Original subtitles

[crowd ovation build up]

[crowd ovation increasing]

www.fmsubs.com

[mysterious background tone]

[Geddy Lee] When I started in this band I was a kid.

Everything about being a kid is hard.

You know, life is kinda torture when you're a kid.

[soft wind chimes]

And the band, is the thing that saves you from that torture

so it becomes your cocoon.

Becomes the place where you grew up.

Becomes the thing that helped you mold your identity.

[soft mysterious music]

And in some ways it's the thing that gave you your identity.

It's the thing that you...

Got really good at and helped you feel good about yourself.

[birds chirping in the distance]

[Alex Lifeson] Ah... the ending.

The beginning... there's so much hope.

And it's a clean slate and you just go for it.

The ending... never feels like it's the right time

to end.

And...

for all the reasons that I'd like it to be over

which are almost exclusively physical things.

In my heart and in my...

mind, I'm not ready.

[crowd ovation in the distance]

We haven't really known another life.

[guitar chord in the distance]

[Neil Peart] I don't think there is a... really, an end.

I have no fear of the future, no regret, to the contrary.

[soft wind chimes]

It's just to me, fantastic the thing we've done.

And I feel great I was able to sustain my prime for a long time.

And keep improving to the level that I wanted to get to.

[cymbal smash]

To go out on the top and not face the diminishing of your abilities,

that's what I couldn't face.

[high toned guitar riff]

If all that is true, then you have to say that...

ending is harder than beginning.

Because the beginning is a place you've escaped to

that's been a warm and nurturing environment

for over 40 years.

[drums being beaten]

And walking away from that is...

[drums being beaten]

not so fun.

[crowd ovation in the distance]

[high toned guitar riff]

[guitars and drums in unison]

[typewriter effect]

[drums being beaten]

[upbeat guitar riff]

[bass guitar chord]

[guitar riff slowing down]

[typewriter effect]

[guitar riff comes to an end]

[Production crew member] How's the set feeling?

It's coming along, yeah it's getting there. -Yeah.

Ah.. -You guys are, actually pretty good rehearsers.

-Um... -Well we're a...

super nerdy like that. We've always been over rehearsers [chuckles]

The songs are complicated and um...

if we don't...

get to the point, where you can do it without thinking.

Ah... then it's not good

because then if something happens

during a show or something goes wrong

you can just deal with it

much more easily if it's engrained.

So have you reached muscle memory yet?

On some songs, yeah I have.

Some songs, I'm still...

finding my place. [chuckles]

Stuff we haven't played since the 70's

is a little tricky.

Songs that you've played even though you haven't played them in ten years

it's quite incredible actually that...

after not playing them that long

it's in there somewhere.

-It's like stored in somewhere in your... -Just accessing it

Yeah, you know, it's faulty.

It doesn't come back.

You know, it's like a digital copy

that comes back incorrect

but mostly there.

That what it's like.

We'd like to go back into our past a bit

to our first couple of albums.

Now that everybody's feeling in the mood.

Are you in the mood?

[crowd ovation reaction]

Well this is called "Fly by night."

[guitar riff intro]

[drums being beaten]

[narrator] Rush have built the reputation the hard way

on the road.

Their strange flavor and singular sound

ignited a deep connection with their fans

unlike anything else in modern music.

Rush never stopped recording,

never stopped touring.

And have been together as a solitary unit

for four decades.

They're the last of their generation.

The end of an era.

["Fly by Night" playing in the back ground]

♪ Fly by night away from here ♪

♪ Change my life again ♪

♪ Fly by night goodnight my dear ♪

♪ My ship isn't coming and I just can't pretend ♪

[music fades out]

[Brian Hiatt] Big rock shows in the 70's

seem like they were a very different thing than now.

It was what kids did in the 70's.

Rock was the language of the youth.

Tickets were like seven bucks.

It was as much the culture of youth

as, you know an EDM festival is now

or maybe even more so, cause I think it was more universal.

There'd be a million arena tours

that you could get an opening slot on.

If you were willing to be a lunatic and then play

250 nights a year and live under, really lousy conditions.

Most people couldn't stand sleeping in vans

and doubling up in motel rooms

night after night after night. That's a tough life.

You know, I think people glamorize it but it's a really hard life.

[crowd ovation builds up]

Thank you, we haven't got a lot of time tonight

but we'd like to do something from our last album.

This is called "21 12"

[opening guitar riff]

[song fades out]

[Alex Lifeson] You know, we played every day basically.

And we travelled usually...

300 to 400 miles a night.

[guitar riff]

[drums being beaten]

Transportation was a big deal.

When we started out, we had a rental car.

So there were four of us in the rental car

the three of us and Howard, the road manager.

[Howard Ungerleider] We were doing 200 cities a year.

Pretty grueling schedule.

[Pegi Cecconi] Like six nights a week, seven nights a week.

50 weeks a year.

There were lots of bars, lots of high school, lots of everything.

Basically sleeping with your head against the... seat ahead of you.

On occasion Neil and Ged would drive

but mainly myself and Alex did a lot of the driving.

And then we were promoted to a... a station wagon.

It was like, this is the most amazing thing ever.

Now I can sleep on the luggage in the back

and one of us would have a turn sleeping on the luggage in the back.

And you felt like "Oh, tonight is my night!"

[chuckles] "I get the luggage!"

[guitar riff and drums being played]

[guitar solo]

[guitar comes to an end]

[Howard Ungerleider] We used to...

barter things or who's gonna drive, you know.

I'll pay you 50 dollars if you take my shift.

And we did that for the first ten years

of touring.

[guitar riff drums in unison]

[fast paced guitar riff]

[guitars fade out]

I remember being in Saskatchewan and...

Alex and I went out to a parking lot

and we were staring at this, you know.

This van, that had a raised roof with a sleeper in it.

[Alex Lifeson] It had this, sort of... [twinkling magical effect]

upper deck bed.

Now this was just a big van.

With a cap on it.

Ah... a camper basically, like a small family camper.

"Dodge FunCraft" it was called.

[guitar riff and drums playing]

[guitar and drums come to an end]

It was with great longing that we wanted that vehicle.

They were all so excited about this "FunCraft."

It was the most ridiculous thing.

This bright blue and it had a roof on it.

But we were younger, it didn't matter. We were just crazy.

Travelling around the country in this stupid family van, basically.

There was something quite perverse about it.

It was a... space.

We could stick stuff up on the walls and...

you know, I actually cooked in it.

I think I made a tuna casserole. [giggles]

They were so looking forward to taking off in their "FunCraft."

I mean, the miles they put on in the beginning I don't know how they did it.

They were working 50 weeks a year.

It was insane.

♪ It's one for all all for one, we work together ♪

♪ Common sons, never need to wonder how or why ♪

[song comes to an end]

I remember one night

the guys at Thin Lizzy

uh... challenged us to a drinking contest.

So of course, we had it in the "FunCraft."

We drank them under the table.

But it's a little tiny table on the "FunCraft."

You know, it's got these little happy curtains in it

and this little kind of fake table.

And I used to look and think

this is like families go on holiday in this little thing

with the little kids.

[screaming from inside the van] And here are these kind of subhuman musicians

all sitting around drinking bottles of Chivas Regal

until they puke.

[chuckles]

It's kind of a nice irony to that.

We went through three motors.

We put 500 thousand miles on it.

Something like that.

It was the ultimate camping trip, I call it.

