Rush in Rio

[keeper of the flame]

I finally got hold of the Rush in Rio DVD.
I watched it last night and had mixed feelings about it.
The setlist is great. The cameras are everywhere and there's a good vibe. But the audience is just so loud in the mix, it's almost annoying.
Alex changes his guitars on every song it seems like some don't sound right.
Especially when he uses the flanging effects. 2112 sounds strange to me. Also Geddy's voice shows limitations. In the documentary they tell that they didn't have a soundcheck or recording checks. This documentary is very nice btw.
What are your opinions about it?

 

[ebass]

I think it rules!

The drums and Bass are thunderous! I can not believe how good this thing sounds! I like the crowd too! 60,000 people? can you even imagine that?

Hey maybe the fact that Geddy is playing incredibly difficult basslines, pedals and keyboards while singing might limit him a bit! and how old is he now?

Just giving you a hard time!

I would hate to be Alex's guitar tech! he does change quite a bit! but damn they sound good! I think they roar!

 

[Ze Dan]

Well I can't really disagree with you Ed. This DVD is a masterpiece.

From the first seconds on Tom Sawyer when I heard the crowd singing every F$@@ng word, I had a chill in the spine man it's incredible.

Keeper, I don't agree about geddy showing his limits like you said. He's in charge for the bass pedals, vocals, keys, tea, laundry etc but anyway the main point is that : although the guys are over 50 now they still can kick ass and after watching this DVD there's no doubt about it !

Personnally I really enjoyed "The Pass" one of my all time Rush tracks. My only regret : no Virtuality live and that's too bad this songs rocks on record so I just can imagine how it would sound live

I think Big Money's live rendition on this live is the most amazing version I ever heard of that song my god !

About the audience itself these brazilians are completely nuts ! … But generally*I think the audience is part of a live album. In Flames released their live album The Tokyo Showdown couple of years ago and you don't hear the crowd on it and that really sucks.

Queen's Live Killers and Iron Maiden's Live After Death are also good exemples of the crowd's importance on a live album. Rush In Rio (and any other Rush Live albums ) is also one of these good exemples.

And finally I really wish someday Enchant will be able to play in front of 60,000 eople and from now I cross my fingers

 

[keeper of the flame]

I think it rules!

I would hate to be Alex's guitar tech! he does change quite a bit! but damn they sound good! I think they roar!

The red Gibson SG sounds very distant. Alex uses a lot of effects, like chorus, reverb, flanger, delay etc. Live these sounds don't carry. When Angus Young plays the same red Gibson during his latest DVD recording it sounds much better. There are two of Alexes guitars that sound good to me, the red one on which he can also play the accoustic parts, like in Driven and the black one.
Does anyone know the make of these two guitars? They look the same btw.

Geddy is an awesome musician btw. And I agree that the drums and bass are very solid. I wonder however why any serious musician would wear sunglasses on stage at night. It looks kind of silly.

I like the old video (easter egg) of Anthem a lot. That's the Rush that gives me goosebumps. I'm crazy about old footage. Does anyone know where I could find more?

 

[yyzmoose]

I can't imagine why anyone would want to nitpick about this incredible DVD. The performance of the band was awesome, the crowd even better. I love the fact that the crowd noise is so noticeable, they really were part of the show. And the noise will be louder when there are 40,000 screaming and singing fans(60,000 fans were at the Sao Paulo show, not Rio). As for Geddy, I thought he sounded great. Only on Limelight did I feel he was off, he had some major trouble. Otherwise I thought he was better than any of the live albums or even the 9 concerts I have been to in the past 19 years. While I never stopped being a Rush fan, my enthusiasm has diminished over the past decade. Watching this DVD has restored it almost entirely, I never thought that would be possible.

 

[ebass]

Wow

I am listening to Geddy and Alex on rockline tonight and how awesome is another tour next year? Looks like there will be ten shows in Europe even? That rules!

Hey moosie I concur! My favorite disc of the year? It has to be number one for me. I like the rough spots even, it makes it even better for me!

Wouter we have been known to were dark shades at times as well? You gotta love them! Its just a fun thing. I imagine the lights are pretty damn bright for Geddy at one of those monster gigs!

