Last night I tool Isaiah to see Time Stand Still, the documentary of the last concert tour of the band Rush, as well as a retrospective on their entire career. It included commentary by several well-known musicians who have worked with Rush over the years, and lots of remarks by fans.

One thing I learned was that, while I’m a big fan, I’m nothing compared to some of these (possibly unhinged) people. Folks who have spent tens of thousands of dollars attending Rush concerts, people who have devoted their entire life to collecting news clippings, concert photos, signed things, and so on, documenting the history of Rush. One guy said he had been to 170 concerts. That’s, conservatively, $5,000, and probably much more like $20,000, or even more, given that these were the front-row crowd. And that doesn’t count travel costs, as some of these folks traveled around the country to attend multiple concerts in any given tour.

I’ve been a Rush fan since (I think) about 1984. I’ve been to three concerts, and each time it was hard to justify the expense to myself. Although the first ticket was a gift, I had to drive 5 hours each way to take advantage of that gift.

But, it was a fun watch – funny, sad, and a lot of fun. It was great to see the friendship that held the band together for 40 years. It was sad to watch them reluctantly admit that they’re just too old to do this any more.  It was great to hear the deep concern that they had for their professionalism as musicians, and how much they cared about producing the best possible show for their fans.

Notably, the song Time Stand Still did not appear anywhere in the movie, but, of course, the lyrics of the song are heard behind everything that the band said about the nostalgia of letting this chapter of their lives slip away

Summer’s going fast–
Nights growing colder
Children growing up —
old friends growing older
Experience slips away…