[Liam Birt] Eventually though, they bought a much larger RV.

The crew got the "FunCraft" and...

Which we thought was luxurious too.

Uh... and eventually it developed into buses but that all took years.

[guitar riff and drums playing]

[guitar riff and drums come to an end]

[slow guitar riff]

[crowd whistling]

Thank you very much goodnight.

[Alex Lifeson] We've always been very close and...

ah... a lot of that is through our humor.

We share a common sense of humor

and it makes things so much easier.

You know, you really look forward to spending time together.

When it's like that.

Alex is such a funny man.

-You do a good Howard. -I do?

[Geddy laughs]

He would get dressed up on the Kiss tour

as this character called "The Bag."

It was almost like the unknown comic at the time.

He used to crack the guys in Kiss up.

You know, and they always wanted "The Bag", you know.

Ace Frehley used to go "Hey, are you gonna have the bag tonight?"

[high pitched laugh]

[imitating Ace Frehley] Hey, bring "The Bag" over here.

[imitating Ace Frehley] Where's "The Bag?" Howie, where's "The Bag?"

[both chuckle]

"The Bag" was just like...

would pop up every once and a while not that often.

It was just a face drawn on a big laundry bag.

You know, they had these paper laundry bags

in the beautiful holiday inn's we used to stay in.

And I would pull, you know make two holes for eyes

and draw a stupid face on it.

And wear sweat pants and stick my arms through the sweat pants

so only my hands came out at the knee. [Geddy laughing]

And have the bag on.

And "The Bag" would [imitates The Bag] talk like this.

[Geddy laughing] And "The Bag" was always drunk.

And really smart and knew everything.

And made a lot of...

[Geddy laughing] you know, suggestions to people in the room.

And running commentary for a couple of hours.

Usually "The Bag" appeared in Ace Frehley's room. -Yeah.

Almost always in Ace Frehley's room. -Yes

"The Bag" would come over and entertain Ace.

Cause most everybody else would be very upset with "The Bag."

Well Gene would be upset. -Gene was very upset, yeah. with "The Bag."

And that made Ace even happier.

[imitating Ace and laughing] Ah, baloney.

Gene was straight, he wasn't high like we were.

So he had a different sense of reality

when he came into Ace's room, you know.

We were like drinking and smoking

generally being idiots.

Ah... and Gene came in one time.

And there were these two girls that were looking at "The Bag"

like wondering [in drunk voice] "Who's that guy?"

[in drunk voice] "Why's he got that thing on his head?"

So one of them went over and tried to remove it.

-Well. -"The Bag" went berserk.

Well, when you try to remove the bag from "The Bag"

that's cause for immediate...

ejection from the hotel room, so.

I threw them out and Gene was very upset about that

cause that's the only reason he was in the room

-was cause there were two girls. -And it was Ace's room.

[distant crowd ovation and guitar riff]

[narrator] A life in Music is very unpredictable.

When Rush went out on tour in 2013

it seemed at first like simply another tile

in the mosaic that is an artist's life.

But neither the fans nor the band

could've predicted this tour might mean so much more.

[increased guitar riff volume]

[music comes to an end]

[Neil Peart] I think that album is the album

we always wanted to make

since we first got together.

[guitar riff intro]

The lyrics and the drumming on there.

The music that we created.

[drums being played]

♪ All the journeys ♪

♪ of this great adventure ♪

[music comes to an end]

Working with a string section is something we always talked about doing.

[rock music builds up]

♪ To what I felt back then ♪

The size of the story and the resolution of the story.

♪ I wish that I could live it all again ♪

[unison guitar riffs]

[song comes to an end]

So I was at that point where that tour and that album totally pleased me.

And I've never had that before.

It was a huge accomplishment for us.

[crowd ovation]

[Ray Danniels] We took a sabbatical after the Clockwork Angel's tour.

[crowd ovation]

So all of us agreed, we wouldn't even talk about work for a year.

Every tour we had done

had been so successful that it was "Okay,

we'll go out next year and do another 40 shows."

We had for the first time

in five years, taken a year off.

[mysterious background music]

[Neil Peart] The sabbatical, properly is a time to

take on, you know other projects.

And for me, I got into book writing and published my own book

Clockwork Angels graphic novel

worked on a sequel to it Clockwork Live with Kevin Anderson.

I felt the sense of completion and transition

and I thought "Hmm, so we have to talk."

Those faithful words "Guys, we have to talk."

[drum solo]

[drums fade out]

[Geddy Lee] I think he loves being a drummer of that caliber.

But if you were to ask him

he'd say "It's too fucking hard!"

[chuckles]

And it think it's really...

very fucking hard for him to play at the level that he plays.

Over a three hour show he's pumping out an awful lot of energy.

Um... it's gotta be

extremely physically demanding for him.

Singing is the worst job

but drumming is the hardest job, you know.

[exhales]

Piece of cake, are you kidding me. [off screen laughter]

You know, the blister on my little finger.

No, singing, just to stand out there in front of every one.

We both recognize

[no words coming out his mouth] Oh, you don't know what's coming no, it's

by far the worst job singing.

But drumming is by far the hardest job.

He's an athlete, he's 63 years old.

He's playing a three hour set.

And he won't do it unless he can play up to his standards

which is basically "I have to be the world's greatest drummer.

[drum solo]

This is what has been bestowed on me.

This is what I do.

I'm not gonna let it slip."

[increasing drum solo tempo]

[drum solo fades out]

[Geddy Lee] By the end of every tour he's got numerous ailments

and they keep shifting.

His body doesn't respond very well.

[increasing drum solo tempo]

[Alex Lifeson] He gets through it and he does it

and he's very proud

and feels good. And that's the kind of guy he is.

But it's killing him.

[loud drum finale]

[Ray Danniels] I accept the fact that things can't stay

as they've been.

And I accept that fact that...

the enemy here, is time.

Go back a little further historically

they've all taken their turns where they're not so sure about touring anymore.

[heavy background beat and guitar riff]

You know 30 years ago when they first

you know, first started having kids.

And it became more challenging.

More so, lately I'd say that it was more on Neil's side.

[Alex Lifeson] For a long time he was tired of touring.

He just didn't wanna go on the road.

He makes the best of it, he rides his motorcycle

as we all find our things to keep us occupied.

But for a long time I don't think he wanted to tour anymore.

That is what it is, I mean

it's always taken a little bit more convincing

to get him to go back on the road so...

I think in a lot of ways this has been brewing for quite a few years.

[heavy guitar riff and drums being played]

[music fades out]

[Neil Peart] By the first tour, I was already pretty much over

the touring life as a life.

And started reading at the time and started writing.

♪ I was born to believe the universe has a plan ♪

♪ We are only human it's not ours to understand ♪

[Neil Peart] I went to a pawn shop in Little Rock Arkansas

bought myself a type writer, so I would write.

It was 20 years before I published anything

but in the end-trim I was learning how to do that

and it was a part of my life reading and writing long before drumming was.

It was an evolving realization.

It wasn't like at the end of Clockwork Angel's Tour

I said, "I'm done!"

♪ All is for the best believe in what we're told ♪

Like you know what "I think that's enough, for this old body."

That's the athlete that people forget.

Yes, the creative artist is one thing

and certain drummers can play until they keel over.

In eight years, I'll be 71!

I could play Charlie Watson's drum parts when I'm 71.

I can't play Neil Peart's drum parts when I'm 71.

