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Rush  

• No longer touring
• 1738 past concerts

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Past concerts.

Eighteenth Street Lounge

Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre

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Rush (formed in 1968) is arguably the most popular and established progressive/hard rock band of all time. Hailing from Willowdale, Toronto, Canada, the band is known for their long and dedicated touring schedules and as being some of the most proficient musicians in the industry.

Officially formed in 1968 it wasn’t until May 1974 with lead vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Geddy Lee, guitarist and backing vocalist Alex Lifeson, and drummer and songwriter Neil Peart, that the band’s lineup cemented itself. A year earlier Rush released their debut single “Not Fade Away”, a cover of the Buddy Holly song followed by their debut full-length “Rush” in 1974. With Peart’s science-fiction and fantasy-infused songwriting at the core of the band appeal, Rush released the albums “Fly by Night” and “Caress of Steel” in 1975, followed by their breakthrough album “2112” in 1976. The latter release set the band’s formula for success by combining Lee’s high-pitched vocals, Lifeson’s enviable guitar work, and Peart’s intense drumming.

Rush went from strength to strength with their proceeding albums beginning with 1977’s Top 40 album “A Farwell to Kings”, followed by 1978’s “Hemispheres”, the less progressive “Permanent Waves” in 1980, and 1981’s “Moving Pictures”. By this point Rush had become notorious for their exuberant live shows and instrument proficiency, and although they never found much favour with critics, they augmented a dedicated fan following and huge respect among fellow musicians. The album “Signals” spawned the smash hit single “New World Man” in 1983, which made way for the subsequent albums “Grace Under Pressure” in 1984 and “Power Windows” in 1985.

In a move away from their heavy guitar-driven sound towards a more polished, synth-inspired aesthetic, the two albums “Hold Your Fire” in 1987 and “Presto” in 1989 alienated a number of the band’s fans. The ’90s however saw a return to form with the release of “Roll the Bones” in 1991 and the U.S. Billboard 200 Top 3 album “Counterparts” in 1993. Following the release of “Test for Echo” in 1996 and a subsequent tour, Peart’s daughter died in a car accident and his wife lost her battle with cancer. Despite this upset Rush remained a solid unit, and retuned five years later to release their 17th studio album “Vapor Trails” in 2002. Rush’s 30th anniversary tour was celebrated by a documentary DVD “R30” in 2004, followed three years later by the full-length “Snakes & Arrows”. A string of video productions arrived in the 2000s documenting the band’s epic stage show and history, interspersed between the band’s 19th studio album “Clockwork Angels” issued in June 2012.

Live reviews

I've seen a lot of shows over the years and a handful of those have been Rush shows. It's Tuesday, July 21, when I step out of arguably the sketchiest hotel I've ever seen, onto the Portland streets, and anxiously make my way towards a sold out Moda Center for show number six. Quickly, I join the middle-aged, t-shirted, kids-in-tow exodus of fans swiftly navigating their way to the promised land, arena bound. A brief beverage stop, Laurelwood's Mother Lode Golden Ale, before "finding my way" to my seat for what could be, what will likely be, my final Rush concert. It's show time.

Some things never change, and when it comes to Rush, that's not only a good thing, it's what's expected. And this night is, as expected, stellar musicianship by three of the most talented artists on the planet. All nicely complemented by the impressive sound quality, typical attention to detail, geeky sense of humor, and bar-setting performances that have become the rule rather than the exception.

It's show time. From beginning to end, or literally, from end to beginning, as the Canadian trio runs through their 40-year catalog in reverse timeline. A playlist, obviously of their choosing, giving the fans what they need, not necessarily what they want. Headlong Flight, Distant Early Warning, Red Barchetta, Jacobs Ladder, Xanadu, Lakeside Park, and Working Man being a few unexpected highlights, with a few standards, Subdivisions, Tom Sawyer, 2112, thrown in, and of course, a drum solo.

Yes, a drum solo, a Rush show wouldn't be a Rush show without a technical masterpiece from Mr. Percussionist himself, Neil Peart, sending the sold-out crowd into a collective frenzy. Not to overshadow the other wheels of this super-charged tricycle. Geddy Lee brought his epic, complicated bass lines to life with unparalleled precision and talent, equally on recent offerings (Headlong Flight) and earlier work (Cygnus X-1). Of course, all while not missing a beat on the bass pedals, keyboards, and vocals, which in 40-years haven't lost much in range and intensity. And Alex Lifeson, an underrated "working man" simply doing his job, it’s never flashy, never showy, just perfect execution, song after song, guitar after guitar.

There was no shortage of guitars as Lifeson and Lee both swapped them out frequently, as if showcasing 40 years of instruments responsible for 40 years of music. At one point, both firing through Xanadu with classic double necks on their way to a grande finale. A finale that brought our time traveling to a new set, a high-school gymnasium with a crystal ball and replica ‘75 drum kit, and to 1975s Fly By Night, and their debut, 1974s Rush.

And with that, it ended where it all began, well, sort of. I was on the streets again, The Lloyd district in the aftermath, with the midway hawkers, post-show tweakers, prostitutes and crazed pizza delivery boys, not exactly the subdivisions of Rush classics. Not exactly an easy show to wind down from either, requiring cheap beer, cigarettes, lawn chairs, and heated discussions in the hotel parking lot. Although the alternative was going to bed, and that was not an option this night, not in that hotel. But, we were momentarily in the same building with Rush, the three kings, and nothing could kill that buzz, nothing except the reality that this may be it, this may be the farewell.

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Flew up from South Florida to see what Geddy said may be the last big tour for a while. Just couldn't miss this one, seen most every tour since Hemispheres. This was the first show in many years where I avoided reviews and set lists prior to going, I wanted to be surprised. Opening up with The Anarchist was not a shock, but two more from Clockwork Angels got me wondering if they were counting down. They confirmed that was the plan when they did Far Cry from Snakes and Arrows. There is no way to do everyone of my favorites but their setlist below was very well thought out. Even some of my least favorite mid-late 80's albums were represented with the best cuts like Between the Wheels and Subdivisions. I told a first time Rush Concert goer sitting next to me to get ready for Set 2 knowing it was going to kick off with Moving Pictures. Needless to say, I was blown away!!! Highlights of the night for me were; How It Is, The Camera Eye, Jacob's Ladder, Cygnus, Xanadu and Lakeside Park, songs I've not heard them play live very often, or at all. This is a must see for any Rock and Roll fan, do not miss this Tour!!

The Anarchist

The Wreckers

Headlong Flight

(With mini drum solo)

The Main Monkey Business

Roll the Bones

Between the Wheels

Subdivisions

The Camera Eye

The Spirit of Radio

Jacob's Ladder

Cygnus X-1 Book II: Hemispheres Part I: Prelude

(The Voyage Part 1 & 3 with drum solo)

Closer to the Heart

2112 Part I: Overture

2112 Part II: The Temples of Syrinx

2112 Part IV: Presentation

2112 Part VII: Grand Finale

Lakeside Park

What You're Doing

The number of times I've seen Rush span across the years from 1978, on only their second visit to the UK, to last year at the O2 Arena in support of their Clockwork Angels album.

Despite several early line up changes, the core of Rush has been for an incredible 40 years: Geddy Lee on Bass and Vocals, Alex Lifeson on Guitars and the Drum Professor himself, Mr Neil Peart.

A live show by Rush is a full on, near 3 hour experience with lights and lasers, screen projections, fireworks and even props on stage. And that's even before you get to the soaring music. With 19 studio albums under their belt, Rush have an impressive back catalogue to delve into. There will always be the crowd pleasing tracks such as Tom Sawyer and The Spirit of Radio but Rush are not content with producing a mere Greatest Hits package, they happily play more recent material too. It's a real achievement that they are still selling out large arenas at this late stage of their career and the passion of the fans is as strong as any band I've come across.

To sum up, this trio of amiable Canadians have produced the nearest thing to the soundtrack of my life as any other band and I'll be first in the queue when their next tour is announced.

Rush was simply awesome last night in Greensboro. After 40 years of some making great music, they are still going strong. The evening started with a couple of Clockwork Angels songs and slide back in time until the encore of Rush Album hits. The stage was modified to fit the time period as we continued back in time. Washing machines early in the show through huge stacks of amplifiers in the 80's, back to more humbler beginnings. Alex and Getty pulled out the double necked guitar and zebras on Xanadu, while Neil used two drum kits! Fantastic night.

Set one - The world is....The world is...

Headlong flight (w/mini drum solo)

Main monkey business

Roll the bones

Between the wheels

Intermission

Set 2 - No country for old hens

Camera eye (on memory of Andrew McLaughtin)

Spirit of radio

Jacobs ladder

Cygnus X-1 Book II hemisphere

Part I prelude?

Cygnus X-1 (w/Drum solo)

Xanadu (double neck guitar and bass!)

Temple of syrinx

Presentation

Grand finale

Encore - Mel's rock starring Gene Levy

Lakeside park

What your doing

Working man

Toronto trio Rush has always been praised for the musicianship and skill that its members obtained. Having formed over forty years ago, the band clearly has had its practice playing live and they are described still as one of the most technical bands working on the circuit. Often extending tracks such as 'Grand Designs' and 'Far Cry' to include complex instrumental bridges and outros that are as hypnotising as they are impressive.

A lengthy affair, the band perform two sets of tracks along with a huge encore featuring all three parts of '2112'. Armed with a barrage of visuals though Rush create more of a show than a simple gig as the stage design seems to twist, turn and adapt to the music being performed. The skill of drummer Neil Peart cannot go unrecognised as he plays an impossible amount of drums at a blistering pace despite being over sixty years old.

Rush's loyal audience are enthusiastic throughout, cheering, singing and dancing to the very final track following a total of around five hours on their feet. This band are a credit to progressive rock and show no signs of slowing after forty years together.

I give what may as well be their last performance for a long time a 10/10 review! The show last night was a spectacle from the present to the past. They touched on many albums over the 3 hours they played. It was my first show at the fabulous Forum, and man did Rush bring it down. They played Subdivisions which is my favorite song, also a live staple, it brought me to a place of happiness i haven't been in a long time. The entire first set was full of present day hits. The second half of the show saw the guys breaking down their '70s music, finally ending with a finale of four songs from their first three albums. It was an incredible sight to see Cygnus X-1 books one and two, Xanadu, and four parts of 2112 played along hits like Closer to the Heart, Tom Sawyer, Spirit of Radio, and they even played Red Barchetta! It was simply a magical night and i couldn't see my time in Los Angeles coming to end any better than with my second favorite band of all time! Thank you Rush for all that you do for music and as people!

If you are a fan this is a must see show as it may be their last tour. The set list is somewhat fluid which I was very thankful for as some of their selections in the first set are not my favorite. But they changed things up in Denver and played Distant Early Warning in the first set then played YYZ instead of Camera Eye in the second.

I had never seen them do Xanadu live and it was a big plus, also seeing Getty and Alex both playing double necks was a visual treat.

Great show theme taking them backwards in time to a high school dance complete with mirror ball was fun.

As always 5 stars on a 0-4 scale. No one matches these guys dedication and honest effort to give their fans a great show. They NEVER "mail it in" like some bands.

What a great show, Rush was in top Form, loved the progression of the show from Mew Rush to the beginning of rush, the light show, changing of stage to reflect the time period of the songs were very cool.. I hope this was not the last show ever, Neil Peart is the best drummer in the world, Alex is one the most polished, professional and under-rated guitar players in the world, but I saw Van Halen last week and he played much better than Edfie Van Halen. Geddy, the man with the golden Voice, still can sing every song as good as it was done originally, not like the washed up David Lee Roth I saw last week who speaks when he can't sing. The holy trinity is my favorite band live of all time, all Hail Rush

Rush really knows how to put on a great show! Great setlist, cool lights and the energy to rival any 20 year old...they really rock! This is more than likely their last tour so catch them if you can. The only negative was that the acoustics at the Seattle the venue were so horrid that I think it messed them up a few times. Subdivisions, Camera Eye and Hemispheres were out of sync at times.

I've read other reviews complaining about poor sound engineering and I would have to agree. At times Geddy's bass was just too overpowering. Although give the venue, it may have been the best they could do.

All in all it was still an amazing show and I would highly recommend it to anyone!

It was my first Rush concert, my brother's second and my dad's 7th or something. I thought it was really good, considering they are as old as my grandparents, but the first half the sound was weird with the bass. It had nothing to do with Rush, it was the sound system and the way it was reverberating. It was an experience and I had fun, the old fat man next to me wouldn't stop smoking and I got high since it was blowing IN MY FACE for HOURS. But whatever. It was a good time and I would see them before they retire absolutely if you like them at all.

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Tour archives.

1974  | 1975  | 1976  | 1977  | 1978  | 1979  | 1980  | 1981  | 1982  | 1983  | 1984  | 1985  | 1986  | 1987  | 1988  | 1990  | 1991  | 1992  | 1994  | 1996  | 1997  | 2002  | 2003  | 2004  | 2007  | 2008  | 2010  | 2011  | 2012  | 2013  | 2015

• Fly By Night Tour
• Caress of Steel Tour
• All The World's A Stage Tour
• A Farewell To Kings Tour
• Archives Tour
• Hemispheres Tour
• Permanent Waves Tour
• Moving Pictures Tour
• Exit ... Stage Left Tour
• Signals Tour
• Grace Under Pressure Tour
• Power Windows Tour
• Hold Your Fire Tour
• Presto Tour
• Roll The Bones Tour
• Counterparts Tour
• Test For Echo Tour
• Vapor Trails Tour
• Snakes And Arrows
• Time Machine Tour
• Clockwork Angels Tour
• R40 Live 40th Anniversary Tour
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Tour Archive

Rush history.

• 16-04-1977: Grand Rapids, MI
• 16-04-1981: Memphis, TN
• 16-04-1986: Philadelphia, PA

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• 23-02-1978: New record
• 22-04-1977: New record
• 20-10-1977: New record
• 02-11-1987: Updated show
• 09-12-1978: New record
• 06-04-1982: Updated show
• 22-03-1986: New record

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Early years (1968-1974).

• September 6, 2022

Rush Tour (1974-1975)

• January 6, 2024

Fly By Night Tour (1975)

• December 15, 2023

Caress Of Steel Tour (1975-1976)

• December 28, 2023
• AliceThruTheLookingGlass

2112 Tour (1976)

• March 10, 2024

All The World's A Stage Tour (1976-1977)

• March 31, 2024

A Farewell To Kings Tour (1977-1978)

• March 13, 2024

Hemispheres Tour (1978-1979)

• October 19, 2023
• rocky chains

Permanent Waves Warm-Up Tour (1979)

• September 6, 2023

Permanent Waves Tour (1980)

• August 18, 2023

Moving Pictures Warm-Up Tour (1980)

• September 30, 1980

Moving Pictures Tour (1981)

• Yesterday at 6:47 PM
• Jermdog2112

Exit Stage Left Tour (1981)

• April 2, 2024
• mjkinsey2112

Signals Warm-Up Tour (1982)

• April 11, 1982

Signals Tour (1982-1983)

• March 5, 2024

Grace Under Pressure Warm-Up Tour (1983)

Grace under pressure tour (1984).

• May 14, 2022

Power Windows Warm-Up Tour (1985)

• July 27, 2023

Power Windows Tour (1985-1986)

• October 15, 2022

Hold Your Fire Tour (1987-1988)

Presto tour (1990).

• April 13, 2023
• TheAnalogKid

Roll The Bones Tour (1991-1992)

• June 28, 1992

Counterparts Tour (1994)

• April 29, 1994

Test For Echo Tour (1996-1997)

• June 17, 2022

Vapor Trails Tour (2002)

• March 30, 2023

R30 Tour (2004)

Snakes & arrows tour (2007-2008), time machine tour (2010-2011).

• July 17, 2010

Clockwork Angels Tour (2012-2013)

R40 tour (2015).

• May 8, 2015

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• The Early Years
• Fly by Night Tour
• Caress of Steel Tour
• All the World's a Stage Tour
• A Farewell to Kings Tour
• Archives Tour
• Hemispheres Tour
• Permanent Waves Warm Up Tour
• Permanent Waves Tour
• Moving Pictures Warm Up Tour
• Moving Pictures Tour
• Exit...Stage Left Tour
• Signals Warm Up Tour
• Signals Tour
• Grace Under Pressure Warm Up Tour
• Grace Under Pressure Tour
• Power Windows Warm Up Tour
• Power Windows Tour
• Hold Your Fire Tour
• Presto Tour
• Roll the Bones Tour
• Counterparts Tour
• Test for Echo Tour
• Vapor Trails Tour
• R30: 30th Anniversary Tour
• Snakes & Arrows Tour
• Snakes & Arrows Live Tour
• Time Machine Tour 2010
• Time Machine Tour 2011
• Clockwork Angels Tour
• R40: 40th Anniversary Tour
• 1 Alex Lifeson equipment

Rush Tour Dates and Setlists

Jump to a tour, album tracks never performed live, unreleased live songs, live songs only found on official videos, the early years.

"While our originals were naïve and crude at that stage, we knew that no one ever soared to the top playing cover songs (except Joe Cocker with his raspy soulful voice and so much charisma that you were happy to hear him sing the telephone directory). So, we compromised—always an ugly word for us even back then—by peppering our setlists with songs by impressive big-name artists, but only their deep cuts. That way we could have our cake and eat it too. We added songs like the Rolling Stones' version of the Buddy Holly classic 'Not Fade Away,' Procol Harum's 'Simple Sister,' Cream's 'Spoonful,' Led Zeppelin's 'Living Loving Maid' and eventually David Bowie's 'Suffragette City' (that one became a super popular bar song for us), all of which we'd reshape to make our own. For example, we played a fifteen-minute version of Junior Walker and the All Stars' 'Road Runner,' just jamming the hell out of it with an Echoplex-heavy solo courtesy of Alex. It worked, and we started getting booked a lot ." - Geddy Lee, My Effin' Life

RUSH Tour Dates

Rush tour setlists.

This was a very busy time for Rush. Originally planned for a December 1973 release, due to the OPEC oil shortage the debut album was eventually released in Canada on March 18, 1974. Only one show exists in its entirety with drummer John Rutsey on drums, when the band performed on Canadian Bandstand in early 1974 promoting the debut album at the Laura Secord Secondary School in St. Catharines, Ontario. Rutsey left the band in July due to health concerns from his type-1 diabetes, and Neil Peart joined the band on July 29th (Geddy's 21st birthday), two weeks before the start of their first U.S. tour. The setlists varied from show to show, as Rush honed their skills and performed possible songs for their second album, including Best I Can and In The End.

Early 1974 Laura Secord Secondary School, St. Catharines, ON Need Some Love Before and After Best I Can I've Been Runnin (unreleased original) Bad Boy (Larry Williams cover) The Loser (unreleased original) Working Man In the Mood

August 14, 1974 Pittsburg, PA (first show of first American tour/first show with Neil Peart) Finding My Way In The Mood Bad Boy Working Man/Drum Solo

August 26, 1974: Agora Ballroom, Cleveland, OH Finding My Way Best I Can Need Some Love In The End Fancy Dancer (unreleased original) In The Mood Bad Boy Here Again Working Man/Drum Solo What You're Doing Garden Road (unreleased original)

December 16th, 1974: Agora Ballroom, Cleveland, OH Finding My Way Best I Can What You're Doing Fly By Night Here Again Anthem Bad Boy Working Man In The Mood Drum Solo

Fly By Night Tour

Fly by night tour dates, fly by night tour setlists.

There are only two unofficial live recordings of this tour. Comparison between the first recording in Cleveland on April 7, 1975, and the later performance recorded in Toronto on June 25th, 1975, show only minor changes such as dropping the cover tune "Bad Boy", adding "By-Tor And The Snow Dog" and moving "What You're Doing" to the encore. April 7, 1975: The Agora Ballroom, Cleveland, Ohio Finding My Way The Best I Can What You're Doing Anthem Beneath, Between & Behind In The End Fly By Night Working Man In The Mood Need Some Love Bad Boy

June 25, 1975: Massey Hall, Toronto, Ontario Finding My Way Best I Can Anthem Beneath, Between and Behind In The End Fly By Night By-Tor and the Snow Dog Working Man Drum Solo In The Mood Need Some Love Encore: What You're Doing

Caress of Steel (Down The Tubes) Tour

"We called it the 'Down The Tubes Tour', we joked about it among ourselves. By the end of the that year we were unable to pay our crew's salaries - or our own." - Neil Peart, Classic Rock , October 2004

"Over the coming few months across the States we'd open for Blue Öyster Cult, Iron Butterfly, David Essex, Frank Zappa and the Mothers, REO Speedwagon, ELO, Kansas, Styx, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Mott the Hoople, Ted Nugent - and KISS for the last time." - Geddy Lee, My Effin' Life

Caress Of Steel Tour Dates

Caress of steel tour setlists.

Before 1999, when a recording of the November 15, 1975 show first began circulating, fraudulent recordings of this tour were circulated, which accordingly led to the circulation of false setlists. In addition, for many years rumors spread regarding the setlist of Rush headlining in Toronto on January 10, 1976, from a soundboard recording supposedly in the possession of a Jean Weinrib who claimed to be the cousin of Geddy Lee. However, the existence of this recording is believed to be nonexistant and its setlist unsubstantiated, as Ian Grandy, a former member of Rush's road crew from that period, has stated that he never heard of any such cousin, and that the rumored soundboard recording does not exist.

November 15, 1975: Rockford Armory. Rockford, Illinois Bastille Day Anthem Lakeside Park The Necromancer By-Tor and the Snow Dog Working Man-> Drum Solo Encore: In The Mood

March 5, 1976: Randhurst Mall Ice Arena. Mt. Propect, Illinois Bastille Day Anthem Lakeside Park I Think I'm Going Bald By-Tor and the Snow Dog Fly By Night Working Man-> Drum Solo Encore: Finding My Way

2112 Tour Dates

2112 tour setlists.

March 26, 1976: Seattle, Washington Bastille Day Anthem Lakeside Park 2112 (minus Oracle) Fly By Night In The Mood Something For Nothing In The End By-Tor and the Snow Dog Working Man Finding My Way Drum Solo Encore: Best I Can

May 30, 1976: Nelson Center. Springfield, Illinois Bastille Day Anthem Lakeside Park 2112 (minus Oracle) Fly By Night In The Mood Something For Nothing By-Tor and the Snow Dog In The End Working Man Finding My Way Drum Solo Encore: What You're Doing

All The World's A Stage Tour

All the world's a stage tour dates, all the world's a stage tour setlists.

This tour marked the first time Rush toured Europe, and also the addition of keyboards and Moog Taurus pedals. It is believed to be the last tour they regularly varied their setlist from show to show, day to day, until addding a controlled setlist variation to the Vapor Trails , Clockwork Angels and R40 tours. This is the last tour to include "Best I Can", and "What You're Doing" would not be heard again until the R40 tour 38 years later.

Supporting sets:

November 27, 1976 Bastille Day Anthem 2112 (minus Oracle) Working Man Finding My Way Drum Solo Fly By Night In The Mood

November 28, 1976 Bastille Day Anthem 2112 (minus Oracle) Lakeside Park Working Man Finding My Way Drum Solo

Headlining sets:

December 31, 1976 Bastille Day Anthem Lakeside Park 2112 (minus Oracle) The Twilight Zone (first known performance) Something For Nothing Best I Can By-Tor and the Snow Dog (abbreviated) The Necromancer (abbreviated) In the End Working Man Finding My Way Drum Solo Encore: Fly by Night In The Mood

June 1, 1977 Sheffield, UK City Hall, First European Show Bastille Day Anthem Lakeside Park 2112 (minus Oracle) Xanadu Something For Nothing By-Tor and the Snow Dog (abbreviated) The Necromancer (abbreviated) Working Man Finding My Way Drum Solo Encore: Fly By Night In The Mood What You're Doing [added the following night]

A Farewell to Kings (Drive 'Til You Die) Tour

Opened For: Blue Oyster Cult, Bob Seger Opening Bands: UFO, Max Webster, AC/DC, Cheap Trick, Pat Travers, The Babys, Hush, Grinderswitch, Crawler, Uriah Heep, Jay Ferguson

A Farewell To Kings Tour Dates

A farewell to kings tour setlist.

This is the last tour Rush performed any shows as a supporting band. Although shows early in the tour featured a setlist with "Cygnus X-1" preceding "Something For Nothing", eventually those songs traded places and the setlist was standardized for the rest of the tour except for when "Anthem" was occasionally dropped. This is the last tour to include the song "Fly By Night", and "Lakeside Park" would not be heard again until the R40 tour 37 years later.

Bastille Day Lakeside Park By-Tor and the Snow Dog (abbreviated)-> Xanadu A Farewell to Kings Something For Nothing Cygnus X-1 Anthem Closer To The Heart 2112 (minus Oracle) Working Man Fly by Night In The Mood Drum Solo Encore: Cinderella Man

Hemispheres (Tour of the Hemispheres)

"Between October '78 and June '79 we trundled around the globe, playing around 135 gigs, many of them with the same opening bands as before, as well as the Pat Travers Band, Judas Priest, Golden Earring and April Wine. We played so many shows (on one stretch, twenty-three in twenty-four days, travelling overnight from one to the next), that I'm sorry to say they're now a blur in the haze of whatever drugs or booze we consumed to get ourselves through." - Geddy Lee, My Effin' Life

Hemispheres Tour Dates

Hemispheres tour setlists.

This is the first tour to include "A Passage To Bangkok", thanks to technological improvements in the keyboard department which had prevented it from being recreated live in the past. Besides the usual shortening of "By-Tor", the second verse was also dropped from "Anthem". The setlist remained the same throughout this tour until "Circumstances" was dropped during the UK dates. In addition to "Circumstances", "Something for Nothing" and "Cygnus X-1" were dropped from the setlist for the remaining dates of the continental European tour.

