Alex Lifeson joins Tom Morello onstage to jam a Rush classic – during surprise guest spot in the band’s home city

Just months after revealing that he and Geddy Lee regularly jam, Alex Lifeson has joined Tom Morello on stage for a surprise guest spot in Toronto, during which they jammed a Rush classic in the band’s home city.

The cheers that erupted after Morello uttered the words, “Please welcome Alex Lifeson to the stage,” are palpable, even via YouTube. Aptly donning his Godin Lerxst Limelight, built as a recreation of the Hentor Sportcaster that dominated Rush’s early ’80s material, Lifeson swiftly rolled back the years as soon as he started playing Limelight’s iconic opening bars.

The spot happened at the city’s Danforth Music Hall on July 17. Morello is currently touring as a solo artist and, after dedicating The Garden of Gethsemane to the late Chris Cornell and covering Ozzy’s Mr Crowley, called upon Lifeson to help kick off the encore.

Proving he is human after all, Lifeson warms into the guitar solo but ends on a high, throwing Morello a wry smile and a shake of the head as he nails the final vibrato. The Canadian legend received another rapturous response upon the song’s end, with Morello beaming, “What a time to be alive.”

He also stuck around for the final song of the night, a cover of the MC5’s Kick Out the Jams, which was also covered by a newly reformed Soundgarden earlier this year.

Lifeson has recently released a second album with his post-Rush band, Envy of None, and it’s a release that has seen him embrace digital gear and reignite his passion for solos.

However, he’s also spoken candidly about his insecurities as a player, saying he’s always struggled from a lack of confidence in his abilities.

The Limeight performance continues Morello’s hot-streak of shred-offs. He joined Jane’s Addiction and rekindled his fiery partnership with Bruce Springsteen last year, traded licks with Slash in February, and spearheaded the heavy metal Yardbirds at Back to the Beginning earlier this month.

A freelance writer with a penchant for music that gets weird, Phil is a regular contributor to Prog, Guitar World, and Total Guitar magazines and is especially keen on shining a light on unknown artists. Outside of the journalism realm, you can find him writing angular riffs in progressive metal band, Prognosis, in which he slings an 8-string Strandberg Boden Original, churning that low string through a variety of tunings. He’s also a published author and is currently penning his debut novel which chucks fantasy, mythology and humanity into a great big melting pot.