Apothecary Shed

Rush at Fifty-something

November 1, 2026

gem art, film, music, photography alex lifeson, anika nilles, Capital One Arena, closer to the heart, concert, dreamline, geddy lee, grace under pressure, la villa stragiato, limelight, live music, moving pictures, neil peart, red barcetta, red sector a, roll the bones, rush, spirit of the radio, the camera eye, tom sawyer, vital signs, washington dc, witch hunt, xanadu, yyz 1 Comment

Well hell, we’re 60! That means we were very young indeed when Rush started out in the ’70s. (I saw my first Rush show 45 years ago in 1981 at the Johnson City Civic Center at the ripe old age of 15—during the Exit Stage Left/Moving Pictures tour. I have only seen them one other time in Indianapolis in 1992—during the Roll the Bones tour.)

For my 60th birthday (which happened way back in February), Romey got us tickets to see Rush perform again. They were unbelievably good. But don’t believe me, have a listen to the videos shot using a pixel 8 posted below. And make sure you scroll down to the part where they play EVERY DAMN SONG ON MOVING PICTURES.

How good were they? I mean this face says it all.

Watching Geddy Lee bounce around on stage is an inspiration. Focused talent honed razor sharp.

The show opened with an extended Xanadu run

As you can tell, Anika Nilles fits into the sound perfectly…doing her own thing while respecting the world class drumming of Neil Peart. And the band is clearly having a great time.

Dreamline (from Roll the Bones). “like learning we are only immortal, for a limited time”

Cleanup on aisle 7. The crowd was not at all unruly (unlike, say, the Tennessee metal heads in 1981). They were as orderly as they were elderly.

Red Sector A (from Grace Under Pressure),

An extended version of La Villa Strangiato from Hemispheres

Set one (?!) ended with another song from 1980 Spirit of the Radio. I mean, this would have been a complete show all by itself. These guys are monsters!

I guess the real monsters are the old rich white guys who love Rush but still vote Republican. Idiots gonna idiot. There were many a bald head in sight. Maybe they are old rich liberals like me? Lets hope so.

After a short intermission (with a timer running on stage), the second half started with a complete run of Moving Pictures. Holy shit. Like a time machine to 15.

Tom Sawyer

Red Barchetta

YYZ

Limelight

The Camera Eye

Witch Hunt

Vital Signs “everybody got to deviate from the norm”

I mean, every frigging song on Moving Pictures as part of a set?! Bliss for the audience.

Though my phone battery was toast, I did manage to record Closer to the Heart, a song close to my heart.

It was extraordinary. The battery recharge will last me through the next Rush show, slated for 2071. Best birthday present ever.

Tokyo Last Licks: Gewgaws and Yukata at Sensō-ji

October 31, 2026

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The plan was to acquire some last minute gifts for family before hitting the airport. So after our very last organic Peninsula breakfast weirdness, we asked the concierge where to pick up a yukata in Ginza. The anwer was the neighborhood by Sensō-ji, so we added that to the Tokyo plan and off we went. Sadly, we taxied up and metro’ed back down…exactly backwards. (Just don’t even bother with the Ginza line which seems to have been built only for tourists.)

We arrived just as the stalls opened and found everything we were looking for at one stall! godzilla and the wave, red yukata, astro boy…the whole nine yards.

So that meant we had some time to wander the temple grounds before the crowds arrived. And arrive they did.

Romey played the fortune game. You’ll have to ask her about that.

And we witnessed part of a morning ceremony.

Of course the grounds and little gardens are the best part.

Romey and I traded photo taking with a french couple here at the very same spot where the kids and I were in 2019.

Well honey, the honeymoon is over.

Arigatō gozaimasu

Tokyo Food Target: Sushi at Kyūbey Ginza Honten 銀座久兵衛銀座本店

October 31, 2026

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The best sushi in the world is in Japan. This venerable establishment has been visited by Presidents and rock stars and us. They liked us best, of course.

Chef made an appearance and made us each one piece of sushi.

Did you know that high end sushi places where you damn well better be on time have waiting rooms just like dentists offices? Well, they do.

