Rush Beyond the Lighted Stage...

[Yves]

. One thing I found interesting was Neal's pre-Rush band "J.R. Flood" (or whatever it was called). That short little clip of them sounded pretty cool.

Agreed! I'd like to know if they ever released anything or if they were solely a cover band.

[helix]

VERY well put Mikhael! I ditto that response!

I've loved Rush with immense passion from age 12 to the present day. The moments on stage and on record that they've given me are priceless. They're like a stock you bought years ago that people laughed at (like maybe Apple in the mid-90's?) but you stuck with it and it is now paying wild dividends. The DVD/Blu-ray of the OP is really a great representation of the various aspects of why Rush are so special to so many.

love this post


I was turned on to Rush via Permanent Waves and a friend's older brother. when Tom Sawyer and Moving Pictures came out they became 'my band'. completely bummed that I had to miss the tour (Mom wouldn't let a 13 year old me travel to Maryland to see them. I wonder why???? )


I finally got to see them for Signals (which really was the start of the new era. sad I never got to see the 'old' band play) and would go to every area show I could from them to now


it's striking to see the shift between July 1981 and mid 1983 when Grace Under Pressure rolled out. almost a new band. for this hesher, the haircuts, the Steinberger and loss of the Gibson was a huge blow !

[infandous]

Rush was really my introduction to progressive rock, back in the late 80's. 2112 was the first thing I heard that could actually be called progressive rock (well, aside from Pink Floyd, and some Yes and Kansas radio hits of the 70's....but I didn't know there was a genre called "progressive rock" when I was in my huge Floyd fan phase or hearing those radio hits). They were a huge influence on my own music at the time, and I go my band to do the 2112 suite, in its entirety (actually, the drummer sarcastically said that he would only play a cover tune if it was 2112......imagine his shock when me and the bass player actually learned the whole thing and he then had no choice but to learn the drum parts ). I was a fan for quite a few years after that, and still consider them one of the greatest bands of all time. I lost interest somewhere around Roll The Bones, but find their most recent album to be quite a nice return to form.

The documentary only cemented my love and respect for the band. As others have said, I think the key to their success has been their friendship and (mostly) humble attitudes. Great documentary, great band.

[Supersonic Scientist]

Yeah, it's amazing how you can watch a documentary about a band/artist that you don't really care for, and still be impressed by them as people. And sometimes even grow to appreciate where they're coming from and/or what they're trying to do .. even if what they're doing isn't something you're really into.

Yay music.

This happened to me recently: I sat through an entire documentary on Vh1 (I think) about Green Day. A band who's music I completely despise but I watched it to get an understanding of their journey and I came away having some deep respect for all of the ups and downs they had. I still don't like their music but at least I understand them a whole lot better.

...hey...never stop learning...

[Vic2012]

Agreed! I'd like to know if they ever released anything or if they were solely a cover band.

Neil said J.R. Flood was a serious band in the documentary. They sound like a jam band ala the Grateful Dead or something similar. I'm curious to know if they ever recorded anything in the studio, and if it's available.

[Paulrus]

Neil said J.R. Flood was a serious band in the documentary. They sound like a jam band ala the Grateful Dead or something similar. I'm curious to know if they ever recorded anything in the studio, and if it's available.

To my ears they sound like one of those early 70s organ rock band, along the lines of early Uriah Heep or Atomic Rooster.

[Yanks2014]

A lot of who Rush are as people can be traced to the fact that they're Canadian. They have a lot of the self-deprecating nature that is quintessentially Canadian. As a result they've remained down to Earth guys who have never let their egos blow up out of proportion. That's the Canadian way. This new-found jingoism that has been spreading in this country of late is a rather new phenomenon. When I was growing up in

I think I get what you are saying, but the idea of Canadians being described as jingoistic is just very funny to me. Having a little sense of patriotism and pride in the people of your country hardly makes you jingoistic. Then again, some people feel even suggesting a love of country means you automatically approve of everything that happens there. I'm sure Geddy, Alex and Neil are proud to be Canadian, even if they don't wear it on their sleeves.

[arise_shine]

Another thing that strikes me about this documentary (and other clips I've seen) is what a lovably fascinatingly articulately enthusiastic dork Neil is. In a lot of his writing, and his public reputation, he comes across as stuffy and aloof, but when I see him in interviews, he's seems very animated and personable. Classic Introvert I guess.

[Yanks2014]

Another thing that strikes me about this documentary (and other clips I've seen) is what a lovably fascinatingly articulately enthusiastic dork Neil is. In a lot of his writing, and his public reputation, he comes across as stuffy and aloof, but when I see him in interviews, he's seems very animated and personable. Classic Introvert I guess.

He definitely comes across as more likable in interviews. He almost seems approachable, though we know he isn't, not to strangers anyway. Seems like the type of person that can be very warm and fun to be around once he feels comfortable with you. Nothing wrong with that.

[Yves]

I think I get what you are saying, but the idea of Canadians being described as jingoistic is just very funny to me. Having a little sense of patriotism and pride in the people of your country hardly makes you jingoistic. Then again, some people feel even suggesting a love of country means you automatically approve of everything that happens there. I'm sure Geddy, Alex and Neil are proud to be Canadian, even if they don't wear it on their sleeves.

"Jingoism" is a strong word for sure, but a vocal pride in things 'Canadian' is a relatively new thing up here. This country has always gone about its business in world affairs in a very quiet way. Canadians just never went around rubbing people's noses in it because we were the best at something, except hockey. That has changed. Our Premier goes out to foreign countries and preaches the 'Canadian way' of banking, for example. You'd have never seen that before, esp before Trudeau in the 70s.

