I forgot to Rush
I finally get it, I think. After forty years of wandering in the musical desert, the role of “Rush” in the scheme of things has been explained.
Thanks to Much Music, I skipped supper and watched the 2010 documentary Rush: Beyond The Lighted Stage. With great interest and eventually, pleasure. Because… wait for it… they rock! Finally, a time line to hang a whole series of musical interludes. I admit it. I don’t own a complete discography (although it is starting to seem like an idea). I can’t drum like Neil, or slap my bass like Geddie. Probably won’t, in this lifetime. I might start paying attention, though. The three of them seem to be really regular guys, underneath the genius aura.
The early years rang true. I was in Ontario, then. Too young to go out to bars, I did attend school dances with religious fervour. No, Rush didn’t appear in my gym (but they could have, if my student council had been a little cooler). We did get Fludd, and A Foot In Coldwater, and a few other name bands. I still remember the music, if not the audience. The room was dark, OK.
When the film crew pulled up some of the famous venues from downtown T.O., I knew where they meant. From having walked by outside… remember, too young to party. The clothes also fit. Colours from a bygone time (thankfully). The hair – I’m still in the zone. But the music progressed. That’s the point of prog rock.
And so now I resolve to catch up on what I’ve been missing. If you hear me humming and clapping in a mixed time signature, you’ll know why.
A postscript, because it isn’t over until it is over. The McMaster Marauders have won the Vanier Cup against the Laval Rouge et Or in second overtime. A field goal, after a penalty for too many men on the field. Tough but fair.