 

[keeper of the flame]

Okay, enough said about it. I was just nitpicking a bit about the shades and all. Rush still rules. And they are coming to Holland next year!!!

 

[lizard]

I don't have the DVD, only the 3CD set. I see what you're saying about the crowd, but that's part and parcel of what you get with a recorded-in-Brazil set, the Brazilian fans are so ...well...fanatical, they know all the songs, they know all the words, and they show it! does it get irritating sometimes, yeah, but you have to admire their complete and total dedication. another live CD recorded there is Angra's latest live offering.

I've kinda been in a Rush immersion mode lately, I've also been reading Neil Peart's book, Ghost Rider, about coming to grips with his wife and daughter's deaths. Hard not to pull for a guy who's been dealt blows like that.

the other disc I've been focusing on is the 1978 disc from Different Stages. Awesome.

p.s. in the liner notes for the Rush in Rio thing, Neil said something about an equipment delay or something preventing them from really doing a good sound check before the show. He also said they were hesitant about doing another live thing so soon but that the show had been so special, they went ahead with it, especially when they were able to keep the price pretty low.

 

[yyzmoose]

I notice something very different about Rush fans in Brazil. One, they are really young. Two, and more shocking, there are a lot of female fans. Most women I know don't even know who Rush are. And the concerts I have been to, well you know, not exactly a place to look for the future ex.

​

 

[The Stormbringer]

I just got this DVD for my birthday, and it rules quite a bit! It had me rocking away with songs I didn´t even now, which is definitely a sign of quality. Neal and Geddy are absolutely incredible players (did I see this right? Does Geddy always play with his pointer finger only?! ), not to forget Alex, of course. And the best thing is, they were having FUNFUNFUN on stage. Alex´ antics during the jazz part of "La Villa Strangiato" were the stuff! "On the bass guitar... the guy from Ipanema." Classic. And have you ever seen a rock band with washing machines on stage?

And by the way, yyzmoose is right: there are a lot of female fans in the audience. That DVD is really worth the money, if only to be convinced that the female part of the audience in Brazil looks better than elsewhere...

 

[lizard]

the female part of the audience in Brazil looks better than elsewhere...

some of the most beautiful women I've ever seen have been brazilian.

 

[yyzmoose]

some of the most beautiful women I've ever seen have been brazilian.

Brazilian women are incredible. They make me want to learn Portugese, that is for sure. And the fact that a good number of them like Rush makes me want to marry one!

 

[gaz]

The DVD has great atmosphere, something that lacked quite a few dvd's I bought this year (Dark Tranquillity, Arena, Pallas). The crowd are awesome, adding to concert.
Alex changes guitar a lot ? So what.
All the band are on top form, so Geddy's voice isn't what is used to be, he's getting old.
All up the best live concert I have ever seen on vhs/dvd.

 

[mgirishfan]

I think it is great too - sure, the crowd is loud, but what's wrong with that? they are sooo into it, it is cool! Sure, Geddy doesn't sound exactly like he is 20 years old anymore - who does? Who besides his tech should care about how many times Alex changes guitars?

All in all I think it's a GREAT DVD -- although I have to add that if it weren't for Steve Harris' insane frenetic editing (which leaves your head swimming!), I would go for Rock in Rio over Rush in Rio! I also love the new Transatlantic Live in Europe DVD...so I am just sharing the love, so to speak!

One goofy thing, though - I have two DVD players - one old, one new. The old one is hooked up to my receiver and speakers. The new one is connected to the TV with Component video and separate audio cables. When I play the DVD on the old one, it plays fine - audio and video. When I play it on the new one, the video is super, the audio vocals are clear as a bell, but the guitars are VERY muddy. Any ideas?

Thanks!
Mare

Cheers!

 

[gaz]

Considering, the band had no sound check, camera crews had no pre show check, they did an amazing performance.
Plus I think the energy from the crowd inspired Rush for an even better performance.

 

[yyzmoose]

As for Geddy's voice, I was suprised how good it sounded. He has not sung like that in many years. Only during Limelight did I feel he was struggling.