Search - Rush - R30 on DVD

K. K. (GAMER)
Reviewed on 8/12/2022...

One of the greatest Rock and Roll bands in the world with added special effect lighting and videos during the concert. An absolute must watch!

Be sure to watch the bonus disk since it has cool retro live performances.

They just keep getting better

Jefferson T. Packer | Taos, NM | 05/13/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Of all the major bands of my teens, only Rush and U2 have never done a "comeback" or a "reunion." This, of course, is because they've never been gone.

There is something almost eerie about that. Twenty years ago, my friends and I were playing furious air guitar with pool sticks in my parents' basement, while a vinyl copy of "2112" did its best to exceed the limits of a hand-me-down stereo.

Today, I'm a husband and father, working very hard to keep the gut away. Yet somehow, Alex, Geddy and Neil are still here, just like they always were - and like me they've gotten older and (except for Geddy) a bit wider around the middle. Which makes it even cooler that they still ABSOLUTELY ROCK!

During the Overture on this R30 DVD, they seamlessly present themes from 2112, Fly By Night, Rush, Hemispheres and more. If you close your eyes, and just listen, you expect to open them and see young, skinny, long-haired Rush straining vintage 1970's equipment in some kind of Rock and Roll time warp. You expect to suddenly hear Geddy go high and start singing those searing notes that he used to hit.

When you open your eyes, you see older, wider, short-haired (except for Geddy) Rush straining modern equipment, changed physically by time but obviously still the exact same band that inspired me, for example, to take my speakers off my wall in college and lay down between them so that I could catch every last nuance of the entire "Farewell to Kings" album on one of the first CD's I ever bought.

As the years went by, I moved on to other bands, and my complete Rush CD collection began to scatter into the piles with the hundreds of others. I thought that I had moved on.

In watching this concert with the headphones cranked up, I got that same sense of awe and excitement I had in college. I found myself sitting upright, not just listening but mentally cheering for my onetime heroes, who were suddenly heroes all over again.

I haven't seen the "Rio" DVD, but in R30 Rush will remind every true fan of why we're all so happy that they have never gone away. I have a huge DVD music collection, and some of it is buried way in the back. R30 is one to keep on the front row."

DVD TIMES REVIEW

James M | 11/18/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"DVD
Rush - R30 is released on DVD in two different packs. The 2-DVD Package includes the Frankfurt concert on disc one with a second DVD of rare vintage performance footage and interviews culled from the last three decades. The Deluxe Edition contains both of the aforementioned DVDs, but also includes the Frankfurt concert on two bonus CDs which are not available separately. The Deluxe Edition also includes two limited edition Rush guitar picks and a souvenir backstage pass.

Audio
Forget the Dolby Digital 5.1 mix. It is vastly inferior to the PCM stereo track offered as an alternative. The surround mix has a tendency to sound booming with echoing vocals, no great definition to the instruments or sharpness to the tight drum sounds. It is slightly warmer and less clinical than the stereo track however, it has to be said. The audience noise - such a major and controversial element on the mixing of Rush In Rio, is kept well down in the mix here, only faintly audible on the rear speakers between tracks. Despite the controversy, I enjoyed this enveloping mix on Rush In Rio - but it certainly didn't please everyone.
The PCM track then is the only way to listen to R30. I mean, seriously. The difference is incredible - deep, sharp and reverberating, with fineness of detail and clarity of tone. A little clinical in places perhaps, but that's what we want, isn't it? Well, obviously, not everyone...

Video
Despite the use of hi-definition video, the picture quality is inevitably going to find it difficult to cope with stage lighting and unfortunately there are the usual issues with chroma noise, pixilation, dot crawl and combing. Few of the problems can be easily detected in normal playback, but you will get the impression of a slight blurring in movement from the combing and a jaggedness or kind of crystallisation around brightly-lit objects caused by some nasty pixilation. An example of this can be seen in the screencapture below. Overall though, the transfer is well up to handling the variety of colour schemes in the concert lighting. There are no complaints about the filming style. The show uses less cameras than Rush In Rio, but they are well placed and unobtrusive, avoiding too many quick cuts and they have no effects applied other than the occasional dissolve, picking up the right angles and focus for each song.

Extras
The second disc of the set includes an hour and a half of fascinating rare archive performances, both mimed studio and live performances and a number of television interviews. Beware of some very dodgy haircuts and fashions.


