Red Hot Chili Peppers Live at Slane
16:9 anamorphic
picture 4
sound 5
performance 5

Similar show to thier summer 03 tour. Frusciante really shines here and the jams in between songs are reaal treat

Guaranteed nobody here will have heard of this Norwegian band, nor will any of you be able to appreciate their music, and being HT nuts, you won't like the PQ or sound from the disc, but the DVD of the band Emperor called "Emperiral Live Ceremony" is my most watched music dvd. It's very extreme metal, performed on the last tour before they disbanded in London, and will rip your face off. Even though it's an amateur video production, when they pull off these songs live, they define what metal music is supposed to be, and it's NOT 'metallica'.. you've been warned.

-sc

Originally posted by bluerider
Blue Man Group - The Complex Rock Tour Live
I've been to a BMG performance in Chicago and although this is a different show, it really captures the energy. Sounds great even though it's only DD stereo - the drums pound! PQ is not bad considering it's non-anamorhic.
Had some friends over to see this last weekend that had heard of BMG, but never been to a show - they were blown away......

I'll second this, I heard them on a jukebox at a local pub and said "what the hell is that crap?" then I saw the DVD in mention here and was blown away, may buy a copy for myself tomorrow.

the rolling stones four flicks set...good sound good video[though not widescreen]well worth the $30 for 4 discs

After reading the reviews here, I picked up Roxy Music at the Apollo and Heart in Seattle. Roxy was very good but Heart wil blow you away with sound and picture! Heart is a must have if you like the music.

I agree - the Heart Seattle DVD has good PQ and SQ, and the concert has no shortage of energy.

Originally posted by del
Heart wil blow you away with sound and picture! Heart is a must have if you like the music.

Yea, BUT the Heart DVD is ONLY DD 5.0 and NOT 5.1!!!

And I, for one, really miss the .1

Don't really know WHY it's missing on the DVD, because when HD-NET plays the same concert in HDTV, it is definitely 5.1

I agree that the PQ and audio quality is great other than that.

I found the Heart DVD a bit boring, they play straight up versions of their songs, nearly identical to the album in every way (pun intented).

Why bother to see a concert if they dont let their creative juices flow a bit more?

As much as I remain dubious about the Blue Man Group, at least they did refreshing interpetations of some rock standards. Heart has a great song catalogue full of standards, they could do some really cool things. They could turn "Magic Man" into an rocking RAVE dance tune, they could really rock out a few other tunes of theirs, They could do instrumental interludes in their slow tunes...Nancy wilson could get a personal trainer, etc!


Also, the missing LFE channel was a bummer.

Dallas777 & JohnR:
The Heart: Alive in Seattle disc claims to have both DD 5.1 and DTS 5.1. Have you tried both and still no lfe channel?

I agree with Kevin that 4 Flicks is not only a great value but also has superb surround audio and picture quality. Sure the lines on the faces of the band members reflect 35 years of hard living, BUT STILL NO ONE ELSE PUTS ON A SHOW like these guys! Given their extensive playbook of songs, each of the 4 concerts features a good variety of material with little duplication.

I will also put in a plug for the Rolling Stones Four Flicks. Received that and Rush In Rio for Christmas. Rush in Rio is a great concert, but the sound, while still good, is not as good as many of the others I have seen and heard. I would have liked to have seen the vocals a little higher in the mix and the crowd a little lower. Probably still like a 7.5 out of 10, wheras something like the Rolling Stones is a 9.

One thing that the Rolling Stones Four FLicks has has that I haven't seen on the other concert DVDs that I have is the feature that they call the custom setlist. They give you a list of the tracks for the concert and you can have it play the songs that you want in the order that you want. This was a very nice feature to use the first night I got the discs and just wanted to sample a few of the songs. Set it up and it plays them in the order you set. I would imagine that others have this feature, but I haven't seen it on any of the other 8 or so concert DVDs that I have.

Other favorites include :
Roger Waters - In The Flesh
Gov't Mule - The Deepest End
The Grateful Dead - Live At Winterland
Led Zeppelin - DVD

Two I haven't seen yet.

Neil Finn - Sessions At West 54th
Keb Mo - Sessions At West 54th

Both intimate performances that give you a feeling that you're there.
OAR 4:3 but very nice looking with no quick cutting to distract from the music.
REAL 5.1 Dolby Digital or Stereo PCM Audio

Yea, BUT the Heart DVD is ONLY DD 5.0 and NOT 5.1!!!
And I, for one, really miss the .1
I have this DVD and enjoy it immensely....what exactly are you missing? A discrete LFE channel perhaps but my sub still gets a signal and moves alot of air when cranked. This concert sounds awesome and anybody who says different must have a HTIB.:D:D

I just read this entire thread and I am shocked nobody mentioned Alice In Chains - MTV Unplugged This is the disk I play the most out of 48 DVD concerts.

Arista Records: 25 Years of #1 Hits is worthy simply for Annie Lennox's spine tingling performance of Why. I have never seen anything like that. This concert has several good tracks

Cult: Live Cult: Music Without Fear

Everyone loves this disk but it has been around so long that many fail to mention it Eagles: Hell Freezes Over: DTS You simply must listen to the Extra track In DTS (Audio Only0: Seven Bridges Road. Walk up to each speaker & a different member of the band is localized. The best audio demo I know of.

Anything by Metallica in the last 6 years. They as a band do the best job on DVD's IMO.

Music for Montserrat This is a great party DVD. Brothers In Arms - & Money For Nothing by Mark Knopfler are awesome!

Santana: Supernatural Live: DTS is a must have if the radio airplay hasn't made you sick of a few of the songs. Great video & show.

Steely Dan - Two Against Nature Yep, he's ugly but the music is beautiful.

Styx - Return to Paradise A friend of mine made me watch this. I loved them as a kid but thought the music would sound dated. I bought it the next day.

U2-Rattle And Hum I wore this cassette tape out when it was released. Never has this sounded so good.

Stevie Ray Vaughan - Live At The El Mocambo

Stevie Ray Vaughan - Live From Austin Texas This is a must have. Old, sometimes crappy video but the music is simply untouchable. Best "blues face" in the business :D

AC/DC: No Bull I chose this over stiff upper lip for the stunning fly over crowd shots.

Thanks to this thread I will buy the following..

Scorpions - Acoustica
Sting - All this time
The Cure Trilogy
Prince Rave
U2, slane castle
Coldplay- Live 2003
Rush Live in Rio
Red Hot Chili Peppers Live at Slane

I don't know why but I forgot to mention Heart: Alive in Seattle . I was shocked how well this band sounded. They rocked in their day and they rock to this day!

Emmylou Harris's Spyboy is my favorite of those not mentioned here. The rhythm section is phenomenal, Harris's vocals are top notch, and Buddy Miller's guitar alternates between powerful and sublime. Plus the songs are killer. Highly recommended.

Sheryl Crow - C'mon America 2003

For the sticklers out there, I guess this is non-anamorphic widescreen. It certainly fills up my widescreen PLENTY, but some people find this important.

The sound and video quality is THERE. Yes I have seen and heard slightly better, but this is a professionally recorded and taped DVD, its excellent, no complaints. Have you gotten the message, that this viewer is not terribly picky?.

5.1 Dolby Digital, well done too.

Sheryl is an artist that my kids LOVE and I LIKE. She knows how to lay down the radio hits and make the millons, and still sound like rock and roll, so i give her credit. Plus shes my age and still pretty hot.

This performance is good, its a straightup rock concert, and she performs faithful renditions of her songs <slight yawn>.

Now this is a huge show.. 21 SONGS.. and around SONG 10, it starts getting excellent... her band really starts making her rhythms get traction, and for about 2 songs I had a musical moment ...this concert is gonna take off!

Then she returns to her "faithful renditions" for a couple songs, and i loose interest.

Anyways, that groove they hit in the middle of the show is probably worth the price of this excellently produced DVD.

Echo & the Bunnymen: Live in Liverpool is a fantastic performance in DTS/DD 5.1 it's in Fullscreen but with good visuals and a cool stage show with projected images of the band and their history together, including home movies of their deceased drummer who is represented neatly along with the performance. I've always loved this band, and if you've not heard of them you will at least be able to appreciate the great sound on this DVD. Perhaps there best known "mainstream" song was called, "Lips like sugar" but my favorite is and will always be "The Killing Moon".

http://www.deepdiscountdvd.com/dvd.cfm?itemID=RDD000049

http://images.dvdempire.com/gen/movies/580824h.jpg

thebland, do you know how to use DTS because I did and WOW, WOW, I couldn't believe it. Don't get mad at me because I know you know your stuff but I didn't have any problems with this DVD and I was BLOWN AWAY as well as with Paul McCartney's Back to the USA which nobody seems to want to comment about. That perplexes me because I think it's an excellent music DVD and yes it's not hard rock but it sounds great to me.

Wakey, you are right on, I mean I have all of the DVDs that you mentioned but I like Paul McCartneys Back to the USA concert DVD. No one else seems to like this but I saw this in Atlanta, Ga. and he blew me away in DTS.

Yosh70, you have a problem because it's delivered in 5.1. If you can't pick up the LFE then you need to set your speakers to small. Read the user manual and understand what they are saying.

Frank Zappa's Baby Snakes is IMO awesome sound. His website has the painstaking process documented to restore frank's audio mix and convert it to digital by Dweezil and Joe Travers.

picture quality is not great, but its all about the music.

THe complaint mentioned about the Paul McCartney Concert DVD is the frequent breaks in continuity, due to the documentary aspect of it.

RE McCartney
Plasmamaniac, are you saying you saw Sir Paul in the Dome, or on DVD in Atlanta?. I saw him in the Dome. It was awesome. And his performance on the DVD Back in the USA is excellent. BUT, ditto what JohnR just posted.
If you haven't, you should also check out Concert for Montserratt. McCartney is great in that, too.

Originally posted by plasmamaniac
Yosh70, you have a problem because it's delivered in 5.1. If you can't pick up the LFE then you need to set your speakers to small. Read the user manual and understand what they are saying.
Read ur own user manual:rolleyes: or maybe try reading my post....I dont have a problem w/the LFE in the Heart concert. And do you even own the DVD? If you did, it is recorded in DD/DTS 5.0 not 5.1....it says it on the cover and in the audio menu setup. The LFE is not a discrete channel on this recording so instead of me setting my speakers to small (which they are anyways), maybe try setting your brain to "on".
Oh yea, found this one on a thread about Subs under $600.......
You need to learn to read the whole statement and not just pieces of the statement.
hmmmmm......wonder who wrote that?

Yosh70, my apologies to you, as I have never heard of DD 5.0 but when I loaded the DVD in my player it came up DD 2.0, DD 5.0 and DTS 5.0. I've never seen it done that way and you are right I am not getting my LED light for the LFE lit up in DTS mode so where's the bass coming from. I guess it's mixed in with the front channels. I didn't mean the last statement the way that you took it so again I apologize as I was not trying to be rude or offensive. Also, I did try setting my brain to "on" but it is just too painful so I'm going to put it in "standby mode". When I went to hear my sub it was playing and I turned it up and could hear it so just what is going on here in your opinion.

Yes I saw Paul at the new Philips Arena and he was awesome. I agree that the documentary stuff could have been placed as a bonus feature to provide more continuity but when he did play he and his backup band were excellent. One of the best concerts that I have ever been to. I was in the 30th row, forked out alot of cash but it was for out anniversary so what the heck. Once in a lifetime opportunity.

I'm sure it has been mentioned before but the stereo track of David Gilmour in Concert is outstanding.

There is a brief interview with Rush's guitar player in Sound & Vision. They mixed the crowd high because they crowd was very overwhelming during the concert. They wanted the DVD to reflect that.

Just watched Sheryl Crow's The Globe Sessions, which was great. but was it filmed in 4:3? I watched a borrowed copy on my widescreen tv in 4:3 and was dissappointed by that. Is there another version so I can watch it in widescreen (without zooming)?

I like David Gilmour's DVD, but does anyone else besides me have a tough time with 2 guests conspicuously reading lyrics from cheat sheets! I find it hard to get over this.

Larry most of the good concerts are filmed in 4:3 unfortunately. Times are changing, and theres some good widescreen concerts out now, but a lot of the historical concerts will always be in 4x3. Some stretch better than others, I especially like the stretch mode they call "panaroma" on many HDTVs, it can help.


By the way "Sheryl Crow "C'mon USA 2003" is widescreen, and very good quality. You would probably like that. I talked about it on this thread a couple pages back ...

David Gilmours DVD suffers just a tad from laziness, it seems they didnt have anything from "Animals" rehearsed, and they play "Comfortably Numb" twice, bah!

The guests do have their share of problems.. Bob Geldolf looks completely strung out on heroin, glassy eyed and wispy. Who is that olderguy who sings from the cheat sheet on the first version of Comfortably Numb? Anyone know?

The backup singers are uninspiring too, unlike the world-class singers Roger Waters has backing up his band on "In THe flesh".

The cellist, bass and drummer hold the show together though, and of course, Gilmore is superb.

Still one of my favorite concert DVDs..

Anyone know if the Wham world tour is on dvd or when it will come out on dvd. :D I have been waiting for this one for a while. You know the classics: Wake me before you go-go, Blue, Careless Whisper.

Originally posted by Pronto Pup
Would someone please answer this question about the "Randy Bachman Every Song Tells A Story" DVD?

Are the chapter stops at the beginning of the songs... or at the beginning of the "story" about the songs?

Thanks... This DVD sounds like a fun trip down memory lane :)

Since the guy who raved about this DVD didn't, couldn't or just plain wouldn't reply to my ever so simple question... I'll answer it myself, now that I've bought the DVD.

The chapter stops are at the beginning of the between song banter... This means that no matter how interesting this crap. oh I mean banter is, you can't skip it unless you scan forward (which is a PITA and very imprecise.)

Jeehsus-mother-of-gawd... Concert videos have been with us since the early 80's (thank you laser-disc) and you'd think that the morons who produce these discs would KNOW that chapter stops should be at the beginning of the MUSIC!!!! Yes... MUSIC!!!, that's why we buy these "MUSIC' discs you MORONS!!! Wake UP!!!! The between song crap is only good for one viewing... maybe 2 at the most!!!! Got it?!!!! Who pays these idiots to make these stupid decisions anyway?!!!!

Anyway, this disc is pretty good if you liked Guess Who & BTO but the producer's could have, should have made more intelligent decisions!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hah i know what you mean ... but to group a song with another song's verbal description, doesnt make alot of sense either. This performance is intrinsically part talk part music ....
... so i guess they had to make choices

a stop before each song and before each talk would be a nice compromise.

John... I have to disagree... Thankfully, most producers know that this "banter" can be included after a music track in the same chapter... That way, those of us who don't wish to see this filler over and over again can simply press forward on our remotes and skip to the next song. With this method of chapter encoding, those of us who wish to see this filler /crap can simply watch the concert from beginning to end, and those of us who don't, can skip over this filler to the next song. That way, we all can see the concert the way we want.

