Last week when I posted about Neil Peart, I failed to mention the upcoming release of Rush’s new live DVD. The “Snakes & Arrows” DVD is set for release on November 25th. The whole package includes three discs, also available as a Blu-Ray, and features a lengthy live set by the band, filmed over two nights in October 2007 at the Netherlands’ Ahoy Rotterdam Arena during the tour for the “Snakes & Arrows” album.

Besides featuring a whole disc of bonus material the DVD has different camera angles and other goodies, most notably this…

“Cameras follow bassist and vocalist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson and drummer Neil Peart closely, capturing not only their playing note for note, but also the intimacy they share on stage.”

This is a great opportunity to get yet another chance to check out Neil Peart’s playing up close. Yes, of course his playing has been analyzed to death, but then again maybe not enough cause I haven’t seen anyone play the way he does yet.

Also, while I’ve seen a lot of footage of him playing live, I haven’t seen much footage of him since he has started to drum roland, with that huge V-Drum kit behind him.

Tracklisting is as follows, follow the source link for footage of “Far Cry”…

“Snakes & Arrows Live” DVD track listing:

Disc 1:

01. Limelight
02. Digital Man
03. Entre Nous
04. Mission
05. Freewill
06. The Main Monkey Business
07. The Larger Bowl
08. Secret Touch
09. Circumstances
10. Between the Wheels
11. Dreamline

Extras:

01. What’s That Smell (DVD Content)
02. 2007 Tour Outtakes
03. What’s That Smell Outtakes
04. Far Cry (Alternate cut featuring rear screen footage)
05. The Way the Wind Blows (Alternate cut featuring rear screen footage)
06. Red Sector A from the R30 Tour

Disc 2:

01. Far Cry
02. Workin’ Them Angels
03. Armor and Sword
04. Spindrift
05. The Way the Wind Blows
06. Subdivisions
07. Natural Science
08. Witch Hunt
09. Malignant Narcissism - De Slagwerker
10. Hope
11. Distant Early Warning
12. The Spirit of Radio
13. Tom Sawyer
Encore:
14. One Little Victory
15. A Passage to Bangkok
16. YYZ

Disc 3:

Oh, Atlanta - The Authorized Bootlegs

01. Ghost of a Chance
02. Red Barchetta
03. The Trees
04. 2112/The Temples of Syrinx

Source.

Pretty much every drummer worth their salt knows who Neil Peart is, the drummer of Rush has topped musician polls for over 2 decades now. I’ve been into Neil Peart’s drumming and Rush for a while now, but recently I picked up a vinyl copy of their classic “Moving Pictures” album and it stands out even more to me now.

I don’t know if it’s because I have a really nice turntable and speakers, but his drumming and drum sound is pretty much perfect on this album, at least to my ears. Now, maybe a lot of other drummers out there are thinking “duh” but I’m a younger guy and didn’t have the chance to get into the album when it was first released (as I was one year away from being born).

I’ve heard almost every Rush release, and while they all have something unique to offer, I’d consider their best work to be either “Moving Pictures” or “2112″. It’s a hard decision to make, but I’m going to go out on a limb and put my vote in for “Moving Pictures” just because of the strength and hooks so many of the songs possess. I did some digging around online and found a great picture of the band in the studio from this era (above). If anyone reading this knows, around what era did Neil Peart start using roland drums? I know he is a roland drums endorser and used Simmons early on.

In case any drummers out there missed it, legendary progressive rock band Rush made their first TV appearance in 33 years on The Colbert Report last night.

When it was announced, some (such as Stereogum), joked about the fact that Neil Peart’s drum kit might not fit in Colbert’s studio, surprisingly it did. The band played their hit “Tom Sawyer” and were interviewed. Stephen Colbert even jokingly asked Neil Peart “how many drums do you have there?” with Neil responding “enough”. It seems like the band must really appreciate Colbert’s show and/or humor to choose his show to break their 33 year TV absence.

Check out awesome footage of Neil Peart’s kit and more importantly awesome footage of the band playing Tom Sawyer on television…

Rush on The Colbert Report.