For years this ticketstub has been floating around the internet showing Rush opening for Genesis in Buffalo, New York, on December 1st, 1973. However, it has been confirmed that this was not the same band comprised of Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and John Rutsey. Possible other performers include Mahogany Rush or Tom Rush:
"I don't believe we ever opened for Genesis to be honest...Must have been another Rush...it wasn't us...maybe it was Mahongany Rush, that's possible." - Geddy Lee, "Rockline", May 9, 2007
It has also been confirmed on more than one occasion that Rush's first gig in the U.S. was May 18th, 1974:
"We played our first American show ever not to far from here in East Lansing at an outdoor, uh...it was over twenty years ago, and it was in the mud and it was raining and stuff." - Alex Lifeson at Auburn Hills, Michigan, March 22, 1994
"Before the ZZ Top gig, we'd played one, count them ONE gig in the U.S., which was some outdoor thing near Lansing Michigan." - Ian Grandy via email to Skip Daly, 2009