Mike Portnoy says Anika Nilles is absolutely perfect for Rush after meeting her at their second Philadelphia show.
Mike Portnoy has met Anika Nilles for the first time and come away even more convinced that Rush made the right call. The Dream Theater drummer caught the second of the band’s two Philadelphia nights, having already seen them in New York, and posted about it afterwards alongside a photograph of the pair backstage.
“Went and saw Rush again last night for the 2nd time on this tour (NYC #2 & Philly #2)…absolutely amazing show once again! I got lucky as the sets were very different…last nights being a new unique variation which had them playing both ‘La Villa Strangiato‘ and ‘A Farewell To Kings‘ back to back!! (The two songs I was hoping to hear the most!) Was able to spend some time with the Queen before the show! Thank you so much Anika [Nilles] for the hospitality. I cannot express enough how happy I am for her and the band. She is absolutely PERFECT for this gig! Handling most of Neil [Peart]’s nuances while still bringing her own style and swing to the music (but always with the utmost respect) You can feel the whole audience rooting for her through the whole show and I LOVE that!!!”
He closed on the production itself: “Congratulations to her and Geddy & Alex and Loren on this tour. The amount of time and dedication they’ve put into the show(s) is incredible and I think they’ve gone above & beyond anybody’s expectations delivering a show that is worthy of the bands legacy and also honors Neil memory with the utmost respect. I am so proud to be a Rush fan!”
Nilles replied in the comments: “It was a huge pleasure to finally meet you Mike!!”
“A Farewell To Kings” is not a routine inclusion. The title track of the 1977 album had not been played live since 1979 when the band brought it back on 13 June at the Kia Forum, one of three tour debuts on the final night of their Los Angeles run, a gap of 47 years.
It did not appear at the first Philadelphia show on 21 August, which is what Portnoy means about getting lucky on the variation.
Portnoy has followed Nilles since her first show with the band in June. He took to social media on June 8th, to share his emotional response to the performance.
“So many feelings and emotions today…I wasn’t there in person last night, but like so many of us around the world, I was glued to YouTube all night long…I watched the RushCon live stream in real time for the entire show as it was happening (as well as getting play by play texts from my buddy Chris Jericho who was there in attendance last night),” Portnoy wrote at the time.
“What can I say that hasn’t been written already by everybody online today…? It was magical! The setlist was absolutely PERFECT!! (and to think they still have around 3 other variations up their sleeves to come…) Anika absolutely KILLED IT in the best way imaginable. I was so happy for her…nailing all of the big [late Rush drummer] Neil [Peart] moments with a giant smile on her face the whole time! She really is the perfect choice for this! The tributes to Neil throughout the show were so tasteful and emotional. (Yes I’ll admit I cried at a few points) The production was absolutely INSANE (Major props to Howard Ungerleider),” he continued.
He added: “And most importantly of all, I am so happy for Geddy and Alex to be able to do this again! Seeing this tour come to life, it very obvious this needed to happen. As not only a proper tribute to Neil, but most importantly to honor the legacy of this band. Geddy and Alex deserve it. And the fans deserve it as well… I’m still trying to figure out which show I will be able to attend (likely NYC or Philly),but I will be counting the days until I can witness this in person and soak up every single moment… Welcome back Rush!”
During a recent interview with Chile’s “Sonar FM“, Portnoy was asked if he planned to attend any of the highly anticipated shows. He enthusiastically confirmed his intentions.
“Absolutely. I cannot wait to see it. I’m so curious what it’s gonna be like. They’re one of my favorite bands of all time. And I had the honor of becoming friends with [late Rush drummer] Neil Peart for the last 10, 15 years of his life. And, yeah, I’m so happy that they’re gonna do it again. And I absolutely plan on going to see the shows and supporting them,” he said at the time.
Asked what he thinks, as someone who has spent decades touring and performing at the highest level, when he hears that a band like Rush is set to hit the road again, Portnoy highlighted the importance of legacy acts continuing to perform.
“Well, I’m happy to see them reunite. For the fans it’s important, because all of the classic bands are going away. Rush is thankfully coming back, but a year ago if we were having this discussion, we would say there is no Rush, there is no Van Halen, there is no more Black Sabbath, Slayer retired, Megadeth is retiring, Sepultura is retiring. So, yeah, we need our heroes to keep playing if they can, if they’re able to.”
The topic of Mike Portnoy potentially playing with Rush has been a persistent point of fan speculation for years. In a February conversation with Brazil’s Regis Tadeu, he addressed the fact that some fans hoped he would be the one to step in for Neil Peart.
“Well, I’d be lying if I denied that, of course, playing with those guys would be a dream come true. Of course. And I love and respect not only Rush‘s music, but Neil Peart as a person and as a drummer. So if the hypothetical scenario ever occurred that they had asked me, I would’ve approached it with the utmost respect — believe me. But in a way I’m kind of relieved they didn’t ask me, because that’s a very tough role to walk into. I think for Anika, she’s gonna have a lot of people making inevitable comparisons. There’s no way around it. So that’s gonna be a very tough gig to have. So in a way I’m relieved that they didn’t ask me.”
“Fifty Something” opened on 7 June at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, the same building where Rush played their last concert with Peart in August 2015. It is the band’s first tour in over a decade and their first since the drummer died in January 2020.
Lee and Lifeson are joined by Nilles, who previously played with Jeff Beck, and keyboardist Loren Gold. Setlists are drawn from a rotating pool of more than 40 songs across two sets a night, with no support act. Peart‘s widow Carrie Nuttall-Peart and daughter Olivia publicly backed the tour when it was announced, calling him irreplaceable as both drummer and lyricist.
