other thought was that they could have done one more 80's/90's "rocker" in the first half, like "Roll The Bones" or "Driven" before closing with "Far Cry," but ah well! I look forward to my next Rush show though!

I cant wait, kosterhout shut up. dont go then, its as simple as that. This gonna be a great show. They have 2 diffrent set lists too kosterhout. And it seems they are still tweaking the set lists.

I will see RUSH for the 1st time in my life in Dallas this coming November. I've wanted to see them forever,but never got the chance. So, I bought a VIP ticket, so I could get close, see Neil, get some great photos, and listen to the music I've grown up listening to.

I'm not a die-hard...just know the hits. It's funny....I'm a huge KISS fan, and always asking them to change up the setlist for us die-hards. They change it up for us on the KISS Kruise, but they play the hits in concert, because that's where they get the most fans. They realize that not everyone at the show is a die-hard, so they stick to the popular stuff. I never could understand that until now.

I spent $300+ on this ticket, and RUSH won't be playing the hits. That's alot of money to see them for the 1st time. I hopethey seriously change their setlist by the end of November. I will never gosee them again, and spend that kind of money, to hear music I've never heard before. Wow, I'm so pissed right now.

Bryanr72, Obviously you have never been to a Rush concert. If you had, then you would not be upset. They provide the greatest show of any band out there. I took my two girls who have never been to a Rush concert and do not know any of the music that well, and they were blown away. Rush plays music for 3 hours, and the emotion the entire time is intense. If Rush played their entire catalog, they would be playing for 24 hours. It is impossible to play all of the good music, because it is all good. I would suggest you get Spotify and start catching up on the fantastic music Rush has produced since 1990.

Uhhh, didn't he just say he's never been to a Rush concert before? Why is it so hard to grasp that not everyone seeing them is a die-hard and would like to hear familiar material?

For people who have kept up with Rush, it is all familiar. They have produced a lot of music in the last 20 years. Saying that Rush should only do the oldies for the first half of the show indicates a misunderstanding of why they are still doing concerts. Read up on some recent interviews, and you will find that their ideas are evolving. They continue to play concerts because that is what they want to do and that is the medium for which they have written their music. They are catering to people who have followed them throughout their career as well as to new fans. If you have been absent for 20 or 30 years, then you have some catching up to do. If you want to only listen to their music from the 70's and early 80's, then do that in the week leading up to the concert as a way of warming up for it. Try to enjoy what they have put together for you. With the right attitude, you will never be disappointed.

And everybody doesn't keep up with them and shouldn't be required to. It's not too much to ask to hear the three or four standards for folks who haven't seen them before.

Rush's Bristow, VA concert had all 10,000 seats filled and had the lawn seating completely filled. There are plenty of people who are happy with how Rush does their thing. No one is requiring anyone to do anything, including going to a concert. You don't like their set music? Don't go. You bought a VIP ticket already? Go to the concert wait out front and sell it to someone who wants to be there.

And you know that everyone there loved the song selection? I'm not debating that some love that they don't play their familiar material, more power to them. This will be the first tour I won't be seeing since 1981, I just feel bad for a friend of mine who's seeing them for the first time.

I don't feel bad for anyone seeing them the first time or the one hundredth time. It is a great show and worth the price of admission.

Rush played YYZ, 2112, Subdivisions, Tom Sawyer, and Red Sector A. I consider those standards. There you go.

I'll give you Middletown Dreams, Grand Designs, and Territories as little played concert venue material that some people may not be overly enthused to hear - if they insist on hearing Spirit of Radio for the 1,000,000th time. But, that doesn't make those songs 'obscure.' Rush is an 'album/concert' band. I liken their albums to Led Zeppelin's albums - they're best if you listen to them in their entirety. I've seen Led Zeppelin live (well, mostly Page/Plant), and by the same token, I don't care to hear/see Stairway to Heaven again.

The rest of the material should be welcome tunes for anyone - even if they aren't "die hard" fans. To express disappointment is basically saying you don't like Rush's material. If that's the case, going to the concert to begin with is a mistake. Then again, I would not spend $300 to see a band of which I'm not a "die hard.' That is more than what I paid for the two tickets I bought and I consider myself to be a die-hard fan.

At any rate, to quote one of the more popular tunes from Clockwork Angels, "it is what it is, and whatever..."

By the way, if I based my perception on whether everyone enjoyed the song selection solely on crowd reaction, I would say everyone loved it. I heard no moans, jeers, boos, or other signs of disappointment. Most people appeared happy to sit back and enjoy a night with Rush.

@bryanr72 I'm sorry you feel cheated/disappointed before even seeing the show. Going into the show with that predisposition is a guaranteed way to not enjoy it. Unless you sell your ticket to someone else, my only advice is try to enjoy yourself rather than feeling like the band has wronged you. Every song that Rush played (imho) is good and it was a good set list.

@long2know I know RUSH has a huge catalogue of great material. I just don't know any of it. Yes, I will be able to sit there, and enjoy what they play, but after the fact, I will feel a void because of what they didn't.

Do they have to play 80% of Clockwork Angels? Have you ever heard of a band that played almost ALL of a new album after it was just released...aside from new bands? I think they could cut some of that out for the 3-4 songs they need to play...or stay 20 minutes longer to play them. I think this is absurd they are not playing them.