Personally, this between song banter wears thin, for me, after one viewing... That's why I asked about this when what's-his-name recommended this disc...

Sweeney Todd : The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.

Shot during a 1982 LA stage performance.

JohnR and Pronto Pup,
I'm in the anti-banter camp with you. My questions are: Are there limits to the number of chapters a DVD can have? Why does the banter have to be part of any song chapter? Couldn't producers put each banter segment (even if it's only 30 seconds) in its own chapter? For example - Song Chapter, Banter Chapter, Song Chapter.
- Jim

Originally posted by jimnc
JohnR and Pronto Pup,
I'm in the anti-banter camp with you. My questions are: Are there limits to the number of chapters a DVD can have? Why does the banter have to be part of any song chapter? Couldn't producers put each banter segment (even if it's only 30 seconds) in its own chapter? For example - Song Chapter, Banter Chapter, Song Chapter.
- Jim

Jim,

I don't know the answer to your question, but I skimmed through my DVDs and The Concert for NYC has 40 chapters on each disc. At the beginning of each disc you have the option of "Play Concert" which includes all the between act speeches, or "Play Music Performances Only" which is like you suggested and ideally how concert DVDs should be chapter encoded.

Kudos to the producers of The Concert for NYC!!!

Try and sit through the Tribute To Burt Bacharach and Hal David concert.The emcee never shuts up and ruins the whole DVD

Pronto Pup,
Your example answers the question very well. Thanks.
Ditto your kudos.

"No Doubt Rock Steady Live" concert DVD
Wide Screen Anamorphic. DD 5.1 and DTS

If you are unsure who "No Doubt" is, putting this DVD in for a spin will remind you. This group led by high energy blonde singer Gwen Stefani is a HIT MAKING MACHINE. Most of these songs I have heard just walking around malls and from my daughters' radio. They have probably had a dozen radio hits in the last few years...

Is this music any good? Well ... it reminds me of Madonna, which I like to hear on the radio once in a while, but cannot sit through a whole CD of hers. Its damn good radio pop, nothing more, nothing less.

Anyways back to this DVD. The quality is stellar, Very nice anamorphic video, and professionally recorded sound. The drums sound good, the voice sounds good....

And the directing is good .. fast paced (which I normally dislike) but extremely well done. At one point they have a hot girl camera operator go on stage and get closeups... the camera operator becomes part of the show ... a bit offbeat but it works. And boy did that camera operator work it, like a table dancer :)

Anyways... so the direction is first class, and the audio and video is awesome.. now on to the performance.

No Doubts performance was offbeat and different, they sometimes grouped together in a small group, other times spread out across the stage in typical arena rock fashion ...

Lets face it, No Doubt does not put out incredibly complex music, they tend to find a real nice groove, and then repeat the groove while singing over it. To make up for this relatively simple structure, they do their share of antics onstage.

Each band member had their own unusual attitude and attire, and they seemed to do their own thing... this was at times refreshing and at times unsettling....
....Especially that pink lipsticked male drummer. I don't know what his deal is, but he was always doing his own little act. I realize the music is simple and needs some help , but this guy was constantly either joking around ... or looking at someone off the stage, or struting around in boxers while wearing hot pink socks and undies. Now Im from the 70s when lots of musicians dressed in girl clothes, so that per se didnt really bother me. What was unsettling was his cavalier stage attitude.... almost like he thought the whole show was a big joke.

For example, he would bring a little drumset to the front of the stage, and while playing in a bored looking way, he would do some amateurish robot dance or something.

Oh well, i probably just dont understand this kids nowadays :)

The instrumentation in this show took a backseat to the vocals and the performance... I guess I should of expected that, but I come from the old rock school which likes to see the musicians really open up, and they did not.

Gwen Stefani was good, almost great ... and if you like No Doubt, you will probably like this DVD.

Excellent review JohnR_IN_LA! I think I'll pick up a copy of this concert DVD...

P.S. I met a lady who lives in the neighborhood that Gwen Stefani grew up in. According to this woman Stefani isn't anything like her stage persona. She claimed she was a really "sweet & nice" girl... Not outrageous at all.

Originally posted by AFH
Anyone know if the Wham world tour is on dvd or when it will come out on dvd. :D I have been waiting for this one for a while. You know the classics: Wake me before you go-go, Blue, Careless Whisper.

I was never the same after they broke up... I don't even know that guy from back then.. :p

JohnR,
Thanks for the review. I really like No Doubt, BUT I heard Gwen drops the F-bomb quite a bit. Is that true? I watch a lot of concerts with my 4-year-old, and that would be bad.
Jim

She drops the F word tons, yep. Most of the time she kind of says it away from the mic, and it blends into the background noise, but theres a couple times its crystal clear ... I would be more concerned with the disturbing drummer though, haha.

At one point the whole band is huddled on this runway that goes out into the crowd, for an unplugged slow song. Well the drummer sits on the side of the stage, with a little 1 hand shake instrument. Which he goes through the motions of keeping the beat with, while scanning the audience with this goofy look, and guzzling beer.

haha so after the slow song, the band is repositioning, but not him, hes busy trying to kill his beer before he has to move again.

They have some reggae-looking ska singers that are good and add a lot to the show....

One thing I have noticed, is that most all the new concerts are superbly recorded and taped, this one being no exception, it really puts you in the show.

I really love her DVD and I'm looking for other concert DVDs with the same qualities. For those of you who also love Diana's DVD what else would you recommend in the same genre? I'm looking for something with sweet vocals, a good range of musical material and a classical orchestra accompaniment.

Originally posted by romanr
I really love her DVD and I'm looking for other concert DVDs with the same qualities. For those of you who also love Diana's DVD what else would you recommend in the same genre? I'm looking for something with sweet vocals, a good range of musical material and a classical orchestra accompaniment.

Jane Monheit - "Live At The Rainbow Room"
Equal to the Krall disc in video and audio, and with orchestra conducted by the same conductor. Monheit has a great instrument with which to sing, and you will have to judge for yourself if she moves you in her cabaret style.

Norah Jones, Live In New Orleans. - though no orchestra
An Evening With the Dixie Chicks - Orchestra and sweet country instruments..
You may also want to look at David Gilmore Live ... hes got the sweetest male voice hahah, plus a celloist, stand up bass, and some other classical instrumentation backing him up

Here are my reviews of some concert DVD's from my Christmas loot:

1) No Doubt Rock Steady-good picture, great sound and performance. High energy show packed with hit after hit. Gwen throws out too many F-bombs for my taste. As far as musicianship, they won't be confused with Rush anytime soon but they are better than most of the new bands. I think, in particular, the bass player is very good.

2) Pearl Jam Live at MSG - very good picture, good sound, and great performance. Eddie and the boys are in good spirits and absolutely rock the place, particularly, on Disc 2. Finally, a band that remembers what guitar solos mean to a song. I particular enjoyed Eddie's rip on Good Charlotte and their brief salute to Iron Maiden.

3) U2 Slane Castle - good picture, sound, and performance. Song list very similar to the Live from Boston DVD although I think this is a better performance mainly because the band feeds off the energy of home country crowd. If you already have Live from Boston, you can probably pass on this one. If not, I would choose this one over the Boston Concert DVD.

4) Red Hot Chili Peppers Slane Castle - Fantastic Picture, good sound and performance. It was interesting to watch this one and U2 back to back since they were shot at the same venue. I thought the picture quality was one of the best I've seen. They shot it at sunset so you get wonderful color. Sound could use more bass, but I think that has more to do with Flea's bass playing than anything (he plays bass more like a lead guitar than a rhythm section). The new guitar player really adds alot to their sound with both his guitar playing and singing. I am not really a big Chili Peppers fan, but I enjoyed this disk.

Some more reviews:

5) A Tribute to George - Great Picture, Sound, and Performance. A very moving all-star tribute to George Harrison from some of his best friends (Eric Clapton, Jeff Lynne, Tom Petty, Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney). The Indian Music at beginning is not my cup of tea but you understand why its there. You get a couple of Monty Python skits in the middle and the all-star concert at the end. It was a treat to see Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne perform Traveling Wilbury's songs and everything with Eric Clapton is great. In particular, his duet with Paul McCartney on "Something" is fantastic. One selfish complaint-with Paul and Ringo playing with George's son Dhani, if we only could have had Sean and/or Julian Lennon to make the dream complete. Nevertheless, it was a fantastic concert and DVD.

6) Lynyrd Skynyrd Lyve - Great Picture, Sound, and Performance. I believe this was shown on HDNET so you know the picture is good. Even after thirty years the band still sounds great. (Only 2 original members remain but the replacement players read like a who's who of Southern Rock with members of Blackfoot and The Outlaws now in the band). They play almost all of their hits (Saturday Nite Special and You got That Right are missing) and are backed by both a horn section and string section when needed. Only complaint is the lifeless crowd brings down the energy a bit.

Blues Traveler Live in Thin Air- purchased after seeing a clip on HD-NET. I was disappointed with this one. Good Picture and Sound but I found the performance only so-so. There is no denying the musicianship in this band, but almost all these songs were mid-tempo and only a couple times do they really let loose and just play balls out. One final note: If Paul McCartneys DVD annoyed you with the breaks in the music this ones gonna annoy you even more with its lame behind the scene looks.

Rolling Stones Four Flicks - good picture and sound, uneven performance. Great Value (3 concert DVD's for 30 bucks, plus an extra DVD of behind the scenes stuff). You get a concert DVD from a Theatre venue, an Arena Venue, and a Stadium venue. Interestingly, I found the Stadium show to be most enjoyable and the Theatre show the least. I think they've been doing Stadium tours for so long now that it's where they feel most comfortable. Among the 3 shows you get a great variety of songs from thoughout their career with very little overlap. I would recommend for its value.

I really enjoy this thread and and refer to it all the time for new DVD's to buy. I purchased both the Randy Bachman and Dixie Chicks DVD's because of this thread and enjoyed both immensely. Thanks to whoever recommended those two DVD's.

Excellent reviews! Thanks Griz92867. After yours and the other positive review of No Doubt's "Rock Steady", I'm really glad I ordered it.

Regarding the Stones... I have the Bridges To Babylon DVD and have to say it's one of the best, most thrilling concert DVDs I've got and I'm only a casual Stones fan. It's got everything from a huge stadium set with fireworks and a giant video screen, down to an intimate, stripped down set done out in the middle of the crowd. Four Licks is probably a real doozy too.

In the stone four flicks did anyone notice how the HBO concert is not as sharp a picture as the other two European performances.I can see this on my plasma very plainly.Maybe it has something to do with European video equipment?I also noticed this on the new Rod Stewart DVD coming from the ARTS broadcast as compared to the european live ROXY music dvd from the Appollo

George Benson: Absolutely Live
Anamorphic Widescreen
1509 kbps DTS

Originally posted by Griz92867
The new guitar player really adds alot to their sound with both his guitar playing and singing. I am not really a big Chili Peppers fan, but I enjoyed this disk.

That's John Frusciante, he was the second guitarist after Hillel Slovik died of an overdose back in the late 80's.

John has played on Mothers Milk, Blood Sugar Sex Magic, Californication and By The Way.

The Chili Peppers ... I thought this band was pretty fantastic, until I got the "Off The Map" DVD. They seemed strangley one dimensional, I want to like this band ... they seem to have good players and their own style.... but is there something contrived about their whole image and look? Or maybe i just dont like to watch sweaty naked skinny men playing for 2 hours straight, haha i donno.

Have you compared this DVD to "Off The Map"? How do they compare? "Under The Bridge" may well be my favorite pop song of the 90s...

I saw the chili peppers live during one of the lalapolaza festivals and they were the highlight! I might have to check out their concert dvd...

I can't believe not many people have Neil Young's "Silver and Gold" Dvd...SQ and PQ are top notch and the performance is unbelievable.
"slow poke I want to run with you" just one great line from an excellent dvd! Eric

It seems the majority of concert DVDs I come across are 4:3. The only anamorphic concert DVD I own is Stop Making Sense and it really is a far superior experience than 4:3. Is there someplace that has concert DVDs catagorized so you can easily browse only titles that are anamorphic?

I started a thread on this a few weeks ago on this forum.Do a search to find it-lots of good recommendations

Originally posted by himey


I can't believe not many people have Neil Young's "Silver and Gold" Dvd...SQ and PQ are top notch and the performance is unbelievable.
"slow poke I want to run with you" just one great line from an excellent dvd! Eric

I have Neil's concert movie ... "Rust Never Sleeps". Quality is fairly good for its time period ( 1980?).

But ... he's up there for this loonngg theatrical show ... trying to play every instrument plus singing... hes got elaborate frames hooked up to his head so he can play the harmonica, while singing while playing the guitar .. and he basically is doing this type of thing the whole show. He looks like some guy on the stage struggling to prove that he is this fantastic musical genius.

The results are comical and sad. My impression of him was that he is some egomaniac ...

Is "Silver and Gold" anything like "Rust Never Sleeps"?
I actually like the guys music, its pretty good. His voice is a bit annoying and nasal, he could use some backup singers, or heaven forbid, let someone else sing once in a while, just to give it a rest!

Originally posted by JohnR_IN_LA
Ihes got elaborate frames hooked up to his head so he can play the harmonica, while singing while playing the guitar .. and he basically is doing this type of thing the whole show. He looks like some guy on the stage struggling to prove that he is this fantastic musical genius.

The results are comical and sad. My impression of him was that he is some egomaniac ...

Yeah, a guy wanting to perform his own compositions- what an a**hole!! :D :D

Heck, it's just a harmonica holder that-- allows you to play harmonica while your hands are full with the guitar. It's a useful device if-- one wants to play a harmonica while one's hands are full with the guitar. DUH. Dylan and all kinds of people have used them. If you think he should have hired a guy to play the harmonica for him I guess that's your opinion but Neil must not have seen it that way. I don't think it makes him an egomaniac, nor does playing the pump organ. Heck, let's face it, Neil's musical and vocal skills are mediocre at best (IMO) but it's his style and it's what people who like him are paying to hear.

Hah, your right, i was hard on the guy. It just wasnt the best material for a movie, watching a guy concentrate on doing 18 things at once :)

Originally posted by JohnR_IN_LA
Hah, your right, i was hard on the guy. It just wasnt the best material for a movie, watching a guy concentrate on doing 18 things at once :)

I dunno, probably any musician is boring/stupid if you're not a fan :)

Now look whose sounding snobbish! What are we taking turns being music snobs? :)

I buy all types do music DVDs, often from bands I dont even know, most of them are dang good :)

My picks:

Peter Gabriel UP (recently released)
Genesis: The Way We Walk
Peter Frampton: Live in Detroit

All of these have excellent video quality, technical execution and musicianship.

