HT faves Rush were just one of the acts inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last night, but thanks to a raucous crowd filled with fans of the Canadian trio the event came to a head when they finally received the well-deserved accolade. Other acts inducted into the Rock Hall included Heart, Public Enemy, Randy Newman and Albert King.

Members of the Foo Fighters took the stage at the Nokia Theatre in L.A. dressed as the members of Rush in the late ’70s and performed a killer version of the 2112 Overture before Geddy Lee, Neil Peart and Alex Lifeson joined in for the rest of the song. Check out the Foo’s performance…

Also, video of Dave Grohl’s incredible induction speech has surfaced…

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Longtime baseball and Toronto Blue Jays fan Geddy Lee should have quite a month in April. Not only will Rush finally be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on April 18th in L.A., but he’ll also get the honor of throwing out the ceremonial first pitch at the Toronto Blue Jays’ season opener.

[Photo of Geddy at Rogers Center via Mop Up Duty]

Lee, a self-described fantasy baseball addict and collector of baseball memorabilia, will do the deed at Toronto’s Rogers Center this coming Tuesday, April 2nd, when the Blue Jays take on the Cleveland Indians. Foo Fighters’ Taylor Hawkins and Dave Grohl will induct Rush into the Rock Hall on the 18th.

Big news from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has just broken as Rush, Public Enemy, Heart, Donna Summer, Albert King, Quincy Jones, Lou Adler and Randy Newman will be the Rock Hall’s Class of ’13 according to Rolling Stone. In our eyes Rush has been the most glaring oversight from the Rock Hall and we’re extremely excited to see them make it in.

Rush bassist Geddy Lee doesn’t hold any ill will towards the Rock Hall…

“It’s a terrific honor and we’ll show up smiling,” Rush’s singer and bassist, Geddy Lee, tells Rolling Stone. “It made my mom happy, so that’s worth it.” Lee is especially happy for Rush’s army of hardcore fans. “It was a cause they championed,” he says. “I’m very relieved for them and we share this honor with them, for sure.”

[Rolling Stone]

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony takes place in New York City this year. It will be held at the Best Buy Theater on April 18th. You can watch it on HBO May 18th.

This has been a big few days for Rush fans as the group unveiled the first single off their new album yesterday and this morning have divulged dates for a lengthy, three-leg North American tour in support of the soon-to-be-released LP, Clockwork Angels.

The Clockwork Angels Tour kicks off on September 7th at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, New Hampshire and is currently slated to run through a December 2nd date in Houston. Along the way, the Canadian power trio will visit major and secondary markets, including a date at the yet-to-be-opened Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn.

Here’s the full list of dates:

Sept 7: Manchester, NH – Verizon Wireless Arena (on sale Fri. April 27th)
Sept 9: Washington, DC – Jiffy Lube Live
Sept 11: Pittsburgh, PA – CONSOL Energy Center
Sept 13: Indianapolis, IN – Bankers Life Fieldhouse
Sept 15: Chicago, IL – United Center (on sale Sat. April 28th)
Sept 18: Detroit, MI – Palace of Auburn Hills (on sale Sat. April 28th)
Sept 20: Columbus, OH – Nationwide Arena
Sept 22: St. Louis, MO – Scottrade Center
Sept 24: Minneapolis, MN – Target Center
Sept 26: Winnipeg, MB – MTS Center
Sept 28: Saskatoon, SK – Credit Union Center
Sept 30: Edmonton, AB – Rexall Place
Oct 10: Bridgeport, CT – Webster Bank Arena
Oct 12: Philadelphia, PA – Wells Fargo Center (on sale Fri. April 27th)
Oct 14: Toronto, ON – Air Canada Center
Oct 18: Montreal, QC – Bell Centre
Oct 20: Newark, NJ – Prudential Center (on sale Fri. April 27th)
Oct 22: Brooklyn, NY – Barclays Center (on sale Fri. April 27th)
Oct 24: Boston, MA – TD Garden (on sale Fri. April 27th)
Oct 26: Buffalo, NY – First Niagra Center (on sale Sat. April 28th)
Oct 28: Cleveland, OH – Quicken Loans Arena
Oct 30: Charlotte, NC – Time Warner Cable Arena
Nov 1: Atlanta, GA – Verizon Wireless Ampitheater
Nov 3: Tampa, FL – 1-800-ASK-GARY Ampitheater
Nov 13: Seattle, WA – Key Arena
Nov 15: San Jose, CA – HP Pavillion
Nov 17: Anaheim, CA – Honda Center (on sale Fri. April 27th)
Nov 19: Los Angeles, CA – Gibson Ampitheater (on sale Fri. April 27th)
Nov 23: Las Vegas, NV – MGM Grand
Nov 25: Phoeniz, AZ – US Airways Center
Nov 28: Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center
Nov 30: San Antonio, TX – AT&T Center
Dec 2: Houston, TX – Toyota Center

