Toronto Rocks

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On July 30. 2003, close to half a million people gathered in Toronto for one of the most spectacular concerts of all time. It was the largest ticketed single day event in history The Rolling Stones headlined the show, accompanied by 13 other acts, including AC/DC, Rush, The Guess Who, and Justin Timberlake. Now this amazing day has been captured on DVD. Experience the extraordinary music of this remarkable concert.

The artists and TGA DVD have generously donated their fees to charity including the hospitality and healthcare workers affected by the sars crisis, the canadmn music therapy trust fund, l'arche, the nordoff-robbins music therapy foundation, and right to play.

Executive Producer MICHAEL COHL
Producers STEPHEN HOWARD, DAVID KINES, RANDALL GLADSTEIN, FRED NICOLAIDIS
Associate Producers DENNIS J. MILLS MP., SENATOR JERRY S. GRAFSTEIN
Directors MARTY CALLNER, DAVE RUSSELL
Bonus Materials Produced by JAKE COHL, RANDALL GLADSTEIN
Production Director JAKE BERRY
Event Producers JO-ANN MCARTHUR, BOB SINGLETON, RILEY O'CONNOR
DVD Design & Production METROPOLIS DVD - DAVID ANTHONY, TOM LEONE, BEN KIM
VIDEOTAPED LIVE AT PARC DOWNSVIEW PARK

NTSC Subtitles: English, Japanese. Canadian, Francais, European Spanish, Brazilian, Portuguese
Dolby 5. 1 surround sound and Linear PCM stereo
NTSC: 4:3 Angles: 1 Color DVD9 English/Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Total Duration: 142:05 mins., Main Program: 118:19 mins. Extras: 23:46 mins.

Recorded at Downsview Park, Toronto, Canada, July 30, 2003
DVD, June 29, 2004

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Notes:

• Rush performed for approximately 450,000 people in Toronto's Downsview Park as part of the "Molson Canadian Rocks For Toronto" concert to benefit Toronto's SARS-depressed economy on July 30, 2003. The list of performers for the nine hour concert included The Rolling Stones, AC/DC, The Guess Who, Justin Timberlake, Sam Roberts, The Flaming Lips, Kathleen Edwards, The Isley Brothers, Sass Jordan, La Chincane, and Dan Aykroyd with Jim Belushi and the "have love will travel revue". Rush's 35 minute set featured Tom Sawyer, Limelight, Dreamline, YYZ, Freewill, Closer To The Heart, Paint It Black (instrumental) and The Spirit Of Radio, and was followed by AC/DC (55 min.) and The Stones (70 min.) who closed the show. The Stones were touring with guests AC/DC at the time. During Rush's set Stones' drummer Charlie Watts watched as a Rush fan from off stage. Toronto Rocks is a pared down DVD release of the all day concert. The DVD includes six songs by the Rolling Stones, and between one to three songs from the remaining performers. Each performer was sent a tape of their performance, and allowed to choose their favorites. Included in the bonus footage is Peart's meeting the Stones' drummer, Charlie Watts, who eagerly watched Neil Peart from the wings during Rush's set. A two disk set in Canada, the DVD was released as a single disk elsewhere by cutting out some of the lesser known Canadian talent. All artists agreed to donate all DVD sales revenue to several charities, especially those related to the SARS outbreak (benefitting hospitality and health workers).
• Released Nov. 11th, 2003, the first documentary disk of the Rolling Stones DVD, Four Flicks, includes a section on the SARS benefit concert with excerpts of interviews with Geddy and Alex, and clips of Alex meeting Burton Cummings of The Guess Who and Neil being greeted by Stones drummer Charlie Watts as Geddy and Alex look on.
• Click here for the SARS Benefit Concert Transcript Archive

In Their Own Words

"When we were first asked to play Molson Canadian Rocks For Toronto, it seemed impossible to say yes. We had been off the road for 8 months, our gear was in the warehouse, most of our crew was out on other tours, and even we were all over the place - Geddy with his family in France, Alex working in the studio mixing our Rio de Janeiro show, and me on my motorcycle in the California mountains. However, when we thought about everything Toronto meant to our lives, to our work and play, our homes and families and friends, it seemed impossible to say no!" Neil Peart, Rush.com Newsletter, July 3, 2003

"We had narrowed the set down to seven songs, eliminating 'New World Man' (with its risky sequencer beginning that might go awry in such a chaotic setting), and reviving the old warhorse, 'Working Man,' as a possible encore song...Finally, it was showtime. We walked across the vast area backstage and up the high steps to the massive stage, and stood at the back corner, waiting...A short, older man stepped up to me, sticking out his hand an saying something I couldn't hear. Thinking, 'Now who's this?' I took out one of my ear monitors and said, 'Sorry, I couldn't hear you.' He spoke again, smiling, 'Hello, I'm Charlie Watts.' 'Oh!' I said, taken aback, 'Hello.' And I shook his hand. He asked if we were going on soon, and I said yes, any minute, and he said, with a twinkle, 'I'm going to watch you!'...At the end of 'The Spirit of Radio,' we ran offstage, waiting to see if we should play an encore or not. Everyone was supposed to know about that plan, but somebody obviously didn't. Taped music started playing over the P.A., as if our set was over, and stagehands began walking onstage to strike the gear. We were still standing at the side of the stage, tensed for action but no knowing what to do, when Alex turned to go, saying, 'Forget it. It would be embarrassing to go back on now.' He was right. It was over." - Neil Peart, Traveling Music, pp. 357-364