Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Rock-u-mentary of the much admired/hated Canadian power trio.

I thought this was pretty good as a documentary in that it tackled a subject with no easy narrative and though it had a strong point of view (Rush: They're good and kind of underrated) it wasn't beyond poking fun at them as well, particularly their overarching uncoolness which of course is at the very core of their appeal, that of their admirers, and is also which limits both.

Like some Rush songs it ran a little long but had plenty of interesting moments: Peart is a tremendous introverted geek and though it had been decades since he was crowned by some as the World's Greatest Drummer, the film shows that he remains a real student of his craft. He comments that he never tires of playing "Tom Sawyer" because it's so challenging to do it well. I thought that was great. The band was pretty frank and even funny in addressing their own shortcomings (they overreach, don't listen to critics even when they're right, fail miserably at being cool) and explaining why the changes in their sound happened as they did. They're all good eggs.

A range of Rock Superstars attest to their influence including Trent Reznor who sums it up by opining that Rush was "on the path of righteousness" and good besides.

[TransMonk]

Caught the first 6 minutes of this one before my girl came in the room:

"What band is this about?"

"Rush."

"Ohhh..."

I'll have to queue this up for sometime when she's out knitting or something.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

It's Rush: No girls allowed.