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July 17, 2008

Rush Sign Stephen Colbert's Hand, Perform "Tom Sawyer"

thumbnail icon: Rush Sign Stephen Colbert's Hand, Perform "Tom Sawyer"

The other day I expressed my doubt that Neil Peart could fit his kit in Colbert's even-smaller-than-it-looks-on-TV studio. Well he did, but just barely. (Jimmy noted Neil has eight toms in seven sizes, and a custom 23" kick; later when asked how many pieces the kit has, Neil said "enough.") Last night was Rush's first appearance on American television in 33 years, and Stephen honored the event appropriately, giving over about 1/3 of the show to the prog trio. During the pre-performance Q&A Stephen asked one of the great interview questions of all time: "You're known for some long songs. Have you ever written a song so epic, that you were being influenced by your own song, because it happened so much earlier in your career?" Stephen later got his hand autographed by the band, Neil signing on the condition that Stephen not put it up on eBay later. Ultimately the band performed "Tom Sawyer," which Stephen interrupted because it's only a half hour program.

First, Jimmy gets psyched for Rush:

And here Geddy speaks like an ordinary guy, before singing as high as always on "Tom Sawyer" (except in that "what you say about his company" bit):

Colbert's got Nas on 7/23 and Crosby Stills & Nash on 7/30 (they'll be in town for a show at the Central Park Summerstage), but it's the Toby Keith appearance on 7/28 that oughta be the most entertaining.

Posted at 10:31 AM by amrit in
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7 Comments

Toby "Kool" Keith.

Posted by: k profile link at 07/17/08 11:51 AM  | Reply
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Not to be a dork, but the megafan producer mispronounced Peart's last name.

Posted by: alex at 07/17/08 12:26 PM  | Reply
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alex, great insight.
dork indeed, but i am included

Posted by: foundmyrosebud01 profile link at 07/17/08 2:19 PM  | Reply
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I loved seeing the power trio on TV after seeing them in concert so many times. It's a shame Colbert had to interrupt Tom Sawyer, but the show ran out of time. The band still sounds great... I hope they have at least another album and tour in them.

Posted by: Lama Lips at 07/17/08 3:03 PM  | Reply
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Last night's show picked up where the Rush episode left off.

When the show opened, Rush were still playing, and Steven was sleeping at his desk. Funny stuff. I just wish we could have heard the whole song, uninterrupted.

Posted by: anose at 07/18/08 9:29 AM  | Reply
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This was fucking awesome. god rush is such a guilty pleasure for me...i hope none of my overly pretentious music snob peers see this post...

Posted by: jBoz at 07/18/08 11:30 AM  | Reply
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ok i'm just gonna say what we're ALL thinking...'that was NEAT.' But seriously...he makes a good point about the RnR HoF, ya know who else needs to be in there, WAYYY overdue...why STEVE MILLER of course! Yeah ok RR hall of fame, we'll let in the fucking LOVIN SPOONFUL but not rush or steve miller, yeah okayyy ya dumb cunts.

Posted by: dave w at 07/19/08 6:06 PM  | Reply
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