Rush - Rush in Rio
Performance
Production
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Rush - Rush in Rio
Performance
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Rush in Rio was emphatically my most anticipated concert DVD release of 2003. Like a true Rush geek, I ran out and bought it the day it was released (actually I made my wife do it, because I was working) and then told my boss that I would need the next day off. This, of course, was so I could party properly (i.e. drink heavily) during my viewing/celebration of Rush In Rio, and then not have to worry about silly inconveniences like getting up at 6 am for work the next morning. Prior to catching their Vapor Trails tour that summer, I had been concerned about the fate of Rush, considering that they had just taken their first major hiatus (5 years) between albums and tours, following the tragic deaths of drummer Neal Peart's wife and daughter. Although I was somewhat disappointed with the Vapor Trails album, although it continues to grow on me, the concert I attended simply blew me away. These three Canucks rocked harder and more passionately than if the Toronto Maple Leafs had won Lord Stanley's Cup. Rush seemed to be especially fueled by the overwhelming fan appreciation and enthusiasm that they were showered with each night of the tour. I have also seen their Grace Under Pressure and Counterparts tours, and they are now playing as good or better than they ever have. I own the VHS copies of the Exit Stage Left, Grace Under Pressure, and A Show of Hands concerts, all of which are excellent, but all Rush fans have been anxiously awaiting an original DVD recording from the band. What the hell took so long? This concert is a recording of Rush's last show from their Vapor Trails world tour, which culminated in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This tour was the first time Rush had ever played in Brazil, and I'm sure it will not be the last. These psyco Brazilians were some of the most wildly enthusiastic fans I have ever witnessed at a rock concert. Rush now knows what The Beatles must have felt like at their first stadium concert in the U.S. It seemed like EVERYONE in the audience knew EVERY riff and lyric of EVERY song in the band's vast catalog, and were hell bent on singing along to EVERYTHING! OK, now that I've said EVERY a million times. One of the biggest complaints with the audio mix is that the crowd noise was too overwhelming most of the time. I agree, the crowd noise was mixed too high, especially with the 5.1 mix, but I thought it added to the overall excitement of the show. The crowd was mixed exclusively to the rear surrounds, so you could at least compensate if you wanted to. The only song that the crowd seemed to almost completely overwhelm was the opening song, "Tom Sawyer". I'm sure the crowd had worked themselves into a frenzy waiting for the show to start, and then were especially astounded when Rush opened with "Tom Sawyer". It certainly surprised the hell out of me. Great move though. The audio mix for this concert was a little disappointing overall. The bass level was unusually high, especially during the first few songs. I had to get up and turn my subwoofer level down about 25 percent during the intro to "Tom Sawyer", because I thought my walls might crumble. Fortunately, this was evened out more as the concert progressed. The drums were mixed a little too low, especially when you have the world's greatest rock drummer bashing the skins, and Geddy's vocals were often overwhelmed by the instruments and audience noise. This was definitely a guitar friendly mix, and Alex Lifeson took advantage of it giving an inspiring performance. He especially shined on the instrumental tour de force "La Villa Strangiato". His unique, flawless soloing was phenomenal, and it makes you wonder why he played virtually NO guitar solos on their Vapor Trails album. Yet, with all these minor faults, the sound was still raw and powerful and captured the incredible energy of the show nicely. The picture is presented in widescreen format and fully engulfs you with the magnitude of Rush's brilliant stage show. Their phenomenal laser and light show was captured perfectly, displaying the vivid colors and contrasts with great detail. The video was exceptionally sharp and clear, as if you were watching from the front row. The camera changes were a bit too frantic, however, and this overshadowed the otherwise excellent variety of angles. One of my favorites was from above and behind Neil's massive drum kit, which gave an incredible, panoramic view of him playing and looking out over the immense stadium crowd. I would have liked more longer, medium distance shots of the entire stage show, because it was an awesome sight to behold. Aside from the camera angle changes being a little too quick, this was one of the best looking rock concert videos I have ever seen. The song selection was excellent, touching all but two of their 17 studio albums. After opening with "Tom Sawyer" they played for about 70 minutes, ending the first set with fan favorites "Closer to the Heart", and "Natural Science". The band added "Closer to the Heart" only during the Brazil shows after being told that it was the favorite Rush song in Brazil. In between, they slipped in a jaw-dropping performance of "YYZ", that actually had the crowd "singing" along with the guitar playing. Explain that shit! The virtuosity they all displayed during this song was amazing - but we already know that about Rush, don't we now. After a 20 minute intermission, Rush took the stage to "One Little Victory", the single from their latest album, Vapor Trails, and then played another full 70 minute set. Rush had a fantastic stage show, minus the silly clothes dryers on the middle of the stage, and it was captured expertly by the long camera shots. I heard that the dryers are an inside joke about the appliance-sized speaker cabinets that are often used on stage. Since Geddy was relying on ear monitors to hear himself, and not bass cabinets, he wanted to balance out Lifeson's wall of Marshalls with his own "appliances". It's kind of hilarious once you are in on the joke. The highlight of their stage show was the intro to the second set, when the main video screen played an animated clip of that cool looking dragon from the DVD cover. The video clip ended with the dragon exhaling a massive stream of fire, which simultaneously set off multiple, REAL, giant flames that practically engulfed the stage. As they launch into "One Little Victory", the burning logo from the Vapor Trails album cover remained on the video screen as the smoke cleared. You've got to see it to appreciate it. Rush admitted to using inferior recording equipment to record this show, which I can't understand, and they also ran into many technical difficulties, thanks to the torrential rain storms leading up to the show. The severe weather conditions delayed the set-up, as the road crew, film crew, and recording crew all scrambled to get things ready. This essentially meant that there would be no sound check, no film check, and no recording check - they would simply have to wing it, including the band. Considering the many obstacles that were overcome that night, the production turned out rather well. I just think of what could have been. The most amazing thing of all though, is that at the end of a long and exhausting tour, where their scheduled DVD recording was almost sabotaged by a monsoon, Rush still turned in the performance of a lifetime. The DVD package also includes a second disk that features "The Boys In Brazil", a 54 minute documentary of the band's tour of Brazil, which includes interviews, backstage footage, and other great stuff. You also get multi-angle options of the songs "YYZ", "O Baterista", and "La Villa Strangiato", as well as "Easter Eggs" of a 1975 promotional video for "Anthem", and the "By-Tor And The Snow Dog" cartoon that is projected during the concert. You can find instructions on how to access these eggs all over the Internet now, so I will not waste another paragraph here to explain it. This was long enough already, don't you think? Reviewed by Paul M. Roy - June 2004 |
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Set List |
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Running Time: 171 Minutes |
DVD Release Date - October 2003 |