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Page
1: DVD/CD order & review  Page
2: Andrew MacNaughtan interview  Page
3: MacNaughtan pt. II
Page 4: Howard
Ungerleider, Jim Ellis & fan accounts of
Rio

Excitement So Thick

The scene was unlike one Rush had ever
seen (up to that point). In November of 2002,
Brazil played host to three of the biggest shows
of their thirty-year career. Their highly
successful Vapor Trails Tour wrapped with shows
in Porto Alegre, Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.
It was on the final date that they filmed what
was to become their most comprehensive video
document of their live show. What better place
to film than in a country that held a hard core
group of rabid Rush fans.

Lighting Designer Howard Ungerleider, who
runs Production
Design International in Toronto, has worked
with Rush since their first tour in 1974. He
described the vibe of the show, "The atmosphere
was amazing. There was electricity in the air.
Brazil is an amazing place, it's just
incredible. There's so much to see there and the
people were so friendly and nice. It was just a
really positive vibe. It was very, very
exciting. Very electric, that’s all I can
describe it as."

[click image to enlarge]

The trio at the NA tour
closer in
Manchester.

Long-time fan and Rush show globe-trotter
Bill Banasiewicz had seen hundreds of Rush
audiences, but was impressed by the sheer
enthusiasm of the Rio crowd: "Upon arriving at
the massive Maraccana Stadium, we entered a
scene much like the Super Bowl and New Year's
Eve all rolled into one. The crowd of people
waiting in line for the general admission field
turned and twisted for blocks and blocks like a
giant serpent. Vendors were everywhere selling
just about anything you could imagine, along
with an impressive array of bootleg merchandise,
which is not illegal in Brazil. Corner cafes and
bars were packed with people who exerted an
unrelentless enthusiasm. There was a big playoff
soccer match slated for the stadium the next
afternoon, and chants for the home Rio team
would break out at a feverish pitch, with the
whole bar singing their fight song in
Portuguese. Helicopters buzzed overhead, filming
the mass of humanity that was about to enter the
stadium."

Brazil native Marcelo Bahia had been
waiting for 10 years to see his favorite band so
he gladly ventured across his country to see the
shows in Porto Alegre and Sao Paulo. He would
round out the week with the third and final show
in his hometown of Rio and this particular show
would turn out to be a very special one for him.
His pent-up enthusiasm is not unlike many other
fans as he details his entry to Maracana
Stadium: "You couldn't help smiling when the
gates opened, the first fans to get inside the
stadium were shouting with joy, running and
jumping with smiles on their faces. It seemed
like everyone was finally reaching
heaven!"

Marcelo's arrival at the venue around 3
p.m. and his dedication did not go unrewarded.
Unlike the previous shows, the ground of the
stadium was general admission standing, so
Marcelo lucked into an ideal spot for watching a
Rush show. He recounts, "I'll never forget the
fraction of second that I finally got inside
Maracanã, and looked at the stage. There was an
empty space at the [barricade] in the right
side, just where our friend Geddy Lee would be!
Then I really started running, jumping and
shouting – I couldn't believe my eyes. I was
going to see one of the people that I most
admire from about three metres away from me! I
had spent endless nights with my bass trying to
play like this guy. Even in my best dreams about
seeing Rush live, it wasn’t anything near
this!"

[click images to enlarge]

Along with Marcelo, the stadium would
hold over 40,000 fans who'd been waiting for
years to see their musical heroes. Despite a
lengthy career and playing for millions of fans
throughout North America and Europe, Rush had
not ventured south of the U.S. until 2002's
Vapor Trails Tour. For most Brazilian fans they
had grown accustomed to and resigned to the fact
that Rush would most likely not play in their
country so when three dates were announced to
close the tour excitement grew. The band was
aware that there was interest from promotors for
shows in Brazil but what about the fans? Would
they fill the stadiums? The band's questions
were answered when fans turned out in record
numbers.