[concert music builds up]

♪ ...Watch me too ♪

[crowd ovation]

[crowd ovation fades out]

[soft drum beat]

[mysterious beat]

[narrator] There's an idea that Rock and Roll musicians

drink from the fountain of youth.

[electronic instrument]

Like anyone else age has a hand on the pen that writes the story.

[electronic instrument]

As their year away from the stage came to a close

Geddy, Alex and Neil gathered to face their music mortality.

[high pitched guitar riff]

[Neil Peart] In November of that year we all got together in Toronto.

And I was quite prepared to say "Guys, you know, sorry but I'm done."

[Geddy Lee] He was very much considering

that maybe it was time he packed it in in terms of live shows.

And it's not like you just get new members in a band

and go for it. Rush has never been like that.

And we couldn't never ever do something like that.

We've always said that if the three of us aren't on board

we don't do a thing.

And there have been other decisions

in our career where the three of us weren't on board

and we didn't do it.

Now nothing is profound as ending our touring life

but fair enough.

So one guys doesn't wanna do that thing anymore

that I love to do.

That hurts.

But there's nothing I can do about it

and that's part of the agreement.

I realized I was kind of solitary misfit in that context

of being the one that wanted to pull that plug.

I'd left one little window open in my mind

really that if anybody said

they wanted to do it one more time

and didn't know if they would be able to.

It wasn't until we had the conversations that we had

that I started to think about the end and...

and wringing the towel dry.

You know, it's easy to blame everything on the drummer

not wanting to go back out on the road.

But there's other factors at play here

that can't be ignored.

And one of those factors is Alex's arthritis,

which is a bit of a ticking time bomb.

So, the bastard! Pulled that exact card.

Alex has got the arthritis and that and

um, and said, "You know what, I'd really like to do it one more time,

and I don't know if I'll be able to.

And then that night in my hotel room

I had the worst attack of Tourette's you have ever heard.

I was like "Trap!, you know.

[glass breaking] and stomping around and cursing and swearing.

[sound of smashing a hotel room]

But by the next day it is what it is deal with it.

♪ I get up at seven, yay ♪

♪ And I go to work at night ♪

♪ I got no time for living, yes I'm working all the time ♪

♪ It seems to me I can live my life ♪

♪ A lot better than I think I am ♪

♪ I guess that's why they call me ♪

♪ They call me the working man ♪

-This is the gymnasium. -Wow.

-So this... -Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Lakeside Park is the opening act.

We talked about ways of doing a retrospective.

I'm taking you... -This is supposed to be amps on chairs right?

Yeah. -No yours is... Alex's is on a chair.

Yours is standing.

And the idea came up well what if we...

started with "Modern Day."

The band as we are.

And just went back in time until we ended the way we began

playing high schools.

[guitar riff]

[guitar riff comes to an end]

And it got very ambitious very quickly

which suited me fine.

♪ Well they call me the working man ♪

[crew member] And Howard's got lighting that's

you know, very basic.

When the song started you guys were silhouette against the red curtain.

-Cool. -After, you got the double...

It's a lot to put on a Rush tour.

It's a lot of work, it's a lot of hours.

[guitar riff and drums being played]

[riff comes to an end]

[Neil Peart] It's not like every tour, the sets get shorter.

[Ray Danniels] It, there's none of those things that they have done

that most aging bands do.

This designed to be an endurance test.

They'd made it this way this is what they like to do.

Wow, the next day there's gonna be a whole lot of YouTube videos.

Yeah. -Oh, everything will be on YouTube, okay

you guys go play.

[crew member] Go do a concert.

[rock guitar riff]

[riff comes to an end]

[fan] I'm all the way down here from Kitchener

to see them on opening night in Tulsa.

[fan] Yeah I've been a fan since seven grade

and a... and I like to see five or six a tour.

[guitar riff]

[fan] Woo!!

[production crew member] Is this two generations?

-Is this father and son? -Yeah, yeah absolutely.

-So it's his fault that you're a Rush fan. -Yeah, oh thank you.

No, I'm a musician. I'm a guitar player.

Um, and you can feel the sincerity um...

and the honesty and the truth, the genuineness.

[production crew member] What are you expecting to see this evening or hear?

[fan] I'm totally a blank slate I have no idea.

I've stayed away from trying to snip it out on the web.

I wanna be totally surprised. I'm super excited.

I'm not sure what to expect.

I mean one time, they got washing machines.

The next time, they got popcorn machines, like

who knows what they gonna really do.

-Come on baby! opening night! -R 40.

[growls]

[rock guitar riff]

[drums being played]

[rock guitar riff]

[crowd ovation]

[base guitar riff]

[guitars in unison riff]

[high speed guitar riff]

[music starts to fade out]

[crowd ovation]

[crowd ovation drowns out then music]

[Geddy Lee] Thank you so much, Tulsa!

[crowd ovation]

We so appreciate it.

And we hope we'll see you again sometime.

Take care, bye bye.

[crowd ovation]

[fan] The show number 27 for me, I flew here from Chicago.

I couldn't have been more blown away.

[production crew member] Amazing, what was the high light for you?

Um, I would say when they stripped it down

to like the high school level.

And Geddy was talking about Alex, like

"Hey, here's our new electric guitarist Alex Lifeson.

It was awesome.

When they started bringing out the washer elements. -Right.

And they replaced the back line with the washer elements.

I knew, I see what's going on, it was fantastic. -Excuse me.

The greatest concert I've seen Rush put on.

And this... number 42 for me. -I'm ready to die baby, I can die right now.

[laughing] Die right now.

[Michael Moore] This is one of the best concerts I've been to in my life tonight.

I had so many...

things firing in my head

during the whole cacophony of whatever that was I just experienced.

They've kind of gently in their own Canadian way

warned us. [chuckles]

Cause it would be an act of violence just to come out and say

"After this tour we're done!"

It's just, that's not very Canadian.

But, but, but this could be it.

This could be it.

[background chatter and noise]

[narrator] The band's travelling circus is shadowed by another.

[electric guitar riff and drums being beaten]

Rushcon.

Misfits of the Rock 'n Roll world

who asked themselves

would this be the last time they gather to celebrate the band of their lives.

[Eddy Maxwell] I proposed to a group of online friends, Rush fans.

I said, "We should do on convention."

And we should go to Toronto.

See all the Toronto Rush sites.

And a... have some fun.

[Jillian Maryonvich] And you're gonna step over to that table

and you'll have a raffle ticket and a game. -Alright.

Awesome, welcome.

"Rushcon" is in essence a fan club that meets once a year in a place.

So you get all these Rush fans from everywhere

meeting in one place.

Usually we try to time it around a concert or some cool event.

But really it just gets people out of their parents basement. [chuckles]

[fan] To Rush, the greatest band ever made.

[Jillian Maryonvich] My fandom, especially in college,

um, was such a fever pitch.

I was just vibrating with Rush fandom.

Like I could not get enough. And this way, this was before Facebook

and before the internet, so like...

this was me cutting out photos from magazines

and like covering my walls.

And it just got, it just got... exhausting.

I loved them so much and I was so heavily inspired

by everything, it's my outlet for my "Crazy."

[audience chattering] Show some respect for the book, everyone.

[crowd reaction with cheers]

We have a bunch of games like

game show style stuff.

And then we have a big charity auction

where you can bid on signed, you know, photos and posters and stuff.

