October 4, 2026

Rush at the Civic Center

The first concert I ever went to was Rush at the Providence Civic Center. I’m pretty sure it was the Moving Pictures tour in May 1981, but I couldn’t swear to it.

Back then, in the pre-MTV, pre-internet, pre-Instagram days, there was precious little “content” to consume from your favorite band. Besides the music itself, it was basically just the album cover.

So you PRAYED for an album cover that folded out and had lyrics for all the songs and full-color pictures of the band, and even the inner sleeves had printing on them, because then you and your friends could lay around for hours and obsess over every little detail, comparing notes while the music blasted over you.

After years of poring over every inch of every Rush album cover, I had my ticket and was actually in my seat and the lights went down and Rush took the stage and I clearly remember turning to my best friend Mark and proclaiming wide-eyed:

“We’re in the SAME ROOM with GEDDY LEE!!!”

SQUEEEEEEEE!!!

It was almost too much. My 12yo mind was blowing.

Now...

Imagine an alternate timeline in which Rush didn’t come through Providence in 1981, and instead, Mark and I went to go see a Rush tribute band at the PCC.

Would it have been fun? Yeah, probably.

Would it have been entertaining? Sure.

Would it be anything like knowing I was in the same room with Geddy Lee?

LOL NOPE!

Obviously not.

It might have looked like a similar experience to an outsider, but seeing a Rush tribute band is not even in the same category as seeing Rush live and in person.

Here’s the thing...

People who can’t tell the difference between a tribute band and the real thing are just like people who can’t tell the difference between advice from an AI and advice from an actual expert.

And that’s fine!

If you’re an actual expert, do not worry about this.

Folks who can’t tell the difference between you and AI are not your ideal buyers.

Your job is to find the ones who can.

Yours,

—J