Rush won’t stream on ‘final’ tour

Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson has rejected the idea of presenting a live stream from a show on their upcoming “final” tour.

But it’s possible they could offer recordings of each night’s show to the audience as they leave.

The band have described their 34-date US journey as “most likely the last of this magnitude” and manager Ray Danniels recently said it was “between possible and probable” that their 40th anniversary outing would be their touring swan-song.

Lifeson tells Renman Live there are “no plans for a live stream” and explains it’s a result of their approach to performance.

“It’s a little old-school,” the guitarist says. “We want to keep it ‘that event, that concert, that congregation.’ In that sense we’ll do it a little more old-fashioned.”

But asked about offering board mixes, he replies: “That’s not a bad idea. We’re so overwhelmed with getting the show together that we haven’t discussed something like that. It’s a relatively easy thing to develop.”

He says they already tour with the technology required to make the recordings, but adds: “We like to be in control. We don’t just want to provide a board mix, like a bootleg.

“It would sound pretty good – I’ve heard a lot of mixes that come off the console that we use for research. But they’re not quite what I would want to have released.”

Whatever they decide, Lifeson is convinced they’ll leave followers happy with their onstage work. “It’s a pivotal tour for us. It’s an anniversary tour. It also comes at a changing time for the band,” he reflects.

“We’re having a lot of fun putting the sets together and I think the fans are going to be very pleased with what we’re doing.”

Not only is one-time online news editor Martin an established rock journalist and drummer, but he’s also penned several books on music history, including SAHB Story: The Tale of the Sensational Alex Harvey Band, a band he once managed, and the best-selling Apollo Memories about the history of the legendary and infamous Glasgow Apollo. Martin has written for Classic Rock and Prog and at one time had written more articles for Louder than anyone else (we think he's second now). He’s appeared on TV and when not delving intro all things music, can be found travelling along the UK’s vast canal network.