A year after Tracy and I were married, we attended a Rush concert. It was my first with my favorite band and it was one of the most memorable times in my life. Well, they retired last year and I'm still in denial. They came out with a documentary about their last tour and it was available in the theater originally. I didn't go, figuring I'd get the video later. Neil Peart, the drummer, came out with a book (as he does most every tour) and Tracy promised to get it for Chrismas. We completely forgot about it in all the hubbub of the season along with Tracy's new job.
So last week we were getting an Amazon order together. I needed a few cables for my headphones. Tracy needed some things for work. I poked around and I noticed that the Blu-Ray of the Rush documentary was available, so that went in the order too. When it arrived yesterday, it was with bittersweet emotions that I unwrapped it and put it in the player. I had noticed that a few of my favorite songs from the Presto Album were in the bonus tracks and I really couldn't quite go to the documentary at the time. I was surprised to find that the tracks were from the actual Presto tour. The band had started to regularly put out a concert DVD after every tour, being an "arena band" and they knew the fans enjoyed having a reminder of the experience. However, they didn't release one after Presto. I sat down to relive a few memories. I remembered that the stage wasn't cluttered like their latest concert tours, but I didn't remember it being that sparse.
I remember that album well, and it highlighted that first year of Tracy and I learning how to work with each other and live together without too many murderous thoughts. I don't think it was our first concert (I think that was another and it was a source of a marriage lesson that Tracy uses professionally to this day.) I remember, and I hope I have this right, that we bought and listened to "They Might Be Giants - Flood" album before we traveled to SLC and how much we laughed at the songs. That album has been the source of many road-trip sing-alongs since. The concert itself was great. It was my first real time seeing Peart play the drums live and it was almost a religious experience. After the concert and as we were leaving I heard a person exclaim, "It was worth coming just to hear The Professor!" My favorite memory is actually Tracy mentioning, "I didn't know three people could make so much noise." with "noise" being an affectionate term.
Peart has had an effect on me. I'm almost positive it was his influence that gave me a drive to write and my appreciation of poetry (and a tip of the hat to Jeff Lynne also). He even influenced my theology. I knew he was a skeptic, humanist, atheist but I did know that if he didn't make it to heaven, then I surely didn't belong there either.
So I listened to the tracks provided. I didn't realize they were available on YouTube but I'm glad I have them on a disk. My favorite track is below as well as the entirety of the concert video but not the entirety of the concert.
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