• Wanted! If you recorded audio tapes, videotapes, or film at a Rush concert and would like to help further preserve Rush's history, please contact us at "admin@rush-archives.net"!
  • Archive Status: All circulating unofficial live recordings from 1974 through 1997 are now currently available for download.
    Audio files from 2002 and onward are still are being converted from the old SHN format to the modern user-friendly FLAC format, and will continue to be added over the coming months.

Fifty Something Tour: General Discussion

@Bacchus Plateau @The Letter M @falcomadol

I hesitated elaborating the other day, but now figuring I'm just going to lay out what I "assume" to have learned. I'm just not going to direct link anything to the sources because I don't want it getting around and potentially cause an unfortunate scene. This thing is already circulating around in the public to some degree, but I think it's still relatively under the radar as far as I've seen. So I'm not leaking anything that isn't already "out there", I didn't get this info from an "insider". I wouldn't do anything that irresponsible. So since it's already been traveling around through the grapevine, it'll probably keep spreading whether I say anything or not...

I'm going to spoiler the rest of this because it is actual SPOILERS, for anyone who wants to stay in the dark, don't read it...

So there's a digital playlist of a specific group of songs on a certain website, with the list creator name showing it was compiled by... someone... which seems it was made for listing out songs that needed to be listened to for learning in advance of the tour. Lots of pieces of evidence seems to prove it legitimate. The list contains only the same songs that are being played on the tour, and it shows the date each song was added to the list, which is a big part of what legitimizes it. That aspect can't be faked, so it's very hard to write this off as a hoax. Most songs were first added in April 2025, with a few more in July and then October, still 2025.

Again, these are all the same songs that are now being played on this tour, all but two. Only a few late additions to the list in 2026.... On February 10, By-Tor was added to the list, then on April 16 Malignant Narcissism was added... Since Rick Beato's interview was recorded on April 18 or 19 (I sourced this date from his social media posts about it, well before the interviews were released), Geddy must have been referring to one of these two songs as the one that was "recently" added. Whatever two were DROPPED seem to have been deleted from the list because there's nothing else from before the tour started that hasn't been played yet.

One more song was added as late as July 3, after the tour started, right when the Fort Worth mess was happening. This song is... The Necromancer. Too wild to believe? Remember, the dates these songs were added to the list can't be faked, and the list owner is an undeniable name. If Necromancer does turn up on tour, they still need time to relearn and rehearse it before debuting it, so it could be a bit. Whether they want to do the full thing or a medley, I have no clue.

To further prove this information, in the Fifty Something tourbook Geddy lists " '06 Fretless Jazz Bass Jaco Pastorius model Sunburst " as a bass he's playing on this tour. As far as I can tell, this has not shown up on the tour yet. The only time he used this bass in the past..? It was Malignant Narcissism on the S&A tour. So why haven't they played this song yet? It's a very short instrumental, and it would probably be quite out of place standalone in the setlist without leading into something else. When they played it on the S&A tour, it led into Neil's drum solo. This is why I'm assuming it may be a way to later introduce an Anika solo spotlight, but maybe they wanted to test the waters first to see how fans react to her. Maybe I'm wrong about the drum solo, but it seems to be fitting.

Since I'm not providing any sources, it's all just my word, and I'll keep it at that. I tried to find a way this information could be discredited as a hoax, but I can't find a way to disprove it at all...
 
Well, I've been locked in a cave since June avoiding all news of setlists, performances, etc. I have just seen nights 1 and 2 in NYC and have now fully availed myself of the riches on You Tube, and of all the fun discussion on the sites (especially this site!). What a time to be a Rush fan!

And what a tour so far, I'm sure most fans agree. The setlists are varied and bold, and not boring ever. It's an appropriately longish show (it best be for the price). Each nigh has a an obvious wow factor as well as a less obvious gem tucked away to make those 4 setlists almost like 4 completely different shows.

