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Rush has reunited! Sort of. It took the South Park guys to do it.

With South Park turning 25 years old, creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone wanted to celebrate with a big concert at the Red Rocks Ampitheatre in Colorado, not far from the real-world South Park. Anyone who has watched the show knows that various rock stars have made cameo appearances on the show a la The Simpsons. In some cases, it’s the actual performers (Robert Smith, Radiohead) and in others, it’s just Matt and Trey having fun with the animation. Rush falls into the latter camp.

There was a parade of guests during the second of two South Park concerts. Primus (composers of the theme song) and Ween (fans of the show), Colorado governor Jared Polis came on stage to declare August 22 “South Park Day.” After Primus’ Les Claypool gave the audience a quick history of the theme, he introduced a video clip featuring Rush drawn as South Park characters who delivered a message from Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson. As soon as they were done, the real Geddy and Alex walked onstage with instruments.

This was a shock. Have Geddy and Alex played together onstage since the end of the R40 tour? I certainly don’t remember them doing anything live since the death of Neil Peart. [UPDATE: They have. See a couple of videos below supplied by Darren.]

Matt, who had been tricked by Claypool into rehearsing a Rush song–he had no idea why, but went along with it, probably because Primus has been touring a production where they play Rush songs–was then told to sit down behind the kit and–well, take a look. (Via Darren)

More at Variety.

Alan Cross

is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his 40+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.

Alan Cross has 37974 posts and counting. See all posts by Alan Cross

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