Well, it's Monday afternoon, and I am now mostly recovered from Friday night's show.

The band was as good as ever and I was not disappointed. Given my fairly high expectations, that is high praise.

It took Geddy a bit of time to get his voice warmed up; the beginning of Limelight wasn't perfect by any means. They did not deviate from the previously published setlist except that they did not play Summertime Blues. My current favorite cuts from the new album (Far Cry and Workin' them Angels) were stellar, and the band seemed to enjoy playing all the new music. Cuts from the new album were not as enthusiastically received by the crowd as some of the classic numbers. I thought Digital Man and Natural Science were very compelling, as each one was not only passionately played but also deviated somewhat from the studio versions.

The venue (The White River Amphitheater) is a good place to see a show, if you can live with fairly horrific ingress/egress problems. There are about 8,000 covered seats and another ~10,000 on the lawn. It was fortunate that we were in the middle of the covered area, as this has been the wettest July EVER in the Puget Sound area, and it rained like Thailand most of the week, including the day of show.

The open-air nature of the venue contributed significantly - I think - to a VERY high fidelity mix. The show was still very loud, and was surprisingly clear and detailed. We were probably 150 feet back and dead center. I did not feel compelled to use the earplugs I brought. I left my SPL meter at home.

The visuals - both the live shots and the set pieces - were very good, and were displayed on three screens behind the band and two enormous screens to the sides of the stage. I did not find a high enough percentage of the thematic visuals compelling, and might have preferred a higher ratio of live broadcast of the band.

The South Park into to Tom Sawyer was hilarious. Classic.

At one point, Geddy brought out a video camera and aimed it at the crowd. He implored a "Hello Canada!" and seemed genuinely surprised by the resulting vigor. At the end of the show, he graciously thanked the crowd and said we were great. It's true.

I found Geddy's singing to be very satisfying; he is still quite able to hit whatever he wants. I was also reminded how much I enjoy his bass playing - he plays a LOT, and has a very punchy, bright tone that is complementary to the rest of the band's profile. He played three different Fender Jazz Basses most of the evening, but did pull out a Rickenbacker for one number. It seemed - a bit more than usual to me - to be "his band".

Neil's playing was superb and compelling, as usual. His are the only drum solos I find interesting. He works awfully hard, but his apparent joylessness and lyrical/philosophical bent make him somewhat less appealing to me personally than I'd like. He does seem to genuinely value his big band and jazz predecessors, which I think is wonderful. His technical skills seem unsurpassed.

Alex's playing has never been better, I think. I really like the parts of the new album where he indulges the acoustic guitar more than usual, and I was mesmerized by his performance on the MVI disk and in the concert. I think so much of what he does is contextual that he is somewhat under appreciated as a virtuoso. He did seem to enjoy himself.

It was a good show - one of the few times where an exorbitant entry fee has proven "worth it". I went with a friend that I've known since childhood and sharing the evening with him definitely enhanced the experience. We see each other too rarely now, and this was a special occasion for lots of reasons. Wish I'd been able to share the show with Peter, JP, Dave, Shawn and other Axiom folks also.

I would go again.


bibere usque ad hilaritatem