<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0When we reviewed Rik Emmett\u2019s autobiography back in 2025 (<\/span>FTV:\u00a0 Lay It On The Line<\/span><\/i> 2-5-25), we took note that he spent a lot of time telling long-time Triumph fans that there would be no more tours from this iconic Canadian trio.\u00a0 The reasons included a) he has had some health problems, b) they are all getting too old for this young man\u2019s game, c) he was having too much fun doing his own solo things, and d) it would take away from his family time.\u00a0 A year later, an expanded and invigorated Triumph is doing just what he said they would never do again – touring.\u00a0 Not a couple of one-off shows.\u00a0 A full tour with all the bells and whistles.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0When Rush drummer Neil Peart walked away from the band after they celebrated their 40th anniversary with their massive R40<\/span> tour, not everybody was happy.\u00a0 Neil was, but Alex Lifeson (guitar) and Geddy Lee (bass \/ keyboards) hoped that after taking a well earned break, a rested Neil would want to come back.\u00a0 They said all the right stuff publicly (\u201cNeil needs a break, it has been a long road, he was having some health issues, etc\u201d) but in private they were frustrated about his decision to step away after the last show in August of 2015.\u00a0 It took some time, but Lifeson and Lee eventually accepted Peart\u2019s decision saying, \u201cThat\u2019s life – no hard feelings.\u00a0 The man certainly earned a break from the madding crowd.\u201d\u00a0 Of course, when Neil passed away from glioblastoma in 2020, the whole \u2018will they tour again?\u2019 question became moot.\u00a0 Who could ever replace this irreplaceable cog in the Rush machine?\u00a0 Cut to 2026 and you won\u2019t have a hard time guessing where they are at this moment . . . on tour.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0After Emmett had already convinced himself that a Triumph reunion, let alone a tour, would never happen again, he was as surprised as anyone with what transpired. <\/span>\u00a0Guitar World<\/span><\/i>\u2019s Andrew Daly interviewed Rik for <\/span>GW <\/span><\/i>Vol 40 No 7 and said, \u201cEmmett was shocked by the wave of love and adoration that came his way.\u201d\u00a0 Emmett told Daly, \u201cI had no idea there would be this kind of hunger.\u00a0 There really is an appetite for nostalgia.\u201d\u00a0 There are some caveats to this undertaking.\u00a0 Daly continued, \u201cThis version of Emmett\u2019s band isn\u2019t your father\u2019s Triumph.\u00a0 The group is dropping the power-trio format by adding Toronto-born Bon Jovi guitarist Phil X to the mix.\u00a0 Phil X joined Triumph when Rik left the band in the early Nineties, thus becoming the only guitarist besides Emmett to play and record with the band.\u201d\u00a0 Also along for the ride this time are Slash solo-band veterans Brent Fitz (drums) and Todd Kerns (bass\/vocals).\u00a0 Drummer Gil Moore and Emmett will be full time participants but original bass\/keys player Mike Levine has been sidelined by his own health issues.\u00a0 Levine may or may not make some of the live shows, but the band will still pay tribute to him even if he is not physically there.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Emmett made light of the aging band thing when he told Daly, \u201cI think a lot of people are thinking, \u2018Oh, my God, they\u2019re defying reality.\u00a0 Will Emmett make it to the end of the tour?\u2019\u00a0 I am curious too!\u00a0 I\u2019m kind of going, \u2018We\u2019ll see!\u2019\u201d\u00a0 After beating a cancer diagnosis in 2024 (he is now cancer free) and with arthritis in his hands, Rik decided that the only way to play it out was to get into shape and see what happens.\u00a0 \u201cIt might prove to be too much for a 72-year-old guy,\u201d he says.\u00a0 \u201cI feel like if I get myself in shape over the next few months and we get the script together the way I really like it, we\u2019ll be fine.\u00a0 It\u2019s a marriage of a rock band and technology now.\u00a0 We\u2019ve got screens, lights, pyro, lasers, and all this stuff.\u00a0 It takes a lot of coordination, and I think it\u2019s going to be fun.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Hockey started the ball rolling back in 2025 when Triumph played a short set for the Edmonton Oilers on the outdoor plaza at their arena during the Stanley Cup finals.\u00a0 This was the first time they played with the expanded Fitz \/ Phil X \/ Kerns line up and afterwards, Emmett said, \u201cIt was fun and we kind of went, \u2018This could work, you know?\u2019\u00a0 And then Live Nation is saying, \u2018We think we could make this work.\u00a0 Do you wanna put some shows up for sale?\u2019\u201d\u00a0 When Phil X joined them again at Triumph\u2019s induction into the Songwriters Hall Of Fame in October of 2025, it got much harder to ignore how good it felt to play the Triumph catalog live again.\u00a0 Rik concluded, \u201cI know I\u2019ve said this would never happen, so I\u2019m sitting around laughing at the fact that I\u2019ve turned myself into a liar [laughs].\u00a0 I didn\u2019t imagine it would happen, but it\u2019s been kind of a circumstance of serendipity.