There are a total of 33 dates thus far. Ticketing information for most shows will be announced at a later date, though ducats for some gigs go on sale next Friday and Saturday. Visit the band’s official website for the latest. Check out the first single from Clockwork Angels – Headlong Flight…

READ ON

It’s quite amazing to think that seminal prog-rock act Rush has sold over 40 million records worldwide, yet they continue to get shown the cold shoulder by the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame selection committee. The Canadian-based power trio, who recently went indie moving from Atlantic to Roadrunner Records, have announced that they will release three separate six-disc box sets, that focus on the Mercury Records years, which ran from their 1974 self-titled debut through 1988′s Show of Hands, that they’ve dubbed Sector. Each set, which all will hit stores on November 21, will not only feature the digitally remastered albums on high resolution 96kHz/24-bit audio, but also includes an exclusive booklet packed with unpublished photos, original album lyrics and credits, with each album packaged in a replica vinyl mini-jacket of the original album release as all three box sets form a Rush CD road case.

• List Time: 23 Best Simpsons Musician Cameos
• Georgetown offering a course in Sociology of Hip-Hop: Jay-Z
• Cover Alert: Trampled By Turtles tackle The Pixies
• Aaron Eckhart to play Beach Boy Dennis Wilson in a new biopic
• Download This: Sad Movies – A Secret History Of Neil Young, ’73 – ’80
• HBO developing a show with Mick Jagger about the ’70s rock scene

Finally, last month we posted Willie Nelson’s take on Coldplay’s Scientist, which was commissioned by Mexican fast-food chain Chipotle, as the soundtrack of the short film entitled, Back to the Start, to help promote their non-profit arm the Cultivate Foundation, who’s  ”dedicated to creating a sustainable, healthful, and equitable food future.” For their latest video, Chipotle nabbed Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ front woman Karen O, who recorded a version Nelson’s 1978 hit Momma Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Cowboys, for a short film called Abandoned, turning the corny country song into sparse, spooky lament. Let’s check it out…

The film, which was made to call attention to the vanishing family farm, as well to promote the chain’s Halloween promotion of selling $2 burritos to those in costume on Halloween night, with proceeds benefiting the Cultivate Foundation and Farm Aid.

Though often thought of a war protest song, For What It’s Worth was written by Stephen Stills in reference to the riots over curfew laws in Los Angeles. It was released on the 1967 self-titled Buffalo Springfield album. There were no shortage of covers this week and the best ones tended to lean towards the soul side of the equation – have a listen below.

The Contestants:

Artist: Cher
Album: 3614 Jackson Highway
The Skinny: Leading off this week, lots of layers of interesting instrumentation choices from this 1969 cover from Cher.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

READ ON for more covers of For What It’s Worth by Buffalo Springfield.

We’ve heard nothing but amazing things about Rush’s Time Machine tour, where the band performed all of Moving Pictures as well as an ample number of both hits and rarities. For those who missed catching a Time Machine show live, you can see how it went down on a DVD/Blu-ray release of the same name that’s set to hit stores on September 27.

According to Blabbermouth, the release will most likely include footage of Rush’s April 15 performance at the Quicken Loans Center in Cleveland.

