Rush | This Performance and Song! We're at a Loss for Words! | Xanadu Reaction 

Imagine being best friends in high school and then forming a band with a 40 year career - and still being best friends after

Xanadu (Shangdu - Upper Capital) was Kublai Khan's first Mongol Imperial capital in China in the late 1200s. Xanadu held a place in the popular imagination in the same way that the Abbasid capital of Baghdad held under its caliph, Harun al-Rashid, in the late 700s: fantasy seats of power filled with magic and wonders, beautiful women, fantastic food and wine, and stupendous markets that were the crossroads of the world, capable of fulfilling every need and desire. The poet Samuel Coleridge published "Kubla Khan" in 1816, and was a contemporary of Wlliam Blake, progenitors of the Romantic era of literature and art in England. This poem was the inspiration for Neil Peart, Rush's lyricist. Of course, this orchestral piece captures the feel of that Romantic Era.

Fun fact. I grew up in a town beside where these guys lived but they recorded just around the corner from me.We were in the park one day and heard amazing music coming from the factories so we got onto some garbage dumpsters and watched them recording. They noticed we were watching and came out. We thought we we're in trouble but it turns out they talked to us for about twenty minutes about music and Hockey cause that's what Canadians do😂 And Geddy and Alex gave us guitar picks and Neil gave us drumsticks. They were so humble and down to earth it was amazing. Then I saw them when I was 17 and 33 love these guys. Great memories❤

Neil is probably the only drummer ever to play progressive/heavy rock wearing a polo shirt.

Alex Lifeson - 6 string guitar, 12 string guitar, pedal synthesizer, volume pedal; Geddy Lee - Vocals, bass guitar, 12 string guitar, bass pedal, taurus pedal, electric piano/synthesizer; Neil Peart - Lyrics, Drums, orchestra bells, tubular bells, wind chimes, crotales, timbales, timpani, gong, temple blocks, bell tree, triangle, and melodic cowbells. Based on Kubla Khan (Xanadu) by Samuel Taylor Coleridge Coleridge composed his poem, ‘Kubla Khan’, in a state of semi-conscious trance either in the autumn of 1797 or the spring of 1798 and published in 1816. The whole poem is pervaded by an atmosphere of dream and remains in the form of a vision. The vision embodied in Kubla Khan was inspired by the perusal of the travel book, Purchas His Pilgrimage. Coleridge had taken a dose of opium as an anodyne, and his eyes closed upon the line in the book, “At Zanadu Kubla Khan built a pleasure palace.” But this opened his creative vision, and the poem of about 200 lines was composed in this state of waking dream. On being fully awake, he wrote the poem down. The theme of the poem is unimportant. It describes the palace built by Kubla Khan, the grandson of Chengis Khan, the great rule of central Asia.

That’s Neil’s deep voice you hear at first. He has a beautiful voice that matches well with that intelligent brain. Xanadu is from a poem by Samuel Coleridge Taylor ( Kubla Khan, or A Vision in a Dream, A Fragment) that is written into this song.

When I was a young lad in 1991, my dad took me to my first concert, which was Rush at the Jacksonville Coliseum. They started to play this song and my dad said to me, "They can't play this song! It's like twenty minutes long!" But play it they did. Rush is truly legendary and a top ten band of all time.

Lyrically the song is a cautionary tale about "be careful what you wish for". The song has someone who has heard of a place where you can go and become immortal - Xanadu. So he goes, but then he realizes too late that Xanadu is a trap: "nevermore can I return [or] escape these caves of ice", and so is consigned to live an eternity "waiting for the world to end". The tedium of it all eventually drives him insane.