Like here's the thing, we need to jump in a cab right now

cause you guys are meeting the band tonight. [fans go wild]

[crowd goes wild]

[crowd applause]

You rarely will find someone who used to be the high school quarterback

to be a Rush fan or the head cheer leader

is rarely a Rush fan.

But the band geek that you knew in high school

or the guy who was super good at science is probably a Rush fan.

[giggles]

So we're a very smart, artistic and intelligent bunch I'd say.

But with that comes maybe some social awkwardness

[giggles]

which I definitely suffer from myself.

[crowd chatter and noise] Okay.

Also Martin's being a wenus and he needs to leave by five thirty

so if you need to hang out with Martin

pop off and get books, get stuff signed.

He will see you over in his little booth over there, cool!

I was in advertising for most of my life

and I lived in Chicago at the time.

And I decided one day that I could no longer make tampon ads.

Like I was, I could not stay in advertising.

It was just crushing my soul so I stopped going to work.

[upbeat guitar riff and dream beat]

I joined the 2012 Obama campaign and it was amazing

and we won. And then I got the job at the White House.

♪ You can't take back time ♪

♪ Good look is the key to good fortune ♪

Every day I'm just like "How do they keep letting me in this building?"

[classic rock guitar riffs]

[high pitched guitar riff]

♪ Relax get busy with the facts ♪

♪ Those zodiacs are all been axed ♪

♪ Maniacs in polyester slacks ♪

♪ Use the facts gonna kick some... ♪

Cause I think everyone has their secret obsession

and so everyone can kinda be sympathetic, when I have to say

like yes, I run a fan club and I need to take off work to do it.

But yeah, it's awesome how supportive people are

and how fascinating they think this whole thing is.

[Cartman] I'm Geddy Lee and I will sing whatever lyrics I want.

[Stan] Just start the song again and this time do it right.

[crowd ovation]

[Cartman] Fine, and a one and a two and a one, two, three a one, two, three.

[band start playing]

[Modern day warrior by Rush] ♪ Modern day warrior mean, mean stride ♪

♪ Today's Tom Sawyer mean, mean pride ♪

[electric guitar riff]

[Jillian Maryonovich] Such a likeable feature of the band

is that like they're super proud of who they're are

and they never apologize for who they are.

And I think that sort of inspires us as the fans

to, you know kind of be okay with who we are too.

♪ He reserves the quiet defense ♪

♪ Riding out the day's events ♪

♪ The river ♪

[song fades out]

[Brian Hiatt] There are ways in which Rush

are kinda like The Grateful dead.

And there are a lot ways in which they are nothing like The Grateful dead,

but their shows...

and their tours have a similar thing, which is just

they are for... the hard cores essentially.

Um, they bond, the shows bond them to the fans.

[band start playing]

♪ What you say about his company ♪

[Geddy Lee] They've kept us going, they've given me

the life I have.

They've allowed the three of us

the freedom to be confident in our own way of doing things.

You know, a lot of people say well pat us on the back for not compromising in this.

Well... we couldn't do that if our fan base wasn't there for us.

They've given us the freedom to be us.

[music intensifies]

♪ Exit the warrior today's Tom Sawyer ♪

♪ He gets by on you ♪

♪ And the energy you trade ♪

♪ Right onto to the friction of the day ♪

[Neil Peart] We've shared this lifetime of evolution

and a lot of our fans go back decades

and they're bringing their kids there now

and, you know there is a shared thing with a...

with a... that they've passed down to their kids too

who are appreciating what we're doing, right?

Um, and that's important in terms of the example set

and in terms also of the sense of resolution

is the fact that yes, " Okay, we all got here together." [exhales]

I've been out at brunch with friends

and someone walks in with a Rush shirt

and I'm like, "Guys, sorry I have to go talk to someone that I've never met."

Like I have to talk to go and talk to someone wearing a Rush shirt

at a restaurant. It's just what you do.

The second you have that acknowledgement of

"Oh, we're in the secret society together"

its "Oh, how many shows have you seen, favorite album."

Like there's just so many levels in which you automatically connected to someone.

[Gerry Barad] The people that are Rush fans this is their favorite band.

This is a bunch of, this is their band.

They don't care about anybody else.

I could tell you the first five rows tomorrow night

that I've seen these people at a 100 shows.

There's nothing really like it.

[band playing]

[music intensifies]

[electric guitar riff]

[music starts to fade]

[fan] Tonight is my 75th concert seeing Rush.

I saw them first in 1974 when they were an opening act

opening for Nazareth and Rory Gallagher.

And I've seen every tour since.

[music builds up]

[crowd join in]

121 for me and eight for Emma.

-Yeah, eight, okay. -So that would...

Yeah, I'm pretty sure this is number 31

-Okay. -and it's front row bucket list.

[music starts again and the crowd interaction]

I don't have the exact count right now, I'm like 90 some shows.

90 some shows? -Yeah, but I did 37 on Clockwork Angel's.

I lose track from time to time.

I think after tonight, it's about a... number 170.

Well, I know exactly 158 tonight.

[guitar riff and drums being played]

[drums being played]

[fire explosion and crowd go wild]

[Gavin Brown] My first Rush concert

was actually "Grace under pressure."

[crowd ovation]

[cymbal smash] My father decided to take my passion seriously

and bought a couple tickets.

And he and I went together and I think I stood screaming the entire show.

♪ Hey, yeah ♪

[electric keyboard]

He sat, fairly bored the whole time.

And then as I realized, later in life

uh... because of the certain smells in the arena

[crowd ovation]

I think my father got stoned at the concert.

And I've never seen him that way

and on the way home he really didn't say much

in the car, except "Wow those three guys certainly made a lot of noise."

As a young person that power drew me more and more

into wanting to be in bands.

[music starts up again]

["Closer to the heart" by Rush] ♪ I will draw the chart ♪

♪ Sailing into destiny ♪

♪ Closer to the heart ♪

[Gavin Brown] They definitely stuck with me.

[music fades out] ♪ Closer to the heart I'll say ♪

[tapping on the cymbals]

[Randy Johnson] I'm a fan of Rush and somehow

wind got to ownership that you know, Randy plays the drums, not really.

They had a ceremony this year at the ball park with the Arizona Diamondbacks

where they retired my number.

[Stadium announcer] Please welcome starting pitcher number 51

Randy Johnson.

I'm told, "Well now you have to go unveil this big huge box"

about the size of a garage door.

I pulled off one of the black sheets.

It was the gold plated R30 drum kit.

Randy who is a fan of Rock Music

particularly the band Rush

is being presented this collectors drum set

an exact replica of the one used by Neil Peart

on Rush's 30 anniversary tour.

Only 30 kits were ever produced and feature maple drums with gold plated hardware.

Well got behind it did a little drum fill for the fans.

[crowd ovation]

[drums being beaten]

It's much like going to... the baseball hall of fame

And looking at a glove that...

you know, someone used back in the 50's or 60's.

It's just, it's something cool to look at.

I just think, If I could play the drums

think about the noise I could make on this thing.

One, two, three, four!

One, two, three, four!

[laughing]

That's the most Rush I know, right there.

There's something about the music

and the iconography of Rush

that certainly attracts and invites that sort of

uh, 'geeky' for lack of a better word, attention.

The musicians in Rush are so detailed oriented

it invites that sort of detail oriented appreciation.

So, I think it's, uh, possibly

a, you know, circle of geekdom going on here.

I am a husband and I am a father first.

But second on that list, I'm a Rush fan.

It's how I define myself.

