[DID NOT ATTEND: August 21 & 23, 2026] Rush
Rush concerts part 2. It’s crazy that I could have seen them six times.
So, having missed the MSG shows, and really knowing I wasn’t going to go to any of them, I kept my eyes on the Philly shows. Those did not sell out entirely and I did keep watching those special seats to see of the prices ever went down. And they just never did.
By this time we were back from vacation and were not quite on crunch time for bringing our daughter to school. But initially I had a ticket to a show the night before this (and didn’t go because of the weather) and we had a ticket to a comedian the following night (but didn’t go because we’re lame). Nut in all honesty, a Friday night going to Xfnity Mobile Arena sounds like a nightmare. You’d have to leave at like 4. Insanity.
So really that only left the 23rd. But by the time that show came around I had accepted that I wasn’t going to go so I didn’t even look.
And despite the massive accolades from strangers and relatives (Montreal), I’m really not that bummed I missed out. It sounds like it would have been fun, but I really don’t feel like I missed out.
And good for me. Plus, there’s always that DVD.
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In high school and some of college, Rush was my favorite band. No questions asked. My best college friend and I bonded over the band. I didn’t go to enough shows during college–why didn’t I drive to Binghamton with him?
Since college I have listened to them a lot less, although i did really enjoy all of the albums they put out. And I was super psyched to see their final tour before Neil died.
Geddy and Alex said they would never be Rush again and it sounded like they were both content to play music with other people and do their hobbies. And then this was announced. I wasn’t upset (it’s not like The Who or Slayer who have farewell tours all the time). And I Was really excited that they had replaced Neil with Anika Nilles–if only because it upset so many people that there was a “girl drummer.”
When the shows were first announced I didn’t intend to go. I didn’t feel it was necessary even if it had been over a decade since that last show.
And then I saw the prices. Jaysus. I have local friends who are much bigger Rush fans than me and they were jumping in paying $500/$600 a ticket, which is crazy–but was nowhere near the high end of prices. As the dates grew closer and I heard great things about the shows, I kept my eyes on tickets. Despite the immediate crush of sales, I don’t think all of the nights sold out. And I’d also heard that dynamic pricing tends to get cheaper the day of the show. Of course, that would still mean driving all the way into New York for a pain in the ass trip to MSG.
Ultimately, I decided not even investigate tickets.
And let’s see. The 28th, I had a ticket to see Metric.
The 30th, I could have gone, but we were going on vacation two days later and that felt like a huge time commitment–this was the only day I seriously considered though.
And Aug 1 & 3 were were on vacation.
Back in the day, a Rush show was exactly the same night after night. Possibly even note for note. But this tour, they have been mixing up setlists like crazy and, while I’m not mad that I missed all the shows, I would have been really bummed if I went to one of the nights and the setlist was better on a different night. I mean, let’s be honest, any Rush setlist is a good one, but … The 30th featured all of 2112, which was pretty cool.
Plus, I’ll BET they release a show or two on DVD.
This show had been rescheduled for March of 2022 after two previous cancellations. But with the rise of more COVID cases Fu Manchu decided to cancel once more. It strikes me that they seem quite content to just cancel a show and then work with the venues for a future show, so I’ll assume they’ll be back to Philly eventually.
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