Rush‘s Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson teased something special for tonight’s Juno Awards — and they came through in a big way by opening the show with a live performance featuring their new drummer, Anika Nilles, for the first time. They chose “Finding My Way,” the first track on their very first album, 1974’s Rush, which featured John Rutsey on drums in the studio, rather than the late Neil Peart, who didn’t join the band until afterward.
Former Jeff Beck drummer Nilles, in what was likely the most pressure-filled moment of her career, simply excelled, playing a huge kit with the Rush logo on the bass drum, bashing her way through virtuosic fills. Lee and Lifeson, meanwhile, seemed energised after their long break, with Lee hitting notes at the top of his youthful range. Keyboardist Loren Gold, who will also join the band on its upcoming tour, rounded out the expanded lineup. Behind the musicians, video footage of Peart flickered on screen, a reminder that the evening was as much a tribute as a comeback.
The performance at TD Coliseum in Hamilton, Ontario marked the first time Lee and Lifeson played as Rush since they wrapped their career-spanning R40 tour at the Forum in Los Angeles on Aug. 1, 2015. In the decade-plus since, the two appeared together only sporadically, billed only their own names rather than as the band, including at tributes to the late Gordon Lightfoot and Taylor Hawkins of the Foo Fighters.
“You really can’t ask us what song to play,” Lee told reporters afterward. “If we have to choose one song, it’s almost impossible. We have so many. So we just asked management, and they said first song, first album.”
“Also,” Lifeson added, “It’s the only song we know how to play.”
The appearance served as a preview of the Fifty Something tour, which is set to begin on June 7 at the Forum in Los Angeles, where Rush played its final show with Peart in 2015. What was initially announced as a modest 12-date run has since ballooned to 58 shows across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, with four nights at Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena in August. Each concert is planned as an immersive two-set evening drawing from a rotating selection of approximately 35 songs.
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