Co-Produced by Joe Bergamini
On this 3-disc DVD set, Neil Peart examines the challenges of live performance. Drawing from over 30 years touring the world, Neil breaks down, demonstrates, and performs classic drum parts from songs spanning the entire Rush catalog, thereby giving the viewer the most in-depth insight into Neil’s body of work ever documented.
Filmed in various locations over the course of a year, Neil takes you on a behind-the-scenes look at Rush’s 2010-11 Time Machine Tour. Beginning with a visit to his personal pre-tour rehearsals, Neil shows the ways in which he prepares for the upcoming tour. The viewer is then transported backstage at a Rush concert to witness the setting up of the drumset, the soundcheck, and an unprecedented backstage interview where Neil explains and runs through his warm-up routine, and discusses the upcoming concert.
Neil then presents a detailed look at every single song in the Time Machine set list (which includes the entire Moving Pictures album). For each song, key grooves and fills are analyzed by Neil in an interview setting with Hudson’s Joe Bergamini. For each groove and fill discussed, both full-speed and slow-motion drums-only demonstrations are included, coupled with PDF icons that allow the viewer to analyze and practice the patterns using the included PDF eBook. At the end of each song discussion, the viewer is transported onstage to a Rush concert to see the actual live performance of the song from the perspective of the drum cameras only (with an exclusive, custom audio mix that features the drums heard slightly louder than a normal concert DVD mix).
With in-studio rehearsal footage, backstage scenes, live concert performances, and breathtaking interview footage filmed in Death Valley National Park, California, this package documents not only Neil’s approach to live performance, but of the very essence of his drum style, on all the classic Rush songs, including “Tom Sawyer,” “Subdivisions,” “YYZ,” “The Spirit of Radio,” “Free Will,” “Limelight,” “Far Cry,” “Marathon,” “Time Stand Still,” and many more. The DVD concludes with an extensive discussion, analysis, and performance of the newest Rush song, “Caravan.”
Bonus features include two additional live performances (seen from the drum cameras only) from the 2008 Snakes and Arrows Tour, an additional educational segment on the song “Bravado,” PDF eBook, photo gallery, and an interview with Neil’s drum tech Lorne “Gump” Wheaton.