"You're playing to 3 or 4 times more
people than you normally play to. And the people
were very passionate. They were passionate about
Rush's music and they were so into the band. It
was unbelievable. It freaked me out!"
Ungerleider recalled. "They were really, really
appreciative of Rush coming to Brazil and who
would know that that's how popular Rush were.
Rush didn’t even know it themselves that they
were that popular down there till they actually
got there and saw it. And maybe it's the fact
that they’ve never played there that created
that sort of, want. But everyone was so happy
and pleased and the reviews were rave reviews.
It was all
positive."

[click images to enlarge]

Live Animation Performer Jim Ellis
agrees, "I think that everyone may have been a
bit surprised at such a turn out and the extent
of dedication that the fans had. People on the
tour knew that Rush were popular in South
America, but it was hard to pre-guage the
extent. The Brazil fans were many and were very
ecstatic."

Ellis also commented on the mix of the
crowd and how it differed from the North
American shows, "Also in the States, Rush shows
tend to primarily consist of people who have
been into them since the '70s and '80s, but in
Brazil, a large portion of the fans were
teenagers and in their early 20's...and more
women. All of the fans were absolutely ecstatic.
The audience was yelling 'Hush Hush
Hush,'because in Portuguese they pronounce their
'R's' like an
'H.'"

And what of that language barrier, as
Rush lyrics tend to be a bit more intricate than
your average run of the mill pop song.
Banasiewicz describes it from his point of view,
"The thing that I enjoy most about seeing Rush
in non-English speaking countries is witnessing
how the music transcends any and all barriers.
In Brazil (as was the case in Japan in 1984)
there may have been two or three people in our
entire section who spoke anything other than
Portuguese, yet these fans knew most of the
English lyrics. In Rio, our section of the
stadium was singing quite loud that night, and
it was funny to listen to their take on the
songs, because they would sing in a kind of
broken English, where they would know every
second or third word, but not every
word."

Moving
Pictures
CD: $11.99
Add To Cart

The crowd united not only with their
fellow Brazilians but with the pockets of fans
who made the trek to see Rush close out the tour
from the U.S., Canada and abroad. Again
Banasiewicz puts the atmosphere into words,
"There was an instant camraderie that was formed
with the Brazilian fans just through sharing
this experience. They were quite impressed that
a couple of Americans had made the trek just to
see Rush. We sang together, giving high-fives
with big smiles on our faces. The music of Rush
was able to bring us together and bond us as
one. It was a beautiful experience."

Dani Dayrell, a Brazilian fan describes
an "insane audience, releasing at one time all
the energy locked during the last 28 years. The
band looked at the audience's eyes and seemed
unable to believe that so many people could rock
and sing all the songs so loud at a Rush show.
Fans looked and couldn’t believe that the dream
was real. You needed to look around at other
eyes to confirm that the insanity wasn't
individual."

[click images to enlarge]

The Brazil trip was not without it's
technical and logistical challenges. For
instance, the venues in Brazil were built as
soccer stadiums and were not intended for large
concerts and the equipment that comes along with
a production the size of Rush's. The band was
excited to bring the full production from the
North American shows, but it wasn't an easy
task. Ungerleider recalls some of the issues,
"The shows in Rio were kind of nightmarish to do
because they were in buildings that are
basically soccer stadiums and not designed for a
tractor trailer to enter the facility because
when they were built they never thought there
would be a need. So all the overhangs on the
outsides of the buildings were only eight-feet
high. Basically all of the equipment had to come
off the trucks a ¼ of a mile from where it was
going to be set-up. It's was a long push up many
ramps just to get in. There wasn't the
convenience that we're used to in North America.
Of course, couple that with it always wanting to
rain while the equipment was being loaded-in or
loaded-out as well. The load-outs were crazy
because you're pushing this gear for a ¼ of a
mile as opposed to a few feet normally, and in a
limited amount of time. In one case the stadium
also had their payroll office set-up for the
1,500 employees of the stadium where we were
loading out, so there were all of the employees
in security shirts turning in their badges and
passes in the middle of load-out. It was pretty
different, but it was great at the same time.
You're coming to Brazil for the first time and
selling 40-60,000 tickets per night. It was
pretty amazing."

Ellis remembers the load-out for Rio
being especially interesting, "It was hot, strip
to your undies hot. It seriously stormed on the
load-out at the end of the night. As soon as the
show ended, a serious storm began with lightning
and sheets of rain."