As to your final point, yes, that is exactly what I was stating. The boys in Rush are proud to be Canadian and don't wear it on their sleeves because that is the traditional 'Canadian Way' of being. To me, it's at the very core of their longevity as a band. Canadians find a peaceful solution to things so I'm sure that the Rush boys have had moments where they wanted to rip into each other, but decided to 'negotiate' over a few beers. Very Canadian !

[Garden Dreamer]

Another thing that strikes me about this documentary (and other clips I've seen) is what a lovably fascinatingly articulately enthusiastic dork Neil is. In a lot of his writing, and his public reputation, he comes across as stuffy and aloof, but when I see him in interviews, he's seems very animated and personable. Classic Introvert I guess.

He will happily discuss the technical side of drumming in an interview but won't suffer fools gladly. If you've read his travel books, you see that he interacts easily with strangers in small-town America who don't know who he is. The strangers he's looking to avoid are the rabid fans who might recognize him and get all wacky with "ohmagawd you're Neil Peart, I love Rush, I air-drum to Tom Sawyer all the time, can I have your autograph?"

[undergroundrailroad]

It's funny that everybody wants to compare Rush and Yes. Especially since Yes was such a formative influence on Rush.

They had very different paths to success. If you believe that the crucial turning point for Yes was Brian Lane's deft chart manipulation scheme for The Yes Album, it makes their subsequent success seem more undeserved. Contrast the story of Caress of Steel -> 2112, which is very much a band lifting themselves up by their bootstraps from dog food to caviar in the most unlikely and dramatic way possible.

I believe the fourth member of Rush was Terry Brown. Paradoxically, despite the documentary dwelling so much on the pre-Moving Pictures era, it made me want to open my mind a little more to the post-Signals material. Even at its most pedestrian and misguided, the glow of the personalities depicted in the documentary shines through the later music. It's almost as though that's good enough to compensate for the musical shortcomings. Still, what could it have been if they had continued their collaboration with Terry Brown?

[Yanks2014]

He will happily discuss the technical side of drumming in an interview but won't suffer fools gladly. If you've read his travel books, you see that he interacts easily with strangers in small-town America who don't know who he is. The strangers he's looking to avoid are the rabid fans who might recognize him and get all wacky with "ohmagawd you're Neil Peart, I love Rush, I air-drum to Tom Sawyer all the time, can I have your autograph?"

Good point. Still, those rabid fans are the reason he has the kind of lifestyle he's used to. I'm not saying he has to like dealing with people like that, I know I would tire of it quickly. But it's not the worst thing in the world either. For me, I've always tried to avoid being a hysterical fan on the rare chance I get to meet my musical heroes. But I go so far as to avoid that, I end up with nothing to say. I met Keith Emerson twice now. The first time was at Nearfest, and all I could say was, "great show!". The next time was an appearance he did in 2012 at a sci-fi/horror/music convention (Chiller Theater -don't ask why he was there). I at least mentioned something about his work with Marc Bonilla, but quickly was at a loss for words and had a case of horrible awkward silence. Oh well, at least I got him to autograph a copy of "Three Fates" that I bought from him. It was a lost opportunity, I really wanted to ask him what he thought of jazz piano powerhouse Hiromi, who I had just seen a few weeks earlier with Stanley Clarke.

[gpeccary]

I just saw this last night. I have all three albums after their "comeback," none of which I'm all that fond of. I've been a fan since 2112. They lost me a bit in the eighties, I love counterparts, and a few others around then. But I moved away for whatever reasons.
I think lifeson is one of the great underrated guitarists of all time. I was struck by the early opening shots of them on stage and his very obvious joy. Their friendship certainly is amazing.
This was a really great unintentional find. Truly, even if I don't like some of the music, there is so much to admire with these guys. And it's true, they threw in everything they had to do what they wanted to and the test of time has been proven, follow your authentic self. They did, and they fill stadiums on a consistent basis, and have for what, 30 years?
As mentioned above, it rekindled my interest in them.

[ronmac]

I think lifeson is one of the great underrated guitarists of all time.

I don't think he's underrated at all. He's very highly regarded, as far as I can tell.

[GuitarGeek]

love this post
it's striking to see the shift between July 1981 and mid 1983 when Grace Under Pressure rolled out. almost a new band. for this hesher, the haircuts, the Steinberger and loss of the Gibson was a huge blow !

I think Alex and Geddy changing guitars was less significant than Geddy getting the PPG 2.2, the Oberheim OB-Xa and sequencer, and the Roland Jupiter-8. Or more precisely, the fact that he was writing more music on those synth (and incorporating the JP-8's arpeggiator, along with the sequencer). Oh, and Neil started ditched his percussion rig in favor of a Simmons SDS-7. I think those factors were more important than whether Alex was playing an ES-355 or a souped up mongrel Strat.

[Sean]

I don't think his tone really took a dive until he used those Signature guitars with active single coils. It was great for Hold Your Fire era stuff, but for the oldies it sounded a bit wimpy.

[JKL2000]

I don't think he's underrated at all. He's very highly regarded, as far as I can tell.

I think his work on the last few releases is somewhat underrated, especially Feedback and Vapor Trails. He does some stuff on those, but because it's not really typical Lifeson it sort of gets ignored. If you listen to those carefully, he's getting really interesting textures and using distortion a lot. Kind of like electric Neil Young.

[UnderAGlassMoon]

I think his work on the last few releases is somewhat underrated, especially Feedback and Vapor Trails. He does some stuff on those, but because it's not really typical Lifeson it sort of gets ignored. If you listen to those carefully, he's getting really interesting textures and using distortion a lot. Kind of like electric Neil Young.

Personally I'd include a lot of his output on Clockwork Angels as well. The solo on Headlong Flight live absolutely smokes! Some of the best soloing I've heard him do in years.