Anthem (abbreviated) A Passage to Bangkok By-Tor and the Snow Dog (abbreviated)-> Xanadu Something For Nothing The Trees Cygnus X-1 Hemispheres Closer To The Heart Circumstances A Farewell to Kings La Villa Strangiato 2112 (minus Oracle) Working Man Bastille Day In The Mood Drum Solo

Permanent Waves Warm Up (Summer Tour '79)

Opening Bands: Hot Mama Silver, FM, Nantucket Band, Streethart, Wild Horses, Pat Travers, New England

Permanent Waves Warm Up Tour Dates

Permanent waves warm up tour setlist.

It is believed the setlist remained the same throughout this tour.

2112 (minus Oracle) A Passage to Bangkok By-Tor and the Snow Dog (abbreviated)-> Xanadu The Spirit of Radio (early version) The Trees Cygnus X-1 (minus Part 2) Hemispheres (minus Dionysus) Closer To The Heart Freewill (early version) Medley: Working Man-> Finding My Way (abbreviated)-> Anthem (abbreviated)-> Bastille Day (abbreviated)-> In The Mood (abbreviated)-> Drum Solo Encore: La Villa Strangiato

Permanent Waves Tour

Permanent waves tour dates, permanent waves tour setlist.

It is believed the setlist remained the same throughout this tour. This is the last tour to include the near complete performance of "2112" (minus "Oracle") until the Test for Echo tour 16 years later.

2112 (minus Oracle) Freewill By-Tor and the Snow Dog (abbreviated)-> Xanadu The Spirit of Radio Natural Science A Passage to Bangkok The Trees Cygnus X-1 (minus Part 2) Hemispheres (minus Apollo & Dionysus) Closer To The Heart Beneath, Between and Behind (abbreviated) Jacob's Ladder Medley: Working Man (abbreviated with reggae intro)-> Finding My Way (abbreviated)-> Anthem (abbreviated)-> Bastille Day (abbreviated)-> In The Mood (abbreviated)-> Drum Solo Encore: La Villa Strangiato (electric guitar intro)

Moving Pictures Warm Up Tour (Fall 1980 Tour)

Opening Band: Saxon

Moving Pictures Warm Up Tour Dates

Moving pictures warm up tour setlist.

2112: Overture/The Temples of Syrinx Freewill By-Tor and the Snow Dog (abbreviated)-> Xanadu Limelight (early version) The Trees Hemispheres: Prelude The Spirit of Radio Closer To The Heart Beneath, Between and Behind Tom Sawyer (early version) Jacob's Ladder A Passage to Bangkok Natural Science Medley: Working Man (abbreviated with reggae intro)-> Finding My Way (abbreviated)-> Anthem (abbreviated)-> Bastille Day (abbreviated)-> In The Mood (abbreviated)-> Drum Solo Encore: La Villa Strangiato

Moving Pictures Tour

Moving pictures tour dates, moving pictures tour setlist.

2112: Overture/The Temples of Syrinx Freewill Limelight Hemispheres: Prelude Beneath, Between and Behind (abbreviated) The Camera Eye YYZ/Drum Solo Broon's Bane The Trees Xanadu The Spirit of Radio Red Barchetta Closer To The Heart Tom Sawyer Vital Signs Natural Science Medley: Working Man (abbreviated with reggae intro)-> Hemispheres: Armageddon-> By-Tor and the Snow Dog (abbreviated)-> In The End (abbreviated)-> In The Mood (abbreviated)-> 2112: Grand Finale Encore: La Villa Strangiato (electric guitar intro)

Exit...Stage Left Tour

Exit...stage left tour dates, exit...stage left tour setlist.

The setlist for this tour was nearly identical to the Moving Pictures tour, with "Natural Science" replaced by an early version of "Subdivisions". "Hemispheres: Prelude" and "Xanadu" were dropped from the setlist in Germany .

2112: Overture/The Temples of Syrinx Freewill Limelight Hemispheres: Prelude Beneath, Between and Behind (abbreviated) Subdivisions (early version) The Camera Eye YYZ/Drum Solo Broon's Bane The Trees Xanadu The Spirit of Radio Red Barchetta Closer To The Heart Tom Sawyer Vital Signs Medley: Working Man-> Hemispheres: Armageddon-> By-Tor and the Snow Dog (abbreviated)-> In The End (abbreviated)-> In The Mood (abbreviated)-> 2112: Grand Finale Encore: La Villa Strangiato (classical guitar intro)

Signals Warm Up (Deep South Spring Training Tour)

Opening Bands: Riggs, Krokus

Signals Warm Up Tour Dates

Signals warm up tour setlist.

This setlist was identical to the Exit...Stage Left tour with the exception of "The Analog Kid" replacing "Xanadu". This tour marks the last time "Beneath, Between and Behind" and "In The End" were played live. It would also be the last time "Hemispheres: Armageddon" would be played live ("Hemispheres: Prelude" would return twice more, on the Counterparts and R40 tours). Lastly, both "Working Man" and "By-Tor and the Snowdog" were not played until twenty years later on the Vapor Trails tour. T-shirts for this tour read "Spring Training 1982".

2112: Overture/The Temples of Syrinx Freewill Limelight Hemispheres: Prelude Beneath, Between and Behind (abbreviated) Subdivisions (early version) The Camera Eye YYZ/Drum Solo Broon's Bane The Trees The Analog Kid (early version) The Spirit of Radio Red Barchetta Closer To The Heart Tom Sawyer Vital Signs Medley: Working Man-> Hemispheres: Armageddon-> By-Tor and the Snow Dog (abbreviated)-> In The End (abbreviated)-> In The Mood (abbreviated)-> 2112: Grand Finale Encore: La Villa Strangiato (classical guitar intro)

Signals (New World Tour)

Signals tour dates, signals tour setlist.

This is the first time the "Three Stooges Theme" was used to open the shows; it would be used until the Presto tour and then return for one final time for the Vapor Trails tour. As demonstrated in numerous recordings, Rush had fun this tour, often changing the lyrics to some of the older songs such as "The Spirit of Baseball" and "The Plumbers of Syrinx" (with Lerxst adding additional vocals), and a short instrumental was played leading into "YYZ". For this tour, "The Camera Eye" was abbreviated such that only the "New York" or "London" section would be performed each night on a seemingly random basis. Although the setlist remained the same throughout most of this tour, "Chemistry" and "The Camera Eye" were dropped from the setlist in Germany , and although "The Camera Eye" was brought back for later dates, "Chemistry" was never played again.

"Shows open with a re-recorded version of the Three Stooges theme. 'It's not the original theme because they won't let you use that,' Lee explained. 'So I hired my friend, violinist Ben Mink, who's a musician extraordinaire and a very big Three Stooges fan, and we had him recreate the original version. The three hellos you hear at the beginning are the three of us talking to him on the phone.'" - United Press International, December 1, 1987

The Spirit of Radio (with "Three Stooges theme" intro) Tom Sawyer Freewill Digital Man Subdivisions Vital Signs The Camera Eye (abbreviated) Closer To The Heart Chemistry (dropped after 5/3/83) The Analog Kid Broon's Bane The Trees Red Barchetta The Weapon (with Count Floyd intro) New World Man Limelight Countdown Medley: 2112: Overture/The Temples of Syrinx -> Xanadu (abbreviated)-> La Villa Strangiato (abbreviated)-> In The Mood (abbreviated) Encore: YYZ/Drum Solo

Grace Under Pressure Warm Up Tour (Radio City Music Hall Five Night Stand)

Opening Band: Marillion

Grace Under Pressure Warm Up Tour Dates

Grace under pressure warm up tour setlist.

The setlist for these five nights at Radio City Music Hall to warm up for the recording of Grace Under Pressure was similar to the Signals tour, with early versions of "Kid Gloves", "Red Sector A" and "The Body Electric" replacing "The Camera Eye" and "Chemistry" (these same two songs had been dropped from the setlist in Germany on the Signals tour).

The Spirit of Radio (with "Three Stooges theme" intro) Tom Sawyer Freewill (9/19 only) Digital Man Kid Gloves (early version/moved to follow New World Man beginning Sep. 22) Subdivisions Vital Signs Red Sector A (early version) Closer To The Heart The Analog Kid The Body Electric (early version) Broon's Bane The Trees Red Barchetta The Weapon (with Count Floyd intro) New World Man Limelight Countdown Medley: 2112: Overture/The Temples of Syrinx -> Xanadu (abbreviated)-> La Villa Strangiato (abbreviated)-> In The Mood (abbreviated) Encore: YYZ/Drum Solo

Grace Under Pressure Tour

Grace under pressure tour dates, grace under pressure tour setlists.

Highlights of this tour include the then-complete "Fear" performed in sequence, which included "Witch Hunt" thanks to technological improvements in the keyboard department which had prevented it from being recreated live in the past. This is one of only three tours in which "Limelight" was not included in the set, either full time or as an alternate/replacement (the other two being the Presto and R40 tours). Setlist changes during this tour: for the first leg "Afterimage" followed "Closer to the Heart", and the Drum Solo was a medley with "Red Lenses". After the summer break "Kid Gloves" replaced "Afterimage", and the all new extended jam section was added to "Closer to the Heart". After a 10 day break, beginning October 18th the Drum Solo found its way back to "YYZ" as on previous tours, and a new bass intro and full bass solo were added to "Red Lenses". "Kid Gloves" was dropped from the setlist in Japan . For most of the tour a short Get Smart video was shown as the introduction to "New World Man", although during early dates it was shown as the introduction to "Vital Signs".

The Spirit of Radio (with "Three Stooges theme" intro) The Body Electric The Enemy Within: Part I of 'Fear' The Weapon: Part II of 'Fear' Witch Hunt: Part III of 'Fear' New World Man Between the Wheels Red Barchetta Distant Early Warning Red Sector A Closer To The Heart (with extended instumental break added beginning Sept. 14) Afterimage (replaced by Kid Gloves beginning Sept. 14) YYZ -> 2112: The Temples of Syrinx -> Tom Sawyer Encore: Red Lenses (bass solo added beginning Oct. 18) Drum Solo (moved to follow YYZ beginning Oct. 18) Red Lenses (reprise) Vital Signs Finding My Way -> In The Mood

Power Windows Warm Up Tour (Spring Training 1985)

Power windows warm up tour dates, power windows warm up tour setlist.

The setlist for these four nights in Florida to warm up for the recording of Power Windows was similar to the original early setlist of the Grace Under Pressure tour, with the addition of early versions of "The Big Money" and "Middletown Dreams", which replaced "Kid Gloves" (the same song was dropped during the Japan dates of the Grace tour).

The Spirit of Radio (with "Three Stooges theme" intro) Subdivisions The Body Electric The Enemy Within: Part I of 'Fear' The Weapon: Part II of 'Fear' Witch Hunt: Part III of 'Fear' The Big Money (early version) New World Man Between the Wheels Red Barchetta Distant Early Warning Red Sector A Closer To The Heart Middletown Dreams (early version) YYZ 2112: The Temples of Syrinx Tom Sawyer Encore: Red Lenses/Drum Solo Vital Signs Finding My Way In The Mood

Power Windows Tour

Power windows tour dates, power windows tour setlist.

Beginning with this tour, Rush began its practice which continued through the Test For Echo tour of fine tuning the setlist during the first few dates of the tour: "The Weapon" followed "Territories" and was only played the first two nights of the tour (and thus is not included in the below setlist); "Witch Hunt" was added the second night preceding "YYZ" and the sixth night of the tour would move up in the setlist to follow "Middletown Dreams", possibly due to their common use of electronic drums. Additionally, "New World Man" was apparently dropped from the last month of the tour; its last known performance was April 22, '86, and it would not be performed again until the Vapor Trails tour.

The Spirit of Radio (with "Three Stooges theme" intro) Limelight The Big Money New World Man (dropped sometime after 4/22/86) Subdivisions Manhattan Project Middletown Dreams Witch Hunt Red Sector A Closer To The Heart Marathon The Trees Mystic Rhythms Distant Early Warning Territories YYZ -> Drum Solo -> Red Lenses (abbreviated) Tom Sawyer Encore: 2112: Overture/The Temples of Syrinx Grand Designs In The Mood

Hold Your Fire Tour

Hold your fire tour dates, hold your fire tour setlist.

The Big Money (with "Three Stooges theme" intro) Subdivisions Limelight Marathon Turn the Page Prime Mover Manhattan Project Closer To The Heart Red Sector A Force Ten Time Stand Still Distant Early Warning Lock and Key Mission Territories YYZ The Rhythm Method (Drum Solo) Red Lenses (snippet) The Spirit of Radio Tom Sawyer Encore: 2112: Overture/The Temples of Syrinx La Villa Strangiato In The Mood

Presto Tour

"The Presto tour was a short one, intentionally, because we weren't so sure about touring anymore. And things worked out so well, we actually finished the tour and everyone was still smiling." - Geddy Lee, Rockline , May 15, 1992

"The backdrop we used for the Presto tour was an oversized reproduction of an antique carnival poster originally painted in oils that I found hanging on a wall in my friend Jason Sniderman's home and immediately thought would look terrific on our stage...flanked, of course, by two gigantic inflatable rabbits. (Jason played the superb piano work on Presto 's 'Anagram' and years later on 'The Garden' from Clockwork Angels ." - Geddy Lee, My Effin' Life

Presto Tour Dates

Presto tour setlist.

This is the last tour to include "In The Mood", and is one of only three tours in which "Limelight" was not included in the set, either full time or as an alternate/replacement (the other two being the Grace Under Pressure and R40 tours). In addition, the first third of this tour was the first to not include "The Spirit Of Radio" in the setlist since its inception; after its return it would remain in the setlist for the rest of their touring history. This is the first tour to include The Surfari's "Wipe Out" during the encore; it would also be included during the first leg of the Test For Echo tour. Setlist changes during this tour: "Superconductor" originally followed "Show Don't Tell", but they switched places after the first four shows. One-third into the tour (beginning 3/31), "The Spirit of Radio" replaced "The Big Money".

Force Ten (with "A Show of Hands" video intro) Freewill (abbreviated)-> Distant Early Warning Time Stand Still Subdivisions Marathon Red Barchetta Superconductor Show Don't Tell The Pass Closer To The Heart Manhattan Project Xanadu (abbreviated)-> YYZ The Rhythm Method (Drum solo) Scars War Paint Mission Tom Sawyer Encore: The Big Money (replaced by The Spirit of Radio 3/31) 2112: Overture La Villa Strangiato In The Mood Wipe Out

Roll The Bones Tour

"It was great being on tour with Rush. I really loved hanging with those guys and getting to know Alex Lifeson a bit. They're such pros, man. I learned a lot about touring and how to put on a show from watching them and their whole crew. They're seasoned veterans. Watching their entire operation was pretty eye-opening." - Eric Johnson, MusicRadar.com, December 16, 2010

Roll The Bones Tour Dates

Roll the bones tour setlists.

Performed on every tour since their release, "In The Mood" and "YYZ" were not included in the setlist for the first time ever; although this is the only tour to not include "YYZ", "In The Mood" was never performed following the Presto tour. Setlist changes during this tour: while not present the first few dates, "Ghost Of A Chance" was added after the first month of the tour. Beginning with the European leg a short "Cygnus X-1" teaser was added to close the finale (a practice which was brought back for the Test For Echo tour). Beginning with the Denver show, with less than a month left in the tour, "Subdivisions" and "The Pass" were dropped and "The Trees" was added, and as early as two shows later "Vital Signs" and "The Analog Kid" were also added in the slots previously held by "Subdivisions" and "The Pass"; these three songs would remain in the setlist for the remainder of the tour. During this final leg's performances of "The Trees", Alex regularly played a few notes similar to the Beach Boys' "Sloop John B", a treatment that would continue during the following tour.

Force Ten (with "A Show of Hands" video intro) Limelight Freewill (abbreviated)-> Distant Early Warning Time Stand Still Dreamline Bravado Roll the Bones Show Don't Tell The Big Money Ghost of a Chance (added 12/4/91) Subdivisions (dropped 5/27/92, replaced by Vital Signs beginning 5/31 or 5/29) The Pass (dropped 5/27/92, replaced by The Analog Kid beginning 5/31 or 5/29) The Trees (added 5/27/92) Where's My Thing? The Rhythm Method (Drum Solo) Closer To The Heart Xanadu (abbreviated)-> Superconductor Tom Sawyer Encore Medley: The Spirit of Radio-> 2112: Overture-> Finding My Way (abbreviated)-> La Villa Strangiato (abbreviated)-> Anthem (abbreviated)-> Red Barchetta (abbreviated)-> The Spirit of Radio (reprise)-> Cygnus X-1 (teaser, added as early as 4/29/92)

Counterparts Tour

"It was Primus that got us to bring back parts from 'Hemispheres'...they would jam at soundcheck with all this stuff and we'd stand at the side of the stage and laugh. We got very close with them and hung out a lot and they said, 'You know, you should bring some of that stuff back, it was so cool, it's what we grew up with...' So we figured, 'Yeah, ok!' We started messing around in sound check with bits and pieces from 'Hemispheres' and then brought it back on the [ Counterparts ] tour." - Alex Lifeson, A Show Of Fans #13, Winter 1996

"We had The Melvins open for us. I loved everything about them but their music". - Neil Peart, Vancouver Province , March 20, 1994

Counterparts Tour Dates

Counterparts tour setlists.

Dreamline (with "Thus Spoke Zarathustra" intro) The Spirit of Radio The Analog Kid Cold Fire (with Country music intro) Time Stand Still Nobody's Hero Roll the Bones Animate Stick It Out (with introduction by Lerxst) Double Agent Limelight Bravado (added 4/20/94) Mystic Rhythms Closer To The Heart (with member introductions by Lerxst) Show Don't Tell Leave That Thing Alone! The Rhythm Method (Drum Solo) The Trees Xanadu (abbreviated)-> Hemispheres: Prelude Tom Sawyer Force Ten YYZ Cygnus X-1 (teaser)

Test for Echo Tour

"Rush performed 47 shows between October 1996 and July 1997. Seven of those dates-again consisting of arenas and amphitheaters-were sold out. Tickets were in the $40-25 range, with gross ticket sales totaling almost $14 million. Total attendance was recorded at 481,364 people." - Billboard , June 22, 2002

Test For Echo Tour Dates

Test for echo tour setlists.

"No. You can't go back." - Neil Peart (when asked if Rush would ever again play the full version of "2112" in concert), Rush Backstage Club Newsletter , 1988

This was the first time Rush toured without an opening act; with the extra time available, "2112" was performed in its entirety for the first time ever (including 'Oracle'), "Natural Science" made a triumphant return after a fifteen year rest, and the "oldies" medley was dropped in favor of more complete songs. Following this tour, "Driven" and "Resist" (acoustic) would be played on the Vapor Trails tour, and "Resist" would also be played on the R30 tour. No other songs from Test for Echo would ever be heard again. Setlist changes during this tour: "Resist" and "Time and Motion" were both performed for the first two dates only; following these two dates, the band alternated these two songs from one night to the next (and as demonstrated in various recordings, both were introduced with a Scottish reference). After the first ten dates, "Time and Motion" was dropped completely in favor of "Resist" and the setlist remained constant throughout the rest of the tour. The Surfaris' "Wipe Out", last performed during the Presto tour, was brought back for the first leg of this tour as the second half of a medley with "The Big Money". On the second leg of the tour "The Big Money"/"Wipe Out" was dropped and replaced with "Limelight" and "Stick It Out"; "Subdivisions" was also dropped; "Red Sector A" moved up in the set to follow "Freewill".

Dreamline (with "Thus Spoke Zarathustra" intro) The Big Money (replaced by Limelight second leg) Wipe Out (replaced by Stick It Out second leg) Driven Half the World Red Barchetta Animate Limbo The Trees Red Sector A (moved to follow Freewill second leg) Virtuality Nobody's Hero Closer To The Heart 2112 (complete) (-Intermission-) Test For Echo Subdivisions (first leg only) Freewill Roll the Bones Resist (dropped 10/23,26,29/96 and 11/1,4,7/96) Leave That Thing Alone! The Rhythm Method (Drum Solo) Natural Science Force Ten Time and Motion (10/19-20, followed Roll the Bones on 10/23,26,29 and 11/1,4,7/96; completely dropped 11/9/96) The Spirit of Radio Tom Sawyer Encore: YYZ Cygnus X-1 (teaser)

Vapor Trails Tour

"Canadian power trio Rush will kick off its first tour in five years June 28 in Hartford, Connecticut...The tour is billed as 'An Evening With Rush,' and will not feature an opening act. Dates are expected to stretch into the fall and offer in the neighborhood of 30 songs each night..." - Billboard.com , April 15, 2002

Vapor Trails Tour Dates

Vapor trails tour setlists.

For this tour every album was represented except for Caress of Steel and Hold Your Fire . "Between Sun And Moon" was performed live for the first time ever. Returning to the setlist was "Cygnus X-1: Prologue" after a twenty-two year rest (not counting the short teaser performed on every tour since '92), both "Working Man" and "By-Tor and the Snowdog" after a twenty year rest, and "New World Man" after a sixteen year rest. The drum solo included a complete triggered big band sample of "One O'Clock Jump", which Neil had performed with the Buddy Rich Band on Burning for Buddy Vol. II . "Resist" was performed acoustically, the first acoustic performance ever to be included in the setlist. Notable omissions were "Closer To The Heart" and "Force Ten", dropped for the first time since their inceptions (although "CTTH" would be brought back for the final U.S. date as well as the dates in Mexico and Brazil).

Setlist changes during this tour: "Ceiling Unlimited" was alternated with "Ghost Rider" each night for the first four months of the tour until "Ceiling Unlimited" was dropped permanently late in the tour (after 11/1). Later in the tour, similar alternations began to occur when "Freewill" first replaced "Vital Signs" on Aug. 12 (VS replaced by FW on 8/12 then alternated; both VS followed by FW played 11/2 and 11/4, standard rotation back 11/6), and when "Between Sun and Moon" was replaced by "The Trees" for two consecutive shows, Sep. 20 and 21, and then began alternating each show thereafter (BS&M replaced by Trees 9/20 & 9/21 then alternated, both dropped 11/2 and 11/4, standard rotation back 11/6, both replaced 11/10 by CTTH). Eventually, there were two primary setlists, with few variations: 1) with "Between Sun and Moon", "Vital Signs" and "Ceiling Unlimited"; 2) with "The Trees", "Freewill" and "Ghost Rider". This second setlist, with the inclusion of "Closer To The Heart", would be performed all three nights in Brazil to close out the tour (CTTH original version was added 10/5, 11/20, 11/22, 11/23, replaced BS&M/The Trees on 11/10). The few exceptions to this practice occured in Mexico City 10/5, following "Freewill", Geddy said they had "a special gift" for the fans of Mexico, as they played "Closer To The Heart"; in Mancester, New Hampshire, 11/10, the final show of the North American tour, "Closer To The Heart" was played in place of "The Trees". Out of rotation, the band played the identical setlists 10/22 and 10/24 (which included "The Trees", "Freewill" and "Ghost Rider"); 11/1 was the final performance of "Ceiling Unlimited"; on 11/2 and 11/4, both "Between Sun and Moon" AND "The Trees" were dropped, and "Vital Signs" was played immediately followed by "Freewill" in the usual spot in the setlist, which included "Ghost Rider".

