Venue:
Sheffield City hall
Date: 13/12/2023
Rush frontman Geddy Lee visited the Steel City as part of his speaking tour promoting his recently published autobiography, My ‘Effin Life. The venue was pretty much full despite the high ticket prices, and a keen sense of anticipation was in the air as we awaited the start of the evening’s entertainment. The first half of the show, introduced by rock journalist Phil Wilding, consisted of readings from the book, and it was fascinating to hear the stories told in his own voice rather than simply reading them yourself, as most of the audience presumably had already done with a copy having been included in the admission price – it really brought them to life rather than just being words on a printed page. The second half of the evening was an interview conducted by sometime Hole and Smashing Pumpkins bassist Melissa auf der Maur, a somewhat left field choice and I got the impression many had no idea who she was! Nevertheless, she did a decent enough job, helped by the fact that Geddy is a good raconteur, a naturally funny guy with a seemingly endless supply of anecdotes. There was also a section of pre submitted questions from the audience which touched on some interesting areas, and managed to weed out most of the obvious things he must have been asked a thousand times. No music of course, that was never on the agenda, but it was good to have the opportunity to see him up close in a relatively intimate setting. Overall, it was an interesting, entertaining and often amusing couple of hours. I don’t suppose he’ll pass this way again, so it was certainly worth turning out for on a cold wet December night.
The audience:
Mainly men of a certain age with plenty of vintage Rush T shirts on display, many rather straining at the seams these days
It made me think..
The very first show Rush played outside the US/Canada took place at this venerable old venue on 1st June 1977, so the circle is now complete.
I was at the Barbican show. David Baddiel (and his “Rush superfan” brother) compered the first half which meant it focused quite a lot on Geddy’s parents’ time in concentration camps and shed some interesting extra light on a very moving section of his book. The second half was much lighter and was hugely enhanced by the presence of Alex Lifeson. Alex and Geddy clearly have enormous warmth for each other and played off each other very well. I wasn’t sure how much I’d enjoy an evening listening to a rock star who wasn’t going to play a note but I thought it was great.
I hate to be That Guy but I was at Sheffield and the first half was the Auf def Maur interview and the second was the Q&A. I went nuts when she came onstage. Being slightly younger then the average Rush fan (52), I was in the grunge demographic. And I would have drunk her bath water when I was in my mid-20s.
A great night though, despite the high ticket price and having to deal with Ticketmaster (although a copy of the book and event programme were included in the cost of the ticket). Like you say, he may never come this way again and I’ve only ever seen him in a cavernous arena before, so it was great to see him in more cosy surroundings.
I’d recommend the audiobook. As someone who prefers to listen rather than read (ie. lazy) that would be my preference anyway but he does a great job on the reading (occasionally sings a few bits too!)