Fri, Apr 17 - 9pm - $15

It’s always a pleasure to perform a tribute to a legendary band. But when that tribute provides the opportunity to single out and celebrate the gifts of a extraordinary collection of musicians, that performance becomes even sweeter.With the recent passing Rush drummer Neil Peart, Great Moments in Vinyl felt it was time to turn the spotlight on the remarkable trio he helped make famous. Founded by guitarist Alex Lifeson in 1968, the group had to replace their original front man and bass player before they even played their second gig. They recruited Geddy Lee, a distinctive vocalist and bassist who brought significant power and range to their sound. And then when the band’s original drummer bowed out two weeks before one of their biggest shows up to that point, they found a kindred spirit in lyricist and percussionist Neil Peart.“We are a hard rock band that sometimes wanders off into the world of the prog rockers. We share some of the desire to make our music weird which the ‘proggers’ all have in common. I consider us carrying on a tradition begun by Cream or The Who more than anything.”—Geddy Lee, Rush: The Story So Far (2002)“Fantasies are futile, self-defeating. But dreams…dreams are beautiful, life-affirming, powerful. We can’t move forward without them.”—Neil Peart, Toronto Star (01/23/89)Rush is a band that followed its dreams…with spectacular results. Originally derided in the rock press and polarizing to fans of music (you either loved them or you ridiculed them), the trio has had the last laugh by marching to their own drummer and beating the odds to enjoy a successful and rewarding career that lasted more than 40 years.As Rolling Stone observed in 2015, “There are weirder bands and there are bigger bands, but none quite so weird and quite so big.”. . . .Join Great Moments in Vinyl on Friday, April 17th at Martyrs’ as we pay tribute to Rush. We’ll spend time with songs from their early career in our first set, and then perform their most popular album Moving Pictures in its entirety in our second.  

Great Moments in Vinyl takes the tribute experience to a new level. Every concert, we choose a pair of memorable albums and perform them in their entirety. And along with the music, we supply a series of stories about the songs and the artists and the times that brought them into being. What was the song that saved U2's career? Who was Bruce Springsteen's "Rosalita"? If The Police started out as a punk band, where did all the reggae flavors come from? Why did Elton John wear glasses really? These are the sorts of questions you'll find out the answers to when Great Moments in Vinyl takes the stage. And you'll hear some exceptionally well played music as well.