R30: 30th Anniversary World Tour

Linernotes - News Archive

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R30 Overture
(Finding My Way, Bastille Day, Anthem, A Passage to Bangkok, Cygnus X-1, Hemispheres)
The Spirit of Radio
Force Ten
Animate
Subdivisions
Earthshine
Red Barchetta
Roll The Bones
*Bravado
*YYZ
*The Trees
The Seeker
*One Little Victory
Tom Sawyer
Dreamline
*Secret Touch
Between the Wheels
Mystic Rhythms
*Red Sector A
Der Trommler (drum solo)
Resist (acoustic)
Heart Full Of Soul (acoustic)
2112 (Overture/Temples Of Syrinx/Grand Finale)
*La Villa Strangiato
*By-Tor And The Snowdog
Xanadu
Working Man
Summertime Blues
Crossroads
Limelight
[* Blu-Ray only]

DVD Only Bonus Features (1:30)

Interviews
(Ivor Wynne Stadium 1979, Studio interview at Le Studio 1980, Artist of the Decade interviews 1990, CBC Television Juno Hall of Fame induction 1994, Vapor Trails interview with Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson 2002)

"The Anthem Vault"
(Fly By Night Church Session Video 1975, Finding My Way Don Kirschner's Rock Concert 1974, In The Mood Don Kirschner's Rock Concert 1974, Circumstances Live in Studio 1978, La Villa Strangiato Live in Studio 1978, Farewell to Kings Live in Studio 1978, Xanadu Live in Studio 1978, Soundcheck Various Songs Ivor Wynne Stadium 1979, Freewill Toronto Rocks Rolling Stones Concert 2003, Closer to the Heart Canadian Tsunami Disaster Fund charity telethon performance on CBC television 2005)

Easter Eggs

R30 DVD Disk 2 Easter Eggs: 1) On the opening menu hit the right arrow on your DVD remote about 3 or 4 times, and the menu will reload with the Egg on the bottom as a new option; 2) On the "Interviews" menu: select the sign and hit the right arrow 3 times and the janitor with the broom will become a highlighted selection.

Geddy Lee - Vocals, Bass
Alex Lifeson - Guitar, Vocals
Neil Peart - Drums

Directed by Pierre Lamoureux
Executive Producers Pegi Cecconi, Ray Danniels, Allan Weinrib
Produced by Pierre Lamoureux, Allan Weinrib
Co-Produced by Franyois Lamoureux, Fogolabs
Director of Photography - Eugene O'Connor
Line Producer - Gavin Pigott
Assistant Director - Gavin Pigott
Editing by Mark Morton
Assistant Editor - Chris Thurston
Lighting Director/Designer - Howard Ungerleider
On-Site Audio Producer - Franyois Lamoureux
On-Site Audio Engineer - Denis Normandeau
Production Coordinator - Tanja Tschorn
Supervising Engineer - Ben Vaughn
Director's Assistant - David Rath
Cameras - Wim Verelst, Michael Reichert, Ivo Fuchs, Simon Stadler, Holger Radler, Christian Weber, Paul Eggerton, Sam Osborne
Jimmy JIB - Herman Heirstrate, Ronald Meyvisch
Camera Assistants - Karim Laout, Nikolai Kalg, Andreas Grindl, Mathias Diederich

Belgian & German Technical Crew

Project Co-ordinator - Timo Koch - Outside Broadcast, Belgium
Unit Manager - Ronald Meyvisch
Vision Engineers - Geert Helson, Werner Van Den Eede
Technical Assistants - Andre Verbesselt, Ivano De Notarpietro
Tape Operator - Joost Davidson
Hothead/JIM Technician - Dirk Vanderbemden
Vision Mixer - Miguel Rinckout
Sound Engineer - Bart Rommelaere
Drivers - Peter Van Dam, Joeri Donckers, Staf Moonen
Sound TruckSound Truck - B&R Medientechnik
Audio Technical Director - Bernd Kugler
Operating Engineer - Marc Lenz
Audio Engineer - Marcus Kotter
Audio Technicians - Timo Ostermann, Dirk Reuther
5.1 Audio Mix by Richard Chycki and Alex Lifeson, Assisted by Adrian Lifeson
Engineering by Francois Lamoureux
Offline Editing Facilities - School, Toronto, Canada
Post Facility - Fogolabs, Montreal, Canada
Online Editor - Yannick Gamache
Title Design by Crush, Toronto, Canada
Audio Post Production - Mixland Music & DVD, Toronto; Lerxst Sound, Toronto
DVD Authoring - Fogolabs, Montreal; Broadness, New York

