September 2 - Witch Hunt

I love Rush. I mean really love them. And my favorite Rush album is undoubtedly Moving Pictures - which makes it even better that when I finally got to see them live, about 25 years or so after I first started listening to them, they were performing Moving Pictures in its entirety as a part of the Time Machine Tour in 2011. I remember the drive there - it's about 2-2.5 hours away from where I live, and I was warming up with a selection of their music - but making sure that the entire Moving Pictures album was played not just once, but twice - and then again on the way home, completely euphoric. I don't think there are many highs that can compare to the high I get from music, and this concert certainly was a highlight in that respect.

I stumbled across the album at a used record store some time in the mid to late 80s. I got it cheap, and it cemented my appreciation for their music. I was drawn to the obvious songs, such as Tom Sawyer, Red Barchetta, and the instrumental YYZ - but my absolute favorite song was Witch Hunt, which had the intriguing subtitle Part III of Fear. What I didn't know yet at this point was that the other two songs in the trilogy had not yet been written - they came on the next two albums. Part II was The Weapon from the Signals album, and Part I was The Enemy Within from Grace Under Pressure.

The lyrics are unfortunately more appropriate than ever these days - the opening sets the stage and creates the dark foreboding mood that is echoed in the music.

"The night is black
Without a moon
The air is thick and still
The vigilantes gather on
The lonely torch lit hill"