UPDATE - 4/18@10:07AM: There's a front page feature on the New Orleans fiasco in today's Times-Picayune titled Bumped band is a good sport (thanks pblaster).

UPDATE - 4/17@8:43PM: Rush.com has posted this official press release regarding the rescheduling of the shows:

For Immediate Release
April 17th, 2008

Rush has announced that two of the tour dates on this year's continuation of the Snakes and Arrows tour will be switched. The New Orleans date scheduled for Saturday, April 19th at the New Orleans Arena will be moved to Sunday, April 20th at the same venue. The Houston date originally scheduled for Sunday, April 20th will be held on Saturday, April 19th at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion. The reason: The New Orleans Hornets have clinched their first playoff berth in four years and will play their first playoff game at the New Orleans Arena on Saturday, April 19th, the same night that Rush was scheduled to perform.

"You always know that there is a slight possibility that this could happen" says Rush Manager Ray Danniels, "but no one was expecting it to. We have to congratulate the New Orleans Hornets on capturing their first division title in their 20 year franchise history. Concerts are often booked on potential playoff dates using an educated guess at the time, in all our years of touring this is a first time a date has been forced to change. We apologize to any Rush fan who is inconvenienced by this.”

This change will not be an easy one for the band as it will necessitate additional travel for band and crew as they bypass New Orleans on their way to Houston, backtrack for the New Orleans show and then head back to Texas for Rush's Austin show on April 23rd. "It's disappointing" says Danniels "we have 40 crew members who are logging a lot of extra miles and additional expense as a result of this shift". Still, Rush is expecting a sold out crowd when they play New Orleans for the first time in 12 years.

Rush is also announcing that they will contribute $100,000 from the show in New Orleans to assist in the continuation of revitalizing the city post Katrina.

I think I can summarize this in 2 words - we're sorry. :) I'm not sure how much of a consolation this is for all the inconvenienced fans, but it's a start I guess. Maybe they should play Camera Eye... I bet that would make everyone happy. In all seriousness though, the $100,000 contribution to the city is a very classy move. Thanks to pblaster for the heads up.

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UPDATE - 4/17@2:46PM: Reader Laura N received an email from Music Today regarding getting a refund for your tickets to either of the shows. Here's what the email said:

Subject: URGENT! - RESCHEDULED - Rush show dates in New Orleans and Houston

Dear Fan,

Due to the NBA playoff game in New Orleans the Rush show dates in New Orleans and Houston have been switched. Rush will now be playing Houston on Saturday April 19th and New Orleans on Sunday April 20th.

Your tickets will be honored at the venue listed on your tickets on the rescheduled date. Your ticket order is still valid.

If you cannot attend the rescheduled date, please reply to this e-mail with a refund request no later than 3:00 PM ET on Friday April 18th. The barcodes will be cancelled immediately upon receipt of your e-mail and the tickets will be invalid.

In order to receive the refund, you will need to return the tickets to us immediately. Returned tickets must be postmarked by Saturday April 19th, 2008.

We will not be able to honor refunds if tickets are shipped past April 19th.

Please ship your tickets back to
Musictoday:
Attn: RUSH Ticketing Customer Service
5391 Three Notch'd Road
Crozet, VA. 22932

Once tickets are returned we will process a refund of the face value of the tickets as per the cancelled/ postponed show refund policy stated in the online user agreement.

Please allow 48 business hours for the transaction to appear on your statement following the refund.

Sincerely,
Ticketing Customer Service Dept

I assume this would only apply for tickets purchase through Music Today and not Ticketmaster. I'm not clear if Ticketmaster has a similar refund policy or not.

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UPDATE - 4/17@11:40AM: Rush.com has also posted the info on their website:

April 16, 2008

Due to the NBA playoffs the Rush show dates in New Orleans and Houston have been switched. Rush will now be playing Houston on Saturday April 19th and New Orleans on Sunday April 20th.

Thanks to ashpkt for the heads up.

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UPDATE - 4/17@9:57AM: Here's another link confirming the move from the Cynthia Woods Pavilion website (thanks GeddyGirl).

In a follow up to my post on Monday regarding a possible rescheduling of the New Orleans show, Live Nation has announced that the New Orleans and Houston shows are swapping dates due to the NBA playoffs. The New Orleans show originally scheduled for this Saturday, April 19th will now take place on the following day - Sunday, April 20th. The Houston show originally scheduled on the 20th will now take place on Saturday, April 19th. Here's the announcement from NOLA.com:

Due to the New Orleans Hornets Playoff Game now scheduled for Saturday 4/19, Saturday's RUSH concert at the New Orleans Arena has been moved to the following day, Sunday April 20th. All tickets for the Saturday April 19th show will be honored at the new show date.

KKRW The Arrow has also posted a copy of the Live Nation press release (pdf file) on their website (thanks su2112). Thanks to LVS_R for the heads up.

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