10 Biggest Hard Rock & Metal Gigs Of All Time

10. Rush In Rio - 2003

At the start of the new millennium, it felt like Rush was done for all intents and purposes. After Neil Peart lost his daughter and wife within just a few months, the band was on sabbatical and unsure if they would ever return to form. Though Vapor Trails proved that they had their chops in the studio, the band reached their biggest possible audience once they hit Rio.

With a tours' worth of gigs already under their belt at this point, this power trio feel like they're a new band out to prove why they were such a big deal back in the '70s and '80s. From the first hit on the set opener "One Little Victory," the polyrhythmic chops are in full force, as Peart annihilates his kit and Alex Lifeson delivers the one of the meatiest riffs the band have ever thought up.

Even the fan favorites from the set like "YYZ" have so much energy to them that the crowd ends up singing along to a track that HAS NO WORDS. Things may have seemed bleak a few years prior, but Rush's return to their prog rock throne was something that Rio wouldn't soon forget.