Customer Reviews

Backstage Secrets: On the Road with the Rock Band RUSH (Home Use)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Having watched the first two episodes, it is clear that the concept this video is trying to show has a lot of merit. Showing some of what goes on behind the scenes setting up for shows in several arenas, and brief bits of the actual performance during the shows.

What is also clear is that this is a very cheaply made video. It's potentially better than home video quality, but in many places it's really hard to even give it that level of quality. There are considerable compression artifacts in the video, to the point of distraction. This becomes very obvious in the lighting episode, but others have similar problems. If you're thinking "How it's made" or similar History Channel or Science Channel serial documentary, it's nowhere close quality wise.

The videos are also a bit of a tease. They start going into detail on one of the roles, then jump back to high level fluff like "waiting for points". If you're interested in what they're actually using to produce the show, you'll be disappointed, very little of that information made it into the final video. If you know what various bits which could be in the rig look like already, the video gets you close enough to pick out what the various items actually are, but again you have to know what you are looking at first.

The idea, done right would be great, but as is, this video is often painful to watch.

Dear Friends of RUSH and others,
My firm, the Longtail Distribution Network has re-authored and re-published Backstage Secrets: On the Road with the Rock Band RUSH. The video quality is significantly better with virtually no digital artifacts. These DVDs have also now been 'replicated' to DVD5 media and the 'home use' version is no longer available as 'duplicated' DVDs on DVD-R media.

The entire watching experience is significantly improved.

You can purchase this re-authored version here or at: Backstage Secrets: On The Road With The Rock Band Rush

As others have mentioned, the content of this video is amazing! You will not be disappointed by the amount of detail this documentary has in it. However, the supposed "HD" quality of the video is terrible. Bright lights and fast movements cause lines and blocks to appear on the screen. At first, I thought it was my TV, but after reading other reviews, it's definitely the way they made the DVDs. It's still watchable, but it can get annoying, especially during the Lighting section. It's still worth buying just for the content.

I echo the thoughts of many of the reviews on here. Very intense behind the scenes look at everything that helps to create a Rush gig. At 250 minutes long you get great value for money. On the minus side the quality of picture isn't great and the biggest bug bear for me is the dreadful repetative heavy background music (not Rush unfortunately) which tends to drown out a lot of the speech. There is no need for it.

I am a huge Rush fan, and I also do production work, so I was really excited to get this.

On the upside the content of this show is fantastic. They do an excellent job of taking you through the day of a touring rock show. Plenty of basic information for those who don't work in the industry laid out in layman's terms, and there is some great content for seasoned professionals. This is great for any Rush fan, and for those looking to go into production as a profession.

On the downside the actual production of this DVD set blows. The DVD rolls through episodes without stopping, as if it were on a default "Play All". Not only that, but the 3rd part is actually split between the two discs so you get an insert second disc message. Also, for a production company called High Fidelity HDTV the video quality is lacking. Any time there is a quick camera move or the concert lighting gets intense the image gets blocky and seems to have trouble keeping up. If this documentary was actually shot in HD then the company really dropped the ball here. It's as if they just dumped it onto DVD with out really thinking about the quality or usability of it.

The pros far outweigh the cons here though. For the veteran rush fans the brief interviews and glimpses of the band backstage offer a nice little peak into their world. I would also reccommend this to any high school drama or theatre teacher looking to nurture their tech crew and show them they can get into the business.

This is a very in depth look at what it takes to be on the road. Just so happens to be about my favorite touring band, Rush. The access is amazing adn fans get to see all of the behind the scenes goings on of a major rock show.

The only caveat is the video isn't always great. During certain stage effects and lighting shots the video will become very blocky and pixelated. This occurs at least once per episode and is annoying, but the content more than makes up for that.

The band ought to sue the makers of this video for what a crappy job they did on it. And to think that RUSH allowed them to use their band name on the front cover. I have never seen video production this bad. These guys need to go back to school and re-take "DVD 101" all over again. It's simply disgraceful. Then, they use stock music (monotonous, bad stock music) throughout all five hours. Uggh! No Rush music. It's cool if you want to see what it takes to get a rock show up and running (although this documentary could have been about ANY band), but that's about it. I wanted desperately to give this only one star, but gave it two only because it has something to do with RUSH! Do yourself a favor: DON'T waste your money on this horribly produced monstrosity. Save the cash and go see RUSH this summer!

This is a behind the scenes look at setting up for Rush concerts. I had done this kind of work for one summer, so i knew a lot about what they were talking about. I am a huge Rush fan, but this is one item that I could do without. Seeing there stage set-up is not as cool as seeing them perform on stage. Love Rush, and I know that the crew works hard for the shows, but I do not need a chronicle of their work. I say pass on this DVD.

In a nutshell I agree with all the above reviews but the thing I hated the MOST was the annoying background music. Was too loud at most times and was the same stuff over and over. Otherwise a good technical view of backstage and all the roadies were colorful.

As a big Rush fan it is amazing to see what goes on behind the band, and the team work that puts together a great show. I only gave a 3 star rate because the dvd quality was not great.(Been spoilt with blu-ray)
all together worth having. A must for any Rush fan. :-)