My KC Starlight Theatre Review

[bigalfan]

WOW! Where to begin. First, the VIP Package ticket thing was a nightmare at The Starlight....they were clueless and leaderless. Many of us waited for about an hour to get 1. a ticket and 2. a program...that's it! High Schools do better jobs with will call tickets...but I'll leave the negativity about that aside.

 

My review perspective will be from the 3rd row center. Never been that close. WOW!!!! The weather was terrific and I'll save you all the details of the chronology of videos and setlist.

 

Geddy: SPOT ON! He was into it. He was having a blast! His voice sounded GREAT....not good....not tolerable....GREAT! He was whipping off runs and riffs with ease....he was into the crowd and the crowd was into him. During the 2112 fist pump - he was right there with us in the front leading the charge!

 

Alex: Something, it seemed, was a little 'off' with Lerxst last night. Don't get me wrong - his playing was top-notch - didn't miss a thing. However he didn't seem to be 'playful' Alex last night. Not mad, not standoffish...by no means....but Alex was not....well, Alex. At least not fully. He had a few moments, but his usual sillyness was tempered for whatever reason. He sounded great! The solos from Freewill, La Villa and Working Man were TREMENDOUS!!! As usual!

 

Neil: Neil is a machine...what else can you say about this guy? the set - as you've seen - does look amazing and there are little things going on within the riser throughout the show that is really cool - heads up - but let's face it, you could put a $500 set in front of this guy and it would sound amazing. Drum solo - I liked it better than S&A...and I thought that was amazing.

 

Sound: Mostly really good. The bass drum on Limelight - for whatever reason - was OVERPOWERING. And, that happened in a couple of spots in other places after that song, but it was eventually ironed after it 'cropped up'. Outside of that, some of the best sound at a Rush concert in recent memory.

 

Lighting/pyro: YES!!!!!!! SUPERB LIGHTING SETUP!!!!! Just beautifully done. The fire flashes, the explosions were all great and right on time. The fog did get a little think a few times, but so what...it's a rock concert!

 

Video Screen: For the most part, VERY well used. There were a couple of glitches when nothing was 'playing' while they were playing and I don't think it was by design. I liked the LARGE screen and thought it added to the show nicely. I also enjoyed the intro/exit videos. I've read a few negative things on here about them, but I like them and think that add a personal element to the experience. I DO appreciate that we are not getting a video intro with so many songs this time. I like that they went right into the next song with having to sit through a Southpark or a Bob & Doug vid first.

 

My favorite moments: (not in order, just from memory) Caravan REALLY rocked and sounded GREAT! Camera Eye was a great live experience, but there is something about Red Barchetta that just 'does it' for me and it was spot on last night. Okay...I know I was little whiney about 2112 Overture & Temples AGAIN, but they simply knocked us OVER last night and it was GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRREAT!!!!! Of course, when you're right there with Geddy and he's 'chanting' right there with you....WOW! Far Cry - A+! The encore was YES! and I really dug the re-arranging of both tunes. Marathon - A+! The surprise for me (negative) was Stick it Out. There was something missing. I can't put my finger on it...but I was a little surprised I wasn't as wow'd as I was expecting. Oh well - still cool!

Oh, and YYZ ROCKED!!!!!!!!!! I was 'okay' about that. One of those, "Yeah I like the song, but I've heard it SO much" tunes for me....once they began, it kicked my booty!!! Witch Hunt, LOVED IT...even better than S&A version.

 

Overall: I WILL BE GOING AGAIN!!! I was not wild about the setlist, at first glance, and while I still would've liked have heard a couple of x's instead of y's. Being on the 3rd row was worth every penny and I felt like I spent an intimate evening with the legends. WOW! Thank you, !!! One last cool thing, Geddy told the KC crowd at the very last of the show, "We're looking forward to coming back to see you one more time!" Now, I don't know if that meant on this tour....or for good. Please let it be just on this tour and NOT for good!

 

I live in OKC, KC is a 5.5 hour drive - one way. After seeing S&A in 2008 at the Starlight and now TMT....even after the will call ticket fiasco, I will gladly do it all over again next year in a heartbeat if they return! I will be seeing them again on this tour, but there is something about that venue and Rush that just 'works' together! LOVE IT!!!

 

I will be posting some GREAT pics tomorrow. Good night all!!!!!

 

 

 

 

[Spoutnik]

Thank's you so much for your nice review!!!

[Wilderness_of_Mirrors]

great review!! got me so pumped for saratoga!!!!

[OldRod]

I was at that show... and I agree with everything you said

 

Alex did seem a little subdued compared to how he usually is, but he had a few cutup moments. He still rocked it and his instrumental after the drum solo was wonderful!

 

A few technical glitches aside, this was an amazing show!

 

[PariahDog]

QUOTE (bigalfan @ Jul 2 2010, 11:38 PM)

One last cool thing, Geddy told the KC crowd at the very last of the show, "We're looking forward to coming back to see you one more time!" Now, I don't know if that meant on this tour....or for good. Please let it be just on this tour and NOT for good!

Uh oh.

 

Did he say this in Albuquerque? Could this be a sign that 2011 will be the last tour?

 

We'll have to see if he says this at other shows.

 

 

 

[bigalfan]

Hey, OldRod! Where were you sitting?

 

Paraiah....yup, needless to say we had a good discussion on the way home over that. Again, REALLY hoping that he simply meant back to KC.