Rush at the Barclays Center

Maybe being a Rush fan in 2012 isn't the international dorkdom give away that it once was, but you never could have told that from their show last Monday at the Barclays Center, the new arena's first rock show.


Rush played nine songs from their steam-punk themed new album, Clockwork Angels. Props and videos told a vague story about the band living together as gnomes, with punchlines that wouldn't have made it past Bazooka Joe. Unlike fellow Canadian Leonard Cohen, whose tours rescue his '80s songs from the abyss of '80s rock production, Geddy Lee still plays bass and synthesizer at the same time on songs like "The Big Money" and "Red Sector A." Neal Peart got two drums solos, and deserved a third one. Oh yeah, for the first time ever in Rush history, they're bringing a string section on tour with them.

Mainstream respect has been a long time coming for Rush, capped with this year's Rock Hall nomination, and critics are now either grudgingly or genuinely admiring the band's 40 year history of playing arenas with no support from media or pop radio. On their current tour, the band seems to have moved on from that history, choosing to revive cuts from Signals and Power Windows and leave out classics like "Freewill," "Limelight" and "Closer to the Heart." But at this point, Rush can play whatever they want. Nearly every fan will sing along to every song, and even more of them will contribute air guitar and air drums. More importantly, the band are the kind of showbiz pros that one could hope for--professional without being self-serious, high-production and still spontaneous. Throwing "Manhattan Project" into the set? Tossing a synthpop gauntlet with "Force Ten?" Alex Lifeson's improvised hoedown when his Gibson went out? Just as indispensable as "YYZ."

Not to leave casual fans unsatisfied, the band closed with "The Spirit of Radio" and encored with a still-raging "Tom Sawyer" and the game-changing "2112." The band's exuberance carried through the finish--I was reminded of the scene in the must-see Beyond the Lighted Stage, where Lee explains that he never gets tired of playing the hits, since they're always hard to play. My accomplice grabbed my shoulder and reminded me that the show was "fucking awesome." His date, the rock music equivalent of the one girl in a comic book store, was practically giddy. It would be cooler to write about Black Sabbath or AC/DC, but I left the Barclays Center wishing that more of my favorite bands were like Rush.

New York for Talia

Last year, I made a New York City mix for my friend Ellen. In the process, I learned that there were far too many great NYC songs for one 80-minute CD, so I shaped it to Ellen's liking--she got Prince, Harry Nilsson, Leonard Cohen and Rancid. Last fall, I Frankensteined the mix for Richard. He got Nas, Jay-Z, Bill Withers and Lou Reed. Now, my buddy Talia has moved back to Brooklyn, and she enjoys Paul Simon and Bruce Springsteen.




New York for Talia

1. Ramones, "Rockaway Beach"
2. Beastie Boys, "No Sleep Till Brooklyn"
3. Elvis Costello & the Attractions, "(I Don't Want to Go to) Chelsea"
4. The Notorious B.I.G., "Juicy"
5. Bob Dylan, "Hard Times in New York Town"
6. Stevie Wonder, "Living for the City"
7. The Pogues, "Fairytale of New York"
8. The Drifters, "On Broadway"
9. Wu-Tang Clan, "C.R.E.A.M."
10. Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington, "Drop Me Off in Harlem" 
11. The Rolling Stones, "Shattered"
12. Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, "The Message"
13. Andrew W.K., "I Love NYC"
14. Fountains of Wayne, "No Better Place"
15. Tom Waits, "Downtown Train"
16. Simon and Garfunkel, "The Only Living Boy in New York"
17. Bruce Springsteen, "Jungleland"
18. Run-D.M.C., "Christmas in Hollis"

I'll take any excuse to put the Beastie Boys and Rolling Stones on a mix CD, or to argue that the Apple hosts the world's finest hip-hop. Here, "The Message" follows its clearest influence, "Living in the City," and there isn't much that can top "C.R.E.A.M." or "Juicy." But to Talia's liking, I'm giving her a Satchmo and Sir Duke team-up and of course "Jungleland," honoring her Springsteen fandom and the late Clarence Clemons' greatest solo.

Ellen returned my CD with her own terrific New York mix, and  I've cherry-picked "No Better Place" and "The Only Living Boy in New York" from her choices. Over all, I avoided the decibel levels that usually distinguish my mixes, though I couldn't imagine anyone resisting Andrew W.K.'s "I Love NYC."

One of my favorite parts of Ellen's and Richard's mixes was ending each one with the Sex Pistols' "New York." What better way to pay tribute to the Capital of the World than to end with one big raspberry blown by Johnny Rotten? Yet for all of Talia's intellectual curiosity, I couldn't picture her getting down to being called a pile of shit. Thus, I'm ending New York for Talia with the less divisive but equally satisfying "Christmas in Hollis."

Download here: New York for Talia