My first day in undergrad, I made one of those friends you hang out with for the first month or so before inevitably drifting apart to different social circles. His dad happened to have (really expensive) tickets through work to see Rush in our city the next month on the Clockwork Angels tour but couldn't use them. I'd never been to a concert before at that point.
Holy crap! That show changed and enhanced what I appreciated in music so much. It's still easily the most technically impressive show I've seen. I don't listen to Rush as much as I used to but I think about them and that concert often.
Sad to hear. I played the drums, and he was my hero growing up. Modern Drummer magazine had a "drummer of the year" in different categories, and eventually they made a hall of fame, so it wouldn't just be Neil.
I was fearing the worst when I saw Buddy Rich at #1 — he's usually the token Jazz drummer on rock-oriented lists. But to my pleasant surprise, the list actually represented Jazz drummers fairly (disregarding the rankings, which are bound to be more subjective).
There was a documentary 10 years ago about the history of the band. IIRC the band's first drummer was very talented but for whatever reason wasn't working out. The drummer had an unusual role for rock drummers -- he was actually kind of the "frontman" in the sense he would handle the audience patter, introducing the band, etc.
They found Peart working in his uncle's animal feed shop out in the countryside. He was an amazing drummer, technically speaking. Unlike his predecessor, Peart seemed to be a total introvert, and also didn't seem to mesh well with Lee and Lifeson (best pals since middle school). Nevertheless, he proved himself to be a creative leader, writing many of the band's most memorable songs, and crafting lyrics with meaning that go beyond what most hard rock bands were putting out at the time (see 2112 and Moving Pictures).
He took a long hiatus from music about 15 or 20 years ago after the deaths of several family members, and toured North America on his motorcycle. I always wondered about that trip, and what he was able to discover.
Like many commenters here Rush defined so much of my teen years. Songs like Subdivisions, Limelight, both written by Peart, captured much of what I saw in my life. So sad to see Peart gone but the Rolling Stone article outlines how much sadness he had in his life. May he find some peace in the afterlife.
While Peart was a virtuoso, breaking (or dropping) a stick is so common that decent drummers quickly get used to making up for it without raising notice among the audience.
"The treasure of a life is a measure of love and respect
The way you live, the gifts that you give
In the fullness of time
It's the only return that you expect".
Holy shit. I've been listening to Rush since I was 5 years old and I always thought of these guys as immortal. Just.. wow. RIP to one of the most talented drummers and songwriters of all time.
This is really sad news. RIP.
I actually learned about Rush through Craig Federighi's references to the band during Apple keynotes. I'm sure he's sad today as well.
This is how the late woman was always mentioned in press coverage. That they chose to never formalize their relationship was considered a big part of that relationship.
Same here man. I remember exactly the scene when I first heard them - Subdivisions it was. On a music video, on VH1, 1992. Spent the next decade and more listening to absolutely everything they did and would do.
Happy to say I saw them in concert for their 30th anniversary tour, and another time on my birthday where they played the entirety of Moving Pictures. To this day, there hasn't been a concert experience like either of those days.
I'm so happy we live at a time where we can go on Youtube and pull up footage from pretty much any concert they ever played - including ones that we've been to. Which is exactly what I'm doing now!
Had the good fortune to see Rush concerts in 2004, 2007, and 2015. The scalper outside Madison Square Gardens who sold me a concert ticket was calling out, "if you've never had your prostate checked, you're too young to go to this concert!" Glad I ignored the tongue-in-cheek advice -- their shows never failed to amaze.
It seems that it was only now revealed that Neil had been battling brain cancer over the last 3 years. He had always valued keeping his private life separate from his public persona.
Holy crap! That show changed and enhanced what I appreciated in music so much. It's still easily the most technically impressive show I've seen. I don't listen to Rush as much as I used to but I think about them and that concert often.