I think that's the difference between someone who's just a fan

and behavior of fanaticism

is putting those feelings into action.

It was the MTV airing

of the Exit... Stage Left concert video

was the first time that they had my attention.

And then I started to do the work on my own of saying,

"Okay, Well let me listen to some of these albums that you have."

How many more albums do they have?

Well, I need to get all of them.

Each of the folders in here are labeled appropriately beginning

from folder number 1, 1974

up to 2015 in order from January through December.

Full length feature articles of the band from 1979.

Look at this spectacular ad.

Rush Tour of the Hemispheres

from Sounds magazine dated April 1979.

Spectacularly majestic.

I have reached a point in my fanaticism

where I wanted to start to reach out.

I just wanted to know...

Who else is out there?

So I placed an add in Circus magazine,

in July, 1985,

I anticipated getting correspondence,

but not to the level I was getting.

So that's how I decided, well...

I wanna let them know what I have.

Maybe we can trade. Maybe I have something that I could trade with them.

Maybe they have something that they could trade with me.

So I sat down and did a handwritten version of my Rush list.

And I would copy it and send it to this people.

I still maintain that list.

That innocent handwriting list in 1985

has become this 91 page beast

that still chronicles my entire collection.

All of this is all Rush content.

Enough nonsense to make the band members themself clearly just cringe.

Here are the Indonesian cassette releases that are on my list.

There's not much cooler than these.

I'm not sure that my sister knows that I still have her copy of 2112 on 8-track.

I promise I'll give it back.

Rush: The Illustrated History by Martin Popoff.

I was contacted by Matvin

once my beloved list had ended up in Marvin's hands.

Martin called me on the phone and said,

"Ray, I've been sent a copy of this list of yours, do you really have all of this?"

Flip any random page in the book...

Ah, here are the...

The Ray Wozniak collection.

I just like how pompous is that sound quite frankly.

I never think that I need reminder of the role they have played in my life.

But still, here in this tour this...

Adolescent enthusiasm that I still feel

is testament enough to me that all these years

of pledging my allegiance to them has been worth it.

Because here I am now in 2015

still being this enthused by them.

They've never let me down.

[rock guitars and drums]

Maybe because they continue to feed me with just such positive energy.

I don't want to let them down.

The least I can do is continue to carry their flag

and spread the word and share it with others.

[plucked string]

[audience cheering]

[Gerry Barad] They have a cult following.

It's pretty hard core.

You don't take a shot at this band,

it gets very, very personal.

Remember the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?

[drums]

[Gerry Barad] I remember I went to play golf.

I'm driving along the lakefront in Cleveland

back to the hotel and then to the arena.

And the rock hall's right there,

and there's 200 Rush fans

[laughs] out front protesting.

Cause they haven't been inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

♪ I can't stop thinking big ♪

♪ I can't stop thinking big ♪

[Martin Popoff] What are the two things

that the cognoscenti of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

or Rolling Stone magazine,

which are one in the same, hate the most?

They hate progressive rock.

They hate heavy metal.

Well, Rush invented progressive metal. They are both.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Here is the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame,

Jann Wenner.

[audience cheering and applauding]

[Geddy Lee] That moment at the end, Wenner's induction speech

tells everything you need to know about Rush fans.

From Seattle,

the first ladies of rock and roll

and their back up man, Heart.

[audience cheering]

The man with the mighty touch, the maestro,

Quincy Jones.

[audience applauding]

[Geddy Lee] If you were in that room, you understood

what our music means to them and what they mean to us.

In one incredible...

reaction that I will never forget.

[audience applauding]

And from Toronto,

[audience cheering]

I...

I am a... I'm just not gonna tell you who they are.

[audience laughing] You, guess.

The godfather of progressive metal,

the high priest of high concept,

Rush!

[audience cheering]

[Dave Grohl] From day one, the band built its following the right way.

No hype, no bullshit.

They did it from the ground up.

[audience cheering]

Without any help from the mainstream press.

[fake coughing] Rolling Stone.

It's our honor to finally...

[audience cheering]

induct Rush into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

[audience cheering]

[rock music]

[Geddy Lee] So it's impressive.

These guys put us in the Hall of Fame.

And they were celebrating their moment.

And I still get choked up when I think about it.

[drums joins in]

[narrator] Halfway to the tour, the band returns home to a hero's welcome,

responding with one of their best performances.

Hello, Toronto! My home town!

I think the goal for any band is to have that magical night.

And it probably happens for a moment here and there,

but some nights, it's just like...

It clicks in.

♪ One day I fell I'm on top of the world ♪

♪ The next it's falling in on me ♪

♪ I can get back on ♪

♪ I can get back on ♪

[Alex Lifeson] You are not even in control of it.

You just play.

And every strum on the guitar,

you feel with the kick at the same time or the snare, you know.

It's a magical experience.

[Geddy Lee] There are probably more of those shows on this tour

than I can recall.

The Friday show was one of those nights.

[Alex Lifeson] We were in sync.

Everybody played right in the pocket.

[Geddy Lee] The thing kind of took a life of its own.

And I... I remember after each song

I do a little kind of status check.

That was a good one.

That was a good one.

That was... They kept coming.

They kept checking them all off.

[grand finale]

[Neil Peart] Because we knew the show so intimately

in passages like "Jacobs Ladder" and that,

well, that is what I found, suddenly I'd go deeper in it,

and yes the unison quality of all three of us taking that

does become a breathing entity.

[guitar riff and drums]

[Geddy Lee] And you still have a part of your brain that is free

to kind of float away from the moment

and appreciate what the audience is doing,

what your partners are doing.

The context of your moment, like where am I, what am I doing in the middle of this thing

and I am playing all this crazy shit at the same time. [chuckles]

So it is a pretty sublime state

and I find it such a challenge and such a reward,

when you hit that golden feeling,

that kind of perfect feeling,

that it becomes a bit addictive.

[guitar riff and drums]

[drums solo]

[bass solo]

[Alex Lifeson] It is a very complicated thing, playing a show.

There are a lot of notes in three hours of music.

[guitar solo]

[Alex Lifeson] And to play them all in sync and correctly is a challenge.

[drums solo]

[Alex Lifeson] As a performer I think that is the goal.

You want every gig to be that gig.

[Geddy Lee] You know it took months to get it to that point.

Frankly, that is a reward.

That's the moment you are going, "this is awesome, this is payback for all the work."

[crowd cheering]

[drumming and guitar]

[music stops abruptly]

[Geddy Lee] Thank you so much, Toronto.

Thank you so much all of those who supported us for over forty years.

We so appreciate it.

Maybe one day we'll meet again, thank you so much.

[crowd cheering]

[fan 1] No, it is not my first Rush show,

in fact it's probably like my 30th Rush show.

-111th show. -Oh!

-I said 30th, he said 111th. -111th show.

He like won immediately.

[fan 2] I think it is about 75 shows I have been to so far,

that is my estimate, yes.

[fan 3] It is my 69th show and then Los Angeles will be my 70th show

and hopefully not my last Rush show.

[drumming]

[guitar and drumming]

[Intro to "Animate"]

♪ Polarize me ♪

♪ Sensitize me ♪

♪ Criticize me, civilize me ♪

♪ Compensate me ♪

♪ Animate me ♪

♪ Complicate me, elevate me ♪

♪ Complicate me, elevate me ♪

[song's finale] [crowd cheering]

[stacatto]

[Ray Danniels] Literally could not have gone better.

Almost everything was completely sold out.

