Rush

Rush is one of those bands for which there is no middle ground, provoking either fervent admiration or blazing hostility. That might have something to do with bassist and keyboardist Geddy Lee's nasally vocals, which have always sounded like a helium-lunged Leprechaun. Love 'em or loathe 'em, however, Rush commands a certain degree of respect. For more than three decades, the Canadian power trio has issued angular prog-rock albums that have defined the poppier edge of the genre. But Rush has been out of the limelight since 1997, when drummer Neil Peart suffered a pair of life-altering tragedies: losing his daughter in a car accident and his wife to cancer within a ten-month period. During the downtime, Lee recorded a solo effort that reaffirmed his reliance on Peart's head-spinning stick work and Alex Lifeson's exploratory guitar craft. This year, Rush returned with Vapor Trails, which thrilled the faithful with its retooled attack. Having embarked on its first tour in five years, the threesome is rumored to be in top-notch condition, turning in three-hour sets with newfound fire.