Concert Tickets : Rush in , on Wednesday, December 31, 1969

Concert tickets for the upcoming tour by Canadian rockers Rush are likely to be scooped up before you can even grab them. Recent tours by the legendary trio have placed them in the top ten of concert summer draws. Rush first emerged from Toronto in 1974 with an eponymous debut album strongly influenced by Led Zeppelin. By 1975, their lineup had stabilized when vocalist/bassist Geddy Lee and guitarist Alex Lifeson were joined by drumming lyricist Neil Peart, whose sci-fi interests remolded Rush into a thinking man's hard rock unit. Rush moved to the forefront of the burgeoning stadium rock scene with a pair of 1975 albums, Fly by Night and Caress of Steel, which saw them moving into epic song form. The transformation was solidified with the release of their crowning 2112 LP in 1976. With lyrics inspired by Ayn Rand's Anthem, 2112 was graced with a sidelong suite which told of a dystopian future in which rock music is outlawed. 2112 placed Rush on the global rock A-list and remains a common fan favorite to this day. Rush furthered the epic themes on their following albums A Farewell to Kings (1977) and Hemispheres (1978) before shifting gears for their 1980 release, Permanent Waves. On Waves, the trio presented a shorter, tighter set of stadium rocker zingers, of which "The Spirit of Radio" stands as one of their most widely played and well known staples. Rush continued their march towards world domination with 1981's Moving Pictures. Boasting three longstanding FM radio staples in "Tom Sawyer", "Red Barchetta" and "Limelight", Pictures remains their most commercially successful album. Rush took a turn for the modern with their 1982 release Signals, which saw them rolling back the guitars and layering on the synths. Though Signals alienated some older portions of their fanbase, many newer people climbed on board as the new wavish sounds of "Subdivisions" and "New World Man" brought them into the age of music video. Rush continued this winning new formula on their 1984 LP Grace Under Pressure, which delivered further modernized blasts in "Distant Early Warning" and "Red Sector A". Throughout their non-stop series of triumphs as a recording unit, Rush have maintained a dizzying touring schedule. Considered tops in their respective fields of instrumentation, Rush have displayed a virtuosic mastery of their elaborate music to audiences for almost four decades.