It's the greatest rock 'n' roll love story ever told. Rush ♥ Cleveland. And from the very beginning, the feeling has been mutual.

In the mid-1970s, our fair city was the first American market to embrace this cerebral power trio from Toronto.

"It was enormous for us," singer-bassist Geddy Lee said of the early support.

As a token of their undying appreciation, Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson and drummer Neil Peart are filming their concert tonight at The Q for a future DVD release.

"It feels like full circle to me," Lee said, checking in by phone from a tour stop in Florida.

"We realized after all these years that we've shot films in all these different locations. But we've never really shot an entire film in America. We thought, 'Well, that's just wrong.' So where do we want to shoot? And it dawned on me that it was appropriate to shoot in Cleveland, where our entire American adventure began."

The band got its big break here in 1974, when Donna Halper, a disc jockey and music director at WMMS FM/100.7, added the Rush song "Working Man" to the influential radio station's playlist.

PREVIEW

Rush

When: 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 15.

Where: The Q, East Sixth Street and Huron Road, Cleveland.

Tickets: $46.50-$93.50 at the box office, or charge by phone, 1-888-894-9424.

"I don't think we would've had a record deal if it hadn't been for Donna Halper at WMMS playing 'Working Man' and some other songs from our first album," said Lee, 57.

"We got all these record companies calling us, because they got so many phone calls every time they played one of those songs. It brought attention to us in the United States.

"Up till that point, we had a lot of trouble in Canada getting interest from record companies. Even getting dates across the country was difficult at that time.

"Back then, record companies in Canada were not much more than branch offices for major labels that were mostly based in the United States or Europe. They didn't have a whole lot of power to sign local talent."

With a chuckle, Lee added: "I guess our commercial potential wasn't obvious. But the fact that we were able to create a buzz in Cleveland and the fact that people were paying attention to us there opened everything up for us. It was really the start of our entire career."

In the 2010 documentary "Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage," filmmakers Scot McFadyen and Sam Dunn lovingly retrace the group's rise from bar band to international superstardom, with 40 million records sold worldwide.

In June 1974, Lee, Lifeson and original drummer John Rutsey crossed the border for Rush's first U.S. concert -- in Cleveland, opening for ZZ Top at PlayhouseSquare's Allen Theatre.

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"It was just a one-off show," Lee said.

"We were totally green and totally nervous, those first few shows in America. But in Cleveland, they knew our songs already. It was a huge confidence booster.

"We went on to do a tour with Uriah Heep and played in Pittsburgh and other places where, for the most part, they didn't know us from Adam. So it was nice to have one city where they really did know our songs."

A few weeks after Rush's stateside debut here, Rutsey left the group for health reasons and Peart was brought into the fold. Rutsey died of complications from diabetes in 2008.

If all goes well, the DVD of tonight's show could be out by the end of the year, Lee said.

"It's always trial by fire when you shoot these live shows," he said.

"From our point of view, it's nice just to go for it and do the whole evening. . . . It's a bit of a tightrope. You're always faced with the fact that you could screw something up. If you screw up really badly, then you just won't put it in the final product, I guess.

"Hopefully, we're professional enough now that we can just pull it off."

As part of the show, Rush will perform its landmark 1981 album "Moving Pictures" from start to finish. A deluxe edition of the album came out last week.

Concertgoers also can look forward to hearing more old favorites, as well as two new tunes -- "BU2B" and "Caravan" -- from the band's upcoming 20th studio album, "Clockwork Angels." A release date has not been set.

"We've got about seven songs written," Lee said.

"When you hear the first two songs, which we're playing live now, they definitely have a heavier sound. It's the heavier side of Rush in the early going.

"But when I think of all the songs that we've written already, there's quite a lot of diversity there. I think -- I hope -- Rush fans will like it. We're certainly going to work hard to make it a great record, as we always try."