@bryanr72 Actually, yes, every concert I have been to after a band's new album release, they played 80+% of the material from the new album..

At Rush's last concert, they played Moving Pictures in its entirety. I don't recall anyone complaining about that, so it's all relative.

I'm at a bit of a loss since you don't want to hear their NEW material or their OLD material, but just want to hear the radio hits. I'm guessing that would just be Tom Sawyer, Freewill, Spirit of Radio, Subdivisions, Limelight, YYZ, 2112, Working Man, and Closer to the Heart. Nothing else comes to mind that gets much radio play. 5/9 of those were played. That was enough for me, and I could have done without any of them since they have been so worn out on the radio.

I can't imagine going to a concert for just a handful of songs, especially when it's a band that falls into so many genres and has so much great material.

Rush was formed 44 years ago and their first album was released 38 years ago. They do have a huge catalog of music, as you said. They have released 20 studio albums. I go to their concerts not knowing what to expect and do not read about set lists before the concert ... I like to be surprised. I consider this concert to be a pleasant surprise, personally - not absurd.

It's also funny - most of my other friends who are not big Rush fans tell me they would like it if the radio stations would play more than the "standards" or "songs they need to play." So, it creates a bit of a quandary. I would contend that most people at this point - especially judging by the fact that nearly everyone I saw had previous Rush concert t-shirts on - that are attending Rush concerts are repeat attendees. With that, I think the band put together a set list for their core audience/fan-base of repeat concert goes. Whether or not that was their intention, that's how it seems to me, and I can appreciate it.

At any rate, to each their own. I'm already looking at ticket prices for the ATL show ..

I'm up for hearing the older & newer stuff. Just include "THOSE" songs too. They can play 6 hours, and I'll sit there and enjoy it....just play "THOSE" songs too. That's all.

I saw 4 concerts in the 80's and early 90's and kept up with Rush's album releases through Roll The Bones. After that, I got "caught in ticking traps." Around 2004, someone clued me in to some of the things I had been missing. I bought Test For Echo, and loved it. More time passes, three of my kids are off to college and two still in high school. They turn me on to Spotify, I look up Rush, and find they just released an album, Clockwork Angels. A little more research finds a book release with the album and a concert tour. My daughters had heard some of Rush's old music and loved it. One of them had "Attending a Rush Concert" on her bucket list. So I decided to take them. They loved it, and they did not know 95% of the songs. I now am catching up on all of the music that I missed in the intervening years: Counterparts, Vapor Trails, Snakes and Arrows, and am finding that I love it all. If you are really a fan, the same thing will probably happen to you. Just get on Spotify, and start listening. By the time you go to the concert, you will be ready to enjoy everything they play.

I know that Neil, Geddy, and Alex went through a rough spot when Neil's daughter died in 1997 and his wife died of cancer 10 months later. But they bounced back, and, reading Neil's words in the Clockwork Angels Concert Tour program, are here to stay for the long haul.

I love all phases of Rush. Great to hear they are doing Middletown Dreams, Grand Designs, Territories, The Analog Kid etc... Great setlist! I'd love to hear Natural Science again and have them bring back Jacob's Ladder. I realize they can't play everything. Looking forward to St. Louis!

This is a silly post but I just thought I'd share with our sleestack friend what I think would be "garbage" additions to a RUSH set list:

1) Neurotica
2) Emotion Detector
3) Second Nature
4) Kid Gloves
5) War Paint
6) Dog Years
7) The Speed Of Love
8) Bravest Face

These are just songs that I don't particularly enjoy compared to others. If I saw a set list that had all these items, plus the new album and a couple hits......I'd be disappointed. Guess what? I'd still pay $100 for my seat and go to the show. I just find it silly that some people are upset with items like Middletown Dreams and other songs from one of their most solid albums. Obviously, life experiences and connecting with certain material goes hand in hand. I happen to really like Middletown Dreams - I've had a tough life. "Dreams transport desires, drive you when you're down. Dreams transport the one's who need to get out of town". I connect with that, just like I connect with the symphonic keyboards. I dig it.

haha, but I like Speed Of Love! Tai Shan and Rivendell should be on that list. I'd still go if they played them though.

I like Second Nature, "It's hard to take the world the way that it came/too many rapids keep on sweeping along/too many captains keep on steering us wrong."

For the record this is what I think would be an ideal setlist for this tour...

Xanadu
Time Stand Still
Driven
Caravan
Clockwork Angels
The Anarchist
Seven Cities of Gold
The Wreckers
Halo Effect
Wish Them Well
The Garden
---------------------
Overture/Temples of Syrinx
*Wild Card*
Freewill
Limelight
*Wild Card*
The Pass
Closer To The Heart
Red Sector A
Mystic Rhythms
(drum solo)
The Spirit of Radio
Subdivisions
Far Cry
Tom Sawyer
--------------------
Working Man
La Villa Strangiato

The wild card selection would change every night, some suggestions....

Ghost of a Chance
A Passage To Bangkok
Jacob's Ladder
Circumstances
Analog Kid
Between Sun and Moon
Cinderella Man
Earthshine
Vital Signs

Chongzilla, Here is a link to an interview in which Geddy Lee says what he thinks of Tai Shan.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBZY_loemUw

The set list for this tour seems to have been chosen to go along with the Clockwork Angels songs and the theme and emotions of book that was just published and released that goes with the album.