Rush Acknowledge Past & Present on 2nd Leg of Clockwork Angels Tour

Now into the sixth decade of their career, Canada’s premier prog-rock outfit appear keen to maintain their illustrious live reputation with the sale of Rush tickets for a second North American leg of their Clockwork Angels tour.

Joined by an eight-piece string ensemble and a conductor, the first time the veteran trio have gone on the road with accompanying musicians, the band kicked off the first leg at Manchester’s Verizon Wireless Arena last September and have since taken in a further 34 dates across the US and Canada.

Now, following a three month break, Alex Lifeson, Geddy Lee and Neil Peart will once again take the stage to showcase their hugely popular fusion of metal, hard rock and prog, sci-fi and fantasy for a series of shows starting at Austin’s Frank Erwin Center on April 23rd, with an average get-in price of $90 and an overall average price of $238. The tour average currently sits at around $290 per seat.

There are around 1000 Rush tickets still available for most shows, with the April 26th date at Sunrise’s BB&T Center and April 28th gig at Orlando’s Amway Center currently the lowest get-in price at $67. The July 4th concert at Milwaukee’s Marcus Amphitheater is the most affordable overall with a tour-low average price of $163.

Following the May 11th show at Atlantic City’s Mark G. Etess Arena ($132/$494 – by far the highest average prices on the tour), the three-piece will then visit Europe for three weeks, with performances lined up at London’s The 02 Arena, Amsterdam’s Ziggo Dome and Helsinki’s Hartwall Arena. They then return to North America for an additional 15 concerts, the last of which will take place on August 4th at Kansas City’s Sprint Center ($156/$339).

The band may have performed 1981’s Moving Pictures in its entirety during their 2010/11 Time Machine tour. But having just scored the highest charting album of their career in the US with the No.2 peak of 2012’s Clockwork Angels, not to mention an upcoming induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, they are understandably focusing just as much on their newer material this time around.

Backed by their small orchestra, the second part of their set has so far featured the majority of their most recent LP, including the singles “Caravan” and “Headlong Flight,” while tracks from 2007’s Snakes & Arrows have also made an appearance.

However, fans who manage to get their hands on Rush tickets can also expect a trawl through the band’s 80s back catalogue during the mammoth 2½ hour set with several neglected favorites also recently given a rare outing including “Grand Designs,” “The Analog Kid” and “Manhattan Project.” While their 70s output hasn’t been entirely ignored with a rendition of “2112: Overture/The Temples Of Syrinx/Grand Finale” regularly bringing the encore to a close.

(Update 6/18) New shows have been added to the North American leg of their tour. Check below for all upcoming tour dates: