Pros: Performances, crowd, documentary, drum solo, the lists goes on...
Cons: Audio is a bit muffled at times, video is not truly anamorphic.
The Bottom Line: Despite a few technical problems, this is a DVD set that belongs in the library of any fan of Rush, rock, or indeed good music. Highly recommended!
In recent years I have become an increasingly avid fan of the classic rock genre. I grew up on Christian rock and oldies, but in High School I began to listen to more bands from the 70s and 80s. Naturally, this meant I eventually listened to some Rush. After hearing some of their more popular songs like Tom Sawyer and Spirit of Radio, I decided that they were good enough to justify my purchasing a greatest hits album. This meant getting Chronicles, which was an excellent introduction to the band. I listened to this many times and began to really like their sound and to realize several things about them. First of all, they weren't singing about sex, drugs or rock n' roll (much). Unlike many of their peers in rock music, there was depth and meaning to their lyrics. I later found out that this was thanks to drummer Neil Peart who writes their lyrics. Sometimes dubbed “the thinking man's” band, Rush songs address a diverse array of issues, whether it's life, politics, society, the future, whatever. I don't necessarily agree with their views on everything, but I respect them because I can tell that some genuine reason and research went into formulating these opinions (they're not a bunch of dope-smoking hippies singing about getting high or making love). Peart reads tons of books and appears to be genuinely interested in furthering his own understanding and knowledge, and that is evident in his lyrics. Not only are Rush's lyrics intelligent, their music is also very complex. A “progressive” band, Rush includes instrumental segments in many of their songs. Despite being only a three-man band, Rush is able to produce amazingly full-sounding and technically-complex music that sounds great without trying to be “catchy.” This is not popular rock music written with the purpose of getting airplay – this is music for those who are tired of the repetitive and simple stuff that seems to get so much popular attention. Because of this, Rush seems to be a love-em or ignore-em kind of band. I know a couple people who love them like I do because they recognize and really appreciate the skill that goes into their music, but most of my other friends will acknowledge that they've got talent, yet don't listen to them because they either don't like the musical style or they can't stand Geddy Lee's voice (I'll admit, it took me some time to get used to that aspect of their music, but now I can't imagine listening to their songs without his characteristic often high-pitched voice). I think if these people really gave Rush a chance, however, they'd begin to recognize that it is truly a band that deserves the attention of any music-lover (especially musicians). And the fastest way to do this would be to watch Rush in Rio, for while it was the Chronicles compilation that made me a fan of Rush, it was this DVD that helped make them probably my favorite band of all time and motivated me to buy most of their albums.
Disc 1
The Rush in Rio 2-disc set comes with one disc that holds the entire 3 hour concert and another disc with special features. There is also included a small booklet with some interesting reflections on the tour and concert by Neil Peart. 3 hours is a lot of video to store on a single DVD, so some compression artifacts are to be expected. Despite this, the video looks very good and is generally crisp and bright. There is a problem with the video, however. If this DVD is supposed to have been presented in anamorphic widescreen, it's not. On a 4:3 tv set, it looks the same as anamorphic video would, but on a wide display the black bars appear to actually be part of the video as they are still there and everything is stretched horizontally. Our plasma display has a couple “zoom” modes that are meant to be used in such situations and which stretch the video vertically so that everything looks correct. If you plan to watch this on a widescreen set which does not have this feature, you'll probably have to watch the video on 4:3 mode to keep it from looking stretched. This is an unfortunate technical oversight that should have been rectified before the disc was sent to the presses.
On the audio front, some people have complained about it being muffled, and there is some truth to this (especially at the beginning of the DVD). This may be because the recording crew had no chance to do a sound check before recording (as explained in the documentary). However, it really isn't that bad and the music still sounds great to me. There are two Dolby Digital mixes included on the disc, one stereo and one 5.1. The stereo one has less crowd noises, so if you're only interested in the music it may be desirable for that reason. However, if you really want to get the “concert experience,” go with the 5.1 mix. The front channels are dominated by the music, while the rear channels have quite a bit of crowd sounds. This mix lets you get a palpable sense of what it must have been like to watch the show in the midst of 40,000 energized Brazilian fans, so it's the one I usually listen to.
The DVD is very professionally-edited and they clearly had a ton of cameras recording this concert. I was happy to find that the video is comprised more of extended shots of each of the different musicians playing their instrument rather than lots of short clips. This way you really get a chance to see each performance. When one artist is playing a prominent part of the song, we logically see mostly them. The camera angles are great, also. You've got wide shots of the whole stage, closeups of Geddy or Alex, closer shots of just their instruments, several angles of Peart on the drum set, a couple shots from above looking at the band's heads, several booms reaching over the crowd showing a distant stage, and close shots of people in the audience. All the cameras have very crisp video except for one that's looking toward the crowd from behind Peart's drum set which tends to be pretty muddy. Otherwise, this aspect of the DVD gets my full approval.
