Rush Enters The Time Machine

Canadian power trio Rush launches a North American tour at the end of June, playing all the songs you know and love as well as performing one of the band’s classic albums in its entirety.

“The Time Machine Tour” will feature a first for the band as the Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart play their 1981 album – Moving Pictures – from start to finish.

Photo: Rod Tanaka / tanakaphoto.net

Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison, Colo.

Despite the tour’s moniker, the run won’t be a complete blast from the past. The band plans to debut a few songs from their upcoming 20th studio album, which has Nick Raskulinecz, co-producer of the band’s 2007 Snakes & Arrows, at the helm.

“We were off for a year and a half, and now it’s just pouring,” Lifeson said. “Everything is totally crazy and there’s not a minute left in the day. We’ve got these half-dozen songs, and we’ll probably go in the studio and work on a couple of them and see how it goes, perhaps release something – and I say perhaps – and then we plan on being on the road.”

Promoted by Live Nation, the tour covers approximately 40 cities in the U.S. and Canada, opening Albuquerque at The Pavilion June 29; followed by Kansas City at the Starlight Theatre July 1 and Milwaukee at Summerfest July 2.

Other stops include Chicago at Charter One Pavilion July 5; Sarnia, Ont., at Bayfest July 9 and Toronto at the Molson Canadian Amphitheatre July 13.

Other cities hosting The Time Machine Tour include Uncasville, Conn. (July 19), Philadelphia (July 21), Saratoga Springs (July 23), Wantagh (July 24), Seattle (Aug. 7) San Francisco (Aug. 9), Los Angeles (Aug. 11), Las Vegas (Aug. 14), Denver (Aug. 16), Omaha (Aug. 25), Syracuse (Sept. 2), Holmdel (Sept. 3), Pittsburgh (Sept. 16), Houston (Sept. 25) and Atlanta (Sept. 29). Last stop is West Palm Beach at Cruzan Amphitheatre Oct. 2.

While you’re waiting for Rush to hit the road, the documentary “Rush: Beyond The Lighted Stage” will premiere at New York’s Tribeca Film Festival April 29.

Photo: Rod Tanaka

Rush plays to an enthusiastic packed house at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.

But the tour is the thing, and tickets go up for San Francisco, Uncasville, Saratoga Springs, Denver, Chicago, Wantagh, Seattle and Holmdel April 16 while ducats for Milwaukee, Sarnia and Syracuse go on sale April 17. There will also be a Citi Cardmembers pre-sale beginning April 13. For more information, click here for the Rush Web site.