The playing is exceptional - Geddy is an utter monster on the bass and his vocals are as strong as they've been since the R30 tour, well over 20 years ago. Alex is managing very well with his hurting hands, and often really nailing it through entire songs - I think he will improve over the course of the tour. Wish he had real amps on stage though. Anika is as solid as it gets - unbelievable how she's mastered so much intricate material. She has made this all possible. But beyond that, she is pleasure to watch, and adds an interesting wrinkle to the concert experience as one can't help but focus on her at particular moments, specifically to see how she'll approach/handle those moments. Often I'll experience a burst of joy when one of her longer fills finishes in a flourish of speed and strength, stronger than when it started; or when she adds/changes something that fits so well, and is simply not Neil's and all hers. It would be great for some new songs to be recorded in the future that have drum parts that are purely her creation. Loren is wise to be unobtrusive, and lends some support that is probably helpful to Geddy and Alex in terms of not needing to worry about foot pedals.

The sound at MSG was really good, loud and clear. And I was very happy that there wasn't an overabundance of sampled backing vocals and prerecorded bells and whistles (although there was the occasional unobtrusive sample here and there triggered, I suppose, by Loren).

The light show/presentation was typically awesome, with new twists, including that large rectangular screen that comes down in front of the stage. Howard U. never fails to bring something new.

The Neil tributes were emotional of course. Brilliant selection of the two tribute songs, particularly with Alex soloing out emotionally at the end of the one of them (still avoiding saying song names out loud). And Geddy picked other songs to comment on Neil's lyrics, a really nice tribute. One thing that struck me, particularly on the first show, was how much I noticed that Neil was NOT there. It's not a criticism of Anika, she is a master, and brings her own appealing energy and personality, but there was definitely a hole for me, at least at the first show. I like how in the outro film there was still a fun gag going on about pronouncing Peart, never take things too seriously!

Finally, it's remarkable that they're taking this on in their 70s and really crushing it. Other bands I don't see anymore, usually because they've literally slowed down (tempo wise) - I think Anika gives them a tempo kick in the ass that is important. Can't wait to see them again in October (DC) and may try to sneak in other shows, wallet and wife willing.
 
So tonight for CTTH Geddy used his original Fender P-bass (that was cut to the famous teardrop shape), and unless I missed something, that hasn’t been pulled out on this tour yet. Last time he is known to have used that bass live was when he joined Max Webster on stage during their headline show in Toronto on December 31st 1980. Otherwise, he isn’t known to have used it in Rush since it was his regular gear for ATWAS era encores. It always stands out in these recordings after it was cut and rebuilt, having this really odd wasp-like sound for lack of better words. So it’s safe to assume it was retired from regular use after June 13th 1977, and Ged bringing it out tonight is a big surprise to me.
 
By-Tor X-1 said:
So tonight for CTTH Geddy used his original Fender P-bass (that was cut to the famous teardrop shape), and unless I missed something, that hasn’t been pulled out on this tour yet. Last time he is known to have used that bass live was when he joined Max Webster on stage during their headline show in Toronto on December 31st 1980. Otherwise, he isn’t known to have used it in Rush since it was his regular gear for ATWAS era encores. It always stands out in these recordings after it was cut and rebuilt, having this really odd wasp-like sound for lack of better words. So it’s safe to assume it was retired from regular use after June 13th 1977, and Ged bringing it out tonight is a big surprise to me.
Click to expand...
damn, I got to see that. going to youtube now lol
nothing yet as of now
 
By-Tor X-1 said:
There was a distant video on Facebook, but I haven’t seen YT uploads just yet.
Click to expand...
just watched a version, the bass sounds really good! wonder why geddy always said he ruined it? also was a great version of the song in general imo. glad it was filmed! Night 2 seems like a better night overall to me
 
I figured the "ruined it" thing was just that he probably couldn't ever fully enjoy the way the sound changed after being rebuilt. He clearly liked it enough to still use it for every encore for many months that followed... not sure exactly when he had it modified but should've been around summer 1976. That being said, with the videos I'd seen so far of the Toronto Night 2 show, I thought it might have sounded better than 1977, though still has a special sound. It's a cool vintage Rush vibe for sure. I hope he brings it out on more occasions, but I have a feeling he won't take it on the road further than Toronto. He didn't even use it at all last night, so it may have even been a one time thing. We'll see tomorrow for Night 4.

I get the feeling he really treasures it and doesn't want to overuse it. He used it for one short song, then it's gone. Understandably, considering how far back it goes in Rush's history. I guess he only did it because if the filming and as a cameo for Rush nerds. If he brought out his original Rickenbacker, no one would know at a glance.

