Tickets for all 58 (so far) shows on Rush's Fifty Something tour are now on sale to the general public, so fans are now wondering whether the band might add more shows, and also starting to speculate about things like the setlist and stage show. Geddy Lee addressed both of these questions in a few interviews this past week. In an interview with the Globe and Mail, Geddy mentions that they are mulling the idea of extending the tour even further, outside of North America:
.. The tour has yet to begin, but already there is no end in sight, with concerts in Europe, South America and Asia being considered. "We're wrestling with extending the tour into 2027," Lee said. "I really don't know. We'll see how that all shakes down."
In an interview with the Canadian Press, Geddy shared a little of what He, Alex and Anika might have in store for the fans:
... Lee said they've rehearsed at least 19 songs with Nilles so far, with about 38 songs on their ultimate set list. They plan to hire an additional keyboardist who will step in for Lee. "Every time we play those songs, it's more fun," he said. "By the time the tour starts, we'll have months of rehearsal under our belt." So far, Lee has no regrets about Rush's comeback, though he said it's impossible to ignore that Peart is the missing piece of their original trio. "When we used to have meetings, it was the three of us ... talking about the future," he said. "Now it's just me and Al. Being the buddies we are, it's taken our friendship a little deeper." As for the reunion itself, Lee said he can't help but feel optimistic. "The world is crazy right now," he added. "I think when you find something that makes you happy, you have to follow it."
Ged was also interviewed for Rolling Stone to talk baseball and the Blue Jays, but he also had some words about the tour:
I don't really want to give our set list away because we are learning at the moment our set list contains over 38 songs, because we plan on changing the set every night. There will be a large percentage of songs that we will switch between nights. So if you come to say four shows in Toronto, you're going to hear four different sets. That's going to include a lot of songs, obviously. They are obviously the big favorites that you sort of have to have in the set list every night. But we really want to keep the set fresh. And right now, I'm working on five different sets for the shows. So we're going to move things around quite a bit and have a lot of fun, and hopefully that'll keep Alex and I fresh. ...
Geddy also addressed how he and Alex came to the decision to tour after a recent visit to a European spa. From the Canadian Press interview:
... [Alex and he] had batted around the possibility of a Rush reunion, but thought that Lifeson's ongoing health issues made it impossible for the two 72-year-olds to hit the road. Then, one of their mutual friends offered up a suggestion. "(He said,) there's a clinic in Europe that specializes in the issues Alex has struggled with over the last number of years, and he sort of convinced him to go," Lee said. "For moral support, I said, 'I'll go with you, let's both go. We can get healthy together.'" Lifeson has spoken about his recent health struggles, including stomach surgery two years ago, which left him with gastroparesis, a condition that slows food digestion and can cause discomfort and weight gain. In January, Lee joined him at the health resort in Austria. "We spent a couple of weeks there. It was really life-changing. (Alex) dropped a bunch of weight. I was recovering from knee surgery at the time, so it didn't do me any harm," Lee said. "When he came back, he was a different guy. He was feeling great and very optimistic. I think that's when he knew that he could manage his diet and health in a way that would allow him to do some shows." ...
Geddy Lee's Toronto Blue Jays unfortunately lost in a wild Game 7 of the World Series this past weekend, and Geddy Lee was there. As mentioned above, Rolling Stone caught up with Ged last Friday before Game 6 to talk about the Jays and his love of baseball:
... I liked baseball when I was a kid. And when I was really young, I used to watch a lot of games on TV here in Toronto. We got mostly the American games here, and we got to see the Yankees-Tigers rivalry back in the Sixties. But I tried out for a baseball team when I was a kid and didn't make it. So I guess I was one of those frustrated, failed athletes. I turned to music and I spent most of my time woodshedding on my bass guitar. And that served me well. But I think it was in the mid- to late-Seventies that I started to watch baseball on TV while I was on the road with Rush and we were touring all through the States in the Midwest. One thing you could be guaranteed of when you were having your breakfast at two in the afternoon was there would be a game on television from either Chicago or Atlanta. So I fell in love with the game again through that, and I sort of became obsessed with the game again. ...
Rush beer partner Henderson Brewing Company have announced the date for their 4th annual Rush Day event. Rush Day 2026 will take place in on Saturday, August 8th at the Brewery's Toronto location - right between the August 7th and 9th Rush shows at Toronto's Scotiabank Arena. Although all the details have yet to be announced, past events have featured special guests, Rush Memorabilia, Rush Beer tastings, exclusive Rush merch, Rush karaoke, Rush games, and more. For all the details and to purchase tickets, visit Henderson's website at this location. Unfortunately, this event will clash with the return of RushCon, which is also scheduled to take place that same day. On a related note, Henderson unveiled their 4th limited-edition Rush beer Holiday pack last month. The pack includes Rush Canadian Golden Ale in 3 specially-designed cans celebrating the classic Rush albums Permanent Waves, Moving Pictures, and Signals, plus one standard Starman can, all packaged in a decorative box. The packs are now available to purchase via shophendersonbrewing.com (can't ship to the US unfortunately) or at the Brewery's Toronto location. You can check out all the Rush beers and merch Henderson has to offer at shophendersonbrewing.com.
Back in 2021 Geddy Lee in partnership with Tech 21 released a special MP40 SansAmp commemorating the 40th anniversary of Moving Pictures, and built on the bones of his YYZ Signature SansAmp. Then this past July, Geddy released a special, charity edition of the SansAmp, as detailed in this Reverb.com article:
Geddy Lee and Tech 21 are back with something truly special-and quite personal. The Rush frontman has unveiled a limited run of his MP40 Signature SansAmp, now in a Special Charity Edition exclusively available on Reverb. Only 200 of these pedals are being made, and each one is personally signed by Geddy himself. ... this new edition features exclusive Moon Records-inspired artwork and a striking red enclosure. But what really sets this release apart is the cause behind it. A portion of the proceeds will go to two charities close to the band's heart, both honoring the legacy of Neil Peart. One supports the Neil Peart Memorial at Lakeside Park in St. Catharines, Ontario-Neil's hometown and the inspiration behind the song "Lakeside Park." The other is Cedars-Sinai's glioblastoma research program in Los Angeles, where Neil received treatment in the final years of his life. ...
It took less than a week for the limited run of 200 SansAmps to be SOLD OUT, and earlier this week they revealed that sales ended up raising $68K - half of which would go to Cedars-Sinai for Glioblastoma Research in Memory of Neil Peart, and the other half to The Neil Peart Memorial at Lakeside Park.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is gearing up for its 2025 Induction Ceremony this coming weekend in Los Angeles, and posted this short video of Geddy Lee singing the praises of '25 inductees Soundgarden earlier this week. You can watch the induction ceremony streamed live this Saturday on Disney+.
17 years ago this past Monday, on November 3, 2008, there was a Rush reference in the Canadian TV series The Border (Season 2, Episode 6 - Prescriptive Measures). The resident computer nerd who works for a Canadian governmental agency celebrates after winning Geddy Lee's Rickenbacker bass from "Rush's first tour". He asks his co-workers if any of them want to hear him play Working Man:
That's all for this week. Have a great weekend!
