Update: Click HERE for a collection of pictures I took at the MSG show. Enjoy! Rush are set to perform the 23rd show of their ongoing R40 Live 40th Anniversary Tour in New York City's famed Madison Square Garden tonight. This performance will mark the band's 13th appearance in Madison Square Garden, dating back to 1981 when they first took the stage of the world-famous venue during their Moving Pictures tour. Tonight's performance will be the final show of the second leg of the tour. The band will then take a 10-day break before opening up the third and final (?) leg of the tour on July 10th at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri. The second leg of the tour has seen the band shake things up a bit with regards to the set list . Where the band performed three distinct set lists, in order, during the first leg of the tour, two new set lists were added this time around and the order of when each is performed has been shuffled a bit. So if you think you know

Rush and Qello Concerts have just announced a new partnership where full-length Rush concerts and documentaries will be streamed, on demand, to any device. From the announcement: Rush and Qello Concerts introduce “Rush On Demand,” providing full-length Rush concerts and documentaries streamed on demand to any device. On the Qello Concerts Rush channel, fans get exclusive behind-the-scenes webisodes from the R40 Live tour. A new webisode airs each week through the end of the tour. Plus, Rush fans get access to Rush’s entire concert film catalog in one streaming destination—including Clockwork Angels, Rush in Rio, R30, Time Machine: Live in Cleveland, and more. And with Qello Concerts, music lovers get the world’s largest collection of full-length concerts and documentaries spanning every genre. Watch on any connected device including: Apple TV, Roku, Playstation, Xbox, Samsung and Sony Smart TVs, all iOS, Google and Amazon devices, and on the web. Rush on Demand with Qello will

The Andrew MacNaughtan Photographic Arts website has announced the availability of two new autographed prints in celebration of the band's 40th Anniversary Tour. From the website: To celebrate the historic R40 tour we are very excited to announce the release of two never before released Andrew MacNaughtan images that we feel represent his one of a kind relationship with the band. And speaking of the band, we are thrilled to say they have once again given us full support on this project and were generous enough to hand sign these prints. We have released a very limited 40 editions of each print autographed by all three members of the band. RUSH LIVE This 7.5 x 20" Image is printed on high quality 17 x 22" Hahnemühle Silk Baryta Photography Paper Our first print highlights Andrew's unprecedented access to the band as they played live on the Vapor Trails Tour. We chose this shot because it also includes the fans in a pure moment of electricity. The band, the music

This August, a new book by author Bradley J. Birzer will be released titled Neil Peart: Cultural Repercussions . From the book's back cover: Though. Neil Peart is universally acknowledged as one of the greatest living drummers, few studies have been devoted to his writings. Yet, Peart is very much a man of his words. He writes lyrics, travelogues, short stories, essays, and books of cultural criticism. In terms of his cultural impact, he is also one of North America's greatest living, men of letters. The themes he offers in his writings are timeless: philosophy, journeys, growth, exploration, excellence, art, satisfaction, happiness, religion, politics, individualism, expression, natural history, cultural criticism, life, love, loss, redemption, and beauty. Peart wants every person to persevere through individual trials, and find his or her unique gifts and abilities and, ultimately, true happiness. Most tellingly, Peart does not just profess such things, he has lived them a

At roughly the midway point of the band's R40 Live 40th Anniversary tour, Rush are about to return home to Toronto (YYZ) to perform two dates at the Air Canada Centre (June 17th and 19th). As we reported earlier, these two dates will be recorded and filmed for a future live release. From the band's original announcement: Rush announced today that both hometown Toronto performances will be filmed. It is the first time the band will have filmed in their hometown in almost 20 years with the recording in 1997 at the Molson Canadian Amphitheatre on the Test for Echo tour. Prior to that, the band recorded a concert video and accompanying album for the Grace Under Pressure tour in 1984 at Maple Leaf Gardens. The R40 LIVE tour kicked off in Tulsa, OK this May to a jubilant crowd and #R40Live has become the tour not to miss this summer. Fans who have their coveted tickets to the sold out shows in Toronto are encouraged to represent and wear Rush shirts, bring signs and come ready

Since 1980, Neil Peart has been featured on the cover of Modern Drummer magazine a total of 8 times and has appeared in numerous other issues over the years. For the first time anywhere, each issue that the Rush drummer has appeared in is now available in a new Modern Drummer Artist Pack app: This exclusive digital download is more than just an ordinary PDF; it’s a chance to experience decades of content on one of the most influential drummers of all time—right at your fingertips. With an interactive table of contents, you can navigate the Artist Pack on your mobile phone, tablet, or desktop computer with ease. You will experience the articles and advertisements as they originally appeared in Modern Drummer magazine, from Peart’s first feature in 1980 to the 2011 cover story on the drummer’s award-winning three-DVD set, Taking Center Stage: A Lifetime of Live Performance. The Neil Peart Artist Pack includes more than 200 pages of articles about Neil Peart, articles by Neil Peart, c