Originally posted by JohnR_IN_LA
Now look whose sounding snobbish! What are we taking turns being music snobs? :)

I buy all types do music DVDs, often from bands I dont even know, most of them are dang good :)

He he, sorry, I was just trying to stick up for you!! All I meant was people don't like what they don't like, which is an unnecessary thing to point out I guess! :D :D

Now if you want to see me turn into a music snob let's talk about new country! [flamesuit on]

<dones his welding mask> Hey you hear that awesome guitarist on "Evening With The Dixie Chicks" DVD? That guy can do some serious picking, would put Stevie Ray Vaughn to shame!

And what about that INCREDIBLE orchestra of country musicians that "The Chieftans" put on stage, I will put that DVD in and just listen to that one song where they take turns ripping up the fretboard :)

Folks:
I watched The Last Waltz last night - WOW! It is not exactly a concert DVD but Scorsese directed it, its 1.85:1 anamorphic with a 5.1 DD sound track with a stream of amazing musicians who come to help The Band bid farewell to its public. There are some short interviews with Scorsese talking to various members of The Band in between songs. Highly recommended especially for geezer rockers!

JohnR_IN_LA
I also have Rust Never Sleeps and I don't like it as much as Silver and Gold...but they are very different! Silver and Gold is just him with no band.
When I first got the DVD I was surprised that their wasn't one song I knew...but now that I've listened to it (and watched) many times I like every track (chapter)!
oh yea Its widescreen too! Eric

You know what is an incredible one wo-man show? Jewel. I saw here a month ago, just her and an acoustic guitar, that girl knows how to play!

YOu know how folk players do that thing where they play while somehow using the guitar body for percussion? Well she did that technique expertly, so basically Rhythm, drums, and a little lead was coming out of her one guitar.

You know that song that goes

"You say that jesus loves you
well what about me?"

And then the song "The Wild West", which is like a dance song.

Both of these songs are relatively complex arrangements, with a bass-line, a rhythm, and a percussion line...

Well thats just her and a wood guitar..


Then her angelic voice .. it could well be the finest voice on earth, at least IMHO :). It sounds better live than it does on her many hits ...


If she ever comes out with a Concert DVD, run, dont walk, to get it :)

Originally posted by JohnR_IN_LA
<dones his welding mask> Hey you hear that awesome guitarist on "Evening With The Dixie Chicks" DVD? That guy can do some serious picking, would put Stevie Ray Vaughn to shame!

And what about that INCREDIBLE orchestra of country musicians that "The Chieftans" put on stage, I will put that DVD in and just listen to that one song where they take turns ripping up the fretboard :)

It's more the awful Shaina Twain/Mutt Lang "country trying to sound like 80's hair metal" stuff that I'm complaining about!! :)

I'm no fan of the Chicks but they (and their band) can definitely play, and The Chieftains" totally kick *ss... :D

i highly recommend Blue Man Group's The Complex Rock Tour Live. I saw it at CC, saw that it had a 3 track DTS sampler, and for thirteen bucks i had to have it. I got it home and was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the DD5.1 tracks (the actual concert) , but then i flipped it over to the other side to listen to the DTS tracks(audio only, some pics from the show) and was surprised again. I have seen their live performance, and this concert gives only a glimpse as to what they are capable of. If you buy it: fast forward to chapter 5, and just wait till the lights go out- they have 2 guys on opposite sides of the stage with fencing swords...I cant explain it too well, just check it out. Also, one of the blue men usesa 3 foot diameter bass drum with what looks like a jousting stick that gives some deep, deep bass (watch out, the china in my hutch was rattling)...cant comment on PQ as i watch on a dinosaur (34" XBR from 1991)...

I'm also a big fan of AK/US; an excellent reference piece. Try also The Brian Setzer Orchestra: Live in Japan. AWESOME big band, fine guitar work and many familiar songs. Anamorphic and DD/DTS 5.1!

What about "YES"? Which would you suggest?

Also, Pink Floyd?

Rush in Rio was great!

ELO - Zoom DVD concert is brilliant. Sound, image and material is all extraordinary. Do not miss this one. It is a great system demo too.

I have about 50 concert DVD's and this one is top 5.

Originally posted by AnthonyB

Also, Pink Floyd?



Pulse should be seeing an official release on DVD some time this year. Remastered with 5.1 sound mix it should be quite something... although it was mastered on 4:3 SD video so there will be limits to how great the picture can be.

Live at Pompeii is frankly disappointing: the "Directors Cut" butchers the original with gratuitous stock NASA footage and rather lame computer animations recreating the eruption. The sound is 2.0. Picture is poorly cropped/zoomed to make it 16:9. Pink Floyd had no input or control over the remastering and David Gilmour has commented in at least one interview that he thought it was not good.

Classic Albums DSOTM DVD is interesting - a must have for all Floyd fans.

David Gilmour In Concert is a superb record (16:9, 5.1) of a rather understated event featuring some interesting arrangements of a few Floyd classics.

Roger Waters Live in Berlin has a nicely remastered 5.1 soundtrack and a few interesting extras compared to the VHS. Video is OAR 4:3.

Roger Waters In the Flesh is to my mind one of the best produced concert DVDs ever. A full >2hr show from his 2000 North American tour featuring a wide selection of Floyd songs and his solo stuff. Superb 16:9 video (mastered in HD), a really good 5:1 mix, and some nice extras.

Originally posted by kjroddy
Pulse should be seeing an official release on DVD some time this year. Remastered with 5.1 sound mix it should be quite something... although it was mastered on 4:3 SD video so there will be limits to how great the picture can be.

Live at Pompeii is frankly disappointing: the "Directors Cut" butchers the original with gratuitous stock NASA footage and rather lame computer animations recreating the eruption. The sound is 2.0. Picture is poorly cropped/zoomed to make it 16:9. Pink Floyd had no input or control over the remastering and David Gilmour has commented in at least one interview that he thought it was not good.

Classic Albums DSOTM DVD is interesting - a must have for all Floyd fans.

David Gilmour In Concert is a superb record (16:9, 5.1) of a rather understated event featuring some interesting arrangements of a few Floyd classics.

Roger Waters Live in Berlin has a nicely remastered 5.1 soundtrack and a few interesting extras compared to the VHS. Video is OAR 4:3.

Roger Waters In the Flesh is to my mind one of the best produced concert DVDs ever. A full >2hr show from his 2000 North American tour featuring a wide selection of Floyd songs and his solo stuff. Superb 16:9 video (mastered in HD), a really good 5:1 mix, and some nice extras.

Yep thats a nice summary. Its amazing how many active Floyd fans are on this forum.

"In The Flesh" is my all-time favorite DVD, so dont take my criticism wrong, but I find the 5.1 DD mix very peculiar. The center channel is merely another "surround" channel, the Left and Right fronts do all the work.

The sound is very good, but I have heard better. The Video is very good, but I've seen better.

Its the PERFORMANCE that is just stunning, the musicians:and backup singers are all world class. My god, Andrew Fairweather low with that red blues guitar is a wonder to behold. Then that drummer ... and that other guitarist (named Snowy). The 3rd guitarist, the younger flash guitarist, i was not that impressed with though. That black backup singer named PJ is completely over the top, wow what a voice she has. The other 2 were also excellent, especially the one that sung lead on "Mother", wow what a gorgeous voice.


Also the DIRECTING is is superb, it really puts you there. THe way the cameras pan around the arena ... and captures the players playing their instruments at JUST the RIGHT TIME.... and near the end where the cameras capture the lighting tricks they pull to make the stage look like a moon in front of the sun ....wow

And the material is excellent of course, what other super-group musician can upstage his old band's material with incredible solo work? I usually skip the Floyd material, and go right to song 17 ... where his solo set starts :)

Originally posted by AnthonyB
What about "YES"? Which would you suggest?



Absolutly no contest here. YesSymphonic wins hands down, for PQ, sound and performance.

Originally posted by JohnR_IN_LA
You know what is an incredible one wo-man show? Jewel.

If she ever comes out with a Concert DVD, run, dont walk, to get it :)

Jewel has a concert DVD (her first full length) coming this March 29th.
Jewel - Live At Humphrey's (http://www.eaglevisionusa.com/html/music_p/Jewel-Live.htm)

Or, already out Jewel has A Life Uncommon which is both a behind the scenes and concert film.
Jewel:A Life Uncommon (http://www.currentfilm.com/dvdreviews4/jewellifeuncommondvd.html)


Originally posted by JohnR_IN_LA
Then her angelic voice .. it could well be the finest voice on earth, at least IMHO :). It sounds better live than it does on her many hits ...



I couldn't agree more. I have been a fan of hers for years. I was pulled in by her first video on looks alone & her music grabbed hold of me. Believe me, when friends of mine find her CD's in my collection, I get trashed but I don't care. :D

Jewel has a voice beyond compare in todays Pop music.

I saw her in Thousand Oaks Civic Center, she was flawless, and the sound was so good, it didnt even sound amplified.

And her mastery of the folk guitar was the big suprise...


Thanks for the headsup! I've resisted getting "A Life Uncommon" because itse 5 or 6 songs mixed in a documentary ... but I will get it someday... and Live at Humphreys sounds like a potentially reference DVD... and If my setup doesn't do her voice perfectly Im going new system hunting :)

Just a followup to a previous recommendation-

Genesis:The Way We Walk DVD has the most extensive multi-angles I have ever seen on DVD. It's like getting 3 or 4 complete versions of the concert.

Based on reviews here and on AV123, I orded Peter Gabriel Growing Up Live, Journey 2001, and George Benson Absolutely Live DTS...

That last one was an expensive concert, 22 bucks i think, it better be good :)

I am listening to Don Henley's Live Inside Job and it is fantastic both visually and most of all the audio. He does all of his great solo songs as well as songs from the Eagles. The remake of Hotel California is fantastic with a Latin/Mexican flavor with horns, etc., it will blow you away.

Originally posted by leedees
ELO - Zoom DVD concert is brilliant. Sound, image and material is all extraordinary. Do not miss this one. It is a great system demo too.

I have about 50 concert DVD's and this one is top 5.

Elo-Zoom is really good, PQ/Audio/ & overall content.
Just out of curiosity what are your other 4 in your top 5.

Thanks; Jessica

Anamorphic Widescreen
DTS available through most of the disc
Dolby 5.1 also available
Dolby Stereo

This Concert DVD actually contains:

One 1 full length show in Toronto
One 2 song show at Slane Castle (outside)
One (about) a 5 song acoustic show in Washington DC
One audio only show from Iceland, 7 songs long

The image quality is good except the 2 song show, at Slane Castle, is lower quality. The sound quality is consisitently good, again with the exception of the 2 song show at Slane Castle.

By the way, the 2 song Slane Castle show COMPLETELY ROCKS, you can see why they put 2 songs on the DVD, even though the quality was a little sub-par, their performance that day was spectacular.

The Main show also has a DTS track, I listened to it tonite. Sounded great, I love the classic electric guitar sound of this band.


The Audio Only show is from Iceland, and is their first live show (ever), supposedly. The audio quality is very respectable, in some ways better than their other shows.

The LFE is a bit weak, and the audio does not sound like you are in a studio, it sounds like you are at the show. A fan of this band would probably insist on nothing less than this mix, its honest.

The mix means that you hear the distortion of the electric guitars, and in some cases the distortion almost drowns out the vocals, but this is rare. This recording decision really shines in songs like "Stacked Actor' where the guitar distortion sounds awesome.

Now about the vocals, the singer is former drummer of Nirvana, Dave Grohl. He can sing the whole show, without crooning. Hes likeable and very talented, considering he started out as a drummer, albiet an incredible one.

These guys are grunge rockers with a bit of a punk side, and a bit of 70 rock side. The guitarists are straight up rockers, no fakeness, just good music.

The guitars are well recordedl, I may change my opinion to "extremely well recorded", theres something about the guitar sound on this DVD that is alluring, its so honest, so live, so Marshall...

The band is very tight, its obvious they are not a scripted band, These 4 performances are all entirely different from eachother.

Their songs catalogue is good and almost great. It may be great after I listen a few more times.

THis is not a flashy show, these are grunge rockers, they get up on the stage, and go nuts through their music. I really like them, will write more later.

I will have to watch it a few more times to give an honest impression of the overall quality of this DVD. Its kind of patched together.Several songs have more than one version.

There is one song that is on this DVD, no lie, 4 TIMES.

This collection is built like the "Led Zepplin DVD". And it also has that same kind of authenticity.

Camera work is very good, it really puts you there. No complaints on the video editing or directing at all.

In summary, this is a slightly mixed bag DVD, with a strong band and strong performances, but is not a smooth slick concert DVD. It is Anamorphic Widescreen through the main performances though, you can play it on a projector.

The recording is authentic sounding, with a strong guitar sound, but a bit weak in LFE. I would say, this is a definite buy for anyone who likes grunge!

OPETH - LAMENTATIONS.
16:9 anamorphic, DD/DTS.
the most amazing and beautiful music from a progressive rock group I have heard in years. A masterpiece....
If you dig prog. rock, run and buy it!!!!

Godsmack LIVE

Recorded at the Centrum Cener in Worchester, MA.
82 minutes

1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen format
DTS 5.1 and Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtracks

For those who like the heavier stuff, this live concert DVD will bring the thunderous sounds into your living room. The video quality is excellent for the most part, though the stage lighting sometimes looks a little soft due to using a lot of red-gel lights. The DTS soundtrack is very powerful and expansive. There are only a few instances where the vocals get slightly buried in the heavy lead guitar onslaughts.

Other than The Eagles: Hell Freezes Over, this is my next favorite DTS concert soundtrack, even though it's not my favorite band.

I've recently purchased U-2 at Slane Castle and R.E.M. Perfect Square. I highly recommend both concerts for sound, video and performance. The R.E.M. show is a bit over-edited, but I really enjoyed it.

Don Henley's Live Inside Job, is that 1.33 only or can it be had in 1.85?

Has anyone seen it on a big screen (100") and is the video good?

Thanks, Deron.

16 x 9 Anamorphic Widescreeen
Dolby 5.1 and Dolby 2.0
105 Minute Concert ( Uninterrupted single show)
performed in Germany in 2003
38 Minute documentary in 4x3 fullscreen

I kicked around whether to buy this DVD... some of R.E.M.s solo tunes I think transcend standard POP radio by several levels ... still I dreaded hearing the somewhat monotone vocals of their singer for a full concert.

But I gave it a shot, and was I wrong. This formerly college band has crafted some of the most innovative pop songs of the 80s and 90s. "The One I Love", "Orange Crush", "Losing My Religon", "Man On The Moon", "Everybody Hurts", ... the list goes on.... The singer Michael Stipe is excellent, and easily captivates the audience, and at he doesnt CROON.

The instruments of this band are there purely to support the song, these guys do not do any virtuoso-playing. This is a very humble band, that relies on strong material and a very honest guitar-based sound. It works well...

Yep these guys are good, they have a front man with a GIANT stage presence and excellent singing skills. When it all comes together, they sound like no other band, and their music is thought provoking without being preachy. Their songs are highly rhythmic, but still takes you on a musical journey that changes over the course of the song.

So the musical journeys of each song blend into eachother, and the crowd works into musical celebration, and Michael Stipe blesses the crowd with his calming yet powerful vocals... yep this is what a good concert is all about.

