As far as the details of the show, I covered that already, and quite extensively, on my review of the concert I attended at the Nissan Pavilion in Bristow, Virginia. If you check out that review, and please do, you will notice that many of the songs were not included on this DVD. Just like on the Vapor Trails tour, Rush performed a nearly three hour show, broken up into two long sets with a short intermission. Left off of this DVD were "Bravado", "YYZ", "The Trees", "One Little Victory", "Secret Touch", "Red Sector A", "La Villa Strangiato", and "By-Tor And The Snow Dog". To Rush's defense, you still get over two hours worth of the show, and almost all of these songs were already performed on the Rush In Rio DVD. Still, unless there were technical difficulties with these particular songs that could not be overcome, why not throw them on too. Especially on a two-disk set!
The most memorable part of the show was the fantastic animated intro that brought to life all of the great Rush album cover art, and eventually led into the opening "R30 Overture", which consisted of medley of killer riffs from some of their most endearing 70's songs such as "Bastille Day", "A Passage To Bangkok" and "Hemispheres". Other highlights included a rare performance of the Grace Under Pressure closer "Between the Wheels", and a definitive performance of "Red Barchetta". It's easy to forget about that Moving Pictures classic sometimes since it is sandwiched between, oh,only "Tom Sawyer", "YYZ", and "Limelight". That has my vote for top-five best rock album sides of all time. Although they did dig deep for a couple of these songs, they can afford to dig a little deeper considering the amount of repetition there is on all of their live releases. How about a little "Something For Nothing", "Vital Signs", "Chemistry", or "Cut To The Chase" next time around.
They almost make up for the excluded live performances with a second disk full of Rush rarities, highlighted by some very Spinal Tapish, '70s-era performances of "Fly By Night", "Circumstances," "La Villa Strangiato", "A Farewell To Kings", and "Xanadu" - although most of these are obviously lip-synched performances. Also included are several band interviews, book-ended by a 1979 interview with Geddy Lee, and a Vapor Trails tour interview with Geddy and Alex. The most charming inclusions were a live studio performance of "Closer To The Heart", done for the Canadian Tsunami Disaster Fund charity telethon, and the band's induction into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1994. I was alarmed at how much I must like this band, because that segment had me a little bit misty eyed towards the end.
Article comments
1 - Mr. Real Estate
Rush is definitely a killer band. If someone hasn't slipped this DVD into my Christmas stocking already, I'm definitely picking it up after the Holiday.