Roadshow: Landscape with Drums: A Concert Tour by Motorcycle

The late Neil Peart was a different kind of 'Rock Star' in that he loved creating music and lyrics but was less enamoured with public performances and the fanatical adulation that accompanies 'Rock Legend' status. And he was. A legend of the drum. His prose though is thoughtful and insightful ... and his descriptions of the North American landscape make me want to go there right now with my motorcycle ... and ride ! His solution to the mundanity of a relentless rock tour was to travel between shows on his motorcycle and his approach was almost 'Aspergersesque' ... but the resultant travel writing is fascinating. Definitely a book I'll go back to again and again - even if I never get to ride the back-roads of Canada and the USA!!

"Roadshow" was the second book by Neil Peart that I have read, with "Ghost Rider" having been the first. I loved "Ghost Rider", but I think I enjoyed "Roadshow" even more - maily because the very heavy underlying (and often overt) theme of the former was just humanly difficult to try and 'enjoy' (though I did also give it a well deserved 5 star mark). But also because Roadshow takes us on a focused and purposful journey with Peart, a successful traveling musician making his way across America (and beyond) on a concert tour. For this, if offers a wonderful insight into what many fantasize to be a life of thrill and luxury at all times, not considering the annoying, aggrivating, and tediousness involved - not to mention the painful logistics and inherent problems therein.I try not to read other reviews before writing one of my own, but I did notice a few when I purchased the book, and recall one reviewer feeling that the storyline should have been more about the concert tour and less about the travel in between. I disagree, and actually felt that there was ample anticdotal attention paid to the rehursals, backstage activities and performances provided. The real story was about traveling from show to show by motorcycle. Mr. Peart has long preferred this mode of transport on Rush concert tours, and along with a riding partner (or occasionally two) he travels the hundreds of miles from city to city, 30, 40, 50 times during an extended tour.Mr. Peart's narrative is at once a familiar and comfortable style that makes his books very enjoyable. One quickly learns the authors personality - the witty side, the grumpy side, the aprehensive side... and how the travels through moods, thoughts, and ideas as much as he travels through miles of open road. A man who is loath to reveal himself to unfamiliar persons ("strangers" seems a little too strong, for even people with whom he is aquainted have no guarantee of any revelations), has found an outlet in the written word - long his passion as a reader, and now his avocation as a writer. Clearly, Neil Peart has writing talent. I smile as he describes the funny and peculiar, and wince as misfortune befalls him in his travels. I feel I am there, riding third on my invisible motorcycle. I can see the vistas and urban scenes in my mind's eye. For me, this book brings together the very best of Peart's writing. I will admit that I am a Rush fan (in the vernacular, not the literal abbreviation for 'fanatic') and have seen the band several times. However, you quickly stop thinking about Peart the musician and get to know Peart the traveler, the thinker, the husband, the person. Even his descriptions of the events "at work" are done with a sensibility that puts the everyman behind a drum kit for a sold out rock concert, instead of the boastings and narrow views of a "rock star".I could find but one complaint for "Roadshow: Landscape With Drums"... it ends much too quickly! Literally days after finishing this book, I attended a Rush concert at "the automotive lubrication service company amphitheatre" and being among the first to make our way to the parking lot at the end of the show, I saw a large tour bus passing, with a police escort - and pulling a trailer. I smiled out loud, and felt as though I were watching a friend head out for another day's adventure. Oddly, that feeling was never once experienced while enjoying Mr. Peart's drumming - because the person we come to know through his writings is not the man behind the drum kit at the concerts, but the man in between those concerts.

als eingefleischter Rush fan musste das Buch natürlich gelesen werden. Wie auch die Vorgängerbücher ein Muss für jeden Fan von Neil Peart oder Rush. Peart beschreibt seine Reisen mit dem Motorrad zwischen und zu den Shows der R30 Tour. Sehr gut das Kapitel über Europa. Man erfährt viel über die Persönlichkeit Pearts, den man fast als Einzelgänger und introvertiert beschreiben kann. Etwas zu kurz kommen meines Erachtens Beschreibungen über die Band selbst und den Umgang miteinander bei einer großen Tour, da hätte ich als Fan mehr erwartet. Alles in allem ein tolles Buch das man unbedingt lesen sollte.

If I had gone by the reviews, I may not have ordered this book. It was more expensive than is newer edition, boy I had a $10.00 coupon so I ordered it. Later, I found the book on a Rush Official fan site for a more reasonable price, but it was too late. Plus, the book from Amazon was previously read and though almost pristine (IDK how someone could read the book with such little impact on its structural integrity. I only notice a few dog-eared creases where the reader must have stopped reading). So far, I’m halfway through it and have been thoroughly entertained... I can’t see getting “jaded” or bored yet. I’m not sure What other reviewers found onerous about this or upset about Peat’s reluctance to interact with fans... he states several times That he is shy - he should have been understood! He’s not really rude... the fans are. He even notes that he was happy to have sold many copies of his previous book and at that time, 30 copies of Ghost Rider. (Of course, many more were sold by 2020). That he was at first uncomfortable about people knowing his thoughts and parts of his life. But he felt it was “on my own terms”. For such a shy and humble man, we are able to take a look at him in a personal way, which makes up for his in-person shyness. It’s wonderfully descriptive and gives a sense of the map and landscape. A few times, I did have to re-read the sentences when he mentioned past experiences with present, but I chalk that up to late night reading. I love the style of writing... more of a detailed and descriptive letter than a stodgy book I had to endure during college and high school. Dare I say, I retained and learned so much more for his writing than any Shakespeare, Pearl S. Buck etc... book I’ve ever read. It does probably take A Rush fan to appreciate this book and others except Ghost Rider that would work for a person with a tragic death of a loved one. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and unlike some reviewers, I appreciate the candor about the road life, adoring fans and the day to day life of a performer. It is refreshing that this band doesn’t appear to over indulge in drugs and alcohol. (At least it’s not mentioned in any of the books about them or by Neil). It’s such irony that he died of a brain tumor because he was so thoughtful, intelligent and well rounded despite being in a stressful job. Many people dream of becoming a Rock n’ Roll superstar and he really illustrates that though it great, it has down sides too.

Sadly Neil Peart passed away recently, he has written a number of books, all of which are superb, Ghost Rider I can particularly recommend, this one brings together the writing and the music of Rush, not only one of the world's finest drummers, but also the lyricist for the band, some would say a poet too, this book is a wonderful insight into all of this, and more, his music and writing lives on, thank you and God Bless to a man who knows the meaning of the word Spiritual .