Tour Credits

Opening Animation - Spin Productions, Toronto, Canada
Starring Jerry Stiller
Darn that Dragon - CuppaCoffee, Toronto, Canada
Management - Ray Danniels, SRO Management, Toronto
European Touring Company - Neil Warnock, The Agency Group, London
Lighting Supplied by Premier Global Productions, Nashville, TN
Audience Lighting Supplied by Rock Service
Sound Supplied by MD-Clair Brothers, Nashville, TN
Projection System Supplied by BCC Video Inc., Westlake Village, CA
Lasers Supplied by Production Design, Markham, ON
Pyrotechnics Supplied by Pyrotek, Markham, ON
Video Equipment Provided by Bexel Video
Rear Screen Photo Montage Edited by Aaron Dark, Mark Morton, School, Toronto

RUSH R30 Tour Crew

Liam Birt - Tour Manager All Round Handsome Guy
Donovan Lundstrom - Road Manager
Craig Blazier - Production Manager
Shelley Nott - Artist Liaison/SRO Management
Keith Keller - Tour Accountant
Karin Blazier - Production Assistant
Brad Madix - Concert Sound Engineer
Howard Ungerleider - Lighting Director/ Designer
Tony Geranios - Keyboard Tech
Lorne Wheaton - Drum Tech
Russ Ryan - Bass Tech
Rick Britton - Guitar Tech
Brent Carpenter - Stage Monitor Engineer
George Steinert - Carpenter
Bruce French- Nutritionist
Michael Mosbach - Security Director
Jo Ravitch - Sound Crew Chief
Beau Alexander - Audio Tech
Daniel Taake - Audio Tech
Rich Vinyard - Lighting Crew Chief
Norm Sliwa - Master Electrician
Keith Hoagland - Lighting Tech
Jamie Grossenkemper - Lighting Tech
David Davidian - Video Director
Bob Larkin - Video Engineer
Adrian Brister - LED Engineer
Greg Frederick - Camera Man
Brian Collins - Head Rigger
Frank Aguirre Jr. - Rigger
Marcus Heckmann - VJ
Scott Wilson - Laser Tech
Kevin Hughes - Pyrotechnic ian
Patrick McLoughlin - Merchandiser
Brutus - Scooter Trash
Heidi Varah - Caterer
Haydn Crowther - Caterer
Lauren Roberts - Caterer
Emma Scott - Caterer

Rear Screen Video Animation Supplied by Derivative, Toronto, ON
Buses Supplied by Beat The Street, Tirol, Austria
Trucking Supplied by Stagestruck, Middlesex, England
Aircraft Charter Supplied by Air Charter, W. Sussex , England
Customs Brokers Barry Zeagman, B. Zee Brokerage, Mississauga, ON
Sound Moves UK Ltd., Middlesex, England
Generators Provided by, G.E. Energy Rentals, Showpower
Television Truck Provided by Outside Broadcast, Rotselaar, Belgium
Catering Eat to the Beat, Hertfordshire, England
RUSH/Anthem Entertainment Consigliere Robert A. Farmer
Venue Festhalle, Frankfurt, Germany
Promoter - KBK Konzert, Klaus Boenisch, Rainer Weiss

Thanks to our Technical Suppliers

For Alex
Hughes & Kettner Amplification
Paul Reed Smith
Gibson Guitars
Dean Markley Strings
Dunlop Manufacturing

For Geddy
Saved by Technology
Fender
Tech 21j Sansamp
Rotosound Strings
Taylor Acoustic Guitars

For Neil
DW Drums
Sabian Cymbals
Promark Drumsticks
Remo Drumheads

Special Thanks to - A personal thank you from Rush to our long-neglected European fans, for their patience and dedication
At SRO/Anthem - Ray Danniels, Pegi Cecconi, Sheila Posner, Shelley Nott, Anna LeCoche, Cynthia Barry, Rayanne Lepieszo, Andy Curran, Bob Farmer, and Randy Rolfe
Art Direction, Illustration and Design - Hugh Syme
Photographers - Fin Costello, Andrew MacNaughtan, Deborah Samuel, Dimo Safari, Carrie Nuttall, Bruce Cole, MRossi

Recorded at Festhalle. Frankfurt, Germany, September 24, 2004
Rounder Records, feature run time 130 minutes
DVD+CD Deluxe Edition/DVD Only, November 22, 2005
Blu-Ray, December 8, 2009

R30 News Archive

• Filmed using 14 hi-definition cameras in 16x9 widescreen format on September 24, 2004, at the Festhalle in Frankfurt, Germany, R30: 30th Anniversary World Tour was released on DVD November 22nd, 2005 (November 28th in the UK) both as a 2 DVD set, as well as The Deluxe Edition which includes two limited edition RUSH guitar picks, a souvenir backstage pass, and a 2CD version of the show (CD's are not sold separately but are available via Anthem/Atlantic Records on all digital download services). The Blu-Ray edition was subsequently released on December 8th, 2009.
• The DVD editions feature a second DVD loaded with extras including a selection of live videos from the vault dating back 30 years, previously unseen interviews, a few sound check snippets, the Canada for Asia performance of "Closer To The Heart" with "Bubbles" from the Trailer Park Boys and Ed Robertson of the Barenaked Ladies, as well as two Easter Eggs.
• Eight songs from the concert, "Bravado", "YYZ", "The Trees", "One Little Victory", "Secret Touch", "Red Sector A", "La Villa Strangiato", and "By-Tor And The Snow Dog", were dropped from the DVD release:
  