The crowd, set, and venue is amazing. Beautiful German outdoor venue that kind of looks like your in a German city square.... excellent stage too.

I dislike fast video editing in concerts, and the editing on this DVD is kind of fast, but the director skillfully manages to not annoy you. He picks interesting shots, mixing ALOT of the crowd in the shots, and some beautiful German women.
Overall the camerawork is excellent, they must have had 20-30 cameras ... everwhere.. this is a big budget production. Overall the video quality is very good, and the colors and content make it excellent.

THe audio quality is very dynamic and well miked, there is nothing ground breaking here, but it sounds great to me. I've heard better audio, but not by terribly much.

Video = 9.0
Audio = 8.0
Performance = 10

This is one of my favorite concert DVDs...

post note: There is a known audio flaw on this disc, but I never noticed it until someone mentioned it. I suggest you remain blissfully ignorant of this flaw... but someone else mentions it on a later post, so its there to find on this thread should you look.

Just picked up Roger Waters - In the Flesh - Live, per some of the recommendations in this thread.

Glad I did. Great audio quality and PQ.

Only $8.99 delivered from www.deepdiscountdvd.com

The only minor disappointment was he didn't do the "Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking" version that I was looking forward to.

But for the most part, this was the best $9 that I ever spent on a DVD.

And this is what ALL the damn things should cost. (rant off)

I just read thru this thread and several complained about the DD 5.0 in the Heart Alive in Seattle DVD. This makes more sense to me than DD 5.1. The .1 really is a Low Frequency **EFFECTS** channel which makes sense for movies, but not music. For music, the other 5 channels should simply be full frequency. If your subwoofer is not working (and you think it should or want it to), then you have your HT set up incorrectly. The bass from small channels is redirected to the sub. So if the sub doesn't come on then you must have all large channels.

My vote for the best concert DVDs is Roger Waters In the Flesh Live and Heart Alive in Seattle - audio and video are far better than the norm. Also I must say that the sound quality of The Who Live at Royal Albert Hall is quite bad and just ruins an otherwise potentially excellent concert.

Ed

I finished watching REM Perfect Square tonight and found the concert very good even though I'm not a big fan. Most of the songs I had never heard before and did find them enjoyable.

The only downsides I found to the DVD was the camera switching was so fast (every one to two or three seconds) it made it hard on the eyes. It did work very well for a couple of songs though, most of the others they could have stayed on a subject for another second or two. I also found the video a little softer then some of the other better looking concert DVD's I have.

Deron.

Originally posted by ekb
that the sound quality of The Who Live at Royal Albert Hall is quite bad

Ed

Aaaaaaagh! This is one of my first DVD concerts I purchased and the sound is quite good IMO.....what exactly is bad about it? Theres plenty of bass, drums sound good, guitar work is excellent, vocals are clear; do we have the same disc here? :rolleyes:

Originally posted by Yosh70
Aaaaaaagh! This is one of my first DVD concerts I purchased and the sound is quite good IMO.....what exactly is bad about it? Theres plenty of bass, drums sound good, guitar work is excellent, vocals are clear; do we have the same disc here? :rolleyes:

Since the audio bothers me so much on this DVD I haven't listened to it in a while. So going by memory, here are some of the problems: The dynamics are very compressed. This is a real shame because in this digital age the range can be quite large and the noise would remain low. But the vinyl record of Who's Next is much more dynamic. Second problem is that it's not mixed very well. There are places in songs where a sound or instrument should come if with force but instead sounds whimpy (if you are truly interested in what I mean then I need to review the disk to identify songs and exact moments). Further, although there may be a lot of bass energy, it's very muddy. When Entwistle does a bass guitar solo you just don't hear the strumming/plucking distinctly - and this is not a problem with my sound system as it's quite good and I'm a long time audiophile. I also remember that there is a segment where an instument is featured and you can hardly hear it - don't exactly remember what it was but I could find it if you are very interested.

There may be more, but as I said above I'd have to review the DVD. Regarding your last question - do we have the same disk - I think that very superficially, one might initially think that it is a good sounding disk. But upon more critical/experienced listening, you'll see that it's very flawed.

Ed

Are you taking into consideration that this is a Rock and Roll concert Ed? It isnt some Eagles unplugged recorded-in-the-studio jobby :)

I think it sounds fine considering the format, like a classic Who show.

I just was hoping for a little more innovation out of the band after all these years... they could change up a few things and freshened up the music some ... but maybe they will do that on their next DVD.

Originally posted by JohnR_IN_LA
Are you taking into consideration that this is a Rock and Roll concert Ed? It isnt some Eagles unplugged recorded-in-the-studio jobby :)


Yes. Sure it's harder to produce great sound from a live rock concert but we've seen that it can be done. Examples are my favorites that I mentioned before - Roger Waters In the Flesh Live and Heart Alive in Seattle.

Ed

After reading the depeche mode thread I was going to start new thread abt 80's concert dvd's but chose to reinvigorate an old trusty thread to bring it up to eyeball level for newbies and lurkers. If you're coming in on tail end, I'd suggest you read whole (long) thread, if I hadn't I would never gotten allison krause, and that would have been a grievious error of ommision! On to the 80's!!! D.M. ws great, have 101 and one night in paris, both great. Other good dvd's of bands/solo's that started in that age (as several are still around in one form or another) I would recommend are New Order 511, live at Finsbury Park, London; good video and sound, great music. 316 is an older concert in 2 parts,1:really early stuff, good for fanatics only and 2:later concert thats ok video/sound, but still great music. Also have and old video"Pumped Full Of Drugs" recorded in japan, would LOVE to have that remastered/reissued on dvd. Another of my guilty favorites is Siouxsie and the Banshees: 7 Year Itch. great concert with the original band, music takes a little getting used to, dissonnant and teutanic, but I like it!!!! The camera action makes it feel like you are at the concert, cant think of the word I want, but it's filmed reel good:). Talking Heads "Stop Making Sense" has been mentioned, has it's own thread(s) but it bears repeating, if you dont have it, get it. Period. On a more refined note, Frank Zappa's Does Humor Belong in Music? is inciteful, foul, in 3/4 acpect and funny as hell with some of the best musicians you've never heard of. The sound is great, the interviews are candid and it has the best version of "the Whipping Post" I've ever heard, sorry Allman Bros:) The pretenders loose in la, eh, ok. Not great. Great is live at the isle of love, mainly accoustic, perfect sound and good video imo reference. Now its time to go dig up another old thread on what I Want on concert dvd's. Then on to the vampire thread:).

I started a thread about a week ago but it died quickly. It was titled "Music for Montserrat". I quess people don't recognize what that is. But it's a great concert that includes McCartney, Clapton, Elton John, Phil Collins, others and my favorite Mark Knopfler from Dire Straits. The music is very good and the audio quality is pretty good (which means that it's better than 95% of the concert DVDs out there). It was out of print untill a week or 2 when it was re-released. This disk is one of the very few must-gets.

Ed

Thats why I'm trying to resurrect some good ole threads, they encompass a lot of minor threads that get started the only draawback is that some one sees 18 pages on the thread and thinks holy ****!! Relax. Long threads usually = interesting threads and like good books, you might learn something and THEN ask the ? that hasn't been asked! and resolve the major ?'s bothering society at large. Maybe not.

Another vote for Roger Waters "In the Flesh" DVD. Excellent song selection performed in an understated manner which draws you in to the exceptional performance. The very talanted back-up singers chosen for this tour add a mesmerizing dimension to show with a special mention to Katie Kissoon whose singing in Mother (best version I've heard) is absolutely stunning. Her voice drips with sensuality and simply strikes an interal chord which is difficult to describe.

Placebo - Live in Paris.

Unbelievable sound, and an extremely amazing concert in front of 18,000 fans in Paris. Not too many have heard of Placebo this side of the pond - they played for 600 people in Seattle - and it's truly a crime. These guys can rock, and this DVD shows it in spades.

This performance is only available on VHS and Laserdisk commercially I think. Anyways buy a copy (if you can find it) and make a backup.

"The UnderTaker" is in essence a single performance music video. There is no crowd, instead you get to watch a pretty girl on a hallucinogenic trip in the same building as the band. It works.

Or maybe it doesnt, regardless, you get to see an extremely talented musician tear up his electric guitar for a full show, with no regard to commerical interests.

And does ths guy know how to play. I have seen live: John McLaughlin, Al Dimeola, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Alex Lifeson ... you get the idea.
Prince isnt any better than these guys, but he is in the same general "talented" company. What sets him apart, is he can sing, and dance, and compose tunes, and choreograph.

So anyways, this is a good disc .. um... I mean tape. Its stereo, but excellent quality, I have not heard a 1995 video that sounds better. The guitar chords are extremely fat and resonating. They are all musical. Yes he sings, but very little.

He has an excellent drummer with him, and a bass guitarist in the background. The drummer is the only other player that gets consistent camera time, except the tripping girl.


PS: Yes Al Dimeola and John McLaughlin are better technical guitarists, so is Jeff Beck, but none of them have the creative talent to match

Originally posted by Hugh2
Another vote for Roger Waters "In the Flesh" DVD. Excellent song selection performed in an understated manner which draws you in to the exceptional performance. The very talanted back-up singers chosen for this tour add a mesmerizing dimension to show with a special mention to Katie Kissoon whose singing in Mother (best version I've heard) is absolutely stunning. Her voice drips with sensuality and simply strikes an interal chord which is difficult to describe.

Yea Kate Kissoon rocks on that tune. And that other girl, that sings alot of his solo stuff... she is incredible.

When I put this DVD in, I often skip to song 16, and listen to his solo set, its truely a remarkable concert experience.

My favorites:
Dave Mason Live at Sunrise
Joe Cocker Live in Berlin
Concrete Blonde
Eric Clapton One More Road
Roxy Music Live at the Apollo
Roger Waters In The Flesh

Forgot about
Music for Montserrat..One of the best!

Originally posted by captainv
Forgot about
Music for Montserrat..One of the best!
This was out-of-print for a while but just has been re-released. I agree - one of the best.

Ed

Springsteen Live in NYC. I purchased it for the PQ, SQ, the excellent direction and camerwork, and it ended up converting me into a Springsteen fan.

It was shot and broadcasted in HD. I hope someday this will be made available.

The Barcelona DVD is technically not nearly as good, especially the camera work and cropping ... amateurish.

Since I get the urge to comment on every other post on this thread, haaha:

Yep and Springsteen is one intense performer isn't he? Man that guy does not quit, hes on fire the whole show. He also tends to slow down and speed up his songs, freshening up his old tunes a bit. I am thinking about hitting his "Vote For Change" show in Orlando in October... REM, Springsteen, Bright Eyes ... and one other good band.

I think that disk catches the ambience of a large stadium (with none of the negatives), a truely reference recording for (the normally horrible) "Stadium sound".

I concur with the Bruce DVD, Eagles, and many others mentioned along the way. I don't remember if this was listed anywhere in the thread (seems like I saw it) and I sure don't feel like reading the whole thread again, but this summer I purchased

Bela Fleck and the Flecktones
"Live at the Quick"

and can't play it often enough. Wonderful DD 5.1 sound and good video quality (unfortunately 4:3). This is worth the price (around $12) just to see Victor Wooten on bass, and to hear the sound of Congar ol'Ondar performing Tuvan throat singing. They will knock your socks off. Highly recommended.

Another nod here for Bela Fleck. That drum guitar is pretty awesome, For those unaware of this incredible musician, he's a jazz banjo player. Also a great Bach piece on the dvd:). edit, decided to watch/listen again and as I thought, it is widescreen, not 3/4, at least my copy!!

Originally posted by fisheggs
Another nod here for Bela Fleck. .......edit, decided to watch/listen again and as I thought, it is widescreen, not 3/4, at least my copy!!
My bad, I guess. My box lists it as NTSC, but it is letterboxed so you can 'zoom' it to pretty much fit the screen. It doesn't make for the greatest video after I do that though. Is your copy 'labeled' widescreen??? Maybe I got the wrong version, although I wasn't aware there was an option. Still a great show no matter what the aspect ratio. These guys are TRUE musicians, and it really shows.

Originally posted by JMartinko
My box lists it as NTSC, but it is letterboxed ...
NTSC has nothing to do with letterboxing.
One cannot tell whether the picture is 4:3 or 16:9, letterboxed or anamorphic by a label of NTSC.

Ed

Originally posted by ekb
NTSC has nothing to do with letterboxing.
One cannot tell whether the picture is 4:3 or 16:9, letterboxed or anamorphic by a label of NTSC.

Ed

I am aware of all that, my point was exactly that, there was nothing on my box that I see that states letterbox or widescreen or any other format. The only thing it said was NTSC which, as you state, tells you nothing.

Originally posted by JohnR_IN_LA
Yea Kate Kissoon rocks on that tune. And that other girl, that sings alot of his solo stuff... she is incredible.

Each time Kate hits the high note at the end of her verses in Mother my brain has an orgasm.

Boz Scaggs greatest hits live-one amazing sounding dvd

I like female artists, so my two favorites are Sheryl Crow's "Rocking the Globe"; and Sarah McLachlan's "Mirrorball," both of which I highly recommend. I also have the Norah Jones DVD at a small jazz theater, and I like it even though it is very low budget and the bass is very poorly mixed.

Eurythmics Peace Tour totally rocks. Reunion tour with annie and dave!!!. Sweet Dreams are Made of This!!

Originally posted by dsmith901
I like female artists, so my two favorites are Sheryl Crow's "Rocking the Globe"; and Sarah McLachlan's "Mirrorball," both of which I highly recommend. I also have the Norah Jones DVD at a small jazz theater, and I like it even though it is very low budget and the bass is very poorly mixed.

The female voice is one of my favorite instruments as well, but Mirror Ball is waaayyy slooooww. Also, the way she looks on that DVD is goofy, with the shiny lipstick and clown-like clothes. I guess it kind of just turned me off to Sarah Mclaughlan, even though her voice is angelic.

Try "Jewel live at Humphries", or "An Evening with the Dixie Chicks" , both great recordings from excellent performers.

Originally posted by fisheggs
Eurythmics Peace Tour totally rocks. Reunion tour with annie and dave!!!. Sweet Dreams are Made of This!!

Hmmm, hate to be a naysayer, but ... I sold that DVD. She was especially dik-ish looking and severe, her voice isnt that good and becomes annoying after a song or two, and dave couldnt save the show.

"Fly, Jefferson Airplane". It's a documentary with performances of one of the best american bands ever. It's 4/3, but thats oar for many of the pieces, and dolby digital/5.1. the sound is excellent. You have the option to watch all or just performances, the transition of Grace then to Grace now is a little scary:) (good Halloween flick:))

Originally posted by JohnR_IN_LA
Try "......"An Evening with the Dixie Chicks" , both great recordings from excellent performers.

Ditto. A great dvd and cheap at DDD ($12.00).

htomei

Originally posted by captainv
Forgot about
Music for Montserrat..One of the best!

