CD/DVD Releases: Rush: ''Beyond The Lighted Stage'' DVD Certified Double Platinum
In the further adventures of the l'il ol' band from Canada, we at PW share: The two-disc DVD release of the award-winning documentary about legendary Canadian trio Rush, called Rush: Beyond The Lighted Stage, has been certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments in excess of 100,000 copies. (Note: Due to the fact that the set consists of two discs, it was eligible for platinum certification after shipping 50,000 copies; platinum certification for a single-disc release is 100,000 copies.) [aww, that's seems like cheating... 'course, that 100,000-disc set from Rick Wakeman only needs to sell one copy (but who could lift it?) -weights and measures ed.]
According to Nielsen SoundScan, Rush: Beyond The Lighted Stage has sold around 82,000 copies in the U.S. so far. [82k copies? Or 41k copies, but 'cuz it's two discs... -w a m ed.]
Guitarist Alex Lifeson told "The Pulse of Radio" that it wasn't until he saw the film himself that he thought there was actually an interesting story to tell about the band. "It's just kind of a, you know, a success story ? kids from the suburbs have a dream and they live their dream," he said. "And everybody can relate to that. There's been quite a dynamic in the band, a lot of stuff has happened, so there was a story to tell there. And I don't think I really realized there was one until we actually saw a rough cut and how they pieced it all together and the chronology and the ebbs and flows of the story."
Rush bassist Geddy Lee told RollingStone.com that the band was initially hesitant when approached by filmmakers Sam Dunn and Scot McFadyen about making a documentary, saying, "We thought, 'How foolish are these guys?' We're just this dull band. I remember [drummer] Neil [Peart] asked them rather pointedly, 'What's your angle? What's the story you want to tell?' They said, 'Well, to be honest, we don't know.' We liked that and said, 'Good luck, let you know what you want us to do.'"
Rush: Beyond The Lighted Stage won the Audience Choice Award at the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival this past April.
Rush began a 40-date North American tour on June 29 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The trek features the band's first-ever performance of its 1981 album Moving Pictures in its entirety.
The band recently released two new tracks, "Caravan" and "BU2B", online and will return to the studio after the tour to complete its next album, titled Clockwork Angels.
[Incidentally, there's no planned 100,000-disc set from Wakeman; but if you look at his looong discography... well, that's why we chose him for that bit of cheekiness. And, we have to say that the doc is pretty cool; I've seen it twice now. Makes you appreciate the band more and how after all these years they aren't just still together, but get along so well, too. -explanations ed.][Source: Blabbermouth.net and PW's pesky editor]
