Editing Rush (band) (section)

==Live performances==
The members of Rush shared a strong work ethic, desiring to accurately recreate songs from their albums when playing live performances. To achieve this goal, beginning in the late 1980s, Rush included a capacious rack of [[sampler (musical instrument)|digital samplers]] in their concert equipment to recreate the sounds of non-traditional instruments, accompaniments, vocal harmonies, and other sound "events" in real time to match the sounds on the studio versions of the songs. In live performances, the band members shared duties throughout most songs. Each member had one or more [[MIDI controller]]s, which were loaded with different sounds for each song, and they used available limbs to trigger the sounds while simultaneously playing their primary instrument(s).<ref>{{cite web |date=September 2002 |title=Rush Rolls Again |url=http://www.onstagemag.com/ar/performance_rush_rolls_again/index.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021018005414/http://onstagemag.com/ar/performance_rush_rolls_again/index.htm |archive-date=October 18, 2002 |access-date=December 18, 2010 |publisher=OnStage Magazine}}</ref> It was with this technology that the group was able to present their arrangements in a live setting with the level of complexity and fidelity fans had come to expect, and without the need to resort to the use of [[backing tracks]] or employing an additional band member.<ref>{{cite web |date=March 1990 |title=Backstage Club Newsletter |url=http://2112.net/powerwindows/transcripts/19900300backstageclub.htm |access-date=December 31, 2011 |website=Power Windows |publisher=2112.net |archive-date=March 2, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120302025240/http://2112.net/powerwindows/transcripts/19900300backstageclub.htm |url-status=live}}</ref> The members' coordinated use of pedal keyboards and other electronic triggers to "play" sampled instruments and audio events was subtly visible in their live performances, especially on the R30: 30th Anniversary World Tour, their 2005 concert DVD.{{citation needed|date = March 2018}}

A staple of Rush's concerts was Neil Peart's drum solos, which included a basic framework of routines connected by sections of improvisation, making each performance unique. Each successive tour saw his solos become more advanced, with some routines dropped in favour of newer, more complex ones. Since the mid-1980s, Peart used [[Musical Instrument Digital Interface|MIDI]] [[Sound module|trigger pads]] to elicit sounds sampled from various pieces of acoustic percussion that would otherwise consume far too much stage area, such as a [[marimba]], [[harp]], [[temple blocks]], [[Triangle (musical instrument)|triangles]], glockenspiel, [[Bell (instrument)|orchestra bells]], tubular bells, and [[vibraslap]], as well as other, more esoteric percussion.{{citation needed|date=January 2015}}

One prominent feature of Rush's concerts were props on stage, at one point called "diversions". These props have included washing machines, vintage popcorn poppers, animations, and inflatable rabbits emerging from giant hats behind the band.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Joyce |first=Mike |date=May 9, 1990 |title=Colorful Diversions From Rush |newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> Starting in the mid-'90s, the props often took up Lee's side of the stage ([[Blocking (stage)|stage left]]) as a way to balance out the amp stacks on Lifeson's side (stage right) when Lee opted to use a venue's house system instead of amps.