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| The International Leicester |
Can there possibly be any better sight, than the view from the NCP Car Park of the sun setting over The International Leicester? I suspect not? A second visit in a short space of time to the venue, and we managed to get lost in the same place as on the previous trip. Safely parked up it is a relief to see the doors to 'The International' are already open. Mainly because we won't have to kill time aimlessly wandering around the Caribbean Supermarket opposite. There is a scattering of 'gig goers' that doesn't sound right, but I can't think of anything better at the moment. I suspect we will be well short of the 320 capacity. It's been a scorching day and It's Glastonbury too, so not that surprising really. Have I mentioned we are in Town for 'La Villa Strangiato'. Only one of the worlds Premier RUSH tribute bands!
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I confess to knowing very little about 'La Villa Strangiato' (The Strange City). Apart from being of Italian origin. And the song of course from the 'Hemispheres' album by RUSH. I was partly right, originally they were an Italian project. Founded by Gabriele Ferrari in 2010.He takes on the daunting multi-instrumental "role" of Geddy Lee' in the band. The evening starts with 'Limelight' from the album 'Moving Pictures', followed by 'Subdivisions' from 'Signals'. Tonight we are celebrating 40 years since the release of 'Power Windows'. One of my favourite albums by RUSH. It was also the first RUSH album that I bought. I remember it well, Revolver Records in Northampton, buying the vinyl.
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| Gabriele Bibbi Ferrari |
We get the first tracks from PW with Grand Designs, and Manhattan Project. The sound is great and the band are looking and sounding good too. It soon becomes evident that the guitarist is definitely not from Italy. The voice is definitely more South Yorkshire than Tuscany. 'Neil M Smith' has apparently absorbed every form of music since his teens - in the early 70s - drawing inspiration from T. Rex, Roxy Music, David Bowie, Procol Harum and Yes. It's been a hot day, and with the heat on stage under the lights he is working up quite a sweat.I'm told it's going to be a lengthy set list , something around two and a half hours.This will be split into two halves with a short break in between. Other highlights for me from the first set were 'Closer to the Heart' and 'Natural Science'. We also had a superb version of 'Mystic Rhythms ' again from PW. The crowd has also grown too, I would estimate something in the region of 60-80.
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The second half gets off to a bit of a false start as the guitar suddenly cuts out. 'It worked alright in the shop' Neil tells us. Normal service is quickly resumed as we continue with 'Big Money' 'Territories' and 'Marathon' from PW. Unfortunately we don't get to hear 'Middletown Dreams' my personal favourite. There has been some great drumming tonight, very much in the 'Neil Peart' style. I hadn't realised that the man behind the Drum kit was 'Dave Mackintosh' ex Dragonforce . I met Dave many years ago at a Drum Convention in Northampton. He was still with Dragonforce, and gave a rendition of 'Revolution Death Squad as I recall. I seem to remember 'Neil Peart' being a big influence on him. Good to see him again, and not looking any different! We now drop back into some older RUSH. I suppose it wouldn't be right not to play the track 'La Villa Strangiato'. It is time to get out the twelve string double neck guitars!
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Not one , but two 12 string double necks .
The evening is build to a stunning climax with the self titled 'La Villa Strangiato', be remiss not to I suppose? Another instrumental follows with the pounding 'YYZ' from 'Moving Pictures'. This section is for what I would call 'RUSH Connoisseurs' as we delve into the 'Farewell to Kings' album. Some heavy old stuff being played now.
The band take their leave for the shortest of breaks, before returning for the most perfect of encores. '2112 Part 1 overture' kick starts us with a bang. We finish with the two songs any Rock fan would identify 'Tom Sawyer' and 'Spirit of the Radio' to close off a memorable evening. One of excellent musicianship and a receptive crowd. Definitely a band to look out for in the future. They can be seen at the European RUSH Convention 2025 in Chester October 24th-25th 'Rush Eucon'. www.rusheucon.wordpress.com
Set List (To the best of my knowledge)
- Limelight
- Subdivisions
- Grand Designs
- Manhattan Project
- The Camera Eye
- Mystic Rhythms
- Closer to the Heart
- Natural Science
Set 2
- The Big Money
- Territories
- Marathon
- La Villa Strangiato/YYZ
- Cygnus X-1 Book 1 The Voyage/By Tor and the Snow Dog
- 2112 Part 1: Overture/Tom Sawyer/The Spirit of Radio
