While other remnants from the 70s hold onto the vestiges of
validity, Rush keeps the show running at a brisk pace with nary a dip in quality
or popularity. There have been a few unfortunate setbacks along the way, but
the band has broken through and persevered, seemingly regaining strength and
confidence in the process. With their 2007 studio album, Snakes
& Arrows, Rush delivered one of the most realized platters
of their career. The songs were fat, the playing was flawless, and the tour
that followed proved once and for all that the band were expanding on to their
legacy. A double live CD
released in early 2008 increased the demand for a live DVD. Never one to hold
out on their loyal legion of fans, Rush packed the Snakes & Arrows
Live DVD onto three discs with the full show and a few juicy extras
to keep the fire hot and burning.
Filmed in Rotterdam, Holland in October 2007, Snakes & Arrows
Live sticks to the set list that opens with “Limelight”
and covers a big chunk of stuff from the 80s before heading into songs from
Snakes & Arrows. From there, it’s a matter of choice
from their storied catalog. The visuals are stunning and colorful in sparkling
HD. Seeing the comedic film clip of Alex Lifeson, Neil Peart and Geddy Lee
that opened the show gets thing off to an upbeat start. You also get a bit
of Bob and Doug McKenzie, the beer-loving brothers and hosts of SCTV’s
The Great White North, introducing “The Larger Bowl.”
There’s a whole sequence of visual planes — The Plane of Cosmic
Consciousness, The Plane of Primal Vibrations, Envy (“I wish I was just
like you — beautiful and rich”), The Plane of Dharma to keep the
mind reeling. And then, when things get really heavy, the kids from South
Park get in a short and silly routine before “Tom Sawyer.”
At the heart of it all are the three members of Rush, plugged in and connected,
under a shower of lights and lasers, captured by sweeping cameras and 5.1
surround sound. It isn’t humanly possible to turn away.
The party doesn’t end with the Rotterdam show. Disc One has an assortment
of extra videos featuring Geddy Lee as the Scottish rogue Harry Satchel on
the prowl for chicken (a standing joke within the Rush camp). You’ll
love the dolls from Lifeson’s pedal board and Jerry Stiller as Heidi.
Once you get through the outtakes, you realize the members of Rush take their
quirky sense of humor rather seriously. Alternate takes of “Far Cry”
and “The Wind The Wind Blows,” along with an orphan clip of “Red
Sector A” from the R30 tour round out the first DVD. Disc Two
comprises the show’s second set and encore, which we covered, while
Disc Three is called Oh Atlanta! The Authorized Bootlegs, which manages
to sound and look as good as the title implies. The scorching and rare run-throughs
of “Ghost Of A Chance,” “Red Barchetta,” “The
Trees” (complete with Homer Simpson sound bytes) and “2112/The
Temples of Syrinx” are to die for. No doubt, Snakes & Arrows
and its ensuing tour and trinkets should hold over Rush fans for the next
year or so. It should be interesting to see how they follow it up.
~ Shawn Perry
