I have already posted a play by play review of the Snakes & Arrows concert I attended in 2007, so I will not go into the same type of detail here. It was fun to see all of the humorous video clips again, the best one being when the South Park kids hilariously kicked off "Tom Sawyer." The thing I love about Rush, and what has probably kept them together for almost 40 years, is that they don't take themselves too seriously. Just look at the giant Henhouse rotisserie chicken ovens that Geddy has onstage behind him, in place of any bass cabinets, or the collection of Barbie doll groupies huddled around Alex's pedal board.
The one thing that has always been as serious as a heart attack about Rush is the incredible musicianship of all three band members. Alex Lifeson still sounds like a one-man guitar army up on stage, playing what seems like both rhythm and lead guitar simultaneously, and Geddy Lee and Neal Peart are easily one of the best hard rock rhythm sections of all time. I was simply blown away watching Geddy's fingers dance across his bass fret board all night long, thanks to the director's marvelous close-up shots. Although Geddy now has to sing most of the 70's-era songs at least an octave lower than he did back in the day, his newer "mature" voice is much easier for most people to digest. It can be damn-near soothing now.
Classics like "Tom Sawyer," "The Spirit Of Radio," "Subdivisions," and "YYZ" have never sounded better than on this tour, but it was the lesser known gems that really make this one worth watching. The absolute highlight of the concert for me was Rush's performance of the sinister Grace Under Pressure closer, "Between The Wheels." Grace Under Pressure was the first Rush tour I ever attended, and that was the album that really sealed the Rush deal for me. Other highlights were the Moving Pictures, side-two, epic, "Witch Hunt," which featured a spectacular, flame-engulfed, stage show, as well as their rockin' 2112 homage to reefer, "A Passage To Bangkok."
Co-directors Pierre and Francois Lamoureux expertly captured both the grandiosity and intimacy of a Rush concert. When you wanted to see the entire incredible stage show, such as during the Close Encounters-like spectacle of "Between the Wheels," or "YYZ" they were right there for you. But, most importantly, they captured the virtuosity, interaction, and humor of the band with some remarkable close-up action. The high definition video presentation of the main feature looked extraordinary, and a comparison to the non-HD Atlanta footage shows you just what a dramatic difference it can make.
Article comments
1 - Tom Johnson
Man, how could you possibly have a gripe with them including so much off the new album? My main gripe with most older bands touring for new albums is that they basically ignore their new albums. When they're as good as Rush's new music has been, that is a travesty. Rush knew they had great, great material here and happily they really pushed it live. I'd have been extremely bored with yet another "greatest hits" concert - it's very unlikely that we're going to see more than a very few rarities pulled out every tour, so I'd much rather them focus on the new stuff than play a bunch of overplayed older stuff.
2 - Paul Roy
Tom, I agree with you for the most part. I too hate it when bands only do the greatest hits tours and ignore their new albums. I thought Snake's and Arrows was only a "good" Rush album and would have been fine with only four or five songs played from it. Rush's catalog is too vast and too good to use up nine songs in the set with that one new album.
3 - Tom Johnson
I'm one of those now-apparently rare few who think Vapor Trails was the superior album between these latest two, so I can understand where you're coming from - S&A is uneven in some respects. I like the spirit, however, and the lyrical aspect is excellent - Neil is in excellent form there.
And I'd agree with you about playing so much new stuff if they were the type of band that were likely to pull out a bunch of oddities in place of those new songs, but they're just not. I've been following them very closely for a long, long time and they've said that on each tour they'll do a couple "from the vault" songs and the rest are either new or old stand-bys, so I'd much rather they emphasize the new. It's really unfortunate that they don't take more risks with their concert material, but judging by the reaction I have seen the lesser-known stuff get, I see why they don't. "Between The Wheels," "Digital Man" and "Entre Nous" got decidedly COLD reactions at the shows I saw - VERY sad! This is what the long-time fans are asking for and then when we get it, the reaction is tame, at best. Still a fun show, but not the fan's dream that it could be. It does, however, prove that this band is appealing to a wide enough audience year after year that they need to keep a bunch of big songs in there that aren't the fan-geek's dream setlists, which not many other bands their age can say.