Rush II does not disappoint.

Thor's hammer brings new life.

Rush opened up their 2026 tour at the L.A. Kia Forum last night. This was the first real look at Anika Nilles stepping into the most coveted throne in rock history. She is clearly a monster drummer.

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I woke up around midnight because I couldn’t sleep. I got online, went to YouTube - and I immediately discovered a bevy of videos from last night’s concert in Los Angeles. All I wanted to see and hear was Anika.

I watched the band play “Xanadu”, “2112”, “Natural Science” and of course, “Tom Sawyer”. The audio was not high quality, so it was difficult to hear Anika’s interpretation of every little nuance, every little signature drum part made infamous by the professor.

What I could hear was spectacular! Then I began to think - is it possible that she might actually be better than Neil Peart? No way! We’ve coveted Peart’s work in Rush as the top tier of all rock drumming, for so many decades, nobody ever questioned it. I have always been one of those people who always believed that nobody could ever touch Peart’s work, much less, make it better…but is that even possible?

There are technical drummers in this world who seemingly come from another planet, another dimension. What they understand as precision drummers, goes far beyond the comprehension of most people, including yours truly. I thought, “Maybe this is finally, the proverbial door opening to the next level of music. Maybe the younger generation of high-end musicians could actually raise the bar a few more feet.”

What if...Anika represents the next generation of “ultra musicians”? I think that Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson saw her, heard her play - and immediately saw the future staring them both in the face.

Then, I got to thinking about the time frames of life - “What was I doing in 1983?” I was working full time at a local bakery, still living at my parents house. That summer I went on my first vacation without my family. I rode my motorcycle with two of my other buddies, and two others in a car with all of our gear, up to northern Wisconsin to go camping for five days.

This just blows my mind. That summer, Anika would have been an infant in West Germany. Anika Nilles was born May 29, 1983 (fellow Geminian), five days after my twentieth birthday. When “Moving Pictures” came out, she wasn’t even born yet. Can you even imagine?

It also blows my mind sometimes - to think about how quickly tempus fugit. I’ve listened to that album a billion times, over the past forty-five years. It is arguably the greatest Rush album ever released.

I remember so vividly, when “Moving Pictures” came out. Everyone I knew was listening to it. We’d get into my car and go cruising around town, cranking “Tom Sawyer” on my car stereo, air-drumming every single beat, banging the shit out of my steering wheel. That album has meant the world to millions of people for so many years.

I watched Anika play it for the first time, and I truly almost wept. It was like time stopped for a few seconds while she encompassed the teachings of the greatest drummer to ever live, as she passed them through her sticks, to those drums, to the audience - an audience who had been waiting patiently for this magic moment in time. You know what? She fucking nailed it like Thor’s hammer!

I want so badly for this next generation of musicians to take a page from Anika’s book; and be inspired to bring real rock music back to the mainstream listeners. My hope is that this Rush tour will show those who have forgotten, what rock music is “supposed to be”; and how it could be brought back - so that an entirely new generation of Rush fans, rock fans can let go of the garbage and bring back the true spirit of the radio.