Geddy had to be the hardest working member of any rock band doing vocals, bass & keyboards

RUSH is THE PERFECT EXAMPLE of the fluidity of MASTERING TIME SIGNATURES! I play drums and there are a few things that you need to know about Neil Peart’s ( pronounced PEER-T) character: First he writes the lyrics so he knows in advance what TYPE of song it’s meant to be ie ballad, driver, etc. Second he COMPOSES on the drums… like a carpenter who looks at a set of blueprints before building the object. Neil lays out a SKETCH in his mind of the VOICES of the drumset and builds the song from there. He is also a great LISTENER knowing when NOT to step over Geddy’s singing or Alex’s solos! Finally, he had perfect timing and fluidity of time changes. He said himself that it’s not about COUNTING the time signatures as much as fluid motion to change the tempo without counting: in other words it should FLOW! He hates repeating the same drum patterns in the same song meaning if he plays a fill one way the first time around he will play it differently the second time around. IE. Rolls down the toms the first time around and triplets or quads (all four limbs) the second time around. In short there will NEVER be another like him on planet earth 🌍 🌏 🌎! REST IN PEACE PROFESSOR! With heart felt admiration and sincerity! Gary

I was so fortunate to actually be at this concert 16 years old at the time ,yes I' m old they are seriously the best band I have ever seen live and have seen them approx 30 times thanks for the reaction it's awsome watching younger people dicover them

When a band transcends their craft they are immortal. Rush, Pink Floyd, The Beatles,Yes, Genesis to name a few.

Alex was using a foot volume pedal to create his guitar sounds at the beginning. Geddy was playing synth, and when you saw him playing bass but heard synth, he was playing synth pedals with his foot.

The voice over was Neil. For this concert, many of the songs would have members of the band provide a little context about the song, or about the band. All three members were represented at some point or another. For Xanadu Neil was saying that if you could reduce the force that drives Rush to its simplest form, it's the question "what if?"

How could ANYONE not think RUSH is BADASS?!

Samuel Taylor Coreridge wrote a poem in 1797 titled Kubla Khan. It is about a place called Xanadu. Neil's lyrics are a modern re-telling of this story where the protagonist seeks to find the pleasure dome, live as an immortal, feeding on the honey dew and drinking the milk of paradise. However, in the second part of the lyrics, the protagonist is miserable, stuck in paradise forever, and cannot leave. See the "Kubla Khan" fragmant in the bottom-right of this page: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kubla_Khan

I have seen lots of guitarists with double necks. But I noticed they were really only for show and amazement value. This video was the first time I saw a guitarist using both necks for very specific reasons in one song.

That’s Neil Peart on his take regarding RUSH playing very complicated music and the ability to do so! THE QUESTION WE TEND TO ASK THE MOST OFTEN IS: WHAT IF? I THINK IF YOU HAD TO SIMPLIFY OUR MOTIVATION OR SIMPLIFY A MOVING FORCE IN OUR MUSIC THAT WOULD PROBABLY SUFFICE! NEIL PEART BEFORE XANADU ON EXIT STAGE LEFT DVD!

I believe Neil’s voice over was for a tv special showcasing some of their Exit Stage Left concert in Montreal. There are other videos of this same song same concert with no voice over during the live performance. This was my first time seeing Rush live. This song blew me away with the double necks… Geddy plays guitar at the very end. The atmosphere was electric, smoke rings filled the air.

One of the things I love about Rush is their fearlessness. After the album Caress of Steel didn't go over well commercially, the label called them to the US for a meeting. They told them that they wanted them to produce more radio-ready songs, 2 1/2 minute catchy tunes that they could push to get more play. They went back home and wrote the songs for 2112, and album where the title song took up the entire first side! A Farewell To Kings was the next album to come out, and it had Xanadu, a song that essentially had two 2 1/2 intros before getting into the actually story of the song. They gave the finger to the label! I could talk all about about how each musician is a virtuoso and how each rank on the tops of lists of players of their instruments, but I always marveled at the guts they showed when they were coming up. Oh, and I love the child-like glee on Alex's face at the end of the song... they KNEW they killed it and were having a blast.

Geddy has used two different doublenecks live: The black one is a 4 string bass on top and 12 string guitar on bottom. He also has a cream one that is 4 string bass on top and 6 string guitar on bottom. As far as I know, the black 4/12 was only ever used on Xanadu and the cream 4/6 was used on A Passage To Bangkok.