And now, the concert itself...
The last show of their 2002 Vapor Trails tour, it is located in a soccer stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Rush apparently never really knew how popular they were in South America, but this time they added some dates south of the equator for the first time in their history. These shows ended up bringing some of the largest crowds they'd ever played for, so it's a good thing they finally paid these die-hard fans a visit!
The concert disc opens (and closes) with a really cool Brazilian instrumental percussion piece by Uakti titled “Trilobita” (on the album Mapa if you're interested). During this are clips of the crew setting up for the concert as the fans begin to pour into the stadium early. While waiting for the concert to start, we see the thousands of fans yelling excitedly and waving their arms in the air. Darkness falls, and the band launches into “Tom Sawyer.”
The following is the set list for this concert with some positive and negative comments about some of the performances. If I don't comment on a particular song, that means it's very good, though perhaps not one of the most memorable.
1) Tom Sawyer
Every time I watch the beginning to this song, I can't help but smile. The immediate swell of excitement from the fans is awesome. The complex drum patterns and rhythms of Peart's performance here are practically impossible to distinguish from the album recording, in other words, perfect. The same goes for Geddy Lee's keyboard and bass work as well as Alex Lifeson's guitar. Geddy Lee's voice sounds fine here as well.
2)Distant Early Warning
3)New World Man
4)Roll the Bones
Throughout the concert, the band members are shown on a large screen above the stage along with occasional video clips. For this one, an amusing animation of a skeleton sings the prerecorded deep-voiced parts. Oh yeah, and Lifeson plays a beautiful Gibson SG guitar on this one in addition to singing harmony on the chorus.
5)Earthshine
6)YYZ
Excellent performance by everyone on this instrumental, including the audience who “sings” along to the notes. This song provides a good opportunity to see/hear how good Geddy Lee is on the bass, too.
7)The Pass
I actually heard this song for the first time on this DVD and I like this version better than the album recording. This has become one of my favorite Rush songs – a bit slower than some of theirs but very powerful (musically and lyrically). Awesome harmonies by Alex and Geddy.
8)Bravado
Awesome.
9)The Big Money
10) The Trees
Generally excellent performance of an excellent song, though a bit different sounding than the album version (guitar especially). Audience sings along with much of it, despite it being in a language most of them probably don't speak. Acoustic intro is present, as well.
11)Free Will
12)Closer to the Heart
This wasn't originally part of the set list, but they added it for their South America leg of the tour after hearing how popular it was down there. Not their strongest performance, but the enthusiasm of the crowd in singing along made up for it.
13)Natural Science
14)One Little Victory
This plays after the intermission, which features a fun animation of a dragon smoking a cigar. The dragon then breathes fire toward the stage as pyrotechnic flames burst upward and they start the song. Very cool, and a good performance.
15)Driven
In my opinion, one of their better songs from the 90's. Accurate performance.
16)Ghost Rider
17)Secret Touch
Vocals a bit shaky at times, otherwise fine.
18)Dreamline
19)Red Sector A
Not an uplifting piece, but still one of my favorites. The band definitely does it justice in this performance. Peart gets to play with his electric set here, too.
20)Leave that Thing Alone
The band seems to have intentionally left most of their instrumentals for the end of the concert, possibly to give Geddy's voice a rest since it is understandably getting tired at this time, and also possibly to let themselves loosen up a bit toward the end. Anyway, they do a great job on this one and really seem to be enjoying themselves. Nice bass work by Geddy on this one.
21)O Baterista
“The drummer” in Portuguese, “O Baterista” is the title of Neil Peart's drum solo for this concert. Peart is widely regarded as one of rock's greatest drummers of all time, and if ever there was any doubt, this solo should put that to rest. I had a bunch of friends borrowing this DVD last year at my dorm just so they could watch this. As a drummer myself, this video alone is almost worth the price of the DVD. Watch and be amazed at the technical wonder that is Neil “the human metronome” Peart's 8 minute and 10 second drum solo. Oh, and his drum set freaking rocks.
22)Resist
To give Neil a rest after his solo, Geddy and Alex arranged an acoustic version of this song for the tour. A drastic change in tempo and energy from the previous performance, this is a quiet piece that sounds really beautiful as an acoustic number.
23)2112
Understandably, this is not the full 20-minute song from the album, but just the Overture and Temples of Syrinx parts. An excellent performance that the audience really gets into, with Geddy and Alex appreciatively smiling whenever the audience yells a resounding “huah!” with the beat. The only less-than-great part of this song is Geddy's voice - it's starting to get tired at this point in the night. I don't really consider this a weakness, though... most singers today who are half his age only have to make it through concerts half as long as this.
