I needed a little time to digest and think about this one. I was nervous about attending this show because I knew it would be a powerful, almost Biblical event. I'm not using those words lightly.
We all know the story.
RUSH finished what was announced as their final tour in August 2015. Most bands eventually walk back the whole "final tour" thing, and then head out again a few years later. This one felt different. It really seemed like the end of RUSH. The three of them moved on to other projects, and what none of us knew was that - behind the scenes - drummer Neil Peart was battling glioblastoma.
This type of brain cancer is usually a death sentence. We all knew Eddie Van Halen was fighting cancer, so when he passed away it was heartbreaking, but not completely unexpected. The RUSH camp, on the other hand, did an incredible job keeping Neil's illness a closely-guarded secret right to the end. That's why the announcement in January 2020 hit so hard. Neil had passed away after a three-and-a-half-year battle.
Never in my life had the death of someone I'd never met affected me so deeply.
Despite my punk-rock upbringing through my late teens and twenties, I always loved RUSH. They are part of my musical DNA. I played a Rickenbacker bass in ANTiSEEN because of Geddy Lee, not Lemmy. I was never a huge Motörhead fan, even though I somehow ended up playing bass a lot like Lemmy. I guess we both invented our own bass guitar octave chords.
Whenever I'd bring a new song into ANTiSEEN rehearsal and it had four chords instead of three, guitarist Joe Young (RIP) would inevitably say,
"Fuck you, Geddy... this isn't RUSH."
Years later, when my daughter Sophie was five, she asked me to take her to see RUSH in Raleigh. We were lucky enough to attend the pre-show meet & greet. When it was our turn, I introduced her to Geddy and guitarist Alex Lifeson and told them it was her first RUSH concert.
She said she thought she was one of the only girls there. Alex leaned down and said,
"You're not the only girl here... but you sure are the cutest."
As we walked out to our seats, Sophie looked up at me and said,
"I like Alex better than Geddy."
Back in December 1981, when I stood in the cold outside the old Charlotte Coliseum waiting to see RUSH for the very first time, I never could have imagined hearing those words from my yet-to-be-born daughter.
Like every other RUSH fan, I eventually accepted it was over. I was lucky I saw them seven times.
Fast forward to the fall of 2025.
Out of absolutely nowhere came the announcement that RUSH would return for twelve concerts. It seemed impossible.
Those twelve shows sold out almost instantly. More dates were added, then more, until the tour grew into fifty-eight dates across the United States and Canada, with Europe and South America announced a few months later.
RUSH had gone from being retired to mounting the biggest comeback rock tour of 2026 almost overnight. They are bigger today than ever before. Social media exploded. For weeks, it seemed like every other post on my Facebook feed was about the reunion.
I knew my schedule wouldn't allow me to attend the opening shows in Los Angeles, but I managed to figure out a way to go to Fort Worth. We flew straight from a Weezer show in Halifax, Nova Scotia, to Dallas. Landed at DFW and right to the arena.
The house lights clicked off, and I couldn't believe it was really happening.
I cried during the first few songs.
It wasn't because they were playing songs I loved. Somehow, it felt like something that had been lost had unexpectedly been given back. I'm honestly hard-pressed to think of anything else I can compare it to.
The set list was incredible.
"The Trees."
"The Analog Kid."
"A Passage to Bangkok."
"Freewill."
The entire side one of 2112 and all the hits.
And then there's Anika.
My command of the English language isn't good enough to fully explain how extraordinary she was.
To say she killed it doesn't give her the honor and respect she deserves. I honestly don't know if anyone in rock history has ever stepped into more impossible shoes and not only succeeded but absolutely owned the moment. When she played the drum solo parts to "Tom Sawyer," it brought the loudest applause of the night. More importantly, the band felt new and alive instead of feeling like an old tribute act.
Maybe the only comparable moment in rock history is Brian Johnson replacing Bon Scott in AC/DC. Even then, I'm not sure it's the same.
So, what's next?
Weezer has a major tour and a new album that will keep me busy through late October and into 2027. I'm hoping to catch a couple more shows before the U.S. tour ends in December. I'd especially love to see them in Charlotte as that's where this all started for me. Forty-five years after I first stood in line outside the old Charlotte Coliseum, I never expected to be doing this in 2026.
More than a decade ago, we all thought this story had reached its final chapter.
Turns out there is one more left to write.
See you in Charlotte in November.
-TO
Thomas O’Keefe is a North Carolin author and musician; best known as a member of the band Antiseen, and serving as tour manager with Whiskeytown and Train. He is also a former (and semi-current) manager of Watershed and is now tour manager for Weezer.