The best band that ever was or ever will be. Toronto's holy trinity are just a cut above, both musically and lyrically. RIP Neil. 😊

Both Alex and Geddy have a significant amount of pedals and are often playing synth while they're playing their other instruments. Often what looks like them just changing foot positions is actually them playing the synth pedals. Many people think Geddy's is a six string on the bottom but it's actually a 12-string on the bottom. The extra tuning pegs are at the back. He's playing this at the end during solos and finale. One of the greatest performances live I've ever seen without a doubt.

Quite simply three geniuses at the peak of their creativity and masters of their art 🎸...saw them on this tour in London 1981......its the greatest gog ive ever seen...and ive seen plenty👏👏👏👏👏

During the intro, the low note drone and the "whistles" are coming from the keyboard. The melodic part during the intro is from Alex using a volume pedal. It takes a touch of coordination between your feet and hands. The guitar output is routed to the volume pedal which is then used to control the guitar volume, so to get those volume swells, you strike a note on the guitar with the volume all the way down and while the string is vibrating, you bring the volume up with the pedal. You let the note play for as long as needed (in the case of the Xanadu intro, the notes are not held very long) and then bring the volume pedal back down to zero for the next note. Like I said, it's a bit of a dance between your picking hand and your foot. The goal is to not hear the initial sounding of the note, you don't want to bring up the volume from zero until after you've struck the note.

Lifetime fan, and I have probably watched this performance over a thousand times, and every single time I watch it, I'm still blown away. This, to me, is hands down one of if not the single most epic live performances in the history of music. They are truly musical gods! It just doesn't get any better than this shit right here! I mean, really, what's there to critique here? It's literally perfection! They were so damn good!!!

Being a Toronto native I grew up with Rush. I still remember the release of this album (A Farewell to Kings just a few weeks before we saw the Toronto debut live, Aug 23, 1977 (I still have every ticket stub), we were centre stage 11th row on the track at the CNE (Canadian National Exhibition). I thank Rush for getting me through grade 12 English that year with my mark up 10 points from previous years. Most of the poems we studied that year revolved around Rush songs. Xanadu was from the poem An Ode to Kubla Khan, I also remember All the worlds a stage. If you want to watch a cool video about early Rush check out Before they were Kings on Tubi. Cheers

Geddy and Alex were both doing synths via foot pedals. Alex only played guitar sounds through the electric 12 and 6 string guitar of his double neck. Geddy’s double neck included a six string that he played in tandem with Alex during the outro. Incredible performance of an epic song.

Fun fact. Rush and Iron Maiden have both written music based on poems by Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

The song is based on a poem from Samuel Coolridge called "Xanadu." Geddy is playing those synth parts with his feet on the synth pedals.

Actually, you can hear Neil in a few songs, The Necromancer, he does the "SUBDIVISIONS" in Subdivisions and he is the voice of authority/doom at the end of 2112. In later years, even Neil triggered keyboard/synth on his drum kit (as if he didn't have enough to do already). I was listening to Rory's band Taste today and remembered as a teenager Brian May snuck into the legendary Marquee Club in London and cheekily talked with Rory to talk equipment & tone to learn from the best.

It was a true privilege seeing them in concert when they were promoting their album Moving Pictures. I didn't realize how lucky I was seeing them but when I walked out of that auditorium I was walking on air (and my ears were ringing). Other than Pink Floyd, they were by far, the best band I ever saw and I'll cherish that moment back when I was in the 11th grade.

The song is an artistic interpretation of the poem "Kubla Khan" by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. You've both noticed how hard they had to work to get things done...this video is a perfect example of the peak of the analog era. This clip is from the VHS/Laserdisc "Exit...Stage Left" that was released in 1982. The voiceover you hear is Neil Peart. The full concert video has voiceovers from all three. This concert was filmed on March 27th, 1981. Recordings from the two-night stand at the Forum were used for the live album Exit...Stage Left. Geddy's doubleneck is a 1976 Rickenbacker 4080 4/12. Bass on the top, 12- string guitar on the bottom. He plays it during the outro. He also used it live on the song "A Passage to Bangkok." Alex is playing a Gibson EDS-1275.