Lerxst's Vapor Trails Rants

"On opening night in Hartford in 2002, Alex broke into a verbal improv like the ones he'd only ever delivered in rehearsals to break the monotony and entertain the crew. In front of a live audience now, and giving Neil and me no warning, he stepped up to the mic during 'La Villa Strangiato' and sang 'Hey Baba Reba!' (from Frankie Yankovic's 'Café Polka,' a drinking song his parents used to enjoy with their friends). That improv turned into a regular nightly stream-of-consciousness featuring such topics as 'While My Guitar Gently Vomits' and 'Chris Isaak on Acid.' For the times he wandered into oblivion or painted himself into a corner, Pratt worked out a drum cue that signaled it was time to wrap it up'like in the vaudeville days, when they'd give a performer who'd outstayed their welcome the shepherd's crook."- Geddy Lee, My Effin' Life

"For the most part I prepared about, maybe, two seconds before I actually opened my mouth. I thought about what I might talk about, and wherever it went, it went. It was fun and terrifying at the same time. There were lots of nights where I thought 'I am so stupid, I can't think of anything', and sure enough, I couldn't."- Alex Lifeson, "Rockline", February 5, 2003

• Opening night in Hartford (6/28) he sang "Hey Baba Reba!" 'What is a Barbaritta you may ask, well, I'll tell you what a Barbarritta is, a Barbaritta is, a barbarritta is....a....'.
• Scranton (6/29), "a walk...selling a cat for 50 cents" and introduced the band as "that guy" (Neil) and "that other guy" (Geddy).
• Charlotte (7/1), "oh why would anybody use words, there are lots of words, some words are really short, and some words are LLLOOOOONNNNNNGGGG" and Alex jumps back into the song after the word long is spoken."
• Virgina Beach (7/3), "going to a zoo, a German zoo and seeing all the animals getting angry at him and then shooting them and then being taken to jail in a tiny car, interrogated by a big black guy with a big black beret and being tossed back into a jail cell with all of the animals he had shot - but that they left the door on the cell open and he busted out to come an play for us."
• Raleigh (7/4), a "Happy Birthday" song to America which concluded with North Carolina (in a southern drawl). In addition, at the close of the show, the big screen flashed "Happy 4th of July from Rush".
• Saratoga (7/6), Alex began with a coughing spell, mostly like coughing up a lung, with some rambling, then introduced the band as "On drums we have....that guy over there, and on bass....that other guy there. And, of course, the beautiful, sexy leader of the band....couldn't make it tonight".
• Darien Lake (7/7), he discussed going for a walk with Commander Tom, an old tv personality from Buffalo, and Professor Bleep and then bumping into Colonel Klink, but "... that's another story for another time..." Then he went on about seeing a fire, "A big fire! I don't know where it was, but it was somewhere! Maybe in Lackawana! Or East Tonawanda! I don't know where, but there was a fire! Lots of fire! FIRE FIRE FIRE!"
• Bristow (7/9), "The wicked witch, the wicked witch is dead....but which witch is dead?...Why would anybody want to write a song about a witch?"...."Mr. Bass (to Geddy)...I want you to play" (then plays a riff which Geddy tries to copy)..."Mr. Drums (to Neil)," etc.
• Holmdel (7/11), "taking a walk in Central Park, finding a pond, a clear and beautiful pond, and washing his laundry in the pond, and swimming in the pond, then taking a taxi across the street to come to the show".
• Mansfield (7/12), "I tried to quit smoking the other day .. ohhh .. I love to smoke .. I tried to cut the filters off and puff away. I even split the cigarette in half so I can smoke two at a time . . ohhh .. I like that. I tried smoking other things ... I tried smoking my socks and shoes .. that didn't taste good .. and then someone gave me this other stuff (acts dizzy, laughs from Ged and Neil), wow ... that was great ... and now I am never going to try to quit smoking again ...."
• Camden (7/14), "here's a scary story, a really scary, but somehow satifying one...", goes into prolonged coughing fit, Neil laughs and looks questioningly at Geddy, and Alex never does tell story.
• Wantagh (7/15), walking the beach with a metal detector, finding the body of Jimmy Hoffa.
• Toronto (7/17), "Buenos Nochas mein froinds. I was dreaming, and I saw a snake. I don't know what that has to do with anything, but then I heard a strange voice, and it whispered to me, 'Snoring...'. I continued dreaming, and this the time the strange voice said to me very loudly, 'SNORING! Please, don't snore anymore!' I sat there in bed like this-- (shot of Alex's eyes on the big screen popping wide open)-- and then I decided to take a walk. And I was walking and walking and walking, and then I met these guys, and we started walking and walking and walking, and we came to Ontario Place, and then we ended up HERE!"
• Milwaukee (7/19), "I had a dream and the ground was the floor and the sky was the ceiling and the lake was... well, I guess my toilet, and I looked around and I realized I was in hell!...a lot like Milwaukee...hot and humid..although its a dry humidity...this is a REALLY LONG STORY...somebody HELP ME!!!"
• Tinley Park (7/20), "I dreamed about porkchops chasing me and all the best food in the world. I ate a giant Marshmallow. I woke up and my pillow was gone!"
• Kansas City (8/1), Alex rambled in a Snaggletooth voice and included comments about his guitar and a short rendition of the chorus from "Kansas City" including "they've got some crazy little women there and I'm going to get me 5 or 6!" He then went in to a "trance" and requested that the band "play something happy" and Ged and Neil played a little riff, followed by "play something mysterious" to which Ged and Neil played a very similar sounding riff, and then he said they should play something with the 5 basic emotions but maybe save that for later...
• Maryland Heights (8/2), he sang happy birtday to KSHE radio (it was their 35 birthday party), and then followed up by making a series of Ugghhh sounds and said "that was a seal singing jazz." He proceeded to make the sounds again and said "that was me making funny noises."
• Cincinnati (8/4), he started off with what sounded like a Police song-"EEEE-OOOO.....OOOOOOO.....", then something like, "AAAAAHT-AAAAHT-AAAAAHT..." and then he started marching in place yelling "NOW LET'S HEAR SOME....ARMY! MUSIC!!" to which Neil started in with some cadence snare drumming while Alex snapped off several mock salutes and yelling "...HUT..TWO! THREE! FOUR!!..." like an over zealous drill sergeant.
• Burgettstown (8/6), he rambled about taking a walk to Primanti Brothers (Pittsburgh restaurant famed for serving sandwiches with fries and slaw on them) for a "sammich" (Pittsburgh-ese) and an Iron City, and then "I had a Suzy Q, and I started feeling really funny, and the next thing I knew, I woke up in the hospital. I had an overdose of Suzy Q's. That happens when you have like 14 Suzy Qs. That doesn't happen when you eat a gob."
• Columbus (8/8): Alex sang Happy Birthday to QFM96 radio (their 25th anniversary bash). He then started sing "ya-ya-ya..yayay..yaya..Thats what The Beatles really wanted to sing...was the Ya-Ya song..." Then he said he "never met O'Charley before, but he's no damn good with darts, and he lost $20.00 dollars at his pub. But O'Charley can't pay up, or play this" as they return to "La Villa..."
• Noblesville (8/9), Alex sings, first gargling, then yodeling, and says "singing is easy, but I was to sing something different... How about something... mysterious?" and the band plays something mysterious with Alex singing sounds like choking "I don't know, that was kinda weird...how about something happy?" and Geddy and Neil play something happpy, with lots of happy tom and cowbell fills, and Alex sings in a silly high voice, and then Alex says "Wow, that was a waste of time!" as a they break back into "La Villa..."
• Clarkston (8/11), Alex talked of floating over Detroit, Joe Louis Hall, Cobo Hall, the Michigan palace (which is gone), then he corrected himself saying it wasn't there.
• Clarkston (8/12), Alex FORGOT to play "Limelight" following "Temples of Syrinx". As he began the intro to "La Villa", Ged walked over, smiled at him and said "What about 'Limelight'?". Alex got a horrified look on his face, pretends to cry and nodded. The rant, spoken in a German accent, was all an inside joke to his forgetting "Limelight": "...I thought I was someplace else, but I wasnt there... where I was supposed to be 5 minutes ago is where I'm going to be in 2 minutes..."
• Nashville (8/14), Alex began by making bizarre noises, and then spoke in a Sigmund Freud-esque voice about dreams. "I had a dream that had a very profound effect on me. I cannot remember the dream... but I know that it had Kim Basinger in it! You know that sort of dream where you wake up and remember it for five minutes, and then it's changed into something completely different? Then your mind starts getting crazy things in it. Ya'know... Like that Charlie Manson guy. Remeber him? Marilyn's brother. Well he sucks. Not Marilyn... He's allright" He rambled on about dreams until Neil signalled to get on with it by hammering the drums, and he apologized for his "loquacity" and ripped back into "La Villa".
• Woodlands (8/16), Alex began making bizarre noises and convulsions, and with eyes closed complained about his stomach. He asked Geddy and Neil to play some different kind of music, to which they responded by coming to a complete stop. This obviously caught Alex by surprised as he lost it and started laughing. Regaining his composure, he said that was nice and began making strange noises again, "ooooooooooooohhhhhhhh, ooooooooooooohhhhh, ooooooooohhhhhhhhhh, something's coming, something's coming...oh yeah, something's coming...(silence).....Uh Oh..." Neil's eyebrows raised and a sort of embarrassed smile sort of broke out over his face. Then he looked over at Geddy who was smiling broadly. When Alex said “uh oh,” he and Geddy both started laughing out loud. Next, Alex asked them to play some other kind of different music. Geddy and Neil played a short little riff, which Alex said was nice, but not as nice as the first music. Finally Alex introduced them, with Neil as Flip Wilson, himself as Brad Pitt and Geddy as "That Guy".
• San Antonio (8/17): Alex looked out at the crowd for a couple of seconds, and then asked in a lisp, "Does anybody feel like dancing?" He then cavorts across the stage with his knees bent and splayed out, and with both armns in the air, elbos bant and hands wide open, kind of like a can-can dancer, I guess. He gets back to the mike and says, "You guys suck ...you don't dance at all. Oh wait, I know, you do the cool dance." He then just stands there nodding his head up and down in a perfect imitation of guys who get dragged onto a dance floor by the girlfriends against their will. Then he says, "I like the cool dance best because you can do it while lying down." He then falls to the stage and proceeds to do the cool dance while lying down. After he got up, Neil had had enough and gave the cue to go back into the song.
• Dallas (8/19): Alex pretended to cry, then said, "okay okay okay okay la la la la. Hey play that song, play that part you played the other day." Geddy and Neil stopped playing. Alex whistled a little and then said, "You know sometimes you just have nothing to say, because there's nothing in your brain, nothing going on upstairs, empty empty empty"... back into La Villa.
• Albuquerque (8/21): he sang an incredibly fast paced vocal skat, beginning with blues (ala Aretha Franklin), "a doo be doo be doo be doo bop bop bee bop", and then sequeyed to square dance style "doe see doe, doe see doe, doe do doe, doe see doe", and then a cool-jazz vocal solo "get down, so low, get down, get down, so low".
• Salt Lake City (8/23): he went into a "Flick my Bic, Flick my Bic" song, then did alot of do-do-da-da's, sometimes going into a lower tone - Geddy and Neil waiting for him to finish, finally have enough and kick back into La Villa.
• Denver (8/24): (In strange monotone voice) "Good evening my friends. This is the part of the show where I have to talk to you. It is the only time they (points at Ged and Neil) ever let me talk, not that I blame them, because I'M NOT WELL! (Covers his eyes) I have to close my eyes, because I can't talk with my mouth and see with my eyes at the same time--I haven't figured that out, yet. I don't have anything to talk about, except this (and he vocalizes the melody played by Geddy). How did I know he was going to play that you might ask? I don't know much else, except this..." (as they rip back into La Villa).
• Vancouver (9/8): "Today I flew in an airplane across Canada and part of the United States. I landed here in Vancouver, and I noticed that it smells different here [the pot smoke was pretty heavy during the show...]. I LIKE how it smells here, here in BC. You know, I was born here in BC... in Fernie, BC. It's over there [points east] in the other part of BC. There are lots of mountains and rivers and rocks there. But it doesn't smell like it smells here. But I LIKE the way it smells here."
• Seatle (9/14): His ramble consisted of whistling, humming and finally a story about going to the zoo, about how the animals at the zoo were all relaxing having lunch and smoking cigars, but they didn't know that the zoo was just about to open, and their wonderful day was about to be ruined by... PEOPLE! "I was the first one in," Alex said. He said he had decided to free the animals, but first he had to figure out how to open all the locks. Then once he got the cages open, the animals just stayed in the back of their cages and wouldn't come out. "That's how it is!" he complained. "It's always about the animals! The animals! Animals animals animalsanimalsanimalsanimals!" He said the word "animals" really quickly over and over until it turned into a silly, maniacal noise. Alex finished with the story saying he had just accidentally swallowed the quarter that he was going to use for a phone call to have a van come pick up the animals. Then he said, "And that's all." He paused, and said "I *SAID* THAT'S ALL!!!" and they all jumped back into the song.
• Portland (9/15): "This is the part where we all dance...(he then dances a bit)...I suck at dancing...I want to tell you a story...a scary story...about getting attacked by a sandwich...I was walking down the street, there was happy music (he whistles...Geddy and Neil play a happy jig)...no, much happier than that....and I stop to get a sandwich...it was bread and salami and cold cuts and salami and ham and salami and mustard and mustard flavored salami...and...then...I ate the sandwich...which only goes to how...this is the stupidest story I've ever told..."
• Concord (9/17): Alex ranted about "turkey and turkey things!", describing his lunch of turkey and was quite facinated with "turkey things" for quite some time before talking about..."California Meat Bee's that swoop down and eat a guys lunch". He then asked Geddy to "Make some Bee sounds", to which Geddy twiddled a little on the bass, then Alex said "Oh nevermind".
• Sacramento (9/18): "This is the part of the show were I come out and say very stupid things ... stupid, stupid, stupid ... stupid. Stupid. Stupid...." (crowd starts chanting along to "STUPID" song for 20-30 seconds, then he mentioned that he had some hired help and would make them perform! "You two! Play something else! Play something ... mysterious, yet gay!" (Neil plays chopsticks on the glockenspiel) "PERFECT!"
• San Francisco (9/20): "I've lost my voice, and I cant find it! Some people around here" (looks at Ged and Neil) "would say that's a good thing...I can't think of anything so I'm going make them play songs for you" (then says to Ged and Neil, "play some Spy music" (Ged and Neil go into something and Alex says) "I never knew Batman was a Spy!!!! Play something happy" (Ged plays a happy riff and he sings 'YO YO YO' like Sting used to do with the Police.) "now play something scary" (Ged stops, and Neil plays a scary beat on the toms, and he knocks on the Microphone and says) "Don't Open The Door!! Don't Go In The Basement!" He then starts to talk back to the crowd, when Ged and Neil start up 'La Villa' and a surprised Alex says to the crowd "I've got to go!"
• Las Vegas (9/21): He began with a very long coughing spell, then attempting to clear his throat, said "Does anybody want to lick this mike?" (after much applause and a pause, he said) "My voice is changing. It sounds like Michael Jackson's voice. His voice now sounds like mine used to. Screw Michael Jackson anyway! (pauses, then he then begins whistling, then says) "everybody knows this one, join in!" (waves arms to get crowd to join in, then says to Ged and Neil) "now stop" (crowd is all whistling) "you guys are pretty good! Actually I have some very important things to tell you" (Ged and Neil start playing again) "but I'd rather hear what you guys have to say" (looks at Ged and Neil) "now stop" (encourages audiences to talk by waving arms, audience begins to chatter) "really? You don't say". Also during "Dreamline", Geddy emphasized Vegas with "She's got a sister out in Vegas " which received warm applause from the crowd.
• Los Angeles (9/23): Alex started (again) with the meat bees (like in Concord), and described how he was eating a turkey sandwich and they swooped down and cut out a section of the turkey and carried it off. Then one came back and bit him and he felt like a vampire (which he shouted over and over until they cut back into "La Villa."
• San Diego (9/25): He began by whistling a tune, and the crowd joined in after he said "everybody whistle!" Then he said "Let's see, what kind of story can I tell. Hmmmm. I have a really scary story about...the zoo! Let's talk about the zoo. The animals at the zoo like the blues. It's the zoo-zoo blues! (All 3 broke into a short blues melody)..."The animals fooled the zoo keeper with the blues. All the animals escaped from the Zoo. The moral of the story is never turn your back on an animal that listens to the blues!"
• Phoenix (9/27): "I been sick....here...what's this? (points to his throat) stomach? sore stomach? no...sore throat....." He said his head hurt...and his throat hurt...and his eyes hurt (etc...). Then he said that he was sleeping soundly in the hotel when suddenly, at 3 am, he was woken up by a gentle poking. His wife was poking him, poking him... and she softly said "snoring...". The rant continues with him saying how she went from poking to outright hitting - he bapped the microphone to emphasize his point, and knocked the cord/endcap right out the back of it. For the rest of the rant he was struggling to hold the cord in place (thus, his voice was breaking up over the speakers) and kept saying (in a pitiful little voice) how his microphone was broken, all cuz of "snoring, SNORING!". He ended his rant by saying that he hoped the next time someone woke you (the crowd) up, that you tell them to go buy a new mic.
• Irvine (9/28): Alex began with a bunch of mumbling, and talk about sleep and being woken up to poking and someone saying "...snoring", and then he said "and I turn over" (Ged and Neil stop playing) "and she said (speaks in a woman's voice) "do you think I'm fat?"
• Mexico City (10/5): This was Rush's first performance in Mexico. Geddy greeted the crowd with "Hola, buenas noches, no hablo español (Hello, good evening, I can't speak Spanish)". Then he explained in English that they would be playing "mucho, mucho" (many, many) songs. Following "Freewill", he said they had "a special gift" for the fans of Mexico, and they played "Closer To The Heart". Before "Resist", he introduced Alex as "This is Mr. Lerxst, Alexjandro" (Spanish equivalent for Alex). Alex's Rant: another coughing spell as on other nights, and another story of waking up at 3 a.m. to someone saying "SNORING!". He then said he had the chance to sleep for two hours, three hours, and then again a gentle poking from his wife, who asked him "do you think I am fat?".
• Tampa (10/10): (In a mellow, spaced out voice, similar to Tommy Chong's) "That was jazz, man. Jazz is, like... cool. Jazz is the easiest to play because you just play whatever you want and look cool. And say cool things like, 'dig it'. Cool jazz guys smoke too. They keep their cigarettes here (gestures to the tuning gears on his guitar) so they can just go (brings the guitar to his mouth to take a drag off the imaginary cigarette). Those are some cool jazz guys over there. That guy on the drums is... Bongo-head. The other buy we call 'Boom-boom Boom-boom'"...
• Atlanta (10/13): "Do you ever get so mad, that you just want to grab that guy, and rip off his ears, pull his hair out, poke him in the eye and punch him in the nose? Do you ever feel like that? I don't, I never feel like that. Instead, I just turn around and walk away (made prancing noises and did a funny walk back to his amps, then returned to the mike for "I always come back and kick him in the shin...but right now, I'm getting the cue, to introduce the band to you. On the drums, from his home town of Eth, in 'Eth'-iopia, the King of Ethiopia, the Emporer 'Highly Unlikely'". Then he said directly to Neil, "this is where you start playing the drums again, but more interesting than the solo!" (Neil played short solo, and Alex said) "Better, that's better...now he's getting good!" and then intoduced Geddy as "someone just was released from prison where he had been since he was 7 years old, Boom Boom-Boom Boom." (Geddy played short bass solo) "And then there's me, I'd like to play a little blues for you", and then played a few blues bars before returning to La Villa.
• Rochester (10/16): Again before playing Resist, Alex began with a country riff, and Geddy joined in. They played for about a minute..and then they stopped and Geddy said "That's all the country music we know", as the crowd responded with a loud roar... During the rant, Alex started by playing weird sounds on his guitar, and said it was something that will be on the next album. He then introduced Neil as the latin singer "Shakira", and then went on to talk about her wonderful hips, and accompanied this commentary with a brief imitation of Shakira by swivelling his hips while Neil played along. and Geddy as "The Vivacious...Preston Manning" (former Canadian Politician, Geddy's face just went blank, Neil laughed). Alex then started screaming "Alex...Wake up...Alex Wake up..."
• Montreal (10/18): Alex began with "I'd now like to introduce the band. Geddy meet Neil, Neil...Geddy." The crowd, and Geddy and Neil burst out laughing. He then talked about playing Jazz. He asked the band to play something jazzy and Neil and Geddy both started playing. Alex looked at Geddy and said "Not you!". So Geddy stopped playing (and appeared to be a little stunned - Neil was laughing). Then Neil played for a short piece and Alex told him "That is so retarded! But that's the great thing about jazz - it's retarded but, cool at the same time!". Neil is laughing quite hard at this point, then he asked Geddy for a bass fill but he didn't play much and Alex went on to play his little Jazz number that he just made up and Geddy had to tap him on the shoulder to get him to finish La Villa. (Rumored performance of "Nobody's Hero" on this night was determined to be false).
• Quebec City (10/19): the rant was about a voice saying "wake up Alex" over and over as he slept, and then when he went out for a walk the voice kept saying "Keep walking Alex". As on the previous night he then said "I'd now like to introduce the band. Geddy meet Neil, Neil...Geddy." Then he called them by different names, referring to the bass player as Ricky. He told Neil to play a cool beat, and Neil played a little bit, then he he asked for a song from the "magnificent bass plaer, Ricky". Geddy half heartedly played a little ditty and Alex said "Awesome"...
• Toronto (10/22): Alex began playing a weird sound on his guitar, and said "this is a new song...what do you think of it?" Then he started talking about "walking around", and said "what do I think about while I am walking around", and "what do other people think about? Hey you, hot shot drummer, what do you think about?" and Neil did a heavy drum beat. Then Alex looked at Geddy and said "And the suave young man over there with the guitar. What's this? Only four strings?" Then Geddy sat down on the corner of the drum riser and played something very jazzy, as Alex started to sing the words "La Villa Strangiato" over and over until Neil and Geddy broke back into the song...but Alex just kept singing "La Villa Strangiato La Villa Strangiato La Villa Strangiato" as Neil and Geddy had a laugh.
• New York, New York (10/24): Out of rotation, the band played the same setlist as the previous show (which included The Trees, Freewill and Ghost Rider). In addition, again for Resist, Geddy and Alex played some country music, with Geddy ending it with "That's all of the country music we know!" For the rant, Alex started by playing some Hawaiian music then said "That was a new Hawaiian song i just wrote." Then he talked about "walking on the beach in Hawaii, picked up a rock - ouch, lava, hot, I always do that!" Then his said, "this is what's in my head" and then played more Hawaian music." Then he said "Hey, you there in the funny hat" (to Neil) "What's in your head?" and Neil played a heavy drum rhthym. Then to Geddy "Hey, you...What's in your head?" and Geddy played "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" on the bass.
• Hershey, Pennsylvania (10/25): He started off talking in a "Yogi Bear" type voice, mumbling something incoherent. He then said (in the voice) "How ya doing, Hershey?" which received a loud response. Alex then asked Neil and Geddy, who were playing a diddy, "Can you guys stop playing.." to which Neil yelled "NO!" through one of his drum mikes and began laughing. Both Neil and Geddy stopped playing and Alex began plinking the strings on his guitar, asking the audience if they liked his new song. They then played a bit of the star spangled banner, and then Neil then began playing the beat to "Wipeout" and Alex played along, playing the wrong notes to the song on purpose. Neil and Geddy just looked at Alex in amazement and Geddy started laughing. Alex then said, "Gotta go now" and they jumped back into La Villa.
• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (10/27): In a girlish-voice, Alex talked about baseball players and drugs that ballplayers use for big heads. "Why would anyone want a big head, I mean everyone wants a little head"...(long pause)..."now and then". Then he asked Neil if he could play something that sounded good or he was going to come over and play drums himself, to which Neil made a cross with his sticks. He then turned to Ged and said, "Can you play something good for a change?" Geddy played "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" on the bass while Alex sang some funny lyrics about baseball and drugs, suggesting that maybe Ged & Neil were taking the drugs to make their heads bigger, "....as if your heads could get any bigger!"
• Boston, Massachusetts (10/28): Thanks to the fan who emailed me shortly after the show for this report: He was invited to the Meet and Greet, where he presented Alex with a complete set of "Three Stooges" bobblehead dolls, as a "thank you for the music". Hoping to see them during the live show, he was rewarded during the drum solo: when Neil's drum kit spun around, standing betweeen the two Spongebob Squarepants dolls was the Curley bobblehead doll! He also reported that the person who came out on stage during "Leave That Thing Alone!" to put quarters in the dryers was long time Rush fan, Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Randy Johnson! Before the show, the fan had seen Johnson near the soundboard and had made small talk as Rush fans do, taling about the Angels winning the Series, Rush, etc....
• Chicago, Illinois (10/30): First Alex went to the mic and just stood there and didn't say anything, then he said his doctor said he had amnesia, or least that's what he thought his doctor said, but he couldn't quite remember. Then he stood there and did nothing, so Geddy and Neil stopped playing. Geddy then went over and showed him that he should be playing his guitar, and started hitting the strings for him, so then alex started hitting the strings and said "isn't this annoying" and then said "this is going to be on the new album" (wails on guitar) "you will just have to wait for the rest." Then he said "if you think that was annoying..." and then started screaming into the mic. This had Geddy and Neil laughing pretty good, at which point Neil queued the song back up and they started back into La Villa. For the rest of the song Alex kept sing "La Villa Strangiato" and ad libbing other parts as the song finished.
• Ames, Iowa (11/1): Alex began with a bit of coughing & "la la la..." (like scales), then said he was happy to be in Iowa with the Iowans. He was glad to be back at school. "You should be at school...instead of here...I didn't stay in school. Neither did they (motions to Neil & Geddy). But you should...otherwise you'll end up like them. Or you'll have to get a job. And that REALLY sucks..." He said to Neil and Geddy "you dropouts, play something smart!" Geddy & Neil stop playing, but only a second or two. Neil did a quick run around the drums before they went back to their jazz/swing improv. Alex clarified that now Geddy should play something smart. He acts flustered & confused, then returns to improv with Neil. As Alex returned to issue of school, Geddy & Neil move back into La Villa, and Alex began singing "Go Cy-clones!... Go Cy-clones!" while the crowd joined in. Side note, Neil apparently had a cold, as he was seen throwing many tissues over his shoulder.
• Minneapolis, Minnesota (11/2): Alex began with lots of moaning, then went on to tell about how he was performing in Lebanon only to be thrown out. Then he went to Syria because they like that type of singing too. Then he asked Neil if he could play some lebanese drums? Neil smiled and shook his head no. Can Geddy play some lebanese bass? He also smiled and shook his head no. Then he said something like "Oh, forget it!" and they got back to the song, although Alex kept up the crazy moaning for about 15 seconds until Ged jokingly told him to stop.
• Cleveland, Ohio (11/4): Alex began by him playing a little tune, then he walked up to the mic and said: "Voting...who to vote for? Why is it you can never vote for someone you actually like? Hey Neil, play some voting drums!" (Neil stops and plays a shuffle beat) "Hey Geddy, play some voting bass!" (Geddy stops and plays the original Batman theme). "Oh geeze thats great...if your voting for BATMAN! (Everyone laughs) Well, maybe if he was an independant. And whats up with that Robin Guy...just what is a robin anyway? Hey, I wrote a song for Robin..." (Geddy and Neil stop while Alex plays his song. Neil covers His mouth as he is laughing so hard. Alex sings a few Robin lyrics and then they break back into La Villa, only Alex is still singing with the beat). "Robin, I like your tights. Robin, what the hell is he anyway?!"
• East Rutherford, New Jersey (11/6): Alex turned to Neil and Geddy and asked "How you guys doing?", they said "fine", he then asked "So what are you guys doing tonight?" Neil replied "Working!". Alex then played a weird riff on the guitar and said "The first song goes like this", then played another riff and said "and the second song goes like this." Geddy and Neil stopped playing, looked at each other and shook their heads. Alex then said "Look for it! Coming to a music store near you!" He looked at Neil and said "Can you play anything remotely interesting on the drums?" Neil stopped the jazz beat and hits the cowbells with the horse racing 'at the starting gate' tune, and then played the same tune on his toms, then went back into the jazz beat. Alex then asked Geddy "And you, do you like know how to play the bass at all?", and Geddy ripped it up for a moment before going back to into the groove. After a bit more, Alex said "This part of the show is borring...." and then they went back to "La Villa".
• Uncasville, Connecticut (11/8): Alex started the rant played a wailing song on his guitar and said "that's on our new record!" to much applause, then said the rest of the song goes like this (as he plays some more) then says "I love that part". Then he stared weeping and told a long and funny story about how he lost all of his money at the casino. He had been gambling and said "If I had another $10,000 I could leave with $500".
• Manchester, New Hampshire (11/10): For this, the final show in the US, the band played "Closer to the Heart" in place of "The Trees" or "Between Sun and Moon" (in the setlist with "Freewill" and "Ghost Rider"). For the rant Alex started crooning into the microphone and playing some sort of blues scale on the guitar, then he says "I sound like Chris Issak on acid"...then he continues, "What is acid?...I thought it was orange juice. I think it is something I did in high school"...then he continues, "What is high school?" He then continued playing, then he stops and says something (or to the effect of) about it being the last night of the tour and that he will return to being nobody tomorrow...then he says, "Speaking of nobodys...there are these two nobodys back here"...points at Neil and Geddy. He then points specifically at Neil and says "Is there anything you would like to play since its the last show?" Neil just shrugged no. Then he looks/points at Geddy, "What about you?" He then looks back at Neil and says, "Not you....him!" And he points at Geddy and says "Him!" Geddy is like "Me?"...."Yes you!" And this continues until Alex gives up and starts playing "La Villa..." again.
• Porto Alegre. Brazil (11/20): 35,000 fans attended this first Brazilian performance. The setlist included The Trees and Freewill, which was followed by Closer To The Heart (same setlist for all three Brazil shows). Alex began the rant with a really poor guitar solo and said "That's how our next album will sound", then coughed for a long time.
• São Paulo, Brazil (11/22): 64,000 fans attended this performance, the largest in Rush's history. This show was recorded for backup to the Rio show which was recorded and filmed for DVD the following night. The rant was similar to the Rio rant the following night.
• Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (11/23): 50,000 fans attended this performance. Filming for the Rush In Rio DVD took place this night, the final show of the tour. Alex began the rant with raving and making weird sounds and then commented on Geddy and Neil's jamming with "this is jazz...jazz is cool"...then after a pause said "I love singing, singing is so easy..." and then said "I'd like to introduce you my backup band, the guys that followed me on this tour: on the drums...Mr. Milton Banana!" and Neil played some samba rhythms. "On the bass guitar, the Guy From Ipanema" and Geddy played Garota de Ipanema (the Girl from Ipanema) on the bass; when he get to the chorus Alex joined in on the guitar and mic singing "Laaaaa... lalalalalalalaaaaa....."