We have never been in that position for their career.

We have had little pockets, nights here and there,

but to have a run that was so consistent.

Even people that you would not necessarily consider fans,

other professionals who couldn't wait to get in to see the show.

It is a dream.

We could put 20 more shows on sale

and I know what the outcome is going to be.

You seldom know what the outcome is going to be in this business.

You have a general idea, you know you are going to be successful.

But not at this level.

I think if they did 20 more shows, they would be...

18 of the 20 would be sellouts.

So count me in, I would love to do it.

I know that if there is more, there is not a lot more.

[drumming]

[Geddy Lee] Ray is our manager, we can't get rid of him.

Since April of 1969.

I was 16 and I think Alex and Geddy were 15 when we started out.

[Geddy Lee] Well, Ray began his life as a cheap seller of fake pot.

And then he decided

maybe it's better to be a booking agent.

So when he started handling us, he was really an agent.

Yes, all the murderer jobs were taken.

[chuckles]

I quit high school, I had a little talent agency.

I was promoting a couple of small shows.

Just trying to find a way to survive and be in the music business.

One of his first and most profound acts as the manager of Rush,

was to have me thrown out of the band. Isn't that great?

I fired Geddy, Geddy remembers this,

I don't remember this. [chuckles]

[Alex Lifeson] And then he ironed his hair,

-to celebrate. -Yes.

I don't remember this. It's folklore to me.

-That's why I love him to this day. -Yeah.

Well, obviously we reversed it real quick or we would not be here today.

[chuckles]

OK, guys, start moving forward, stay up stage, now move towards on stage.

[Neil Peart] You are going to have to see the map just to see where we are.

One of my tenets of life is: what is the most excellent thing I can do today?

I am going to find a nice way out through Idaho,

which is some of the nicest riding in the country.

Never mind just in the west.

Motorcycle riding is to him tied into being part of the tour.

Eighteen to 20,000 miles on this motorcycle in between shows.

[chuckles]

It's very important that he feels like his life is bigger

than just stopping at the venues and doing a show.

That his life is ongoing and still a kind of adventure apart from work.

I've got sea spray.

[Neil Peart] So now we are going to look closer at Idaho.

And then I got a bigger time and distance and I am going to arrive in a National park,

so I don't want to be too late.

I will look up the mileage another thing I do,

because ideally I have the bus drive after the show for about three hours

and then park in the chateau Walmart that we choose to park in,

because they welcome overnight campers.

When you get on this highway at the beginning you see:

"warning: 75 miles of winding road ahead".

Oh, to a motorcyclist, this is a promise not a threat.

This thing was that's the part of my day I enjoy the most, is being on my bike.

If you take that away from me, I really won't want to do this.

[Neil Peart] I can see lots of interesting roads here.

The dotted lines are unpaved ones, we like that.

So this is all beautiful beautiful riding here.

Lola Pass, I know that from previous tours.

It's a lot of challenging roads and certainly there was fear and danger and all of that,

but on the other hand peaceful and serene.

I was on my motorcycle from Sandusky, Ohio, down to Bloomington, Indiana for the day

then back up to Chicago for the next show.

And that day I was thinking, riding through the country roads of Indiana.

Probably in the rest of my life there won't be another day where the best thing I can do,

is plot a back road route from Sandusky, Ohio to Bloomington, Indiana.

So, appreciate it a little more.

[band music]

[solo drumming]

[Neil Peart] Whatever your weakest point is,

that level of exhaustion is going to attack.

Starting in my 20's my teeth would give me trouble.

Other tours it was ear infections all over the place.

I had tendonitis in one elbow one tour.

You know it is going to attack you somewhere.

But of all the things I worried about before this tour,

and I worried about my elbows and I worried about cardiac arrest,

I did not worry about the bottoms of my feet.

He has been riding a lot in rain, his boots were wet.

It was just torrential rain, it was brutal.

Neil's security guy who rides with him,

come up to me and he said he is killing me.

We just rode for nine hours.

I am 16 years younger, I can't keep up with him and I don't have to play tonight.

And he developed a fungus on his feet.

And then that grew into eczema, psoriasis, bacterial infections and all that.

He applied one type of ointment to it that only worsened the situation.

The recovery period just took an eternity.

I assumed it would go away and he would be all right.

Yea, he is such a stoic guy.

I can't believe that he played through that anyways.

There was about two weeks of utter hell for him, like really utter hell.

He could barely walk for a couple of shows.

By the end of the second leg, I was walking on two raw stumps.

So drumming of course was agonizing.

[Liam Birt] Roughly at the same time,

his hands started cracking open as well.

You know, if you have looked at his hands,

it's a mess of calluses and blisters and cuts.

What drummer needs hands and feet, but that is what he had to persevere through.

[solo drumming]

[drumming continues]

[Neil Peart] Actually one moment before our second set,

I was standing on the stage as we were able to do because of the front arching curtain.

I was standing looking around at everybody having such a good time, except me.

I was like yes, I am suffering and I don't want to do this, but I am going to.

Just like he did not want to add more shows,

he was not going to back out the ones that he had.

[Alex Lifeson] He has played with tendonitis.

He's played with horrible pain in his hands.

-Flu. -Yes.

He never tell you when he is sick, ever.

-Whereas we tell everybody we are sick. -Especially me, immediately.

Alert the nation: I have a cold.

[chuckles]

[Neil Peart] Alex and I joked one night when I was not feeling well,

that I had this thing going what if I had a heart attack,

and died right here and wrecked the show.

And Alex laughed and said, "Whatever you do, don't wreck the show."

And it felt like that, that was the ultimate terribleness.

Not that I was going to die of a heart attack, but I was going to wreck the show.

[Ray Danniels] If a sniper had been in the building

and shot him in the shoulder,

he would have finished the stunt.

That is what makes a professional, right.

There is no way you go up on stage with your frailties.

There is no way you go up on there with your regrets or resentments or anything.

Every night, bring that commitment.

[crowd cheering]

[cheering continues]

[guitar stringing]

[drumming and guitar]

♪ In the house where nobody laughs ♪

♪ and nobody sleeps ♪

♪ Rise from the ashes, a blaze of everyday glory ♪

♪ No matter what they say♪

♪ No matter what they say ♪

[crowd cheering]

This is a song about a car, this is called "Red Barchetta".

[crowd cheering]

[narrator] As the tour winds down, from a distance one wonders,

will there ever be a relationship between a band and a fan base,

that is so longstanding and powerful.

So many lives wrapped up in the work of three musicians.

[guitar and band]

[Brian Hiatt] The tours have been utterly essential

to sustaining the band.

Because they were not chasing hits, they were counting on building something.

They were in it for the long haul.

It was always a marathon, not a sprint.

♪ My uncle had a country place, that no one knows about ♪

♪ He says it used to be a farm before the Motor Law ♪

♪ And on Sundays I elude the eyes and hop the Turbine Freight ♪

♪ To far outside the Wire where my white-haired uncle waits ♪

[John Virant] The fact that Rush became of age so to speak in the 70's,

and were on the road as much as they were,

I think is very significant as far as them

cementing a relationship with their fans.

The obsession grew after I saw them, the obsession just never stopped.

So 26 years later, 45th show, I was 16.

[chuckles]

[guitar and drums]

[Pegi] People would see them and get really excited because they...

bottom line, they play really well.

Whether you like them or don't like them,

you go see a show and you walk out going, "yeah, they are good."

