The Spirit of Rush: Friday 21st July 2023, The Drill, Lincoln

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Owen ? (bass, synth, lead vocals) / Tim ? (guitar, keyboards, vocals) / Tufty ? (drums & percussion)

I never got to see the real Rush, so tribute bands are always the next best option. Bravado I have seen a couple of times, but this lot were new to me. A relatively new kid on the block, the band’s own publicity reads thus: “Introducing The Spirit of Rush, the ultimate tribute band celebrating the genius of the iconic prog-rock legends, Rush. Immerse yourself in an electrifying experience as The Spirit of Rush flawlessly recreates the timeless classics and intricate melodies that defined an era. From “Tom Sawyer” to “2112,” their passionate performance captures the spirit and intensity of Rush’s unforgettable sound. With remarkable musicianship and unwavering dedication, The Spirit of Rush will transport you to a realm where nostalgia meets exhilaration. Prepare to embark on an epic musical journey that pays homage to the legends themselves. Rush on with The Spirit of Rush!” All very positive as you would, of course, expect.

(Photo courtesy Steve Gash)

This gig was also a chance to catch up with my old pal Steve Gash. It’s amazing how some people just don’t change at all other than looking older, whilst others look almost completely different; Steve certainly falls into the former category, whilst I am firmly in the latter camp, mainly due to my hairstyle being drastically different these days! 🙂 As you can imagine, we certainly had a lot to chat about on the journey there and back.

Anyway… the gig…

“Tufty” (Stock photo)

Steve correctly called at the outset that Rush tribute bands stand or fall on the quality of their singer, and he was 100% correct but, in truth, it went deeper than that. I think that in order to replicate the sound of Rush, a band might need to move beyond the boundaries set by a trio and again, this proved true last night, especially so if you are not going for the looky-likey approach, which these three clearly weren’t (and made no bones about it as they chatted with the audience). It might have been worth the band employing a keyboard player to take charge of the ‘pedal’ stuff usually operated by the Geddy Lee character in the band, but they didn’t and I think that the performance suffered as a result. The band was also hampered by a number of other issues, beginning with the drums being mixed way, way too far forward and the guitar was, for the most part, drowned out which is not what you want to hear if it’s Rush music that you are listening to. As well as the occasional blast of feedback, sometimes the music just sounded a cacophonous mess with no melody and it was hard to tell what the song was. A perfect example of this was the closing number, ‘Spirit of Radio’ which should be instantly recognisable, but it certainly wasn’t (to my ears, at any rate).

Owen & Tim (Stock photo)

We certainly got value for money though as the band played two sets, the first lasting about an hour, starting at 8pm, and containing eleven songs; the second set ran from 9:30 to 10:50 and had a further eleven songs. As to the songs themselves, there is an accurate setlist below and, as you will see, they provided a fair spread of songs across several albums including the vastly underrated ‘Roll the Bones’. The highlight of the night for me came in that second set with a very spirited – pun fully intended! 😉 – rendition of the classic ‘Xanadu‘ from the wonderful ‘A Farewell to Kings’ album. Well done indeed on that one, lads. 👏

(Photo courtesy Steve Gash)

The Spirit of Rush tried hard, of that there can be no doubt. They certainly enjoyed themselves and were very enthusiastically received by the true Rush aficionados, of which there were quite a few, in a rather sparse audience of no more than a couple of hundred (the back half of the hall was fenced off, and the punters were collected in small groups and couples with plenty of room in between). But they didn’t quite do it for me and I don’t think I’ll bother again. Bravado are definitely a much better, tighter unit.

Setlist: Set 1: Bastille Day / A Passage to Bangkok / Tom Sawyer (medley); Entre Nous; Subdivisions; Ghost of a Chance; Force Ten; Dreamline; The Camera Eye; Freewill; Marathon; Set 2: Cygnus X-1 / Test for Echo / Anthem / Analog Kid (medley); Limelight; Witch Hunt; Different Strings; La Villa Strangiato; The Trees; Xanadu; The Garden; Closer to the Heart; Encore: 2112 Overture / The Temples of Syrinx; Spirit of Radio