We would go to see Rush back in the 80’s and it was always an event . They started this tour in my hometown of Hampton ,Virginia and I remember everyone coming back and talking about the show for days. I was young,but at an after school program I attended back then ,the teenage girl who ran it played Moving Pictures almost every day for us.

The beginning of the video had a brief commentary by Neil himself on his thoughts of the story behind Xanadu…which was an actual dream if I recall. Peart did read a whole lot on science fiction and fantasy, and this story was one of them. He wrote the lyrics to a lot of Rush songs. This whole video is from a concert video Rush - Exit…Stage Left. Same as the album.

How can people not love Geddys voice? You can understand all the lyrics. He has a very clear and clean voice. I've never misunderstood him.

Saw Rush when they were lead off group for KISS. This song was such a switch! Geddy wore a white angel wing robe and they back lit him. Very cool.

Absolutely an EPIC performance .. absolutely incredible how well these 3 super-humans perform this song live. So talented on so many levels. In my view, this is one of the best performances of all time. I have watched this a 1000 times and it just never gets old. RUSH is my all time favorite band (have seen them 28 times). They are just so incredible. RIP Neil Peart !!

I was at this concert in Montreal 1981; I was 18. I live in Neil's hometown, and have seen RUSH numerous times, ever since they played at my High School, when John Rutsey, was the drummer, prior to Neil joining Geddy, and Alex.

Great reaction! As others below have said.. more simply, it’s about a guy searching for the fountain of youth, he finds it, drinks it, and after a thousand years he was so tired of living that this wasn’t really “paradise” and just wants to die! I think this is one of many of Neil’s versions of a cautionary tail of “be careful what you wish for”!! Geddy is playing the 6 string all thru Alex’s solo and Alex is also playing the Taurus pedals at the end! Be well and God bless… from Texas!

I've seen reactions to this concert many times. While everyone talks about their musical genius, and rightfully so, NO ONE talks about how Alex is doing all of this cool stuff IN A DINNER COAT & TIE!!! Neil's over there sporting a bow tie, while hammering the crap out of those drums!!

Great reaction! And to answer your question, the opening narration is Neil.

Brings tears to my eyes every time I watch this. Saw this tour live in 1981 in New Jersey, and it brings back so many amazing memories Especially hard to watch Neil since his untimely passing.

Great reaction!!! You obviously appreciate artistical musicianship. Rush is absolutely the best 3-piece band ever (quite frankly top five best band ever, no matter the members). Pure musicianship and fluid artistry in each of them and their instruments along with the pure chemistry between them. Welcome aboard the Rush Train!!! Now time to venture down the rabbit hole. I would suggest the songs below to add to your Rush journey and reactions. All of these are absolutely fire!!! Especially all of the LIVE instrumentals with Geddy’s Bass, Alex’s Guitar, and Neil’s percussive artistry. - La Villa Strangiato - Live in Cleveland from 2011 Time Machine Tour (Instrumental - custom "carnival" intro) - original was 1978. Pure musicianship!!! UNMATCHED - best LIVE instrumental EVER. - Working Man... Live in Cleveland from 2011 Time Machine Tour (original studio version was in 1974)...The pure sight and performance of three men in their upper 50's take control of the stage and perform and play like they were in their 20's. - YYZ…live from Rio in 2002 (instrumental)…original was 1981 - Best Intro Ever - Live version (R30 tour 2004) - various riffs from their 1970's songs leading into Spirit of Radio - original was 1980 - Closer to the Heart...Live 1998 Different Stages - original was 1977 - Limelight...studio version - original was 1981. - The Garden...Clockwork Angels tour live - original was 2012 - Subdivisions...studio version or live version - original was 1982 - Freewill... Live from Snakes and Arrows Tour 2007 - original was 1980 - Fly by Night - original was 1975 - Leave that Thing Alone - Live in Cleveland from 2011 Time Machine Tour (Instrumental) - original was 1993 - Malignant Narcissism (instrumental) and Drum Solo - Live 2008 Snakes and Arrows Tour - original was 2007 - Also...Neil Peart's Drum Solo Live from Frankfurt 2004. He was The Professor...a pure musician and percussionist...not just a "drummer". Be ready to be amazed by not just his hand coordination...but most of all his foot coordination...basically his feet being completely individual in timing from his hands during segments of this performance. He was the master of this technique.