Tom Sawyer (with Three Stooges intro) Distant Early Warning New World Man Roll The Bones Earthshine YYZ The Pass Bravado The Big Money Between Sun and Moon (alternated with The Trees) Vital Signs (alternated with Freewill) Closer To The Heart (five shows only) Natural Science (-Intermission-/Dragon video) One Little Victory Driven Ceiling Unlimited (alternated with Ghost Rider) Secret Touch Dreamline Red Sector A Leave That Thing Alone Rhythm Method (drum solo) Resist (unplugged) 2112: Overture/The Temples of Syrinx Limelight La Villa Strangiato (parts 2-12, with Lerxst rant) The Spirit of Radio Encore: By-Tor and the Snow Dog (abbreviated)-> Cygnus X-1 (prologue)-> Working Man

July 30th, 2003 (Molson Canadian Rocks For Toronto, Downsview Park, Toronto, Ontario) Tom Sawyer Limelight Dreamline YYZ Freewill Closer To The Heart (original version) Paint It, Black (instrumental)-> The Spirit Of Radio

R30: 30th Anniversary Tour

"This is the first time we have gone out [on tour] when we didn't have a project that we felt passionately about. We've been very successful not trading on that cliche where you're depending on your past. After I thought about it a while, I decided it's quite an accomplishment to stay productive for 30 years as a rock band, and having this cover project made it OK. It gave us something to occupy ourselves creatively and helped justify it to me....We had no plans to do an album of any kind at first, then somebody approached us about doing the tour. A friend planted the idea: Wouldn't it be fun to play a few songs that we liked when we first were learning our instruments and release an EP." - Geddy Lee, Charlotte Observer , May 28, 2004

R30 Tour Dates

R30 tour setlist, lerxst's r30 rants.

• Opening night in Antioch (Nashville) (5/27): Lerxst told a story using different voices for a grandfather and his grandson, about flying model airplanes and repeatedly crashing them. "Grandpa! Grandpa! Tell us the story about the airplane!" he would say in a nasally, childish voice, and then tell about flying an airplane, and then making airplane crashing sounds.
• Charlotte (5/28): Lerxst talked about being old, wondering where he got "this" as he grabbed his belly, and complained of losing his hearing and things of that nature.
• Virginia Beach (5/29): Lerxst said one of his kids asked him to tell a story, and his reply was, "There are two types of stories, happy and sad." Since his kid wanted a happy story, he told the story of "One day, at a zoo, there was a lion, and he got outta his cage to visit his friend, the tiger"..."Lions and tigers and bears" then the audience replied "OH MY!" This went on two or three times. Then he said something about monkeys. Something like the monkeys were watching, and waiting for something to happen. At that Neil started a drum roll. (Double stroke.) Alex continued: "and then one monkey started a drum roll", Alex said. "A drum roll! How apropos said the other monkey to the first." At that point Neil and Geddy were split screen on the board. Neil whipped a look to Geddy, and you could tell Neil was trying to hold it in. Most of the crowd laughed at this...then Neil picked up the drum roll and they finished the song. Later, during "By-Tor & The Snowdog", when Geddy sang "By-tor...{pause}...and the Snowdog {second pause}, square for battle..." during the first pause Alex let out a primal war cry, and during the second pause made a bunch of barking sounds. Geddy was laughing too hard to sing "Square for Battle, let the fray begin!"
• Burgettstown (5/31): Lerxst talked about how it was Monday night (Memorial Day), "the end of a long holiday weekend...maybe a little drink" (tipping a shotglass), "maybe a little smoke" (puffing a joint)...and how much "it SUCKED to have to go back to work on Tuesday...Work SUCKS! Back to a stinky, smelly boss...get me this ASAP...get it ASAP your ass!..."
• Columbus (6/2) Lerxst started singing with the notes from his guitar. "Bah - bah - bah - bah....", a few times, then ended with: "Bah bah bah black sheep." After which he started to tell a story about how a sheep was driving a bus, which he thought was odd, because the goat was supposed to be driving the bus! Then, he asked how goats can drive a bus, and then was trying to figure out how a goat keeps receipts. He didn't know where a goat would keep them, and asked the audience, "DO YOU??" The band went back into the song, and Alex pointed out a stuffed-animal goat sitting on top of his amp, with the tag hanging off it's ear.
• Noblesville (6/4): Lerxst ranted a bunch of random, incoherent noises mumbled into the microphone and then started off singing what he was playing on guitar, interspersed with the occasional "Jumpin' Jimminy(?)."
• Tinley Park (Chicago) (6/5): Lerxst began playing odd chords on his guitar, and said "Geddy thinks he's sick..." and paused in response to Geddy's mention that the audience should excuse him because he is coming down with a slight cold, then continued by rambling about "The Day After Tomorrow...I went to see that movie. There were all these waves and all these storms and people were drowning in the city and it was SO STUPID! ..a REEEALLY dumb story." He went on about "having to sit through this crappy movie for 2 1/2 hours after running out of popcorn in the first 35 minutes. It reminded me of 'Titanic' where the ship hit an iceberg and SANK and a lot of people DIED..." and he said "why weren't there any ninjas on the ship, because that would have been more interesting", and concluded in a whiny voice - "WHY CAN'T THEY MAKE INTERESTING MOVIES ANYMORE?"
• Clarkston (Detroit) (6/8): Lerxst ranted about milk. "Drink more milk...or I'll kill you! 2% milk, 1% milk, homo, homo, homo milk that is, drink milk, drink milk, drink milk. Drink more milk or I'll kill you!" Another note about the Detroit show: Bubbles from the Trailer Park Boys came on stage during 2112 to restart the dryers, gestured to the audience a couple of times and did an air drum roll before sauntering back off stage.
• Milwaukee (6/7): Lerxst started with a lot of shreeky singing, then began doing both sides of a silly-sounding conversation between a man and a woman: (in a woman's voice) "nice suit"...(in a man's voice) "thanks, I just had it pressed".
• Cuyahoga Falls (Cleveland) (6/10): Early in the show, Lerxst was visibly upset at the security at the front of the stage and during "The Spirit of Radio" he went over to center stage and yelled twice at the security guard to sit down. From that point on they never stood and the crowd loved it. He started his rant by making funny noises into the mic and on his guitar, and then he started saying "Hey pool boy, hey pool boy, time to get out of the pool" (more was said but was difficult to hear).
• St. Louis (6/12): Lerxst began by saying "Baby, baby, baby" then talked about a person with a rash all over his face and finished by making popping noises with his hand & mouth. He also mentioned "Pool Boy" a few times. After the rant Geddy said "He's so fucked up" (talking about Alex) with a big smile for those in the front rows.
• Bonner Springs (6/13): Following the usual odd noises in to the microphone, Lerxst discussed surfing and the ocean and waves and sighting a fin coming out of the water and swimming out to take on the shark and singing "Pool Boy, Pool Boy". This led to all three playing a "Gangster" tune, where Lerxst confessed to killing someone! Just when it seemed the rant was done, he went into another verse, then held out his arms as if keeping his balance and yelled "Surfs Up!"
• Dallas (6/23): Neil's new book Travelling Music was first on sale at the Dallas show. Lerxst's rant began with his playing "take me to the ballgame" on the guitar, then talked about baseball, "Baseball, everybody loves baseball...how 'bout these Rangers". He then emulated a baseball announcer introducing "player 47" and related the pitches all the way to a homerun.
• The Woodlands (Houston) (6/26): This is reportedly the first show where Geddy sang in an old pirate voice "We are the pirates of the Temple of Syrinx, Arrrrr" during the "2112 medley". During the short rant of only half a minute, Lerxst discussed the weather which was was poor, and he may have said something about "wet socks...gray everywhere" and "he's gonna get on that plane and get out...you gotta go, gotta go, gotta go, go go!" and then said another sentence toward Ged's direction and Neil just went right back into the song.
• Denver (6/29): A short rant, where Lerxst basically expanded on the old saying "fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me". "You know, we have a saying where I come from! You can fool some of the people some of th... Er.. Some of the people can get fooled if.. Er.. If you are the fool who follows the.. um...I won't get fooled again! I won't get fooled again!"
• West Valley City (Salt Lake City) (6/30): Lerxst pretended to be a pirate (speaking in a pirate voice) and talked about how he was a pirate captain and how he was never out of work because "When anybody needed a captain, they called me." He then explained that, "I have sailed the seven seas. I've seen a lot of good men go down .. (pause with a smile) and I've seen a lot of good women go down." He then went on to tell a story about a time "when I was sailing the eighth sea, it's a little known sea, it's not very big, I was looking for bounty and gold to plunder. I was also looking for a good bed to rest my aching back, and my aching wooden peg leg, and my aching wooden eye, and my aching wooden ear, and that's a completely different story" as to how he got a wooden ear that he would have to work on and cracked himself up in the process! Sidebar (via eyewitness reports): a couple in the first section (102) had a picture of a soldier and the girl kept raising it over her head during the first two or three songs of the show. An usher came over and asked her to put it down, as people were complaining that it was obstructing their view. Shortly after that a member of the Rush crew came over and stated that Alex wanted to display her sign on stage. Before or during "Red Barchetta" one of Alex's guitar techs took the picture and placed it to the left side of his amps (later moved right in front of his amps), which said anthonyquayle.com across the front. The touching moment came when Alex and the lady made eye contact, Alex saluted her and smiled, which of course made her cry. The picture stayed on stage for the rest of the night.
• Auburn (Seattle) (7/2): Continuing the pirate theme begun at The Woodlands, about three songs into the second set the crew on stage right were seen wearing pirate hats and eye patches. This brought laughs from Neil, Alex and Geddy, and Alex again sang in his pirate voice "We are the pirates of the Temple of Syrinx, Arrrrr" during the "2112 medley". For his rant, he started off with a series of strange chords then slipped back into the old pirate voice, and talked about being an old pirate, how his peg leg is bothering him and about the things pirates say like "shiver me timbers, avast ye swabbie and blow me (with a pause) down." He then sang a song called "The Pirate Blues".
• Ridgefield (7/3): Lerxst spoke as though he was a pirate, and talked about how he had just sailed in, and how he just loves being a pirate.
• Hollywood (7/6): Lerxst again gave a pirate inspired rant, and a Captain Morgan-esque picture (like a black light rug) popped up while Alex was ruminating on various pirate things, but nothing specific. One viewer reported that after resuming La Villa, the video screen showed Alex from his right side and he appeared to look down at someone in the crowd and said "I couldn't think of anything..."
• Chula Vista (7/7): Lerxst continued the pirate theme, begining with the usual strange opening chords and moaning and groaning, "la, la, la, la, la, la,", then said he was a "naughty pirate" but that he "didn't need one of those stinkin' patches" (Treasure of the Sierra Madre reference?). He then rambled about the Seven Seas, "Ahhhh, yes, to be a Pirate on the high seas, I want to be on the high seas, and sail on the seven seas being a pirate..."
• Mountain View (7/9): Lerxst rambled for a bit before continuing with the pirate theme... "Harrr haaarrrr, arrrrr, arrrrrrr, arrrrrrr. I stink. Tis a hard job being a pirate captain... The hardest part of being a pirate captain is making sandwiches for all the other pirates. 'I need four pastrami on rye, gimme two BLT's...toasted, and something dry to drink.....grop....it's the Pirate Blues.....Harrr harrrr har har..." During the 2112 medley, he again sang "We are the pirates, of the Temples of Syrinx, all the gifts of life, are down below"
• Concord (7/10): Pirate Lerxst began with the usual nonsense chords and then some tapping on the fretboard, and then slapping the neck with both hands, making tons of noise, then saying "Arrrrrrr....we were out on the seven seas....I don't remember which one, it coulda been the big one....someone was on the poop deck, it was a mess.....someone was in the crow's nest, way up high...." at this point ged and neil were laughing, and Al continues "You all remember the story of the Meat Bees? Well, this is different...arrrrrr......we didn't have anything to eat but fish.....big scary fish....nothing but fish" he grabbed the mic with both hands and stopped playing, whispering into the mic. Both ged and neil stopped playing as well, and it was just al whispering "Big nasty fish......they had big eyes......and giant sharp scary claws....and big fangs....scary fish....and that's all we could eat were scary fish........STUPID ATKINS DIET!"
• Marysville (7/12): Lerxst's rant was similar to previous nights, including the "Pirate Blues". He also threw in another reference to "the Atkins diet," then corrected himself and said "the Claude Akins diet, which is something very different."
• Phoenix (7/16): Lerxst ranted about "those damned pirates...German pirates, we were the best...in boats...it was a good boat...it was a boat that could float...and we would steal and pillage...and go to the beach..." and then broke into a neo-surf tune.
• Vegas (7/17): Again, during the 2112 medley, Geddy was wearing a shoulder parrot, sang 'We are the pirates", and added (for the first time?) during Grand Finale, "Attention all pirates of the solar federation...". In addition, the three flying saucers during the 2112 Grand Finale video were flying the "Jolly Roger". During the rant, Lerxst started with "I pooped on the deck once. Couldn't make it in time. See, I was avasting some scallywags...I was looking at some dead man's chests. Say, I always wondered about that. I mean, I see a lot of chests here tonight...and they sure ain't no 'dead man's' chests. Live ladies, ya see..." Then they broke in the Pirates Blues, and Alex added "Reminds me of my peg leg...er...what about the peg leg, I'm not sure..."
• West Palm Beach (7/29): Geddy told the crowd, "Today is the exact 30th birthday since our friend the drummer joined." Today being Geddy's birthday, during "2112 Overture" two very scantily clad women came out to tend to the dryers as the crew brought out a giant birthday cake loaded with candles. Without stopping playing Geddy went over to blow them out, and the crew re-lit them and kept it the cake on stage for the duration of the song. Between songs before the acoustic set, Lerxst walked on stage in his third shirt of the night...and Geddy said to the audience, "This guy changes his shirt more often than (someone [inaudible])." At the beginning of the acoustic set, Lerxst played the first six notes of "happy birthday" and a large portion of the audience started signing happy birthday, but Ged and Alex didn't stop and went right into "Resist". During the rant Lerxst mentioned the scantily clad women and then said that Geddy was having a "pirate birthday" and sang "Happy Birthday" to Geddy in a psuedo-sad crying/screech "Happy Birthday....(sob...sob)....Happy Birthday to you....(sob...sob)....Happy Birthday to you....(sob...sob)....YOU'RE SO OLD!....Happy Birthday....(sob...sob)...to you." and finally "happy birthday dear old man."
• Tampa (7/30): Lerxst started off by babbling incoherently into the mike which turned into a rendition of what sounded like a children's song. He then told a hysterical story of a couple trying to decide what to do that night. Man: "I thought maybe we'd go to a rock concert" Woman (in high pitched voice): "A rock concert? That's just typical. You always want to do what YOU want to do. How come you never want to do what I want to do? Do we have to sit here? It's so loud" Man "We can do whatever you want to do tonight, honey" Woman "I want to stay home and watch 'Fried Green Tomatoes'!..." This escalated into a blues song as he sang about having a mean woman that treats him bad as he never gets what he wants while the woman whines about him. Even though the rant wasn't pirate-themed, a large Jolly Roger flag was flown in the audience and Geddy had a Jolly Roger windsock on his mic stand and the parrot on his shoulder.
• Atlanta (8/1): Lerxst played some "jazzy" sounding guitar, then began to sing incoherently, finally degrading into a mixture of mock laughing and crying which went on for some time. Somewhere in the midst of this, Neil and Geddy stopped playing and looked at each other as if Alex had totally lost it. Geddy then tapped Alex on the shoulder and encouraged him to snap out of it.
• Camden (8/4): It During YYZ two very exotic dancers came out check on the dryers, and pretended to try them on as they gyrated provocatively for the band's benefit - Geddy walked back to them and leaned up against the vending machine as he played and checked them out with a cool guy "how you doin?" kind of look, and then wondered back up to the front...; in addition it was noted that six banks of bright white stage lights spelled out YYZ. During the rant Lerxst began with his typical guitar doodling before saying "there's always something happening over on that (indicating Geddy's) side of the stage...dancing girls, guys in pirate hats...nothing ever happens on this side of the stage and no one ever comes over here, except those guys"...pointing out the crew who were smoking on his side of the stage "always smoking...smoking, smoking and more smoking...". Then someone from the audience threw a hat at on stage and within a second he kicked it back and said "No thank you!" which had everyone laughing.
• Hartford (8/6): The new biography, Contents Under Pressure was on sale at the show. Lerxst's rant was like "nah nah nah nah nah nah nah" for a few minutes while making more bizarre guitar noises (more info welcome...). The Pirate theme was continued with a couple of "pirates" with hats and cutlasses adding coins to the dryers during the show. Geddy had the parrot on his bass strap during 2112 and sang "We are the Pirates...", the three flying saucers during the Grand Finale were still flying the "Jolly Roger", and one of the guys working the board wearing a rather large pirate hat. During the rant, Lerxst started off with the funky jazz guitar as usual then he started to sing along with his guitar part, "na na na, Na. na, na, naaaaaaa...", before the jazz warbling guitar would come back in. He would repeat the vocal part mirroring his guitar part. This went on for a minute or two and then Neil started to really pick up the drums to match Alex. Alex, sensing it was time to get back into the song started to pick it up along with Neil doing something like "Na NA NA!! Na NA NA. Na NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA!!!!!!." All the while Neil and Geddy were cracking up and the music is building and building and Neil seems as if he's trying to punch a hole in his snare drum. Then all of a sudden....it got really quiet again and Alex started it all again..."Na na na na NA na naaaaa."This went on for a little bit and then came into a mighty crescendo before going back into the song.
• Scranton (8/7): Lerxst began playing some dream notes (more of a dream scale - from a low pitch to a high pitch, hitting every note in between, then back down to low). He played around on his guitar for a while, then finally stepped up to the microphone. At first it was incoherant words (sounded likes "oo-oo-oo-ah-ah-ah", like a monkey, but slower and differentiating pitches), then he started screaming into the microphone ("RAAAAAH!", sort of like a battle cry, which the audience would answer back). He did his war cry about four times, then started saying what sounded like "La Villa Strangiato is La Very Strange" or something of the like.
• Saratoga (8/9): Neil could be seen sporting an eye patch during 2112. Lerxst began the rant with the usual odd guitar notes and mumbling, then began telling a story about a boy and girl who walked into the woods and found a house made of gingerbread. When they started eating it, a witch came out of the house and said "Stop eating my house!" The kids replied, "Be quiet you old bat. We're eating your house." He end by saying "Fairy tales really suck these days."
• Jones Beach (8/11): During 2112 Geddy again sang "We Are The Pirates...". For the rant Lerxst began by making random noises and singing along as "La La La LA LA", then said "I smell a skunk. I smell a Stinky Skunk." He continued babbling and making od noises, then ending in a whiny kind of voice, "What a stupid thing to do! What a stupid, idiotic, insane, retarded, moronic...thing to".
• Mansfield (8/12): After the drum solo, as Geddy and Alex came out to play Resist Geddy said "it feels good to able to sit down, he (pointing to the drum set) gets to sit down the whole show!" 2112 included the lyrics "We Are The Pirates..." Lerxst began the rant by singing the notes he was playing up and down the neck, then Pratt took up the pace with a bass-snare-snare beat, resembling a surfing style song. Lerxst then sang nonsense lyrics to the tune of "Monster Mash" for about a verse, but before the chorus he changed the tune into a blues song. Dirk and Pratt were in perfect sync for this as Lerxst rambed on in jibberish until they built to a crescendo until stopping in the blues tradition so Lerxst could let out on big note, which he sang along to, then finished saying "If a schmuck like me can sing the blues" (Pratt then starts the snare return to LVS) "then so...can...YOU!"
• Holmdel (8/14): Geddy informed the crowd that it was "to-the-day, the 30th anniversary of their first American gig" (with Neil Peart on drums). During the rant, Lerxst discussed smoking and drinking and making sure we had enough, and told the loud crowd "you guys are soooooo damn quiet in joisey".
• Darien Lake (8/15): During YYZ some girls came out to check the laundry, and 2112 still had the pirate theme with a parrot on Geddy's shoulder and sang the final chorus of Temples in his now signature pirate voice. Also during 2112 two of the crew came on stage with w/huge hats and vests carrying golf clubs and began to feed the dryers quarters, and when they didn't start spinning again they took out their clubs and beat the dryers. When done they walked past Alex and gave him a big wave. Moments later a guy wearing a black shirt and Speedo slowly walked across the stage. Lerxst started by making rollercoaster ride sound effects "RAAAAUHHHHH...RAAAAAAUHHHHHH" going up and down (the roller coaster ride at Six Flags was present in the backround throughout the show) and then started crying obnoxiously before telling a story about Little Boy Blue, and what he was wearing and "poor Little Boy Blue" before being joined by Geddy and Neil for a short blues tune.
• New York City (8/18): Lerxst warmed up the crowd with some of his signature strange guitar sounds and noises, then began "Oh thank you God for making me Paris Hilton...I'm thinking to myself, maybe I'll spend some money today, maybe I'll get my picture taken again...and again...and again...and again...and again...AND AGAIN!...and why? I don't know why. Just why not?" This led to a rock riff where he sang "Paris Hilton, Paris Hilton, Paris Hilton, where are you baby? Paris Hilton, Paris Hilton, Paris Hilton, where are you baybee? Where's your brain? Where's your brain? Where's your brain? WHERE'S YOUR BRAIN!?!? Paris Hilton, Paris Hilton, you're so beatiful, oh yeah, Paris Hilton, Paris Hilton, YOU MAKE ME SICK! I don't know what my problem is, but she makes me sick...well I probably make her sick, but you know what? I COULDN'T CARE LESS!"
• New York City (8/19): During 2112, the pirate theme was again continued, with Geddy sporting a parrot on his shoulder. During the rant Lerxst began mumbling nonsense as usual, then did alternating voices of "parents" saying "time to go...come on we gotta go"... followed by the voice of a child whining..."But I don't wanna go....I don't wanna go home!" which ended with "I don't want to leave New York City, the best city in the world!!" He followed that with more whining before finishing it up with a short blues song.
• Montreal (8/21): Geddy introduced "Between The Wheels" as a song "recorded not far from here". During 2112, Ricky and Bubbles (Robb Wells and Mike Smith) from the Trailer Park Boys walked onstage: Ricky lit a cigarette and Bubbles posed as the 2112 guy. The pirate theme was continued, with Geddy wearing a parrot and using a pirate accent for "We are the pirates...", one of the crew wore a pirate hat while checking on the dryers and the soundboard operator had a huge jolly roger flag which he waved at the end of "Temples". During the rant, Lerxst began with the typical mumbling/singing of nonsense, before clearing his throat and singing in a loud, and hoarse voice. Then he started to sing a blues tune while Geddy and Neil joined in, "Just a poor boy..."
• Toronto (8/22): Lerxst began with the usual odd guitar noises...then he started saying "there is no place like home...there is no place like home...click your shoes dammit...there is no place like Toronto...Toronto" ...and then he started breathing through his nose into the microphone in what sounded like a country & western beat. After doing this for a minute or so, they broke back into La Villa and Geddy asked Lerxst (not into the mic) "What was that?"
• London (9/8): During 2112 , Geddy sported his parrot and included his pirate lines. Lerxst began the rant singing la la la la la and making weird sounds with his guitar, then talked about the tower of London, Buckingham palace and how bad Radio One was (BBC 1 pop type radio station). He also sang some lines from Roger Miller's England Swings: "England swings like a pendulum do; Bobbies on bicycles, two by two; Westminster Abbey, the tower of Big Ben; The rosy red cheeks of the little children".
• London (9/9): The parrot was again in the house during 2112, and after appearing to have audio problems with his inner ear monitor, Lerxst began the rant with a mock sobbing rambling about his problem and mentioned "they won't turn it up". In reference to an earlier mistake in La Villa, Alex said "It was strange, I was dreaming. I dreamt I was in a band and playing in front of all these people and that I made I mistake. And then I realised it wasn't a dream, it was real! I've been playing this song for like 100 years and it happened. On no! Wait, how does it go again? I remember how it goes again!" He starts singing the last section and played some more of his odd guitar sounds.
• Birmingham (9/11): Lerxst began with the usual odd guitar sounds, then said "I'm so sad...I'm so sad...I'm so sad. They've closed Boddingtons Brewery..after 200 years of brewing beer." Boddingtons is a brewery in Manchester, makers of 'Real Ale', which was being closed after 230 years in business. Lersxt then turned it into a sad blues, similar to what he's played on earlier nights of the tour. "I'm so sad. Everybody's drinking too much lager now...I want my Boddington's!...Well its only beer!"
• Manchester (9/12): At the beginning of YYZ a cake with "HAPPY BIRTHDAY NEIL" flashed up on the screen, and it was brought onstage during the song. After the song, the crowd started singing "Happy Birthday" but were cut short by the beginning of "The Trees". For the rant Lerxst began with the usual strange noises before squealing like a pig. "Hey I sound like Babe". Then he seemed to go into a conversation with himself as Babe and the farmer (could be wrong here?) When he really got into it he seemed to be sort of telling himself off - gruff voice / wingey voice, eyes closed, grimacing all the time. Then his eyes popped open as if he'd just woken up and he started staring around at the crowd and said, "Hey, where did you come from?" He ended it by just tanding and waving his arms and said, "That's it."
• Birmingham (9/15) - Lerxst played a slow bluesy riff and sobbed into the microphone "12 years .....sorry, but we gotta go" (referring to the 12 years since the last UK tour!!) He repeated this a few times before starting to sob profusely. Geddy & Neil joined in wholeheartedly with the slow blues but soon began to show signs of losing it. Neil was smirking and Geddy was making a "T" (Time out!!) sign behind Lerxst' back, much to the crowds enjoyment. He wrapped up by saying something like "....next stop - Amsterdam!!!!!" (should have said Germany!)
• Oberhausen (9/17) - Geddy greeted the audience during the drum intro to Animate by saying "Hello Deutschland" (accent free). With all remaining German dates, he greeted each city by changing his greeting to "Hello Stuttgart/Frankfurt/Hamburg" instead of "Deutschland". For the rant Lerxst mumbled a few things as if he had a bad cold or something, sounded a bit like he was choking.
• Stuttgart (9/19) - One of the roadies put a dwarf on stage which Alex took during the middle part of By-Tor to play his guitar! Lerxst's rant was totally insane, he never said a word and was just laughing and screaming.
• Milan (9/21) - For Rush's first visit to Italy, Geddy first greeted the crowd with somthing like "Grazie! Thank you so much! Sorry I can speak Italian...just a little...'piccolo'..it took us quite a long time to come to Italy but now we are here to play a million songs tonight!" ('Piccolo' means 'small'; it was pointed out by one Italian fan that he should have said 'poco', which means 'little', but his minimal Italian still still received a strong ovation from the crowd!). In addition, following Limelight, Geddy said 'buona notte' (good night) . During his rant, Lerxst mumbled for some time, sounds like "bbbb... bbbbbboooppp....bbbbiii....booo.... bbboooo..." and didn't speak until the very end, when he counted off the return to La Villa Strangiato with "uno due tre quattro" (Italian for one, two, three, four).
• Frankfurt (9/24) - As expected after being alluded to by Geddy while on Phil Jupitus' Breakfast Show, this show was filmed by the band "not that we have a specific DVD release in mind for it, but just kind of as a historical record of 'this' tour." This may be why, during the rant, Alex didn't say anything, he only laughed for awhile! Like in Frankfurt, Lerxst again counted into the return to La Villa in German ("Eins, zwei, drei, vier").
• Prague (9/25): Geddy spoke some Czech, specifically "Dekuji", which translates as "I thank you". Likely as there were few native-English speaking audience members, the "rant" was entirely non-verbal. No words. Lerxst began with the weird guitar stuff and segued into some low kind of mumbling that you couldn't really hear much less understand, with Geddy and Neil smiling. Eventually Lerxst heightened the pitch of the rant little by little until he was squealing with his arms held up high. Then he moved into a kind of a gub-gub-gub sound made by vibrating the back of his hand under his chin before ending the rant and returning to La Villa by counting one two three, not only in Czech, but in slang Czech. He said ?Raz dva tri?, and the crowd let out a big cheer. The concert was held in the Sparta Praha national ice stadium, and during 2112 (while Geddy wore his parrot), the Rush Backstage Club's Patrick McGlocklin and pyrotechnician Kevin came on stage to fill the Maytags with coins wearing hockey jerseys: the first was wearing a Czech nationals jersey while the second wore a Team Canada jersey. As they put the coins into the dryers they started to jostle each other, then in true ice hockey style they pretended to throw gloves to the floor and started fighting with each other while the band looked on.
• Hamburg (9/27): Lerxst began with something like "mi, mi, mi, mi" (similar to Beaker from the Muppet Show) which progressed to some kind of Polka Stuff (Humba, Humba, Humba), until everybody had tears of laughter in their eyes, Neil even stopped playing and the crowd clapped along to his strange noises. Like in Frankfurt, Lerxst again counted into the return to La Villa in German ("Eins, zwei, drei, vier"). During the intro to the second half of the show Lerxst threw an empty plastic bottle at the road crew and as an response he got ten to twenty of them back from his crew and it soon turned into a bottle fight. During 2112 Lerxst had a big owl on his left shoulder which was at least three times the size of Geddys parrot. During Temples it fell of his shoulder but was still hanging on his back so Lerxst turned around a few times like a dog chasing his tail, trying to get a look at it. Later the owl fell on the ground and Lerxst kicked it to the crew. The drawf from Stuttgart returned, as the crew also positioned the dwarf and a sheep in front of his mic.
• Stockholm (9/29): Lerxst ranted about Mats Sundin. It was unclear if Sweden would never get Sundin back, or if he was sorry about Mats Sundin coming back from Toronto. This led into a blues tune that evolved into a heavy metal chant, "Come Back, Mats! Come Back, Mats! No Mats Sundin, he doesn't wanna hang out with you...no more Mats Sundin boo hoo hoo, no more NHL boo hoo hoo too bad too bad boo hoo hoo".

