The second of two tribute concerts in honor of late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins took place Tuesday night (September 27th) in Los Angeles. Among the gargantuan 53-song setlist were three RUSH songs performed by original members Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson and a cast of all-star drummers.
Lee and Lifeson were first joined by Dave Grohl for “2112 Part I: Overture,” the first movement of the 1976 prog-rock epic. The trio nailed the difficult stop-and-start rhythms, with Grohl pounding away at the floor tom and eying Geddy for cues.
Grohl then handed over the sticks to Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, who has become somewhat of a journeyman, playing on Ozzy Osbourne’s recent albums in addition to his full-time work with a very active RHCP. Here, he settled into the pocket for “Working Man” from RUSH’s 1974 self-titled debut, supplying the song’s distinctive cymbal crashes.
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Lastly, Lee and Lifeson were joined by Tool drummer Danny Carey for the iconic instrumental “YYZ.” Of the three songs, this one was the most intriguing and has us pondering what a RUSH reunion would be like with Carey behind the kit. We can only dream. Lifeson shot down any possible reunion back in 2021, stating “there’s no way RUSH will ever exist again.”
See footage of the three-song RUSH performance below, and read Consequence‘s review of the full Taylor Hawkins tribute show here.