Thanks for the reaction...I think it was just awesome, can't wait for more...new subscriber...thanks again, Todd from Ohio....

The search for immortality, finding it and ultimately praying/begging for death.

I have seen them twice. Neil's solo is Epic❤

Alex was simply using a volume pedal to fade in each note and harmonic which covered the attack of the pick on the string. He plucks the harmonic and notes then fades it in with the volume pedal. What gives it the otherworldly feel is that he was running a heavy delay, which back in those days wasn’t digital, but used a tape loop, a Roland Space echo. It actually recorded the sound on a looping tape that then played across six different playback heads. You set the time of the delay by slowing or speeding up the tape. The trick to what Alex is doing is that the echo is post volume pedal. Otherwise it would fade out the echo when he rocked back on the pedal. Instead, the echo would repeat each note several times so you wouldn’t hear his pedal fading the volume back down. It’s was really inventive for that time. I can remember saving up to buy one of those Roland echo units, which were pretty expensive. They ran around $500, which was more like $1,200 in 2024 dollars or more. When I finally got the machine I was finally able to do intro pieces like Alex was using here. I learned many cool tricks and chord voicing from Lifeson. His use of arpeggios always inspired me also. I really liked his heavy use of quick staccato notes in solos. He was a real innovator for sure. He deserves more credit than he usually gets. The song Xanadu is basically about a man who seeks to find this mystical land called Xanadu, where you never age. He see,s his entire life and finally finds it and lives in peace for thousands of years under the reign of Kubla Khan. In the end he only wishes to escape Xanadu because after thousands of years I dreaded and tranquility kind of take the purpose of life, nothing to strive for,nothing to accomplish. At that point he wishes for death to come along and escapes from Xanadu. It was based on a poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. It is a fragmented poem about a ruler named Kubla Knan in 1816. He wrote the parts of the poem while under the influence of opium, so he wasn’t able to finish it because he couldn’t remember the mood he was in when he penned it.

Brilliant performance of an amazing song! It is interesting that you mentioned Rory Gallagher as when Rush was first starting out he was one of the many that they opened for and later on Rory opened for them. Alex did learn some techniques from Rory and called him one of the nicest persons he has ever met. Geddy and Alex have been best friends since they met in junior high at 13 and have been playing together since they were 16. They love to joke and interact on stage. If you want to see them have a mock fight on stage check out Bytor and the Snow Dog from the R30 tour. They have a lot of fun as Geddy plays Bytor and Alex is the Snow Dog. They don't play the full song as it is also quite long but I would suggest listening to the the studio version as well. La Villa Strangiato live in Rio It is an instrumental based on a series of nightmares that Alex Lifeson had especially when they were on tour. Alex does a funny little rant during this performance. Also, Secret Touch from the Snakes and Arrows tour Geddy and Neil have some fun at the end. Loved seeing your cats. 🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛ Cheers

Our music to play live is like working out really complicated Math Equations and running a Marathon at the same time....'The Professor ' Mr Peart...

The song is based on the poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Kubla Khan. Geddy is playing a double necked 4 string base and six string guitar. He plays the six string at the end of the song during the guitar solo.

I saw this on the 5th of November 1981 , Wembley Arena , London . I was 17 years old . I thought they were miming because they were so incredibly tight !

