One of these deep cuts is played at every show - replacing Tom Sawyer. Which one are you choosing?

[James Bond]

Rush goes, "we hear you, die hard fans. We know you're all tired of Tom Sawyer. So, instead, here's one we've never played before."

 

It's between these two songs only. The catch is that it remains this way for every single date on the tour and never sees a rotation.

[treeduck]

Neither!

 

I'd have Cut to the Chase and Alien Shore!

[ST3V]

dog years would absolutely rip live

[TheGhostRider]

Dog Years is probably the one rush song that I think is objectively bad. I've never hated Tai Shan, but it doesn't fit well with the rest of HYF.  So I'd probably go with Tai Shan.

[grep]

More than once I've seen Geddy phoning it in with Sawyer.  He's a pro, but you could see a slight change in his body language and expression when he'd play that one. 

[HemiBeers]

hmm dog years vs dog shit

[Flame]

I wouldn’t want to hear either one of them live, as it would mean that by definition, something better was being left out of the setlist. 
Of the two, though, I do think that Dog Years is more or less them taking the piss; not unlike, say, the song Hot Dog on Led Zeppelin’s In Through the Out Door LP. Not meant as a serious statement, but more like, “You think you know what a Rush song is? Watch this.” 
I could imagine Neil being exasperated enough with the constant criticism of his lyrics being pretentious philosophical musings to pen Dog Years in response, maybe. 
Tai Shan at least sounds like it was a genuine creative effort; as if it was meant to be taken seriously rather than tongue in cheek. It doesn’t sound—musically or lyrically—like much of a departure from other material of its era…in the way that I think Dog Years does. 
 

Since the rule is, you have to pick one, though…at least Dog Years rocks harder, more uptempo. You can tell there’s a guitarist in the band, lol…so, there’s my pick. 
Safe to say, it’s not surprising that neither of them have had much (any?) of a live showing.  Some statements are meant for studio albums only.  

Edited November 24, 2025 by Flame

[losingit2k]

I honestly can't believe Dog Years is winning out! LOL

[chemistry1973]

Tai Shan! No question.

[James Bond]

On 12/3/2025 at 8:16 AM, losingit2k said:

I honestly can't believe Dog Years is winning out! LOL

 

Tied up now!

 

I have it on good authority that Geddy and Alex weren't going to greenlight the tour until Anika agreed to play Dog Years as the opener every single night.

[BastillePark]

On 11/14/2025 at 12:26 PM, TheGhostRider said:

Dog Years is probably the one rush song that I think is objectively bad. I've never hated Tai Shan, but it doesn't fit well with the rest of HYF.  So I'd probably go with Tai Shan.

Except that music, like all art, is 100% subjective. Jackson Pollock got famous for splattering paint on canvas, but many in the art world believe it's transcendent. A three year old could literally do what he did.

[Timbale]

Tai Shan for sure.  I'd take Tai Shan over much of the material from S&A and CA, too.

[losingit2k]

On 12/4/2025 at 11:14 AM, James Bond said:

 

Tied up now!

 

I have it on good authority that Geddy and Alex weren't going to greenlight the tour until Anika agreed to play Dog Years as the opener every single night.

OMG that's Funny!