\u00a0 They started playing <\/span>Lay It On the Line <\/span><\/i>at NHL events (the reason the Oilers invited them to play during the playoffs), and Gil Moore started making noise, saying \u2018I wanna put out a big tour, but it\u2019s gonna be virtual.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Yes, you read that right – virtual.\u00a0 Moore\u2019s first thought was, \u201cWe can spend a day filming in front of green screens and construct a virtual concert experience from there.\u201d\u00a0 The only problem?\u00a0 They had way too much fun playing live to not take the show on the road.\u00a0 Adjustments have been made along the way.\u00a0 For example, Emmett\u2019s twin neck Gibson guitar was always a big part of their live show as a trio, but at his current age, it is too heavy to play for any length of time.\u00a0 Known for his stratospheric vocals, he now has back up from Kerns and Phil X.\u00a0 The synergy of playing guitar with Phil X has also helped him find a well of energy that he didn\u2019t think he had any more.\u00a0 Will one tour suffice?\u00a0 Only time will tell and they are rightly taking it one show at a time and just enjoying the ride.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Triumph\u2019s expanded line up seems to be one of the keys to their live success.\u00a0 Rush, however, had a bigger problem with the absence of Neil Peart behind the drum kit.\u00a0 How does one replace Neil Peart?\u00a0 After Peart passed, the band did some one off performances (like the Taylor Hawkins tribute concerts) with several well known drummers stepping in to perform with Lee and Lifeson.\u00a0 Since then, they have been approached by other drummers they refused to name about filling Peart\u2019s shoes.\u00a0 They weren\u2019t looking for a new drummer and were a bit put off by the thought of somebody offering to join up.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In the meantime, Lee and Lifeson busied themselves with other projects.\u00a0 Geddy wrote three books and discovered, \u201cIt was very gratifying.\u00a0 It taught me that instead of banging out notes, I can bang out words.\u00a0 It sent me down a different path.\u201d\u00a0 That path produced <\/span>Geddy Lee\u2019s Big Beautiful Book of Bass (2018), My Effin\u2019 Life:\u00a0 From Holocaust Roots to Rock and Roll Stardom (2023), <\/span><\/i>and <\/span>72 Stories:\u00a0 From the Baseball Collection of Geddy Lee (2023)<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Lifeson posted a couple of solo instrumentals on line (<\/span>Kabul Blues <\/span><\/i>and <\/span>Spy House<\/span><\/i>) before putting together a non-touring alt-rock group called Envy of None.\u00a0 They released a self-titled album in 2022 and a follow up (<\/span>Stygian Wavz<\/span><\/i>) in 2025.\u00a0 Alex said when he and Geddy played with Primus and then at the Taylor Hawkins tribute shows, it gave them a chance to also honor Neil Peart.\u00a0 He told Daly, \u201cTo play our songs again with some other brilliant musicians, it showed us that our music is still alive.\u201d\u00a0 Still, the prospect of touring with a different drummer hung over them until Lee\u2019s bass tech, John \u2018Scully\u2019 McIntosh tipped them off about drummer Anika Nilles.\u00a0 They did a Zoom call with her and pitched the idea of having her play with Rush\u00a0 if they went on the road again.\u00a0 She replied in the affirmative and flew over to spend a week testing the waters.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Nilles bonafides were not in question.\u00a0 She is a German composer, producer, and music educator who happens to also be a \u2018virtuoso drummer\u2019 as one would have to be to tour with the late Jeff Beck.\u00a0 On the last day of her introductory visit (it wasn\u2019t really looked at as an audition), Lee said, \u201cAlex and I looked at each other and went, \u2018Wow, I think we have a drummer – now what do we do?\u2019\u201d\u00a0 Obviously the long term layoff meant they had to work out the kinks before attempting anything like a full blown tour.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0One of Lifeson\u2019s major kinks was his health.\u00a0 His guitar chops were still up to the task but he\u00a0 had to have stomach surgery to correct a hiatal hernia.\u00a0 The procedure resulted in gastroparesis.\u00a0 The muscles in his stomach would not move the food properly through his system so it wasn\u2019t being properly digested.\u00a0 After attending a wellness clinic in Austria, he learned to manage this chronic condition.\u00a0 This meant a change in lifestyle;\u00a0 no more alcohol, smoking, gluten, lactose, and junk food.\u00a0 With things more under control, he and Geddy began getting together to jam.\u00a0 The old friends had a blast and in short order, they began jamming on old Rush tunes.\u00a0 It took some time before they warmed up to the idea of touring again.\u00a0 Finding Anika put them at the tipping point where they would have to make a decision.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Geddy said it was Al who first said, \u201cLet\u2019s play a Rush song for fun and see if we can remember it without doing any homework.\u00a0 Of course, we could only remember parts of them.\u00a0 That\u2019s kind of how it started.\u00a0 I think Al remembers <\/span>Freewill<\/span><\/i> as being the first song we tried.