Snakes & Arrows Live

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.