Published at 2:20 PM on July 16, 2008

By Adam Daniels

Rush returns to television on The Colbert Report tonight

Rush: great progressive synth-rock sci-fi band or the greatest progressive synth-rock sci-fi band of all time?

Brace yourself, folks. After more than 30 years without a television appearance, the boys are bringing ol' Tom Sawyer down from his landing for a live performance with Mr. Truthiness himself, Stephen Colbert. The two North American superpowers meet tonight (July 16) at 11:30 p.m. ET, when the members of Rush will yet again prove that they are Canada (and so can you).

While it may seem as though the pairing lacks congruity, one need only look to one of the 10,000 things named after Colbert in the last few years to see where the similarities begin. Colbert's namesake hockey team, the Saginaw Spirit, plays in the Ontario Hockey League. Rush is from Ontario. Lead vocalist Geddy Lee was once given the award for "Coolest Bass Line In A Song" by Bass Player magazine for his riff on "Malignant Narcissism," which could theoretically be the name of the eventual Stephen Colbert made-for-TV movie.

Tune in tonight as Rush gets back into the limelight. Catch the mystery, y'all.

Related links:
Rush.com
YouTube: Rush - "Tom Sawyer" (Rush in Rio)
ComedyCentral.com/ColbertReport

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