Backstage Secrets: On the Road with the Rock Band RUSH Home Use Described:
Long Description:
Go behind the scenes to get a backstage look at what it takes to present the legendary band Rush during the 2008 Snakes & Arrows Concert Tour. It may appear to be one of the most exciting and glamorous jobs in the world – but being a roadie with a top-rated world-famous rock and roll band can be a grueling marathon of 18 hour work days, on an easy day. A bad is actually a couple of days, 40 hours spent hauling gear, assembling huge stacks of speakers, lifting them a hundred feet in the air, tuning instruments for demanding musicians and being cut off from every lover, friend and relative you have. This series takes you to the show you never see when you take your seat for a concert by the legendary band Rush. All the backstage secrets are revealed.
This DVD includes 5 parts on two discs including:
Part 1: Sound
Sure it sounds easy. Turn on some speakers and listen to the show. Well, it’s a lot more complicated than that. Everyone in every seat needs to hear the show equally well. That sound can be affected by the shape of the building, the temperature inside and even whether the audience is wearing long or short sleeves. And then there’s the show the band hears. Each member of Rush needs to hear different instruments at different levels at different times during the show.
Part 2: Lights
You don’t buy a ticket to hear a rock show; you buy a ticket to see a rock show. Of course that’s not as simple as turning on the house lights and sitting back. Lighting sets the mood for each song. That means lights are meticulously placed which isn’t that easy when each show is in a different building. Once they are set up perfectly, the must be directed by an artist who plays the lighting board like an instrument.
Part 3: Instrument Technicians
One of the most demanding and stressful jobs on the road is the instrument technician. Each one is charged with tuning and maintaining the magic wands these musical wizards wield. For the musicians to have a good show, their instruments must be perfect. Each night is an exercise in perfection for the four technicians on the Rush tour, guitar, drums, bass and keyboards.
Part 4: Lighting and Video
Let’s face it, not every seat is in the front row, but everyone pays for a ticket. That means someone has to make sure everyone gets a good look at the band. So each concert is also a television show broadcast on a 50 foot screen.
Part 5: Road Manager
Most of the road crew are responsible for making sure their area of responsibility is working. But one person has to make sure the whole thing works, every night in every city. The road manager is the conductor of this huge orchestration and you better believe he is on his game all the time.
NTSC 16:9 – 2 discs – 250-minutes
(c) 2008 High Fidelity HDTV Media Inc – All Rights Reserved
This product is manufactured on demand using DVD-R recordable media. Amazon.com’s standard return policy will apply.
- Amazon Sales Rank: #46232 in DVD
- Released on: 2009-09-11
- Format: NTSC
- Dimensions: .31 pounds
- Running time: 250 minutes
Features
- 5 episodes of the series on 2 discs
- Now Available on DVD5 Media
What Customers are Saying:
Behind the Rush without the Rush
This is a behind the scenes look at setting up for Rush concerts. I had done this kind of work for one summer, so i knew a lot about what they were talking about. I am a huge Rush fan, but this is one item that I could do without. Seeing there stage set-up is not as cool as seeing them perform on stage. Love Rush, and I know that the crew works hard for the shows, but I do not need a chronicle of their work. I say pass on this DVD.
Ok content but terrible video quality
Having watched the first two episodes, it is clear that the concept this video is trying to show has a lot of merit. Showing some of what goes on behind the scenes setting up for shows in several arenas, and brief bits of the actual performance during the shows.
What is also clear is that this is a very cheaply made video. It’s potentially better than home video quality, but in many places it’s really hard to even give it that level of quality. There are considerable compression artifacts in the video, to the point of distraction. This becomes very obvious in the lighting episode, but others have similar problems. If you’re thinking “How it’s made” or similar History Channel or Science Channel serial documentary, it’s nowhere close quality wise.
The videos are also a bit of a tease. They start going into detail on one of the roles, then jump back to high level fluff like “waiting for points”. If you’re interested in what they’re actually using to produce the show, you’ll be disappointed, very little of that information made it into the final video. If you know what various bits which could be in the rig look like already, the video gets you close enough to pick out what the various items actually are, but again you have to know what you are looking at first.
The idea, done right would be great, but as is, this video is often painful to watch.
Great Content, Lousy Quality
As others have mentioned, the content of this video is amazing! You will not be disappointed by the amount of detail this documentary has in it. However, the supposedly “HD” quality of the video is terrible. Bright lights and fast movement cause lines and blocks to appear on the screen. At first, I thought it was my TV. But, after reading others’ reviews, it’s definitely the way they made the DVDs. It’s still watchable, but it can get annoying, especially during the Lighting section. It’s still worth buying just for the content, though.
Click Here To Buy Now At Amazon!
