{"id":498390,"date":"2026-10-16T19:30:14","date_gmt":"2026-10-16T19:30:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/498390\/"},"modified":"2026-10-16T19:30:14","modified_gmt":"2026-10-16T19:30:14","slug":"review-rush-fifty-something-concert-tour-plays-sap-center-in-san-jose","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/498390\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Rush Fifty Something concert tour plays SAP Center in San Jose"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Rush reunion<\/a> appears to have legs.<\/p>\n

What many believed would be a one-off reunion show to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Canadian band and honor the late great drummer Neil Peart<\/a>\u00a0showed all the makings of something that could go on for years and years during the first of two Rush shows at SAP Center<\/a> on Thursday night (Oct. 15).<\/p>\n

Rush, which also performs at the downtown San Jose venue on Oct. 17, sounded absolutely revitalized and pretty much as powerful as ever as it performed 26 songs over the course of two sets for a sold-out crowd of some 11,500 fans.<\/p>\n

The group currently consists of two-thirds of Rush\u2019s classic power trio foundation<\/a> \u2014 guitarist\/founding member Alex Lifeson and vocalist-bassist Geddy Lee. The third part in that original equation, of course, was Peart \u2014 arguably the most highly acclaimed rock drummer of all time \u2014 who died from cancer in 2020 at the age of 67. Filling in for \u201cThe Professor\u201d on drums is Anika Nilles, a former YouTube sensation with a number of her own albums, while prominent sideman Loren Gold is handling keyboards on this trek.<\/p>\n

I just can\u2019t get over how great the whole ensemble sounded in San Jose \u2014 not at all like a band that hadn\u2019t toured in well over a decade. This was not a shadow of Rush\u2019s former self<\/a> \u2014 or, as we\u2019ve seen too often in the classic rock world, a lesser version of a once-great band trying to make a big cash grab \u2014 but rather an entity that is worth seeing again and again.<\/p>\n

With no opening act on the Fifty Something Tour bill, the house lights dimmed right around 7:45 p.m. and a fun intro video \u2014 dubbed \u201cXanadudes\u201d \u2014 began to play on the big screens. It featured three actors, representing much younger versions of Lifeson, Lee and Nilles, searching through a haunted castle for the real Rush. They\u2019d come across comedians Paul Rudd and Jason Segel, who had been trapped in this eerie abode for years as they played Rush cover songs, and then ran into the animated \u201cLil Rush\u201d from \u201cSouth Park\u201d fame.<\/p>\n

Finally, they\u2019d find ancient versions of Lee and Lifeson, who were covered in cobwebs and playing a challenging game of \u201cGo Fish.\u201d From there the storyline got even fuzzier, but the result was that the older Rush men were magically transported back to \u201cjam\u201d \u2014 and then, suddenly, the real-life versions appeared on the stage in San Jose with Nilles and Gold.<\/p>\n

\"Rush'sRush\u2019s Geddy Lee performs during their \u201cFifty Something Tour\u201d at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0<\/p>\n

These prog-rock heroes went right into \u201cXanadu,\u201d the lengthy and mystical instrumental from the 1977 album \u201cA Farewell to Kings\u201d that has surely served as the soundtrack for countless Dungeons & Dragons contests. Both the guitarist and the bassist performed on double-neck instruments to start, a sure sign that this was not going to be a night of musicality for the faint of heart, while Nilles worked a huge kit that would have a hard time fitting inside a haunted castle.<\/p>\n

From \u201cXanadu\u201d \u2014 which is not quite as good as Olivia Newton-John\/ELO number of the same name \u2014 Lee immediately greeted the crowd, introducing listeners to band members both old and new, while expressing his gratitude for the chance to be back playing music in San Jose.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou look (expletive) awesome,\u201d Lee exclaimed to the audience. \u201cIts so nice to be back in the Bay Area.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a lot of things on our agenda tonight. First of all, we need to celebrate. We need to celebrate 50 years of making music.\u201d<\/p>\n

The band and its highly loving, loyal fans would do just that as we dove headfirst into 1981\u2019s \u201cMoving Pictures\u201d for the classic-rock staple \u201cLimelight,\u201d a work that balances Rush\u2019s intense prog musicality with radio-friendly accessibility as well as anything in its catalog, and then stepped ahead one year (and album) to 1982\u2019s \u201cSignals\u201d for the equally crowd-pleasing \u201cSubdivisions.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Rush'sRush\u2019s Alex Lifeson performs during their \u201cFifty Something Tour\u201d at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lee then took the time to once again speak with the crowd, sharing his thoughts on how special it is to share such intense musical with two people \u2014in his case, Lifeson and Peart \u2014 over so many decades.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd if you are really lucky you get to see those dreams prosper,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The show continued with \u201cThe Pass,\u201d an amazingly crafted tune from 1989 album \u201cPresto\u201d that highlights Peart\u2019s continued growth as a songwriter, and then rocked into the well-known rocker \u201cFreewill\u201d from 1980\u2019s \u201cPermanent Waves.\u201d There was also a touching tribute video to Peart in the first half, followed by a second one in the nightcap.<\/p>\n

