So Rush has announced that they’re no longer going to tour. Now, I take announcements of retirement by musicians with a grain of salt – how many farewell tours did Cher and Tina Turner have? – unless the musicians have actually died, and then hey, there’s always Tupac to throw a wrench in that monkey. (He, Elvis and Jim Morrison recently announced their tour – I’ll stop.)
But Rush has been touring for 40 years, their R40 concert was amazing, and their last several albums were solid – if there’s any time they should stop, this is it. If I’d done something awesome for 40 years and I felt inclined to stop, that would be a good point to do it. (I never plan to stop; I want to faceplant in my keyboard before they freeze my head, but hey, that’s me).
Rush was my introduction to rock; it was the first rock band I enjoyed, the first music that my friends liked that I liked too. (Normally there’s no crossover, or, rarely, the musical introductions went the other way around). I still remember “Tom Sawyer” though, after the death of my dad “Vapor Trail” is my favorite. And a Rush concert was one of the first dates I had with my future wife.
Enjoy your laurels, my never-forgotten friends. Your labors may or may not be ended, but your music will live forever.
-the Centaur