Here’s a look at six other stories of note as we end the week…

• Cover Time: Weezer covers The Cars’ You Might Think
• Metallica to release Metallica Monopoly next week!?!?
• The schedule for the upcoming Electric Forest fest is out
• How a rainy day is better than seeing the Black Eyed Peas
• Randy Ray chats with Bruce Hornsby for Jambands.com
• Jack White & Karen Elson divorce, throw party to celebrate

Finally, Robbie Robertson made another appearance in support of How to Become Clairvoyant last night when he played Straight Down The Line backed by The Roots and Robert Randolph on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.

[via The Audio Perv]

There was a time in my life when five concerts in one week wasn’t all that rare. But those days are long gone and now I’ve reached a point where one show a week can be a lot to deal with on a regular basis. But I find myself especially excited about five shows I will be attending in the next five weeks.

This list also serves as proof just how spoiled someone living in NYC really is in terms of music. There really are dozens of choices on any given night and anytime you are looking to hear some great music, you can always find something. Alright, let’s get down to it…

1. Elton John – Madison Square Garden – Wednesday, March 30

Elton John has more hits than most artists have songs and he has been a longtime member on my “bucket list” of artists I need to see before they stop touring. That list also includes David Bowie and Jeff Mangum (see you in October at Town Hall). Elton had his “number” retired at MSG back in 2007 when he performed his 60th show at the venue on his 60th birthday.

Take away the good (Almost Famous) and bad (27 Dresses) Hollywood singalongs, and Elton is still one of the most prolific and productive rockers of all time. Playing his greatest hits and selections off his album with Leon Russell, this show should be well worth the somewhat steep price of admission.

READ ON for the other four show’s Luke will be hitting…

Funny or Die have really outdone themselves with their latest video starring actors Jason Segel and Paul Rudd as “the biggest Rush fans in the history of the planet earth.” Segel and Rudd’s characters invade Rush’s green room and when the legendary prog-rock trio returns to the room hilarity ensues…

Slappa da bass!!!

If you missed out on Rush’s Time Machine Tour as it crossed the country earlier this year, you’ll have another chance in 2011. Yesterday, the legendary Canadian trio announced more Time Machine dates in America and Canada starting on March 30th in Sunrise, FL and finishing on April 22nd in Baltimore. Rush will perform Moving Pictures live in its entirety at each show.

Public onsales for these shows start on December 6th. For a full list of on-sale dates, check out this page at the band’s official website. For information on pre-sales, which start tomorrow for a few of the shows, keep your eyes on RushIsABand.com. One dollar from each ticket sold – as well as a portion of Rush’s proceeds from the tour – will benefit the relief efforts in Haiti.

Here’s the full list of Rush North American tour dates…

Mar. 30 – Ft. Lauderdale, FL @ Bank Atlantic Center
Apr. 01 – Greensboro, NC @ Coliseum
Apr. 03 – Nashville, TN @ Bridgestone Arena
Apr. 05 – Louisville, KY @ KFC Yum! Center
Apr. 06 – Toledo, OH @ Huntington Center
Apr. 08 – Hershey, NJ @ Giant Center
Apr. 10 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
Apr. 12 – Chicago, IL @ United Center
Apr. 15 – Cleveland, OH @ Quickens Loans Arena
Apr. 17 – Detroit, MI @ Palace of Auburn Hills
Apr. 19 – Hamilton, ON @ Copps Coliseum
Apr. 20 – Montreal, PQ @ Bell Centre
Apr. 22 – Baltimore, MD @ 1st Mariner Arena

The nominees for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011 were announced yesterday and once again the big story for us are the bands who didn’t make the cut. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, you can’t argue with the impact both Rush and KISS have made on the genre. While those two acts have been left off, Chic, Donna Summer and LL Cool Fucking J are on the list of nominees. At least yesterday’s announcement wasn’t all bad – we’re happy to see Tom Waits, Alice Cooper and the Beastie Boys made it.

