Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage

I saw another documentary today, and since watching “Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage” I cannot get Tom Sawyer out of my head. Obviously this documentary is about Rush, it covers their whole life as a band. Directed and written by Scot McFadyen and Sam Dunn, who also did "Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey" and "Global Metal". As a Rush and a music fan, I have been real aching to see this movie, and here are my thoughts.

In typical Sam Dunn fashion, this movie shows the evolution of Rush, from their creation and early days as a high school bad, to the more recent heavy rock band. Though, unlike the two movies listed below you don’t see or hear much of Sam. Which felt a bit boring, because Sam does a great job of narrating and expressing his opinion. Though, there isn’t much to say when this movie is all about the facts of Rush, no opinion needed.

The 70's were a wacky time. Lifeson, Peart and Lee

The interviews of other band members were real fun to watch. Jack Black, Sebastian Bach, Billy Corgan Kirk Hammett and even Trent Reznor were all interviewed. What I find really interesting is to hear what other artist think of such an influential band, and as they explain how their music is influenced off Rush. And of course there are interviews from the members themselves and even their managers (former and current).

What I did not expect was their deep emotional dive into Neil Peart’s life, mainly the time after he lost his wife. After that segment, I really felt for Peart, and how he felt really. Hearing about the stories of his epic 55,000 km road trip on his bike was neat. But the three really give a good idea of what Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart are actually like, just regular geeks making music. Their lives aren’t as extraordinary as their music, some would even say they are boring, but their path to stardom is unique to say the least.

A more modern picture of Peart, Lee, and Lifeson

Documentaries are hard to write about, all you can really talk about is what happened in the movie. But you don’t want to spoil some of the fun, and it is so difficult to express the enjoyment I got out of documentaries. I had such a great time watching Rush, I was head banging, air drumming and slapping de bass throughout as hit after hit were being played and live shows clips shown. I believe every Rush/music fan would love this movie. Even if you are a little bit curious about the epicness of Rush, this is a total see.