Snakes & Arrows Tour

"Rush scored the 6th highest tour gross of the summer with $21 million, 3rd among rock acts, according to USA TODAY. Over 38 shows, Rush had an attendance of 399,000 with 67% of seats filled. They quote Billboard's tour analyst, Ray Waddell, as saying, "Rush is a thrilling live band. Their fans know this, and their reputation keeps spreading to new generations." - Summer Tour Report , USA Today, October 10, 2007

"For the second leg of the tour, Rush came in at #8 among the year's rock and pop tours with $18.3 million in earnings, not too shabby for a second leg tour". - Midyear Music Biz Report Card - RollingStone.com, July 29, 2008

"The Snakes & Arrows tour made the top 25 grossing North American tours of 2007, coming in at 25 according to Billboard magazine. Rush netted $29,659,721 in ticket sales; attendance was 517,211 out of a 720,497 capacity over 48 shows." - Billboard.com , December 13, 2007

Snakes & Arrows Tour Dates

"The CD came out just prior to us going back out on the road - it gave us a little boost I think, in terms of making everybody aware that we were going back out for the second half of the tour. But these things take a while. To do the 5.1 mix is always time-consuming. So, we were able to get a stereo mix out quite easily." - Alex Lifeson, UGO.com, December 11, 2008

Snakes & Arrows Tour Setlists

Shows notes.

• The dryers from the previous tours were replaced by three rotisserie chicken roasters (periodic 'bassting' is required), which were as tall as Alex's stacks of H&K amplifiers and say "Henhouse" across the front of them. Like the previous two tours, before the encore the band threw t-shirts to fans in the crowd. The t-shirt used for the 2007 leg of the tour is black and does not say Rush anywhere; the front has an image of a waitress holding up a roast chicken while saying 'Feel like chicken?', while the back has the same phrase in six other languages: Dutch, German, Italian, Norwegian, Swedish and Finnish; listed in the same order as they tour the respective countries. The front of the t-shirt used for the 2008 leg of the tour simply reads "Henhouse" , while the back has a detailed display of a Henhouse roaster demonstrating how to get that "hot tasty sound", etc. (This image was later published on Rush.com).
• There were multiple "Barbie Doll" groupies known as "Big Al's Babes" standing on stage in front of Alex Lifeson, holding "Post-It" signs with various sayings on them, apparently created by the roadies. Sayings included: "I Like The Drummer", "My Grampa Says Your Cool", "Can I Roll Your Bones?", "I'm A Dino-Whore AKA Suckasaurass", "I Was Conceived While My Dad Was At A Rush Concert", "I'm Not Wearing Any Panties", "My Mom Thinks Your Hot!", "I'm Only Doing This To Pay For College", "Freebird!", "I Thought ZZ Top Had Beards", "Bass Player's Cute! Is That His Real Nose?", "I Golf Naked", "Nice Dinosaurs - You Must Be A Caveman" and "If It's Too Loud You're Too Old".
• The opening video began with a dream sequence of Snakes and Arrows images, then Alex sits up in bed, saying, "Snakes? Who would dream about snakes, that's so creepy. Honey? Honey - wake up. I had this weirdest dream, it was a snake..." then the person lying next to him sits up and its Neil. They look at each other and yell in surprise...then after another sequence, Geddy wakes up in a chair and says "What did they do to my food?" and then in walks a man in a Scottish costume who speaks with a Scottish accent who tells Geddy he doesn't care how he is feeling, to "...wipe that chicken off your face and get out there!" after which they all ran out. The guy in the Scottish costume is actually Geddy, dressed in make up and wig. At the end of the show, another video of Scottish Geddy, aka "Harry Satchel" plays, where he tells people to go home because he wants to get back to eating his chicken, and "Limelight" is played on the bagpipes.
• For the first leg of the tour, the video intro for the second set was "The Plane of Dharma", featuring Alex in rare, comical form, playing several characters on the Snakes and Arrows Leela board. The board shifted around the screen and highlighted certain lines to which Alex popped up and executed various Alex rants.
• For the second leg of the tour, a new video intro was used called "What's That Smell", which included Geddy and Alex, Barbie Dolls, fried chicken, the return of both Harry Satchel (aka Geddy Lee in Scotsman garb) and Jerry Stiller, as well as a short appearance by Alex's "swami head in a box", and guest appearances by "Neil's head in a box" and others, along with lots of inside jokes for Rush fans; unfortunately, this video replaced Alex Lifeson's "Plane of Dharma" video. At the end of the outro video, where during the first leg of the tour "Limelight" was played with bagpipes, during this leg it is played with Indian sitar music. All other videos from the first leg remained, although some were modified (for example, one of the televisions from the Power Windows cover is seen blowing with the tumbleweeds during "When The Wind Blows").
• There was a video of Bob & Doug McKenzie to introduce "The Larger Bowl"
• "The Larger Bowl" has video snippets showing alternating images between the rich and the poor, etc.
• Click here for a 1:05 edit of the rearscreen animation created by Crankbunny for "The Way The Wind Blows".
• Alex played a mandola mounted on an Omega stand during "Workin' Them Angels"; the song had a video accompaniment similar to the album art of various types of workers and soldiers with angel wings.
• There was a South Park video intro to "Tom Sawyer"; during the video, the South Park characters begin playing "Tom Sawyer" but Cartman sings the wrong lyrics, "...floated down the river on a raft with a black guy", which leads to an argument with Cartman saying he's read the book and that's how the story goes, but the others quickly correct him saying "that's Huckleberry Finn, stupid!". Cartman then says "I am Geddy Lee! And I will sing whatever lyrics I want!". They then start again to count off the beginning for Rush.
• During "A Passage To Bangkok", a video played showing footage of far east trains, poppy fields, marijuana plants and many other scenes related to the lyrics.
• Geddy Lee played his 4001 Rickenbacker bass on stage for the first time in 25 years (last seen on the Signals tour).
• Geddy Lee used a minature Snakes & Arrows drum as a cup holder.
• "Digital Man", last played on the Grace Under Pressure warm-up tour, had a new arrangement and is missing the first "He's got a force field" lyric.
• The drum solo was completely revamped: the "Scars" and "Pieces of Eight" sections were dropped; there were a slew of new marimba samples which gave the middle section including the "Momo's Dance Party" bit an Oriental percussion feel; instead of "One O'clock Jump", the solo included a complete big band triggered sample of "Cotton Tail" which Neil performed with the Buddy Rich Band on Burning for Buddy Vol. I .
• "The Trees" was added for the second leg of the tour, included Geddy triggering a sample of Cartman from South Park saying "Real guitars are for old people" .
• Added for the second leg of the tour, located on a pedestal near Geddy was a minature model of Neil Peart at his Snakes & Arrows drum kit .
• During the tour and for years afterwards, Neil's House Music List was available at Rush.com

Time Machine Tour

"Rush takes the No. 1 ranking on Hot Tours chart with totals reported from the Time Machine Tour that played North American venues from late June through early October..." - Billboard.com , October 21, 2010

Time Machine Tour Dates

Time machine tour setlist.

• The stage set, as noted in the tourbook, was inspired by the "steampunk" genre of science fiction with heavy use of copper accents as well as video and amplifier tubes. Alex's Hughs & Kettner amps were housed in steampunk cabinets, Neil's drumkit hardware as well as all cymbal and keyboard stands were copper plated, and in place of Geddy's amp there was a "time machine". Frequently during the show, steam released from the pipes. When not playing production videos, the primary video screen showed a split screen where onto of a steampunk background one large video screen (tv tube) featured on the right half, and two smaller ones on the left, with each band member featured on at least one screen at all times whether it's a full frontal shot, a closeup on the playing, etc. The "steampunk" background, when was featured on the screen, had gears spinning at all times, etc. During the big band section of the drum solo, a computer generated video of a steampunk robot played , and was synchronized with Neil's playing. In addition, for certain songs, a five second video of the "odometer" from the tourbook cover played before the song, where it would spin to the year that song was released, i.e. for Leave That Thing Alone it stopped at 1994, for Marathon it stopped at 1985; for The Spirit Of Radio, it stopped at 1979, and not 1980, however.
• The opening video was titled "Rash, The 'Real' History of Rush" , and featured the 'Gershons Haus of Sausage' diner with Geddy working the counter, Alex in a fatsuit eating sausage, and Neil as a second patron [Gershon is of course Geddy's real name]. A polka band, "Rash", played The Spirit of Radio on accordion, tuba and drums! After Alex brought out and used a time machine dubbed the "Gefilter", the music changed to a disco rendition of The Spirit of Radio, and after another adjustment changed to country music. After one final adjustment, the original studio version was heard as the video ends and the concert begins. Geddy usually wore a tshirt featuring either the debut logo but spelled "RASH", or a tshirt featuring the logo "Gefilter". Early in the tour (after opening night), preceding the encore, Geddy and Alex tossed tshirts to the fans. One shirt read "Gershon's" on the front and "Nobody Beats My Sausage" on the back . A second shirt read "Slobovich Says..." on the front and "The Last Time Someone Grabbed My Sausage..." on the back .
• The alternate versions of "The Spirit Of Radio" and "Closer To The Heart" (exit music) were arranged by the Dexter's Lou Pomati.
• The intro video for the second set was part 2 of "The 'Real' History of Rush" from a second/alternate timeline. This time, Alex, still in the fat suit but sporting a mullet and going by the name of Rush's real manager Ray Danniels, is the manager of the "polka band", who are now wearing the kimonos from 2112 . The band is filming a video, with Geddy made up as Andy Warhol portraying the director and Neil as the cameraman. More time machine hijinks ensued, leading into Moving Pictures ...
• Don't miss this website and photo gallery from Louise Mackintosh, makeup artist responsible for the makeup effects on the Time Machine tour.
• In the tradition of the dryer tenders and chicken basters of recent tours, twice during the show people appeared on stage pushing a shopping cart containing "rubber chickens" to "feed" the sausage machine (the chickens were dropped into the large funnel closest to Neil's kit).
• The Moving Pictures videos: each song had an all new ~20 second Monty Python-esque video featuring the Parliament Building and/or the movers in the red suits in one way or another. For "Red Barchetta", a Ferrari 166MM Barchetta race car with number 2112 on the door pulls up to the Parliament Building, the movers get in and drive away. For "YYZ", a biplane lands in front of the Parliament Building, and then airplanes are shown circling Toronto's CN Tower which is being climbed not by King Kong but rather a giant mover. For Limelight, a light switch is shown, which when switched on turns on a few light bulbs, and then the movers are seen walking a tightrope. "The Camera Eye" features camera bulbs at the beginning, and then each segment shows fast paced videos of New York or London. "Witch Hunt" features the movers chasing a litte girl witch through a forest with sausages on pitchforks for roasting on the fire. "Vital Signs" featured the movers, a robot and an EKG.
• During "Red Barchetta", we heard Daffy Duck saying "No more for me thanks, I'm driving" , previously heard during the 2009 leg of the Snakes And Arrows Tour.
• Near the end of "The Camera Eye", we first heard Austin Powers' "Yeah Baby!" , followed by a sample from Family Guy ( Stewie: "Nobody likes you here man." New Brian: "Well, I disagree. I think everybody likes me." Stewie: "No we don't." ), followed by a sample from Monty Python's The Holy Grail ( "Bring Out Your Dead" ).
• The video at the end of the show was titled "I Still Love You Man" , and featured Paul Rudd and Jason Segel reprising their roles from I Love You Man . They have snuck into the band's dressing room, and are still there when the band walk in after the show.
• "Faithless" had a video showing butterflies and seashells in a dream landscape, and a business man holding a briefcase and umbrella. He sprouts butterfly wings and floats around. Video ends with a moral(?) compass swinging on a string.
• This was the first tour since its inception that Neil Peart did not utilitze the rear/electronic drums for any of the songs performed, with the exception of his drum solo.
• For the encore, the band started playing an all new polka piece, with Geddy and Alex playing the accordian and tuba sounds on the keyboards and pedals. This morphed into the beginning of La Villa Strangiato.

Clockwork Angels Tour

Clockwork angels tour dates, clockwork angels tour setlists.

• There were three videos played during the show: the show opened with "Gearing Up"; the second set opened with "The Appoinment"; and the show ended with "Office Of The Watchmaker".
• During the film "The Appoinment", the doorbell first plays "Closer To The Heart" and then "Tom Sawyer".
• At the end of the "Office Of The Watchmaker", we hear "Tom Sawyer" (Calliope version).
• Geddy's backline included a popcorn machine and a large floating brain in a giant jar.
• There was a small stage behind the drumkit with a small staircase leading up to it from both sides for the string section, which came out and performed for the entire second set, leaving before the encore.
• Alex had a keyboard (same as on the Time Machine tour), which he used to play the piano on "The Garden".
• Beginning the fifth show in Chicago, the starman appeared in the opening video for "2112", then Stewie from Family Guy kicked the starman off the screen and took his place.

R40 Live Tour

R40 tour dates, r40 live tour setlists.

• During the opening video, a roadsign appeared listing the current city and its population (which is reportedly accurate), and a city slogan. To the right of the roadsign was pictured an actual physical landmark, person or mascot, etc., unique to that city.
• "Roll The Bones"' rapping skeleton was replaced by celebrity rappers including the Trailer Park Boys, Paul Rudd & Jason Segel, Jay Baruchel, Les Claypool, Tom Morello, Chad Smith and Peter Dinklage , brother of violinist Jonathan Dinklage, who was a member of the Clockwork Angels String Ensemble.
• "The Camera Eye" was dedicated "in loving memory" to Rush's long time photograher Andrew MacNaughtan who shockingly passed away in 2012 due to a heart attack in 2012 at the young age of 47. It returned after last being played on the Time Machine tour, and in fact, Alex Lifeson said that on the Time Machine tour "it ended up being our favorite song to play on a nightly basis...We'll continue to play it on [the Clockwork Angels ] tour." - Guitar Player , November 2012; one can assume it was dropped from the preplanned Clockwork Angels setlists due to time constraints.
• "Mel's Rockpile" starring Eugene Levy had been a recurring skit on SCTV .
• "Jacob's Ladder" was a song that Alex Lifeson had said they would play on the Time Machine Tour, but which was shot down by Neil Peart with the statement "you can't go back".
• "Xanadu" was performed by Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee with both of them using their doubleneck guitars for the first time in decades.
• "Natural Science" included sounds of R2D2 beeping at the lyric "computerized clinics" instead of the computerized sounds heard in the studio version.
• "The Camera Eye" included a sample of the conversation "Surely you can't be serious?" "I am serious, and don't call me Shirley" from the movie Airplane! .
• "The Big Money" was listed in the tour book's rear screen film credits but was not included in any of the final setlists, indicating it may have been planned to be included but dropped due to time constraints.
• Fly By Night
• Caress of Steel
• All The World's a Stage
• A Farewell to Kings
• Hemispheres
• Permanent Waves warm-up
• Permanent Waves
• Moving Pictures warm-up
• Moving Pictures
• Exit Stage Left
• Signals warm-up
• Grace Under Pressure warm-up
• Grace Under Pressure
• Power Windoows warm-up
• Power Windows
• Hold Your Fire
• Roll The Bones
• Counterparts
• Test for Echo
• Vapor Trails
• Snakes & Arrows
• Time Machine
• Clockwork Angels

Short Shows

"We always play basically the same show; sometimes what we'll do is shorten the show a little bit if we're playing an area that isn't as familiar with our material as another area. So sometimes we'll make that a slightly more condensed version of the show. And some countries, if we're not bringing the entire show with us, we might condense the show for that reason as well." - Geddy Lee, "Rockline", December 4, 1989

• Beatles' 'Let It Be' Film
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• Top 200 '70s Songs
• Billy Joel TV Special to Re-Air

Rush’s Last Show 5 Years Later: The Performance and the Aftermath

Throughout four decades of touring with Rush , Neil Peart had never crossed the "back-line meridian" to greet the crowd onstage. "I stay behind my drums and cymbals for 40 years and never go out front, never," he recalled in the 2016 band documentary Time Stand Still . "It’s not my territory."

But the drummer and lyricist changed his policy just once: to close out the prog-rock power trio's final concert on Aug. 1, 2015. "Eventually, I talked myself into it," he said. "It was totally the right thing to do."

That gig, staged at Los Angeles venue the Forum during the 35-date R40 tour, effectively ended the Rush story. The career-spanning set worked backward, opening with songs from 2012's Clockwork Angels and wrapping with a medley of tunes that pre-dated Peart's era with the band: "What You're Doing" and "Working Man" from 1974's Rush , along with the unreleased wah-wah rocker "Garden Road." (You can see the set list for the show below.)

After the final chords rang out, singer and bassist Geddy Lee shouted to the crowd , "Thank you so much, Los Angeles! On behalf of the greatest crew and organization in the world ... " At that point, a beaming Peart emerged from his kit, wedging between Lee and guitarist Alex Lifeson , to his bandmates' surprise. "On behalf of our whole organization, thank you, United States of America, for 40 awesome years," Lee continued. "And I do hope we'll meet again some time. Bye-bye."

After their emotional exit, the crew cued up one of the band's reliably quirky tour videos, which showed Rush trying to barge into their own dressing room, which is populated by characters from their album artwork. Denied access, Lifeson asks, "Now what?"

Good question. And for several years, Rush didn't appear certain of the answer. They hadn't promoted R40 as their final tour — partly because their future remained unclear, partly because they objected to the cash-grab branding. ("It just didn't sit right for me to do a farewell tour and try to capitalize on that word. It just didn't work for me," Lee told SiriusXM's Trunk Nation in 2018. "It wasn't the easiest thing to pull off, but I feel good about our body of work, and I feel good about the way it ended.")

Peart quietly announced his retirement from drumming only a few months after their final show. "He was struggling throughout that tour to play at his peak, because of physical ailments and other things that were going on with him," Lee added. "He’s a perfectionist, and he didn’t want to go out and do anything less than what people expected of him. That's what drove him his whole career, and that's the way he wanted to go out, and I totally respect that."

The trio had always formally agreed that Rush couldn't exist without all three members. "There have been other decisions in our career where the three of us weren’t on board and we didn’t do it," Lee recalled in Time Stand Still . "Nothing as profound as ending our touring life, but fair enough. So one guy doesn’t want to do that thing anymore that I love to do. That hurts. But there’s nothing I can do about it, and that’s part of the agreement."

But Rush die-hards, the kind of fans who enjoy 20-minute songs, are nothing if not patient. Maybe, after some rest, Peart would change his mind and pick up the sticks? Sadly, his retirement became permanent: The beloved drummer died on Jan. 7, 2020, from brain cancer after a three-and-a-half-year battle with the illness.