Side note, I'm surprised no audio recordings have turned up from Toronto yet, I think people may be avoiding the usual torrent sites because of the official filming going on. A couple people have told me they'd be recording though, so I'm sure they'll materialize somewhere in the coming week or two.
 
By-Tor X-1 said:
I hope he brings it out on more occasions, but I have a feeling he won't take it on the road further than Toronto. He didn't even use it at all last night, so it may have even been a one time thing. We'll see tomorrow for Night 4.
Click to expand...
Correcting myself on this, I just watched a longer video of last night and he WAS going to use it, but sadly couldn’t get it to work.

Not sure if he’ll attempt it tomorrow, CTTH isn’t in the set (typically) so he’d have to use it on another song. It seems finicky so I doubt he’ll try it on a longer or more involved song.
 
@Bacchus Plateau Oh wow, that's more hard confirmation regarding that playlist I was talking about. We may never know the two dropped songs unless they reveal that info later, starting to think they aren't going to bring those back out on this tour. However I do still suspect Malignant Narcissism is going to turn up at some point. It's still on that playlist and it was added two months after By-Tor, and the 2006 Fretless Jaco Pastorius jazz bass being listed in the tourbook is basically solid proof that it's coming. As for the other song in that playlist (the BIG spoiler I mentioned last week), since it was added as recently as July, they're probably still practicing.

I highly expected one of these two songs to show up last night, but I guess they're just not ready to do it yet. Either way I think it's well planned, whatever they're going to do with those two. At this point I'm thinking they very well may not debut any other songs until the 2027 leg. If they follow the past patterns seen with T4E and S&A, it makes sense to assume that's the plan.
 
Interesting that it was By-Tor. Even though it's an early cut it has been in "modern" rotation obviously so it would make sense as a last minute addition.

I think it they actuality had something in the can they would be opening it up soon. Philly is effectively the start of a new leg of the tour. I think we see two new setlists (probably no new tracks), not just the ones from CDMX.
 
@falcomadol Great point, the four-night residencies are all done now.... I didn't think about that.

So the two-nighters starting with Philly and onward are likely going to need some sort of change up to establish a regular two-setlist pattern. Possibly with a few rotating song slots, because it's possible some cities just won't all get the exact same songs. I can't see them doing AFTK every other night, nor seeing them drop it permanently. Other songs like The Pass, Natural Science, The Anarchist, Caravan, Animate, Bangkok, The Analog Kid, Leave That Thing Alone were also only in 1/4 nights, and I don't think they'll want to drop all of these. Ultimately some songs may be gone for a while unless they can manage to keep all 37 or whatever in rotation somehow. Either way, I can't really see them keeping the same 4-setlist rotation going when they aren't playing in cities for four night anymore.

I don't think it'll be the same as Mexico either, but I'm sure one night will have full 2112, and the other night will have full MP. Then when they get to the one-nighters next year, I suspect something like Fort Worth night 4 where they do all 2112 and MP in the same set. That's the impression I get of what they'll be prioritizing for each city.
 
"Other songs like The Pass, Natural Science, The Anarchist, Caravan, Animate, Bangkok, The Analog Kid, Leave That Thing Alone were also only in 1/4 nights, and I don't think they'll want to drop all of these. Ultimately some songs may be gone for a while unless they can manage to keep all 37 or whatever in rotation somehow. Either way, I can't really see them keeping the same 4-setlist rotation going when they aren't playing in cities for four night anymore."

----------

Seems like a good chunk of the rotating songs may be dropped, or at least only minimally switched in/out and make sparse appearances.

Looking forward to the reveal on tomorrow's night 2 in Detroit. Seems correct that full 2112 and full MP will alternate in the 2 night stands. So many songs to keep an eye out for tomorrow, like La Villa, Closer to the Heart, A Farewell to Kings, New World Man, Dreamline, and Red Sector A.

Based on Philly/Detroit it seems that La Villa is the go-to 2nd instrumental (along with YYZ). If they play it tomorrow in Detroit that'll be 4 nights in a row. Same with Closer To the Heart, if they play tomorrow, that'll be four nights in a row. That might indicate those 2 songs are entrenched for the rest of the 2026 portion of the tour (all 2 night stands). Does that mean Leave That Thing Alone will be gone for good? Hard to imagine that they wouldn't sub it back in here and there for La Villa.

