John Rush, Encyclopedia of All Things Musical

Right when you think you’ve placed him, he shoots in the least likely direction. A chameleon of pop culture, John Rush draws on a categorical knowledge of music from the past forty years and speckles it with his own tight flare to provide a truly unique concert experience.Rush is constantly on the move, averaging more than 200 shows a year on the club and college circuit. Fans call him a human jukebox for his ability to play roughly 500 songs from 150 bands. The kicker is that he does it all from memory. Every note of the evening was immaculately executed both vocally and instrumentally. Two fat binders flanked the stage, and he invited listeners to find songs and request them by writing the titles on post-it notes and sticking them at his feet. In the event of two requests, he held votes based on crowd reaction to the competing titles, often taking the opportunity to satirize the presidential election.He has a thick sound for a solo musician. With the help of a loop machine, Rush is able to lay down the rhythm of a song, record it, and loop it so that he can lead over the foundation. For some tracks, he recorded percussion and rhythm loops, giving the acoustic impression of a three-piece band. For the original songs, his left hand was ridiculously fast-molesting the neck of his acoustic guitar with spot-on abandon. He switched between medium Tortex and heavy Fender picks, rasping across the copper-wound strings like rusty corduroy lightning. His vocal style was reminiscent of Dan Singer’s open mic tremolo, but by no means limited to any single comparison. He’s equally acclimated to Kurt Cobain and Paul McCartney. It’s worth noting that Rush is an absolutely phenomenal musician. He received his classical education at the University of Georgia in Athens. He was able to effectively mimic the lead styles of any famous guitarist the audience threw at him. Near the end of the show, he gave a rendition of the Grateful Dead’s Uncle John’s Band and led over the rhythm with leads from not only Garcia, but Hendrix, Mark Knopfler, and Stevie Ray Vaughan as well. He ended the evening with an unfortunate song entitled Coconuts, juggling the names of six students in a repetitive improv session that sounded like a joke when compared to his other work. It didn’t detract from the overall performance, but did leave a bitter taste on what would be nothing but saccharine without it. Let’s give him a solid 8.5/10