Known for an intense and elaborate stage
and lighting design, Rush delivered the same
show North American fans experienced to the
Brazilian fans. Of course when filming for a
live concert DVD there are adjustments and
additions required to ensure the lighting will
illuminate the band and crowd in different ways.
Normally in an arena or amphitheatre the
spotlights will be angled down towards the band,
but for a video shoot that would produce too
much shadowing around the eyes. In order to
reduce this, the spotlights were moved to stage
level to the side of the sound and lighting
desk. Additionally, extra lighting was usually
brought in to focus on the crowd to help
illuminate the crowd shots. Ungerleider explains
some of the additional equipment used in Rio,
"We brought in a series of Synchrolites, which
are basically automated searchlights. We brought
in a bunch of audience lighting outside of our
normal show. And we coordinated that with Jeff
Ravitz who is a lighting director who was in
charge of the video audience lighting. So Jeff
andI worked together to put the whole lighting
package in. Jeff concentrated on the audience
lighting and I basically did the show
lighting."

Ungerleider didn't change many of his
lighting cues for the shoot, but did have to
make some adjustments for the cameras, "Well,
you're shooting a DVD so a lot of things change,
for instance the spots did not change color. The
spots were in color correction at all times just
to make sure that the camera could always see
someone in the band. We were not blacking out
between songs down there because the camera
wanted to get as much as possible. They wanted
to get the set changes. So I would black it out
and then come right back in so the band were
always lit up throughout the whole time period
of their show. So as far as the intimacy of the
show that you saw in North America it would be a
lot different because when you're shooting video
or film you need what's called 'key light.' And
the key light cannot go away. That ensures that
the camera is able to capture whatever they can.
And there were a lot of cameras capturing
footage."

Twenty-two cameras in total shot footage
for the DVD which includes multi-angle options
for "YYZ," "O Baterista," and "La Villa
Strangiato." Banasiewicz notes, "cameras on
cranes buzzed the audience as choppers filmed
from overhead."

For fans of any band, a
concert experience ranges from excitement to
pure ecstasy. For fans in Brazil, a country
witnessing it's first live Rush shows, it was
definitely the latter. One might think that
Marcelo Bahia may be more ecstatic than many
fans, but for over ten-years he's waited only to
finally see his favorite band. We join him again
from the front row as he waits for the show to
begin. The below excerpts from his powerful
account captures the essence of the concert
experience with senses alert and an intense
emotional connection. But then again, isn't that
what great music is supposed to
evoke?

"The hours that I spent there before the
concert, with the [barricade] in my hands,
seemed endless. I kept looking at the stage for
a long, long time, not believing I was actually
so near it. It was also interesting because we
had the opportunity to watch most of the stage
being set, including Neil's whole drum kit. At
9:30pm, the time that the show was supposed to
start, one of the producers came to the stage
and announced that the new Rush DVD was going to
be recorded in Rio."

"Our special treat, 'Closer to the Heart'
had many people crying too, a lot of singing
along and cigarette lighters everywhere.
At moments like this, you could really
feel there was something really special
going on, a strong sensation coming from
everyone in Maracanã. By looking at people's
faces, I could once again realize that I was not
the only one who had anxiously been waiting for
this for years."

"No one could take their eyes off our
Professor [a nickname for drummer Neil Peart]
and the people who had never heard one of his
solos before were simply astounded. I think that
out of the 3 drum solos in Brazil this was the
best one. When Neil finished, everyone in the
seats and benches stood up and applauded, and
the people on the field revered the Professor.
One of the most touching moments of the
concert."

"'The Spirit Of Radio' followed and one
more time the whole stadium clapped along with
song. It was kind of magical, simply beautiful!
You had to see how happy Geddy was! Sometimes I
think Rush did not know they had so many fans
here in Brazil, I don't think they were
expecting such an enthusiastic
reception."

"That one was a magical night, and I
think even the Gods of Rock'n'Roll knew it.
Immediately after the concert, it started to
rain very heavily in Rio. Even the rain waited
for the end of the show!"

back
to Rush in Rio page 1
A Thank
You to those who
helped.

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