Rush what can you say!!! There will never be another band with 3 goats in it. I have had the priviledge of seeing them 9 times the very first time they played my high school. I have seen them perform this song 3x and this version by far was my favorite. Neil " The Professor" here playing temple blocks, triangles and wind chimes everywhere, glockenspiel, bell tower and tubular bells. Along with his massive kit he writes almost all the lyrics. Geddy plays the synthesizer, organ, bass, rhythm guitar, vocals. Here Alex is not playing a synth. Later in the bands progression he plays the foot pedals but it's like a wa wa but called a volume pedal. He by far is the most underated guitarist ever. These guys sound like a 5 man band totally awesome RIP Professor

Hey guys, great video, I saw RUSH in the late 80s (power windows tour) in Halifax, Nova Scotia,Canada! Greatest live prog rock band ever!😀👌✌👍

Just watched your reaction. I loved it. For what it is worth, I was at that show. I was at the 1st show of 2 seated in the 1st row right in front of Alex. The song is about a poem written over 200 years ago. it gets into the mythology about Kubla Khan. The lyrics are from Neil Peart as he is a book fiend and extremely versed in these types of works.

This is from the "Exit...Stage Left" video. That's Neil doing the narration in the video.

RUSH IS: Geddy Lee - Bass guitars, Oberheim polyphonic; OB-X; Mini-Moog; and Taurus pedal Synthesizers, vocals Alex Lifeson - Six and twelve string electric and acoustic guitars, Taurus Pedals Neil Peart - Drums kit, timbales, gong bass drums, orchestra bells, glockenspiel, wind chimes, bell tree, tubular bells, crotales, cowbells, plywood, tympani, and Gong!

This is my favorite performance of my favorite Rush song. To play this so flawless live is incredible and they make it look easy.

I've seen comments from Geddy that they wanted to be the smallest symphonic orchestra ever created. With songs like Xanadu, I think they pulled it off quite nicely. Thanks guys.

Seeing this live was amazing. It's crazy how much sound 3 musicians can put out. I was shocked the first time I saw them and it was only those 3 guys.

Neil was the GOAT. That was him speaking at the beginning.

This song is from their A Farewell To Kings album released in 1977 their follow-up album after 2112 these guys are our hometown boys from Toronto, Canada (YYZ) this was recorded in 1981 on their Moving Pictures tour. I we used to go see RUSH on New Year's Eve as used to play Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto almost every year back in the late 70s and early 80s

Geddy at his Finest!. came in to his own on Farewell to Kings Album

And you have to remember that Alex and Geddy were 27 and Neil was 28 when they made this video, and the song was recorded 4 years prior. It just goes to show you the level of talent at such a young age.

After reading Geddy Lee's book, My Effin Life, and seeing him on his book tour I can say this...According to Geddy Lee they are the most rehearsed band in the world. Before a tour, Neil would rehearse by himself for a month and then join the band. They always prided themselves on being able to play live what they recorded.

Geddy does the synths with the keyboards and foot pedals. He also plays 6-string for a portion of this, which is why he has the double neck.

Geddys' Rickenbacher has a 12-string guitar on the bottom. Someone else mentioned this in past comments, & I have seen closeups, that show the extra tuning keys are mounted on the back of the top of the neck! Just FYI.

In answer to you Ace, I've been there from the beginning of their career in 1974, and I remember the first time I was in the record store checking out the albums and came across the first Rush album. I hadn't heard of them before that and I looked at the song list and recognized Working Man. Near the bottom of the album was the words For Best Results Play At Maximum Volume. That was enough for me to get the album, take it home and listen to the entire album. Awesome debut and it was amazing. I've been a Rush freak ever since.

I won't lie - My personal highlight of this video are the cute kittens! 😍 But only because I'd watched this particular and awesome 'Xanadu' performance many, many, MANY times before! 😄

Takes on a very visual journey which in it self is an amazing feat to harness an influence to captivate our senses !

HUGE shoutout to STICKHITS, who remastered this performance. The man is a GODSEND to Rush fans. Check out his remasters on his channel. Btw, that was Larry Allen, Neil's first drum tech sitting behind the kit, next to the orchestra bells. We don't talk about him. 🙄

Xanadu hits deep- the progression is beautiful

Grace Under Pressure, kicks-ass...thanks again, Todd from Ohio...