\"Rush'sRush\u2019s Geddy Lee performs during their \u201cFifty Something Tour\u201d at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0<\/p>\n

The music was so richly textured and finely performed, with Lifeson \u2014 one of the top rock guitarists on the planet \u2014 adding amazing guitar leads and parts throughout the night. Both Lifeson and Lee shone equally on their instruments during \u201cFreewill,\u201d with the latter also using the occasion to push his countertenor voice about as sky-high as it can go. Then the two players took their instrumental games to an even more stunning level on 1991\u2019s \u201cRoll the Bones\u201d standout \u201cBravado\u201d \u2014 and, thankfully, did not follow up by playing the rap-rock title track from that same album.<\/p>\n

The group has been changing the setlist on a nightly basis, even going so far as to spotlight different albums. This time around, fans got the huge treat of hearing the best parts of Rush\u2019s legendary \u201c2112\u201d as the band played all of Side 1 \u2014 which consists of the massive seven-part sci-fi title track, going from \u201cOverture\u201d to \u201cGrand Finale\u201d \u2014 at the start of the second set. (Judging from previous setlists, fans will likely hear the band spotlight \u201cMoving Pictures\u201d on Night 2 at SAP Center \u2014 which, of course, means that the Night 1 folks got the much better deal.)<\/p>\n

\"Rush'sRush\u2019s drummer Anika Nilles performs during their \u201cFifty Something Tour\u201d at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Nilles was on top of her game throughout the show. It never felt like anything was musically missing from the songs, and that\u2019s saying something.\u00a0It\u2019s unfair to directly compare her to Peart \u2014 often heralded as the pinnacle of rock drumming in the same way Jimi Hendrix is cited as the greatest guitarist of all time. Yet. in every way, shape and form, Nilles came across as the right person to be in the drum throne as Rush moves forward.<\/p>\n

And as the concert came neared its conclusion with the the likes of \u201cRed Barchetta,\u201d \u201cThe Garden\u201d and \u201cTom Sawyer,\u201d Rush very much sounded like a band that could indeed have a very bright future. I could see them recording a new album, if not several new albums, and further building upon a legacy that already has landed the band in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n

\"Rush'sRush\u2019s Alex Lifeson performs during their \u201cFifty Something Tour\u201d at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rush in concert<\/p>\n

When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 17<\/p>\n

Where: SAP Center, San Jose<\/p>\n

Info: Ticketmaster.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Setlist:<\/p>\n

1. \u201cXanadu\u201d
2. \u201cLimelight\u201d
3. \u201cSubdivisions\u201d
4. \u201cThe Pass\u201d
5. \u201cFreewill\u201d
6. \u201cBravado\u201d
7. \u201cLa Villa Strangiato\u201d
8. \u201cNatural Science\u201d
9. \u201cThe Spirit of Radio\u201d
Set 2:
10. \u201c2112 Part I: Overture\u201d
11. \u201c2112 Part II: The Temples of Syrinx\u201d
12. \u201c2112 Part III: Discovery\u201d
13. \u201c2112 Part IV: Presentation\u201d
14. \u201c2112 Part V: Oracle: The Dream\u201d
15. \u201c2112 Part VI: Soliloquy\u201d
16. \u201c2112 Part VII: Grand Finale\u201d
17. \u201cCloser to the Heart\u201d
18. \u201cA Passage to Bangkok\u201d
19. \u201cTime Stand Still\u201d
20. \u201cYYZ\u201d
21. \u201cAnthem\u201d
22. \u201cRed Barchetta\u201d
23. \u201cThe Garden\u201d
24. \u201cTom Sawyer\u201d
Encore:
25. \u201cFinding My Way\u201d
26. \u201cWorking Man\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Rush'sRush\u2019s Geddy Lee, center, and Alex Lifeson perform during their \u201cFifty Something Tour\u201d at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0
\n\"Rush'sRush\u2019s Alex Lifeson, left, and Geddy Lee perform during their \u201cFifty Something Tour\u201d at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0
\n\"Rush'sRush\u2019s Alex Lifeson, far left, and Geddy Lee, far right, perform during their \u201cFifty Something Tour\u201d at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Rush reunion appears to have legs. What many believed would be a one-off reunion show to celebrate…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":498391,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[184,7,2644,4978,1533,181,330,3743,8257,8258,88,90,89,198,2577,94685,200,420],"class_list":["post-498390","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-jose","tag-bay-area","tag-california","tag-concerts","tag-downtown-san-jose","tag-keywee","tag-latest-headlines","tag-music","tag-nightlife","tag-pop-music","tag-rock-music","tag-san-jose","tag-san-jose-headlines","tag-san-jose-news","tag-santa-clara-county","tag-sap-center","tag-social-alert","tag-south-bay","tag-things-to-do"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/498390","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=498390"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/498390\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/498391"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=498390"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=498390"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=498390"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}