  "Some of the songs were dropped from R30 due to technical reasons but also we didn't want to have too many similarities with Rush In Rio. Why not? Well, I think now that it was a dumb decision of ours. In fact I regret not having put the whole show on those disks. But I promise you, all those songs that were cut will eventually see the light of day, in some shape or form." - Geddy Lee, Aardschok Magazine, March 2006

  As promised by Geddy Lee, these songs have all been subsequently released:

  • "Red Sector A" (video) is a bonus video on Snakes & Arrows Live (DVD & Blu-Ray)
  • "Secret Touch" (video) is on the CD/DVD edition of the 1989-2008 hits compilation Retrospective 3
  • "One Litte Victory" (audio and video) is on the live hits compilation Working Men (CD and DVD)
  • All eight of these songs were restored to the tracklist for the R30 Blu-Ray edition
  
  Unfortunately, the Blu-Ray edition does not include the bonus features previously released as the second disk of the DVD edition. This means that a fan must possess both the DVD and Blu-Ray editions to have both the full concert as well as the bonus features. A source with SRO/Anthem stated that with the Blu-Ray release the band simply wanted to give the fans the full concert in a great format without being too expensive, and that when initially planning the release it was believed that including the bonus features would have required a second disk at additional cost to the fan. However, the total amount of data on the final Blu-Ray is only 38GB, while the disk itself holds 50GB; that means that there is more than enough room for all the special features originally included on the 8GB DVD.
• "Bittersweet Bundle Of Misery", an instrumental piece which plays as the credits roll at the end of the R30 concert DVD, as well as in the "The Anthem Vault" menu on the second DVD, was written and performed by Alex Lifeson.
• R30 DVD sold 28,000 units during its first week on sale (for the week ending November 29, 2005) as reported by Nielsen SoundScan. R30 ranked second on Billboard's Top Music Video chart after its first week, and fourth after two weeks. After dropping out of the top ten the third week, by the fourth week it was back in the top 10 at #10 and was certified 3 times platinum by the RIAA (i.e. 150,000, 2-DVD sets shipped, which does not include internet sales). After seven weeks R30 was still on Billboard's Top Music Video chart and had moved up to #7. After 17 weeks, the album was at #24 on the U.S. Billboard Music Video Charts. R30 won two awards for authoring design and video presentation in the Independent Release catagory, at "The 9th Annual DVD Awards" held in Los Angeles on August 8th, 2006.
• "Der Trommler", the drum solo, later appeared on Neil Peart's Anatomy Of A Drum Solo as well as Hudson Music's Classic Rock Drum Solos. "Hosted by rock drumming innovator/educator Carmine Appice, Classic Rock Drum Solos traces the origins of the rock drum solo with vintage footage of pioneers..."
• Click here for the R30 Transcript Archive

In Their Own Words...

"'I approached the band's management SRO about filming Rush on their anniversary tour and they turned me down being so close to their Rush In Rio project. As the tour went on they decided it would be a great idea but it was too late to film Radio City Music Hall and Red Rocks although we talked about it, we just couldn't get crews into the cities at the right time.'" - Pierre Lamoureux, Producer and Director of R30, allheadlinenews, October 12, 2005

"One of the German shows, we're going to be filming. And its not that we have a specific DVD release in mind for it, but just kind of as a historical record of 'this' tour." Geddy Lee, Phill Jupitus Breakfast Show, BBC Music 6, September 8, 2004

"We have a tendency of screwing these decisions up pretty well. At the beginning of the tour, I said, 'Hey, are we gonna film any of these shows? And if we are, let's plan it now, well in advance.' And everybody said, 'Well, we just put out "Rio." Why do we want to do two DVDs back to back? Let's just go out there and have fun.' Then, of course, we were halfway through the tour and were playing really well and the crowds were great and everyone says, 'Hey, let's record this for posterity in case we get hit by a bus or something.' So, we about-face and throw the plans together to film the show in Frankfurt since we were just about done with the American tour." - Geddy Lee, MTV.com, December 28, 2005