Somehow, in an era where celebrity secrets rarely remain private, Peart managed to keep the diagnosis among his closest friends and family. The worldwide mourning after his death was only amplified by the stabbing surprise of the reveal. But as the wordsmith once wrote in Rush's 1981 anthem "Limelight," "One must put up barriers / To keep oneself intact."

Rush continue to exist as a catalog act: In May, they reissued their 1980 LP, Permanent Waves , in a deluxe format — the latest in an ongoing series of 40th-anniversary projects. And it's not like the surviving members have retired: In 2018, Lee released his Big Beautiful Book of Bass ; and Lifeson contributed forewords to both that tome and Greg Prato's 2017 book, Shredders!: The Oral History of Speed Guitar (And More) . But it's unclear when they might record new music — or in what format. (Lee issued his lone solo LP, My Favourite Headache , in 2000; Lifeson released his only offering, Victor , in 1996.)

In June, Lifeson admitted that he's played little guitar — and doesn't "feel inspired and motivated" — since Peart's death. "Every time I pick up a guitar, I just aimlessly kind of mess around with it and put it down after 10 minutes," he told WFAN . "Normally, I would pick up a guitar and I would play for a couple of hours without even being aware that I'm spending that much time. So, I know it'll come back.” But four years earlier, he told Guitar Connoisseur that he has "hours of material" ready for a record.

Lee has repeatedly expressed interest in another solo album, utilizing the numerous bass guitars he's accumulated in his home studio. "I have bits and bobs, but I don’t have any finished material in the can, so to speak," he told Rolling Stone in 2018. "If I pick up a bass, I just start playing something, and sooner or later I start writing a riff or this or that. So for my own peace of mind, I stash it somewhere. Chances are I’ll come back to it, and it’s crap, so I just trash it. But at least it makes me feel good for the moment."

Looking back at Rush's final gig is painful but powerful: the full-circle feeling of the set list, the ridiculously high skill level of the players, the look of satisfaction on Peart's face. He only crossed the back-line once, but he made it count.

Rush, The Forum, Inglewood, California, August 1, 2015 Set 1 The Anarchist Headlong Flight Far Cry The Main Monkey Business One Little Victory Animate Roll the Bones Distant Early Warning Losing It Subdivisions

Set 2 Tom Sawyer Red Barchetta The Spirit of Radio Jacob's Ladder Cygnus X-1 Book II: Hemispheres Part I: Prelude Cygnus X-1 Closer to the Heart Xanadu 2112 Part I: Overture 2112 Part II: The Temples of Syrinx 2112 Part IV: Presentation 2112 Part VII: Grand Finale

Encore Lakeside Park Anthem What You're Doing Working Man

Rush Albums Ranked

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- The Complete Rush Tour Dates Listing -

The Rush Tour Date Listing @ Cygnus-X1.Net has been gleaned from numerous sources over the years, including various online resources, websites, and lists, concert articles and reviews that appear in the Library section of this site, the myriad of books on Rush and their supporting acts, and countless emails and comments received from visitors to this site - a big thank you to all who have contributed! Recent tour date gaps and corrections related largely to the the early seventies, along with attendance figures were obtained from the incomparable new official book Rush: Wandering the Face of the Earth: The Official Touring History . If you have something to add to this list, please feel free to post about it in the Comments section below or, if you prefer, you can send me an email with the information.

- The Early Years - Rush - Fly By Night - Caress of Steel - 2112 - All The World's a Stage - A Farewell to Kings - Hemispheres - Permanent Waves - Moving Pictures - Exit...Stage Left - Signals - Grace Under Pressure - Power Windows - Hold Your Fire - Presto - Roll The Bones - Counterparts - Test For Echo - Vapor Trails - Feedback/R30 - Snakes & Arrows - Snakes & Arrows Live - Time Machine Tour 2010-11 - Clockwork Angels - R40 Live 40th Anniversary - After Rush

The Early Years

Tour supporting "rush", tour supporting "fly by night", tour supporting "caress of steel", tour supporting "2112", tour supporting "all the world's a stage", tour supporting "a farewell to kings", tour supporting "hemispheres", tour supporting "permanent waves", tour supporting "moving pictures", tour supporting "exit...stage left", tour supporting "signals", tour supporting "grace under pressure", tour supporting "power windows", tour supporting "hold your fire", tour supporting "presto", tour supporting "roll the bones", tour supporting "counterparts", tour supporting "test for echo", tour supporting "vapor trails", tour supporting "feedback" r30 (30th anniversary tour), tour supporting "snakes & arrows", tour supporting "snakes & arrows live", "rush time machine tour - 2010-11", tour supporting "clockwork angels", "r40 live 40th anniversary tour", geddy lee's big beautiful book of bass book signing tour, geddy lee's my effin' life in conversation tour.

“I believed we would not get back together. I thought Rush was a place Neil was not going to be able to go back to emotionally”: how Rush survived the 1990s and early 2000s

Rush refound their rock spirit in the 1990s – only to be blindsided by personal tragedy

June 28, 2002, was one of the most emotional nights in Rush ’s long and illustrious history. The band were kicking off the tour in support of their 17th studio album, Vapor Trails , at the Meadows Music Centre in Hartford, Connecticut. Vapor Trails was the Canadians’ first since 1996’s Test For Echo ; this show was their first live appearance in over five years.

The build-up of emotion was intrinsically tied to the reasons for their lengthy absence. On August 10, 1997, drummer Neil Peart ’s teenage daughter, Selena Taylor, had been killed in a car crash. Less than a year later, on June 20, 1998, his wife Jackie succumbed to cancer. Devastated by this double tragedy, Peart effectively quit music. “Consider me retired,” he told Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson . He underlined his point by embarking on an 14-month, 60,000-mile North American solo road trip on his BMW R1100GS motorbike.

“As the years went by, both Geddy and I thought it was unlikely that we would be working together as Rush,” admitted Alex Lifeson in 2002. “I felt that we had a terrific run, this wonderful experience that’s very unique even in the rock world, and if that’s the way it’s going to end, then I have to accept it and move on.”

Yet here Rush were once again. Peart’s re-emergence from solitude and grief had sparked the band’s own resurrection. And it wasn’t just onstage that emotions ran high. Some members of the audience were in tears before the show had even started, while an ovation greeted the mere unveiling of Peart’s mammoth drumkit.

The 29-song setlist that night mixed up classics such as Tom Sawyer , The Spirit Of Radio , Distant Early Warning and By-Tor And The Snow Dog with more recent tracks, including several from Vapor Trails . To add to the poignancy of the occasion, their 1993 song Between Sun & Moon was dedicated to The Who bassist John Entwistle, one of Geddy Lee’s idols, who had died the previous day.

As grand finale Working Man crashed to a close, several thousand people found themselves caught up in the significance of the moment. “I remember looking out at the audience and there were people crying,” Alex Lifeson told Vinay Menon, author of Rush: An Oral History . “It was so emotional. I guess it was their chance to purge some of their emotions.”

However the audience felt, it was nothing compared to what was going through the minds of the three men up onstage. For Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart, this was more than just a comeback gig – it was an act of healing. The rebirth of Rush was truly underway.

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Rush hit the 1990s with renewed intent. The ‘keyboard phase’ that had alienated many of their older fans during the past decade was receding in the rear view mirror. If 1991’s Roll The Bones was hardly a return to the grandiose prog epics of old, it at least presented Rush as something approaching the power trio they were at heart.

Still, Roll The Bones hadn’t been an unalloyed triumph in the eyes of the band that made it. “[The songs] sounded much tougher live than in the studio,” Alex Lifeson told M.E.A.T magazine in 1993.

Rush’s gradual drift back to basics mirrored that of the broader music scene. The grunge movement that exploded at the start of the decade had flipped the superficial gloss of the 80s for grit and intensity. Lee, Lifeson and Peart weren’t unaware of the changes happening.

“We were loving that whole energy from Seattle and the Northwest,” Lee told Vinay Menon. “That pushed us in a different direction. That made us want to be a rock band again.”

After two albums with producer Rupert Hine, the band brought back Peter Collins to work on what would become Counterparts – ironic, given that the Englishman had been involved on 1985‘s synthesiser-heavy Power Windows and the equally slick Hold Your Fire two years later. But Rush were determined to dial the electronics right back this time irrespective of who was sitting at the studio console.

“When Alex and I started writing this record, we kind of looked at these mountains of synthesizers that were being brought into the writing room, and we kinda had this reaction; it was almost like an allergic reaction: ‘I think it’s time maybe we stepped back from this stuff,’” said Geddy Lee in 1993. “So, we went back to a more simpler, basic way of writing, which meant just guitar, bass, vocals, and drums.”

Counterparts was released on October 19, 1993. While it wasn’t a ‘grunge’ record, it was certainly a creditable modern rock record, one that acknowledged the new musical landscape without embarrassing itself trying by to pretend it was something it wasn’t. Even longtime art director Hugh Syme ’s cover image - a seemingly simple diagram of a nut and bolt set in a wide blue frame – was pared down in comparison to some of the heavy duty symbolism of previous works.

The approach worked. Counterparts hit No. 2 in the US, the band’s highest-ever chart position (only Pearl Jam’s record-breaking second album, Vs , released the same week, sold more). They even notched up their very first No.1 song with Stick It Out , which reached the top spot on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart.

The band carried the stripped down approach of Counterparts into their 16th album, Test For Echo , released three years later. Geddy Lee had used the interim period to spend time with his newborn daughter, Alex Lifeson released a solo album, Victor , which doubled down on the more direct, rock-orientated approach of Counterparts , and Neil Peart published a book, The Masked Rider , about a bicycle trip he took around Africa in 1988, and spent a few years re-learning how to play the drums in  completely different manner, taking lessons from jazz great Freddie Gruber.

For all that, Test For Echo was a relative letdown. Lyrically, it was as watertight and conceptually thought-provoking as any past Rush album. “It’s about the numbing process that happens when we are exposed to great tragedies and then we’re exposed to moments of hilarity,” said Geddy Lee of the record’s over-arching theme. “I feel that that’s the condition of contemporary man now – when we read the paper or when we watch TV, we’re not sure if we’re supposed to laugh.”

But musically, it was the sound of a band on simmer rather than bubbling away at full heat. “ Test for Echo was a strange record in a sense,” Lee later told Vinay Menon. “It doesn’t really have a defined direction. I kind of felt like we were a bit burnt creatively. It was a creative low time for us.”

Still, Test For Echo was another commercial success. The accompanying tour lasted nine months, and even found the band playing the song 2112 in its entirety mid-set for the first and last time in their career. They may have dropped the pace a notch or two since the heady days of the 70s and 80s, but their path remained as steady and straight as it ever was. And then tragedy struck, and suddenly the lights went out on Rush’s future.

On the morning of August 10, 1997, just a few weeks after the Test For Echo tour ended, Neil Peart saw a police car pulling into the driveway of his house in rural Quebec. The officers were there to deliver some terrible news to the drummer and his wife, Jackie Taylor. Their 19-year-old daughter, Selena, had been killed in a single-car traffic accident while driving back to college in Toronto.

Their daughter’s death hit Peart and Jackie hard. Their friends rallied around them. “I just felt so hollow,” Alex Lifeson later recalled. “Neil’s daughter was 19 when she was killed and it just broke everybody’s heart to such an extent that nothing seemed beautiful anymore.”

The loss inevitably impacted on those in Rush’s inner circle: Alex Lifeson later said he didn’t pick up a guitar for a year. But there was more tragedy to come. In January 1998, during an extended stay in London, Jackie was diagnosed with terminal cancer. She died on June 20 that year. “I had no reason to carry on,” wrote Peart in his cathartic 2002 memoir Ghost Rider: Travels On The Healing Road . “I had no interest in life, work or the world beyond.”

He told Lee and Lifeson that he was done with Rush, and with music. Lost and grieving, he had no idea what he would do. Then he remembered something his wife had told him while she was ill: “Oh, you’ll just go travelling on your motorcycle.” So that’s what Neil Peart did.

For 14 months, he rode the length and breadth of North and Central America on his BMW motorbike, from chilly Alaska to blazing Mexico, “lost in my own sorrows.” He travelled alone, stopping off at diners and gas stations, observing the people he encountered yet largely unrecognised by them. Music – his own and other people’s – was the last thing on his mind.  

He met up with his bandmates occasionally, though mostly he stayed in touch via postcard. Lee and Lifeson knew him well enough to give him space. Neither had any expectations that Rush would reconvene. “The longer it went, the more I believed that we would not get back together,” Lee told the Mercury News in 2002. “I just thought it was a place that he was not going to be able to go back to emotionally. Neil obviously was not quite the man he used to be.’’

It was Rush’s longtime photographer, Andrew MacNaughton, who played a key role in nudging Peart back onto the road to happiness and, ultimately, reuniting Rush

“Andrew was determined to find a ‘match’ for this crusty old widower,” wrote Peart on his blog in 2012, shortly after MacNaughton’s death at the age of 47. The photographer sent the drummer Polaroids of a photo assistant he had been working with named Carrie Nuttall. “I was reluctant, gruffly telling him, ‘Not interested.’” recalled Peart.

But something about the “pretty, dark-haired girl” hooked Peart’s attention. When he next visited Los Angeles on his motorbike, MacNaughton arranged a double date so the pair could meet. They hit it off. By the end of 1999, Peart and Nuttall had embarked on a relationship. Within a year, they were married.

Lee and Lifeson were elated that their friend had found happiness once more. “He fell in love and saw that there was beauty in the world,” Lifeson told The Costa Times. “He started to rebuild his life based on that.”

It was Nuttall, too, who steered Peart back towards music. “She didn’t know anything about the band,” Lifeson told Rush: An Oral History author Vinay Menon. “But one day she said to Neil, ‘It’s my understanding that you are a really good drummer and you had this long career and you’re about to throw that away at a time when you need that more than anything.”

Something shifted in Peart. He contacted  his bandmates. As Alex Lifeson put it: “He came to us and said, ‘I’d like to try it. I don’t know if I can do it, but I’d like to try.’”

Work began in January 2001 on the album that even Rush themselves weren’t sure would ever happen. Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson hadn’t been idle during the latter part of their band’s enforced absence. The pair contributed a rock version of Canadian national anthem O Canada to the 1999 movie South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut , while Lee released a solo album, 2000‘s My Favourite Headache , and Lifeson composed music for TV ads and collaborated with hard rockers 3 Doors Down on three tracks from their second album, Away From The Sun .

But this reunion was something else entirely. Not only was it freighted with heavy emotion, but the three men at the centre of it had to recalibrate their relationship as musician after so many years of not playing together.

“It was a very delicate beginning for all of us,” Lifeson told The Costa Times in 2002. “We kind of needed to find our place, our positions. The first couple of weeks we spent really just talking, hanging out and getting to know each other again. But once we did, it settled in, in a way that was far beyond anything that we’d done in the past.”

Still, Rush resisted the urge to plunge headlong into the creative process, preferring tentative steps. The seeds of the songs emerged from Lee and Lifeson jams, which they passed on to Peart to work out his drum parts. It was time consuming and laborious, but then it had to be.

“The first two months I don’t think we wrote anything that we were really crazy about,” said Lifeson. “We took a break for a week, then came back in and had sudden clarity. We knew what was working and what wasn’t. From that moment on, things started to come together. The record really took on a life of its own at that point.”

The writing and recording process took 14 months – significantly longer than any previous Rush album. This was a decision made out of both choice and necessity. “It required patience,” said Lee. “I felt that I didn’t want to come back after all that and put out something that wasn’t as strong as it could possibly be. I thought it was time for us to be as intimate as we could be with our music, just go with our guts.’’

Despite the lengthy gap, Vapor Trails continued the musical trajectory that began with Counterparts and Test For Echo . Where those albums pared back the keyboards that had defined Rush‘s sound during the 80s, this time they dispensed with them completely.

“Leaving the keyboards off this record was very important to me, and Geddy was open to that because he knew that I’d often worried about their presence in the band,” said Alex Lifeson, who had felt notably sidelined at points during the late 1980s.

Vapor Trails was released on May 14, 2002. Taken as a whole, it was a good Rush album but not a truly great one, partly let down by an uncharacteristically flat mix from the band and co-producer Paul Northfield. Still, One Little Victory , Earthshine and the moving Ghost Rider sat comfortably in the top tier of late-period Rush songs, the latter finding Peart detailing his literal and emotional journey in the wake of the tragedies of the previous decade.  

Yet, it was easily the most significant album Rush had made since 2112 – if only because that brought these friends back together as a unit, healing their pain through music. Tellingly, at 13 tracks and 67 minutes, Vapor Trails was their longest album to date. It was as if a dam had burst and all the emotion and music that had built up over the past few years had been released.

That the album opened with a brief but instantly recognisable Neil Peart drum barrage wasn’t accidental. This was notice, as if anyone needed it, that The Professor was back where he belonged. And with him, so were Rush.

The Vapor Trails tour which began with that night of high emotion in Hartford, Connecticut lasted five months - moderate by previous epic standards, but wholly understandable given the circumstances leading up to it. It concluded with three huge shows in South America – the first time Rush had visited the continent. Equally notably, it featured a trio of industrial-sized Maytag washing machines onstage behind the band, which a roadie periodically fed with Canadian dollars.

The washing machines were more than just an amusing and surreal stage prop. They showed that the events of recent years hadn’t dented Rush’s sense of humour or joy in the music they made.

That joy was never more evident than in their next project, 2004’s Feedback covers EP. This was Rush saluting the legends who had inspired them when they were starting out all those years ago: The Who , Cream, The Yardbirds, Buffalo Springfield, Love.

“It was short and sweet and it came up quickly,” Geddy Lee told Classic Rock . “We’ve always talked about throwing cover songs into our shows for fun, but we’ve never really followed through on it. Then a friend of mine suggested that if we weren’t going to do a [proper, all-new studio] album then maybe this was a good way we could pay tribute to our past.”

After the trials of the late 90s and the careful labours involved in making Vapor Trails , Feedback felt like a sigh of relief. The darkest period in Rush’s career was over. Now it was time to turn the page and begin the final chapter.  

Dave Everley has been writing about and occasionally humming along to music since the early 90s. During that time, he has been Deputy Editor on Kerrang! and Classic Rock , Associate Editor on Q magazine and staff writer/tea boy on Raw , not necessarily in that order. He has written for Metal Hammer, Louder, Prog, the Observer, Select, Mojo , the Evening Standard and the totally legendary Ultrakill . He is still waiting for Billy Gibbons to send him a bottle of hot sauce he was promised several years ago.

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THE 10 BEST Moscow Sightseeing Tours

Sightseeing tours in moscow.

• Private Tours
• Walking Tours
• Sightseeing Tours
• 5.0 of 5 bubbles
• 4.0 of 5 bubbles & up
• 3.0 of 5 bubbles & up
• 2.0 of 5 bubbles & up
• 3rd Transport Ring (TTK)
• District Central (TsAO)
• Garden Ring
• Good for Big Groups
• Budget-friendly
• Good for Kids
• Good for Couples
• Good for a Rainy Day
• Good for Adrenaline Seekers
• Hidden Gems
• Honeymoon spot
• Adventurous
• Things to do ranked using Tripadvisor data including reviews, ratings, photos, and popularity.

1. Moscow Private Tours

2. Mosstreets

3. Moscow Free Tour

4. Spanish Guide Moscow - Day Tours

5. Go Russia Travel Company

6. Privilege Tour

7. Moscow Navigator

8. Put-in Tours

9. Walks With Folks

10. Moscow Bike Tours

11. Happy Moscow Tours

12. IdeaGuide - Your Personal Guide in Moscow

13. Excursions in Russia

14. Tsar Visit

15. MoscowMe

16. Tour Gratis Moscu

17. Gorodskoi Voyazh

18. MoskvaHod

19. Russia With Love

20. Angel Taxi - Day Tour

21. Moscow With Locals

22. Big Skolkovo Tour

23. Visota Tour

24. The Guide in Moscow

25. Guiamoscow Tour/Guia en Moscu en espanol

26. We Heart Moscow

27. Rutransfers Guides and Tours

28. City Sightseeing Moscow

29. Mos-Tour

30. Lovely Russia Tours

What travelers are saying

• Put-in Tours
• Spanish Guide Moscow - Day Tours
• Walks With Folks
• Happy Moscow Tours
• IdeaGuide - Your Personal Guide in Moscow
• Moscow Private Tours
• Tour Gratis Moscu
• Moscow Bike Tours
• Moscow Navigator
• Angel Taxi - Day Tour
• Excursions in Russia
• Rutransfers Guides and Tours

Voices of the Gold Rush Past: Shasta State Historic Park Cemetary Tour – 05/16/2024 01:15 PM

Experience a unique opportunity to explore the Union Cemetery and the histories of the pioneers that are buried there. A closer look at these past Shasta residents provides a fuller look into what it was like to live in the bustling Gold Rush City of Shasta during the 1800s.

Visit our website https://ports.parks.ca.gov to learn more about California State Parks’ PORTScast Programs. Follow us on social media @PORTSprogram to become an official #PORTSfan!

Pre-registration is required. Register at the following Link:  https://ports-ca.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_syuclI30QMmJeYclh1rsNQ

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

For Teachers: You are welcome to share this webinar-styled program in your classroom. If your students are watching on individual devices, please send this registration link to your students. If each student is registered, it ensures that they will be able to access this program. If students are not able to register, then you can simply share the link you receive after registering.

For more information, please visit our FAQ Page: https://ports.parks.ca.gov/about/faqs

Please note: We do our best to avoid cancelling any webinars but all PORTScast Programs are subject to change due to connectivity or staffing issues.

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Home » Europe » Moscow

EPIC MOSCOW Itinerary! (2024)

Moscow is the heart of Mother Russia. Just the mention of this city conjures images of colorful bulbous pointed domes, crisp temperatures, and a uniquely original spirit!

Moscow has an incredibly turbulent history, a seemingly resilient culture, and a unique enchantment that pulls countless tourists to the city each year! Although the warmer months make exploring Moscow’s attractions more favorable, there’s just something about a fresh snowfall that only enhances the appearance of the city’s iconic sites!

If you’re a first-time visitor to Moscow, or simply wanting to see as much of the city as possible, this Moscow itinerary will help you do just that!

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Best Time To Visit Moscow

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Here is a quick look at the seasons so you can decide when to visit Moscow!

The summer months (June-August) are a great time to travel to Moscow to take advantage of the enjoyable mild temperatures. This is considered peak travel season. Bear in mind that hotel prices rise along with the temperatures!

If you’re planning a trip to Moscow during fall (September-November) try to plan for early fall. This way the temperatures will still be pleasant and winter won’t be threatening.

Russian winters (December-February) are not for the faint of heart as Napoleon learned to his peril. Some days the sun will be out for less than an hour, and snow is guaranteed. Although winters are exceptionally cold, this is when you’ll get a true glimpse of the Moscow experience!

The best time to visit Moscow is during spring  (March-May). The temperatures will begin to creep up and the sun begins to shine for significant portions of the day. Hotel rates will also have yet to skyrocket into peak ranges!

With a Moscow City Pass , you can experience the best of Moscow at the CHEAPEST prices. Discounts, attractions, tickets, and even public transport are all standards in any good city pass – be sure invest now and save them $$$ when you arrive!

Moscow is a large city with many accommodation options to choose from. Staying in a location that fits with your travel plans will only enhance your Moscow itinerary. Here is a brief introduction to a few great areas of the city we recommend checking out!

The best place to stay in Moscow to be close to all the action is Kitay-Gorod. This charming neighborhood will put you within walking distance to Moscow’s famous Red Square, thus cutting down on travel time. This will allow you to see more of the city in a shorter amount of time!

It’s surrounded by restaurants, cafes, bars, and shops. If you’re a first-time visitor to Moscow, or just planning a quick weekend in Moscow, then this area is perfect for you!

Another great area to consider is the Zamoskvorechye district. This area of the city offers a blend of new and old Moscow. It has an artsy vibe and there are plenty of fun sites you can explore outside of the main touristy areas of Moscow.

Of course, as in all areas of Moscow, it’s close to public transportation that will quickly connect you with the rest of the city and make your Moscow itinerary super accessible!

Best Airbnb in Moscow – Exclusive Apartment in Old Moscow

Modern and cozy, this apartment is in the heart of Old Moscow. Bordering the Basmanny and Kitay-Gorod districts, this two-bedroom flat is walking distance to the Kremlin and Red Square. Safe, quiet, and comfortable, this is the best Airbnb in Moscow, no question!

Best Budget Hotel in Moscow – Izmailovo Alfa Hotel

The Izmailovo Alfa Hotel is a very highly rated accommodation that provides all the components necessary for a comfortable trip to Moscow. There is an on-site restaurant, bar, fitness center, and an airport shuttle service. The rooms are modern and spacious and are equipped with a TV, heating/air conditioning, minibar, and more!

Best Luxury Hotel in Moscow – Crowne Plaza Moscow World Trade Centre

If you’re touring Moscow in luxury, the Crowne Plaza Moscow World Trade Centre is the hotel for you! Elegantly furnished rooms are equipped with a minibar, flat-screen TV,  in-room safes, as well as tea and coffee making facilities! Bathrooms come with bathrobes, slippers, and free toiletries. There is also an onsite restaurant, bar, and fitness center.

Best Hostel in Moscow – Godzillas Hostel

Godzillas Hostel is located in the center of Moscow, just a short walk from all the major tourist attractions and the metro station. Guests will enjoy all the usual hostel perks such as self-catering facilities, 24-hour reception, Free Wi-Fi, and security lockers. This is one of the best hostels in Moscow and its wonderful social atmosphere and will make your vacation in Moscow extra special!

Godzillas Hostel is one of our favourites in Moscow but they’re not taking guests right now. We’re not sure if they’re closed for good but we hope they’ll come back soon.

