{"id":372835,"date":"2026-07-14T18:28:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T18:28:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/372835\/"},"modified":"2026-07-14T18:28:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T18:28:10","slug":"rushs-half-century-legacy-ignited-during-final-night-at-dickies-arena","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/372835\/","title":{"rendered":"Rush’s half-century legacy ignited during final night at Dickies Arena"},"content":{"rendered":"

In his 2023 autobiography, \u201cMy Effin\u2019 Life,\u201d Rush lead singer and otherworldly bass player Geddy Lee wrote, \u201cThere has been an understandable expectation of me to carry on making music. \u2026 The thought of never stepping on stage again, well, seems incorrect.\u201d<\/p>\n

Four powerhouse shows <\/a>at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth proved, man, was he ever right.<\/p>\n

There was a time when Rush appeared to have nestled into retirement, the group\u2019s last tour coming in 2015, when it celebrated its 40th anniversary as a band. And with the passing of legendary drummer Neil Peart<\/a> in 2020 and guitarist Alex Lifeson battling his own medical issues, it seemed increasingly unlikely that Rush would hit the road again.<\/p>\n

\"\"The Fifty Something Tour marks the band\u2019s first outing on the road in more than a decade. <\/p>\n

Andrew Sherman for Dallas Observer <\/p>\n

Sign up for the Music newsletter to get the latest stories delivered to your inbox<\/p>\n

THANK YOU!<\/p>\n

You’re all set.<\/p>\n

CLOSE\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

However, it was the loss of another drummer, the Foo Fighters\u2019 Taylor Hawkins in March 2022, that ignited the spark for Lee and Lifeson. In September of that year, Rush held two benefit concerts (one in LA, the other at Wembley Stadium in London) for Hawkins, with drummers including Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters and Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. <\/p>\n

Flash-forward, and here we are now with Rush wrapping up its final show in Fort Worth as part of the group\u2019s Fifty-Something Tour.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThere have been rumors forever that they were going to go out again,\u201d said Brad Oldham, who has seen Rush every time they\u2019ve come to his town since the band\u2019s 1978-79 Hemispheres tour, including attending three of the four shows this year in our neck of the woods. \u201cIt was a surprise. Obviously, a very pleasant one.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though all four concerts were officially sold out, rescheduling one of those to a Monday night didn\u2019t make for a completely packed house. Regardless, that really had no effect on the energy of the band members or those who did make it out to see them. Lee and Lifeson undoubtedly still have their musical chops.<\/p>\n

Joining the two founding members was Anika Nilles, who, needless to say, has had to fill some mighty big shoes on drums. But let\u2019s get this straight, she ain\u2019t no joke, as Nilles can work a kit with both force and care, giving new meaning to precision German engineering (she was born in Aschaffenburg). The veteran masterfully handled the drum duties of Peart and received a very warm reception from fans.<\/p>\n

\"\"Anika Nilles did a stellar job behind the kit on Monday night, stepping in for Neil Peart, the band\u2019s longtime drummer who died in 2020.<\/p>\n

Andrew Sherman for Dallas Observer <\/p>\n

Peart was honored with a pair of video tributes during the show, but his presence was felt throughout. Several times, Lee mentioned him to the crowd, and as the band\u2019s primary lyricist, each song was a reminder of Peart\u2019s brilliance.<\/p>\n

Of course, while drummers old and new found adoration, and touring keyboardist and backup singer Loren Gold was also integral to the performance, it was Lifeson and Lee who people came to see. And they did not disappoint.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The first set featured a mix of hits like \u201cSubdivisions\u201d and \u201cFreewill,\u201d along with deeper cuts such as \u201cBravado\u201d and \u201cLa Villa Strangiato.\u201d Lee remarked after the final exclamation point on the latter, ending a barnburning instrumental, \u201cIt should be illegal to have that much fun.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Guitarist Alex Lifeson plays a double-neck guitar on Monday night. <\/p>\n

Andrew Sherman for Dallas Observer <\/p>\n

Oldham, who plays bass in the local cover band Rush More (a tall order if ever there was one), said they\u2019re all virtuosos, adding, \u201cGeddy plays a lot of notes, and he plays aggressively. \u2026 He\u2019s been described by some people as like a lead guitarist playing bass.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rush then closed out the first hour-plus with \u201cThe Spirit of the Radio,\u201d which proved the old adage true: Always leave them wanting more.<\/p>\n

Following a 30-minute break, the second set got underway with the band diving into perhaps the benchmark for prog-rock: side one of \u201c2112.\u201d Make no mistake, Rush fans love this album. The night\u2019s biggest crowd participation came with the traditional raising of fists and collective shouts of \u201cHey!\u201d during \u201cThe Temples of Syrinx.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Geddy Lee is the band\u2019s triple threat, leading vocals and playing keys and bass.<\/p>\n

Andrew Sherman for Dallas Observer <\/p>\n

It should also be noted here that perhaps even more impressive than his bass playing was Lee\u2019s distinctive voice. Despite his recent illness, Lee was indeed on point Monday night, still piercing high above the raging groove.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Far from done, he and his bandmates then slipped in \u201cTime Stand Still\u201d before following up with Rush\u2019s most successful album, playing the entirety of \u201cMoving Pictures.\u201d The block kicked off with \u201cYYZ,\u201d one of the greatest rock instrumentals and bass features ever put on tape, with \u201cTom Sawyer\u201d and Nilles\u2019 explosive drum fills finishing the second set.<\/p>\n

Though Lee and Lifeson admittedly seemed to tire as the concert went on (and why wouldn\u2019t they, considering the remarkable effort given), the two certainly had enough left in the tank to knock out the encore. The bonus time featured the first song off their self-titled 1974 debut album, \u201cFinding My Way,\u201d as well as the last, as Lifeson topped off the night with another searing guitar solo on \u201cWorking Man.\u201d<\/p>\n

Overall, fans will tell you it was an unbelievable display of genuine, progressive rock music. Whether it was the first time for those youngsters mixed in the audience, or the 50th for the many diehards making yet another pilgrimage, seeing Rush perform was truly an experience, and one not soon forgotten.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In his 2023 autobiography, \u201cMy Effin\u2019 Life,\u201d Rush lead singer and otherworldly bass player Geddy Lee wrote, \u201cThere…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":372836,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[2171,116,118,117,2174],"class_list":["post-372835","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fort-worth","tag-concert-reviews","tag-fort-worth","tag-fort-worth-headlines","tag-fort-worth-news","tag-touring-artists"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/372835","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=372835"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/372835\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/372836"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=372835"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=372835"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=372835"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}