RRx3
Rush Replay x 3 – This set of DVDs (and one CD), released in 2006, contains concert videos released over the years, with the sound remixed, along with one of the concerts’ soundtracks (the other two had been available already as audio versions). They are “Exit Stage Left” (1982) from the Moving Pictures tour, “Grace Under Pressure Tour” (1985) from the Grace Under Pressure tour, and “A Show Of Hands” (1989) from the Hold Your Fire tour; “Exit…” and “A Show…” had both come out as CDs previously, the “Grace Under Pressure Tour” CD is included. The set list for all three shows can be found here.
“Exit Stage Left” starts off with wonky mock-documentary feel with commentaries from the band, it’s hard to understand. Opener is “Limelight”, the solo is great, but Alex lets the sustain carry on too long (actually, for a band that is known for note-perfect reproductions of their studio albums, there are a lot of screw-ups to be noticed on these videos – and that’s actually a good thing… it shows that they’re human after all). Weird computer graphics between songs. Some of the shots are too great – was this filmed on a soundstage, or did they take a few shots with the full cranes and onstage cameramen before the concert? Crowd noise sustained throughout, a bit fake-sounding. “Rush – The Best Band In The Galaxy” is the banner in the audience. “The Trees” blends in with “Xanadu”, with Alex sporting a double-neck Gibson (6-string guitar and 12-string guitar) and Geddy a double-neck Rickenbacker (bass guitar and 6-string electric guitar) and dry ice and Neil’s shimmering chimes. Alex’s foot pedal is e-bow-sounding. At 22:00, Neil does a perfect drumstick toss (there’s another good one at 31:20). The boys are pretty rock here, with Alex Lifeson sorta Brian Jones look. Geddy’s looking cool… except for his white sneakers. Alex has a full head of hair (and no rat tail…).
The film is full of ponderous quotes, usually from Neil:
Well, it seems true that the car has been one of the standard metaphors, and volumes have been written about the sociological and cultural impact of the car and what it represents. But is also has a very fundamentally sensual appeal and it’s a metaphor for sexuality and for freedom.
I think there’s a very strong relationship – it’s maybe generally not recognised – between drums and between words. Just the rhythmic structure and the phrasing and the rhythm of verse especially. It’s strongly rooted in the same syncopation that drums are, and the same patterns of thinking overall work for me for words as much as they do for drum beats.”
At the end of “Xanadu” we can’t really see what Geddy’s doing with his six-string, can only listen and try to figure it out. Cheap road driving graphics. At the end of “Closer To The Heart”, Alex brushes Geddy’s hair from his ear, pretty weird… “By-Tor and the Snow Dog” drums at 50:00 amaze!! At 56:00 there’s the floating pentagram. “Thank you very much, Montreal, GOOD NIGHT!!!” YYZ over end credits.
The CD and the DVD of this concert are pretty different: the DVD lacks “The Spirit of the Radio”, “A Passage To Bangkok”, “Beneath, Between and Behind”, “Jacob’s Ladder”, “Broon’s Band” and “La Villa Strangiata” (all favourites), but it does include “Limelight” and a medley of “By-Tor and the Snow Dog”/”In The End”/”In The Mood”/”2112 Finale” (all five of which are great Rush classics – and “In The Mood” is the final song for all three concerts in this set, by the way…
“Grace Under Pressure Tour” Opens with spooky darkness, the US and R-US-H words looming in from behind camera, then crowd and Three Stooges theme music (three blind mice, etc), then “The Spirit of the Radio”, with a sea of skinny arms rising out of the front section of the crowd in front of the stage, each belonging to a young male air drummer. New wave haircuts on all the guys – Neil with a rat tail, Geddy Lee with a weird, bushy mullet, and Alex with a mock Flock of Seagulls sweep.
Lasers in the Fear Trilogy, thin sound, glowing keyboards. Count Floyd introduces “The Weapon”, recommends the 3-D glasses, Alex pretends he’s ROFL, Neal dons red baseball cap and huge earmuffs. Alex plays weird solo and sound effects. Incorporate crowd into “Witch Hunt” intro – with video. At 20:30, Neil’s drumstick throw and catch earns huge applause. Alex plays bass pedals too. “He’s not concerned with yesterday, he knows constant change is here to stay.” “Closer To The Heart” seems to have plenty of edited-in scenes and funky new jam-out at the end. In “YYZ”, a shot of a hot chick dancing. Yes, you read that correctly – a hot chick… at a Rush concert… dancing. For the second half, Geddy removes his ugly jacket, and we get to see his skinny arms. “Thank you very much, we’ll come and see you again some time. Thank you. BYE-BYE!”
“A Show of Hands”, groovy opening animation, shows kid arriving at a Rush show, recreates arrival of band onstage, then they hit the opening chords of “Big Money”. Geddy one-leg skips around the stage (a sort of upright duck walk). Cheap road animation. Power Windows kid in video. Alex does backup vocals! Geddy playing real bass again – ends with an “Earache My Eye” riff. “Marathon” is a real anthem, great to hear it again after maybe 25 years. There’s some cooooool Hey Good Looking lips animation. “Closer To The Hear”, another track that’s in all three concerts. There’s a funky bass jam. Neil Peart’s tinny drum pads sound like crap. “Red Sector A” keyboards sound horrible. Great lighting, each musician in his own “light island”. “Mission” is a rousing song, weird jazzy mid section with Neil on the electro xylo-pads, great end solo. “YYZ” unlisted after “Territories”, and Geddy steps out from behind the keyboards for once. The crowd digs the xylo-pads during Neil’s solo, though, not too bad… There’s a cool “Escape from Moving Pictures” video that recreates the Moving Pictures cover and does some mischief to it, drawing out a sexy girl (crowd applause), and then “Tom Sawyer” as the “last” song. There’s an encore medley with a “Temples of Syrinx” lead-in that has the crowd HEY-ing, Alex and Geddy sway like Judas Priest, then ham it up totally. “La Villa Strangiata” comes at the end with a wild laser roof. “In The Mood” balloons fall down, they do a jazz boogie, and then the “Earache My Eye” last blast. Groovy!
The band was doing something, uh, pretty weird during “La Villa Strangiata”, not really sure what was going on there. Alex was singing?!?! Check it out…