Did a search and there are three different dvds with that title:

Music for Montserrat Live (5.1/DTS),
Music for Montserrat: Live
Music for Montserrat: Various Artists.

The first two are from Image, and the last is from Red.

What's the title (maybe UPC as well) that you all recommend?

Thanks.

htomei

Ub40 Homegrown in holland is good if you are a fan.On 10/19 Bowie has the Reality concert out from dublin with 30 songs and has good internet reviews from people at the show.Its also priced really low on Amazon.

Originally posted by htomei22
Did a search and there are three different dvds with that title:

Music for Montserrat Live (5.1/DTS),
Music for Montserrat: Live
Music for Montserrat: Various Artists.

The first two are from Image, and the last is from Red.

What's the title (maybe UPC as well) that you all recommend?

Thanks.

htomei
The original DVD is out-of-print. It was re-released in July this year. So there is really only one available (all those versions are really the same thing). So if you get anything that's called "Music for Montserrat", you've got what we're talking about - and it's well worth getting - one of the best concert videos with pretty good PQ and AQ.

Ed

Blue Oyster Cult - Long Day's Night was produced in HD for HDNET and then ported to DVD. BOC is my favorite band, and I should be recommending this disc. It looks and sounds awesome, even has a DTS soundtrack. The problem ? It's not anamorphic !!! Ridiculous for a release only 2 years old. I understand that it costs no more to produce the anamorphic disc than a non-anamorphic disc.

-Ken

Allison Krauss - - her DVD may indeed be superb, and I saw the performance on PBS, but I am wondering if anyone else regards her as "one-trick pony" - one speed, one gear, one emotion. Vocally, I mean, does she have any voicing other than that one sedated, slightly ethereal, nasally enhanced - desultory semi wail? A bluegrass version of Enya, it's like she's always singing "Amazing Grace" at a funeral, regardless of what the band plays. The songs may vary a bit, but she sure doesn't. Anyone ever been surprised by her singing in one of her songs?

What am I missing? [and as a life long guitar player play bluegrass all the time, and some of her bands' songs are quite catching, but even I can play in different keys and mix it up]

If you like her monotone, I suppose you're in heaven. But Jeeez!

Apologies for being off topic.

TP

So I'm not the only one who bought that Allison Krauss DVD, and couldnt understand the attraction.

I may Queue it up tonite, and see if I can somehow discover the magic, others see in this DVD.

Originally posted by ekb
The original DVD is out-of-print. It was re-released in July this year. So there is really only one available (all those versions are really the same thing). So if you get anything that's called "Music for Montserrat", you've got what we're talking about - and it's well worth getting - one of the best concert videos with pretty good PQ and AQ.

Ed

Thanks Ed.

Interesting. Three different dvds, at three different prices, from two different companies, but they're all the same thing? Guess I'll get the cheapest of the three (it's $9 less).

htomei

Its good, I just watched another hour of it. Her voice is part of that bluegrass/country scene. The mood is set on the song, and they dont change it much one way or another.

The instrumentation is very good, nice tones in this concert. And the audience is into it. But.. she introduces the poor dober ( some funky steel guitar) player as "One of the greatest musicians in the world", and he has to do a solo after that introduction.

So, you have to be into this type of music, or into the tonality of it all. I like it, and respect it as good authentic music, Im just not into it.

Own most of the mentioned favorites. "Simply Red" home live in Sicily
Excellent 16:9 anamorphic PQ. Amazing sound.
Also, no mention so far of "Kenny Loggins", out from the Redwoods,
one of my top-five,amazing vocals,musicians,and when it comes to musical content...... its hard to beat! Check it out.

Originally posted by dinovsky
"Simply Red" home live in Sicily
Excellent 16:9 anamorphic PQ. Amazing sound.

I assume by amazing sound you mean that the audio recording is very good. I disagree with this, it's not even in the good category. I'm posting this just so that others get a balanced view and not just hear a one sided story.

If you mean that his performance was good, then yes, I agree.

Ed

The 3 Tenors 1994 Dodger Stadium Concert. Excellent PQ and 5.1 DD.

Has anybody got the new Meat Loaf Concert DVD, I saw it the other night at BB and it was $30+ for 2 discs. A bit high for a DVD. I am interested in reading a review before laying down that kind of cash for a DVD.

I agree with ekb on Simply Red - Home in Sicily. I like Red but this DVD is very poor overall. Not worth the money i spent on it.

Procol harum live at union chapel.Excellent sound and pq but you have like this type of music or it may not impress.Read amazon reviews if you are not sure.

I pretty much agree with all the recommendations so rather than rehash those I thought I'd give you my reviews of some new Concert DVD's I picked up recently:

YES - ACOUSTIC: A one time acoustic concert recorded in January 2004 to celebrate their 35th year together. It features their classic line-up (Anderson, Howe, Squire, White, and Wakeman) and it is a top notch DVD. 16x9, DD, and DTS. The Picture Quality is excellent. The sound quality on this one is spectacular; right up there with Hell Freezes Over and Diana Krall-Live in Paris. The audio quality of Rick Wakeman's piano is stunning. Most importantly, the performances are first rate. Wakemen adds so much to the group and Steve Howe is playing as good as I can remember. The only downside is that it's a very short DVD with the running time about 39 minutes for the acoustic concert and another 30 minute documentary. I cannot recommend this DVD strongly enough. It will soon become your reference concert DVD to impress all your friends.

MEATLOAF- LIVE WITH THE MELBOURNE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: Also very good but expensive ($25 bucks on sale). DD and DTS but I don't think its 16:9; Also the recorded level is lower than most concert DVD's so you have to crank the volume. As you'd expect from MeatLoaf this DVD is more a semi-choreographed theatrical concert than a straight ahead rock concert. But with that said it is still a good show. He's in good voice, his backing band is top notch and the Orchestra adds alot to the music, especiallly the ballads. However, the real stars of the show are his two back up singers (In much the same way the backup vocalist add to the Roger Waters DVD) Patti Russo gets plenty of lead vocal time as the ingenue of Jim Steinman's songs and she really shines.

STEVIE RAY VAUGHN - LIVE AT MONTREUX: A good value @ 12 bucks on sale for a 2 disc set. One DVD is of his 1982 concert and the other DVD is of his 1985 concert so the PQ is just o.k. But the DD 5.1 mix is good. However, it is the performance that makes this a keeper. SRV absolutely cooks on the first DVD! You gotta remember this was recorded before anyone knew who SRV was so he gets a lukewarm reception yet as soon as he starts playing you just know you're in the presence of greatness. When the second DVD is recorded three years later, Stevie is now the headliner.

LOS LONELY BOYS - LIVE FROM AUSTIN: Another good value. Picture is Good (but 4:3) and DD 5.1 sound is good. But again it is the Performance that makes the DVD. If you only know this band by their hit single "Heaven" let me tell you they are much more than just a nice little pop band. These boys can play! They're part Santana, part Stevie Ray, and part Everly Brothers with the vocal harmonies. Give these boys a try you won't regret it.

Griz:
Would you please confirm that the Yes - Acoustic DVD is 16:9 because the databases I checked have it as 4:3. I'd like to get it but would prefer not to purchase any 4:3 discs...
Thanks.

I want to second the opinion by Griz92867 on Los Lonely Boys "Texican Style" live from Austin. I bought this concert dvd on a whim because number one I saw it on sale at a local B&M and two because their song "Heaven" always makes me want to sing. I knew nothing at all about this band. My wife saw it when I brought it home and she was like
"who in the hell are these guys?"

I have not watched/listened to the dvd from start to finish yet but have bounced thru it a bit and what I have seen has been very impressive. Track 7 "Onda" is worth the price of the dvd by itself. I agree with the similarities to Carlos Santana and Stevie Ray Vaughn that Griz mentioned, but not sure who the Everly Brothers are (just kidding).

One thing I particularly liked was that this concert dvd comes across as a concert. As I watched and listened to these 3 brothers play I felt like I was there and couldn't wait to fire up a doob and start shaking my butt. (ok, those were the old days). I envisioned beautiful Hispanic women dancing around in front of me getting their salsa groove on. I wanted to eat fajitas and drink Tecate. No more tequilla for this hombre. Don't get me wrong, there are no accordians in the bunch, as Griz said, these boys can jam.

Can't wait to get home tonight and watch it start to finish.

Regarding some of the negative comments posted about Allison Kraus, while I do understand and agree that her tone is sometimes nasally, she still works for me. Allison + Union Station is one of the better concert dvds I have purchased based on musical quality and pq. And who cannot like Dan Timinski? Even though I am not a big fan of bluegrass, I liked the mix of the group and thought they all complimented each other very well.

Also bought Paul McCartney "Back in the USA" and it is being returned today.

Originally posted by dinovsky
Also, no mention so far of "Kenny Loggins", out from the Redwoods,
one of my top-five,amazing vocals,musicians,and when it comes to musical content...... its hard to beat! Check it out.

Is that "Kenny Loggins Outside From the Red"?

htomei

I recently picked up Dream Theater Live at Budokan, and it is an excellent example of 90's improvisational/progressive rock. Great stuff.

On a more historical note, I acquired Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus on DVD, which until 10/12 was out of print, previously released only on VHS. This was originally made for British TV in 1968, and the picture and sound quality are better than expected. A good chance to hear performances by Jethro Tull, the Who, and John Lennon which you cannot get anywhere else, in addition to the Stones doing several of their signature tunes.

Another good one is "The Kids are Alright" by the Who, which was released about a year ago and was remastered with many extras.

Originally posted by manpig
Also bought Paul McCartney "Back in the USA" and it is being returned today.

Why? Its definitely not reference in regards to PQ but the audio is quite good. And DTS to boot(if that gets ya going).
The best is, of course, the songs....but I guess you're not a Beatles/Paul McCartey fan.

Originally posted by Yosh70
Why? Its definitely not reference in regards to PQ but the audio is quite good. And DTS to boot(if that gets ya going).
The best is, of course, the songs....but I guess you're not a Beatles/Paul McCartey fan.

I know you didn't address this to me, but I'm a big fan, and I was disappointed because of the tour footage inbetween songs. You can't skip over it w/o skipping songs, as far as I could tell.

Yosh,

I returned it because the disc was bad. It would only play in stereo, and other things didn't work right. First time that has ever happened to me.
The reason I did not get another one is pretty much explained in jimnc's post.

The dvd I got instead was Stevie Ray Vaughn Live at the Montombo or sumpin like that. Haven't watched it all, but what I saw was very impressive. Man, that boy can sweat. He still owes me $2.90 from way back but I suppose I may have to forgive the debt.

Los Lonely Boys, Texican Style is an awesome dvd....I have seen them live here in Fort Worth and the music is original and they can play....they are not well known yet, but once you see and hear them you'll be hooked....they are three brothers from San Angelo, Tx and happen to be Willie Nelson's favorite band....

Originally posted by jimnc
I know you didn't address this to me, but I'm a big fan, and I was disappointed because of the tour footage inbetween songs. You can't skip over it w/o skipping songs, as far as I could tell.
Yea, at first I was kinda disappointed with all the footage in between but after watching it a few times, it was kinda interesting to see all that went on in between gigs and in setting it all up. The crowd shots were even kinda annoying at first but the women that they focused on....wowee! :D
Like I said, I believe the music is the first and foremost reason to buy this DVD and altho the rest could've been better(read PQ), I dont regret buying this concert at all. Sound and performances are pretty good and I just gotta say that the drummer kept me entertained frequently, especially "Maybe Im Amazed".:p

I saw Cindy Lauper on Soundstage a week ago and I really enjoyed her. She surprised me. I hope the show comes out on DVD.
I know Soundstage has DVD with "best of" pieces of performances but do they have complete concerts; and what is the PQ and sound like? DTS?

Cyndi Lauper:Live... At Last is a damn fine concert dvd and might be what you saw. per cover, was shot in hd, which is what PBS has been doing for a while in partnerships, my copy is dd, not dts, but not an issue with moi:).

Thanks, fisheggs.
I found it for sale. I was really impressed with her performance. She is strong and she really knows how to play an audience.

If you're open to non-live music aswell and are not afraid to try something different, try Aero by Jean-Michel Jarre (the artist that did a live open air concert at Houston a couple of years ago).

The songs on the DVD have been completely rewritten, rerecorded and remixed for 5.1 listening. It's like your inside the music, not "just" being in the audience.

You can get a taste on the website:http://www.jeanmicheljarre.com

A review:
http://www.dvddebate.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=4716&mode=flat&order=0&thold=0

On december 7th a 2-disc DVD will be released with the Live Concert Jarre did at Beijng (China) in october this year, with one of the discs containing the HD WMP9 of the concert! http://www.jarre.net

One small drawback: the DVD isn't released in the US, so you'd have to import it from the UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0002IVMJ8/qid=1098263127/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl/202-3254125-0960606 for only 9 pounds...

But... this is like nothing you ever heard before. Try it, you won't be disappointed!

Den,

Could not get it to play on my computer. Did see the freaky eyes tho.

manpig,

Hmmm... strange..
The frontend of the site is made in Macromedia Flash, but if you see the "freaky" eyes that should be OK. The site does take a fair amount of time to load, and displays a counter (big black numbers) while doing so...

After loading, on the bottom it says K1:[Aero]. Clicking on that brings up a tracklist of the CD, which you can then click to hear the first couple of seconds of...

If you see the K1:[Aero] option, on the far right of the screen is also a big blinking arrow with the text Aerology in 5.1 surround. Clicking on that will bring up Media Player 9, and a song will load in WMP9 surround sound.

Hope you'll get it to work... Good Luck!

Den,

Tried it both ways. Neither worked. Kept getting a bong noise. lmao. I do have Windows Media 9. I was able to watch and listen to part of his video interview.

mnilan,

Sorry I did not get back to you sooner but I was out of town. Re: the YES DVD being 4:3. I'm reading right off the back of the DVD box and it says format NTSC 16:9 (Widescreen). Most Yes DVD's are good about being in 16:9 aspect ratio and including DTS audio.

Originally posted by DenW
If you're open to non-live music aswell and are not afraid to try something different, try Aero by Jean-Michel Jarre (the artist that did a live open air concert at Houston a couple of years ago).



Make that eighteen years ago!!

Rendezvous Houston was April 5th 1986

A thanks to all who post here. If not for you all I never would have heard of Allison Krause or "Los Lonely Boys " Three thumbs up!!!

KJRoddy,

Yes, you are right. I was too lazy to look it up when i wrote the post... :) Thanks!

"The best is, of course, the songs....but I guess you're not a Beatles/Paul McCartey fan"

I like his music, and he is a good performer. The problem with all of his DVDs are the production value. Close up to McCartney singing, then close up to a bunch of screaming fans, then back to him, then to people holding candles, and it goes on and on. After a while, it looks so staged that it's embarrassing to watch.

I like his performance in Concert for George - very restrained and professional.

I also find that Get Back is a better concert than Back in the U.S. content-wise, but the PQ is poor. It's only available as an import copy. It's one of the few cases where the laserdisc PQ is far superior to the DVD.