Saved by Technology , providers of the latest music, audio, and video production tools for nearly 30 years have had a long-standing relationship with Rush dating back to the band's Grace Under Pressure album. Jim Burgess of SbT has been an instrumental part of most of Rush's tour during the past 15 years including the ongoing R40 tour. Recently, Geddy Lee commented on Jim's efforts: “Jim Burgess of Saved By Technology has been an invaluable member of the Rush team for many years and once again he has been in charge of prepping the synthesizer and sampling set up for our current R40 tour. He has been involved in everything from choosing the right MIDI instruments, hardware and software systems, to programming, arranging, editing and final sound design for this entire aspect of the show. He has done an incredible job for us once again. Thank you Jim!" To read more about Jim and his extensive involvement with Rush's tours of the past and present, please click HE

Update: The complete article, titled From Rush with Love is now online. Click HERE to read it. *WARNING* - Significant R40 Tour Spoilers Within No, this isn't another April Fool's Prank - after 41 years, Rush will finally appear on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine. The band will appear on the cover of Issue #1238 (July 2nd, 2015) which will go on sale this Friday, June 19th. From the announcement : Attention all planets of the Solar Federation: Rush have finally made the cover of Rolling Stone – and it's happening well before the actual year 2112. It's been more than four decades since the band formed its current lineup – and 34 years since its commercial breakthrough, 1981's Moving Pictures –­ but the Canadian trio is moving as close as ever to pop culture's center, with a hit documentary, Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage, induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and more. For the in-depth, career-spanning cover story, senior writer Brian Hiat

Though Neil Peart is in the middle of Rush's 40th Anniversary Tour, that hasn't stopped the band's percussionist and chief lyricist from writing another entry for the News, Weather, and Sports section of his website. In this entry, titled Backstage Byways , most of the discussion centers around the band's first leg of their tour, the extensive preparations needed to get the show on the road, and Neil's cycle travels between each date: Sometimes a motorcycling destination is worth a longer bus ride, and a bouncier sleep. Other times circumstances force it. On the day of the Tulsa show, while checking over my motorcycle, I discovered a bind in the back wheel, like the brake caliper dragging on the disc. My mechanical abilities are pretty much limited to oil changes (though I’m very good at those!), so it would need to be taken to a BMW dealer. Fortunately there was one in Omaha, near the next show in Lincoln, and Michael called ahead to let them know we’d be bring

Geddy Lee recently spoke with Jordan Zivitz of the Montral Gazette for a lengthy interview where the topic of conversation was, not surprisingly, Rush's current R40 tour. From the interview: MG: So what do you feel is left to accomplish, if that’s your standard of measurement? GL: Well, if this tour is any indication, we’re playing really, really well together, and I’m very proud of the show that we’re bringing around. It does give one pause to soak in everything we’ve done over the last 40 years, but I still feel like we’ve got some mojo. And even though we have no idea what the future holds for us, I remain optimistic. MG: I’m glad to hear that, because a lot of fans — myself included — were freaking out a bit when the tour was announced and the notice went out that it would probably be the “last major tour of this magnitude.” GL: Yeah. Well, I think that’s probably true — and the key words there are “tour of this magnitude.” Everybody in the band has sort of a diffe

The latest issue of the Canadian magazine Maclean's includes a lengthy feature on Rush as well as an interview with Alex Lifeson. The article, which is available online delves further into the uncertainty of Rush touring beyond their current R40 tour due to health concerns for both Alex and Neil. From the article: Rush won’t be able to play like this forever, or even for very long. Peart is suffering from tendonitis—he has downsized his epic drum solos—and Lifeson has psoriatic arthritis. “I’m starting to feel it in my index finger and my thumb on my left hand, which is kind of critical,” he says, “so I get cortisone shots and try to keep it as loose as I can. I’ll be 62 soon, and it’s getting a little more challenging to stay on top of it.” The band’s future, beyond the end of this tour in Los Angeles on Aug. 1, is a question mark: “We’ve talked quite openly about this possibly being the last major tour that we’re going to do,” says Lifeson. “There’s no point in going out an

Ever since Rush announced their R40 tour, most fans assumed that the two shows the band would perform in their hometown of Toronto would be recorded and filmed for a future live release. Today, the assumptions were confirmed with a post on Rush.Com : Rush announced today that both hometown Toronto performances will be filmed. It is the first time the band will have filmed in their hometown in almost 20 years with the recording in 1997 at the Molson Canadian Amphitheatre on the Test for Echo tour. Prior to that, the band recorded a concert video and accompanying album for the Grace Under Pressure tour in 1984 at Maple Leaf Gardens. The R40 LIVE tour kicked off in Tulsa, OK this May to a jubilant crowd and #R40Live has become the tour not to miss this summer. Fans who have their coveted tickets to the sold out shows in Toronto are encouraged to represent and wear Rush shirts, bring signs and come ready with their ‘outside’ voices. The two Toronto shows occur on June 17th and 19th at