Utah, Day Five (RUSH!!!)

Thursday, August 5th - today consisted of a couple of field trips.  Pete and I went out with the sibs for a grown-ups only Indian buffet lunch, so Grandpa and Grandma took the kids downtown.  They went to a current exhibition at Temple Square which featured a cross-section of the Salt Lake Temple, as well as some other displays of temple related replicas and paraphernalia.

Thanks to grandma and her iPhone there are pictures! 

Then tonight - a milestone event!  

My brother Spencer and I took Jack to his very first RUSH concert!

Thanks to my iPhone, there are pictures! 

It was an outdoor concert at the Usana amphitheater on pretty

much the other side of Salt Lake from where we live 

We sat near the front of the grass section -

 still a great view and plenty of room to move around 

This marks Jack's first Rush concert, as well as his first rock concert,

and I can't think of a better way to start.  I've been a loyal fan of

the band Rush for over 25 years (at least).  I've seen them in 

concert more times than I can count, somewhere around 20 is 

what I estimate.  I saw them a number of times growing up in

Salt Lake, and even saw them once while on vacation   

 in Honolulu (their first concerts there) when I was 16 or 17.

Every time they played Madison Square Garden or neighboring

New Jersey when I lived back East, I was there. 

There were some quiet years right after I got married, due in part

to the new love in my life, and due in part to some personal issues that

the band was going through at that exact time which means they

were not doing any touring.  Rush has never played a concert in

Thailand, or I would have gone when we lived there. 

Since moving to California I've seen them in Utah a couple of times,

and every time my brother and fellow fan Spencer has been my companion. 

Sadly, although he claims to be a fan, Pete has never seen them in concert with me. 

The show tonight was, of course, spectacular.

Geddy Lee in action - 

really is there any song in the world better than The Spirit of Radio?

There is an awesome documentary out about the band now called

Rush, Beyond the Lighted Stage.

If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend that you do.  Not only is it some great

back story and footage of Rush through the years, but it features many, many of their

fellow musicians and rock stars telling of how they are huge Rush fans too,

and how amazing they think they are.  I'm talking Trent Reznor, Billy Corgan,

Jack Black and Gene Simmons, just to name a few.  I also love the way

it explores and exposes the deep friendship held by Geddy and Alex Lifeson.

Pete did watch the documentary with me and enjoyed it a lot. 

The Saturday after the show Pete and I were driving down 45th South,

and this is what we saw out on someone's lawn.

(the hood also had a cool 2112 graphic on it) 

If this doesn't underscore the need for Rush

 to be inducted into the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame, nothing does. 

But, even if Ohio doesn't get it, Colbert does.