Rush announced late yesterday that they are yet again expanding the 2027 South American leg of their Fifty Something tour, and have added a date at the Estadio Bicentenario La Florida in Santiago, Chile on Sunday, January 17th. This brings the total number of South American dates to 8, and the total for the entire tour to an impressive 87 shows! An exclusive fan club pre-sale will kick-off this coming Monday, April 13th at 11AM (Chile time) with the password LIMELIGHT (Ticketmaster Chile link), and the general on-sale will kick off next Thursday, April 16th at 11AM. Tickets for the other 86 dates on the tour are currently on sale. Although many shows have already sold out, there are plenty of tickets available on the secondary markets.
Rush hit the PR circuit over the last couple of weeks in the wake of their surprise JUNOs performance where they debuted their new lineup of Anika Nilles on drums and Loren Gold on keys. They were featured on both the covers of Classic Rock magazine and Prog magazine, along with being featured for an extensive, half-hour video interview with Brazil's Fantástico, where they revealed their plans for honoring Neil Peart during their Fifty Something tour:
... Well, we've been talking about certain songs that we feel really, really give us the vision of Neil. Twice a night we will pick a song to play for him and we'll present a visual tribute behind us, to Neil, whether it be to his lyrics or just to his playing or whatever. We'll take a moment, you know, play these songs with him in mind, so the whole audience and us can remember him. A celebration of who he was ... As as a person and a and a drummer, not not so so sad anymore. ...
You can listen to that entire interview below or at this location. In their Classic Rock interview, Geddy Lee addressed the question of how and why they decided to keep calling themselves Rush:
... what do you fucking call it? When the band ended, we said it's only Rush with Neil in it. Which of course is true. Rush as most people know it. But, you know, over five gigs we will be playing forty Rush songs. So what the fuck should we call it, Iron Maiden? ... We were twisting ourselves into a pretzel to try to avoid using the name that we have had for fifty years, and even before Neil came. And since 1969, it's not my name, it was Al's name. Well, him and John [Rutsey] and John's brother, Phil. But, you know, it just seems silly to go on as Lee And Lifeson Present The Music Of... Let's cut to the chase, shall we? Let's just be who we are and have been for over fifty years. ...
The tour itself will kick off in less than 2 months from now on June 7th at the LA Forum, where they played their final show with Neil Peart over a decade ago:
... "Likening it to "returning to the scene of the crime", Lifeson says: "Staring at that same clock where it ended, yeah." "Supremely stupid idea," Lee replies. "It's a massively stupid idea, because we're going to be so emotional already, that first show without Neil, and then to be in that building. What the fuck was I thinking?" Lifeson concurs: "Yeah, what were we fucking thinking?" Later in the interview, Lee continues: "Without Neil... I'll be frank. There are some songs you play where it kind of hits you, it's bad, and it feels weird. And it's appropriate that that happens. You know what I mean? "If we just picked up and went on without feeling any tug of anything, that would be absurd, that would be a whole other thing. And there'll be moments in both sets where we'll pay tribute to him. We're working hard on that, making sure that it's appropriate." Noting the "emotional and logistical aspect" of deciding to reunite as Rush, Lee adds: "There was nothing about this decision that came easily, except when Al looks at me, and I look at him in the studio and we go why the fuck shouldn't we do this?"...
The feature also includes an interview with Rush's new touring drummer Anika Nilles, where she describes the challenges of attempting to fill the shows of arguably the greatest rock drummer of all time:
... The biggest challenge is actually really capturing the right feel. In these songs, it's less about what I play, whether it's true to the original or whether there's room for improvisation. That comes second. First and foremost it's about capturing the right feel. That also means immersing myself to some extent in Neil's way of thinking and his playing feel, which is a huge part of this music. Neil is simply part of this music, and you can't ignore that or bring your own ego into it. You have to approach it with respect and a lot of sensitivity. Capturing the feel also means playing things differently than I might normally play them - playing them more the way Neil played them, to give the guys their familiar feeling for the song. That's really the biggest challenge: figuring out what that is in each individual song - what creates that feeling so that the two of them feel comfortable? What do they need? What makes the song the song, so that it sounds the way it does? That's where my focus lies as I work my way through the setlist, figuring out what the song needs and what defines it. ... [Neil's] playing was very energetic, and I really like that. That's something I feel very comfortable with. I also love playing in a very energetic way. That's the first thing that comes to mind, and something I really appreciate about his playing. He also had an incredible range of tonal colors. He had a very melodic approach to drumming and used a wide variety of sounds to achieve that. That set him apart and made him stand out to many drummers, for whom he was - and still is - a role model. He had a very distinctive way of playing the ride cymbal. When you listen to the music, that cymbal always stands out prominently. It has its own feel, which is also important for the guys and for that sense of feel I mentioned earlier. He had a very distinctive snare sound as well. There are certain signature sounds that come directly from his playing - not from the equipment, but from him. You recognise him immediately. Adapting to his way of playing is a challenge. ...
John at Cygnus-X1.net has transcribed the entire Classic Rock piece and made it available online here. New Rush touring keyboard player Loren Gold was also interviewed this past week; he was a guest on the Bay Area sports podcast Paulie Mac's Particles to talks sports along with his new Rush gig. He talks about how he first met Geddy at The Who Hits 50! Teenage Cancer Trust benefit concert back in 2014, and how that meeting led to him getting the gig. Gold is a big Bay Area sports fan, so much of the discussion was focused on that, with Gold bringing up how he and Geddy have bonded over their love of baseball, and Gold being impressed with Ged's extensive baseball knowledge; they plan to hit a few games while out on tour. He also talks a bit about how he'll be singing some background vocals as well as keys, and hopes everyone will accept he and Anika as part of the band:
... [Rush fans] know every drum fill, they know every note, they know the music. They know the music better than I know the music. I know they expect the best, and we're working so hard. It's gonna be great. We're gonna bring all that, and bring all those parts that they wanna see, and wanna hear. I hope they bring open arms and accept [Anika and I]. It's obviously a new situation. But these guys [Ged/Al] love these songs, it's who they are - why would you not go out and play? They really love it, and we love it, and we feel a part of the band. It's amazing and I hope everyone enjoys it. ...
You can listen to the entire interview below or on YouTube at this lcoation at around the 42-minute mark.
As mentioned above, Rush is also featured for a cover story in the latest issue of Prog magazine (#169), which hits newsstands in the UK today (May 6th in the US). The cover includes a photo of Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee with their double-neck guitars, with a tagline reading, RUSH are back and they're loving every minute of it, along with the featured quote, "We're an overnight sensation, 50 years in the making". From the Instagram post cover reveal:
... With their twin-neck guitars and knowing smiles harkening back to a golden era, @rush grace the cover of the new issue of Prog Magazine. We chat to Geddy and Alex about their friendship, about the band and about their upcoming Fifty Something tour. We also get the story of the band's 1984 album, Grace Under Pressure, which has just been reissued as a Deluxe Edition box set! ...
Rush was the subject of discussion on the latest edition of The Darkness front-man Justin Hawkins' YouTube show Justin Hawkins Rides Again, where Hawkins gushes over the band's JUNOs performance:
Rush were a constant companion on our tour bus a few years ago, so I was delighted to see Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson perform as Rush at the Juno Awards alongside new drummer, Anika Nilles. They cheered me right up after another skirmish with computer settings.....
That's all for this week. Have a great weekend everybody!
