verslibre wrote:Sheila's awesome. It's in her blood. I saw this during Drum Solo Week. As much as Neil "The Professor" Peart has played some unbelievably cool shit in Rush, I felt he was upstaged in the groove dept. by all the other drummers on Letterman, especially Sheila. Neil should have just loosened up and played by the seat of his pants for once, rather than phone in a truncated version of his concert solo.
Ya know, I was kinda disappointed with his performance as well as his overall persona that night. When I read about Drum Solo Week and saw Neil's name on the list, I guess I've just become programmed to believe that he, as arguably one of the best and most influential drummers ever to live and will remain high on the list long after he's gone, that his would be undoubtedly the standout performance - if for no other reason than the fact that he's fucking Neil Peart for Christ's sake and that's what we expect form him. Unfortunately, as you noted, his appearance was phoned-in and even though it was physically him playing the drums, he seemed like his mind and presence was somewhere else.
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Having seen RUSH more times than any other band I've ever seen live (I think that's correct... if not RUSH it's the Scorps...) and having attended their shows since my first RUSH concert back in 76 or 77 and followed both their careers as a band as well as witnessing the evolution that has taken place within each of them, I can say for certain that Neil's passion for his craft and the love he once showed for it ceased to be the thing that made him magical on stage when his wife and daughter died. Ged and Alex have always and continue to be playful and silly on stage and always show deep genuine appreciation for the fans but Neil.... he just seems like he's doing the 9-5 grind anymore when he's performing live. Rarely does he crack a smile or alter his bits or solos. Maybe I'm wrong and I'm being too judgmental or seeing something that's not really there... I dunno. That's what it seems like to me anyway.
If you're a big or even somewhat big RUSH fan, you must watch this interview Ged and Alex did on CBC's "The Q" where they sat down with Jian Ghomeshi for a very candid and revealing interview in which they discussed openly what the band went through as well as what Neil went through when his world fell apart. One of the best interviews of the band I've ever seen. It's 1 hr. running time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rt1YBFmsXSs
Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2011 2:25 pm
She's playing a simple 5 pc. kit with 4 cymbals and a high-hat but she makes it sounds like a much bigger kit.