Rush's TIME MACHINE: LIVE IN CLEVELAND 2011

I saw this in a theater last Wednesday night, and now the CD and DVD versions are available, as well as a Blu-Ray, which is currently exclusive at Best Buy (Though, oddly, the Blu-Ray, alone, is not available on their site). They also have a special edition Blu-Ray that includes a "Rash" T-shirt, similar to what Geddy Lee wears during the show.

It's a great show. I reviewed it when I saw it last July, and my opinion has not changed. Rush is a consistent band, their setlists rarely change during a tour, so the show you get in this set is pretty much exactly what you saw if you went. With an annoying exception, but I'll get to that.

The production here is exactly the way I like to see concerts filmed. The audience is as much a part of the show as the band. Lots of crowd shots, and that helps make the "live show" energy palpable. It's just cool (to me) to see a row of guys air-drumming a Neil Peart fill in unison. The band's fans LOVE them, and love to watch them execute their parts perfectly.

There is a certain element of "been there, done that" here. Rush has put out 5 live albums in the last 13 years, essentially one album for each tour. For hardcore fans, like myself, that's kinda awesome, you get a quality record of the show you saw. Rush, I have to say, is not a band that requires bootlegging of every show you've seen. I caught the Snakes and Arrows tour two times in 5 days, and the shows were identical (save one song). They were great, and I was happy to be there, but...it's not like Springsteen, where I want a record of every show I was personally at, because it's always different.

It's cool to see Marathon in the setlist, and Presto's appearance reminded me how much I love that album,  but playing the Moving Pictures album in it's entirety also just replays songs they always play anyway, Tom Sawyer and Limelight have been on all five of those live albums. That's not a criticism, because I'm a fan, and I love having a record of the tours, but...I think I'd have loved the in-process Clockwork Angels album more.

The fact is, it's a live album, and it's aimed at fans, anyway. In that sense, it's exactly what it's supposed to be...

That said.

Where is the I Still Love You, Man video that closed the show? That was a highlight of the whole evening for me. You couldn't have included it as a bonus feature? I can't embed the video here, so follow that link, it's great.

It's a beautiful film, and well worth your time, if you're a fan. It was also incredible on the big screen.

Setlist:
Video Intro (The Real History of Rush Part 2: "Don't Be Rash")
The Spirit of Radio
Time Stand Still
Presto
Stick It Out
Workin' Them Angels
Leave That Thing Alone!
Faithless
BU2B
Freewill
Marathon
Subdivisions
(-Intermission-)  
Video Intro (The Real History of Rush Part 17: "...And Rock and Roll is My Name")
Tom Sawyer
Red Barchetta
YYZ
Limelight
The Camera Eye
Witch Hunt
Vital Signs
Caravan
Drum Solo (Love For Sale)
Closer to the Heart (with new 12-string acoustic intro)
2112 (Overture/Temples of Syrinx)
Far Cry
Encore:
La Villa Strangiato (with polka intro)
Working Man (reggae intro)
Video Outro (Meanwhile..Back in 1974)/Credits