I wanted to revive this thread because the last couple of concert dvd threads only asked for 16:9 or widescreen or anamorphic concert dvds. As I said before, it's hard enough to find "good" concert dvds sp lets not limit the choice.

So this genre has become quite popular and there are loads of new disks each week. But how to know which, if any, are good, given that most are bad IMO ?

Ed

My wife got the new one from Mercy Me. They are a Christian group in case you never heard of them. I would have a hard time giving it a thumbs up because of all the preaching between songs. I mean, how many times can you listen to the same thing over and over. The music is pretty good tho. The video is way too blue for me.

No Quarter: t Jimmy Page and Robert Plant DVD (2004) remaster of an earlier Laserdisk I think. My guess is this was performed in the late 90s?


Sound Quality: 8 out of 10,
Video Quality: No complaints, 7 out of 10.

Very very nice ... they tackle their most difficult studio tracks, and pull them off. If anyone had any doubts that Led Zepplin has always been a thoroughly progressive Rock band, here they re-affirm it.

Here are some comments on a few of the tracks:

Battle For Evermore - Includes Jimmy on sitar, Indian singers and percussionists, etc). EXCELLENT

"What Is and What Should never Be" - I dont think this song was ever meant to be played live, with the superfast studio enhanced chorus, and then the slow parts. Still .... they manage to pulll it off pretty well.

Thank You - Excellent Version
Thats The Way - They tackle this gay themed song, they could have easily ignored it, but they didnt

No Quarter - They play this one outside, and freshen it up with Progressive sounds

Several other excellent performances on this DVD.

Of course Page and Plant are both completely obsessed with their music when they are playing, very introverted.

Plant almost gets too immersed in his singing, and goes off on subtle tangents.

Page just sits there in his own little world, with a smile on his face. What an incredible guitar player he is.
Page still uses that stupid looking dual-neck guitar, thats almost as big as he is, lol.


Extras: They get interviewed literally on a busy crosswalk in downtown London, lol.
Good interview.

Theres more, I will try to add to this post later.

Diana Krall - Live at the Montreal Jazz Festival recorded June 29th, 2004 at The Bell Centre. ( Hockey Arena )

16:9 dd5.1 2.0 NO DTS!

PQ is not as good as her Live in Paris DVD.

SQ is very good, but again not as good as LIP.

Performance quality is still sinking in on me. I like it and of course she is very easy on the eyes. Her songs are very different then LIP and I don't think thats a bad thing. Elvis Costello has had a big effect on her music and whether thats a good thing or not is up to you. 13 songs plus bonus video. One thing I liked about this DVD is the fact that she talks a lot less between her songs. Also the audience clapping was edited to make the concert flow better.

The price for this DVD is very cheap compared to any others i've bought lately. For any DK fans I would say its worth the price, just don't go expecting another LIP. Once I watch this a couple more times i'll give a better review.

I second "Hell Freezes Over" by the Eagles and "Supernatural" by Santana as some of the best. I also have Korn, Ac/Dc, Metallica and another one is Nickelback "Live at Home" concert.. keep those choices coming, great thread

Good to see this thread still kicking. This is the hands down BEST source of concert DVD information on the web.
On JohnR's suggestion, I bought Prince - Rave unto the year 2000 a few months ago. I finally watched it the other day, excellent. The 5.1 DTS track is damn good, as is the 4:3 transfer.

I am attempting to wade my way through my Live Aid 4 DVD set. I will post a review when I'm finished. I also have The Corrs - Unplugged to watch. I hope it's as good as Live in London.

Patrick,

Where did you get the Prince dvd? I can't find it anywhere on line.

Thanks.

htomei

Sorry, just found it on Amazon.

htomei

Prince "Unto The Rave 2000" is a superior performance, and it sounds good on my laid back Rocket speakers.

However the audio is not reference quality, and I have heard it sound washed out on revealing speakers, like Magneplanars.

The sound is definitely acceptable, but I was expecting better.

Still its an awesome show! He does 2 mega-sets, one before New Years, and one After midnight 2000.

Its performed in his huge Paisley Park studio in Minn. He has lots of guests show up: Lenny Kravitz, Sly and the Family Stone, and of course all the regular "Minneonapolis Sound" acts, The Time, Shiela E, Kat, etc.

He is very entertaining, at one point he says, "Want to see my new Piano?" and right by the crowd is revealed this amazing white Piano that looks like it probably cost 1/2 a million. He gesters with his hands and the Grand Piano opens. Then he sits down and plays "Nothing Compares To you". Then he dives into the crowd for some crowd surfing.

Also, he has some incredible blues players show up, and really play great.

What a show. I wouldnt let the uneven audio quality prevent you from buying this, if you want to see a 40 year old Prince play.

-------------------------------------

Hah at the end, they have all 30 musicians come onto the stage and play one together. If you had any idea how hard it is to pull this off, especially at 2am New Years Eve, then you know what its going to sound like. Well they pull it off ... but barely. At one point it almost turns into total musical Chaos.

--------------

Another interesting part of this DVD is the on-disc notes. He discuses how the record industry completely screws people over, and basically offers to illegally sell his music to you, to spite the record company that owns the rights to his songs. Very gutsy... and one reason why this DVD is a bit difficult to find.

Originally posted by JohnR_IN_LA
Prince "Unto The Rave 2000" is a superior performance, and it sounds good on my laid back Rocket speakers.


Also, he has some incredible blues players show up, and really play great.


the "blues jam"is my favorite part of the dvd.the amazing Maceo Parker on sax with Prince playing a blues jam-jimi's "red house",just great.it was reported Johnny Lang also performed during the taping but it didn't make the dvd.

it was reported Johnny Lang also performed during the taping but it didn't make the dvd.

I kept looking for Lang! Prince announced him, and I never even saw him? I wonder if he was contractually unable to appear? That had to be his blues guitar playing, right? It sounded almost like Stevie Ray Vaughn. As for the sound quality goes, good but not reference. My speakers are pretty lively (B&W CDM 9NT package), that may have something to do with it.

Originally posted by Patrick TX
I kept looking for Lang! Prince announced him, and I never even saw him? I wonder if he was contractually unable to appear? That had to be his blues guitar playing, right? It sounded almost like Stevie Ray Vaughn. As for the sound quality goes, good but not reference. My speakers are pretty lively (B&W CDM 9NT package), that may have something to do with it.

stevie ray vaughn is a huge influence on prince,you can hear it in a lot of the live bootlegs floating around,there hasn't been an "official"release yet that showcases just how good prince is as a guitarist.Look for a disc called "the undertaker",right JohnRinLA? ;)

BTW,the new Aerosmith dvd is excellent,although not widescreen.i saw them on tour with KISS,first time seeing either.of course KISS is a visual show,but as "players",aerosmith absolutely killed them.

Haven't seen anyone mention this one so I thought I would chime in with Iron Maiden Rock in Rio

It's Full Frame, DD and DTS.
The band plays awesome and its quite a spectacle as there are a quarter million people there! (similar to Rush in Rio).

If you like Maiden I highly recommend

Originally posted by hobbs47
stevie ray vaughn is a huge influence on prince,you can hear it in a lot of the live bootlegs floating around,there hasn't been an "official"release yet that showcases just how good prince is as a guitarist.Look for a disc called "the undertaker",right JohnRinLA? ;)

BTW,the new Aerosmith dvd is excellent,although not widescreen.i saw them on tour with KISS,first time seeing either.of course KISS is a visual show,but as "players",aerosmith absolutely killed them.

"The Undertaker" is the gem worth searching for. Its like a 60 minute music video of Prince and a drummer just tearing up their instruments. Very musically I might add.

------------------
I saw Aerosmith 4 times growing up, each time they sounded horrible. I love their early studio work ( not that i have listened to it in 10 years), but havent been able to get over my personal experiences with this superband.

Im sure they sound better now, part of the problem was, I saw them in the 70s-80s, and concert audio was bad back then.

The other problem was, they didnt seem to care that they sounded bad.

Clapton's new concert video "Crossroads Guitar Festival" is pretty good. Clapton chose ZZ Top to end the show. It's the only concert footage of ZZ that I know of. Johnny Lang performs a song on Disc 2. He's pretty intense. Clapton's "If I had possession over judgement day" is great too. Lot's of different performers. Lot's of blues tunes. Not many weak performances.

I just picked up Incubus' "Alive at Red Rocks" last week. I don't think its anamorphic, just regular 16:9. It does have a DD 5.1 soundtrack. If you are an fan of Incubus definitely pick this up. Now if only Tool would release a concert DVD.

The White Stripes concert DVD comes out tomorrow.

Haven't seen it mentioned yet, but for those that like female vocals I've found the Lilith Fair dvd to be really great....an Image Entertainment dvd with very good picture and sound quality. Songs from Sarah McLachlan, Indigo Girls, Sheryl Crow and Jewel are highlights. Great folk/acoustic presentations, at least in my opinion. Contains 16 songs and some banter in between that can easily be skipped if need be. I've developed quite a fondness for Sarah McLachlan music as a result and have always been an Indigo Girls and Sheryl Crow fan, so this has been a highly played dvd in my meager but growing concert collection.

"Festival Express" is mostly a documentary about an amazing concert tour that took place across Canada in 1970, but there is some great concert footage of the Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, The Band, Buddy Guy, etc.. Most of this material was previously unreleased.

Very interesting film...

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0372279/

This is one Fantastic Concert DVD. One of the better ones I've seen in a while, Cant imagine many will be to disappointed with this disc. If you like the Doobies at all, run to the store & pick it up....you will be Happy! :D

Dolby + DTS + 16x9

buzz

I searched this, so I hope I am not repeating:

Now that Peter Gabriel's "Secret World Live" is on DVD (albeit w/ less than great video), I await the day that

Prince's "Sign 'o the Times" is available in the states
and
Sting's "Bring on the Night" which is arguably one the finest music/concert docs ever.

Does anyone hear have any insight on either of these?

I dvr'd Sign O' the Times off of INHD (or HDNET) a week or so ago. I looked and sounded pretty damn good. As I read yesterday, SOTT finally has a release date. Of course, now I can't find where I read it! I would buy Bring on the night, but probably pass on the Prince. IMO, the music holds up well, but the acting is another story. Sting's "All this time" is one of my all time favorites BTW.

Originally posted by buzz
This is one Fantastic Concert DVD. One of the better ones I've seen in a while, Cant imagine many will be to disappointed with this disc. If you like the Doobies at all, run to the store & pick it up....you will be Happy! :D

Dolby + DTS + 16x9

buzz
I hear you that this is a good one - but just curious how it compares to their other one "Rockin' Down the Highway" if you've seen it. Particularly the audio quality.

Ed

Anybody have Cat Stevens Majikat? It's from 1976? I saw one of the shows live on that tour and this brings back great memories. The sound is unbelievable, especially for a show this old. Here's an excerpt from Amazon:

---
The remastered digital sound is excellent, and there are plenty of extra features, including a lengthy and informative contemporary interview with Stevens (now known as Yusuf Islam), six additional songs from the archives (one of which, "Moonshadow," is presented in animation), and a reproduction of the original tour program. Even if this weren't the only available visual evidence from Stevens's career, Majikat (Earth Tour 1976) would be a worthy and valuable record of one of the most popular artists of his time. --Sam Graham
---

Also like many others mentioned on this thread plus Eric Clapton's, "One More Car, One More Rider and Crosby Stills and Nash, "Acoustic."

Procol harum live at union chapel-If you have any interest in this band this dvd is a must.Recorded in a small church whose acoustics are perfect for the piano,organ music this group has been putting out since 1966.

Originally posted by petercw2
I searched this, so I hope I am not repeating:

Now that Peter Gabriel's "Secret World Live" is on DVD (albeit w/ less than great video), I await the day that

Prince's "Sign 'o the Times" is available in the states
and
Sting's "Bring on the Night" which is arguably one the finest music/concert docs ever.

Does anyone hear have any insight on either of these?



for sign o the times,there is a bad quality brazilian bootleg avail in the states,stay away from that one.there is a supposed widescreen/proper release coming on december 21,but i have only been able to find it on amazon-canada,nothing in the states yet.check the link.sign o the times will be shown on Showtime again on tuesday i believe,won't be HD but should be better quality than anything available yet,so record that if ya can.

http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0006HC5SC/qid=1102880188/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_0_1/701-3811881-0875544

Ed,

I've got "Rockin' Down the Highway" & I just remember not being to impressed with it (just thought it was OK). If I think of it next time I fire up the system I will pop it in to compare against this one.

Vegout,

I do have Cat Stevens & yes I was shocked it was as good as it was.

Originally posted by buzz
Ed,

I've got "Rockin' Down the Highway" & I just remember not being to impressed with it (just thought it was OK). If I think of it next time I fire up the system I will pop it in to compare against this one.

Vegout,

I do have Cat Stevens & yes I was shocked it was as good as it was.
Thanks for the reply buzz. I guess I'll be getting the new Doobies.

Regarding Cat Stevens - if your a fan, this is a must get - great to see and hear him perform so many really good songs. As for the review that the sound is excellent - they're dreaming. It's very mediocre and normally that would be enough to completely turn me off. But it's Cat's great music that allows to to still give a recommondation for this DVD.

Ed

Well let's agree to disagree. Sure, it's not going quite a "Hell Freezes Over" or "In the Flesh," but it sounds pretty damn good to me.

Originally posted by Patrick TX
The White Stripes concert DVD comes out tomorrow.


I am curious on that one too!

anyone have Joe Jackson-Live In Tokyo? I just watched Joe Jackson-25 Anniversary special on Trio and it was great...other than too many interviews which cut into songs. Any opinions on any of his other live stuff would be great too. Thanks,Eric

Joe Jackson live in Tokyo was my favorite laserdisc concert, and is also one of my favorite dvds. It's not dolby digital, but still very enjoyable !!

There is a homemade dvd of a concert this past year from the Rome jazz festival that is great as well.

-Ken

Originally posted by sprint8
Diana Krall - Live at the Montreal Jazz Festival recorded June 29th, 2004 at The Bell Centre. ( Hockey Arena )


I wanted to second sprint8's review of the new Diana Krall. I thought her vocal performance was better on the Paris DVD, but I like the instrumentals from the Montreal show. Just the bare-bones quartet, without the full orchestra, etc. The price was great - when you can get a good concert DVD for less than a new CD - ya gotta like it.

I also have the new Norah Jones. Like a lot of concert DVDs, the picture is nothing special, but the sound is good. She's added another guitar player, and a number of guests, so it's a very different show from the New Orleans DVD.

I've been watching the Sarah McLachlan - Afterglow Live a lot, and I really like this one. If you're a Sarah fan, this is a killer show. The picture and sound quality are very good. The DVD plus CD was $18.99 at CC. I know some folks were critical about the copy protection on the CD, but I don't have a problem with it, especially since you get both discs for such a good price.

