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REVIEW: A disappointingly delightful evening with Rush

AUBURN — It was out with the old and in with the new Friday when venerable Canadian rock trio Rush performed a marathon three-hour concert at White River Amphitheatre that was as equally disappointing as it was delighting.

Delighting because the musicianship, something that is never of poor quality with Rush, was spectacular. Disappointing because too much material from the band’s latest album “Snakes And Arrows,” made its way into a set list that should have included more rarities and fan favorites.

The concert lacked the oomph and excitement the R30 tour, which came to White River in 2004 and celebrated the band’s 30th anniversary with a hit-laden set. Songs such as “Red Barchetta,” “Bastille Day” and “Working Man,” one of the progressive-rock band’s staples, were replaced by the many, nine in all, new songs from an album by a band that is about 15 years past its prime.

The night was broken into two halves, a one hour set that included “Freewill” and “The Larger Bowl,” among others before Rush left the stage for a 20 minute intermission. The first half was filled with the same visual flair as the second part of the show. Plenty of smoke, lasers, pyro and fancy lighting to accompany three large video screens, making the concert a full audio-visual experience.

The second half kicked off with “Far Cry,” one of the best songs from the new record, featuring dynamic drumming (Then again, does drummer Neal Peart know any other way to hit the skins?) and soaring guitar parts courtesy Alex Lifeson. Then, not one, not two, but four other new tracks followed, killing any momentum Rush may have gained after the first half of its show. It’s understandable the band wants to showcase its news songs, but the concert greatly suffered with the barrage of songs many in the crowd may have never heard.

One would think a band like Rush that has been around the block a few times would want to cater to its passionate fanbase’s desire to hear the hits.

But when Rush did break into its vault of classics including “Tom Sawyer.” “Spirit of the Radio,” “A Passage to Bangkok,” “Subdivsions,” and the tremendous show-closing “YYZ,” they were on fire. The near capacity crowd reveled in the disappointingly delightful combination of classics and mediocre new songs.