"A crew of 14 cameras is shooting footage for what will ultimately become Rush's second DVD music video. The fact that the cameras are HD, shooting in 1080p, indicates the band and its management plan a long and profitable revenue life for this project, well into the arrival of the next generation of high-density disc formats (HD-DVD and Blu-Ray Disc) and the proliferating number of high-def broadcast outlets in the U.S. and elsewhere...The video shoot was financed by the band and its Canadian management company, Anthem Entertainment, and will cost several hundreds of thousands of dollars by the time post-production and 5.1 mixing are finished." - Rushing Into Something New, FOH Meets DVD on the Rush European Tour, FOHonline, January 2005

"Well, basically nobody was in a big hurry to do another live project, because we've got about 60,000 of them out there, but when we were touring Europe on the last tour, we hadn't been to those countries in 10 years - some of them 20 years. And there was such an exuberant response from the crowd; it just seemed like a unique opportunity to capture the band in that kind of environment. The venue is very old. We've played there a couple of times. It's always a strange atmosphere for North Americans to come over there and play in one of these buildings that Hitler used to do speeches in and so forth. So it's always got kind of an ominous vibe for us. But the crowd is always great and a lot of fans hadn't seen us in a long time." - Geddy Lee, Billboard.com, October 12, 2005

"Sometimes that kind of pressure inspired us to rise to an exalted level, as had happened the previous tour in Rio de Janeiro, and for other performances we had recorded and filmed over the years. However, other times that kind of pressure had the opposite effect, making us tense and...lousy. Frankfurt, sadly, was the second kind. I had a cold coming on, and felt fuzzy headed, and all of us were edgy, overconcentrating and overanalyzing. It seemed like we had to fight our way through the show. I made a nasty mistake right in the first song, the 'R30 Overture,' and never really recovered. Something bad happened in 'Earthshine,' and again in 'One Little Victory,' and at the time I though they had all been my fault. (The next night, after I had tormented myself all day about it, gone over theose parts in my head all day, and even rehearsed that part of 'Earthsine' in the Bubba-Gump room before the show, Alex told me it had been Geddy in 'Earthshine,' and Geddy told me it was Alex in 'One Little Victory.')" - Neil Peart, Roadshow

"Rio was all about being in that 12th row center seat and feeling the energy of the crowd, whereas R30 is more about the performers and the production. It's a tighter sound - a tighter mix with less ambience and less crowd...this is probably the best-sounding live performance of us I've ever heard." - Alex Lifeson, Sound & Vision, February 2006 issue

"Sure, the footage from Exit Stage Left is classic, and you can't beat the wild Brazilian crowd in the Rush in Rio DVD, but if you can only get one Rush DVD it has to be R30. The setlist, sound quality, and camera angles just can?t be beat. The R30 Overture that opens the show has all-instrumental snippets of 'Finding My Way,' 'Anthem,' 'Bastille Day,' 'A Passage to Bangkok,' 'Cygnus X-1,' and 'Hemispheres,' plus a hilarious cameo from Jerry Stiller. The lack of vocals on this medley allows Alex Lifeson's PRS-fueled guitar tones to really stand out. He and the boys run through a whole bunch of Rush favorites including 'Xanadu,' 'Subdivisions,' 'Red Barchetta,' and 'Tom Sawyer' (with a killer Lifeson solo). The show kicks ass from start to finish and Lifeson is in fine form the entire time with his trademark arpeggios, fiery solos, and a humongous tone that fills the arena. If the gig was all you got this would still be a must have. When you factor in all the DVD extras like a bunch of live-in-the-studio performances from back in the day and soundcheck footage, this is an amazing piece of work and a great example of Lifeson working his magic." - "50 Essential Guitar DVDs", Guitar Player, February 2008

Regarding the DVD Bonus Features...

"My brother, who does a lot of work with us in terms of...He's kind of an intermediary between us and our video projects and there was a time where he just spent some time in the vault just kind of looking at what we had, cataloging what we had. And he found all this old footage that we had kind of forgotten about, and brought it to our attention. Once we knew about it, we said, 'Well, we'll look for the right opportunity to use all those pieces.' And then when we decided to do the R-30 tour and then subsequently made the late decision to film one of the shows on R30, it seemed the perfect opportunity to add another disc with all these pieces." - Geddy Lee, Ultimate-Guitar.com, December 6, 2005

"It wasn't a church, it was a school, in the southern states, I think in Georgia, actually. We were doing a gig that night, and we loaded in, and there was this kind of castle setup in another auditorium. And we just happened to have a guy with us who was a camera guy, I think he was working for the record company...and so we just did the song and he just quickly shot it just for our own kind of use, but of course we never used it [laughs] so that's why it was one of those Easter Eggs on the last DVD." - Geddy Lee discussing the Fly By Night Church Session Video, "Rockline", May 9, 2007

"'Here's an interesting piece of trivia, the guy that filmed the 'Xanadu' and 'Farewell To Kings' stuff that's on there went on to be the director of American Idol,' laughs Geddy". - More Sugar, May 2006