KILBURNFLYER

Has been an age since my last concert so I was a bundle of excitement all day yesterday anticipating Rush at Wembley Arena. A magnificent opening with a blistering version of limelight but then the concert lost its way a bit. The sound was perfect, all three members of the band were playing as well as ever, the light show was impressive but it all fell apart with the song selection. Way too much of the new album - although the songs were good - they do not approach the magnificence of so much of their 30 year back catalogue. I appreciate that playing excerpts from 2112 or farewell to kings may get a bit dull for the band but that is what we pay our £50 for - to hear live those songs we know and love. I can't imagine going to see the Who without hearing My Generation or Deep Purple not playing Smoke on the Water (although sometimes I wish I could) but I heard hardly any of the back catalogue last night. When they did dig deep - Spirit of Radio, Tom Sawyer, Circumstances, Freewill and finally an encore including Passage to Bangkok and YYZ - the crowd reaction was great. Am going again tonight - I hope they throw in a few more oldies but I have seen them on consecutive nights twice before and each time the set list was exactly the same so I am not hopeful. I suppose I should have bought the new album before I went but I like hearing new material live for the first time - chuck in the three best songs from the album and I bet you get a better return in sales than showcasing the whole thing and letting people go home entertained but slightly disappointed because they know how good it could have been if they had mixed it up a bit more.