UPDATE - 2/14@2:45PM: I just received info from a source that the DVD has been given a tentative release date of August, 2008. That's a ways off though, so I wouldn't be surprised if that changes. But it sounds like we should see it by end-of-year at the latest.

UPDATE - 2/14@7:19AM: I'd also meant to remark about the band's rumored desire to film one of the shows on the upcoming leg in IMAX. I'd first heard that rumor back in December but haven't heard any further details. I'm not sure how that figures into all of this, but I thought I'd mention it again.

Ever since Rush announced the release of their upcoming Snakes & Arrows Live release last month I've been getting a lot of questions from readers about the status of the promised live DVD that was filmed in Rotterdam. I don't really have any new information about this, but since so many have asked I thought I'd recap what we know and maybe speculate a little.

We first heard rumblings that Rush would be filming one of the shows for a live DVD back during the first leg of the tour. Then shortly before the Rotterdam shows back in mid-October Rush.com sent out an official mailing stating the following:

Finally, RUSH will be filming a LIVE concert DVD in Rotterdam October 16th and 17th. For more information on this project, stay tuned to the Rush.com email blasts and the website.

And they did indeed film both shows. Neil Peart remarked about the filming in his November 2007 News post on his website:

... we had a day off before a pair of shows at the Ahoy arena in Rotterdam, in the Netherlands. Those performances would be filmed and recorded for an upcoming concert DVD, and having seventeen cameras and a recording truck present is always a little unsettling. You just never know if the added pressure is going to be inspiring, or nerve-racking. On that occasion, Alex and Geddy and I were fairly ecstatic to feel that we played really well on those two nights. All things considered, they may have represented the true climax of the tour. Sure, there were many satisfying shows among those sixty-four performances, I am glad to report, but those two are permanent. ...

So the shows were recorded and the band was pleased with the outcome. Then in November Snakes & Arrows sound engineer Richard Chycki stated that he was working on the live DVD in an interview with BW&BK. He also stated the following in a post on his blog from late November.

As mentioned by Neil Peart and reiterated by countless Rush-fan blogs, a new Rush DVD is in the works chronicling the latest Snakes & Arrows tour. I'm excited to be part of the team once again and hope you all enjoy the final result! ...

Also in November I'd received info from one of my sources that the band would be releasing the Workin' Them Angels single to coincide with the tour announcement in mid-January, and planned to release a video for the song which would use portions of the video recordings from the live DVD that was filmed in Rotterdam. I didn't put two and two together at the time, but it would make sense that if they were to use video from a live version of the song, the single itself would be a live version. Obviously there has not been a single or video released - at least not yet... and they threw us a curveball by announcing the release of the live CD. I thought maybe I'd just gotten the timing mixed up. This prompted me to go back and dig up the email where my source first mentioned the WTA single and video to me and see if there were some details that I may have glossed over at the time - and there were a couple. First off, they had said the single/video would be launched with the tourdates - not launched to coincide with the tour announcement. I had just interpreted it that way. This could obviously mean it would be released in the run-up to the tour in April instead - so we may still see it. Apparently the whole video thing was being pushed by the record label as something to help market the '08 dates. And my source explicitly told me that although the video would be taken from the DVD, the DVD itself would not be released at that time. There was no indication of what form this video would take however. Would it be an MTV-style music video? An internet-release? Or purely just a promotional video? There also was absolutely no mention of a live CD being planned. Maybe that was just the missing piece of information that tied everything together.

All we know about the live CD at this point is that the tracklist is the entire show and it comes out April 8th. We don't know if it's the audio from Rotterdam or not, but I'm betting that it is. It's the only show(s) they officially recorded, the band was happy with the outcome and Richard Chycki had been working with the recordings since late last year. I think it's pretty safe to assume the audio is from Rotterdam.

Now for the speculation. It's certainly possible that Rush planned all along to first release the audio from Rotterdam as a live CD, then release the live DVD later - probably in the fall. This certainly makes sense from a marketing perspective; more stuff for fans to buy = more $$$. Also, the band has stated in the past that they prefer to have some kind of album to support when they go on tour. And even though this was billed as an extension to the Snakes & Arrows tour, they may have felt more comfortable having something new to support. And one other thing - I'm fairly sure that this live album will fulfill their obligation to Atlantic records. So maybe they wanted to finally burn that bridge. Whatever their reasons regarding releasing the live CD at this time, it seems fairly clear that we will see the live DVD eventually - likely by year's end. We'll just have to wait and see I guess. I'll try to get some more concrete information in the meantime.

NOTE: Posts over 10 years old are partially archived. All comments, images and other embedded media have been removed.