An important aspect of planning any trip is figuring out the transportation situation. You’re probably wondering how you’re going to get to all of your Moscow points of interest right? Luckily, this sprawling city has an excellent network of public transportation that will make traveling a breeze!

The underground metro system is the quickest and most efficient way to travel around Moscow. Most visitors rely exclusively on this super-efficient transportation system, which allows you to get to pretty much anywhere in the city! It’s also a great option if you’re planning a Moscow itinerary during the colder months, as you’ll be sheltered from the snow and freezing temperatures!

If you prefer above-ground transportation, buses, trams, and trolleybuses, run throughout the city and provide a rather comfortable alternative to the metro.

Moscow’s metro, buses, trams, and trolleybuses are all accessible with a ‘Troika’ card. This card can be topped up with any sum of money at a metro cash desk. The ticket is simple, convenient, and even refundable upon return to a cashier!

No matter which method you choose, you’ll never find yourself without an easy means of getting from point A to point B!

Red Square | Moscow Kremlin | Lenin’s Mausoleum | St. Basil’s Cathedral  | GUM Department Store

Spend the first day of your itinerary taking your own self guided Moscow walking tour around the historic Red Square! This is Moscow’s compact city center and every stop on this list is within easy walking distance to the next! Get ready to see all of the top Moscow landmarks!

Day 1 / Stop 1 – The Red Square

• Why it’s awesome: The Red Square is the most recognizable area in Moscow, it has mesmerizing architecture and centuries worth of history attached to its name.
• Cost: Free to walk around, individual attractions in the square have separate fees. 
• Food nearby: Check out Bar BQ Cafe for friendly service and good food in a great location! The atmosphere is upbeat and they’re open 24/7!

The Red Square is Moscow’s historic fortress and the center of the Russian government. The origins of the square date back to the late 15th century, when Ivan the Great decided to expand the Kremlin to reflect Moscow’s growing power and prestige!

During the 20th century, the square became famous as the site for demonstrations designed to showcase Soviet strength. Visiting the Red Square today, you’ll find it teeming with tourists, who come to witness its magical architecture up close!

The square is the picture postcard of Russian tourism, so make sure to bring your camera when you visit! No matter the season, or the time of day, it’s delightfully photogenic! 

It’s also home to some of Russia’s most distinguishing and important landmarks, which we’ve made sure to include further down in this itinerary. It’s an important center of Russia’s cultural life and one of the top places to visit in Moscow!

In 1990, UNESCO designated Russia’s Red Square as a World Heritage site. Visiting this historic site is a true bucket-list event and essential addition to your itinerary for Moscow!

Day 1 / Stop 2 – The Moscow Kremlin

• Why it’s awesome: The Moscow Kremlin complex includes several palaces and cathedrals and is surrounded by the Kremlin wall. It also houses the principal museum of Russia (the Kremlin Armory).
• Cost: USD $15.00
• Food nearby: Bosco Cafe is a charming place to grat a casual bite to eat. They have excellent coffee and wonderful views of the Red Square and the Moscow Kremlin!

The iconic Moscow Kremlin , also known as the Kremlin museum complex, sits on Borovitsky Hill, rising above the Moscow River. It is a fortified complex in the center of the city, overlooking several iconic buildings in the Red Square!

It’s the best known of the Russian Kremlins – citadels or fortress’ protecting and dominating a city. During the early decades of the Soviet era, the Kremlin was a private enclave where the state’s governing elite lived and worked.

The Kremlin is outlined by an irregularly shaped triangular wall that encloses an area of 68 acres! The existing walls and towers were built from 1485 to 1495. Inside the Kremlin museum complex, there are five palaces, four cathedrals, and the enclosing Kremlin Wall with Kremlin towers.

The Armoury Chamber is a part of the Grand Kremlin Palace’s complex and is one of the oldest museums of Moscow, established in 1851. It showcases Russian history and displays many cherished relics. Definitely make sure to check out this museum while you’re here!

The churches inside the Moscow Kremlin are the Cathedral of the Dormition, Church of the Archangel, Church of the Annunciation, and the bell tower of Ivan Veliki (a church tower).

The five-domed Cathedral of the Dormition is considered the most famous. It was built from 1475–1479 by an Italian architect and has served as a wedding and coronation place for great princes, tsars, and emperors of Russia. Church services are given in the Kremlin’s numerous cathedrals on a regular basis.

The Grand Kremlin Palace was the former Tsar’s Moscow residence and today it serves as the official workplace of the President of the Russian Federation (Vladimir Putin seems to have bagged that title for life) .

Insider Tip: The Kremlin is closed every Thursday! Make sure to plan this stop on your Moscow itinerary for any other day of the week!

Day 1 / Stop 3 – Lenin’s Mausoleum

• Why it’s awesome: The mausoleum displays the preserved body of Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin .
• Cost: Free!
• Food nearby: Khinkal’naya is a charming Georgian restaurant with vaulted ceilings and exposed brick. It’s a popular place with locals and right next to the Red Square!

Lenin’s Mausoleum, also known as Lenin’s Tomb, is the modernist mausoleum for the revolutionary leader Vladimir Lenin. It’s located within the Red Square and serves as the resting place for the Soviet leader! His preserved body has been on public display since shortly after his death in 1924.

It’s located just a few steps away from the Kremlin Wall and is one of the most controversial yet popular Moscow attractions!

Admission is free for everyone, you’ll only need to pay if you need to check a bag. Before visitors are allowed to enter the mausoleum, they have to go through a metal detector first. No metal objects, liquids, or large bags are allowed in the mausoleum!

Expect a line to enter the building, and while you’re inside the building, you’ll be constantly moving in line with other visitors. This means you won’t be able to spend as long as you’d like viewing the mausoleum, but you’ll still be able to get a good look. Pictures and filming while inside the building are strictly prohibited, and security guards will stop you if they see you breaking this rule.

The mausoleum is only open on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday – unless it’s a public holiday or a day scheduled for maintenance. The hours it’s open for each day are limited, make sure to check online before you visit to make sure you can fit this into your Moscow itinerary for that day!

Insider Tip: The Lenin’s Museum is there for people to pay their respect; remember to keep silent and move along quickly, it’s not intended for people to congregate around. Also, men are not allowed to wear hats and everyone must take their hands out of their pockets when inside the building.

Day 1 / Stop 4 – St. Basil’s Cathedral

• Why it’s awesome: A dazzling designed cathedral that showcases Russia’s unique architecture. This cathedral is one of the most recognizable symbols of the country!
• Cost: USD $8.00
• Food nearby: Moskovskiy Chaynyy Klub is a cozy cafe serving food items and pipping hot tea; it’s the perfect place to go if you’re visiting Moscow during the winter months!

Located in the Red Square, the ornate 16th-century St. Basil’s Cathedral is probably the building you picture when you think of Moscow’s unique architecture. Its colorful onion-shaped domes tower over the Moscow skyline!

The cathedral was built from 1555-1561 by order of Tsar Ivan the Terrible. It was designed with an iconic onion dome facade and enchanting colors that captivate all who see it. Fun fact: If you’re wondering why Russian churches have onion domes, they are popularly believed to symbolize burning candles!

This iconic cathedral has become a symbol of Russia due to its distinguishing architecture and prominent position inside the Red Square. It’s one of the most beautiful, wonderful, and mesmerizing historical cathedrals in the world!

The interior of the church surprises most people when they visit. In contrast to the large exterior, the inside is not so much one large area, but rather a collection of smaller areas, with many corridors and small rooms. There are 9 small chapels and one mausoleum grouped around a central tower.

Visiting the inside is like walking through a maze, there are even small signs all around the cathedral tracing where to walk, and pointing you in the right direction! The walls are meticulously decorated and painted with intricate floral designs and religious themes.

The church rarely holds service and is instead a museum open for the public to visit.

Insider Tip: During the summer months the line to go inside the cathedral can get quite long! Make sure to arrive early or reserve your tickets online to guarantee quick access into the cathedral!

Day 1 / Stop 5 – GUM Department Store

• Why it’s awesome: This is Russia’s most famous shopping mall! It’s designed with elegant and opulent architecture and provides a real sense of nostalgia!
• Cost: Free to enter
• Food nearby: Stolovaya 57 is a cafeteria-style restaurant with a variety of inexpensive Russian cuisine menu items including soups, salads, meat dishes, and desserts. It’s also located inside the GUM department store, making it very easily accessible when you’re shopping!

The enormous GUM Department Store is located within the historic Red Square. It has a whimsical enchantment to it that sets it apart from your typical department store.

A massive domed glass ceiling lines the top of the building and fills the interior with natural sunlight. There are live plants and flowers placed throughout the mall that give the shopping complex a lively and cheerful feel! A playful fountain sits in the center, further adding to the malls inviting a sense of wonder and amusement!

The GUM department store opened on December 2, 1893. Today, it includes local and luxury stores, including Fendi, Louis Vuitton, Prada, and many more! There are numerous cafes, restaurants, and even a movie theater inside!

For a special treat, head into Gastronom 1. This 1950s-style shop sells gourmet food items, like wine, freshly-baked pastries, cheese, Russian chocolate, and of course, vodka! Also, be on the lookout for a bicycle pedaling ice cream truck with an employing selling ice cream!

The ambiance is simply amazing, a trip to this idyllic shopping mall is an absolute must on any Moscow itinerary!

Insider Tip: Make sure to carry some small change on you in case you need to use the restroom, you’ll need to pay 50 rubles – or about USD $0.80 to use the bathroom in GUM.

Wanna know how to pack like a pro? Well for a start you need the right gear….

These are packing cubes for the globetrotters and compression sacks for the  real adventurers – these babies are a traveller’s best kept secret. They organise yo’ packing and minimise volume too so you can pack MORE.

Or, y’know… you can stick to just chucking it all in your backpack…

Novodevichy Convent | Gorky Park | State Tretyakov Gallery | All-Russian Exhibition Center | Bolshoi Theater

On your 2 day itinerary in Moscow, you’ll have a chance to use the city’s excellent public transportation service! You’ll explore a few more of Moscow’s historic highlight as well as some modern attractions. These sites are a little more spread out, but still very easily accessible thanks to the metro!

Day 2 / Stop 1 – Novodevichy Convent

• Why it’s awesome: The Novodevichy Convent is rich in imperial Russian history and contains some of Russia’s best examples of classical architecture!
• Cost: USD $5.00
• Food nearby: Culinary Shop Karavaevs Brothers is a cozy and simple place to have a quick bite, they also have vegetarian options!

The Novodevichy Convent is the best-known and most popular cloister of Moscow. The convent complex is contained within high walls, and there are many attractions this site is known for! 

The six-pillared five-domed Smolensk Cathedral is the main attraction. It was built to resemble the Kremlin’s Assumption Cathedral and its facade boasts beautiful snowy white walls and a pristine golden onion dome as its centerpiece. It’s the oldest structure in the convent, built from 1524 -1525, and is situated in the center of the complex between the two entrance gates.

There are other churches inside the convent as well, all dating back from many centuries past. The convent is filled with an abundance of 16th and 17th-century religious artworks, including numerous large and extravagant frescos!

Just outside the convent’s grounds lies the Novodevichy Cemetery. Here, you can visit the graves of famous Russians, including esteemed authors, composers, and politicians. Probably the most intriguing gravestone belongs to Russian politician Nikita Khruschev!

The Novodevichy Convent is located near the Moscow River and offers a peaceful retreat from the busy city. In 2004, it was proclaimed a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The convent remains remarkably well-preserved and is an outstanding example of Moscow Baroque architecture! 

Insider Tip: To enter the cathedrals inside the complex, women are advised to cover their heads and shoulders, while men should wear long pants.

Day 2 / Stop 2 – Gorky Central Park of Culture and Leisure

• Why it’s awesome: A large amusement area in the heart of the city offering many attractions!
• Cost: Free! 
• Food nearby: Check out Mepkato, located inside Gorky Central Park for a casual meal in a cozy setting. There are indoor and outdoor seating options and the restaurant is child-friendly!

Gorky Central Park of Culture and Leisure is a large green space in the heart of Moscow. The park opened in 1928, and it stretches along the scenic embankment of the Moskva River. It covers an area of 300-acres and offers a lovely contrast from the compact city center.

You’ll find all sorts of wonderful attractions, from boat rides to bike rentals to tennis courts and ping-pong tables, and much more! there are an open-air cinema and festive events and concerts scheduled in the summer months.  A wide selection of free fitness classes is also offered on a regular basis, including jogging, roller skating, and dancing!

Although many of the options you’ll find here are more suited for outdoor leisure during the summer, you’ll also a selection of winter attractions, including one of Europe’s largest ice rinks for ice-skating!

If you’re trying to decide what to do in Moscow with kids, the park also offers several venues designed specifically for kids. Check out the year-round Green School which offers hands-on classes in gardening and art! You can also feed the squirrels and birds at the Golitsinsky Ponds!

The park is very well maintained and kept clean and the entrance is free of charge, although most individual attractions cost money. There is also Wi-Fi available throughout the park.

With so many attractions, you could easily spend all day here! If you’re only planning a 2 day itinerary in Moscow, make sure to plan your time accordingly and map out all the areas you want to see beforehand!

Day 2 / Stop 3 – The State Tretyakov Gallery

• Why it’s awesome: The gallery’s collection consists entirely of Russian art made by Russian artists!
• Food nearby : Brothers Tretyakovs is located right across the street from the gallery. It’s a wonderfully atmospheric restaurant serving top quality food and drinks!

The State Tretyakov Gallery was founded in 1856 by influential merchant and collector Pavel Tretyakov.  The gallery is a national treasury of Russian fine art and one of the most important museums in Russia!

It houses the world’s best collection of Russian art and contains more than 130, 000 paintings, sculptures, and graphics! These works have been created throughout the centuries by generations of Russia’s most talented artists!

The exhibits range from mysterious 12th-century images to politically charged canvases. The collection is rich and revealing and offers great insight into the history and attitudes of this long-suffering yet inspired people!

All pictures are also labeled in English. If you plan to take your time and see everything inside the museum it will take a good 3-4 hours, so make sure to plan your Moscow trip itinerary accordingly! This gallery is a must-see stop for art lovers, or anyone wanting to explore the local culture and history of Russia in a creative and insightful manner! 

Insider Tip: When planning your 2 days in Moscow itinerary, keep in mind that most museums in Moscow are closed on Mondays, this includes The State Tretyakov Gallery!

Day 2 / Stop 4 – All-Russian Exhibition Center

• Why it’s awesome: This large exhibition center showcases the achievements of the Soviet Union in several different spheres. 
• Food nearby: Varenichnaya No. 1 serves authentic and homestyle Russian cuisine in an intimate and casual setting.

The All-Russian Exhibition Center is a massive park that presents the glory of the Soviet era! It pays homage to the achievements of Soviet Russia with its many different sites found on the property.

The center was officially opened in 1939 to exhibit the achievements of the Soviet Union. It’s a huge complex of buildings and the largest exhibition center in Moscow. There are several exhibition halls dedicated to different achievements and every year there are more than one hundred and fifty specialized exhibitions!

The Peoples Friendship Fountain was constructed in 1954 and is a highlight of the park. The stunning gold fountain features 16 gilded statues of girls, each representing the former Soviet Union republics. 

The Stone Flower Fountain was also built in 1954 and is worth checking out. The centerpiece of this large fountain is a flower carved from stones from the Ural Mountains! Along the side of the fountain are various bronze sculptures.

You will find many people zipping around on rollerblades and bicycles across the large area that the venue covers. It’s also home to amusement rides and carousels, making it the perfect place to stop with kids on your Moscow itinerary! Make sure to wear comfortable shoes and allow a few hours to explore all the areas that interest you!

Day 2 / Stop 5 – Bolshoi Theater

• Why it’s awesome: The Bolshoi Theater is a historic venue that hosts world-class ballet and opera performances!
• Cost: Prices vary largely between USD $2.00 –  USD $228.00 based on seat location.
• Food nearby: Head to the Russian restaurant, Bolshoi for high-quality food and drinks and excellent service!

The Bolshoi Theater is among the oldest and most renowned ballet and opera companies in the world! It also boasts the world’s biggest ballet company, with more than 200 dancers!

The theater has been rebuilt and renovated several times during its long history. In 2011 it finished its most recent renovation after an extensive six-year restoration that started in 2005. The renovation included an improvement in acoustics and the restoration of the original Imperial decor.

The Bolshoi Theater has put on many of the world’s most famous ballet acts! Tchaikovsky’s ballet Swan Lake premiered at the theater in 1877 and other notable performances of the Bolshoi repertoire include Tchaikovsky’s The Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker!

Today, when you visit the theater, you can expect a magical performance from skilled singers, dancers, and musicians with the highest level of technique!

If you don’t have time to see a show, the theater also provides guided tours on select days of the week. Tours are given in both Russian and English and will provide visitors with a more intimate look at the different areas of the theater!

The stage of this iconic Russian theater has seen many outstanding performances. If you’re a fan of the performing arts, the Bolshoi Theater is one of the greatest and oldest ballet and opera companies in the world, making it a must-see attraction on your Moscow itinerary!

Godzillas Hostel

Godzillas Hostel is located in the center of Moscow, just a short walk from all the major tourist attractions and the metro station.

• Towels Included

Cosmonautics Museum | Alexander Garden | Ostankino Tower | Izmaylovo District | Soviet Arcade Museum

Now that we’ve covered what to do in Moscow in 2 days, if you’re able to spend more time in the city you’re going to need more attractions to fill your time. Here are a few more really cool things to do in Moscow we recommend!

Memorial Museum of Cosmonautics

• Hear the timeline of the ‘space race’ from the Russian perspective
• This museum is fun for both adults and children!
• Admission is USD $4.00

The Memorial Museum of Cosmonautics is a museum dedicated to space exploration! The museum explores the history of flight, astronomy, space exploration, space technology, and space in the arts. It houses a large assortment of Soviet and Russian space-related exhibits, and the museum’s collection holds approximately 85,000 different items!

The museum does an excellent job of telling the full story of the exciting space race between the USSR and the US! It highlights the brightest moments in Russian history and humanity and is very interesting and fun for all ages!

If you’re a fan of space or just curious about gaining insight into Russia’s fascinating history of space exploration, make sure to add this to your 3 day itinerary in Moscow!

The Alexander Garden

• A tranquil place to relax near the Red Square
• Green lawns dotted with sculptures and lovely water features
• The park is open every day and has no entrance fee

The Alexander Garden was one of the first urban public parks in Moscow! The garden premiered in 1821 and was built to celebrate Russia’s victory over Napoleon’s forces in 1812!

The park is beautiful and well maintained with paths to walk on and benches to rest on. The park contains three separate gardens: the upper garden, middle garden, and lower garden.

Located in the upper garden, towards the main entrance to the park is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier with its eternal flame. This monument was created in 1967 and contains the body of a soldier who fell during the Great Patriotic War!

The park stretches along all the length of the western Kremlin wall for about half a mile. Due to its central location in the city, it’ll be easily accessible when you’re out exploring The Red Square.

It provides a bit of relief from the city’s high-energy city streets. Bring a picnic lunch, go for a walk, or just sit and people watch, this is one of the best Moscow sites to wind-down and relax!

Ostankino Television Tower

• Television and radio tower in Moscow
• Currently the tallest free-standing structure in Europe
• Make sure you bring your passport when you visit, you can’t go up without it!

For spectacular views of the city, make sure to add the Ostankino Television Tower to your itinerary for Moscow! This impressive free-standing structure provides stunning views of the city in every direction. The glass floor at the top also provides great alternative views of the city!

It takes just 58 seconds for visitors to reach the Tower’s observation deck by super fast elevator. The tower is open every day for long hours and is a great site in Moscow to check out! There is even a restaurant at the top where you can enjoy rotating views of the city while you dine on traditional Russian cuisine or European cuisine!

The tower is somewhat of an architectural surprise in a city that is not known for skyscrapers! To see the city from a new perspective, make sure to add this stop to your Moscow itinerary!

Izmaylovo District

• The most popular attractions in this district are the kremlin and the flea market
• Outside of the city center and easy to reach via metro
• Most popular during the summer and on weekends

Travel outside the city center and discover a unique area of the city! The Izmaylovo District is a popular destination for locals and tourists alike, and one of the coolest places to see in Moscow! The two main attractions we recommend checking out are the Kremlin and the flea market.

The Izmailovo Kremlin was established as a cultural center and molded after traditional Russian architecture. This colorful complex is home to several single-subject museums, including a Russian folk art museum and a vodka museum!

Next to the Kremlin is the Izmailovo open-air market, which dates back to the 17th century! The market is connected to the Izmailovo Kremlin by a wooden bridge. Pick up all your Russian souvenirs here, including traditional handicrafts, paintings, books, retro toys, and Soviet memorabilia!

You will find many hand-made and hand-painted options available at higher prices, as well as mass-produced souvenir options at lower prices!

Museum of Soviet Arcade Games

• Closed on Mondays
• Filled with old arcade games that visitors get to try out!
• The museum also includes a small cafe and burger shop

For something a little different, check out the Museum of Soviet Arcade Games! The museum features roughly 60 machines from the Soviet era, including video games, pinball machines, and collaborative hockey foosball! The machines inside the museum were produced in the USSR in the mid-1970s.

The best part is, most of the games are still playable! Purchase tickets and try the games out for yourself! The museum also has a neat little screening room that plays old Soviet cartoons and an area with Soviet magazines! This unique attraction is a fun addition to a 3 day itinerary in Moscow, and an attraction that all ages will enjoy! 

Whether you’re spending one day in Moscow, or more, safety is an important thing to keep in mind when traveling to a big city! Overall, Moscow is a very safe place to visit. However, it is always recommended that tourists take certain precautions when traveling to a new destination!

The police in Moscow is extremely effective at making the city a safe place to visit and do their best to patrol all of the top Moscow, Russia tourist attractions. However, tourists can still be a target for pickpockets and scammers.

Moscow has a huge flow of tourists, therefore there is a risk for pickpocketing. Simple precautions will help eliminate your chances of being robbed. Stay vigilant, keep your items close to you at all times, and don’t flash your valuables!

If you’re planning a solo Moscow itinerary, you should have no need to worry, as the city is also considered safe for solo travelers, even women. Stay in the populated areas, try and not travel alone late at night, and never accept rides from strangers or taxis without a meter and correct signage.

The threat of natural disasters in Moscow is low, with the exception of severe winters when the temperature can dip below freezing! Bring a good, warm jacket if you visit in Winter.

However, please note that Russian views on homsexuality are far less accepting than those in Western Europe. Likewise, Non-Caucasian travellers may sadly encounter racism in Russia .

Don’t Forget Your Travel Insurance for Moscow

ALWAYS sort out your backpacker insurance before your trip. There’s plenty to choose from in that department, but a good place to start is Safety Wing .

They offer month-to-month payments, no lock-in contracts, and require absolutely no itineraries: that’s the exact kind of insurance long-term travellers and digital nomads need.

SafetyWing is cheap, easy, and admin-free: just sign up lickety-split so you can get back to it!

Click the button below to learn more about SafetyWing’s setup or read our insider review for the full tasty scoop.

Now that we’ve covered all the top things to see in Moscow, we thought we’d include some exciting day trips to other areas of the country!

Sergiev Posad (Golden Ring)

On this 7-hour guided tour, you’ll visit several scenic and historic areas of Russia. Start your day with hotel pick-up as you’re transferred by a comfortable car or minivan to Sergiev Posad. Admire the charming Russian countryside on your drive and enjoy a quick stop to visit the Russian village, Rudonezh!

You’ll see the majestic Saint Spring and the Church of Sergiev Radonezh. You’ll also visit the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius, one of the most famous Orthodox sites in Russia!

Lastly, you’ll swing by the local Matreshka market and enjoy a break in a nice Russian restaurant before returning to Moscow!

Day Trip to Vladimir and Suzdal

On this 13-hour trip, you’ll discover old Russia, with its picturesque landscapes and white-stoned beautiful churches! You’ll visit the main towns of the famous Golden Ring of Russia – the name for several cities and smaller towns north-east of Moscow.

Your first stop will be in the town of Vladimir, the ancient capital of all Russian principalities. The city dates back to the 11th century and is one of the oldest and the most important towns along the Ring! Next, you’ll visit Suzdal, a calm ancient Russian town north of Vladimir with only 13,000 inhabitants!

The old-style architecture and buildings of Suzdal are kept wonderfully intact. If you’re spending three days in Moscow, or more, this is a great option for exploring the charming areas outside the city!

Zvenigorod Day Trip and Russian Countryside

On this 9-hour private tour, you’ll explore the ancient town of Zvenigorod, one of the oldest towns in the Moscow region! As you leave Moscow you’ll enjoy the stunning scenery along the Moscow River, and make a few stops at old churches along the way to Zvenigorod.

Upon arrival, you’ll explore the medieval center, including the 14th-century Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery. Next, you’ll take a break for lunch (own expense) where you’ll have the chance to try out the Russian cuisine! Next, you’ll visit the Museum of Russian Dessert and sip on tea at a Russian tea ceremony.

The final stop of the day is at the Ershovo Estate, a gorgeous place to walk around and enjoy nature!

Day Trip to St Petersburg by Train visiting Hermitage & Faberge

On this full-day tour, you’ll enjoy a a full round trip to St Petersburg where you’ll spend an exciting day exploring another popular Russian city! You’ll be picked up from your hotel in Moscow and be transferred to the train station where you’ll ride the high-speed train ‘Sapsan’ to St Petersburg.

Upon arrival, you’ll start the day by touring the Hermitage Museum and the Winter Palace. Next, you’ll visit the Faberge Museum, where you’ll explore the impressive collection of rare Faberge Eggs! In the afternoon, enjoy a sightseeing boat ride and a traditional 3-course Russian lunch.

If you’re spending 3 days in Moscow, or more, this is an excellent trip to take!

