RUSH
Fifty Something Tour

Live Review: Rush Opens Two-Night Boston Stand with an Emotional Triumph on Neil Peart’s Birthday

 

BennyD, contributor

 

There are moments in live music where the weight of time, memory, and sheer gratitude completely take over the room. Saturday night inside TD Garden was one of those rare, sacred evenings, kicking off the first of two Boston stops on the Fifty Something Tour.

 

For more than 30 years, Rush has been etched into the bedrock of my musical life. Like millions of fans worldwide, when Neil Peart passed in 2020, it felt like the final chapter had closed on one of rock’s greatest, most uncompromising trios. Walking into the Garden for night one—knowing this tour might very well be the last time I’d ever witness Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson share a stage playing these songs—the emotion hung thick in the air before a single chord rang out.

 

What struck me immediately was the vibe in the arena. There was a palpable warmth and collective joy across the concourses and the floor. Boston and New England have always held a fiercely loyal, sacred bond with Rush, stretching back decades across countless legendary arena runs. There were no egos and no posturing—just pure camaraderie, high-fives among strangers, and an overwhelming gratitude simply to share the room together one more time. On a personal level, it just felt so damn good to be there. I definitely felt the lump in my throat, but it was purely happy emotion—the kind that comes from realizing how much a band's soundtrack has meant to your entire life and getting to celebrate it surrounded by people who feel the exact same way.

 

Adding immense gravity to the evening, Saturday marked Neil Peart’s birthday. That timing was lost on no one in the building. Throughout the set, the band paid tender, heartfelt homage to their fallen brother—not as a solemn eulogy, but as a roof-raising celebration of the man whose lyrical genius and polyrhythmic wizardry redefined progressive rock. When archival visuals of Neil appeared on the arena screens, a wave of collective awe swept through the Garden. Geddy spoke of "the Professor" with genuine warmth and love, acknowledging that while Neil is irreplaceable, the music they built together was meant to live, breathe, and be experienced in the flesh.

 

Stepping behind the massive kit was Anika Nilles, and calling her assignment "daunting" is the understatement of the century. To step into the pocket of arguably the greatest rock drummer in history requires not just world-class chops, but courage and profound humility. In my eyes, Anika wasn't just the perfect choice for the job—she was the only choice. And she delivered on every single level.

 

Rather than attempting a cold, note-for-note pantomime of Neil’s catalog, she honored Peart’s iconic architecture—every pivotal fill, odd-time switch, and thunderous crescendo was nailed with staggering precision—while infusing her own fluid groove and relentless energy. She drove the rhythm section with complete authority, locked in tight with Geddy’s galloping basslines and the added textural layer brought by touring keyboardist Loren Gold. The roar that echoed through TD Garden when Geddy formally introduced Anika was deafening—a well-deserved wave of respect from a fiercely protective fanbase that recognized she had treated the music with absolute reverence.

 

Up front, Geddy and Alex were beaming, and the sheer scale of the setlist was massive. Opening with the majestic build of "Xanadu" set a jaw-dropping standard early, but the first set hit absolute overdrive with explosive runs through "The Spirit of Radio" and a soaring "Freewill." Closing out the frame with "Limelight" felt like an arena-wide embrace—every voice in Boston singing along to every syllable.

 

Then came the centerpiece. Being treated to the complete, seven-part epic of "2112" live in Set 2 was nothing short of transcendent—a tour-de-force performance that shook the rafters. Later in the set, "Time Stand Still" hit right in the chest, elevated by synchronized video of Aimee Mann performing her guest vocals in real time with the band on stage. Its poignant themes landed with profound weight given the milestone evening and the passing decades.

 

By the time they barreled through the encore—roaring through "Tom Sawyer," "Finding My Way," and a blistering "Working Man" before closing out with Paul Rudd and Jason Segel's hilarious, touching tribute tape—the entire arena was on its feet, completely electric.

 

With the band taking the stage again at the TD Garden, Boston is getting an unforgettable double-shot of history. Saturday wasn't about clinging to the past—it was about honoring the legacy, tipping our hats to Neil Peart on his birthday, and basking in three hours of sonic triumph with a room full of people who love this music with all their hearts. An incredible, deeply emotional night in Boston that I’ll carry with me for a very long time.

 

Rush — TD Garden, Boston, MA

Night 1 Setlist (September 12, 2026)

 

Set 1:

 

• Xanadu

• The Spirit of Radio

• The Analog Kid

• Freewill

• Subdivisions

• Neil Peart Tribute Collage I

• Bravado

• La Villa Strangiato

• Far Cry

• The Trees

• Limelight

Set 2:

• Nixie Tube Countdown

• 2112 Part I: Overture

• 2112 Part II: The Temples of Syrinx

• 2112 Part III: Discovery

• 2112 Part IV: Presentation

• 2112 Part V: Oracle: The Dream

• 2112 Part VI: Soliloquy

• 2112 Part VII: Grand Finale

• Animate

• Closer to the Heart

• A Passage to Bangkok

• Neil Peart Tribute Collage II

• Time Stand Still (with Aimee Mann via video)

• YYZ

• Anthem

• Red Barchetta

• The Garden

Encore:

• South Park Intro

• Tom Sawyer

• Finding My Way

• Working Man

• Neil Peart Tribute (Paul Rudd & Jason Segel – played from tape)