Rush Delivers Surprise-Filled Second Show: Videos, Set List
Rush returned for their second night at the Forum in Los Angeles on June 9, delivering a set that noticeably deviated from what they’d performed on night one.
Rush’s Fifty Something tour – their first trek in 11 years – will see the band performing multiple nights in cities across North America. Prior to the tour's launch, frontman Geddy Lee confirmed that the group would be regularly switching things up within the set list.
As they prepared for the tour – their first since the death of drummer Neil Peart in 2020 – Rush honed in on 38 songs they felt confident in rotating.
“For this tour, we’re starting from scratch,” Lee explained in an interview last month. “And we’re really teaching an incredibly talented, exciting drummer that comes from a very different school of music how to understand 40 songs from this weird, idiosyncratic band. That’s a horse of an entirely different color.”
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The talented drummer Lee was referring to is Anika Nilles, the woman who was enlisted to fill Peart’s formidable shoes. Nilles received rave reviews for her debut concert with Rush on June 7, and she was again a strong presence in their night two performance.
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The first two songs of Rush’s second performance mirrored the first show. The band opened with “Xanadu,” followed by “The Spirit of Radio.” Things took a turn with the third song of the night, as Rush performed “The Analog Kid” for the first time since 2013.
Further repeats included “Freewill,” Subdivisions” and “Bravado,” the latter of which was dedicated to Peart. But Rush certainly kept things unpredictable, offering up more tour debuts, including “Leave That Thing Alone” (for the first time since 2011), “Headlong Flight” and “The Trees.” The latter tune hadn’t been played in concert since 2008.
Watch Rush Perform 'The Trees' During Their June 9 Show
Rush Save Some Big Surprises for the Second Set of Night Two
After their midshow intermission, Rush returned for their second set of the night. At first it seemed like the band would follow the same map from their opening show, but once again they had something surprising in store.
On night one, Rush delivered an abridged version of their beloved opus "2112,” but for night two they performed the seven part prog rock suite in its entirety. The concert marked the first time since 1997 that Rush played Part III: “Discovery,” Part V: “Oracle: The Dream” and Part VI: “Soliloquy.”
More tour debuts were littered throughout the second set, including “Animate,” "Closer to the Heart” and “A Passage to Bangkok.” In total, Rush performed 28 songs, 14 of which differed from their opening night concert. See videos and a full set list below.
Watch Rush Perform 'Witch Hunt' During Their June 9 Show
Watch Rush Perform 'Closer to the Heart' During Their June 9 Show
Watch Rush Perform 'Anthem' During Their June 9 Show
Rush, Los Angeles, June 9 Set List
1. “Xanadu”
2. “The Spirit of Radio”
3. “The Analog Kid”
4. “Freewill”
5. “Subdivisions”
6. “Bravado”
7. “Leave That Thing Alone”
8. “The Trees”
9. “Headlong Flight”
10. “Limelight”
Set 2:
11. 2112 Part I: “Overture”
12. 2112 Part II: “The Temples of Syrinx”
13. 2112 Part III: “Discovery”
14. 2112 Part IV: “Presentation”
15. 2112 Part V: “Oracle: The Dream”
16. 2112 Part VI: “Soliloquy”
17. 2112 Part VII: “Grand Finale”
18. “Animate”
19. “Closer to the Heart”
20. “A Passage to Bangkok”
21. “Time Stand Still”
22. “YYZ”
23. “Anthem”
24. “Red Barchetta”
25. “Witch Hunt”
26. “Tom Sawyer”
27. "Finding My Way"
28. "Working Man"