DE

The top three I would recommend would be;

Eagles Hell Freezes Over (excellent)

Diana Krall - Live in Paris (personal favorite)

Fleetwood Mac The Dance (lot of fun to watch)

I finally got around to watching "The White Stripes - Under Blackpool Lights" last night. I have mixed feelings on it. One the one hand, NO image has ever looked so poor on my setup (70" XBR LCD, Denon DVD-2900). The concert was filmed in England on 16MM. It's 4:3, and absolute garbage transfer-wise. Good thing there's more to this than the picture! The sound is pretty good, DTS, DD 5.1, & PCM 2 channel. Of course, the DTS was my fave (not by much). What really stood out for me was the performance, wow! I have NEVER seen 2 people kick out the jams like Jack & Meg! Jack on the guitar & piano, Meg on the drums. I had never seen them play, and I can see why they are so popular. This is rock / blues / alternative / honky tonk stripped down to the absolute BONE. I will be watching it again, and do recommend it. The price is right as well, $11 at DDD & BB.com.

Originally posted by Patrick TX
I finally got around to watching "The White Stripes - Under Blackpool Lights" last night. I have mixed feelings on it. One the one hand, NO image has ever looked so poor on my setup

i agree,looked like crap,sound was good,performance-very good(if you like this sort of thing).It is a very bare bones disc,pretty much the show and the audio choices.Call me weird but i would have liked to have seen a little more Meg,something about her "softies"bouncing while she plays the drums.......... :D

Originally posted by Patrick TX
I finally got around to watching "The White Stripes - Under Blackpool Lights" last night. I have mixed feelings on it. One the one hand, NO image has ever looked so poor on my setup (70" XBR LCD, Denon DVD-2900). The concert was filmed in England on 16MM. It's 4:3, and absolute garbage transfer-wise. Good thing there's more to this than the picture! The sound is pretty good, DTS, DD 5.1, & PCM 2 channel. Of course, the DTS was my fave (not by much). What really stood out for me was the performance, wow! I have NEVER seen 2 people kick out the jams like Jack & Meg! Jack on the guitar & piano, Meg on the drums. I had never seen them play, and I can see why they are so popular. This is rock / blues / alternative / honky tonk stripped down to the absolute BONE. I will be watching it again, and do recommend it. The price is right as well, $11 at DDD & BB.com.

Its all about the performance bruther!
Of course good audio is more or less a must for music.
but who cares about the video :D as long as its decent.

Hows the image quality on "The Doobie Brothers Live At Wolf Trap DVD"?

Thanks, Deron.

something about her "softies"bouncing while she plays the drums..........
LOL, I was noticing that as well. No bra, methinks.

who cares about the video as long as its decent.
That's my point, but the video is miles away from decent. It's that bad.
It's intentionally that way. The audio options are not listed anywhere other than the menu of the dvd itself. It was a nice surprise after I saw the video. Overall, the package is worth it.

Deron,

Image quality is excellent, really excellent. I have about 40 concerts & I'd say its up there with the best!

buzz

Has anyone seen Rod Stewarts new DVD yet?
Live at Royal Albert Hall I believe.....any mini-reviews out there?

I owned the Rod Stewart "Great American Songbook" concert. Quality was excellent, the songbook was all covers of standards, and the material really sucked.

But hes a strong performer, typical Rod Stewart, a vain prettyboy "this is my real hair" but he must be 60 now.
He had this sexy blonde saxaphonist that was a pleasure to watch, she was actually decent.

Yall check out Peter Gabriel's new Play; The Videos. I replied to 2 threads in this forum with a short review. The 96/24 DTS audio mix was done by Daniel Lanois and it's stellar!

Recently picked up Dave Mason Live at Sunrise.

At first, I wasn't really thrilled with it. But after playing it a few times, it has kinda grown on me and is now one of my favorite Concert DVD's.

It's great to hear some of the old Traffic tunes and of course most of his solo stuff. The very first concert I ever attended was Traffic in New Haven, CT in 1970.

PQ - 7-9 depending on the scenes

AQ - 8 or so

Performance - 9-10

Dave is such a great guitar player, even in his "old age"

Best track is the old Traffic tune, 40,000 Headmen

But I wish every producer would mix the guitar solos like Springsteen did on his Live in NYC DVD. That is, with the solo guitar wailing on the center dialog channel. When Bruces wails a solo, my center channel almost catches on fire!

Dave's producer split the guitar solos on both front channels. It would have been soooooooo much better on the center channel alone.

Bruce is the only one that I know of that got it right.

UB40 live in Holland

There's a Steven Stills/Manassas DVD that was taped at a German TV studio in the early 70's without an audience. PQ and audio are quite good for the time period and the band is excellent. Always amazed me that they didn't make it bigger.

As far as modern concert DVDs go, the best of my 30 or so music DVDs is Boz Scaggs - Greatest Hits Live. Stunning 16:9 video shot with HD cameras in a San Francisco ballroom. Great DTS and 5.1 audio with an excellent mix. Boz is not exactly a vibrant presence but he has an crackerjack band. This is a real reference concert DVD.

I picked up the Alison Krauss + Union Station Live set over the holidays. What a great disc. Excellent picture and sound. Really enjoyed it.

Jim

For Genesis fans:

The Way We Walk has been mentioned a couple of times in this thread.
It isn't widescreen, but it was mixed with a lot of input from the band and sounds great. It has multiple angles on every performance. It has some excellent interviews and other extras.

Live at Wembly Stadium
Widescreen. Not nearly so polished as The Way We Walk, but if you ever want to feel what a stadium concert feels like, this DVD will show you.

Originally posted by Oldfred


As far as modern concert DVDs go, the best of my 30 or so music DVDs is Boz Scaggs - Greatest Hits Live. Stunning 16:9 video shot with HD cameras in a San Francisco ballroom. Great DTS and 5.1 audio with an excellent mix. Boz is not exactly a vibrant presence but he has an crackerjack band. This is a real reference concert DVD.

This is a DVD of extremes.

Reference sound and video - Wow!
Decent band - but unmotivated
Material is spotty- Theres a reason Boz was a "1 album wonder".
Poor performance - Boz leads a bored performance.
Poor Audience - obviously not music lovers

Originally posted by Dallas777
Recently picked up Dave Mason Live at Sunrise.

At first, I wasn't really thrilled with it. But after playing it a few times, it has kinda grown on me and is now one of my favorite Concert DVD's.

It's great to hear some of the old Traffic tunes and of course most of his solo stuff. The very first concert I ever attended was Traffic in New Haven, CT in 1970.

PQ - 7-9 depending on the scenes

AQ - 8 or so

Performance - 9-10

Dave is such a great guitar player, even in his "old age"

Best track is the old Traffic tune, 40,000 Headmen

But I wish every producer would mix the guitar solos like Springsteen did on his Live in NYC DVD. That is, with the solo guitar wailing on the center dialog channel. When Bruces wails a solo, my center channel almost catches on fire!

Dave's producer split the guitar solos on both front channels. It would have been soooooooo much better on the center channel alone.

Bruce is the only one that I know of that got it right.

Thanks, I want this one now.

Interesting comment on putting the guitar on the center channel, that makes infinite sense, I will have to see if any of my titles have that feature.

I agree Bruce Live NYC DVD is the most amazing stadium recording out there.

Originally posted by tREN
the cure, trilogy
anamorphic WS (filmed w/ HD cameras)
and dolby 5.1
best PQ I have seen on any concert DVD bar none.

additionally Red Hot Chili Peppers, off the map
catches them on a very good night, nice DTS but 4:3


allison krauss, diana krall???
wake me when its over..

I am a HUGE, HUGE cure fan. I love the performance of the Trilogy DVD but I think they could have done a better job on the transfer. It was shot with HD cameras but that doesn't mean much unless you make the transfer right. I thought the blacks were very grainy. Still a great DVD but not the best for PQ. Sound and content is A+!

Visually, YES Symphonic in Amsterdam is amazing! Deep solid blacks and great all around color. I believe this was also filmed in HD but I think they spend more time and money getting a better transfer. If you like YES and have a nice HD TV and DVD player, this is great one!

BTW, I'm also a HUGE Phish fan but stay away from Phish Live in Vegas. Worst PQ I've seen on a concert DVD and terrible setlist. It was only released since it was originally shot for a webcast. I haven't checked out the IT DVD release by them yet.

Jet - Family Style. Picked it up at Best Buy for $11.99.

I watched this one all the way through the other night. PQ is so-so. Not great, but I've definitely seen worse.

Audio (DTS even thoug it doesn't say on the box) sounds great. Vocals are clear as a bell.

The best part is the music and the band. These guys are fun to watch. They are young and on top of their game. Check it out.

Cary

Originally posted by JohnR_IN_LA
This is a DVD of extremes.

Reference sound and video - Wow!
Decent band - but unmotivated
Material is spotty- Theres a reason Boz was a "1 album wonder".
Poor performance - Boz leads a bored performance.
Poor Audience - obviously not music lovers

I think you are being a bit harsh here. I agree that the performance is not exactly flamboyant, but sometimes a laid back presentation is what I want to watch and hear. In any case I certainly would not call it boring.

I also think the musicians backing Boz up are excellent and the song selection is very good as well. All in all, this disc is definitely in my Top 5.

This is a DVD of extremes.

Reference sound and video - Wow!
Decent band - but unmotivated
Material is spotty- Theres a reason Boz was a "1 album wonder".
Poor performance - Boz leads a bored performance.
Poor Audience - obviously not music lovers


I'll have to take issue with your last four points. True, the band doesn't leap around on stage, but these guys are old pros, they prefer to let the music speak for itself. The audience seemed sufficiently engaged to me also.

As for Scaggs only having one big hit album, that's definitely valid. But two albums pre-Silk Degrees, Slow Dancer and Moments, were arguably better than Degrees. And a couple of his 90's albums, Come On Home & Some Change, find their way to my CD player much more often than Degrees. Particularily Come On Home which is a great blues CD, possibly his most enjoyable effort.

In the end, comparing musical artists is an apples and oranges thing. The White Stripes are a popular band these days and while I enjoy a good garage band, the Stripes leave me cold. Both the Allison Krauss & Aimee Mann DVDs are excellent in terms of PQ and audio, but I find myself getting bored about halfway through.

I love this thread, though. Gotta look into that Yes DVD.

Originally posted by Oldfred
I love this thread, though. Gotta look into that Yes DVD.
IMO, "House of Yes, Live from House of Blues" is much better than Symphonic. Yes seems to have a lot of DVDs out - I've seen/have many of them, and I think the one I'm recommending is the best one.

Ed

Yes Symphonic Live is worth it for the Gates of Delirium alone. One of my favorite concert DVDs by far

Originally posted by Kilgore
Yes Symphonic Live is worth it for the Gates of Delirium alone. One of my favorite concert DVDs by far

Dang-it..I was at Suncoast today to pick up a couple new Concerts for tonight because some friends are coming over. I forgot to check for "YES" concerts. I will pick this one up next time. Thanks for the heads-up.

Boy, I bought Don Henley LIVE "Inside Job" (just a box and a DVD-no fancy packaging) and I am about half way through and this is a fantastic recording. The video is incredibly crisp and the music sounds great in DTS. I think it just might be better than "When Hell Freezes Over"..(Although the audience could get off their butts and get in to it a little more-but "Hell" was kind of the same). Don cracks me up with his need to hold a guitar although he really is not very good on the g. (It's like a cigarette or security blanket to the guy). Still love his voice though and he is typically planted in one spot as usual.

Also, picked up REM "Perfect Square" based on advise in this thread. I will let you all know my thoughts on this one.

Man, Henley can belt em out...but sometimes I long for "UFO" and "Foghat-Live"..That was a great era for Rock in my mind...

Happy New Year all !!

Rick

Originally posted by vegout
Anybody have Cat Stevens Majikat? It's from 1976? I saw one of the shows live on that tour and this brings back great memories. The sound is unbelievable, especially for a show this old...

I disagree. To me the sound has an echo or ring in it from bad miking, the picture is a "C-", and the performance, which was the last before his extended sabbatical, showed he needed a twenty year rest. It was frentic with tempos of "let's get this mess over with," that was horrid. He also was doing this head bobbing thing that reminded me of some of the patients in the corner in the psycho ward in "One Flew Over The Cuckkoo's Nest" - and this comes from a fan. He was either drugged, or mentally ill, or both.

On the good side, and probably the reason for the release, Yushef gives a good and appealing interview on the twists and turns of his life and career - not near enough to recommend though.

I have ~75 performance DVD's in a carousel player that I watch more than the movies. I watch certain ones often though, and others little. Of the ones I watch, I really like certain tracks, and others I merely tolerate or dislike. What I really want are compilations like I make of CD's. This would be expecially good because I would strip off FBI warnings, label promos, foreign languages and special features. Can this be done with readily available programs, still retaining DTS/Dolby 5.1 only, ready to play with no further need for set-up?

Has anyone done this.

I have "Tina Turner Live In Amsterdam" and still haven't watched it.
I have to Dolby version but wished I had the DTS version.

Talking Heads - Stop Making Sense: Still the greatest achievement of the genre. Having Jonathon Demme direct doesn't hurt but the sound and performance is top notch. My reference concert DVD.

Led Zeppelin - DVD: Bonzo's drum solo on Moby Dick is worth the price alone. Absolutely electrifying performances from the greatest rock band ever.

Bjork - Live at the Royal Opera House: Performance Art at its very best. Laurie Anderson for the 21st century. A rightful successor to Kate Bush. Call her what you want, this woman is incredibly theatrical, a unique talent who is not everybody's cup of tea but I am personally really enjoying this DVD. Top notch A/V production, including good use of the surround speakers.

Peter Gabriel - Secret World Live: Widescreen, DTS, great performance, great sound. Video is not up to snuff (bit grainy) but the direction/editing is good. A young Paula Cole on backing and duet vocals was a nice surprise.

Rush - Live in Rio: This performance really rocks BUT, the editing is too choppy (way to many camera angle changes, coming at you rapid fire). Plus, the crowd noise is to my taste hugely distracting. I understand that this was truly how loud the crowd was, but I don't care for it. I will try lowering the sound level on the surround speakers to see if that helps.

Roger Waters - In the Flesh: A must have for Pink Floyd fans. Very true to the original sound although it is weird seeing some young buck singing David Gilmour's lines! Superior production and sound quality. Highly recommended.

David Gilmour - Live in Concert: The acoustics on this one are amazing. A lot of acoustic arrangements, unlike Roger Waters, who sticks to the electric versions of tunes. This guy is a true virtuoso guitarist.

David Byrne - Live at Union Chapel: After Stop Making Sense, it is impossible to live up to expectations. Byrne's voice is in fine form, although he's a bit older and a bit greyer. Less electronic (no beats) and the arrangements don't pack the same punch, but the production qualities and sound are very good.

Neil Young - Silver and Gold: All Neil, all acoustic. Again, great sound, image a little grainy but a must if you are a fan.