While Rock Hall chairman Jann Wenner and the rest of the museum’s board keep on ignoring Rush a few other publications are stepping in to give the band other accolades. Billboard Magazine will honor the Canadian prog-rock trio with this year’s Legend of Live award at the 2010 Billboard Touring Awards in New York City on Nov. 4.  Also, Classic Rock magazine announced that Rush will be honored with the Living Legend award in London on Nov. 10 at this year’s Marshall Classic Rock Roll Of Honour Awards.

• 2011 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Nominees: Alice Cooper, Beastie Boys, Bon Jovi, Chic, Neil Diamond, Donovan, Dr. John, J. Geils Band, LL Cool J, Darlene Love, Laura Nyro, Donna Summer, Joe Tex, Tom Waits, Chuck Willis

The director of the exceptional documentary Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage, Scott McFayden, wasn’t surprised at the latest snub as he told EW, “They’ve never been a critics’ band. The industry people that are involved with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Rush has never been cool enough for them.” Rush’s time will come, we just hope it’s sooner rather than later as those three guys deserve to receive the accolade while they are still creating interesting music and selling out venues around the world.

VH1 Classic continues a great tradition tonight with the start of Rush Hashanah. The station will broadcast 24 hours of Rush-related features starting this evening at 7PM to coincide with the start of the Jewish New Year. Included in the Rush Hashanah schedule will be the premiere of Classic Albums: 2112 and Moving Pictures tonight at 9:30PM which takes an in-depth look at those legendary albums as well as plenty of concert specials.

Here’s a look at six other stories of note this hump day…

• Panda Bear discusses his new album with BK Vegan
• List Time: Billboard lists 10 Reasons ATP-NY Rocked
• Courtney Love and Hole cover Jeremy by Pearl Jam
• Dennis Cook chats with Steve Berlin of Los Lobos
• Janes Addiction parts ways with bassist Duff McKagan
• Watch Band of Horses play at a wedding in Sweden

Finally, the Washington Post published a must-read article on Sunday about indie rockers not running from their jamband roots. For instance, drummer Chris Tomson of Vampire Weekend was extremely excited to play Merriweather Post Pavilion recently because that’s the site of his first Phish show (9/17/00).  This is a topic Mike Greenhaus explored last summer, yet it’s interesting to see a publication from outside of the jam world tackle the subject – especially the famed Washington Post.

For musicians who want to figure out how to cover a song, there’s no better tool than isolated tracks. Isolated tracks are audio files in which one instrument is boosted over the other instruments. Not only are they useful for figuring out how to cover the song in question but they also show off the skills of the instrumentalist whose track has been boosted. We recently came across a trifecta of isolated track videos on YouTube covering all the parts of Rush’s Tom Sawyer. Take a listen to Geddy Lee’s work on the bass…

Rush – Tom Sawyer (Isolated Bass)

READ ON to hear Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart’s parts…

Rush’s Time Machine Tour started last week and the band has won raves for tight performances and an inventive setlist this tour. The classic power ballad Closer to the Heart returned to the set after a few tours off and begins with an acoustic interlude from Alex Lifeson before he switches to electric for some stunt guitar theatrics. Here’s a clip of Closer to the Heart from Summerfest in Milwaukee this past Saturday night…

Rush – Closer to the Heart

Rush’s Time Machine Tour started last night at the Hard Rock Pavilion in Albuquerque, NM, where the prog rock pioneers filled two lengthy sets with classics, rarities and 1981′s Moving Pictures in its entirety to open set two. We’ll hold off on posting details about the rarities that are part of the setlist until after the jump for those who don’t want their Rush experience spoiled as the band tends to stick to the same setlist at each stop on the tour.

[via Rush.com]

You can always count on Rush to have an interesting setup and for this tour they’ve added a cool H.G. Wells-looking Time Machine to the stage. It also appears as if drummer Neil Peart has added even more pieces to his ridiculously large drum kit. As with past tours, each set begins with a video and here’s the clip that introduces Tom Sawyer for set two…

READ ON for the complete Time Machine Tour setlist…