Trip to Kolomna – Authentic Cultural Experience from Moscow

On this 10-hour tour, you’ll escape the city and travel to the historic town of Kolomna! First, you’ll visit the 14th-century Kolomna Kremlin, home to the Assumption Cathedral and an abundance of museums!

Next, enjoy lunch at a local cafe (own expense) before embarking on a tour of the Marshmallow Museum – of course, a marshmallow tasting is provided!  Your final stop is the Museum of Forging Settlements, where displays include armor and accessories for fishing and hunting.

Discover this beautiful Russian fairytale city on a private trip, where all of the planning is taken care of for you!

Stash your cash safely with this money belt. It will keep your valuables safely concealed, no matter where you go.

It looks exactly like a normal belt  except for a SECRET interior pocket perfectly designed to hide a wad of cash, a passport photocopy or anything else you may wish to hide. Never get caught with your pants down again! (Unless you want to…)

Find out what people want to know when planning their Moscow itinerary.

How many days you need in Moscow?

We recommend that you spend at least two or three days in Moscow to take it all in.

What’s the best month to visit Moscow?

The best time to visit Moscow is over the spring, from March to May as temperatures are mild, crowds are thin and prices are reasonable.

What are some unusual things to do in Moscow?

I mean, queuing up to see an almost 100 year old corpse is pretty unsual! Check out Lenin’s Mausoleum if you fancy it!

What are some fun things to do in Moscow?

The Memorial Museum of Cosmonautics is a fun place to explore the famous space race from the perspective of the ‘other side’!

We hope you enjoyed our Moscow itinerary! We’ve made sure to cover all the Moscow must-sees as well as some unique attractions in the city! Our addition of insider tips, favorite food stops, and day trips from Moscow is an added bonus and will guarantee you make the most out of your exciting Russian vacation!

Immerse yourself in the modern and traditional Russian lifestyle! Get lost in museums, witness awe-inspiring architecture, and indulge in Russian cuisine! Spend the day strolling through all of the charming sites of Moscow, admiring the beautiful scenery and discovering the city’s fairytale-like enchantment!

And for transparency’s sake, please know that some of the links in our content are affiliate links . That means that if you book your accommodation, buy your gear, or sort your insurance through our link, we earn a small commission (at no extra cost to you). That said, we only link to the gear we trust and never recommend services we don’t believe are up to scratch. Again, thank you!

Alya and Campbell

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2018 Primetime Emmy & James Beard Award Winner

In Transit: Notes from the Underground

Jun 06 2018.

Spend some time in one of Moscow’s finest museums.

Subterranean commuting might not be anyone’s idea of a good time, but even in a city packing the war-games treasures and priceless bejeweled eggs of the Kremlin Armoury and the colossal Soviet pavilions of the VDNKh , the Metro holds up as one of Moscow’s finest museums. Just avoid rush hour.

The Metro is stunning and provides an unrivaled insight into the city’s psyche, past and present, but it also happens to be the best way to get around. Moscow has Uber, and the Russian version called Yandex Taxi , but also some nasty traffic. Metro trains come around every 90 seconds or so, at a more than 99 percent on-time rate. It’s also reasonably priced, with a single ride at 55 cents (and cheaper in bulk). From history to tickets to rules — official and not — here’s what you need to know to get started.

A Brief Introduction Buying Tickets Know Before You Go (Down) Rules An Easy Tour

A Brief Introduction

Moscow’s Metro was a long time coming. Plans for rapid transit to relieve the city’s beleaguered tram system date back to the Imperial era, but a couple of wars and a revolution held up its development. Stalin revived it as part of his grand plan to modernize the Soviet Union in the 1920s and 30s. The first lines and tunnels were constructed with help from engineers from the London Underground, although Stalin’s secret police decided that they had learned too much about Moscow’s layout and had them arrested on espionage charges and deported.

The beauty of its stations (if not its trains) is well-documented, and certainly no accident. In its illustrious first phases and particularly after the Second World War, the greatest architects of Soviet era were recruited to create gleaming temples celebrating the Revolution, the USSR, and the war triumph. No two stations are exactly alike, and each of the classic showpieces has a theme. There are world-famous shrines to Futurist architecture, a celebration of electricity, tributes to individuals and regions of the former Soviet Union. Each marble slab, mosaic tile, or light fixture was placed with intent, all in service to a station’s aesthetic; each element, f rom the smallest brass ear of corn to a large blood-spattered sword on a World War II mural, is an essential part of the whole.

The Metro is a monument to the Soviet propaganda project it was intended to be when it opened in 1935 with the slogan “Building a Palace for the People”. It brought the grand interiors of Imperial Russia to ordinary Muscovites, celebrated the Soviet Union’s past achievements while promising its citizens a bright Soviet future, and of course, it was a show-piece for the world to witness the might and sophistication of life in the Soviet Union.

It may be a museum, but it’s no relic. U p to nine million people use it daily, more than the London Underground and New York Subway combined. (Along with, at one time, about 20 stray dogs that learned to commute on the Metro.)

In its 80+ year history, the Metro has expanded in phases and fits and starts, in step with the fortunes of Moscow and Russia. Now, partly in preparation for the World Cup 2018, it’s also modernizing. New trains allow passengers to walk the entire length of the train without having to change carriages. The system is becoming more visitor-friendly. (There are helpful stickers on the floor marking out the best selfie spots .) But there’s a price to modernity: it’s phasing out one of its beloved institutions, the escalator attendants. Often they are middle-aged or elderly women—“ escalator grandmas ” in news accounts—who have held the post for decades, sitting in their tiny kiosks, scolding commuters for bad escalator etiquette or even bad posture, or telling jokes . They are slated to be replaced, when at all, by members of the escalator maintenance staff.

For all its achievements, the Metro lags behind Moscow’s above-ground growth, as Russia’s capital sprawls ever outwards, generating some of the world’s worst traffic jams . But since 2011, the Metro has been in the middle of an ambitious and long-overdue enlargement; 60 new stations are opening by 2020. If all goes to plan, the 2011-2020 period will have brought 125 miles of new tracks and over 100 new stations — a 40 percent increase — the fastest and largest expansion phase in any period in the Metro’s history.

Facts: 14 lines Opening hours: 5 a.m-1 a.m. Rush hour(s): 8-10 a.m, 4-8 p.m. Single ride: 55₽ (about 85 cents) Wi-Fi network-wide

Buying Tickets

• Ticket machines have a button to switch to English.
• You can buy specific numbers of rides: 1, 2, 5, 11, 20, or 60. Hold up fingers to show how many rides you want to buy.
• There is also a 90-minute ticket , which gets you 1 trip on the metro plus an unlimited number of transfers on other transport (bus, tram, etc) within 90 minutes.
• Or, you can buy day tickets with unlimited rides: one day (218₽/ US$4), three days (415₽/US$7) or seven days (830₽/US$15). Check the rates here to stay up-to-date.
• If you’re going to be using the Metro regularly over a few days, it’s worth getting a Troika card , a contactless, refillable card you can use on all public transport. Using the Metro is cheaper with one of these: a single ride is 36₽, not 55₽. Buy them and refill them in the Metro stations, and they’re valid for 5 years, so you can keep it for next time. Or, if you have a lot of cash left on it when you leave, you can get it refunded at the Metro Service Centers at Ulitsa 1905 Goda, 25 or at Staraya Basmannaya 20, Building 1.
• You can also buy silicone bracelets and keychains with built-in transport chips that you can use as a Troika card. (A Moscow Metro Fitbit!) So far, you can only get these at the Pushkinskaya metro station Live Helpdesk and souvenir shops in the Mayakovskaya and Trubnaya metro stations. The fare is the same as for the Troika card.
• You can also use Apple Pay and Samsung Pay.

Rules, spoken and unspoken

No smoking, no drinking, no filming, no littering. Photography is allowed, although it used to be banned.

Stand to the right on the escalator. Break this rule and you risk the wrath of the legendary escalator attendants. (No shenanigans on the escalators in general.)

Get out of the way. Find an empty corner to hide in when you get off a train and need to stare at your phone. Watch out getting out of the train in general; when your train doors open, people tend to appear from nowhere or from behind ornate marble columns, walking full-speed.

Always offer your seat to elderly ladies (what are you, a monster?).

An Easy Tour

This is no Metro Marathon ( 199 stations in 20 hours ). It’s an easy tour, taking in most—though not all—of the notable stations, the bulk of it going clockwise along the Circle line, with a couple of short detours. These stations are within minutes of one another, and the whole tour should take about 1-2 hours.

Start at Mayakovskaya Metro station , at the corner of Tverskaya and Garden Ring,  Triumfalnaya Square, Moskva, Russia, 125047.

1. Mayakovskaya.  Named for Russian Futurist Movement poet Vladimir Mayakovsky and an attempt to bring to life the future he imagined in his poems. (The Futurist Movement, natch, was all about a rejecting the past and celebrating all things speed, industry, modern machines, youth, modernity.) The result: an Art Deco masterpiece that won the National Grand Prix for architecture at the New York World’s Fair in 1939. It’s all smooth, rounded shine and light, and gentle arches supported by columns of dark pink marble and stainless aircraft steel. Each of its 34 ceiling niches has a mosaic. During World War II, the station was used as an air-raid shelter and, at one point, a bunker for Stalin. He gave a subdued but rousing speech here in Nov. 6, 1941 as the Nazis bombed the city above.

Take the 3/Green line one station to:

2. Belorusskaya. Opened in 1952, named after the connected Belarussky Rail Terminal, which runs trains between Moscow and Belarus. This is a light marble affair with a white, cake-like ceiling, lined with Belorussian patterns and 12 Florentine ceiling mosaics depicting life in Belarussia when it was built.

Transfer onto the 1/Brown line. Then, one stop (clockwise) t o:

3. Novoslobodskaya.  This station was designed around the stained-glass panels, which were made in Latvia, because Alexey Dushkin, the Soviet starchitect who dreamed it up (and also designed Mayakovskaya station) couldn’t find the glass and craft locally. The stained glass is the same used for Riga’s Cathedral, and the panels feature plants, flowers, members of the Soviet intelligentsia (musician, artist, architect) and geometric shapes.

Go two stops east on the 1/Circle line to:

4. Komsomolskaya. Named after the Komsomol, or the Young Communist League, this might just be peak Stalin Metro style. Underneath the hub for three regional railways, it was intended to be a grand gateway to Moscow and is today its busiest station. It has chandeliers; a yellow ceiling with Baroque embellishments; and in the main hall, a colossal red star overlaid on golden, shimmering tiles. Designer Alexey Shchusev designed it as an homage to the speech Stalin gave at Red Square on Nov. 7, 1941, in which he invoked Russia’s illustrious military leaders as a pep talk to Soviet soldiers through the first catastrophic year of the war.   The station’s eight large mosaics are of the leaders referenced in the speech, such as Alexander Nevsky, a 13th-century prince and military commander who bested German and Swedish invading armies.

One more stop clockwise to Kurskaya station,  and change onto the 3/Blue  line, and go one stop to:

5. Baumanskaya.   Opened in 1944. Named for the Bolshevik Revolutionary Nikolai Bauman , whose monument and namesake district are aboveground here. Though he seemed like a nasty piece of work (he apparently once publicly mocked a woman he had impregnated, who later hung herself), he became a Revolutionary martyr when he was killed in 1905 in a skirmish with a monarchist, who hit him on the head with part of a steel pipe. The station is in Art Deco style with atmospherically dim lighting, and a series of bronze sculptures of soldiers and homefront heroes during the War. At one end, there is a large mosaic portrait of Lenin.

Stay on that train direction one more east to:

6. Elektrozavodskaya. As you may have guessed from the name, this station is the Metro’s tribute to all thing electrical, built in 1944 and named after a nearby lightbulb factory. It has marble bas-relief sculptures of important figures in electrical engineering, and others illustrating the Soviet Union’s war-time struggles at home. The ceiling’s recurring rows of circular lamps give the station’s main tunnel a comforting glow, and a pleasing visual effect.

Double back two stops to Kurskaya station , and change back to the 1/Circle line. Sit tight for six stations to:

7. Kiyevskaya. This was the last station on the Circle line to be built, in 1954, completed under Nikita Khrushchev’ s guidance, as a tribute to his homeland, Ukraine. Its three large station halls feature images celebrating Ukraine’s contributions to the Soviet Union and Russo-Ukrainian unity, depicting musicians, textile-working, soldiers, farmers. (One hall has frescoes, one mosaics, and the third murals.) Shortly after it was completed, Khrushchev condemned the architectural excesses and unnecessary luxury of the Stalin era, which ushered in an epoch of more austere Metro stations. According to the legend at least, he timed the policy in part to ensure no Metro station built after could outshine Kiyevskaya.

Change to the 3/Blue line and go one stop west.

8. Park Pobedy. This is the deepest station on the Metro, with one of the world’s longest escalators, at 413 feet. If you stand still, the escalator ride to the surface takes about three minutes .) Opened in 2003 at Victory Park, the station celebrates two of Russia’s great military victories. Each end has a mural by Georgian artist Zurab Tsereteli, who also designed the “ Good Defeats Evil ” statue at the UN headquarters in New York. One mural depicts the Russian generals’ victory over the French in 1812 and the other, the German surrender of 1945. The latter is particularly striking; equal parts dramatic, triumphant, and gruesome. To the side, Red Army soldiers trample Nazi flags, and if you look closely there’s some blood spatter among the detail. Still, the biggest impressions here are the marble shine of the chessboard floor pattern and the pleasingly geometric effect if you view from one end to the other.

Keep going one more stop west to:

9. Slavyansky Bulvar.  One of the Metro’s youngest stations, it opened in 2008. With far higher ceilings than many other stations—which tend to have covered central tunnels on the platforms—it has an “open-air” feel (or as close to it as you can get, one hundred feet under). It’s an homage to French architect Hector Guimard, he of the Art Nouveau entrances for the Paris M é tro, and that’s precisely what this looks like: A Moscow homage to the Paris M é tro, with an additional forest theme. A Cyrillic twist on Guimard’s Metro-style lettering over the benches, furnished with t rees and branch motifs, including creeping vines as towering lamp-posts.

Stay on the 3/Blue line and double back four stations to:

10. Arbatskaya. Its first iteration, Arbatskaya-Smolenskaya station, was damaged by German bombs in 1941. It was rebuilt in 1953, and designed to double as a bomb shelter in the event of nuclear war, although unusually for stations built in the post-war phase, this one doesn’t have a war theme. It may also be one of the system’s most elegant: Baroque, but toned down a little, with red marble floors and white ceilings with gilded bronze c handeliers.

Jump back on the 3/Blue line  in the same direction and take it one more stop:

11. Ploshchad Revolyutsii (Revolution Square). Opened in 1938, and serving Red Square and the Kremlin . Its renowned central hall has marble columns flanked by 76 bronze statues of Soviet heroes: soldiers, students, farmers, athletes, writers, parents. Some of these statues’ appendages have a yellow sheen from decades of Moscow’s commuters rubbing them for good luck. Among the most popular for a superstitious walk-by rub: the snout of a frontier guard’s dog, a soldier’s gun (where the touch of millions of human hands have tapered the gun barrel into a fine, pointy blade), a baby’s foot, and a woman’s knee. (A brass rooster also sports the telltale gold sheen, though I am told that rubbing the rooster is thought to bring bad luck. )

Now take the escalator up, and get some fresh air.

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21 Things to Know Before You Go to Moscow

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• Moscow Tours

Our 20 Best Moscow Tours of 2022

Join us on an unforgettable tour to Moscow, the capital of Russia. Imagine visiting Red Square, St. Basil’s the Kremlin and more. Moscow is one of Europe’s most vibrant cities and one of Russia’s most historical. All of our tours to Moscow are fully customizable and can be adjusted to fit any budget. Our most popular tours are listed below. Please click on the tour details to learn more or contact us for more information about our Moscow tours using the form at the side of the page. You can also schedule a call with one of our Russian travel specialists to learn more.

Classic Moscow

This is our most popular Moscow tour that includes all the most prominent sights. You will become acquainted with ancient Russia in the Kremlin, admire Russian art in the Tretyakov Gallery, listen to street musicians as you stroll along the Old Arbat street, and learn about Soviet times on the Moscow Metro tour.

Accommodation

PRIVATE TOUR

A Week in Moscow

This tour is a perfect choice for those who wish to get to know Moscow in depth. One of the highlights of this package is the KGB history tour which gives an interesting perspective on the Cold War. You will also have time for exploring the city on your own or doing extra sightseeing.

Weekend in Moscow

This tour is a great way to get acquainted with the capital of Russia if you are short of time. You will see all the main attractions of the city, the most important of which is the Kremlin - the heart of Russia. The tour starts on Friday and can be combined with a business trip.

Group Tour Moscow Break by Intourist

Russia's capital has so much to offer, from the Kremlin and the Metro to the Old Arbat street and the Tretyakov Gallery. Besides these sites, you will also visit a fascinating country estate which today is quite off the beaten path, Gorky Estate, where the Soviet leader Lenin spent the last months of his life.

Kolomenskoye Tour with transport

The history of Kolomenskoye stretches back for centuries. In 1380, Dmitri Donskoi’s army passed through Kolomenskoye on their way to the Kulikovo battlefield, and it was...

Tours by car

Kremlin, Red Sq., Cathedrals & Armory Tour

The Kremlin is truly a fascinating structure, at the same time it is an ancient tower, the city’s former military fortification, a palace, an armory, the sovereign treasury...

Walking tours

Kremlin, Red Sq., Cathedrals, Armory, Diamond Fund Tour

Old Arbat walking tour

You will be told of the street’s interesting history and view the street’s artisan culture. You will also have the opportunity to view and purchase souvenirs from the...

Tour to Sergiev Posad with transport

Considered by some to be the Russian Vatican, Sergiev Posad is the temporary residence of the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church. The Trinity St. Sergius Monastery (Lavra)...

Tour to Kuskovo with transport

The Kuskovo Estate often called the Moscow Versailles due to its perfectly preserved French park, is an example of an 18th century, luxurious Moscow summer residence. Its history...

Tour to Tsaritsyno with transport

The Tsaritsyno Estate is located in the southern part of Moscow. The estate was constructed for Catherine the Great by the Russian architects Bazhenov and Kazakov in a romantic...

Moscow Metro and Old Arbat Tour

The Moscow Metro is one of the largest and most grandly built metro systems in the world. It was meant to be a showcase of the Soviet Union’s achievements for both the Russians...

Vodka Museum Tour with transport (excursion and vodka tasting)

Vodka is an important component of Russian life, an element of national identity and everyday culture. We invite you to visit the Vodka Museum and feel the atmosphere of long-gone...

Mikhail Bulgakov Apartment Museum

This apartment museum located close to Patriarch Ponds became the prototype of the "bad apartment" described in the novel "The Master and Margarita." Currently the museum's...

Kremlin, Red Sq., Cathedrals & Diamond Fund Tour

The State Museum of Lev Tolstoy Tour

Take this opportunity to learn more about the Russian writer Lev Tolstoy. During the visit to the museum you will see part of a vast collection of exhibits connected to Tolstoy...

Novodevichy Convent Tour with transport

Tour of the Novodevichy Monastery. Founded in 1524 by Grand Prince VasiliIoanovich, the original convent was enclosed by fortified walls and contained 12 towers. The structure...

City Tour with Visit to St. Basils & Red Sq. with transport

Panoramic City Tour. This Moscow tour is a great start to your trip and the best way to get acquainted with many of the city’s major highlights. Our professional guide will...

City Tour of Moscow

Head to the heart of Moscow with a professional guide on a 4-hour private walk through the city center. See Tverskaya and Old Arbat streets, Theatre Square with the world-famous...

Moscow Metro walking tour

Kremlin, Red Square and Cathedrals Tour

KGB Tour with transport

This is a very interesting and insightful tour. You will visit places connected with Stalin’s terror - a time of great repression and fear. You will be shown monuments to...

Soviet and Post-Soviet Moscow Tour

The tour begins with a drive or walk down Tverskaya Street – a Soviet masterpiece. In the years of Soviet power, Tverskaya began to undergo a transformation: it was widened...

Tretyakov State Gallery Tour

This world-famous gallery contains masterpieces of Russian art beginning in the 10th century up until today. You will view exquisite Russian icons and paintings from the 18th and...

Jewish Heritage of Moscow Tour

This tour offers a detailed look into the history and present-day life of the Jewish community of Moscow. On the tour, you will visit sites connected with the cultural and religious...

Vodka Museum Tour with transport (excursion only)

Lena, our guide in Moscow was excellent. She was very knowledgable and could answer any question we had for her. We liked that she could pick up on our interests and take us places we might not have thought of to go. When we realized that one of the places we had chosen to see would probably not be that interesting to us, she was able to arrange entry to the Diamond Fund and the Armoury for us. Riding the Metro with Lena was a real adventure and a lot of fun. In Saint Petersburg we found Anna well versed in the history of the Tsars and in the Hermitage collection. Arkady in Veliky Novgorod was a very good guide and answered all of our questions with ease. Novgorod was perhaps a long way to go for a day trip, but we did enjoy it. Vasily was a great driver to have and kept us safe with good humour and skill. We enjoyed ourselves so much, my daughter says she is already planning to return. We would both have no hesistation to recommend ExpresstoRussia to anyone we know.

Just wanted to let you know that My grandson Bruno and I couldn´t have been more pleased with our week in Moscow (6/15 - 6/21). We were absolutely enchanted with the whole experience, including getting lost a couple of times in the Metro during our free time. Although both our guides (both Eleanas) were excellent, I would particularly commend the first one (she took us to the Tatiakov, the KGB tour, and to that beautiful cemetery where so many great Russian artists, authors, composers, musicians, militarists, and politicians are buried). Her knowledge is encyclopedic; and her understanding of today´s Russia as a product of its past was, for us, truly enlightening. I will be taking another tour in Russia, with my wife, within the next two or three years. I will be in touch with you when the time comes. Meanwhile, I will refer you to other potential visitors to Russia as I meet them.

Tours to Moscow

Our Moscow tours are land only meaning that you arrange your own air travel to Russia and our expert staff meets you at the airport and handles everything else from there. Our online Airline Ticket booking system offers some of the most competitive rates to Russia available on the web so if you need tickets, please visit our Russian air ticket center . Rest assured that you will be taken great care of on one of our Moscow tours. Express to Russia has a fully staffed office in Moscow that will help to make your visit fun, informative and unforgettable. Please remember that of all these tours are private and can be adjusted to your taste. You can add, replace or skip some sights; you can add more days to the package or cut the tour short. Our specialists will be glad to help you create the tour of your dreams!

Moscow, a City Like No Other

Moscow is Russia’s largest city with a population of between 12 and 13 million. It is also Europe’s largest city and when you visit Moscow, you can feel it. The layout and architecture of the city is eclectic, ranging from crooked, ancient streets and alleyways to wide, bustling boulevards, from medieval churches to Stalin skyscrapers and to modern, glass buildings towering over everything and of course in the center of it all is the Kremlin and the magnificent Red Square. Moscow is also home to a fantastic, efficient and very beautiful metro system – each station having its own special design. In fact, Express to Russia’s Moscow metro tours and excursions are some of our most popular attractions that we offer. On our Moscow tours, you will see this and more.

Moscow Tours centering on Russian History

Moscow has a long and interesting history and has been the capital of Russia in many of its different iterations – capital of the Grand Duchy of Moscow , the Russian Empire and of course the Soviet Union (who could ever forget the Soviet Union?). Moscow, was founded in the 12th century by Prince Yuri Dolgaruki (Yuri of the long arms – he really did have long arms!). From that time on, it was home to the Russian Tsars until Peter the Great moved the capital to St. Petersburg in 1703. The city has survived invasions and sieges from the Mongols, the Tartars, the Poles, Lithuanians and Napoleon but has always persevered. Our Moscow tours will enlighten you on this great history and give you insights into Muscovites and their unique culture. Our Moscow tours show you what the city is like today but also brings to life the past. Moscow never seems to sleep and is bursting with energy. A Moscow tour with Express to Russia is truly the best way of getting to know Russia’s largest and most vibrant city.

Frequently Asked Questions From Our Travelers

What is the best time to visit moscow.

Any time of year is fine depending on what you plan to do. Summertime is pleasantly warm, ideal for exploring the city and its vibrant atmosphere, but Moscow will be much busier and accommodation is more expensive. Winter can be quite cold but beautiful nonetheless, and this is unproblematic if you intend to spend most of your trip in museums and galleries. There are also various festivals and events organised throughout the year. For more information about the best time to visit, read our guide

How many days are enough in Moscow?

If you plan your itinerary strategically and aren’t averse to a packed schedule, you can cover Moscow’s main sights over a long weekend. Most popular attractions are in the city centre, and the Moscow Metro allows you to cover much ground in a small amount of time. Ensure that your accommodation is fairly central and book tickets in advance, so that you can make the most of your days. For an informative and well-organised day out, check out our Moscow day tours with options to suit all interests.

Do they speak English in Moscow?

As Russia’s capital city, tourists are well accommodated in Moscow. There should be English-speaking staff in restaurants, bars, hotels, shops and attractions in tourist hotspots, and there are also English-speaking tourist police. Transport services have English translations on their maps and English announcements via intercom; alternatively, order taxis from the Yandex Taxi app (Russian Uber), though it’s unlikely that your taxi driver will speak English. If you get stuck and cannot communicate, it’s fine to use Google Translate.

Is it safe to travel to Moscow?

It is no less safe to travel to Moscow than to any European city if you exercise common sense and look after your belongings. As with every city some regions can be more unsavoury than others, but no tourist attractions are located there. The traffic in Moscow is notorious, so exercise caution when crossing roads. Do not take unlicensed taxis; book in advance or take public transport, which is widespread and perfectly safe. If you encounter any problems, look for the special tourist police who can help you. For more information, read our guide about staying safe in Russia .

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