The intro is Neil spoken " who could say " " SUFFICE" ?

Neil on Xanadu: Let's call that our experimental phase. After 2112, we were guitar, bass and drums and ambitious ... bass pedals were just coming out, and I started expanding my drums, which would give us a great orchestration ability. Those subsequent albums (A Farewell to Kings, Hemispheres) are us learning to use all that, having fun, experimenting, as genuine as can be. When I look back on that it's an indulgent smile with a certain fond appreciation for our youthful earnestness and energy. We would later do better but there was nothing wrong with it. We had a lot to learn - but we were learning it!

That was ridiculous! So good...😂

Both geddy and Alex have synth peddles which are basically a piano keyboard you play with your feet. Geddy plays the bass parts with his feet when he's playing keys. This is how they achieve such a full sound with just three members. Geddy has a unique twin neck guitar in that it has a bass at the top and a standard 6 string on the bottom. You can here him play it at the end. ✌🇬🇧❤

Lyrics are based on a poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

At the beginning Alex is using Volume swells to create that sound. Getty is doing the obvious keyboard sounds every 2nd bar.. The song changes tempo and keys over and over.

Fun Fact: Kublai Khan lived about 800 years ago. One line in the song goes, "a thousand years have come and gone." This means the song was written... in the future!

That’s Neil talking about what motivates them

When this music was released it was on a few radio stations Lots of YES, Genesis, Pink Floyd, Rush and several others PROG. Rock stations mostly. I think the greatest music was from the 70s It was common to go see the best of the best ✌️ Thanks for the video, it's one of my favorites

I saw this in 77 in the UK and shouted out 🤘🤘Xanadu oh yeah

My favorite Rush song. Over 40 years old and I have never get tired of hearing it. It is genius from master musicians

Rush, Primus, Steely Dan... that's all you need.

I saw them for 10.00 dollars in Highschool in 1976 (if I remember correctly -gr 9) when they first came out then book ended them by watching them at the AC for their 'Snakes and Ladders' tour in Toronto again in 2018

I was lucky enough to see them on this tour in Va. and it was nothing short of what you just saw.

Great video, I was lucky , I saw RUSH in San Diego 1975 I’ve never forgotten it . Thanks Texas.

You’re playing a Rush video and pronounced Neil Peart’s named correctly and I’m Canadian so gotta like & subscribe! 😁 The song is basically about a man searching for Utopia, finding it and realizing sometimes that a perfect world can become a prison. From a Samuel Taylor Coleridge poem.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge wrote the poem" Kubla Khan". Kubla's Capitol city, a Paradise called Xanadu. That's the basics. Neil filled in with his thoughts.

My cats are Rush fans too. Edit: 12:10 the voiceover you’re referring to is the voice of Neil Peart.

The speaking, at the opening, is Neil Peart. This video is just one song from the Exit Stage Left video. It's punctuated with comments from the band.

There is an OLD poem called “Kubla Khan” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. The lyrics are a rough simplification with a twist.

Geddy's keyboard he is playing is an Oberheim Ob-x synthesizer and both Alex and Geddy use Taurus bass pedals. I knew a guy that roadied with Rush on that very tour.

This is one of the greatest live performances ever.🔥👏🤘🏻

Geddy's is a base and a 12 string on the bottom (Half the tuning pegs are hidden in the back).

Not sci fy, it's about a unexplored mysterious place, the Himalayas or Hindu Kush. It's an unfinished poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, inspired by his indulgence smoking opium, he began the poem then got interrupted, by the time he got back to the poem his inspiration had gone , so the poem is unfinished.

Alex is simply using a volume pedal so you don't hear the original attack of the notes. Now Neil on the other hand, I counted 8 different percussion instruments. What an incredible performance

The only thing wrong with that was Alex's haircut - everything else was PERFECT !!!

I first saw these gents in 1979 when I was 16. My life changed forever. Everything I did musically was influenced by them. I was lucky to see them a solid 33 times. Interviewed them in 2011. They’re not only amazing musicians but amazing people.