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Rush

 (Nokia Theater; 7,100 seats; 154,50 top)

By PHIL GALLO

Rush takes to Los Angeles' Nokia stage in a 3½-hour, 27-song set.

Presented by AEG. Opened and reviewed May 6, 2008; also May 8.
 
Band: Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, Neil Peart.
 

A model of consistency with the capacity to thrill packed houses close to 30 years after creating genre-defining albums, Rush remains an enigma that floats along in a universe it controls by its lonesome. Tuesday at a sold-out Nokia, their show went 3½ hours with intermission and resembled many of their shows that have come before -- the trio deftly playing their instruments with a casual air, flawlessly re-creating and never reinventing their recordings, the devoted fan base reacting with air drums, air guitars and air batons. Unlike their peers, Rush can step forward from the past and venture beyond prog-rock confines moving toward pop -- "Ghost of a Chance" could be a George Michael hit -- or even straight-forward hard rock like "Armor and Sword."

Current tour, with a set list of 27 songs, is a curious one: It's program is based on a live album, released April 15, that chronicled the tour that followed the last studio album, "Snakes & Arrows," which was released a year ago this week. Tour is taking them to long-overlooked cities and into new venues such as the Nokia, about the smallest place Rush has played in L.A. in 20 years. (Volume, however, was at a level needed to reach from the Hollywood Bowl to the San Fernando Valley). Presence of "Snakes & Arrows Live" benefits Rush concert virgins by providing an idea of what to expect, specifically a greater emphasis on traditional melody than the '80s albums, a more rounded bottom within Geddy Lee's trademark wail and, of course, brilliant drumming from Neil Peart.

Beyond his stick work, Peart's unique powers show up in the songwriting, his pedagogical approach to the philosophical and the honorable unique within rock music in the past three decades. As a drummer, he is peerless in alternating between holding down a beat and cutting through the din created by Lee and guitarist Alex Lifeson. His solo toward the end of the evening is a stunner -- he goes two minutes before he ever even taps a cymbal -- and he culminates the showcase with a big-band tribute to his idol Buddy Rich, although the precision with which he plays deserves comparison to Rich protιgι Ed Shaugnessy as well.

Solo seg sits squarely in the middle of a block of tunes the band appears to rely on for a second wind. "The Way the Wind Blows," about as close to the blues as Rush has ever come, eases into "Subdivisions," the FM radio staple from '82 that Lee sings with an elevated level of circumspection, and finally the intricately designed "Natural Science," one of the epics from 1980's landmark "Permanent Waves."

It's all a set-up for glorious versions of "The Spirit of Radio" and "2112: Overture/The Temples of Syrinx," which feature Lifeson at his most tenacious; the two tunes may well be the only times the guitarist lets the audience see him step outside his cool demeanor. "Tom Sawyer," natch, closes the main show; "YYZ" is the last of three encores.

Quibble as one might that the trio is shackled not only to a specific repertoire but also the order in which songs are played, it works as well for them as it does in the legit theater. Stage is clear except for a set of eight amps stacked in pairs, Peart's revolving drum platform and three vertical rotisserie ovens stocked with whole chickens. (They replace the last tour's clothes dryers).

The 3½ hours of music-making are accompanied by video imagery -- live action, animation, vintage footage and performance shots -- that's crisply reproduced and generally enthralling. Using B&W footage of apes and chimps is a bit too spot-on accompanying "The Main Monkey Business," one of "Arrows & Snakes'" stronger tracks, but then again, who doesn't get a chuckle watching lower primates execute human tasks?