Although there hasn't been any official announcement as of yet, all signs are pointing to Rush heading out on tour sometime next year. Back in March, Alex Lifeson told RollingStone.com that the band was planning a lengthy 41st anniversary tour for 2015:
... "The three of us just had a meeting," ... "We said, 'Let's not talk about anything band-wise for the next year. Let's separate ourselves and come back rejuvenated.' Unfortunately, the other people at that meeting didn't hear what we were talking about, so there are already plans being made for spring of 2015. It's going to be a 41st anniversary tour, or whatever they're going to call it."... "We haven't really talked seriously about what we want to do," ... "But I think we're probably going to lean towards making it a real sort of fan event, and really try to put something together that's very pleasing for the fans across the board. That's always been difficult, for us to sort of balance things." ... "We want to try and play different material this time," ... "I've always wanted to do some rarer Rush material, and this should be a good opportunity to do that. I also think it's going to be a long tour. We just need to stay healthy until then." ...
Alex then reiterated these comments in a short video interview from the Scott Medlock-Robby Krieger Invitational Golf Tournament last month. As 2014 comes to a close, it looks like plans are quietly starting to gel behind the scenes and fans can probably expect an official tour announcement in the near future. Neil Peart's drum tech Lorne Wheaton tweeted out the following over the weekend.
Guess it's time Bubba & I started to think about a new kit. :0) The "Time Machine" is officially retired after next weekend.
No need for a new kit if there's not going to be a tour, right? Lorne will be showing off the kit at a Roland Canada event at Just Drums in Toronto this coming Saturday, November 15. So in anticipation of the official announcement, Skip Daly over at RushPetition.com has updated the site to reflect a 2015 tour and is asking fans to make their requests:
... With Rush gearing up to tour in 2015, here we go again...
In the interest of encouraging the band to pull some choice rarities out of the vault, the song list (below) is limited to songs from the Peart recording era that Rush has never performed live ("Feedback" covers excluded). As in the past, each person gets to select FIVE songs from the list below and submit their votes, with each individual being allowed to cast one "ballot". No guarantees, of course, but with any luck the band will keep an eye on the results and take the results into some degree of consideration. (We'll certainly be letting Anthem/SRO know the site is up and running again). ...
So go make your voice heard and vote, and be sure to follow RushPetition.com on Facebook. Rush is very aware of the Rush Petition site and have admitted to considering it when picking out setlists for past tours.
Related Posts:
[Alex Lifeson talks R40 in new video interviews from Scott Medlock-Robby Krieger Invitational Golf Tournament]
[Rush making plans for a 2015 41st anniversary tour]