Interviews
Interview with at Hamilton Ivor Wynne Stadium (1979) (9:52). On the A Farewell to Kings Tour, Geddy Lee talks about the growing success of the band and their approach - moving away from conceptual albums - to their new album, the then unrecorded and untitled Permanent Waves.
Studio interview at Le Studio, Montreal (1980) (12:59). All three members of the band discuss their new approach to writing and recording, and their enjoyment of live performance. Neil and Geddy do most of the talking, Alex goofs around - as usual.
1980sArtist of the Decade (1990) (15:32). A fabulous interview with all the members of the band interviewed separately, reflecting on the highs and lows of their career and illustrating the indomitable spirit of Rush.
CBC Television: Juno Awards show (1994) (17:33). An awards ceremony to celebrate Rush's induction into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, this features interview and performance clips, including a tribute from Mike Myers and other celebrity fans. Again, the band's sense of humour comes through here.
Interview for release of Vapor Trails (2002) (12:51). Alex and Geddy talk about the apprehension of going back to the studio and how the band spirit and music came together again after a long separation. There's some reflection on the hard work that made them successful, like the recording of 1974's Fly By Night in 4 days in between the 250 gigs they played that year.

The Anthem Vault
Fly By Night (3:25) is a mimed performance in a studio from 1975 - one of the Church Session Videos.
Finding My Way (4:22) and In The Mood (3:20) are of very rough quality, shown in small, window-boxed format because of the low and fuzzy quality of the video. Nevertheless they feature furious and energetic live performances of these early tracks and are well worth inclusion regardless of the picture quality.
Circumstances (3:43) is a live in the studio performance which overuses the starburst filter on the camera.
La Villa Strangiato (10:12), is a full straight run-through of the song live in 1978 - a virtuoso display from Alex Lifeson demonstrating his ability to get an incredible range of sounds from one guitar.
A Farewell to Kings (5:52) and Xanadu (11:10) feature the band in flowing capes during their madrigal period. These are mimed to studio performances on a stage setting.
The Spirit of Radio (1:02) is a brief soundcheck at the Hamilton Ivor Wynne Stadium in 1979.
Freewill (5:34) is a recording from the Toronto Rocks / Rolling Stones Concert, 2003, and by God, Geddy Lee can still hit those high notes!
Closer to the Heart (3:25) sees the band with a couple of guests performing in a recording studio for the Canadian Tsunami Disaster Fund charity telethon on CBC television in 2005. This is a lovely little performance.


Overall
Well, this definitely captures the same show I saw in Glasgow during the UK leg of the R30 tour, with the band still showing no sign of aging, slowing down or mellowing out. It has however better sound than the booming acoustics of the SEC, and you get a better view of the band than I had stuck at the front of the second block centre. I can't claim to be objective in this review or even speak for all Rush fans, but from a personal perspective, this is a great recording and wonderful souvenir from that tour, fully living up to any expectation I could have from the band in concert. There are still a few technical issues with this release, but with a stunning PCM Stereo track it is unlikely to be as controversial as the mix on Rush In Rio. In terms of extra features this is a little gold-mine for long-time fans, with an amazing selection of archive material from many periods of the band's career. We all now eagerly await another album and tour from a band who still seem to be on top form, not yet ready to rest on their laurels, but always capable of progressing their musical ability."

Rod Stiffington must be exceedingly brilliant

Samuel A. Scott | 10/12/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I was disappointed on behalf of Rush when I learned, from Rod Stiffington's review (below) of the R30 DVD, that the product is of poor quality. I had been really looking forward to this release considering the 14 HD cameras, 16:9 format, 5.1 Surround, superior lighting, performance, historical context, liner notes, interviews, photographs, packaging, unseen studio footage from the 70s, etc. Oh wait - Rod Stiffington has not actually seen or heard the DVD. He gives it one star not because of the performance, sound or video quality, but because the band decided only 22 of 30 songs were performed well enough or were appropriate enough (i.e. non-redundant) for inclusion. I feel robbed and under-appreciated. Maybe Rush had good reasons to eliminate a few tunes (ya think?). Thank heavens they dropped One Little Victory, Secret Touch, By-Tor, and Red Sector A, neither of which made much sense to repeat only one year after the VT tour and its accompanying DVD (on the other hand, I could have tolerated YYZ and Bravado yet again). I'll give R30 five stars in advance to counter Stiffington's less-than-enlightening assessment."