\u00a0 Sometimes, we\u2019d pull up the song and play along with it just to see what it sounded like.\u00a0 That would help you remember all the things you forgot.\u201d\u00a0 Lee said getting his bass finger chops back in the game was no walk in the park, but they still had fun running through their old songs.\u00a0 After that first jam, they began challenging each other when they would get together:\u00a0 \u201cCan you remember this one?\u00a0 We would end sessions with a little sheepish grin and ask ourselves, \u2018What are we doing here?\u00a0 Are we quietly tricking each other into going back on the road?\u2019\u201d\u00a0 Again, this transpired well before they had any drummer in mind to take it a step further.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Lifeson acknowledged that he was not healthy enough to even think about touring at the beginning of 2025.\u00a0 Once they began talking about it, they realized jamming a few songs is a far cry from playing forty songs in a show.\u00a0 Alex says, \u201cIt was gradual.\u00a0 When we started really sounding good together again, like more recently, when I could see a faint light at the end of the tunnel, it almost turned a switch on for me.\u00a0 I went from having self-doubt and not being really positively sure that I really wanted to do it . . . but I\u2019d made the commitment.\u00a0 It was at that moment that I realized that, yes, this is going to be a good thing.\u00a0 It\u2019s going to be a good thing for me personally and for us.\u00a0 It all comes back to you.\u00a0 Muscle memory is a mysterious thing, but it\u2019s beautiful.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Geddy had Anika\u2019s name in mind because she had been mentioned to him by Scully.\u00a0 He said, \u201cWe didn\u2019t really know where to begin to look when it was time to choose a drummer.\u00a0 We started with Anika because she had been recommended to me, and I had done some research on her.\u00a0 I loved her vibe and her diverse style, and I had her in mind in case I was going to do some kind of project.\u00a0 We didn\u2019t have a list.\u00a0 We never, ever accumulated a list of drummers.\u00a0 When Al and I finally said, \u2018Okay, I guess we\u2019re getting serious.\u00a0 Who\u2019s going to sit in that impossible seat?\u2019\u00a0 How do you ask someone to replace a guy who\u2019s irreplaceable?\u00a0 It\u2019s daunting.\u00a0 We started with the name that was already on my mind.\u00a0 We called her, she came, and we hit it off.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Lee expanded upon what they saw in Nilles:\u00a0 \u201cShe brought a lot to the table, but more than her chops, more than her guts and her willingness to sit in that hot seat, she brought an intelligence and a story.\u00a0 I love her story.\u00a0 This is someone who grew up in Germany in a family of musicians.\u00a0 Her dad was a drummer.\u00a0 She\u2019s played drums her entire life.\u00a0 She doesn\u2019t even remember the first time she picked up sticks.\u00a0 It\u2019s who she is.\u00a0 I thought \u2018Wouldn’t that be nice to bring in someone so fresh in our midst to inspire Al and me?\u2019\u00a0 She is younger than us, and she likes to remind us of that.\u00a0 Every time we tell a story about a gig in 1971, she goes, \u201cWow.\u00a0 I wasn\u2019t even born yet.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Will the fans embrace her?\u00a0 So far, the fans love her and Geddy wants to see that continue:\u00a0 \u201cThey\u2019re going to scrutinize her, and she\u2019s up for it.\u00a0 I just love that about her.\u201d\u00a0 Lifeson knew she was good and seemed to have a good grasp of the songs but it wasn\u2019t until the last day of that first week together that things really meshed.\u00a0 He says, \u201cAnd then after that, it\u2019s just been better progressively through the whole year of rehearsals we\u2019ve been doing.\u201d\u00a0 Lee adds, \u201cWe went to that last day with an open mind, but a little doubt.\u00a0 And song after song we played with her, she just killed it.\u00a0 I mean, she understood all those little things that Alex and I had been telling her all that week.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0There is one thing both Triumph and Rush have in common for their respective tours.\u00a0 Rush is bringing along Loren Gold as a touring keyboardist.\u00a0 As Geddy explained it, \u201cPeople will come in and see the stage setup and see it\u2019s not a trio.\u00a0 It\u2019s not Rush 2.0.\u00a0 It\u2019s a new time and we\u2019ve got a different vibe, but the music is treated respectfully.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Neither band is making promises beyond 2026, but as Fats Waller used to say, \u201cOne never knows, do one?\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Top Piece Video:\u00a0 Back in the day, Triumph rocked 300,000 at California Jam with\u00a0Rock and Roll Machine<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0When we reviewed Rik Emmett\u2019s autobiography back in 2025 (FTV:\u00a0 Lay It On The Line 2-5-25), we took note that he spent a lot of time telling long-time Triumph fans that there would be no more tours from this iconic Canadian trio.\u00a0 The reasons included a) he has had some health problems, b) they 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