The new drummer of Rush, Anika Nilles, has been making headlines with her light-hearted comments at the end of the band’s concerts.

This time, however, it was guitarist Alex Lifeson who stole the spotlight in a clip from their performance in Montreal on September 4.

As shown in the video below, he took advantage of a pause before playing the classic track “Limelight,” likely while waiting for a technical issue to be resolved.

READ MORE: Rush’s First Reunion Tour Song Was a ‘Spinal Tap’ Moment

After briefly expressing his affection for the city, and acknowledging it sounded like “just something you’d say,” he turned to Geddy Lee and asked, “I think I’d like to… can I start the song now?”

Lee responded, “You’re the boss!” to which Lifeson feigned surprise. “I’m the boss? This is new!” he exclaimed before embracing the idea.

“I’m the boss! Ah, you’re all fired! I’m just going to do a show by myself. I’m going to make hundreds of dollars!

“I’m going to go to the center of the stage and strike a rock star pose and start this, because this is my band now.” He seemed to look directly into the camera with a smug expression as he gracefully stepped forward to play the opening riff of “Limelight.”

Alex Lifeson Fires Rush

The rejuvenated band appears more relaxed than ever despite being on hiatus for 11 years following Neil Peart’s retirement in 2015. However, as Lee mentioned in a recent interview, this is not the first time they returned from a break with a newfound lightness.

“When we first started, we always had a good sense of humor,” he stated, “but for some reason – perhaps due to youth and lack of confidence – we kept that humor to ourselves.”

How Rush Decided to Be Themselves

He referenced Rush’s hiatus in 1997 after Peart experienced the tragic loss of his daughter and wife. “As time passed,” Lee continued, “and we went through various phases, some of which were not happy times, by 2002 we had decided it was okay to be ourselves.”

This shift allowed the band to appear in episodes of South Park, create their own comedy sketches for their shows, and make a cameo in the 2009 film I Love You Man.

“Before 2002 we said ‘no’ to anything outside our comfort zone,” Lee recalled. “After 2002 we began saying ‘yes’ – and I Love You Man was exactly that.”