Rating: 
Summary: Rush in rio in a fishbowl
Review: Ok, theres a guy on here with a review that says there are no 20k home theater setups. That 20k worth of audio wont fit in a living room. This is obviously the rantings a person who buys everything at best buy. If you buy high end receivers an speakers at a specialty store, 20 k goes real quick. I spent close to that on my system and i will tell you that this dvd sounds pathetic! It sounds like its coming out of a fishbowl. And no i am not afraid to adjust my eq. If you dont believe me put in Peter Gabriels Secret World dvd and then listen to this one. I dont expect every note to be perfect on a concert dvd. But i waited for what seemed like forever for this dvd. When i put it in my system and played it, i could not believe this thing was produced after 1975. Its hard to beleieve the band would put this thing out. As far as concert dvds go, listen to Gabriel, U2 in boston, even REM roadshow to hear how well these things can be done. 3 out 5 stars only because i love rush.
Rating: 
Summary: Praise the Canadian trio
Review: I am a very proud owner of this DVD and the CD Set. When I first got both of these items, I listened to them over and over. These guys, after all these years, can play their music live and still sound nearly identically to the studio version. Every song was nearly that way. Rush is just phenominal in this performance. Great selection of songs. This recording just simply sounds excellent in the car or home. 5.1 or not. Rush picked the perfect place to record as did Iron Maiden. Those Brazilian audiences are awesome. These people really support the music and the artists. If you like Rush a little or a lot, the DVD and/or CD needs to be part of your collection. If you don't like RUSH then you must not appreciate real music, real talent, and lyrics that stimulate the brain.
Rating:
Summary: Damn the rain! Damn this sound quality!
Review: Unfortunately for this DVD, it was the last night of the show and pouring rain all day resulted in some equipment failure which lead the poor sound quality of this recording. No, it's not your system, the sound is just bad. Too bassy and no range whatsoever. Put in another concert DVD or Different Stages to see how a Ruch concert should sound.
What a bad show to have audio difficulties on, however! The band looked as though they were having the show of their lives and the Brazilian Rush fans appear to be some of the more knowledgeable fans out there. Rush proves with this performance that they are still, man-for-man, the world's most talented band. ***** For the performance and the Band
* For the sound quality
Rating:
Summary: Inconsistent mix distracts, but solid performance by Rush
Review: Before pointing out the technical issues I have with the audio, the most important thing that I have to say is this: even in their 50's, Rush still "blows away" nearly every group more than have their age. I'm 23, but I'll still say, "This is how it's done kids." The attention to solid writing with an emphasis on instrumental performance makes for a truly great live act, and Rush is no exception. This is a lost art in many of the younger groups of today as mainstream radio formats and MTV have not permitted sophisticated arrangements and playing along with the required "hooks." And, sorry: groups like Phish, Dave Matthews Band, etc. are great, but not at this level. After getting so much from the "Show of Hands" video from the late-80's, this DVD came as a bit of a dissapointment for one primary reason: the mix. The last band that should suffer from a poor mix is Rush! I don't know how this "slipped through the cracks," but it is not acceptable; it sounds "blurry" and "unclear." First and foremost, the foundation for any show (rock or otherwise) should be a strong vocal and drum mix, with guitar (excluding solos; they should obviously be "on top" of the mix) and bass providing accompaniment. However, this tried-and-true method is quite backwards and I found it distracting for a good hour into the set. In conclusion, the performance itself was 4 stars (this isn't quite a "Show of Hands" though mind you), but the poor mix keeps the set at 3. I simply will not have of not hearing Neil Peart's tom fills buried in the mix; it's just not "rock" and it's most definitely not "Rush."
Rating:
Summary: EPIC CONCERT
Review: I would like to thank the picky music critics out there that found every flaw in a big venue live concert DVD that will likely go down in history as one of the greatest of all time. This Rush DVD is THAT good. I found the sound fantastic on both my Apple computer and also when I switched it to a Toshiba DVD player and a big screen Sony TV. I have NO IDEA what people are talking about when they mention "bad sound". These negative cat calls from "the trees" just set you up for a jaw-dropping experience when you finally buy this DVD. What a crowd! Those Brazilians know their rock. Natural Science and Secret Touch were two of my many favorites here. The way out is the way in...
Rating:
Summary: Sound Quality totally equipment dependent...
