Review: Rush stages a triumphant revival on night one in Tampa, with Anika Nilles in good form

Rush Credit: Photo by Josh Bradley Nary a power trio has triumphantly carried on after the death of a core member. But in the years following the passing of Neil Peart, often hailed as the greatest drummer who ever lived, his surviving comrades—oenophilic bassist-slash-frontman Geddy Lee and often-overlooked guitar whiz Alex Lifeson—slowly but surely came to grips with how performing the material they birthed together is what they live for. A tipsy Paul McCartney encouraged them to do just that, and Lee’s bass tech John “Skully” McIntosh—who spent the latter bit of 2022 on the road with Jeff Beck and Johnny Depp—couldn’t stop raving about the Yardbird’s new German drummer, Anika Nilles. It goes without saying that when a Beatle tells you to do something, you fucking do it. But in the world of Rush, if there’s anyone you can trust, it’s your bass tech, and Nilles proved that Monday night in Tampa for the first of two concerts at Benchmark International Arena. Following a qui