Rush, SECC, Glasgow

This was like a pilgrim's regress. The faithful turned up in droves at the opening night of the veteran Canuck trio's latest UK jaunt, some wearing Rush T-shirts as faded as the Turin Shroud.

The show, too, was a pleasingly old-school affair. Extravagant and expensive-looking, it featured lasers, flame-throwers, backdrop footage and such venerable Rush classics as "Digital Man" and "Spirit of Radio."

From the bizarre intro film (wherein front man Geddy Lee appeared as the kilted "Harry Satchel") to the toy dinosaurs all over Alex Lifeson's guitar amps, there were many indications that, for all the meditations on humanity that inform drummer Neil Peart's lyrics, Rush like a laugh.

Sound technology having evolved, Lee no longer needs a bank of speaker cabinets to reproduce his bass guitar sound. Surreally, the stage space freed up is occupied by chicken-filled rotisserie ovens, attended to by a roadie in a chef's hat.

Rush's latest studio album Snakes & Arrows, their 19th, is something of a return to form, but you sensed that most in the crowd were marking time for older, bigger hitters such as "Tom Sawyer" and the dazzling instrumental "YYZ".

The former served to demonstrate the ongoing appeal of Rush. Lifeson's wonderfully eccentric lead-guitar phrasing; the fluidity of Lee's bass-playing; Peart's flair for splitting the rhythmic atom – all were present and correct.

Though the words "drum solo" and "highlight of the evening" aren't often heard together, Peart has re-invented the form. Playing both a traditional kit and an electronic one, he hit things with astonishing dexterity.

Past tours have seen Rush attempt chunks of epics such as "2112"and "Hemispheres", but these days they tend to pack in more songs. They're still a long way from brevity or the short sharp shock of punk, but who wants "Pretty Vacant" when you can have "Natural Science", a song with several changes of time signature, plus thoughts on evolution and art?

"A Passage to Bangkok" took in more traditional rock subject-matter, its gutsy, hash-smoke clouded travelogue documenting the band's days of mild excess. Then back came Lee's alter-ego Harry Satchel. "Go home, punters!" he chided from the video screens before firing up his bagpipes.

Touring to 14 October (www.rush.com)