Review: ...all over us have to eat a little grow occasionally. Now it's my turn. But sautee it properly with a can of cold Sapporo and it's not so bad... This sound quality complaints, I have no discovered, are hard ware dependent. Not speaker or receiver, but DVD player. I bought a new Magnavox DVD set top to replace my feature poor APEX which had played RIR beautifully. As soon as I'd hooked up the new Magnovox and popped in RIR I began to hear the most annoying low, rumbling fuzz. Lowering the bass did nothing. So I turned the Magnavox's EQ off. The flabuzz sound vanished but so did most of the melodic color. I took the RIR disk out and ran up stairs. I played it with PowerDVD 5, WinDVD 5. something and WMP and they all sounded great thru my fav headphones the tinny .5 watt speakers the Vaio came with. Sounded beautiful as it had before. Clearly, some DVD players process this DVD better than others. Irritating, but that's life. the real question is, why so much difference between players? I noticed almost from the first the vast difference in audio quality between DVDs--some are so low it's like whispers, some crank so loud you endanger your windows. It's weird. The other strange thing was I bought my wife Clay Aiken's latest single, the achingly beautiful "Solitaire"--if that doesn't touch you, you've never had your heartbroken or been in love--and I got the same flabuzz out of the speakers. Yet when I ripped it as an MP, slapped in on a CD-RW real quick--no problem. I haven't found any other music CDs with this problem--but I've got hundreds of songs of two DVDs--most of my catalog as MP3s--and the Mag plays them wonderfully. I don't know why an audio CD and DVD should have the same problem: aren't the codecs totally different? In any event, apologies for my overly smug reviews. Sometimes I get so tired of hearing people brag about (mostly) imaginary luxury possession I can't help needling them. The simple fact is, the highest end audio is more likely to reveal the flaws in the recording (instrumentalists breathing, the telephone ringing, people talking in the background, etc) than to enhance them. With that kind of equipment require not just the lack of sense to spend the cash, but quite a bit of technical knowledge to get the most out of. And I've know few people, especially those who were truly wealthy, who spent that kind of money. It's just silly. But the bass flabuzz is real for some people and appears to be an issue only with set-top DVD-ROMs. Maybe I'll just rip the entire soundtrack to MP3s.... In any event, it seems that some of you were right, you just didn't bother to check it against on other equipment. When you do, you'll see there's nothing wrong with the DVDs. It's just one of those goofy computer things--I've worked in enough segments of the business from the lowest of the low, Dee Eee double hockey sticks tech support to the Real Time industry to a dot.bomb to know that intermittant failures are what most serious electronic problems are. Disc still gets a 5 for being the best concert video ever.
Rating:
Summary: Some Good Songs
Review: Overall, this is a fairly good concert with some excellent songs and some below average songs. Overall, this concert DVD does not make my Top 10 DVD concert list. Probably best suited to hard core Rush fans.
Rating:
Summary: Sound Investment
Review: I saw Rush on their Power Windows tour in 1986 and haven't been able to get to a show since then. When I saw this video was out I was intrigued. Finally got it and spent all weekend watching it....EXCELLENT!! It was an awesome show despite some potential setbacks...these guys are in top form on their instruments. The only qualm I could make is that the vocals occasionally suffer a little...don't know that Geddy counted on losing his vocal range as he got older when they wrote those first few albums. But that's only apparent on a few songs, and it's a great show despite that. The crowd is very audible on the recording, but hey, isn't that what surround sound is all about...making you feel like you're there...it really does in this case, and you can still hear the band very well. I have a few other concert DVDs, and frankly, I wish the crowds were more audible on them...I paid good cash for my surround speakers...they should earn their place!! Great extras...better, IMO, than my other concert DVDs. The documentary is excellent...gives insight into the guys and what their life is like on tour, and the 1975 Anthem video is cool as well. Highly recommended to any Rush fan!
Rating: 
Summary: Not Perfect....But Awesome Nevertheless
Review: Perhaps it's unfair of me to review this DVD after only seeing half of it, but that's how inspiring it is. Besides, how different could the second half be? This DVD certainly has its great and not-so-great characteristics, but in my opinion the great far overshadow the not-so-great. OK, so let's get the not-so-great out of the way. The camera does tend to jump around to much and too quickly. Just as you are getting really into watching Alex's solo, BANG! A shot of the crowd. Then before your mind even begins to graps that, BANG! A shot from behind Neil's drum kit. The song most plagued by this is the opener, Tom Sawyer. Fortunately this tends to slow down a bit after the beginning and I think the camera is not trying to capture so much at once, and you get to watch Geddy, Alex, and Neil do their thing a bit longer. Another common complaint is that the sound is not outstanding, but in my opinion it suffices and you are able to clearly distinguish Geddy's bass and Alex's guitar, and it doesn't mesh together in one big muddy sound. And of course, quite a few people have complained about the noise from the crowd. I truly think the crowd added the the excitement of the DVD. I can think of about 20 instances in the first half where my heart began racing just seeing how into it the crowd was. I have been to my share of Rush shows, and have never seen an audience bouncing so enthusiastically in rhythm to YYZ. Another positive aspect is the performance itself. I think they sound and play as tight as ever. Geddy sounds great vocally, even if he can't hit some of the notes that he could in the late 70's. And then of course there's the song list, which covers a wide range of some of the best gems from their long career. But come on, how many true Rush fans out there could even devise a set list from Rush that could be described as "weak?" But I'll tell you one thing. This DVD shows Rush for the extremely talented band they are, and there is no mistaking why they have been successful for 30 years. It made me long to see them live again, and I am looking forward with more anticipation than I can stand to their 30th Anniversary tour this summer. The bottom line is, if you are a hardcore audiophile that is really concerned with top notch sound and getting the most out of your home theater system, this will probably disappoint you. If you are a Rush fan that loves the feel of a great live show, then this will put many a smile on your face.
Rating: 
Summary: is the mike on?
Review: altho rush is a great band and has been around for a long time and i do enjoy their music, i sometimes wonder what the heck their sound engineers are hearing? the video portion of this dvd is great,no matter what you use for a camera your gonna get a picture.,as for the audio thats another story. this mix is by far TERRIBLE, the lead vocals are set so far back you cant understand what the song is.the band obviously hasnt heard the mix or im sure they wouldnt have released it.i wont ask for a refund ill just keep it with the other low budget recordings that a record company puts out just to make some dough!
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