Kate and I had a blast at the Rush concert last night. This was my sixth time to see them and — aside from the 1996 show, which was not only my first Rush concert but my first major concert ever — it was the most memorable. A big part of it was that we had seats in the 8th row, not quite floor level but still within 100 feet of the stage.

The Frank Erwin Center is a good venue. The seating is nice, and it’s not too large. And I had no complaints about the sound. I’d say it’s one of the better concert venues I’ve been to.

The performance was spectacular. For the first time that I’ve seen live, Alex nailed the solo to “Dreamline” — usually the high notes are a bit of a stretch. He also pulled out his ES-355 for a few songs, as well as the entire encore, and that pretty much made my night. Neil did a bang-up job as always. His drum solo has gotten even better, ending with One O’Clock Jump by Buddy Rich. He’s also back to using matched grip, which I think suits his style better than the traditional grip. Geddy’s bass tone was the most obviously improved. He seems to have moved away from the tight, crisp sound that he was using the past few years and moved into a deeper, more natural sound.

And the show was a marathon. Like last time, they played 9 of the 13 songs from the new album, but they still had plenty of older material. The entire show, including intermission, was nearly four hours. About the only song I wanted to hear, but didn’t, was “Animate.” Considering that I still got “Limelight,” “Dreamline,” “Free Will,” “Red Barchetta,” and “Subdivisions,” I’m not going to complain.

But having 8th row seats… that’s probably what really made my night. That’s what made it a whole new experience. For nearly four hours, I felt like I did when I was 19, seeing them for the very first time.