Perhaps AFTK will not be played tomorrow, allowing one of the songs neglected in Philly will be played instead (like the way Natural Science was played night one in Detroit in place of The Trees from night 1 in Philly). Similarly, New World Man, Dreamline, and Red Sector A could be rotated out tomorrow. This would allow songs like DEW, Animate, The Pass, Far Cry, Caravan, and The Anarchist to fly in. Certain night 1 songs were repeated in Philly and Detroit like Anthem, Passage, and The Garden; something to keep an eye on for the next night 1, in Montreal.

All very fun to pay attention to.
 
I was lost in thought the other day while sitting in traffic, and it occurred to me that Anika, Alex, and Geddy probably have more complete Rush songs in their working performance memory right now than anyone has ever had before, including Geddy, Alex, and Neil.
 
"...Anika, Alex, and Geddy probably have more complete Rush songs in their working performance memory right now than anyone has ever had before, including Geddy, Alex, and Neil."

-----------------

Agree - this is by far the most songs they've had worked up for a tour in the band's history. Although heaviest on the era of MP and earlier, the grab bag of songs spans all eras. Post MP, there are 3 each from Subdivisions and Grace,1 from HYF, 1 from Presto, 1 from RTB, 2 from CP, 1 from S&A, and 4 from CA - that's a good chunk of latter eras Rush. I guess the R40 tour was similarly deep with songs all over the career, and also had a decent number of songs that rotated across different nights, but not as many total songs/time prepared for the tour. It's impressive. Would be neat to calculate the total time for the aggregate prepped songs. Over 4 hours?
 
rocky chains said:
"...Anika, Alex, and Geddy probably have more complete Rush songs in their working performance memory right now than anyone has ever had before, including Geddy, Alex, and Neil."

-----------------

Agree - this is by far the most songs they've had worked up for a tour in the band's history. Although heaviest on the era of MP and earlier, the grab bag of songs spans all eras. Post MP, there are 3 each from Subdivisions and Grace,1 from HYF, 1 from Presto, 1 from RTB, 2 from CP, 1 from S&A, and 4 from CA - that's a good chunk of latter eras Rush. I guess the R40 tour was similarly deep with songs all over the career, and also had a decent number of songs that rotated across different nights, but not as many total songs/time prepared for the tour. It's impressive. Would be neat to calculate the total time for the aggregate prepped songs. Over 4 hours?
Click to expand...
Going by rough calculations off the top of my head, I'd say it's pretty darn close to four hours, maybe about 5-10 minutes under, but if you account for between-song banter and what not, or expanded solos and jamming for songs like La Villa, Bravado, Working Man, etc., then it's probably about four hours. If they release a live album with EVERY song played live in rotation, it will be their longest live album to date, and will require at LEAST three CDs to cover everything.
 
I’m very curious to see what they wind up doing for the live album. Will it be 4 different nights complete sets? One long set with every song together? Or just one night with a few of the switching songs in as a bonus cd? It’s hard to tell what will be the best option.
 
I don’t know if this is allowed to be discussed here, but has anyone else heard rumors of new Rush shows being added in 4 cities?

I have a screenshot of said rumor, and I will post it if I’m allowed. It suggests new tickets coming for a vip experience, in 4 cities being Houston, St.Louis, Cincinnati, and Pittsburg. All the cities venues are available on said dates, and they fit into rush’s current tour schedule..
 
Pitt, StL and Cinci are classic midwestern Rush hotbeds. I'm especially pleased for St Louis if true. Vegas has been heavily rumored for a stand next year after Europe.
 
It is confirmed! The Boys must be feeling good to be adding dates in their rest periods!

www.rush.com

4 NEW RUSH 2026 TOUR DATES ADDED! — Rush.com

RUSH ADD FOUR NEW CITIES ON THEIR CELEBRATED ‘FIFTY SOMETHING’ TOUR: ARENA SHOWS ADDED IN HOUSTON, ST. LOUIS, CINCINNATI & PITTSBURGH IN OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER 2026 TOUR CELEBRATES FIFTY PLUS YEARS OF RUSH MUSIC & HONOUR LATE BANDMATE NEIL PEART Geddy Lee & Alex Lifeson of Rush share about the...
www.rush.com www.rush.com
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top