“It’s highly unlikely”: The show Geddy Lee said Rush would never play
Somewhere along the line, I lost my appreciation for acoustic music. Maybe it was one too many house parties where that annoying mop-topped lad would pull out the guitar and give us a sloppy rendition of you know what. It moved from the instrument I first wanted to learn to the one that made me dry heave, for it was nothing more than a symbol of corniness. Reductive, I know, and you will be pleased to know I’ve got past it.
But that being said, the realms of acoustic music aren’t exactly my go-to. I don’t think I’ve ever reached for an acoustic version of a record when crate digging, and certainly don’t spend much time in the acoustic tents of any festivals. Is that wrong of me? Am I missing an entirely different element of the music experience altogether? Or is my perception of the craft marred in pop culture cringe?
Maybe I’m getting swept up in my own bias, because I am forgetting my love for tracks like ‘Blackbird’, ‘Landslide’ and a large majority of the Neil Young discography. But none of them are adaptations. I truly believe in the superiority of a song’s original form, especially if it’s a hell-raising rock number that gets better with every upward crank of the volume dial.
While Rush may not exactly fall into the category of pedal-to-the-metal hellraisers, they certainly share my interest in arranging music with a full band. And with Neil Peart sat at the very heart of their line-up, who can blame them? They boast one of the finest rhythm sections in all of music, and so to temper their songs back to a mere acoustic adaptation would be nothing more than a robbery to all fans.
A sentiment Geddy Lee shared, for he was quick to refute any idea that the band would take part in the MTV Unplugged feature. He swiftly said, “It’s highly unlikely” when asked, but continued on to prove why his mind is far more nuanced than mine, understanding the merits of a more stripped-back performance.
He said, “I wouldn’t mind doing a couple of songs in a slightly stripped-down manner, I think that would be fun. It’s nice to approach your music from a different angle. It’s something we talk about every once in a while, maybe doing it live, a couple of songs in a simpler format. But, I could never see doing more than just a couple of songs in the course of a concert.”
The key element Lee takes into consideration is the subtle inclusion of it in a live show. When artists slow the pace, dim the lights and pull out the acoustic during a live show, it is all part of a wider goal to ebb and flow the feeling of tension within a live set. It’s a necessary trough that provides context for the euphoric peak that is soon to follow. But if the high school house parties have taught us anything, it’s that letting someone overstay their welcome with nothing other than an acoustic guitar, it doesn’t make for a compelling watch.