We really enjoyed our sushi chef. He was kind and silly and gracious and highly talented.

There were not too many things that we had to choke down. In fact, the sushi was right down the middle of the Bell curve. Yoshi had me eating way weirder things in Santa Clara one time.

Everything was incredibly flavorful.

We had lots of sake. Maybe that’s what it takes??

Tokyo: Matcha in Hamariku Gardens

October 31, 2026

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We beat the German tourist buses by 45 minutes. That was a good call.

Crossing the bridge from Ginza. The meeting point of ancient and modern.

This garden was made for hawk hunting during the Edo period. Channel your inner samaurai.

The juxtaposition has the trees all confused.

Snake! Another harmeless one. One for each city.

See? This tree is completely confused.

And so is this one.

Is this nature?

Or the city?

Perhaps the city is natural. 100% Earth stuff.

As a result of our punctuality, we walked right in for a morning matcha at the famous tea house.

And even swapped over to the prime table.

And we made our way back into Ginza on our Hello Kitty quest (part 2).

Tokyo: Mandatory Visit to Tsukiji Outer Market

October 31, 2026

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Just like you can’t leave New Hampshire without buying mandatory syrup, or get out of the Bermuda Triangle without sacrificing one crewmember, you can’t leave Tokyo without a visit to Tsukiji. Yeah well. It’s a tourist trap, but worth a quick hit.

We emerged from the metro at this building

And then we were in well before the first tourist buses. In fact, we kept ahead of the buses all day by at least 45 minutes. Excellent planning.

If you require dehydrated cephalopds, there are plenty available.

We circled the market until we could no longer stand it, and headed to Hamarikyu on foot.

Tokyo: Zenkō-ji and the Omatesando neighborhood

October 31, 2026

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In the heart of the city is Zenkō-ji. We arrived as the sun was going down.

We wandered Omatesando on a quest for PJs and underwear. It was a much harder quest than we figured. Eventually Romey had to join a gang to find success. Even the sales tribe at Armani couldn’t help.

Cat alley was on the way.

Varvatos was entirely abandoned. So we put on our own fashion show.

Here is where Romey’s gang induction was carried out.

Finally at the end of the trail there was a great cocktail at Bar Radio (the most civilized bar in Tokyo).

And that famous Penisula ramen.

Finally the Matcha Kit Kats

October 31, 2026

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In our preparation for training back to Tokyo (and after 4 left turns on a 200 yard trip), we finally found Match Kit Kats in the Kyoto station food basement. The organic grocery store had everything we needed for a solid train lunch.

I had this clearly marked box. And we finally found some cloudy sake!

What was missing though? High quality ice cream! Fortunately you can buy that on the train (in the green car).

Fuji view not included.

Early Morning at Fushimi Inari Taisha

October 31, 2026

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Can you avoid the crowds at Fushimi Inari Taisha by setting up early breakfast at Vermillion right when it opens? Nope. You can’t. But you just have to see the 1000 gates.

If you arrive before Vermillion opens at 8:30, you can get yourself on the list and take a walk into the temple complex. Very civilized indeed.

The Vermillion mosquito pond…

And then it is time to brave the masses for a look at a few hundred of the thousand gates. Romey wondered what the tori said and didn’t believe me when I told her they were corporate sponsors. LOL. Buddhism is great.

But you know what? It was just too hot (even early in the morning) to walk the 4km loop. So we bailed at the first choice point and circled back down to our morning dogs.

Anyway, it was a great start to the day and a pretty not bad way to say goodbye to Kyoto. I doubt we will return.

We wanted an amulet from a small shrine near Vermillion. But it failed to open. At all. So instead we acted out our zodiac signs.

And then it was back to the very last attainable corner to catch our car.

And a return to the city with police escort.

Zen and Ghibli with 2000 of our Closest Friends

October 30, 2026

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Want a contrast from a peaceful morning at Shōden-ji? Head on down the hill to Kyoto City KYOCERA and queue up for the Zen and Ghibli show. You know that trope about “no personal space” in Japan? Well, that.

Reality jolt. Anyway, who knew that inside this official looking builing…