I have dragged a lot of guys to these concerts

and every time they come back hooked because of the live performance.

♪ Run like the wind as excitement shivers up and down my spine ♪

♪ Down in his barn my uncle preserved for me an old machine ♪

♪ For fifty odd years ♪

♪ To keep it as new has been his dearest dream ♪

♪ I strip away... ♪

[Ray Danniels] Touring is the same thing to Rush today

that it was in the early days.

That never changed, which is if you tour and you go to people, you get a reaction.

You tour to sell records and you only broke on reputation by being a live act.

And that is where they sowed their oats.

[singing]

[Pegi Cecconi] I can remember in the 80's where Rush could go to the UK,

and sell a 100,000, or 200,000 tickets.

But they couldn't sell that many records.

A record is 20 Bucks and a ticket is 100 Bucks, it just doesn't make any sense.

To come and see them live is an opportunity to get something

you cannot purchase, other than the ticket price.

You can watch a video of them but it is not the same as when you see them live.

It resonates in your body and it stays with you for days, years, months, whatever.

[drumming and guitar]

[music continues]

[John Virant] Let's remember that Rush did not break until the fourth record.

2112, think about other groups too from the 70's.

Like how many records did Journey have before they broke ahead?

Styx was another one, REO Speedwagon and a bunch of these groups.

There were a lot of albums there they were developing.

Fast forward to today,

so how many labels were going to be able to stand behind an artist,

while they are developing their craft.

We are going to do four records with you, five records.

It takes those few albums to get to the place where they can start to think about an arena.

What you are seeing more of is if it does not work the first time, that is it.

[interviewer] How long have you been a Rush fan?

1975, I'll tell you how old I am. I am 58 years old, so it has been a while.

I am not sure we are going to be looking at 40 year careers,

other than a tiny percentage of acts and maybe none.

It is just a different world, you know?

[drumming and guitar]

[crowd cheering]

[cheering continues]

[cheering continues]

Ray is always a pretty convincing guy,

and everybody just presumed that he would be able to talk Neil into an extension.

Everybody was hoping that would happen till the last leg,

and that is when reality starts setting in that there was no way it was going to go on.

So you could see the mood changing inside the band and inside the crew.

[Neil Peart] That makes it hard, but we're not doing more.

We're not taking this to Europe.

That we're not doing another 20 shows in America.

But the other side of that coin was we almost had nothing.

So 35 is a lot bigger than zero.

♪ Sweet memories ♪

♪ flashing very quickly by ♪

♪ Reminding me ♪

♪ And giving me a reason why ♪

♪ I know that ♪

♪ My goal is more than a thought ♪

♪ I'll be there ♪

So, welcome to Rush count 15. [crowd cheering]

Our first time in this City of Angels as they call it.

When we initially started planning

we were going to be like, "No, let's just do Toronto. It's fine."

But then we heard L.A. is the last show, we had to be at the last show.

We have to have our presence there and do this group therapy thing that we do.

-Martin. -Hey, George.

-How are you? -Hey.

-You made it! -Yes, of course. And you!

Yeah.

-This is my son, this is George from Scotland. -Hello, nice to meet you.

-I like that. [chuckles] -Yeah, yes.

That is really, really cool.

-It is his first time and probably the last one. -Sadly, but, you know.

So if you have to leave it, we just wanted to leave it big.

In the moment, you've got to enjoy it.

Yes.

-Your seats? -Front row.

Of course, you're always front row.

Well, not always but... -I will tap you on the shoulder. We're second row.

I try to do my best.

-That will be very emotional for all of us. -I think so.

Uh, probably.

-Fantastic. -Yeah.

What if it's the final Rush show of this that they play?

If they knew it was the last night, if they knew this is it,

never going to play live again, people will be sobbing in the aisles.

[vehicle driving]

[talking on radio]

No, we can get on 405, it's open.

[talking on radio]

[Arthur Mclear] I have been lead driver for Rush since 1977.

I had no inkling that this would last this long at all.

We were just in it for the moment.

The first venue was in Regina, Saskatchewan.

I can remember that because we backed down into the venue right behind the stage

and the first thing I saw was Alex jumping of the stage getting on my truck,

and shaking my hand, welcoming me to the tour.

I have never seen that done before or since.

My girlfriend was not too keen about me going away for a year.

So I convinced her to quit her teaching job,

jump in the truck with me and we went across Canada.

[talking on radio]

After about, the third year touring,

we were in Canada going across in the middle of the night

and I was riding with the band bus

and we decided we were going to get married.

I get on the radio and told the news and the only one left up was Alex.

And he heard it on the radio and he had us pull over.

And Alex got out with a bottle of champagne,

jumped in the truck

and rode with us for the next three or four hours.

The two of them drinking champagne

until Alex passed out in the back.

It just shows you what a great guy Alex is.

We are heading for the Forum, the L.A. Forum

We are going to do the last show of the tour.

But definitely does not feel like just another show.

It is coming to a conclusion and it does feel like the end of an era here.

[band music]

[music continues]

[Alex Lifeson] It was nice to be back to a building

where I could remember some really great gigs.

The audiences were great, we played really well in that building.

So many other memories, peripheral memories,

that were attached to being in Los Angeles for those shows, all of that kind of stuff.

Did you make that? -No, someone through them on stage.

I should go back and put a question mark on there.

It was an emotional day.

A lot of our crew guys were very emotional.

Some of our guys have worked for us a long time, years, decades.

It is inconceivable to them that this would be it.

So it is hard to keep your emotions under control.

It is like a regular day.

Will I feel sad later?

Yes, I will feel very sad,

when I have to say goodbye to my crew.

Oh, those guys.

I am not going to talk to them today because I will just start crying.

You know, everyone is... Well we've been such a family,

and now we are going to be leaving.

It is kind of like what is the point?

After all they are the nicest guys in rock and roll, it is a shame.

This is it.

[drumming]

[solo drumming]

You sense this almost dread that the end is coming.

[Geddy Lee] I could not hide from it and I tried to hide from it,

but everyone kept coming up to me saying: last day right?

[chuckles]

It is like, shut up.

I go into my zone and I try to stay there.

People kept pulling me out of it and I kept going back to it.

I want to be professional to the last.

It is really important for me to give the best show I can for the audience.

As hard as it is for Neil in his way, it is very hard for me as well.

So, I did not feel I had room for that kind of emotion, it would not do me any good.

People say you must be happy there is just one more show.

No, no, no, there is still one more show.

It is still a major campaign to be waged here and conquered.

You know all those things are what have to be inside of your dedicated mind.

[Alex Lifeson] You have got work to do

and it is not easy playing Rush music for three hours.

I just have to do my work, I have to do my warm ups,

I have to do whatever it takes for me to do and then get on stage.

And that is where I feel at home and that is where I can express myself.

♪ The dancer slows her frantic pace in pain and desperation ♪

♪ Her aching limbs and downcast face aglow with perspiration ♪

♪ Stiff as wire, her lungs on fire with just the briefest pause ♪

♪ The flooding through her memory the echoes of old applause ♪

♪ She limps across the floor and closes her bedroom door ♪

There has never been anything that they have put in front of them that they did not do well.

♪ And he stares out the kitchen door where the sun will rise no more ♪

[Ray Danniels] These guys are so good

and yet they don't take themselves so seriously.

That is a gift.

[song continues]

[song continues]

[song continues]

Be gone or be cast out.

