Tuesday pumpitude: Rush edition

With a YUUUUUGE series with the Phillies starting today (to be read in a Donald Trump accent), it is only fitting that we all get pumped up with perhaps the world's finest band in history, Rush. Why is it fitting? Because I just saw them and the fucking rocked they fucking house, obviously.

My appreciation for the Canadian prog rockers has only grown over the years. My first exposure to the band was during the glorious summer I spent at Boy Scout camp in the Adirondacks. Sitting around the picnic table by the light of our lanterns we played Dungeons and Dragons, (actually a D&D derivative called Paranoia) while the ground breaking musical stylings of the Torontonian Trio played on the Troop's cassette tape boom box.

I distinctly remember our Senior Patrol Leader proudly sporting his Roll the Bones T-shirt while explaining the meaning behind the allegorical rock epic 2112.

I would drift away from Rush in my teenage years, as Geddy Lee's vocals were considered too faggy for metal proclivities of the time. Of course, when Stick It Out was receiving heavy radio play on Q104.3 I wouldn't change the channel.

Later, my love affair was rekindled in college when I burned Chronicles from a friend. These CD's would be played continually during my fraternity's rush parties, at least until the other fraternity members who were actually interesting in recruiting new members turned off the stereo, explained to me that no one thought that joke was funny, and permanently banned me from DJing all future rush parties. Bastards.

Now I would just like to point out for my own sake that despite all the recent evidence to the contrary, I have indeed seen a grown woman naked who was neither a stripper nor a prostitute. So there.

Anyway, just last Saturday I reached the pinnacle of my Rush fandom, attending my first live concert at the Nissan Pavilion. Despite participating in the performance from the relative distance of the lawn seats, the show was nothing short of spectacular. See for yourself.

Yes. Rock.


That's maybe a little blurry. Let me zoom in on my shitty shitty camera phone and highlight the rocking out.


Holy fucking shit that was awesome. For the installments of pumpitude, let me take you on a youtubed journey of the last three songs Rush played live.

First was the end of their regular set with an introduction from Lil' Rush:



Which led into their first encore of Train to Bangkok:



And finishing things off with YYZ:



The only thing I have left to wonder is does Rush ever get so tired of being awesome nad kicking so much ass?