Old friends by Simon and garfunkel is a great dvd concert ruined by poor pq and a bad choice of concert halls.They sound amazing and the set list is great but at this point in time its a disgrace to not use hd cameras and pick a more intimate setting than a massive hall full of screaming fans.If only someone had taken the time to book a special dvd concert at the Beacon theater as James taylor did who ended up with a referance quality dvd concert.This concert was a long time coming and now the chance has been missed.If you want to see how good a concert can look check out rod stewarts One Night Only.

I can't agree with those who recommend Four Flicks by the Rolling Stones. If you are a die hard Stones fan maybe but this is some of the sloppiest live music I've heard outside a garage. Keith and Ron are phoning in their performances from some unknown place in the universe. If anything they are a great example to anyone who can pick up a guitar that talent isn't necessary to make money in the music business. I really love the moments when they both forget to play a chord and songs stutter along until someone in the backup band carries the tune for them.

Picture quality and sound quality is great blah blah. Foolscreen is unacceptable though and will be my excuse to dump this loser of a purchase back on Best Buy. Despite good audio/video, a concert DVD has to start with a performance and these guys are so far past the best before date that I was embarrassed for them watching it. Of the three performances the Stadium show is the only one worth the price of admissssion. Mick pulls it out of the fire even when Ron and Keith are dogging it. Be prepared to fast forward frequently. The stones have a solid repetoir of classic songs from Jumpin Jack Flash to Paint it Black to Start Me UP. That was the reason I bought this set but it doesn't deliver like I thought it would.

Anyway, I'm returning mine and will probably pick up the Heart DVD as a replacement.


Originally posted by tcoursen
I will also put in a plug for the Rolling Stones Four Flicks. Received that and Rush In Rio for Christmas. Rush in Rio is a great concert, but the sound, while still good, is not as good as many of the others I have seen and heard. I would have liked to have seen the vocals a little higher in the mix and the crowd a little lower. Probably still like a 7.5 out of 10, wheras something like the Rolling Stones is a 9.

One thing that the Rolling Stones Four FLicks has has that I haven't seen on the other concert DVDs that I have is the feature that they call the custom setlist. They give you a list of the tracks for the concert and you can have it play the songs that you want in the order that you want. This was a very nice feature to use the first night I got the discs and just wanted to sample a few of the songs. Set it up and it plays them in the order you set. I would imagine that others have this feature, but I haven't seen it on any of the other 8 or so concert DVDs that I have.

Other favorites include :
Roger Waters - In The Flesh
Gov't Mule - The Deepest End
The Grateful Dead - Live At Winterland
Led Zeppelin - DVD

Originally posted by Distorted
I have ~75 performance DVD's in a carousel player that I watch more than the movies. I watch certain ones often though, and others little. Of the ones I watch, I really like certain tracks, and others I merely tolerate or dislike. What I really want are compilations like I make of CD's. This would be expecially good because I would strip off FBI warnings, label promos, foreign languages and special features. Can this be done with readily available programs, still retaining DTS/Dolby 5.1 only, ready to play with no further need for set-up?

Has anyone done this.

Yes, I've recently done just that. I was able to fit around 12 tracks on a DVD-R without any video compression. The DTS/DD audio remains intact.

Do a google search for freeware called "DVD Shrink".

Originally posted by Distorted
I have ~75 performance DVD's in a carousel player that I watch more than the movies. I watch certain ones often though, and others little. Of the ones I watch, I really like certain tracks, and others I merely tolerate or dislike. What I really want are compilations like I make of CD's. This would be expecially good because I would strip off FBI warnings, label promos, foreign languages and special features. Can this be done with readily available programs, still retaining DTS/Dolby 5.1 only, ready to play with no further need for set-up?

Has anyone done this.

Here is a good FAQ that also has links for DVD Shrink. DVD Shrink FAQ (http://www.afterdawn.com/guides/archive/dvd9_to_dvdr_with_dvd_shrink.cfm)

I make greatest hits DVD's with action scenes & with live music as well. No menus and the audio track I choose.

Great for a system demo. Put in the disc & press play.

Originally posted by Wakey
Here is a good FAQ that also has links for DVD Shrink. DVD Shrink FAQ (http://www.afterdawn.com/guides/archive/dvd9_to_dvdr_with_dvd_shrink.cfm)

I make greatest hits DVD's with action scenes & with live music as well. No menus and the audio track I choose.

Great for a system demo. Put in the disc & press play.

Thanks, I think I'll give it a try.

Can you adjust volume levels for each track, and can you create a menu of songs?

Originally posted by Wakey
Here is a good FAQ that also has links for DVD Shrink. DVD Shrink FAQ (http://www.afterdawn.com/guides/archive/dvd9_to_dvdr_with_dvd_shrink.cfm)

I make greatest hits DVD's with action scenes & with live music as well. No menus and the audio track I choose.

Great for a system demo. Put in the disc & press play.

How do you edit the copied files to get the certain scenes you want?

Hi guys,

Maybe you should start another thread or take it to PM. This is a VERY long but useful thread and maybe we should keep it focused on Concert DVD's rather than a tutorial on ripping DVD's (which is fascinating but not relevant to this thread).

Cheers.

Originally posted by bw191
How do you edit the copied files to get the certain scenes you want?

You really need to read the various FAQ's & help files.

Check here for more. http://forums.afterdawn.com/

Tangram i mostly agree with your comments, however,


.... You should listen closely to that Rush Live In Rio DVD again.
Its a crap recording: compressed sound, poor miking, etc. They should have never released such a poor product. There was a huge storm and they had big technical issues setting up for this show.

But .... Rush would have had to eat the live production costs, and then they would have to have to redo the recording at a later date, I am sure that is the only reason they released such a lousey DVD audio track. Money.

On top of that, they probably turned up the crowd noice, to cover the lousey recording.

--------------------------
I agree David Gilmore In Concert is a great recording, and innovative arrangement that freshens up old Floyd songs considerably.
---------------------------
Roger Waters in the Flesh happens to be my favorite concert DVD, BUT it is essentially a stereo recording with a 3rd crowd/ambience channel, and then an LFE channel.

They play the crowd/ambience channel out of the Center speaker, pretty bogus!

The technical shortcuts doesnt keep me from having a religous experience during the last set though, lol :)

Originally posted by hobbs47
for sign o the times,there is a bad quality brazilian bootleg avail in the states,stay away from that one.there is a supposed widescreen/proper release coming on december 21,but i have only been able to find it on amazon-canada,nothing in the states yet.check the link.sign o the times will be shown on Showtime again on tuesday i believe,won't be HD but should be better quality than anything available yet,so record that if ya can.

http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0006HC5SC/qid=1102880188/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_0_1/701-3811881-0875544


Prince's Sign O The Times dvd has been released in Canada for anybody looking to get an official release(check link above) of that concert film.I received mine today and it is outstanding,both audio and video.It IS in fact widescreen,and the dolby digital track is excellent.I'm not quite sure if it has as much detail as my 4x3 recording off of ShowtimeHD,i will still have to compare,but it does look damn good,for this film of course.
I have no idea on a U.S. release,but this is well worth grabbing as a import.

Originally posted by JohnR_IN_LA
.... You should listen closely to that Rush Live In Rio DVD again.
Its a crap recording: compressed sound, poor miking, etc. They should have never released such a poor product.
I absolutely agree. This disk wins my "worst recording" prize.

I agree David Gilmore In Concert is a great recording, and innovative arrangement that freshens up old Floyd songs considerably.
---------------------------
Roger Waters in the Flesh happens to be my favorite concert DVD,
Again I agree. The Roger Waters and Heart Alive in Seattle are my 2 favorites based on quality recording and musical content.

John - you should check out Meat Loaf - the Austrailian Symphony one. He's not the greatest artist but I know that you put a lot of emphasis on performance and he does a 200% job on this. The AQ and PQ are also very good. Actually, Patrica Russo (the female singer) does an outstanding performance too and probably even better than Meat Loaf. You gotta see/hear this one.

Ed

Yeah, whenever someone recommends Rush in Rio I put them in mv kill file.
That way I won't waste my money on poor audio quality dvd's

I found "Bela Fleck & the Flecktones live at the Quick" for $12.99 at Circuit City, what a steal for such a fun DVD to watch (amazing musicians).

As far as Rush is concerned, agreed that the sound is crap on Rio but I have seen this group 3 times and they are still one of the best live bands I have been to. It's too bad that us Rush fans only have this one concert to choose from. I thought the documentary was worth the purchase alone but I have been a fan since 76 so I guess I would...

I know I have mentioned this before, and I am not a country music fan, but this band transcends country, and has some of the strongest material of any popular band:

"An Evening With The Dixie Chicks" is an outstanding performance DVD, songs like "Top Of The World", "Home" and "Travelling Soldier" put this DVD in my player about once every couple months.

And the production of this show is nothing short of astounding. From the beautiful Nashville theater, to the "black Tie event" atmosphere, to the meticulous camera editing, the audio miking and even the makeup is well done.

Very classy, a live performance of their very strong "Home" album to an adoring crowd. The chicks teamed with an amazing backup band ( lots of great stringed instruments) create the perfect storm of a performance.

Its 8.99 at Costco...

Originally posted by JohnR_IN_LA
Its 8.99 at Costco...

Yep. It's gotta be the BEST dvd concert deal today.

htomei

Originally posted by JohnR_IN_LA
I know I have mentioned this before, and I am not a country music fan, but this band transcends country, and has some of the strongest material of any popular band:

"An Evening With The Dixie Chicks" is an outstanding performance DVD,

Agreed. I'm not much of a fan either, but this is a well-produced DVD.

I thought it was worth noting that you don't want to confuse this DVD with "Dixie Chicks - Top of the World Tour Live", which couldn't be more of a mess.

The producers chopped together a few different night's shows into one performance. They skip the video back and forth between performances every 10 seconds or so. The costumes change in each shot and the audio is from one performance, so the lip sync is off! Completely distracting!

Originally posted by JohnR_IN_LA

Its 8.99 at Costco...


In general, where's the best place to buy these?

BB and CC have deals on DVD's and video games every week, but I never see an advertised sale on concert DVD's. When I stopped in BB earlier this week, most of them were about $19.99, and they didn't have a very good selection.

Where's the best place to buy?



Stew

Originally posted by Stew4msu
In general, where's the best place to buy these?

www.deepdiscountdvd.com is very good. Shipping is free no matter how small your order is. Prices are about the lowest I have seen. It takes at least a week and maybe more like 2 weeks, but if you have the patience then it's the best deal around.

Wal Mart also is getting a larger and larger selection of music concerts, but it's still limited. They used to have good prices but lately I've noticed that newer disk are high - even above list - like Yes Acoustic at $20 when list is $16. Nevertheless, there are still deals there.

I think the Dixie Chicks disk is at Target for $9.99.

Ed

Notwithstanding the fine makeup, I'd rather listen to Rush recorded with a mike in the garbage can than the Dixie Chicks (content trumps production). Different strokes.

Originally posted by outlier2
Notwithstanding the fine makeup, I'd rather listen to Rush recorded with a mike in the garbage can than the Dixie Chicks (content trumps production). Different strokes.

Dude I saw Rush at the Hollywood Bowl last summer, bought the tickets within 8 minutes of them going on sale. Ive seen them two other times in the last 20 years. I think they are a great band in every respect.

I bet if you gave the Dixie Chicks a chance, you would be suprised how relatively complex many of their arrangements are. And, like Neil Peart's writing, how reflective of the human condition their lyrical content is.

It helps to like female voices, though, lots of harmonizing going on.

One thing I noticed was that BB's prices on concert DVD's were much higher than CC's. Tull's was $29.99 at BB, $19.99 @ CC
Sheryl Crow's "C'mon America" $17.99/BB, $15.99/CC
Sting "All this Time" $29.99/BB, $19.99/CC

Ordering is cool for the things that I can't find but I think it's more fun to actually find something in the rack you were not expecting.

Guess I'm giving away my age, but for me.... THE LAST WALTZ.. Martin Scorcese's (Boy do I butcher names) tribute to the BAND and the end of an era, w/Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Doctor John...

Last Waltz is an incredible recording, considering the age especially. They were one of the original "Jam Bands", I agree its good. Blockbuster rents it, and it was worth a rent.

Bought this based on recommendations in this thread. Generally enjoyed it, but.....

Why did he not include "Last Worthless Evening", one of his very best songs, imho; and,

What was up with that weird rendition of "Hotel California"?? Was he (and his trombone blaring accomplices) channelling ZZ Top and a mariachi band? Am I the only one who appreciates it when the song on a DVD concert sounds at least vaguely the same as it did on the original recording which made it a hit in the first place??!!! Well, at least I have a good version on the Eagles' "Hell Freezes Over" DVD (which I also bought based on recommendations in this thread - thank you very much!)

hatomei

Originally posted by alalk
Guess I'm giving away my age, but for me.... THE LAST WALTZ.. Martin Scorcese's (Boy do I butcher names) tribute to the BAND and the end of an era, w/Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Doctor John...

Just had that concert on the platter last night. I know it has been mentioned earlier in the thread too, but what a great show. I had it on video tape (recorded from LD or PBS, can't recall which) for years and the day the DVD was released is still one of the highlight days of my DVD buying career. As for the age thing, just what exactly are you saying about those of us that were in our 20's during the early 70's?? It's not that big a deal, I just turned 39 last year (again...).
:rolleyes:

John,

Kudos for your eclectic tastes. I like many forms of music but I have not heard anything remotely country oriented that I could stomach. I've hear some of the Dixie chicks popular songs on the radio and it simply isn't my thing. I do like classical, jazz, rock, metal, instrumental, choral, organ, funk, some hip hop. Pretty much anything but rap (and I've occasionally tapped a foot to some rap tunes) and country (never a twinge below the knee). Unfortunatley I have no way to rent it so I'd have to spend money buying something that has a 95% chance of being one listen and then shelved. I still have too many things to get that I know I'll like to risk money on an act I'm not fond of. BTW, I give the Dixie Chicks credit to sticking to their political guns when they came under fire for their views. Just not a fan of their genre.

Happy listening!

Originally posted by JohnR_IN_LA
Dude I saw Rush at the Hollywood Bowl last summer, bought the tickets within 8 minutes of them going on sale. Ive seen them two other times in the last 20 years. I think they are a great band in every respect.

I bet if you gave the Dixie Chicks a chance, you would be suprised how relatively complex many of their arrangements are. And, like Neil Peart's writing, how reflective of the human condition their lyrical content is.

It helps to like female voices, though, lots of harmonizing going on.

Its the talented string musicians in Nashville that draw me to a few good country acts. They have these incredibly fast pickers, talented guitarists, and violinists, and a dozen other stringed instruments that often show up on a Nashville stage (and play all at the same time, lol).

I understand your reluctance though, its like rap, you have to listen to 25 lousy rap stars to find one good one ...

I'm surprised nobody's mention the Live Aid set...4 discs [only $39.95]of some great performances and pretty good picture and sound[when you realize that Bob Geldolf didn't want this show recorded in the 1st place and many of the tapes were thought to be lost forever...how wrong they were].