[cars passing]

I have not really processed what it's going to be like for me to be at the last show,

I am just full on in planning mode.

[laughing and chatter]

Maybe when the lights go on and I am in my seat

and I am finally thinking, like, "Oh my god, is this the last time?"

I am going to jump out of my seat when Geddy runs on stage.

Is this the last time, then it will start hitting me.

It is going to feel like there's a whole lack of progression in my life,

to have this thing stop that I used to look forward to so much.

This is so important to me and it has been such a part of who I've been for so long,

that closing this chapter is going to be...

sad but good.

I am sort of in denial about the whole thing.

I think once I experience it, I will have to let it go.

[band music]

[laughter]

[cheering]

[crowd chatter]

[music continues]

[audience talking and cheering]

-We love you. -We love you so much.

Lightbulb goes out really quick.

So only during "Closer to the Heart."

-Like that, okay? -Great!

[Jillian Maryonvich] We all are like

what it is going to be like for us to be at that last show,

but I am dying to know what it is going to be like for them.

To be like, yes we have been doing this for 40 years and now that path is winding down.

That must be extremely heavy on them.

[guitar plucking]

Shh, we are watching "Antiques Roadshow".

[chuckles]

Looking for deals.

[guitar plucking continues]

We are coming up on five minutes, there won't be any more holds.

[drum sticks clicking]

That is what you always say.

This is a painting that my grandson did.

When he was four.

We put it on the floor, we give him all these paints.

And we say do whatever you want, use brushes, use your fingers,

use your hands and it's amazing.

There is his brothers, you know it's typical of a kid, you know, happy smiling life,

whereas this is dark and brooding.

[drum sticks clicking]

All right, let's go.

[noises in hallway]

[background chatter]

[crowd cheering]

[Neil Peart] Walking up to that stage is like, so much can go wrong.

Any musician knows live performance is the ultimate chaos theory.

There are things that happen that you don't even know enough to worry about.

So I worry.

[crowd cheering]

[drumming and guitar] [crowd cheering]

[music continues]

[Neil Peart] And every song, OK go through that one, Oh not this one now.

And there is a whole monologue going on in my head all the way through.

Coaching myself, that is really what it is.

[bells chiming]

♪ Philosophers and ploughmen each must know his part ♪

♪ To sow a new mentality Closer to the heart ♪

♪ Closer to the heart ♪

[Geddy Lee] I thought we gave a fucking great show, that last show.

[Neil Peart] And I tried to absorb as much as I could.

The building, the crowd, the lights.

I tried to be acutely aware of everything that was going on.

[Geddy Lee] And the crowd was unbelievable

I looked out and I saw signs from all over the globe.

That made me feel good that so many people have come from so far away.

All those places that I knew we could not get to.

[drumming and guitar] [crowd cheering]

[Neil Peart] And it really has been a brotherhood,

a very deep friendship within the band.

[Geddy Lee] Neil especially, he knew it was the end for him,

so he gave it his all.

We did goofy things at the end of the night behind this kid, to crack us up.

I love those guys.

They have been my closest friends and family for four decades.

[Alex Lifeson] To work together with the same guys

for four decades, to our mutual satisfaction in every way.

You can't beat that, you can't repeat that.

♪ I get up at seven, yeah and I go to work at nine ♪

♪ I got no time for livin' yes, I'm workin' all the time ♪

♪ It seems to me I could live my life ♪

♪ A lot better than I think I am ♪

♪ I guess that's why they call me ♪

♪ They call me the working man ♪

[Geddy Lee] We never timed that song,

but some nights it's longer than others.

It was probably the longest of the tour on that night.

That was part of us and we just did not want to give it up.

♪ They call me the working man ♪

[last note continues]

[drumming continues] [crowd cheering]

[Neil Peart] We had agreed earlier on to add

16 bars of a song from before '74, right.

So we're not going back just to '74,

we went back to a song that was never recorded, those 16 bars.

I think it's "Garden Road" or "Fancy Dancer", I get those mixed up.

But I kept forgetting.

Then I get up and walk away in rehearsal.

I even did it in one of the shows.

So Alex happen to mention, Oh I love it when you do that.

So I got an idea.

So each night I try to do something different in that part of the show.

So that night I had it in mind that I am going to photograph this audience of all audiences.

I had to get a picture of the guys at work, right.

Thought it was perfect.

[drums and guitar]

[Geddy Lee] The closest I came to losing it emotionally

was when I was saying good night.

I got choked up and I got momentarily overcome.

Thank you so much, Los Angeles.

On behalf of the greatest crew and organization in the world.

And then Neil touched me on the shoulder which totally surprised me.

All through the tours certain parties have been asking me,

to go upfront and take a bow.

And I have just never crossed the, I call it backline meridian.

I stayed behind my drums and cymbals for 40 years.

Never go upfront, never, it is not my territory.

And meanwhile I thought it would be really cool if I did.

But I can't.

So eventually I talked myself into it, but I wouldn't tell anybody.

Because it was up to me to screw my courage to the sticking place and go out and do it.

I had managed Van Halen for eight years where they did that every night.

They fucking hated each other, some of them hated each other.

But they would do it and it was scripted, this wasn't scripted.

Thank you so much, Los Angeles.

On behalf of the greatest crew and organization in the world.

Wow, what a surprise

[Neil Peart] So it was totally the right thing to do.

I went out there, it was a big smile, beautiful photographs of the moment.

And the backline meridian.

On behalf of the whole organization, thank you United States of America,

for 40 awesome years.

And I do hope we will meet again sometime, bye bye.

[Neil Peart] It was really sad that it was the last one

and that it was going to end.

And I know down the road I will feel fine with it.

But I still lament the fact that it is likely that we won't be doing a major tour anymore.

[background chatter]

♪ In this one of many possible worlds ♪

♪ All for the best or some bizarre test? ♪

♪ It is what it is and whatever ♪

♪ Time is still the infinite jest ♪

♪ The arrow flies when you dream ♪

♪ The hours tick away, the cells tick away ♪

♪ The Watchmaker keeps to his schemes ♪

♪ The hours tick away, they tick away ♪

♪ The measure of a life is a measure of love and respect ♪

♪ So hard to earn so easily burned ♪

♪ The measure of a life is a measure of love and respect ♪

♪ So hard to earn so easily burned ♪

♪ In the fullness of time ♪

♪ A garden to nurture and protect ♪

[instrumental]

♪ In the rise and the set of the sun ♪

♪ 'Til the stars go spinning, spinning 'round the night ♪

♪ Oh, it is what it is, and forever ♪

♪ Each moment a memory in flight ♪

♪ The arrow flies while you breathe ♪

♪ The hours tick away, the cells tick away ♪

♪ The Watchmaker has time up his sleeve ♪

♪ The hours tick away, they tick away ♪

♪ The measure of a life is a measure of love and respect ♪

♪ So hard to earn so easily burned ♪

♪ In the fullness of time ♪

♪ A garden to nurture and protect, (It's a measure of a life) ♪

♪ The treasure of a life is a measure of love and respect ♪

♪ The way you live, the gifts that you give ♪

♪ In the fullness of time ♪

♪ It's the only return that you expect ♪

[instrumental]

♪ The future disappears into memory ♪

♪ With only a moment between ♪

♪ Forever dwells in that moment ♪

♪ Hope is what remains to be seen ♪

♪ Forever dwells in that moment ♪

♪ Hope is what remains to be seen ♪

[instrumental]

[instrumental continues]

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