Well you could tell how excited I was to see this as evidenced by the fact I bought my ticket on 06/29/19 and the one night only movie didn't play until 08/21/19.
This is a bittersweet memory because Shannon was already living in Kansas and I was still in Ohio. My last day at Lbrands was 09/05/19 so I was watching this documentary without my wife and just days away from ending my 29 year career.
This wasn't strictly about tonight's song choice, but they obviously "borrowed" from the song's name.
So the song. It came out in 1978, just 4 years after the release of their first album. More importantly, let's discuss age when written: Alex was 25, Geddy was 25 and Neil was 26.
If you listen to this song, it's hard to believe that something so masterful was produced by someone so young. This song, probably more than any other, has influenced so many other artists based on its styling and complexities.
From Wikipedia:
The nine-minute "La Villa Strangiato" (subtitled "An Exercise in Self-Indulgence") is the first instrumental that Rush recorded, and has 12 distinct sections. The piece is what Lifeson described as a "musical re-creation" of the various nightmares he had, particularly while he was on tour. It was the sole piece that developed from the two-week rehearsal period the group had prior to entering the studio. The band encountered great difficulty in recording it as they wanted it put down as a single live performance, rather than a more produced and edited piece. Lee said it took as many as 40 takes to produce one that they were satisfied with, and he and Peart pointed out that they spent more time recording "La Villa Strangiato" than their second album, Fly by Night. Peart recalled the group spent four days and nights playing it repeatedly, playing even when tired and with sore hands: "We were determined to get the whole thing perfect, but in the end I just couldn't do it, and we ended up putting it together from a few different takes." The segments "Monsters!" and "Monsters! (Reprise)" are adapted from "Powerhouse", a 1937 jazz instrumental by Raymond Scott.
The link I provided is a live version and is slightly different than the studio version - BUT SHANNON, CONNOR AND I WERE AT THAT CONCERT as noted in our Marathon entry. Two other notable callouts is Geddy is wearing his GEFILTER t-shirt and Neil smiles...
Ghost of a Chance 