24)Limelight
25)La Villa Strangiato
Probably my favorite instrumental of Rush's and one of my favorites of all, this performance is really enjoyable. All the band members are obviously having fun – even Peart can be seen smiling – and Alex does his trademark off-the-wall comedy bit toward the end. I believe this song was kind of inspired by a dream/nightmare of his, so they've always let him use this song as an opportunity to goof off at concerts as he seems to love to do. Don't let this make you think they don't take the song seriously, though...it sounds fantastic and Alex's hands literally fly along the strings on some of the trickier spots. Everybody does an amazing job with this one. I was a bit disappointed it didn't have the acoustic intro of the recorded version, but I can believe that Alex's fingers may not have been up to it at this point.
26)The Spirit of Radio
Another fun and very well-done performance.
27)By-Tor and the Snow Dog/Cygnus X/Working Man
Their encore set. As always the instrumental portions are great (though somewhat shortened and perhaps a bit loose). Understandably, Geddy's voice is pretty much shot at this point.
That's it for disc one. Aside from some relatively minor technical flaws/weaknesses, a fantastic presentation of an awesome concert.
Disc 2
As if the concert itself wasn't enough, we Rush fans are treated to another disc of special features. The primary attraction here is the “Boys in Brazil” documentary by Andrew MacNaughtan. It begins with their initial preparation for the Vapor Trails tour – in the studios, coming up with the set list, practicing the songs, etc. After this it joins the final three shows of the tour – all in Brazil. Here we get to see and hear about the various technical and natural difficulties the band and crew encountered, especially one show where rain put Peart's electric drum triggers out of commission. There are also some clips of English-speaking fans from the various locations talking about how much Rush means to them. A lot of this was just gushing, but I guess if you've been a huge fan of a band for decades and this is the first time you've been able to see them live, you'd be pretty happy too. Probably the most enjoyable part of the documentary for me was just getting to see Geddy, Alex and Peart's personalities. Geddy's kind of the organizational one who's always trying to stay on top of things and keep track of the crew's preparations. Alex is the comic relief and is almost always doing something goofy and fun (his wife, Charlene, came along for this part of the tour and the playful interactions between them are often hilarious). Neil is the quiet, thoughtful one who can be seen reading in his hotel room and spending his time away from all the bustle of activity. Peart came late to Brazil to avoid the press interviews (apparently to avoid having to revisit through questions the death of his wife and daughter several years before), but we get to see clips of Alex and Geddy addressing the Brazilian press. There are also clips of interviews of each of the band members as they talk about the various experiences/hurdles/tasks they encountered along the way. These can be pretty interesting and amusing at times and it's just fun to see them talk instead of just stand on a stage and perform. There's quite a bit of behind-the-scenes footage of the band warming up and getting ready to go on stage as well. Content-wise the documentary is clean except for a couple f-words muttered by Geddy when he lost track of his stage shoes.
In addition to the great documentary, there are also multi-angle presentations of YYZ, O Baterista and La Villa Strangiato. The first and last songs let you choose a musician to focus on, so if you are only intersted in the drum part you can select that video and just watch Peart's performance. O Baterista is obviously just Peart, but you can choose to watch it from at several different angles. YYZ and O Baterista are here in their entirety, but La Villa Strangiato ends at the part toward the end where Alex starts to talk. This is a perfect use of the multi-angle feature of DVDs and makes it easy to get a nice close-up view of a specific band member's performance. The video is wide but has the selection of angle options below it, so it all ends up being 4:3 aspect ratio. In other words, it fits on a 4:3 screen but will have black bars on the right and left on a wide screen. This isn't really a problem since the same songs are available on the other disc in all their widescreen glory.
Finally, there are a couple easter eggs on the extras disc...one with the original By-Tor animation (press enter at the 26:40 mark of the documentary) and another with video of them performing Anthem in 1975 (play O Baterista multi-angle, go back to the menu, play YYZ, go back, play YYZ again, go back, play O Baterista, and go back a final time and a button for Anthem 1975 should appear). Anthem 1975 is a lot of fun to watch. They sure looked different back in '75! I'd have to say I prefer their present fashion tastes, though.
Conclusion
This is an absolute must-have for any fan of Rush. Fans of classic rock, or indeed music in general, should also see it, as it documents for posterity a truly awesome rock concert by a truly awesome rock band. Rush has always been about the music more than putting on a crazy show, so don't expect a lot of running around the stage and trying to act “cool.” Do expect, however, an extremely energetic crowd and some truly great performances. Considering how many rock bands from the 70s and 80s that have seemingly lost the skill or will to put on a good show anymore, watching 50+ year-old Alex, Geddy and Neil play these songs so well is truly a testament to the seriousness and skill they bring to the world of music. I have watched this DVD many times now and enjoy it immensely every time. Get it!
(On an unrelated note, it it just me or does Alex Lifeson now look a lot like an older, slightly heavier Kiefer Sutherland from the TV show 24?)
Rush take to the stage at the famous Maracana soccer stadium in Rio De Janiero, Brazil. Shot on November 23rd, 2002, this lavish production was the fi...More at HotMovieSale.com
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